The Abandoned Diskettes

How’re you diskettes? I was sleepless thinking about your bad luck..

- fLASHBACK -

Well... although it’s been seventy-two months already, I can still feel as if I completed my computer course just yesterday. In fact, the computer course I enrolled is usually managed by a computer centre in the city, namely DMA Information Technology Sdn. Bhd. It’s located at No. 74-A, 1^st Floor, Jalan Banggol, 20200 Kuala Terengganu. Go search it now! Haha. Kidding.

 

Talking about how I registered myself in the course at the beginning, everything actually began in December 2005. At that time, my status was still a secondary school graduate as well as SPM-leaver. My former school was SMA Sultan Zainal Abidin, Ladang and is popularly known as SMASZA Ladang. I got to gain much knowledge of ICT at the premise for less than 4 months starting from December to early March. There’re uncountable memoirs I’ve left there. In short, the computer-based course offered by the company is indescribably awesome and appealing! Plus, highly recommended for all.

Does one really need the computer course?

I swear I was really IT illiterate during my school time. Yet, I’m not saying I never touched the mouse or surfed the Internet. Just not expert and less knowledgeable. The essentiality of IT knowledge is just undeniable especially in the era of science and technology today! Even rural villagers have already learnt and known what World Wide Web and social webs are. I believe that many of them have signed up Facebook, Yahoo Messenger, e-mail and many more.

Wanna know what actually made me keen on registering the course?

Once upon a time... hehe... don’t worry. This isn’t like a scary movie on TV. Trust me... I used to experience a very shameful incident at school in 2004. It’s all because of my own fault. The venue I remember was in the school View Room and it’s actually an English lesson. So nice that it’s still freshly stuck in my head. At least, I can share with you guys right here in this blog. Well... everything occurred just as my English teacher, Mrs Hajjah Sabariah Abdul Mubin assigned me to type ‘Dear Ali’ – as we’re typing an informal letter – in her laptop on the table in the front. She’s using an LCD Projector so our typing would be coming out visibly on the screen. Indescribably embarrassing in that I spelt the words wrongly. To be honest, I was IT illiterate and never knew how to type an uppercase, ever! I’m telling you I’d never heard and learnt anything about Microsoft Word after 16 years I’d been alive on the earth. Come on! Let’s say this together, “Oh God, this is so incredible!”

That I guess is the finest answer why I enrolled at the computer centre. You know what? As soon as I received the letter from DMA, I didn’t think twice anymore. Moreover, I wasn’t alone. My close buddy, Bukhari had been accompanying me from the beginning till the end. Thanks so much, dude! Typically, we took a bus to get to the computer centre in the mornings. We’re lucky in that the Kuala Terengganu City Council Bus Station is just located 500m away from our expected destination. We frequently walked to the premise together from the bus station.

Wonder what my buddy and I learnt there?

Oh, too much! After the topics Microsoft Word and Power Point, we’re subsequently introduced by the tutor to the world of the Net. She too taught us on how to sign up e-mail and many more. Not only those, we also learnt how to provide an account just like what we previously studied at school in the subject Principles of Accounting. A lot of steps we’re taught such as inserting numbers and information into a database via Microsoft Excel and whatnot. It’s ever so enjoyable guys!

As if I can’t buy it that the knowledge I gained from the centre has helped me so much particularly over my 5-year studies at Uni. I was said to be safe in that I’m no longer an IT illiterate. That my decision to register at the computer centre was perfectly the most brilliant step I ever made. So proud of myself. Thank you Allah the All-knower for creating a healthy mind for me.

What ever was the device utilised?

Owing to the inexpensive price, probably, we only utilised diskettes during that time. Do you know what a diskette is? If not, look at the picture above or simply click the link that follows for further understanding:

http://searchstorage.techtarget.com/definition/diskette

What a pity! The diskette can only be accessed by using a PC. The laptop and netbook surely can’t. Additionally, in the 21 century, the diskette is no longer used. No wonder if there’re some people on this planet today who don’t even realize about the diskette existence, primarily a new born baby nowadays. 

As far as I know, the pendrive has long ‘taken over’ the diskette. With the better larger capacity and flexibility, the world have moved to a smaller device called ‘pendrive’. But, that’d already happened several years before. I’m not able to precisely guess the current price of a pendrive, not like Nujum Pak Belalang. Huhu... I remember the last time I purchased a 4GB pendrive which cost of RM30. Pretty sure that its price is now getting far cheaper. Sorry, I haven’t updated myself with the current price of pendrives at market.    

                                                                       PENDRIVES

HOWEVER... THIS IS NOT WHAT I WANNA TELL YOU!

ARE YOU GUYS READY?

Here goes...

My kid brother talked about diskette lately. He discovered a diskette which belongs to my big brother. Because of that, I suddenly recalled that I do own 2 diskettes with me. Ya, good news that I’ve been keeping them safely as yet in my drawer downstairs. I got them whereupon and wanted to open the diskettes again after 6 years. Praise be to Allah, it didn’t get me into hot water because we’ve got a PC at home. I wished I could bring back the so-called nostalgia of my 3-month studies at DMA.

What a bad luck! Neither diskettes could be opened. Urgh! I was freaking upset! So upset! Upset! It really let me down yet it’s good for giving it a try, though. Thinking of the possible factor, I assumed at first that I wrongly inserted the diskette. So, I’d kept trying out opening them many times. No matter how many times I’d tried, it seemed neither of the diskettes truly worked. Damn, once again, so disappointing! Apparently, I could no longer open them and saw what’s exactly in. I got extremely puzzled and had no idea why neither of the diskettes functioned. What’s wrong with my diskettes, huh? I was thoroughly blank and eventually gave up. Then, I just shut down the PC. Limaaza?

Dah malas nak layan!!! :P

Clearance @ UIA

                                       UNIVERSITI ISLAM ANTARABANGSA

Something common when our dwelling is situated hundred miles away from the place of study, and definitely, plenty of money is to be ‘invented’ for such a long journey. This story is normal and undergone by many people who’re named ‘perantau’ in Bahasa. My departure to the Capital City on Sept 14 recently wasn’t something exciting. To be honest, I felt rather reluctant to go. However, I knew I’d have to go somehow on account of my accountability as a graduand.

Six hours elapsed and at last I arrived safely at Hentian Bas Putra. The bus station is under construction. Urm, seems I haven’t been to KL for long. After performing the Morning Prayer (Subuh) in the surau nearby, I just stayed there ‘impatiently’ waiting for the sunrise that morning. Only did I leave the surau several minutes before 7.

By getting on an LRT, I reached the Gombak LRT station the next half an hour or so. I then took a RapidKL bus. Just unbelievable that I was already on campus as early as 8 o’clock. Through my random observation, a large number of students were already on their way to morning lectures. Since it’s too early, I breakfasted at Mahallah Ali Ibn Abi Talib Cafe – the cafe at which I used to have my breakfast when I was a full-time UG student.

Apparently, my tummy was already full. It’s now time to move to Mahallah Uthman Ibn Affan whose location is just next to Sayyidina Hamzah Stadium. I’d to ‘climb up’ Block A cos my buddy’s staying on the 4th floor. His room was where I squatted over my 2-day and 1-night stay. I took a little rest right after ‘checking in’ the room.

                                          Mahallah Uthman Ibnu Affan

At 11 something, quickly I got prepared and went to the office of Mahallah Bilal Ibn Rabah. I told the staff to do clearance. Wait a minute!

“Did I tell you what clearance exactly means?” “Oh, not yet.”

Aha. Say after me. C-L-E-A-R-A-N-C-E, clearance! What the hell is that? Frankly speaking, I’ve no idea what other IPTAs in the country probably call that. It’s like something urgent so as to ensure the smoother flow of a graduand’s graduation later on. Quite tricky to put in plain English here. As I was too much concerned if I’d already overpaid all the Uni fees primarily the mahallah (college) fee, I therefore made a complaint regarding the ‘dilemma’ I had. The staff suggested that I write an official letter to the Principal of the mahallah ASAP to get approval of my preceding application for staying off campus, 1 month before my teaching practise commenced in the past.

I spent about RM1.20 for writing the letter and printing it out at Mahallah Al-Farouq CC. It’s really exhausting to get the letter finished by referring to the English formatted letter. Then, I directly took my printed letter to the mahallah office. I was told to wait for the Principal of the mahallah to approve the letter. Unhappily, the Principal was said to be there only after 3pm. The staff undertook to hit me up once it’d been approved. Checking out the current time, it’s only 30 minutes past 12. Now I’d to wait for the next 2 hours? Ah, damn it! Sorry for cursing.

But nevertheless, I didn’t waste the time as such. I moved to the Darul Hikmah Library with the same motive i.e. to do clearance. Wow, no problem at all! After going to the library, next I walked to the Admissions & Records Division for a so-called short cut. According to a slightly cute female staff in the office, I should’ve first settled my financial matters at the Finance Division and lastly the division. OK, fine! No idea where to go next, so I thought hanging out at the Information and Technology Division Laboratory would be interesting. What the heck had I been up to? Of course, it’s a computer lab and I'd gone online for a couple of hours whilst waiting for the 3pm. One tends to take their mind off the world for the time being once the mouse is in their hand, you know. That’s my dreadful habit. Awesome! (Sarcasm)

It’s a quarter to 3 now and I went back to the mahallah office for the second time. This time, I wished the Principal had approved my letter already and it’s ready to be collected. Oh my! Not yet. “Do I need to keep waiting? What the...” I growled alone. I felt I was the unluckiest guy on that day because I just noticed that the following day was a public holiday a.k.a ‘Malaysia Day’. Oh my gosh! In other words, only did I have the whole Wednesday to get everything over by 5pm. Now, just 1 hour to go before the office hour ended. Meantime, I was freaking starving and didn’t seem to move anywhere else. “I think I’d better take my lunch over here,” I quickly decided.

Not so long after that, I got a phone call from the Principal. I was to see him in person at his office right away. There, I could explain to him my dilemma in detail. So disappointing, he himself couldn’t even lend me a hand unless I did possess the evidence firmly stating that I used to check in my room on Jan 21st. Served me right! I wasn’t supposed to be that loyal looking forward to seeing him till 3pm! It’s not more than a waste of my golden time either!!! Had I been to the Finance Division much earlier, everything would’ve been settled. Urgh, I couldn’t even get the Principal’s approval, moreover! Plus, there’s, in fact, nothing to be approved. Shit! Again, I cursed. What a waste of time!!! Indeed, time flies. Consequently, I'd to run to the Finance Division... a quite faraway place. By walking, I could be sweaty to get there which is located far at the Rectory Building. Huh!

                                               THE RECTORY BUILDING

Alas... so many students were in... most of them were International students... but I went to the counter straightaway. I really had a constraint of time. Only 20 minutes left and I’d just settled around 80%, O-M-G! I attempted to have the staff’s attention. I did. I felt so grateful for being served shortly. I complained I’d been charged RM220 during the last short semester, ironically, I already graduated. If so, what else is the mahallah registration for? Besides, I grew more anxious about, again,  the time constraint and you know what? I’d yet to go to the Muamalat Bank to overcome any expected debts with the Uni, if any. In addition, the bank is a 3-minute walk as well. Ah, now only 10 minutes left. I was freaking worried like hell. “Where’re you Akak? my dear... hurry up, please... I don’t have much time now!” I begged like a baby. She came out at last. Huh, it calmed me down. She then handed me my financial statement. “Alright,” she declared, “you’re done! The Uni will refund to you RM195 once it’s ready.” Personally, it’s too astounding and surprising. Because of that, I didn’t need to go to the bank any longer! My time was saved a lot, too. Thank you ALLAH.

I ran out of the division as fast as a running cheetah. Fuyoo! The Admissions & Records Division was just less than 500 metres away from where I was at the moment. I no longer cared about the walking people around. As soon as I got there, alhamdulillah, the division was still open. I came in and met up the cute female staff once again. I was required to write down my full name and so on in a book on the table. Shortly afterwards, she handed me my academic transcript together with an envelope.

My clearance was eventually done! 


Yeah, I did it!

I wished I could scream!

Only did God know how overjoyed I was feeling at present. I didn’t go back to mahallah directly. When passing the Post Office, I remembered I hadn’t yet posted my Borang Pengesahan Tamat Pengajian di IPTA. Again, I was so lucky ‘cause the post office wasn’t yet closed. I purchased an envelope of Pos Ekspress. It cost me RM4.50.

Now it’s a perfect time to celebrate my success! I walked to Human Science Cafe, eating lasagne and drinking a glass of Pepsi with ice. Subsequently, what else to do? I went to the ITD Lab again to ‘hang out’. What to do? Facebooking, for sure!

After a short while, I came back to Mahallah Uthman Ibn Affan, having my body washed and performing solah. Good news! I was invited for dinner at the Human Science Cafe by a bosom friend. We talked like there’d be no more tomorrow till late at midnight. Lots of topics we’d been talking over all night. At that night, I too had an appointment with a junior. I actually wanted to copy some favourite movies from his external hard disk. Poor him! Nonetheless, I’d texted him already and informed that I was likely to come over a bit late. I stopped talking to my friend by 1am and took an advantage by asking his kindness to send me to Mahallah Ali Ibn Abi Talib where the junior is staying. Completely far if I walked... besides, it’s at midnight. Not really good for a single like me. Ngeh3x...   

So pleased after copying all the movies back and they’re approx. 60 movies altogether. Cool! I only went back to Mahallah Uthman Ibn Affan after 2:30 am. I felt relatively frightened as many mahallah-dwellers had already gone back home due to the public holiday on Friday. They got 3 days off. Hence, the college looked a lot quieter than ever. When reaching the room, what’s on my mind was off to bed, then!

ON THE FOLLOWING DAY...

I ain’t in the mood for breakfast that morning ‘cause it’s almost at noon. Coincidentally, a roommate invited me for brunch. Let me introduce who he is. He’s currently a Second Year UG student doing Bachelor of Economics & Management Science and majoring in Finance. Wait up! I forgot to tell you that he’s an Afghan as well as international student. He comes from the faraway country of Afghanistan, far from the Middle East. Freaking hilarious because I’ve never known what his name is... whereas it’s a must-ask query and I’d have asked him that first prior to our long conversation. Gosh! Guess what we ate? He cooked the food by himself and wasn’t as lazy as me. He did tell me the name of the food – yet sorry guys, I always took it for granted. On top of that, it’s non-Malaysian food. So, don’t ask me more about it, please...

Whilst eating, he happened to inquire, “How did the food taste?” In order to respect his diverse culture, I pretended and told a white lie, “Oh, so appetizing!” Kwang3x...

Nearly 1pm, the other roommate who’s a Bangladeshi was about to go out. I tell you what? I initially thought he were a Malay since his face looks like ‘Mamak Penang’. I spoke Bahasa to him the other night. Moreover, he didn’t introduce himself and looked unfriendly. I saw he just nodded his head indicating as if he understood what I just barely asked. LOL.

< Makan...makan jugak.. solat Jumaat tu jangan lupa ye >

Gotta go! I told the Afghan I was going to the Sultan Ahmad Shah Mosque. Well... I didn’t want to be late either, not to mention the mosque is a 5-minute walk away. I was convinced that he forgot about Jumaat prayer. That’s why I reminded him, “It’s Friday, man!”

I brought along the envelope of Pos Ekspress I bought the day before on my way to the mosque. It contained a complete form which I’ve talked about earlier, Borang Pengesahan Tamat Pengajian, remember? I’d filled it in prior to the brunch with the Afghan. Before I went to the mosque, I’d stopped by at the Post Office in order to post the form.

After Jumaat prayer, ‘gawat’, my mobile phone battery was getting low. Even worse, I deliberately left my Nokia charger at home and thought that it could last for a few days. Thus, I benefited the remaining credit and texted some friends of mine asking for help. Hoped any one of them had a Nokia charger with him/her. Most replied to the sms, sadly all replied ‘No’. I finally went back. Before going to Mahallah Bilal Ibn Rabah, I stopped by at Mahallah Ali Ibn Talib Cafe and intended to have my lunch there. There’re a lot of people around, so I chose to only take away.

At Mahallah Bilal Ibn Rabah, I went to my friend’s room – it’s mine for the last 2 semesters. Just ‘putting up’ having my meal. Then, I went to the next door hanging out with my other friends until 5:30. I realised I’d better leave. I was to go out of the campus much earlier to Hentian Bas Putra as I didn’t yet get my express bus ticket. I didn’t want history repeated itself. I used to suffer when tickets were all sold out at one night. At least, not at that night! Besides, it’s at the weekend. It happened once to me the last few years, you know. When I was going out, it’s unexpectedly raining cats and dogs. Gosh, my clothes!!! I ran as fast as possible to Mahallah Uthman Ibn Affan to ‘save’ my clothes I washed in the morning despite the fact that my body got wet.

While busily packing my stuff, the Afghan roommate, who’s in the room, seemed dissatisfied and wanted to converse with me more. Hmm, sorry babe, I gotta leave. Furthermore, I totally forgot the towel I hung on a hanger. How forgetful! That evening, around 6 o’clock prompt I took a Metro bus heading to Kuala Lumpur City Centre. Alhamdulillah, the ticket to Kuala Terengganu was still available. Syukran ya Allah! What made me feel damn weird was the latest departure time. Oh my God, the earliest one is at 9 pm??? As far as I knew, 10 was always the earliest. Most typically, only do express buses leaving for the state of Kelantan start earlier than that. However, I bought the 9pm ticket and this new schedule is awesome! I tended to feel fed up if I stayed there much longer. Strictly speaking, I got on a Transnasional double-decker express bus.

I arrived in Kuala Terengganu safely at 4am on Saturday morning. Yahoo! Deep in my heart I said...

...dapat jugak aku lepas rindu kat UIA. Hehe. =)

                         INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA (IIUM), GOMBAK CAMPUS
                      P.O. BOX 10, JALAN GOMBAK, 50728 KUALA LUMPUR WILAYAH PERSEKUTUAN

It's A Perfect Time

It’s now a perfect time I think if I’ve decided to quit working by today (in fact, I already quit yesterday). Apparently, it’s been a week already after Eidul Fitr and it sounds unbelievable. Besides, this is the most perfect time for me to take some rest. I know there’ll be so many things to get over prior to my Convocation Day which is just around the corner. That I’ve worked at the sundry shop for 1 month is such a great achievement! Ya, I’m super stoked in that I’ve managed to work there more than 1 month, way better than the hotel where I worked at in the past. I don’t mean I love working at the sundry shop but ya, between the two, it’s definitely the better.


Isn’t it too rushed to quit? Hmm.. nay. I think this is the time to move to other things. I can never suppose any possibilities to occur next week. Why next week? Because I know it can be a very hectic week since I’ve been informed that I'm required to fill in a few forms whether for the Convocation Day (including robe collection & returning forms) or even for a must-answer survey – which is named Tracer Study. I’ve no idea what they’re and are for. We'll see.

More importantly, I’ve long checked out my clearance status which obviously states that I haven’t settled with the mahallah (college), the library and the finance division yet. Last but not least is the transcript (Do I really need that? No idea!). Thus, I’m to be back to the campus ASAP. I’d have got all over by the end of this September or otherwise I might probably be facing some trouble later which is something I can't let it happen. One question comes to my mind: When to leave for Kuala Lumpur? Hmm... I myself have yet to decide, frankly, still up in the air. Maybe right after undergraduate students have come back to campus for the forthcoming semester. How much longer? Hmm...well, I feel I wanna stay on campus for a couple of days. I don’t think to be there more than that. Duk rumah lagi best kot, seriously!

How come a couple of days? As I wanna copy back all the movies, at least half of ‘em that I’ve lost on account of the irresponsible party. I know it's out of the main purpose... LOL. Who're they? No need to mention here. I don’t even wanna keep it in mind forever. Sape suke kan? I’d better take the past lesson so I’ll never repeat it anymore afterwards, ever! On top of that, I need an external hard disk – it seems a must-have property for a laptop owner like me. Why not get it very soon? Oh, I can’t afford yet. Hopefully later, when I’ve got a job as well as a big income. So naughty. What about the current salary? Na, I can’t either! It’s sure enough to purchase one or two hard disks, but i’m gonna spend the income for something a lot more significant. What is it? Well... I do mind to tell you everything. Uh-oh! Sorry, too outspoken. 

Let’s take our mind off thinking about this awhile. I’m much keener on talking over on what I’m gonna do after quitting the job. Through my observation, I notice, nowadays I read lesser than ever. Yeah, I got to finish reading up the novel ‘Ekspedisi’ written by Mohd Ghazali Tocheh and that’s super awesome! Nevertheless, one thing I’m pretty sure is that I’ve left English behind and should polish my English back. Even though I’ve always put my English grammar books on a table next to my bed, I find I still read them less, in fact lesser than I used to. This is really bad for me. I must begin my new lifestyle together with new determinations that can assist me in the future.

MY TWO CENTS PERTAINING TO THE JOB I'VE JUST QUITTED...

By the way, after 1 month working at the sundry shop, I realise that I’ve learned a lot. Poyo je... walhal lega gila sebab dah lepas 1 tanggungjawab kan... This little experience has made me understand the world of diverse careers and the society far and far better. The experience has changed my mindset as well. It's made me even stronger to undergo the future. Wish me luck, guys!

                          See! I dare to wear this T-shirt - if I really had one.

Eid-ul Fitr

So glad to share my excitement with you that I finished reading a novel two days prior to the Eve. It’s a Malay-written novel entitled ‘Ekspedisi’ by Mohd Ghazali Tocheh. I bet some of you’ve ever read it up. My previous Ramadhan I think had been spent wisely, praise be to Allah. Despite the fact that I’d been so busy working during the daytime, I still chanced to steal a little time of mine at night to turn to every page of the novel. I used to read prior to sleep or after sahur. Overwhelmed by the feeling of exhaustion didn’t prevent me practicing this finest culture, I mean reading.   

Apparently, Eidul Fitr has come to an end. Many people have got to work! In Malaysia, the festival is most typically celebrated for 1 month in Syawal. There’ll be a lot of Open House  occasions everywhere. So merry and it’s not too much to say that the festival is a lot merrier than many other countries on the globe. How lucky I am for being a Malaysian!

This year, Eidul Fitr is also called ‘Merdeka Raya’ as the second day of the festival was the National Day which is celebrated on the thirty-first of August annually. Due to Eidul Fitr, the National Day is to be postponed to Malaysia Day which falls on September 16. It’s a public holiday and that doesn’t mean I’ll be off-duty on that day unless I worked at a government sector, then I’d smile significantly. =)

What’ve I done during the merriest festival in the country? I’ve no idea to summarize it. At the end of Ramadhan, the fasting month, I totally lost my mood to celebrate ‘the Muslims’ day of triumph’. Can you possibly imagine on the first day of Eidul Fitr, right after returning from the community mosque, Surau Flat Al-Ikhwan performing Eidul Fitr prayer congregationally, I felt too sleepy and whereupon fell asleep on the sofa. Consequently, I missed to visit my grandpa’s sister and brother’s homes. Late in the afternoon, my family and I went back to kampong by car which is located in the west of the city, 20 minutes away from my home in Pasir Panjang. On the following days, I attended so many Open House occasions and most of them are my relatives.

Hold on! I wanna declare that…

I’ve lost 3kg after fasting for 1 month!!!

I feel somewhat unhappy with that news. It’s not as easy as ABC to gain my weight back. That’s why I’ve to work harder to keep ‘growing’. I need the 3KG back... please! In addition, my appetite over Eidul Fitr has become really strange. Wherever I stopped, I ate. I’m like a very hungry man!

Speaking a little bit about my job, I’d like to thank so much to my employer for presenting me a dozen of Mirinda carbonated drink and some packs of peanuts FOR FREE! Yet, I’ve to apologize for not coming to work today. Actually, I got a few must-attend invitations, from my neighbor, bosom friends and so on. I know I couldn’t make it whether I went to work today. I’m really sorry. I wish for some changes afterwards when working in a non-fasting month. Hope so. We’ll see what’ll happen next and then I’ll let you know.

Hope it's not too late yet to wish...