Summer Internship

Aha... summer break!

Last summer was my longest holidays in Malaysia since 2005. Usually I spent half of my summer break at home, but this year I changed my mind due to some reasons. And one of the major reasons was to gain some experience in industrial field before my first entry of working next year, inshaAllah.

After having a long thought during the spring semester, I decided to apply for internships around Shah Alam and Klang/Banting, where my sisters are staying and working. I applied for Toshiba and a few other companies, but never got their response. Most probably because they didn't offer internship or they're not interested. Never mind tho because I actually got accepted to do my industrial training at ShinEtsu (M) Sdn. Bhd. Alhamdulillah ~

The first day of my work, I got really excited and nervous - that was my first time working in a company ever! I could feel butterflies in my stomach and suddenly I lost appetite for breakfast meal =D. I was eager to start off my internship but, thinking of getting into a new place, in one way or another, lose my confidence a little bit. And honestly, I was wondering too many things at the time, likes how's my colleague looked like, was I gonna be ok working there? and, etc and etc... Blessed to Allah, everything turned out perfectly, and I wasn't the only new staff registered on that day. So gradually, I got my strength and wisdom back.

My office hours began at 8:10 in the morning and done at 5:40 p.m. So, basically it's like working in other private companies too. For the first three days, I had to attend courses which are mandatory for all their new workers. That courses covered from the basic stuff regarding safety (since so many hazardous thing around the company compound - machines, etc), their mission (5's - Japanese system to make sure that you have an effective workplace), effects of the chemicals, and noise and the ISO 9002, just to name a few. Besides, I also had to take exam for most of the courses and actually have to pass it too - It's a requirement! The exams are closed notes so, gotta have a good memory =)

In the first week, I had nothing much to do so that my life turned out extremely boring and tiring. The company didn't provide internet access for all their exempt staff except the head of departments and managers. So, I couldn't at least surfing the internet or chatting online to kill the time. I was thinking to bring a novel or magazine but, my sister said that it's really inappropriate since I was just a trainee (and fresh too). And somehow it showed that I didn't have any effort to ask for a work. So, as an alternative, I always hanged out at the workshop and make friends with the technicians. Luckily, they're friendly and very helpful to me.

As the time went by, I started to get assignments and felt comfy with the new surrounding. I also glad to know that there was another girl doing a practical too at the moment - Alin, a polymer eng. student from USM. Although we were working under different departments, we always met during recess time and hang out together. hmm..by the way, I realised one thing about my colleagues...no wonder the single tends to have their own circle of friends and the married too...because their topics of discussion aren't match to each other; the married with their children and family matters while the single with their "single" hot issues.

By the way, here are the stuffs that I did during my practical:

*first task - helped engineers in designing new packaging system, to prevent the magnet from corrosion and rusty. In this assignment, I had to go back and forth from plant 2 and plant 3 in order to get the accurate data for each magnet. (Anyway, this company has 3 branches in S.Alam area and each plant has different production lines. I was assigned to be working under Engineering 2 department @ Plant 2)

*second task - calculate electricity consumption for slicing machines. For this assignment, I had to consider the thickness, shapes and different types of raw materials of the magnets.

*third task - assist engineers in magnet testing and inspection.

*fourth task - learned AutoCAD, designed magnets

*fifth task - helped with bar code system.

In summarize, I enjoyed working in this company. I feel sol happy that I make a right decision to pursue for an internship. I learn many new stuffs and it somehow widen my mind/view on what exactly an engineer does and also knowing my aim. It also provides me with real-working experience that I don't think I could get in my classes. I wish I could work longer because 2 months really a short period of time.

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exempt staff - some co. called it as executive staff. This exempt staff only works during business hours except for a few cases.

5's - Seiri (Sorting), Seiton(Set in order), Seiso(Sweeping), Seiketsu(Standardizing), Shitsuke(Sustaining)

Ouch, it must be so hurt that he couldn't stop crying :( I pray someone will come forward and help this kid fighting his rare disease. amin~

Stop and Stare

"After the last note of the anthem had faded, the children sat in a neat circle and begin copying their multiplication tables. Most scratched in the dirt with sticks they'd brought for that purpose. The more fortune, like Jahan, had slate boards they wrote on with sticks dipped in a mixture of mud and water... [T]here was a fierceness in their desire to learn, despite how mightily everything was stacked against them..." - Greg Mortenson, from the Three Cups of Tea

*Let's ponder on ourselves. Do we feel grateful of what we have ?

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I came across this passage a few weeks ago while reading the book. Somehow, I feel like writing about it as a reminder to you, my beloved readers, and to myself. We rarely appreciate and feel grateful of what we have until we loose it from our grip. And we often feel frustrated and get mad when we don't get what we want or when things don't turn out the way we expected to.

Yeah,...you might have heard these words so many times before, and it's probably a cliche...is it? Hopefully, nope. This is the fact that we have to face on every single day. Our life is never all ups. So, we just have to be patience and put our heart and soul in everything we do even though it's hard.

From the Quran:
"It may be that you detest something which is good for you; and it may be you love something even though it is bad for you. Allah knows, and you do not know" - Surat Al Baqarah, 2:216

=D

Thomas - a man who gets pregnant?

"Is this for real or it's just a joke??," I asked myself when I heard about this news while listening to wplj radio. Hey, how can a man gets pregnant, right? He don't even has a womb! hmm, this thing manage to distract my attention from doing my design homework. So.., I google "thomas - the pregnant man" in the internet and I found many articles, discussions on this issue. And luckily, I also found archives videos of this hot topic on Oprah's show, where this thing was exposed live on TV.

After watching all parts of the episode, I discovered that HE IS PREGNANT. He is now six months pregnant! How could this be possible? A man became a biological mother? - you might having those questions at the moment. Yes, this is a very complicated thing but yet, there is an explanation. Despite the fact that Thomas has grown thin beard and mustache, and has no woman's physical attributes, he was actually a beautiful woman in the past; he was born as a woman. His name was Tracy and was the only girl of three siblings. Nevertheless, today, he is a transgender-identified man, who is "legally" married to Nancy.

In the first place, I think this American society really got into trouble when announcing Thomas's marriage as legal just because he is a man and his spouse is a woman. My reason is just easy...even though he has "turned" into a man, he IS a woman - he still has a woman's reproductive system! and...because of his confusion on personal identity, I also get confused here - should I refer him as "he" or "she"? (-.-)??? ayoyo... and again, I'm wondering...what would be the relevant guidelines/characteristics saying that you're a man or a woman? or what is the main genetic role of the so-called father and mother?

sigh~

I don't want to give a point of view from same-sex marriage perspective here since he seems to strongly believe on masculinity. He said that he rejects himself as a woman and yet, he believes that he wants to get pregnant someday (he said about this pregnancy thing before he become transgendered) and wants to have children. - For me, it's like saying you wanna be a sth that is completely different but, at the same time part of yourself realize that you're belong here.

hmm (-.^)?

Another reason why I'm opposed this thing is because I strongly believe this misconception can be another bad milestone in gender and role issues in the future - even if his status as a "pregnant man" might not ring you any bell, but believes me...in the next few years or maybe after a decade, this thing could be a common lifestyle in the society. But then, see what happen to the mindset of that generation. Would that be better or worse?

* this won't be a big thing if he didn't announce himself as a man. so, moral of the story is...

it's never too late

Although Malaysia's General Election 2008 took place for almost a month from today, I believe that it's never too late to say a word about its result. Since before the election day, I was hoping that the opposition parties which consists of PAS, PKR, and DAP could win fair votes and maybe could recapture Terengganu state. I am confident that they can bring change in the Malaysian government and help our country combat all kinds of corruption and misused of power among most of the current ministers. I was really tired of the deceit and secrecy in the administration and now, only looking for one thing - a change! And Alhamdulillah, all praise be to Allah, it turned out that the opposition parties got majority supports at 5 states, which is totally a breaking news! Even though Terengganu turns out to remain under BN rule, I'm happy that many people can see the need of change. Bravo! So now, I hope the new elected ministers/politicians will keep their words and make us feel better and safer living in the country. And please do not make us loose our trust on you.

I guess that's all for now; I sees no need to write more. Here I attach my sketch to narrate the rest of my thoughts:* shaded areas show states where the opposition alliances won control
of state governments

not feeling very well lately with some attitudes that makes me really sick to think of. I'm not trying to say that I'm good or what, but their cynical attitudes really makes me feel so miserable and inferior.

Benarlah kata ibu ilmu
satu kata, makna beribu
sampai yang buta tercelik matanya
atau yang bergerak...terkaku pula

sigh~
pls don't push my patience to the limit!