BP oil spill - after effect

Just to share this article taken from The Star on Tuesday. Sharing is caring, ma... <-- macam bakal doktor tu selalu sebut kan?

Emerald's CSR Program

One of the activities for the Emerald's induction program is the CSR. One of our groups went visiting PDK Selayang, the day care center for disabled, including people with down syndrome, autism and some with spinal problems.

Had a good time. Enjoyed every bit of the activity. Our visit is updated in PDK Selayang blog, click here to view.

The Joe's story - 240710

Joe called again tonight. Payah aku lekapkan phone kat telinga aku sebab line tak clear sangat. So, ni quick update.

On Friday, ada officer dari Buffalo Court datang jumpa Joe. He said something like Joe could go out of the detention center kalau dia boleh letak bail (or bond) of USD5000. Then, he could hire a lawyer to represent him. In this case, he could prolong his stay in US, taking sweet time laa by keep on postponing hearing date, etc.

Tapi Joe cakap kat officer tu yang dia dah decided nak balik Malaysia walaupun sebenarnya Joe kata, banyak tu nak bayar USD5000 walaupun boleh dapat balik duit tu. Lepas tu Joe fikir, nanti dah keluar dari situ, dia nak kena cari tempat sewa lagi lah, nak cari kerja lagi...

Lepas Joe cakap macam tu, tah macam mana aku tak berapa dengar, terus dia kena pack-up barang dia, dia kena pindah ke unit lain (within the same detention center) dan dia kena pakai uniform biru pulak (dulu pakai orange). Biru ni kalau betul pendengaran aku (dan aku ada research sikit tadi) represents detainees with lowest risk/criminal record and non-violent felonies lah. Dan Joe cakap, blue uniform also mean they're ready for deportation.

Pastu Joe macam sedih laa sebab dia dah terpisah dari kawan-kawan lama dia kat unit lama. Tapi they can still see each other from their respective building. Joe cakap, dia siap gi jogging tadi semata-mata nak tengok kawan-kawan lama dia. Siap lambai-lambai bila nampak diorang. Adehhhh.... aku cakap takpelah, cari kawan baru. Sementara nak dapat kawan baru tu, bacalah Quran banyak-banyak. Heheheh...

Dan seperti biasalah, waktu Joe masuk situ hari tu, kena sorak lah kan? Hahaha... Cuma kat unit baru ni, detainees kat situ tak lama, they stay in very short term. Sebab masing-masing dah ready for deportation.

The hearing in early August is still on. Keputusannya kita tunggulah nanti, ye. Ok, sekian saya yang melaporkan.

Thierry Henry scores on New York debut

Say this much for Thierry Henry: The man knows how to make an entrance. Henry delivered in a big way in his debut with the New York Red Bulls on Thursday night, scoring his first goal in nearly three months in the first half of the team's 2-1 loss to Tottenham in the New York Barclays Challenge. And he had a message to the fans behind the goal on the north side of the pitch after he scored. "I'm here," Henry said he yelled at Red Bulls faithful. "I'll say it again: I'm here and I'm happy to be here."

The 20,312 on hand at Red Bulls Arena were all-too-happy to welcome the French star to Harrison. Henry was greeted with a deafening roar during player introductions. He was effective and efficient in his 45 minutes on the pitch. His touches were mostly precise and, at times, inventive.

The 32-year-old striker wowed the crowd in the 11th minute when flicked a ball with his back foot over Tottenham's Kyle Walker to give himself an open look, but his shot sailed wide. He deftly worked a cross in front of the net that was covered up by Tottenham keeper Carlo Cudicini in the ninth minute.

But, without a doubt, the moment of the match for Henry came 24:55 into the first half when he took a feed from midfielder Joel Lindpere in front of the net and made a sliding touch with his right foot to tip the ball inside the right post, past Cudicini. Henry immediately pounded on his chest and growled after the goal. He then posed with his teammates and blew kisses to the crowd.

And why not? After all, the celebration was well-deserved. Henry last scored a goal on April 24 for Barcelona in its game against Xerez in the Primera Division.

The 6-foot-2 striker was pulled by Red Bulls coach Hans Backe at the end of the first half, replaced by Tony Tchani. And that's when things fell apart for the Red Bulls, who allowed goals to Robbie Keane and Gareth Bale in a ten-minute stretch of the second half to let the game slip away.

The Joe's story - 230710

Waktu aku buat entry ni, aku on the way ke Pusat Kanak-kanak Dan Remaja Kurang Upaya (PDK) Selayang di Batu Caves. Charity service is part of the 16-day induction program for Emerald's new executives.

Ok, malam tadi while kitorang tengah merewang preparing for today's event, Joe called, to my surprise. Belum sempat aku nak tanya khabar dia, dia dah tanya aku whether aku ada di depan komputer ke tak, which I was not.

Rupanya dia suruh aku check ayat seribu dinar tu dalam surah apa. Hari tu aku dah bagi dah, ayat 2 dan 3 surah at-talaq tapi Joe kata salah pulak. Hmm... so aku kena double check for him including finding kelebihan ayat ni, in English (amboi demand mamat neh), dengan ayat-ayat lain yang baik untuk diamalkan.

He sounds quite tense, aku pun serius laa jugak. Pastu aku tanya dia, "ayat awet muda, tak nak?" Baru laa dia gelak-gelak, giggling.... dan barulah reda juga stress aku waktu tu. Hahaha...

Joe kata lah mungkin ada hikmah aku bagi reference ayat seribu dinar tu salah. Mungkin sebab Allah nak dia baca seluruh Quran, sebab lepas dia khatam seround, within first 2 or 3 weeks, yang secound round ni dia malaaassss gila, katanya. 2 bulan baru beberapa juzuk je. Hehehe....

Then only aku boleh tanya khabar dia. Dia kata, "tak ok!" Cuak jugak aku dengar, tapi tak ok tu refers to geng-geng Islam yang dah le ada berapa kerat je, pastu hari tu bergaduh, bertumbuk pulak.

Joe tak terlibat la, dia leraikan je tapi he was saddened now that diorang solat solo-solo je, pastu geng-geng agama lain macam perlekehkan diorang laa. Dah le waktu gaduh tu, diorang baru je lepas performed asar berjemaah. Pastu, one of the Bosnian guy tu dah nak dibebaskan, tak tau lah nasib dia macam mana lepas keh gaduh tu.

Citer lain, Joe's lawyer ada datang visit hari tu. Diorang tengah prepare the pre-sentencing report for the hearing on 4th August. The report will help the judge make decision quickly lah, hopefully on the hearing day itself. Joe kata, since dia takde kesalahan lain, normally 3 weeks after that, dia dah boleh balik Malaysia, which means late August or early September, which means before Raya.

Aku cakap ok lah tu boleh raya sini. Joe cakap pulak, "kalau boleh aku tak nak balik waktu bulan puasa." sebab dia nak balik Malaysia, nak makan sedap-sedap. Adehhh.... lepas tu Joe kata, dia dah volunteer nak jadi tukang masak kat situ waktu bulan puasa nanti. Aku tanyalah kau nak masak apa? Dia dengan confident nya jawab, "briyani ke?" Amboi! Pastu gelak-gelak-gelak-gelak.

Itu je lah cerita Joe.

Aku checked kejap pagi tadi, memang betul ayat seribu dinar dari surah At-Talaq, ayat 2 dan 3. Hmmm... dan kalau korang tau ayat-ayat apa lagi yang elok untuk diamalkan, boleh share kat comment box ok. Nanti aku will relay the message to Joe.

186th to 192nd

Minggu lepas. Selain daripada King Henry dah berhijrah ke New York, takde citer apa yang best-best sangat pun berlaku kat aku minggu lepas.

Oh, ada satu benda agak tragis jugaklah berlaku hari Selasa. Waktu tu malam, sekitar jam 10.30pm, aku nak keluar berlari - kiranya ini untuk recovery run aku lepas Seremban Half Marathon Ahad sebelumnya. Aku plan nak ikut jalan yang aku tak biasa lalu. Tangan kanan aku pegang botol air gatorade, tangan kiri aku pegang iPod aku.

Oleh kerana jalanraya masih sibuk waktu tu, aku pun larilah kat tempat pejalan kaki. Kat Shah Alam, bagus sikit sebab banyak tempat jalan kakiso tak membahayakan dirilah nak berlari di atas jalanraya. Cuma masalahnya, ada sesetengah stretch tu agak gelap sebab cahaya lampu jalan dilindung rimbunan pokok.

Bila aku dah masuk kilometer ke-4, tetiba kaki kiri aku termasuk ke dalam longkang (yang tidak ditutup) yang tak lah dalam tapi sebab aku dalam running motion, tu yang rasa macam dalam gila longkang tu.. Dan terasa badan aku melayang, macam jauh gila. Rupanya kaki kiri aku masih tersangkut dalam longkang tu, tapi tangan kanan aku bergesel kat jalan tu. Nasib baik ada botol gatorade. Parah juga lah botol gatorade aku.

iPod di tangan kiri aku pulak, nasib baik alami luka keciiiikkk je kat bucu dia. Yang lagi parahnya, kaki kiri aku bahagian keting, darah keluar mengalir-alir, membasahi stokin aku. Lutut kanan aku luka besar duit seposen. Itu pun aku nak cuba lari lagi jugak tu tapi memang tak boleh lah.

Yang sedihnya, aku kena berjalan kaki laa balik rumah dalam 4km ni, menahan sakitnya satu hal, terasa diri bodoh pun satu hal. Nak tahan teksi, takde pulak yang lalu, duit pun ada laa dalam RM10 yang aku bawa. Nak call sesiapa, hmmm selagi boleh jalan pelan-pelan, takpelah aku jalan pelan-pelan... anyway, aku bersyukur sebab tak teruk sangat aku kena tu, takdelah sampai pecah kepala ke kan?

Dan kaki aku pun mula membengkak laa... dan aku tak boleh apply pressure to my left leg, apa lagi nak berlari kan? Turun tangga, naik tangga, tekan pedal clutch kereta, mak aaiiii tuhan saje yang tahu. Solat pun duduk di kerusi je. Tapi alhamdulillah petang tadi aku dah start lari sikit-sikit kat court tennis.

Aku sekarang ni bersiaran di Bangi, ada induction program kat pusat latihan Emerald ni. 16 hari aku kena stay sini, bermula dari Jumaat lepas sampailah 1 Ogos nanti. Makan je lah kerja aku kat sini. Hmmm... ok lah jugak, duit tak keluar sesen pun lagi, laundry pun Emerald tanggung - RM200 for 16 days. Rugi aku tak bawak bedsheet segala macam baju kat rumah laundry kat sini. Heheheh....

Dalam group aku yang ada 28 orang tu, aku yang second eldest. Yang lainnya mostly fresh graduate, budak-budak scholar Emerald, banyak yang baru balik dari US, slang US pun perghhh masing-masing.... Kalau yang experienced pun, tak lebih 5 tahun. Dan adalah jugak aku terbekenan dengan si L ni. Fuuuhhhhh... cantikkkk, suweeeetttt, taik lalat atas bibir, pakai tudung, tinggi-tinggi sikit, US graduate, slang pun tak hilang lagi, engineer Emerald some more.... kira cukuplah ramuannya. Tapi apakan daya, sesama staf Emerald tak boleh kawen, dowh!!!

So long King Henry!

I thought I would get to see him playing for Les Bleus in Euro 2012 but Thierry Henry announced that he is retiring from the French national team.

Henry had a French record 51 goals in 123 international appearances. He made his debut Oct. 11, 1997, scoring in injury time of a 2-1 win over South Africa. His finale was June 22 against the Bafana Bafana, when he entered in the 55th minute. "That was my last game against South Africa," he said. "Ironically, it was also my first game in the national team against South Africa."


On the other hand, Red Bull New York announced that it has signed star Thierry Henry to a multi-year contract as its second Designated Player. Henry will be available for selection for New York pending receipt of his International Transfer Certificate and after the July 15 international transfer window. His debut for the Red Bulls is expected to be on July 22 against English Premiership club, Tottenham Hotspur, in the Barclays New York Challenge at Red Bull Arena.


Famous for his trademark “14” jersey, Henry most recently played for FC Barcelona, where he scored 49 goals and had a successful stint with the Catalan side. In his first season, Henry was the top scorer and led the team with 19 goals. A year later he went one better not only scoring 26 goals but being an integral part of the squad that went on to win six championships – the UEFA Champions League, La Liga Title Copa del Rey, Spanish Supercup, UEFA Supercup and the FIFA Club World Cup.

Prior to joining FC Barcelona, Henry played for London-based club, Arsenal FC. Henry rose to legendary status with the Gunners, becoming the club’s all-time leading goal scorer with 226 goals from 1999-07. The French marksman was the top scorer in the English Premiership (2002, 2004-06) a record four times and helped his club win the Premiership championship in 2002 and 2004. The 32-year-old also helped lead his team to three English FA Cups and he won the European Golden Boot in 2004 and 2005.

During Henry’s first season, he recorded 26 goals – an indicator of his future success with Arsenal. In the 2003 and 2004 seasons, Henry was a runner-up for the FIFA World Player of the Year and was the first-ever back-to-back winner of the PFA Players’ Player of the Year and Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year. In 2005, Henry was given the Captain’s Armband and became the club’s all-time goal scorer with a brace against Sparta Prague on Oct. 17, snapping Ian Wright’s previous record of 185. He again was named the Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year, becoming the only player to win the award three times.

So long King Henry, and I'm a New York Red Bulls fan now! :-)

179th to 185th

Semua orang dah tahu yang Sepanyol jadi juara Piala Dunia kali ni menewaskan Belanda 1-0. Untuk aku, World Cup kali ni dah lama dah berakhirnya. Lepas France tak layah ke pusingan dua, dan aku pulak sibuk dengan perpindahan ke Shah Alam, pastu games dah mula main jam 2.30am so aku ikut sikit-sikit je, tengok highlights dan replay mana-mana yang boleh. Anyway, bunyi vuvuzela dari tv tu masih jugak lah terngiang-ngiang kat telinga aku. Mana taknya, selama sebulan, channel 805 tu dah macam default channel kat tv aku. Kalau aku tak tengok game pun, aku akan pasang je channel tu supaya dengar bunyi vuvuzela tu.

Tapi hopefully tahun ni aku tak suffer withdrawal syndrome macam tahun 2006. Waktu tu, aku rasa seseminggu lepas Astro's World Cup channels dah tamatkan siaran (blank screen), aku masih tune in to those channels, watching blank screen. Mungkin waktu tu aku tak puas tengok France main, especially when they went all the way to final but lost to the mighty Italians.

Seminggu lepas, penuh seminggu aku kerja di the Emerald Bangi. Turned out that I like Bangi very much, the town, my office, the traveling to and from work. Office aku tu very laa peaceful dan quiet sesangat. Dekat Bangi tu, tak silap aku ada 12 blocks of building kot. Office aku, di blok A - for Admin, including CEO and GMs. Blocks lain-lain tu banyak test and research labs lah.

Quietnya office aku tu sampaikan dalam seminggu lebih aku kat situ, aku tak pernah bumped into someone dalam toilet. Baik di tingkat 1, 2 atau 3. And I could have my own sweet time dalam toilet without worrying somebody may come in looking for empty stalls. LOL! At the same time, aku risau jugak time busy nanti dengan business planning cycle, time kena stayback, aduuuhhhh menyeramkan pun ada.

For lunch, aku belum explore jauh-jauh lagi termasuk BBBangi. Baru pandai makan kat cafe, Uniten food court dengan Medan Selera Lot 10 (bukan Lot 10 KL tu tapi dekat-dekat office aku tu je). Ok jugaklah makan kat food court Uniten tu setakat ni belum jemu lagi. Nak pergi jauh-jauh pun lunch time ni suntuk sikit, dah la aku ni kalau nak keluar masuk office compound tu kena scan ID, kena jagalah sikit kan sementara nak confirm ni heheheh...

Weekend hari tu aku lepas rumah je tak ke mana-mana sangat. Cadangnya nak ke Kuala Selangor, amik agreement kambing tu. Tapi halfway, aku called tokey tu, dia kata dia kat errr... mana ek? Lupa pulak, tapi jauh lah, dia suruh datang Ahad je. Tapi Ahad aku ada half marathon kat Seremban pulak. Haa... cerita pasal Seremban Half Marathon ada kat Deo On the Run.

Tu je lah citernya minggu lepas.

172nd to 178th

Isnin merupakan hari kerja aku yang terakhir kat Smokey Grey. Walaupun Ahad tu aku baru lepas lari Half Marathon, aku datang jugaklah untuk kerja sehari lagi. Sebenarnya lebih kepada nak return barang-barang macam laptop, bberry, staff ID pass, etc. It wasn't a grand exit for me of which I don't even think of having one. Just to get out of Smokey Grey is already a blessing.

Tuesday, packed up for the final trip back to Shah Alam. Penuh jugak kereta aku dengan barang-barang walaupun dah angkut sikit-sikit dalam few trips before. About 11.30am aku tinggalkan JB, tanpa sedikit pun rasa sedih atau feeling uncomplished of certain things. And I hope I wouldn't have to return to JB anymore or at least anytime soon.

On the way back to SA, aku berkali-kali cakap pada diri aku yang tak sangka yang aku akan balik SA for good this time, after about 1 year and 11 months working in JB. The happy feeling waktu driving tu sampaikan aku tak payah turn on the radio pun. Heheheh... Then I made a stop in Seremban, registering for my second Half Marathon on 11th July. Baca kat Deo On the Run.

Sepatutnya aku tak dapat nak join Seremban HM tu sebab aku dijangkakan will join induction program dengan The Emerald selama 2 minggu dari 1 Julai. Tapi on Monday, diorang called aku cakap aku kena report duty dulu, 16 Julai baru join the induction program. So, aku boleh lah join Seremban HM on 11th July tapi terpaksa forgo Siemens Run on the 18th July dan Shape & Men's Health Night Run on 31st July will have to depend on when my induction program will end.

The person from The Emerald also said that I will be based in Bangi and not at the Bangunan Tinggi 2 Ketul tu. Nevertheless, aku still kena datang report on my first day kat Bangunan Tinggi 2 Ketul. At first, rasa boring jugak lah sebab baru aku berangan-angan nak kerja kat Bangunan Tinggi 2 Ketul. Tapi, bila dah report duty on the first day tu, aku rasa it's a blessing in disguise juga bila aku kena based in Bangi.

Mana taknya, dari rumah aku ke Bangunan Tinggi 2 Ketul tu, tol pergi je dah dekat RM8 (ikut jalan mudah lah ni...), then parking sampai jam 12.45pm je dah RM6 kot tak silap aku, breakfast kat food court dengan kuih dua ketul dan air mineral sebotol dah RM5, lunch dah RM17. Perghhh... kopak aku macam ni. Di Bangi, parking free, toll dari rumah aku RM8.40 pergi balik, makan pun ada kantin. Kalau makan kat luar pun tak lah mahal harganya. Ok lah aku happy.

Dua hari bekerja ni, work station pun takde lagi sebab aku akan replace somebody who's retiring this month. So, aku duduk kat temporary work station. Kerja pun takde apa lagi except aku kena attend one 3.5-hour meeting among planners on my very first day. Email accounts, laptop semua tak dapat lagi. Aku pun pening-pening kena isi borang macam-macam!

Weekend pulak aku sibuk kemas rumah aku yang macam tongkang pecah. Dengan barang-barang dari Johor aku lambakkan je kat mana-mana yang ada ruang. Paling bermasalah ialah almari baju aku tak muat dah menampung baju-baju aku. So, tanpa rasa bersalah aku terpaksa let go baju-baju lama aku yang ada t-shirts tu masih dalam plastik lagi dan juga baju-baju yang membesar (read: badan aku yang mengecil).

Kebetulan parents aku datang rumah abang aku last weekend. Aku pun bawak lah 3 plastik sampah hitam yang penuh berisi baju-baju aku. Cadangnya aku nak lambakkan je baju-baju tu dalam boot kereta aku, jual kat Pasar Muhibbah Shah Alam, RM2 sehelai tapi akhirnya aku lambakkan je kat rumah abang aku. Laku juga satu plastik hitam, masing-masing ambik sorang... errr... berhelai-helai lah jugak bapak, abang, adik-adik, anak-anak sedara, kakak ipar, mak aku pun amik sekali. Hehehehe... Yang balance tu, aku tak tau lah abang aku nak buat apa.

Ahad tu, aku ikut abang aku hantar anak dia ke SMKA Kuala Selangor. Balik dari situ singgah ke satu tempat penternakan kambing. Baka boer dan jamnapari. Teruja aku sampaikan aku telah beli sekor kambing Jamnapari usia 6 bulan. Dan bermula lah episod hidup aku sebagai seorang pemilik kambing. Bukan apa, dulu waktu kecik-kecik time orang tengok kepala aku, diorang dok cakap, "Ni rasi bela kambing nih..." So, kita tengok ye, rasi ke tak rasi.... (gambar-gambar ada kat facebook aku)