NO to CHINESE DAIRY

Countries across the world have been traumatized about the deaths caused by China made dairy products. To date, 4 infants have died and 13 000 children have been hospitalized. The problem started when an investigation confirmed that the contaminated Sanlu baby milk powder as the cause of kidney stones in infants. According to China Daily, Sanlu Group found that its powdered milk products were contaminated with melamine during an internal company QC in August. However, the report wasn't released till it caused such a disaster. Melamine is a chemical substance which is usually used in production of plastic, glues and fabrics. It is used in food products to increase the protein content but, the use is unethical. Other than milk powder, liquid milk, yogurt and ice-cream which contains dairy substances are also said to be contaminated. Most Asian countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Bangladesh and a few African countries have banned the import of milk and dairy products from China. The main products which have been banned by Singapore and Malaysia are Dutch Lady strawberry milk and Yili Choice Dairy Fruit Bar, White Rabbit Creamy Candy, However, China officials have confirmed that the tainted dairy products are not exported but are only used in the mainland of China and certain parts of Taiwan. Quite a number of actions have been taken in order to overcome the issue this includes the sack of Sanlu GM and mayor of Shijiazhuang and the resignation of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ). No matter what actions are taken, this incident will definitely create a fear on consuming China made products. This will also affect the country's economical growth.

MONDAY BLUES

Yea its Monday again and there's no way to escape! Its a long way to Saturday, the happy weekend. Why do people hate Monday so much? Coz, human hate to work and Monday seems to be the day which reminds us of loads of work which are to be done throughout week. This is the day we find our our body is magnetically attached to the bed and our feet feeling so heavy to step out of the bedroom. This is humans nature and if you don't feel this way, then you're not normal. I don't wish to bore my readers by giving tips on how to overcome Mondays like the rest of the blogs, but if you do need them then click here. Here is a great video clip by Pablo Francisco to cheer you up, boost your energy and get back to your routines. Enjoy the clip and have a great day!

MALAYSIAN TAXI DRIVERS

My broadband connection is automatically enabled whenever I switch on the PC. The first thing that appears once the connection is established is my MSN messenger login page and windows live page. Usually it contains the daily highlights and some ads. The title that pulled my attention today was 'Malaysia's 'worst in the world' taxis tarnish national image'. After reading the news, it automatically reminded me about the bad experiences I had with some taxi drivers while I was still using public transport (thank god I don't have to use it anymore) a few years ago.

This used to happen during my college days. Since I was staying in a rented apartment which is located out of the campus, I became a frequent taxi passenger. The college is about 12 minutes walk from my apartment. However, due to severe laziness, I used to take a taxi. This usually happens during the 8 am classes. I wake up at 7.30 am, make a lot of noise to my homies whom are in the shower (getting ready for their 9 am classes) and rush myself. By the time I leave home it'll be 8 am. When I cross the road, it'll be 8.05 am. So, obviously I have no time to walk to class hence, taxis will be the best choice. None of the taxis used meter. Their standard charge for students to college is RM3-single passenger and RM1 for every subsequent passengers. The actual cost of the ride would only cost RM2.50.

The next frequent destination by the students would be the KTM Commuter Station (Batu Tiga). The rate charged is RM6. I think if it was according to the meter, it'll only cost around RM4. I had to experience this every weekend, during my way back to mum's house. So, every weekend, I used to spend RM12 (return) just for the taxi!Being a student, RM12 definitely is a big amount. There was once, it was raining so heavily that I was lazy to travel by train. So I asked the taxi driver how much will it cost to KL Sentral. He said RM35. By right, I think it should only cost around RM20+. I cancelled my plan and continued the journey via train.

Being a taxi passenger in Shah Alam for almost a year, I never met a single taxi driver who charged according to the meter. But at times I sympathize them and can't really put the blame on them. They drive a manual car the entire day and have to wait in a long queue for their gas supply. I don't feel they are being mean, its just that they are being selfish like any other businessman.

MY WORST INTERVIEW EXPERIENCE

About 16 years of schooling period is over and now its time for job hunting. This is such a boring stage in life and it had been extremely difficult for a choosy person like me. Since I realise Biomedicine was a bad choice, now I'm trying to change my entire field. Well, I don't think my degree is waste as I'm still being offered jobs and salary equivalent to a degree holder. So, I started to look for jobs which requires degree in any disciple. I had so many options as my career pathway but my first preference was customer service (CS). I find this as one of the most demanding and fast growing industry so, I started applying for all the available vacancies in CS. I got called for interviews...only god knows how many times (too many till I can't remember). From what I can remember, I seceded in all of the interviews which I attended for CS (its not hard to get a job in CS), except for one.

This is my experience during that interview. I received a phone call from the recruitment agent (Adecco Jln Ampang) at around 9 am on that morning. She told me that there's a vacancy in a bank (refused to specify the bank) and asked if I am interested. I said yes and she asked me to be there at 10.30 am, if I wanted the job. I asked her if we make it later on that day or another day? She replied me in a raised and arrogant voice "you are looking for a job right?" I agreed to go even though she made me feel as if I'm a useless unemployed graduate who had been desperately looking for job even though at that moment I already have few job offers in hand! The first interview session was with Ei Leen (I don't know if I got her name spelled correctly) who is the rude agent who called me earlier. Don't be fooled by the name, its not a Chinese, its an Indian lady! The interview was very brief and went on fine. Finally she revealed the name of the bank (Citibank) and asked me to go there for the next round of interview. Upon arrival, I called the HR manager via the intercom but there was no answer. I waited for nearly 20 minutes (keep trying to call every 2-3 mins) before a lady (not the HR manager) answered. Then, she came out, brought me in explained to fill up the particulars form and also to do the test. She was talking at the speed of ....I think 150 words/min. Maybe she though I'm stupid and wont be able to understand anything told at that pace. It took me around an hour to complete and submit the whole thing. Then, I was left unattended for an hour. I was sitting and looking at all the tables, chairs, doors and posters on the wall. Then, I approached the lady and asked her, how long do I have to wait? She said, the HR manager is busy so u follow me. She brought me to one of the staffs, passed me the headphone and asked me to listen to the conversation with the customers and she left. I was cursing in my heart saying that I'm here for an interview not a training!!! I was doing this for almost 40 minutes. It was 2.30 pm, my tummy was rumbling as I didn't even drink a drop since morning because the agent rushed me to be there. I couldn't stand it anymore so I went to that lady again and asked her how long more its gonna take? She was uncertain. I told her that I had a very important appointment and I cant wait any longer. She rescheduled the interview the following week.

So, as per the appointment, I went for the interview after a few days. I called the HR manager via intercom and thank god, I was attended within minutes. The interview went on smoothly and the HR manager praised me saying that I can speak fluently and that I have great communication skills. Then, I was asked to undergo the second interview with the CS manager, Mr Baskar (Indian again!). I waited around 20 minutes and a man approached. He introduced himself and started the interview session. The questions he asked were very common and simple. I answered him confidently and everything was fine.

After around 2 weeks, Ei Leen called me and asked if I am still looking for job. She did not mention anything regarding the feedback from Citibank till I asked her. She said I failed the interview. I wasn't shocked instead I laughed. I said "what, failed the interview...huh"?Then, she offered me a temporary 2 months admin job. I said its ok, I'm not interested. She said "You're unemployed right? So why don't you just accept this offer?"I told her that I'm not interested and hung up. Damn!! I'm unemployed but its not that I haven't received any job offers! I have received plenty of it and I declined those offers cause I feel that they are not good enough for me. But this lady expect me to accept temporary admin job? When I told my mum I failed the interview with Citibank, she said "that Indian guy must be scared that you'll take his place if he hires you". Even my sis said the same thing. I don't understand what is the problem with Indians. They can never see or accept another Indian doing better than them or even respect each other. I mean, it was such a simple interview session and the position applied for is a CS exec which is impossible for me to fail! All you need is good communication skills in which I over qualify and above this, I have a second class upper degree and few months experience in CS! Yet I failed? PLL-EEAAS-EE!!! I went for so many other interviews, mostly conducted by Chinese and I suceeded. The reason? Chinese seek for real talent and ability unlike Indians, who can never accept another Indian's victory. I bet, if the CS manager in Citibank was a Chinese, I would have passed that interview!

pr3ciousthots

This is a special post dedicated to my dearest blog, pr3ciousthots. At last, after working hard for almost 4 days, I have suceeded to modify and adorn this site. This blog was created around 3 months ago but I abandoned it after one post. The reason is coz I didnt have much knowledge about blogging and I had a very hard time to manage the blog. I have very diminutive knowledge regarding computers, IT, world wide web and above all these, I have no idea about html or java scripting. Actually its easy to become a blogger. There are a few blog service providers u can choose from such as blogspot/blogger, wordpress, xango (myspace), typepad and the list goes on. Once u have chosen the service provider, register, choose a template, name your blog, create a post and u'll be a blogger. Sounds simple right? Actually it is. But I dont wanna be a common blogger using the templates and standard services provided. I want it to be pleasant and presentable. This is what caused me the hard times. Being a determined and independant person, I did not seek any help from my IT friends or other bloggers. Instead, I tried to google and look for some useful reading materials regarding blogging. Being totally dumb in this field, it was quite difficult for me to understand certain terms and instructions. However, I managed and the result is pr3ciousthots.blogspot.com. Besides my normal posts, this site also contains other columns such as the 'about me section', archieves, contents the highlight part is, the 'My Favourites' column. This are the links to some of my favourite sites. The 'games' to download games. I know I'm a lil too old for computer games but I cant help it. I download games regularly and that is what I do during my free time (I have plenty of free time now). The movies link is another useful link for those who loves pirated movies like me. I hate wasting my money on VCD's and DVD's. So I download all the movies that I wish to watch. I love this site coz it has the entire list of movies, from old to the latest movies. The final link; videoclips, this link connects to youtube. I'm sure majority of us are familiar with youtube. My favourite search in youtube will be the hilarious stand up comedies. This site so fabulous that it contains nearly every single video clip (in all languages) that u wish to watch. I hope everyone will enjoy this blog and keep coming back for updated posts. Enjoy reading!

I'M A DEGREE HOLDER (at last...)

It took me around 5 years to complete my tertiary education. Well, even though people tend to select the best uni or college, I would say I went to one of the most awful varsity in Malaysia; Management and Science University (MSU), which was previously known as KUTPM (to know bout the varsity, click here). I would say, 75% of whats stated in the website are just bait to catch the fishes...if you know what I mean. 5 years ago, I was young and foolish to make a wrong decision. Even though my family had always been there to guide me but they always let me to make my own decision, which makes me happy. The eagerness of staying out with friends and some interest in bio and medicine lead me to this decision. My first reaction when I saw the add about "Diploma in Medical Laboratory Technology (DMLT)" was... 'wow, what an interesting field'! I didn't even know how the job scope would be yet I went for it. Dad suggested IT in MMU but I refused by saying that too many people are doing IT then I'll end up jobless. But today, after completing my studies, I totally regret for saying that. MMU is one of the most established and famous varsity and IT is one of the most fast growing industry which needs man power all the time. It is also one of the most highly paid job one can get.

I thought DMLT would be like the scientists which I used to see in the ads and cartoons (wearing goggles and handling test-tubes and pipettes etc) but to my disappointment, it was totally unlike that. Most of the commencement of my studies where through theory and we only had practicals (in an incomplete and congested lab) for 2 hours per week. The worst part is the daily classes. I thought classes in varsities are supposed to be conducted in lecture halls but to my disgrace, I attended classes in shop lots which are situated few metres away from the uni. Even the tuition centre which I attended during my secondary school had better classrooms! This was because the uni campus was unable to accommodate the large number of students which are absorbed in through the weekly intakes conducted in the uni.

The most annoying part would be the library and computer labs. There are insufficient number of reference books in the library and there was 1 thing that I couldn't understand... they had few shelves of law books (the college did not offer law courses then) but not many for the courses they offered. The computer labs were even worse...I had to wait for hours to use a PC which is slow, problematic and full of viruses! Regardless of all these dissatisfaction, I was required to pay a high library and computer lab fee annualy.

Another problem in this place was the parking lot. I think the entire campus only fits around 50 cars to be parked. The rest of the cars has to be parked outside, by the roadside which to date, have caused me more than 25 summons by MBSA and police. 5 years ago when I registered as a student in this uni, the management told me that a new campus is being built and will be ready in the year 2006. But till the day I completed my studies in the year 2008, I didnt even see a single brick of the new campus. I obtained all these experience by spending more than 50K (only the tuition fess, excluding my expenses and etc) throughout the 5 years that I was in this uni. So, for those who wish to go to MSU, think again before making up your mind. Well, those were my experiences throughtout my journey in obtaining Bachelor's degree in Biomedicine (Hons).