Sunday 24 September 2017

PSSTLDM Selection Day

I was contemplated on my ability to go for the Navy selection day. I had a fever and it subsided just a day prior to the selection. And moreover, without a proper physical training, the probability of failing the selection was quite high. But still, I braced myself up and went to the navy base just to give it a try. Hopefully, lesser people would turn up on Sunday compared to Saturday's session. So the competition would be low thus increasing my chance of getting accepted into the navy. That's my logic.

Previously, the email clearly stated that all candidates should be at the naval base from 8.00 am till 9.00 am. So, I arrived at Pusat Hidrografi TLDM, Klang sharp at 7.30 am, as I was worried about getting rejected for coming late. I thought that the session started at 8.00 am and ended at 9.00 am, which seemed weirdly short and perhaps not that hard. But obviously, I was wrong. It started at 9.00 am and ended at 4.30 pm. Luckily I had my ex-housemate, Hazri, who out of the blue decided to join me. At least I got someone to keep my motivation up.


The selection started with physical inspection where the medical officer checked the shape of our sole to identify whether we had normal feet or flat feet. The person with flat feet was requested to leave the line. It was quite sad to see some did not make it even in the first stage. Then, they measured the height and weight in order to calculate the BMI. Alhamdulilah, my BMI was okay. There were few candidates that had been quarantined due to high BMI numbers. 

After the physical inspection, we proceeded with documentation process. Candidates were divided into two groups; Officers (Pegawai) and Other ranks (Lain-Lain Pangkat). The process was smooth and I successfully handed over the complete documents to the officer in charge.


After quite a while we then moved out of the building for the warming up session where all candidates were required to do body stretching, 20 reps of jumping jacks, and 20 reps of push-ups. We then proceeded with 2.4 km running, a standard fitness test since my maktab days. I made a mistake of not drinking enough water before running which as a result I became superbly dehydrated and only managed to finish up running with 16 minutes time recorded. 

Not long after all candidates completed the run we went to the next phase which consists of chin-ups, sit-ups, touch and speed, and also long jump. I could say that I managed to successfully execute touch and speed test, and also the long jump test. Both sit-ups and chin-ups were done horribly. 

We were then given a break for some lunch and Zuhur prayer. Seriously, I was super exhausted that I could not even eat the lunch. I just had a glass of coconut water and some goreng pisang, just to keep my energy up throughout the day. Getting faint was the last thing that I wanted. 

The afternoon session started with marching test. I could see that most of the candidates especially my group members were able to execute the marching test. It was that time that I started to worry about getting rejected. One of the officers told us that among 100 something of candidates, only 30 will be accepted to become the Officers. Quite a tough competition compared to Other ranks. However, I did hope that I would be accepted or else all the things that I endured for the whole day would turn out to be nothing. Pray for my success. InsyaAllah. ͰM

p/s: The photos are taken from KD Sri Klang's Instagram page 

Tuesday 12 September 2017

Registration Day | phdlife

It is quite hard to put all my emotions into words right now. It feels like sort of happy, worried, excited, anxious, and other feelings as well - all mixed up at the same time. Compared to the time when I first registered for my master's program, this time it is totally different. Perhaps after enduring for about 2 years and a half, through ups and downs of my master's life, it sort of giving me a whole different perspective on to what extent the postgraduate life could bring you.

















To certain people, it might be interesting to hear someone pursuing a postgraduate study especially doing Ph.D. But the truth is, it is actually a start of something very challenging - physically, mentally and emotionally. You need to be prepared to bear with all the responsibilities, sacrifices and expectations, both from the academia world and even from your own family members.







































Speaking of sacrifices, try to imagine, you need to stay at the library during the weekend while at the same time your friend posted their selfies at the cinema entrance. You need to work on your experiments at the lab or at the green house during school holidays while your friends updated their status of touching down Heathrow airports for a vacation. You need to write your thesis alone with your cat sitting on top of your laptop while your friends posted a video of them having a great time with their playful kids. These are some small sacrifices that we choose to bear upon and it is a gamble since we never know it will lead to a happy ending or otherwise. Hopefully, mine will fruit a favourable outcome. InsyaAllah.


Thoughts aside, let me give a snippet of what actually happened on this historic day of my life. Today I had registered for a Ph.D. in Biology program at the Faculty of Science and Mathematics, University Pendidikan Sultan Idris. The registration progress was no different from other universities where basically you need to submit all the documents, pay the fees, get some goodies and listen to the welcoming speech. Then, poofff! You are officially a PhD student. Simple as that. Maybe because I am registering within the same campus, it felt like a no big deal at all. But luckily I had a friend (my lab partner) who willingly accompanied me, taking my pictures and accompanying me throughout the day. Thanks to Dr (to-be) Siti Fatimah.







































As the new chapter of my life begins, I purely need your good wishes and prayers and perhaps some support from all of you. And the most important of all, may Allah SWT bless me with the strength in facing challenges that lie ahead. The ship had set sail, endeavoring the rough seas. PhD life, here I come.







































p/s: Putting my first step for a thousand miles of Ph.D. journey. Bismillah ͰM

Tuesday 5 September 2017

Majlis Anugerah Latihan Personnel | u3kulele

After practicing for few weeks, we finally had a chance to perform at the Majlis Anugerah Latihan Personnel which was organized by PPD Petaling Perdana. The award giving ceremony was held in our beloved hall, Dewan Baiduri, SK Jalan U3. 


























The ceremony was attended by large numbers of headmasters and principals coming from various schools within the Petaling Perdana district. It somehow gave me pressure due to the crowds were no ordinary person. If we messed up the performance it somehow tarnished our school's pride in front of other school's delegates. But in the end, my worries faded when these kids nailed their performance especially during the second song, Tanya Sama Itu Hud-Hud (M. Nasir). The slight problem was during the first song where they tend to slow down the tempo which made the singers struggle with their breath and pitch. Still, we had received good feedbacks from the audience and most importantly, our headmistress, Pn Hajah Nafisah enjoyed the performance.


It was actually the third times that the kids were performing, and this time they had given a very exceptional performance compared to previous two performances. Most probably due to enough practice session that these kids managed to give all their best. Frankly speaking, I was quite amazed to see their quick ability in learning different chords for different songs. 















Our next plan is to perform at Pn Rogiah's retirement party with a special song personally chosen by her. Hopefully, they will do tremendously better in other coming performances. InsyaAllah. ͰM

Friday 1 September 2017

Salam Aidil Adha 1438H


Reliving the true meaning of sacrifices by two faithful servants - Abraham a.s. and Ishmael a.s. - where their great story shall be flourished in the Holy Book of Quran till the end of time.

Wishing all Muslim around the world, a very happy Eid al-Adha. May Allah's blessings be upon us on this holy day of Sacrifices. InsyaAllah.