Sabri.me, His Awesomeness

My sister is coming back from UK in a few weeks.

Plus, I know a few people who want to give me some presents.
They keep subtly asking what I want. (and complaint how hard
it is to buy presents for guys.)

So I shall make it easy for them with this wishlist.

First and foremost,

DON’T buy me key chain or fridge magnet. I don’t have that
many keys and I can buy fridge magnets from every conceivable
places available on earth in China. New York, Milan, Kuala Lumpur,
they have everything in one place in Guangzhou. :p

And don’t worry. My wishlist is pretty short. I am not that greedy. :p

1) Theodore Boone – John Grisham

The latest novel by John Grisham. I was pretty tempted to buy this myself.
Have saw it a few times in the bookstore. However, I am trying hard to
resist the temptation.

Although I really wanted this book, but as for this moment I still have
plenty of books I have not read yet and I think its not right for me
to buy another one.

However, if someone else buy it for me, I think that’s alright right?

I promise and I am pretty sure I could finish it in 2 days maximum.

2) Jorg Gray Watch – JG6550L

I am not a watch collector. I have been wearing the watch that I am wearing
right now for more than 3 years already. Its justified if I get a new watch
now right? (especially if someone else is paying)

This watch caught my eyes when I did a search about what watch Barack Obama
is wearing. He is wearing a different model of course, but it is of the same
brand.

And in case you are thinking to buy me a watch but a different model, its okay
as well. Surprise me. I like watches with white dial and dark straps.
Just don’t buy me watch with metal strap. I have worn watches with metal straps
twice in my life and I wish I haven’t.

Call me superstitious and what happened might just be coincidences, but I figure
why take chance?

Oh, its not as expensive as Tag Heuer or Rolex. Don’t worry. Obama is not a fancy
person. This is a gift from his body guard. He wore it during the inauguration ceremony.

3) iPad

Well, I save the best for last.

I don’t have to justify this right? My iPod touch is the best gadget I ever bought
and it adds tremendous value to my life. I am sure iPad will do much better.

By the time you are reading this, you can be sure I have my hand on the John Grisham’s
novel. So, that’s leave you with option 2 & 3. :p

And don’t worry if there is more than one people bought me the same thing. I don’t mind having
two (of item 2 & 3~!)
Sabri
With Open Arms

Ok, Ada yang bertanya saya, England dah kalah. So what after this? Adakah saya masih follow World Cup atau dah stop?

Well, to be honest England kalah was not unexpected. Macam pasukan badminton Malaysia setiap kali sebelum Piala Thomas. We know that we are not that good to win dan sentiasa ada kelemahan2 “kecil”, we are willing to overlook it and berharap sangat2 diorang akan menang kan?

Waktu kalah tu memanglah frust sikit, tapi takdelah sampai rasa nak terjun Twin Tower tu kan?

To answer that reader question, yes I still follow the matches. I will have new team to support in semi final but I am not sure yet which one. It will be either Argentina and Germany (or by a long shot Netherland).

Let me give you my amateurish, biased analysis of these teams.

Germany
They played superbly well againts England. Their game is purely simple, fast and a pleasure to watch (in term of their cohesiveness).

I am just not sure that impressive performance was due to luck or just because England play terribly bad. If they can play like they play againts England, they can easily win this World Cup.

Argentina
A dark horse. I don’t rate Maradona highly as a coach. In fact as a team they did very poorly in the World Cup Qualification.

However, this made them the underdog in the Finals. And you know how I feel towards underdogs right?

I don’t think they play as effectively as Germany. As most South American countries, their strengh lies in the flair of the individual player. In Argentina case, it’s Messi.

Overall I prefer Germany’s way of playing than Argentina. But Argentina is the underdog. I can’t say no to underdog right?

But in case both team play very poorly, I might as well choose the Oranje (Holland).

Holland try to be as systematic as Germany, but they don’t gel very well yet. If they did, they will definitely be the team to watch. They are super hard working and didn’t tire easily.

However, one big problem they have is they seriously lack the killer instict. Their striker are not as decisive as German’s. They missed a lot of clear chance in the game againts Brazil preferring to pass to their team mates although they are in a better position to score and seal the game early.

May the best team win!

Where are you?

In a few hours, Google says I will be here. Hopefully they are right! :p

First Night Report (Solo Adventure in Phuket)

1. WoW. I have been here for only a couple of hours, but it has already exceeded my most optimistic expectation! WoW!!! Thai people really know how to treat their guests!

2. I got a good deal for the accomodation. It is a 4 star resort, but from the price I don’t expect much. I am pleasantly surprised that it is beyond my wildest dream (pictures coming soon). I feel guilty, like I am ripping them off (note: It is currently low season here, hence the relatively low price).

This is better than Bali minus the starry sky. Better even than Cambodia (faster Internet).

3. Indian/Bangladeshi are everywhere. It is very easy to get halal food around here. But you can say its very expensive.

4. I am giddy for what awaits me next morning. It definitely can only get better!

Oops… Did I hear someone speaking (shouting) in Malay? Dammnn.. Spoil my mood. I always don’t like meeting other Malaysian when I am on solo adventure. Most of the time I find them very shallow. Ok, better I stop now.

Need to sleep and run away from this noisy Malaysians (who apparently don’t know how to behave. Its 1 AM for God sake!)

Will report again tomorrow!

2nd Day Report, Solo Adventure to Phuket

1. Saya terlupa untuk mention satu kejadian unik malam semalam. Dalam perjalanan ke hotel dari airport, teksi yang saya naiki melalui sebuah kuil. Terkejut saya ketika itu melihatkan pemandunya menunduk dan merapatkan tangan ke dada (stereng dilepaskan) (kira-kir 30 saat).

It’s okay sebenarnya. I like & respect that. Ia menenangkan saya memberitahu saya tidak akan ditipu. Yalah, biasanya orang yang beragama danspiritual ni jarang membuat kerja yang bukan-bukan kan.

Having said that, immediately after landing, I need to find taxi to go to the hotel (taking about 45 minutes). Memang banyaklah “uat-ulat teksi” yang menawaran perkhidmatan teksi berbekalkan hanya sekeping kertas, senarai destinasi dan harga.

Namun dari pengalaman saya biasanya benda-benda macam tu memang medan penyembelihan pelancong. Jadi saya cuma katakan tidak dan pergi ke kaunter informasi. Namun nampaknya kaunter informasi tersebut memanggil ulatnya sendiri. Bukan menunjukkan tempat teksi bermeter.

Prinsip saya, kalau disembelih pun, biar disembelih sekali. Jangan disembelih 2 kali (sudah tentu ulat tersebut terpaksa memberi komisen kepada pegawai di kaunter informasi itu, jadi harga yang saya kena mungkin lebih lagi).

Saya ada terbaca mengenai kaunter teksi di luar airport melalui internet (namun saya lupa ia adalah untuk Phuket, Vietnam atau Guangzhou), jadi saya cekalkan hati. Nasib baik, intuition saya betul. Memang ada kaunter teksi di luar. Selamat 200 baht saya (perbezaan harga yang di publish-tidak termasuk “cukai2″ lain).

2. Ada banyak benda hendak di buat di Phuket ni. I will definitely come again. Tak sempat hendak buat semua. Para gliding, white water rafting, elephant trekking, tour island dengan motorbike etc.

Memandangkan percutian saya ini untuk de-stress sahaja, jadi saya buat aktiviti-aktiviti “lembut” sahaja seperti berjalan-jalan. Pagi-pagi saya pergi membeli cenderamata. Dari pengalaman saya dapati pagi adalah time paling sesuai untuk shopping di negara Asia. “First customer” dianggap pembuka rezeki. Jadi waktu inilah kita boleh pulun harga minta diskaun.

3. Di sini ada banyak kedai tukang jahit. Thailand secara amnya memang dikenali sebagai tempat yang murah untuk buat suit. Saya masuk ke beberapa kedai untuk survey harga. Harganya tidak jauh beza dengan di Malaysia sebenarnya, namun dari pengamatan saya yang amatur ini, kualiti jahitannya lebih baik (dari kekemasannya).

Mula-mula saya tidak bercadang untuk menempah apa-apa. Tetapi saya teringatkan yang memang bulan ini saya ada sediakan peruntukan untuk membeli baju kemeja beberapa helai. Sebab rupanya 5 helai tak cukup. Jadi saya kata kepada diri saya sendiri, why not try gunakan peruntukan tersebut di sini. Di Malaysia nanti kena pergi shopping complex, sama juga.

Jadi saya pun tempahlah 2 helai kemeja dan satu seluar slack. Akan siap malam ini (less than 24 hours).

Nanti saya akan komen kualitinya. Seluar tu saya ada minta dia buat adjustment sikit. Kalau ok, memang selepas ini semua pakaian saya, saya akan buat di sinilah.

Harga yang saya dapat pula adalah berpatutan. I know I can get cheaper price. Sebabnya, kedai-kedai jahit di sini tiada mesin jahit. Yup!

Dan mereka kebanyakannya dimiliki oleh orang India, Bangladesh, Pakistan dan sedikit Thais.

Saya percaya yang mereka semua ni “out source” kepada satu tempat lain milik orang Thai sendiri.

Tapi dalam 20 kedai (ya,banyak betul!) yang saya lihat, semuanya tiada mesin jahit. Jadi saya tak lah push sangat mencari. Walaupun outsource, tetapi kalau harganya sesuai dengan bajet saya oklah. Saya datang bercuti bukan untuk membeli baju untuk particular sangat.

4. Petang ini saya telah mengenrollkan diri saya dalam kelas masakan Thai. Tak sabar nak belajar masak Tom Kha Gai (Tom Yam Santan). hehe.. Gembira betul saya bila terlihat iklan kelas masakan tadi. Terus saya cari dan daftarkan diri. Seronok acquire new skill ni. Satu cara untuk destress juga.

Oklah, saya rasa that’s all for now. Talk again soon!

Dekat Malaysia pun ada, tapi tak pernah berkesempatan hendak pergi. Nampak macam steady, tapi sebenarnya sedang menahan geli!

2nd Day, 2nd Report

1. I believe I am a pretty competent bargainer. And being an entrepreneur myself, most of the time I can guess the cost of a product and negotiate a lower price successfully. And in some shops like the tailor in the previous report, I manage to get a very good price. (I went to a few tailors to establish the lowest price that theycan give me on average and buy from the tailor who can offer near that price)

2. But because of the item in Phuket sometimes is so illogically expensive, I made quite a costly mistake just now. I saw a bookmark sold for 120 baht. As  I am used to see a free bookmark and the most expensive one just around RM 5 in Malaysia, immediately my brain said “Humm.. 120 baht=RM 1.20 , quite cheap.”

And my eyes moved upward. A small painting shows 380 baht and my eyes popped out. What? RM 3.80? This can’t be real! This is super cheap.

To be honest, I am not an artistic person. I can’t appreciate art. I don’t know how to differentiate Picasso and Pakcik So-so. But at RM 3.80 for a small painting? Well, that’s a cheap price to “mislead” people that I am into arts. People who are into arts are “elegant” people right? :p

So, using some of my last bahts, I bought the painting. I plan to put it in a very visible place in my cubicle so  people will know I have an artistic taste.

On the way back, very pleased with myself for that purchase, I make a mental calculation of how much money I have left. And then the truth struck me.

DAMN! I just spend RM 38 on something I don’t even care.

Duh. I feel very stupid. I blame this on the RM 12 bookmark. I can’t believe a human sell a bookmark that expensive. People don’t even read books nowadays. We have Kindle and iPad dudes. Have you ever heard of supply and demand? You should sell bookmarks cheap because nobody are using it anymore! Grrr…

What a costly mistake that is.

Ini satu contoh harga tidak masuk akal. Aiskrim berharga RM 9.90 (local brand!). Baskin Robbins pun baru RM 6-7. Tak logik betul. Kali pertama saya tengok, saya ingat 99 sen. Nasib baik tak beli.

Yeah, RM 38 might not be a lot you said, but it can still buy a lot of things I want here.

Looks like that’s a lesson learnt for me.

3. I attended the cooking class just now. I chose to learn how to cook Tom Kha Gai (Tom Yam with Coconut Milk) and Andaman Fried Rice. Tom Yam with coconut milk is something that I really want to learn how to do, but fried rice? I know some of you might question that choice. But I also want to learn to cook something easy which I can cook every day (if I wish to), hence the fried rice. Seeing my mom cook fried rice, I thought it is complex. I don’t know what to “tumis”.

However, I was pleasantly suprised. Thai fried rice is very easy to prepare actually. I think it is almost similar to Nasi Goreng Cina, but with more flavour. Both take less than 20 minutes to cook!

Ada gaya pro tak? Kembang hidup sebab Chef tu puji, nampak macam dah biasa dan cekap kat dapur. (Akak Chef ada adik tak, kak? hehe...)

C ya again guys!

Final Report

Pada mulanya saya bukanlah orang yang minat sangat bola sepak. Bahkan boleh cakap pengetahuan mengenai bola dan pemain bola tu, negatiflah. Bukan setakat zero lagi. Namun sejak saya memulakan perniagaan pertama, menjual jersi bola sepak, sejak itu saya bukan sahaja kenal dengan nama-nama player, tetapi juga bertambah minat kepada sukan tersebut.

Tetapi tidaklah sampai tahap “demam” atau gila bola. Di suruh memilih World Cup atau masa tidur yang mencukupi, saya masih memilih masa tidur yang mencukupi.  Cuma yang bestnya memandangkan World Cup kali ini timingnya agak okay (7.30 malam, 10 malam dan 2.30 pagi), saya tidak ketinggalan menonton dalam 30 minit-45 minit setiap hari.

Jadi, siapakah team pilihan saya untuk memenangi World Cup?

Team pilihan saya adalah England (walaupun saya tahu, England boleh tersingkir malam ini).

Sesetengah orang memilih pasukan untuk disokong dari banyak kriteria. Saya dalam bab-bab seperti ini lebih cenderung untuk menggunakan emosi. Saya menyokong England sebab England adalah underdog dan bukan pasukan pilihan. Benar England mempunyai ramai pemain bintang dan berkebolehan, tetapi biasanya dalam temasya bola sepak besar-besar, England sering menghampakan.

Dari saya kecil sekadar mengenal Eric Cantona (pemain Perancis yang bermain dengan MU) sehingga zaman Beckham, kemudiannya C. Ronaldo (Portugal) dan sekarang Rooney, England memang tidak berapa boleh diharap. Harapan menggunung diletakkan peminat, tetapi mereka tidak deliver.

Penyakit yang seakan-akan sama yang dihidapi oleh pemain badminton Malaysia. :p

Sehingga mungkin ada sesetengah peminat give-up dengan mereka.

Bagi saya pula, saya memang ada “soft spot” untuk underdog ini. Tambahan pula saya yakin yang pasukan England ini tahu mereka boleh buat, cuma walaupun telah mencuba banyak kali, tetapi seringkali kandas. Mereka pun tak tahu kenapa.

I can relate to them. And for this reason and this reason alone, England have my moral support!  (Ya, saya memang bias) :p

Go England Go!

Sabri

Recently I discovered that I have another weakness (beside being not attentive to details). I found that I am not very creative and it is difficult for me to do something if I cannot envision what the end result will look like. Whenever I do something, I need to know what it will look like when it is done, if not I will be stuck in the middle of the process forever figuring out what to do. I am more of an innovator, totally not an inventor.

To explain it simply, if I do a jigsaw puzzle, I need to see what the picture looks like as a guide before I can do it. I cannot go in blind.

Its the same in work and in life (one of the reason why I suffer in calculus).

Because of this I learn to ask questions to get clarification. I asked a lot of questions. Some times silly questions to make sure I don’t miss a thing. I learned the hard way multiple time from experience, hence I am not shy to ask questions. I know if I am not sure of what I am doing, I will face a lot of hardship trying to complete something that I myself don’t understand.

I am in a dilemma right now.

Sometimes I felt like I asked too many questions, sometimes it might made people uncomfortable. For examples, today I was briefed on how to do a certain report. The person doing it now will go for an oversea assignment in a week (he has been doing it for one and half years). And now, I got a week to learn to do it. The next report will come from me.

And to complete that report, I need to liaise with more than 15 peoples whom most of them are not in KL. Worst, I don’t know any of them and they don’t know me either! Usually I will only have about 5 days to do the report.

And I am expected to “download” all the information and experiences my predecessor possess into my brain in these 3 days and to make sure the consistency of the report.

You can imagine how many questions I asked.

Hmm… I relish the challenge. I think in this situation, it is justified to ask a lot of questions plus he doesn’t mind.

Today, I also attended another meeting to discuss the unit’s KPI. Initially I was told that because I am new, I will not have a KPI of my own for a certain period of time (months). However, today I was advised to have my own KPI too, to make sure I will be evaluated fairly and not rated poorly at the end of the year.

Because of this conflicting information, it made me uncomfortable and from my past experience, things like this will only lead to disaster later if not addressed and clarified. So I sat down with my SM and asked her about her expectation of me, who will evaluate me and etc.

She is helpful and very motherly. I am grateful that I got a very supportive boss. Now it is all clear and understood.

However afterwards in my daily reflection ritual, I became less sure of myself. Do I asked too many questions? Do I got too carried away? I know this inquisitive attitude was appreciated at my old workplace, but right now I am working in a predominantly Asian office culture. In Asian culture, questions are not encouraged. People are told not to rock the boat.

So, am I doing the right thing? What your thought about this?

Today, I also made a fool out of myself.

There is a colleague of mine who is 4-6 weeks pregnant (forgot already the exact weeks). She was taking MC & she does not feel well so a lot of people talked about it. And because I am trying to be friendly, I strike up a conversation. And I am curious about one thing.

From my untrained eyes, she appear normal. How did she know she was pregnant?

I thought she was feeling sick and when she went to the doctor and when the doctor checked, then the doctor found out that she was pregnant. Worse I told her this. She just laugh, I am so naive!

A 2.5 year old boy might look cute when he asked this question, but when a 25 years old adult asked this, its totally not cute anymore right? (I forgot about the menstrual cycle)

Damn. I really should think before asking.

And asking questions has become part of my SOP in social events as well. Again, from my experience I am not comfortable when people asked me a lot of stuff. As I have a complex mind, my answers are usually weird to some people. So I learned a method on how to avoid this.

When I met people, I asked them questions about themselves before they can even got a chance to ask me questions about myself. And because human like to talk about themselves, usually I got away with this technique. However, sometimes I got too carried away and show my naiveness. I asked silly questions.

I don’t want to sound like Pak Pandir you know. I really should be careful with my mouth. What do you say?

Hmm…

Seronok pula rasanya buat ala-ala press conference ni. Jimat masa di kala ada banyak benda hendak ditulis tetapi tak tahu macam-mana nak bermula. Jadi dipersembahkan kepada anda sekali lagi, sidang media #2 dengan Mr President of Sabrination.

Q: How’s your new place?

A: Initially, memang a little bit awkward. I don’t know what to expect. Tetapi sekarang rasanya, I have got the hang of thing. Rasa macam dan 2 minggu di sana. People are friendly, I am adapting well into the new role and hopefully things will improve from here.

One huge difference dengan tempat lama adalah the warm and friendly culture. Di sini lunch biasanya dalam kumpulan kecil ataupun secara individu sahaja (tapau di office), di MV biasanya lunch beramai-ramai (8-10 org) dan more laid back. Waktu mula-mula sampai ada juga rasa nak ter-shout “Good Morning” dengan enthusiastic kepada semua orang (kebiasaan di MV), tetapi waktu suara baru je nak keluar baru terlihat suasana yang berbeza. People are friendly too here, but not that expressive. It is more Asian and reserved here.

Q: Macam mana status Project AB?

A: Last week, very positive. Tapi this week nampak macam momentum dah hilang. Bola dah ping, tengah tunggu pong je sebelum di ping semula. Kalau tak pong juga anytime this week, kira misi gagal, abort mission lah.

(soalan ni tak faham tak apa. Teknikal jargon. hehe…) :p

Q: Kenapa slow sangat progress projek AB?

A: Tak sure owner nak buka tender ataupun just nak buat direct negotiation. Requirements owner pun tak dapat lagi. Very early to say anything now.

Ada soalan yang saya terima mengenai status berat saya yang terkini. Adakah saya semakin kurus dan semakin hensem? Saya malas nak cakap banyak, a picture is worth a thousand words. And seeing is believing, jadi anda boleh lihat sendiri sama ada saya semakin hensem & kurus atau tidak. Ahaxz..

During CSR Visit at Zoo Negara

Itu dari depan untuk menguji tahap kehenseman. Untuk membuktikan tahap kekurusan pula, berikut adalah side profile. Picture does not lie tau. hehe… Oh ya, biasanya saya tak link kan gambar kecil kepada gambar yang besar. Tetapi untuk memastikan gambar di bawah tidak diragui keasliannya, anda boleh klik pada gambar tersebut untuk melihat versi besar.

Side Profile- Boleh jadi pengacara Roda Impian

So, amacam?

Added Later:

Sebelum ini saya sangat susah untuk dilihat dalam pakaian formal. Walaupun begitu tidak bermaksud saya selalu selekeh, cuma saya lebih selesa memakai jeans dan t-shirt. But because of  of that, I paid a heavy price for it in my life. Perceptions.

Dan untuk rakan-rakan yang tak percaya this day can come (yes, can and not will.), feast your eyes! :p

Another one with a very innocent look;

Which come from this group picture;

Sabri

I am currently attending a course. It is a 16 days course designed to made your blood go green (emerald green to be exact) ~in the words of our facilitator. It is definitely a good experience and a good program. One biggest take away for me (there should be a few-but as I have gone through numerous courses before, I have learned pretty much of it before)

If you have followed this blog for some time, you will notice that I don’t have that many self limiting belief and I don’t pay that much attention to peoples’ perception. However, as a normal human being, sometimes I do let other people impose their limiting belief on me. It is happening unconsciously. And I am reminded again, it is not a nice feeling to be living with this self limiting belief.

Perception is just a view point. Most of the time it is biased and skewed. It is proven time and time again for me during this course.

For example in my case, I am slightly overweight. Hence, people close to me always assume that I am unfit.

And because I could not care less of what people think of me, I don’t mind. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. This include people who are dear (or once was) to me. Unconsciously, this influence me as well.

In this course we are doing a few outdoor physical activities which require strength and fitness.

And each time, I became nervous. As this will be a team activity and each person was required to pass it before the whole group can move on, I became more agitated. I don’t want to be the person who let the team down. But apparently my worry was unfounded. I did quite well, and in some activity I directly contributed to the team achievements (we clocked the best time in a few activities and won the volleyball competition -overcoming a gap of 14 points from behind to win, thanks to yours truly serve).

In another case, during our CSR visit to Zoo Negara, I helped the zoo keeper to move few sacks of pellets (50kg each), something which I don’t know I can still do (once upon a time ago, I am able to do that, before I let people perception creeps in).

I found my confidence back in doing physical activities. I am normal. I can’t understand how I can let other people opinion affect my own valuation of myself. I am very fit and able to participate actively in outdoor activities!

Conclusion for this post; I know this is super cheesy and dramatic. But I still want to say it although it sounds very weird. I feel like a man again. :p