Being Excited Takes a Lot Out of You

We won an all-Malaysia competition today & we were pretty dang excited about it. Trust me to announce it to the world! I was merely in the organising committee, yet I can't help but be very proud of what the students have achieved.

Meanwhile, back on earth, work continues to live and breathe in the office ecosystem. As usual, there will be things to finish regardless of the time of day.

Got an SMS to register with the prepaid mobile service provider. Now I've got to go through the trouble of going to the appointed dealers for that purpose. Bah!

Rude or Ignorant?

I received this e-mail from a student today:-

After reading your article, i was relative confuse over some matters.

1) Who will be the speaker for the talk above? It is a student, lecturer, professional, or expert. Please name the person if you know?

2) You had mention about the venue and date but you havent include what time the seminar will be start. A slightly mistake you shouldnt do it.

3) I was relatively confuse on this statement (Potential millionaires will register imediately). Who will be the potential millionaire it is you, me or anyone can register as well and had the potential to become millionaire? Or this seminar is cater for student, ex-students only or outsiders are welcome as well.

My reply was:-

Hi,

Maybe you could start by identifying yourself?

This will be a 1-day forum, registration is open for all students. Please provide your student number for registration purposes.

FYI, ‘potential millionaires’ refer to those who wish to become technopreneurs. The forum does not guarantee that you’ll walk out a millionaire, it’s merely a witty term to attract students and staff to come to the event. Hence the word ‘potential’ was used.

I am attaching the programme detail, for your attention.

Regards,
(my name)

What I really wanted to say was:-

Dear anonymous,

In a polite society, it is common for e-mail users to identify themselves and start off with a greeting. If you had paid attention to the online forum, you would have noticed that the itinerary was provided for all students to see.

And seriously, work on your communication skills. It will take you far, trust me.

Best regards,
(my name)

Yet my students wonder why they had to sit through a Communication Skills class..

Doing Things Right the First Time

Why is it that some people are so poor at giving instructions that we end up doing unnecessary mistakes over and over again? I will not identify this person but I'd very much like to give him a whack on the head. I have had to overcome a huge mental resistance to actually complete the work, just so that he can continue with his project & report to the management bladibla.. and he tells me that I need to RE-DO it!!!! Why the mental resistance? The underlying reason was not satisfactory but we got veto-ed out because apparently 'the management has given their blessings', fullstop.

First do it this way, now I need to remove everything that I have done and do it another way. Great.. just wonderful! And I have all the time in the world to do just that.

An Army of Me

There's an event that's happening at the college in April. Who's the Project Manager? You're looking at her. I don't normally like to micro-manage (got this term from the Apprentice 1) but it happened this time around. The initial 'willingness' of team members has somehow died down and I ended up as the one heaving and pushing for the deadline.

I shared this in our blog (afourteen) and Joy reminded me that the team is the key to event management. At least now I know who to eliminate from my team in future activities. It's always a zen-like moment when loose ends get tied up & the 'floating' odds and ends click into place. Now I know what I want. You can have faith in certain people, but some people never change no matter how much encouragement or prompting you give them. For the time being, I'll trudge on and make the best out of it *fingers crossed*

Tilt!

I have recently registered to do an MSc. Classes have been hectic and I see very little of my babies during the 2-week intensive course. I have decided to keep it together and maintain the course. It will be challenging and my world threatens to turn upside down but I'll manage somehow, like I always do. And my babies have been terrific and supportive, despite having very little opportunity to see me daily. Good thing this is all happening over 2 weeks, nothing more, nothing less. The next cycle begins in May, wish me luck!

An Undeserving Victory?

I have just written a wonderful blog, funny you won't get to see it. Somehow it came out as a blank. Just when I've put my heart and soul into it... blah!

Anyway, I got my blue belt after grading yesterday. Thought I did badly but I was given "C"s across the board. Not too bad but not terribly great either. I seriously have to deal with my nerves when I go for grading the next time. Despite all the people watching through the glass walls, despite another member of staff mocking me (because he normally won't talk to me unless it's to embarass me) I have GOT to keep it together.

What's my next plan of action? Be involved in more sparring (and bruising). Keep practising. And learn to block out juvenile remarks during grading. That should do it :-)

Staff Benefits

I have just started my first MSc module last Friday. It's an interesting experience when a colleague is teaching you as a lecturer. The subject looks pretty manageable, but then it might be a little too early to tell. There'll be intensive classes throughout this month. Hopefully I'll survive unscathed.

The children will be on a school holiday for the whole of next week. I have already given some suggestions to my maid on activities to keep them occupied. The school break will do the children good. And Mum's coming either on Wednesday/ Thursday- I'm looking forward to it. I'm downplaying Grandma's trip a little so that the children don't get overexcited.

Till then, a 'glorious' Monday beckons!

Reality Check

On Monday, we will be submitting a Business Plan for a university-level competition. I had thought that the Business Plan was thorough and well-written, from the academic point of view. I showed it to hubby and he had a lot to say about it.

His main comment was that the financial planning should be more realistic. The cost planning was not clear and failed to take into account obvious expenses like EPF, SOCSO, overheads and projected expenditure. He also remarked that the ROI calculation does not give a clear indication of the returns expected.

My hope of the student winning the event was a little dashed. A question lingered in my mind- will the Business Plan be successful? I admit that hubby's comments got me worried. He had one look at the document and jumped straight at the financial forecast. I suspect that the judges will do the same. I guess I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed. Nothing much I can do at this point. Moral of the story: Hubby knows best?

Tips to Save Money

With the increase in petrol (and other) prices, here's my take on how I can save some money:-

• Stop snacking
• Stop the in-between meals ('minum pagi' or afternoon tea or supper)
• Take public transportation
• Learn to say 'no' when the kids ask for new toys
• Buy during 'sale' periods (for clothing items especially)
• Be a smart and informed buyer- buy only what's needed, and not on emotion/ impulse
• Think longer before committing to any loyalty/ membership/ credit card of any kind (even the ones that are giving away free automobiles- seriously, what are the chances of me driving away with a beamer?)
• Finish off all existing debts & don't take on new ones
• Leave the kids at home whenever I go to the minimarket
• Eat first before going out to shop (this one's from Azizi Ali, the millionaire next door)
• Leave home early morning and come home from work on time- no jam, less petrol used
• Take limited cash when going out (or shall I stop going out altogether?)
• Bring food from home (and avoid the MSG-enriched cafe food as well)
• Put away some money first before spending the rest of my pay; live frugally

I'm adding a new resolution to this year's list- "to increase my net worth". Today is the first day of the rest of my life!