Before Interview

Assalaamu'alaikum wa rahmatullah

I am sure that everyone must at least facing this throughout their life. Actually it sucks that we have to go through interviews especially in the environment that we could not tell how does it look like. I had gone through like two or three interviews after my A-Level certification for jobs like court translator with two interviewers and one of them is a snob, attending an interview immigration department interpreter for Chinese passengers during the rumors about China lady being bullied in this country's police station that made the Foreign Affairs Minister being sent to China to apologize and to prostrate to China but it turns out that the lady squatting was a Malay lady with fair skin like a Chinese and the move is unnecessary anyway, haha. I had also tried to answer the exam for pharmacist training conducted by the Ministry of Health and I passed the paper but I refused the admittance letter than made my mother outraged at me. I also had refused the invitation of my colleague to join him to be a government officer in the federal office because I think I need to further the study a little bit more which turns out to be a regret, hahaha. Now I am applying for a position related to humanitarian work in a cross-boundary organization. I think I am suitable to help others and I love to help others, then making friends with people around.

Interview Questions

I don't like to predict anything but somehow we need to do this especially when we have to. Their questions would be:

1. What makes you interested or what makes you a suitable candidate for this position? Why should we take you for this position? What is your strength? Tell us about yourself? Maybe we could use the same pattern of answers????

Then to answer them perhaps, I would say I am in deep passion for humanitarian job. Then tell them how I serve the previous organization. I would answer, although I worked as an interpreter for Chinese speaking passengers in the immigration office in international airport, but I also practiced the principles of humanitarian where I served flight passengers who do not speak in Chinese for example the migrant workers who just arrived from Nepal, Bangladesh, Vietnam and Indonesia. It is totally out of my job scope but I was willing to do that since I am passionate to help others and putting my self in their shoes.

While in the university doing my undergraduate, I learned the basic language of law and I use to apply what I had studied into real life. I traveled to Bangkok in Thailand around the end of July 2011 to see how social work being conducted in Bangkok as I heard that they put great emphasize on social work. I saw how social workers walking along the streets and also some others cooperating with Buddhist monks to promote charity in society every morning. I made friends and contact with some of social workers in Bangkok and get to listen to their experience. Some of them also conducted researches in my university and they advised me to step out of comfort zone and seeing the real life. I am thankful for their advise.     

I also went to few seminars related to gender equality in Pulau Pinang, feminism issue seminars in women development research center, world conflict seminars in the center for policy research and international studies and also to sustainability seminars conducted by the school of social science in the university as Science University of Malaysia is promoting sustainability growth and development. It taught me many things related to peaceful co-existence and about being open-minded. 

2. Maybe they would ask me, basically how does my previous job look like? Describe more to us?

I would answer... My previous job scope is to interpret and to translate the documents which were brought by Chinese passengers if they have programmes in Malaysia or interpreting for detainees in the office and in the prison. I would help the officers in the office to tell detainees about the procedures that will follow after they are detained and they should also respect the law as it is for everyone's good. I would continue the job and being absorbed into the department as an officer but after that I received the offer letter to further study so I think that knowledge is also crucial for me to understand the life better. Sometimes I would have to help immigration officers to make call to detainees' embassy and consulate to deal with the issue as to ensure that their rights being protected and not being neglected since immigration department has to deal with many issues at the country's main gate. I might also help stranded passengers especially those from rural areas in China and India with food with my own expenditure as a charity. I worked five hours a day with two shifts day and night. In a week I would roll the schedule with my colleagues. Sometimes I would work up to 8 hours if my colleagues have to take leaves to cover the flight peak hours and helping to cover the officers at the counters when they face problem with communication.    

3. It seems like you had two years gap after the graduation. What did you do in this gap terms?

Damn, this is a killer question! Well, maybe I would stay true to myself though it might jeopardize me, huhu. I attend the postgraduate studies in Science University of Malaysia majoring in European studies from 2010-2012 and I am still working on my thesis after finishing all the classes. While in the gap time, I also did some translations and editing job for other students for some pocket money. For the lack of organizational work experience, I think this is the substitute for it as I am not staying idle even when I study. I travels around and joining voluntary jobs around Penang island for example of Tzu Chi Foundation distributing food during festivals.

4. What is your expected salary?

Well, when the times come I think I would agree with reasonable amount. But I would expect the salary that reflect my experience, the given position role and qualifications. What range that you have in mind? 

5. So, do you have any questions before we end?

I would like to know what career growth opportunity or training offered to the staffs? 

Then before we end, I might have to say thank you for the session. I am looking forward to hear from you soon. 

Ending

Whoa, it's like five questions and answers and first two is quite long. Maybe it combines few answers for few combined questions.Ya Allah, help me tomorrow I'm so nervous lar!!! I need the job for further life experience! I think I need to print this page out to read them as to get the points. Tomorrow ya AbdAllah please take note, think slowly speak slowly. They will listen to you. Don't speak like a bullet train. That's my problem as I wanted to end everything fast.

Sealed with prayers for mercy, peace and love, amin!  

Third Sis Final Thesis

Assalamu'alaikum wa rahmatullah!

Allah............ I am assisting third sister doing her assignment which appears to be her final thesis. She is quite incapable in writing or reading as she had left her school since whoever knows. She is good in practical terms as she have many years experience working as a trained nurse. I can't deny that since I see it myself. I had refused to help her because I would have to think for her besides reading all the stuffs which are not related to my current studies while she is the one who is doing the study. It makes my brain heavy with piles of stuffs and I feel sorry for my brain. But she knows my weakness. She will cry like our four years old nephew and I will surrender to her sad face. So, if anyone saying that a Muslim is generally a violent person, think again. I am a Muslim, instead I am the one who is bullied by other Muslims or non-Muslims. Just try to avoid generalizing. It is not an academic way but a way of people who never go to school who looks everything at surface value.

Even my second sister who is an aggressive lady keep blasting me when she misinterpret patience as a sign of weakness and sometimes she would say that I am an effortless person. She never fails in her life as she is aggressive and ego though she is not a child pampered at home as our dad was actually a hot-tempered man, as fierce as a lion. She will learn about patience bit by bit no worry though she's older than me. Anyway, nobody at home knows that I am here writing my life journey and I will never reveal it to anyone close to me, hahaha. Perhaps being aggressive is what second sister got from her observation of Westerners and from the training she got at home. Most of sisters at home said that dad and mum prefers me but I never feel anything like that. They just never saw me being beaten with pvc pipes or caned when I was naughty as they were at hostels in our motherland in the northern state. They don't even know I tried to lower parents burden by not making them feel worried about me even when I am sick. They don't know what happened at home or anything happened in myself. 

Second sisters had learned French. Well, she was determined to learn it after she saw me taking interpretation and translation useless degree. I think she is just following the trend when last time she said I was following the trend too after I decided to stop from religious studies. Last time one of our uncle had also suggested her for religious studies but she refused as she thinks it has no future. Well, she is right and everyone is right. Religion is for something which is uncertain. We don't see the God with our eyes nor anything like the hereafter. Those are just prophecies in scriptures by most of all, ancient prophets especially prophet Muhammad s.a.w, an orphan who didn't go to school. She was an engineering student who deals with formulas and learned how to deal with metals (manufacturing). Only if second sis analyzes that European countries had been in wars for their aggressiveness to get coal and mines, what makes the Europeans exploring the East which was out of the map in their ignorant mind for spices and colonial lands through pirate companies or reading about ancient wars for power in Indian epics such as Mahabharata.  

So, let us benefit from whatever that we are doing so that we won't feel tortured. Take everything as a challenge for us to properly overcome which also helps us to improve our selves in order to see the God. When we talk about nursing, we actually are talking about nursing practices and also public health. As nurses are people who assists doctors, their tasks and research is more to improving their practices, equipping themselves with proper knowledge and drafting related policies for nursing students. 

In Malaysia, nurses are not well appreciated like in European countries say, the UK. I get to know about this when I read the notes that third sister provides me from her lectures and helping her to understand her notes. I did some comparison for her and she had also worked in Federal Territory hospital so she tells me what to jot down. She thinks that she is bad with English and that I get to master a foreign language because I am a genius. During Eid, pak su Omar which is my uncle said the same thing and I do not like to hear that. That is silly... I have to memorize dictionaries and that is not something to be considered as genius. Only after that I've got good grades for my language papers. There are many people doing that, maybe being assumed as crazy but still it is normal. I have no time to properly memorize physics formulas or understand them as classes in Malaysian school are packed with students. Each class may have 30+ students and we cannot choose whatever that we want to study. We only focus to pass the examination based on whatever is chosen for us by the school and education system but not to understand the philosophies and the usage of things that we learned. In Europe or the US, perhaps a student may choose to learn in classes that they want. I know this from Marlin who had once stayed at our house for his exchange program which Mahathir Lokman had participated when his dad was an ambassador. Frankly, I hate the exchange program and I am not a fan of Mr. Lokman. Nothing in this world impress me. I am just impressed with the God.

Marlin got A for his O-Level (I don't know what they call that in Germany), but what I see, he does not display any genius traits at all and he was chosen to be apart of a program which needs interview to judge whether a student deserves to be sent with government fund to other countries to be a little ambassador, hahaha. All he cares is about his hair and how he looks like since most Malaysian kids would show their enthusiasm in Caucasians' look, and it creates a kind of narcissism for an immature young Caucasian kid -puke-

I think our friends in Saudi Arabia favor Caucasians so much too though they said that anything related to non-national stuffs must be banned. Where did I get this view? I had been in pilgrimage to Holy Mecca, and I had the same experience like Imam Hu Songshan from Gansu of China. That makes me feel more close to the Chinese (China) or maybe more to Japanese though I don't look like one. Third sister works there in Saudi Arabia too. She never lies about what she feels and sees and she does not like Caucasians because East Asians like us always experienced encountering Caucasians (it includes those in Asia like from Iran or Mid East, Scandinavian territories or in the American continent) love to find ways to enslave others when we tolerate them. They talk a lot and good in articulation but poor in practices, easily pampered. This is what we observe, but it does not apply to every Caucasians since Caucasians are humans like others. I had also seen polite Caucasians in a Japanese Education Fair in Mid Valley Kuala Lumpur. So, it is more to human-nature, which is influenced by the environment where they live and turns out to be a habit inherited to children by generations. 

The thesis I am helping third sister to do is about nursing role in preventing risk factors in heart disease. So, basically it is about nurses roles in helping patience to prevent the risk factors of the particular disease. It is not to cure it as risk factors may increase due to age and environment or may be decreased through health care and preventive care. We also have to check on the evidence-based practices where nurses will gain their knowledge on how to treat patients through their experience and professionally going through the environment around them in their working place. I would still demand her to keep all of the records that she has and read again whatever that I had listed for her.

I personally hate being a bookworm, I mean reading stuffs which makes my head feels heavy. I read comics a lot when I was a young kid until I have to wear glasses but I am not a person who reads stuffs full with writings like journals or articles. I hate writings too and I don't know why people around me look at me like some kind of academician.  We have five chapters to finish up, it begins with introduction with some brief things related to objectives of the study. The second chapter deals with the possible risk factors which could affect a certain group of people. The third chapter deals with policies and plans framed by the councils in a certain country and the fourth chapter is the discussion whether those policies and plans are practical or not. The last chapter is the conclusion.

Another eight days to polish up the thesis while the due date is in 19th of September 2011. I am not doing editing anymore but designing an immediate thesis for others while my own thesis is of no where. I really hope that third sister read all of the stuffs given though she is very busy. She paid the registrations for her study and not for me so it must benefit her and not me!

Arghhh dear Lord, it is painful at my back and chest :'( I sit for long hours in front of the computer for her. I wish her and other sisters happiness though they always envious to me and envious to each other in which I wonder what for they to envy? I am just a hapless guy who has nothing to be proud of and is of no potential to be anything better, and has no possession. I just love all of my family members equally and I treat everyone equally according to their level of life. I appreciate everything including ants, trees, natures and I understand their life when human threaten them. Women and human-being in general are sometimes complicated to understand. Through social studies, I found that it is a tough job to think about the society including it structures and systems which includes those witless ideologies.

Hopefully He gives me some chance to get closer to Him and knowing Him more while I am alive in this ephemeral world. I could never have any second chance to clean myself from my sins of losing hope in Him if He takes away my life though life is torturing. I wish everyone to appreciate their life, not to waste their life with non-beneficial matters. Do physical exercise always, go for recreational and release your tense together with your friends or family. Have nice, delicious, clean, healthy and halal diets for your future. Don't be like me who eats vegetables and crappy meals to cut the cost. I just try not to burden others including the government but it is not good for my self. I apologize to everyone for being a burden in the world. I didn't mean to be a burden and never ask for it...

Sealed with salawat and prayers for peace, mercy, and love, amin!