i find this very very funny... but relevant. ahaha =D

hmm... whilst driving home yesterday, this thought sprang into mind. how and why are we paid? what makes the difference?

some are paid for brain and responsibility...
some are paid for the amount of energy they can offer...
some paid for their patience and care...
some paid for entertaining others...

now, which of those get the most paid? which get the least? and who makes the rule about how much one earns?

i think this thought crosses my mind even more so when working in this new place... and working with over 75 years old. the elderly. the frail. and the vulnerable. they need care as much as little children do.

fair enough the nurses in the hospital get paid according to their shift and level of skills they have. but those working in residential home or nursing home sometimes get just the basic salary. and one can only admit that that could be one of the hardest job on earth. they must have patience... endurance... and most of all, they must have a lot of love and care to offer. but then again... reality contradicts.

now... someone who actually empty the bins for a living. they have the energy to do it. they do what others don't want to do. but who determined their pay? are they not doing such a good job to be paid the same amount for someone who sit in an office and type letters? just because the latter can read and type? hmm... i don't know.

is the paid actually corresponds to how much you spent to acquire knowledge? i.e... if you go to university... spending more money on education, therefore, you get paid more. hmm... still not necessarily.

hmm... did i manage to get you confused? i did. hehe. and i still cannot find the answer or the reason. live and let's live.

a group of alumni, all established in their careers, got together to visit one of their old university professor. cpnversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.

offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and a variety of cups - porcelain, plastic, crystal, glass, some plain-looking, some expensive, some exquisite.

when all the students have a cup of coffee in hand, then the professor said;
"if you noticed, all the nice-looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to only want the best for yourselves, that is the source of problem and stress for you.

be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. in most cases, it is just more expensive and in some cases, it even hides what we drink. what all of you really wanted is the coffee, not the cup. but you conciously went for the best cups... and then you began eyeing each other's cups.

now, consider this... life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position in the society are the cups. they are just tools to hold on and contain life. and the type of cup we have does not define nor change the quality of life we live.

sometimes, by concentrating on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee.

enjoy your coffee!!"

sometimes it is so cliche to talk about weather here. it's not really interesting but more often than not, it is still a topic to talk about. even if it is only to break the ice.

hmm... yesterday we had snow. and first time steering in the snow, i find myself happy. it is very beautiful. snowflakes falling onto the windshields. snows covering the grass and roof. picturesque! wished i'd taken a few piccies... sigh.

and today, i find myself driving in rain. and in darkness. just as i thought that it could have been worse, halfway down the road, the fog started to unveil itself. it is never a good idea to drive any faster when visibility is limited to few yards, and furthermore, when the road is as slipery. anyhow, made it home safe and sound. alhamdulillah.

hmmm... fact is still a fact. it' winter. and my brain freezes.

oh dear... 2007 has ended!

hmm... time surely flies. it has been a good year indeed. a lot has happened in this short 365 days of 2007. i cannot really say if all my resolutions has been achieved as i don't put down a list to begin with. i guess the real question for me would be, have i changed?

in all obviousness, i did. heh. a big change indeed. a bundle of joy and responsibility is now part and parcel of my every breath. and also to be the companion of another soul through thick and thin of life... i guess i have not done too badly. and ever more, looking back, i think it has been a worthwhile journey.

work is entering a new phase. the honeymoon period post-graduation has since passed. responsibility is growing and to grow is the only way to survive. the only way to move forward. after all, it's work. it's not going to be easy-peasy right? haha. motivating self speech.

missing families back home, that's for sure... missing home, missing friends. in all fairness, insyaAllah, will be back again sometime this year. i will be looking forward for that!

happy new year everybody!
may 2008 be another great year to each and everyone of us.

sometimes i wish it is always easy and true to say that work is good. or work is going 'fab'... like what they usually says here when somehing goes well. but quite so many times, one starts to question the choice made; "what have i put myself into?"

like last friday when i came home near midnight following twelve hours shift in the bloody cold weather. like drinking only a bottle of ribena and not passing wee for almost a day! like yesterday when i realised that i no longer the most junior person and have to lead a ward round. *shriekkkk* oh boy oh boy... butterfly in the tummy i tell you. and when days like today emerged, confidence is as thin as ice. fragile is the feeling.

hmm... i like to believe i enjoy work. and i did. i am sure i did. even though if it is not all the time. and more often than not, i enjoyed it once it has passed. things that felt like crap, which in retrospect, is quite exciting and interesting.

but then again... am i adequate enough to be a good one?

the question that lingers in this tiny compresssed brain...

a friend's answer to another's question kept the teaching session we had quite interesting.

"so what about you... have you found your prince charming?"
"nope... they're all frogs," she said.

this reminds me of shrek. heh. particularly for the fact that it contradicts the typical notion of fairy tale. some people cannot accept it but i find it rather amusing. very cynical and a fine piece indeed.

it is an irony that instead of turning into a beautiful princess... fiona becomes the female version of shrek. instead of tall, dark and handsome hero... we are presented with a rather weird-looking, green and not-so-handsome hero. he is the total opposite of what "most" would consider as ideal but nevertheless... he is sill quite adorable. if not to all, at least to the one that capture his heart... princess fiona.

i guess in the end, it all falls down to expectations. and this is perfectly presented in one of the scene of shrek 3 when fiona said to all the heroin, "everybody... assume into position!" if you haven't seen the movie, have a guess what happen there... hehe.

so back to the initial story... don't you need to kiss a frog to turn him into a prince? hehe... go figure.

well... i'd say a picture says a thousand words...

i think we can safely conclude that the 'beginner's luck' is definitely gone for me. uhuk... uhuk...

creative...
how can i not like this? hehehe

sayonara...
a quarter of century has passed
a mark of age
a point of change, it seems

time flies, so it is said
and looking at the little being
there i was, 25 years since
time did fly, convinced

a spread of white sheet
now coloured with life
painted with blessing
sketched by dreams

alhamdulillah, it's a little word to mean a huge deal...
may the blessing continues
and may be guided always
for there is more to life
than what one can live to be