JB :- job interviews ..

Today till maybe Saturday , Sunday or Monday, I will be here in JB. hmm.....Priority is to take care of the team. They had their final match last night for this JB Tournament Under 16. At last after 3 losts, they won. The score was 77-13. Don't blame me! I told them to go slow, do a lot more passing around instead of going directly to the goal. Well, kids are just kids. They get excited too fast, they get emotional too easily. They definitely have a lot more to learn, to practise, if they really want to be the champ for PTPZ next year. Its definitely not easy. But, I always believe, when you really want something, then you should go all out for it.

About jobs....I don't know whether I'm lucky or unlucky. When I go for job interviews, people will take their time to talk to me. They always made me feel comfortable. Yesterday, I went for 2 interviews. The first one, the guy has already offered me the job. BUT......unfortunately its a sales job in the telecommunication industry. I know..I know....some of you might think that I have the advantage because I was from Maxis earlier. But sales is totally a different line for me. I'm not sure whether I can do it or not. Moreover, the job has no basic pay! It is all based on our incentives! Arghhh!!! The 2nd interview was with a well-known headhunting company. Hmm....it was good. They made me felt that I am the type of employee companies are looking for. Well, they said that they might have a suitable job for me but they need to get back to me for the 2nd interview. Unfortunately, the girl promised to call me yesterday-no calls, no news....nothing. But I did had a good time talking to her.

I have been jobless for the past 6 months. Ya Allah, please help me. I love basketball, I love working with teenagers, so, please give me a job related to all this. I think I have a different calling - more towards motivating, helping other people, especially the youngsters. Seeing them becoming a strong, positive person is definitely motivating for me. I don't mind if I get a full time contract with the PLKN. Or even becoming a basketball coach and a motivational speaker. Maybe one day....I hope so...

Personality test anybody?

Your Personality Is

Idealist (NF) You are a passionate, caring, and unique person.You are good at expressing yourself and sharing your ideals. You are the most compassionate of all types and connect with others easily.Your heart tends to rule you. You can't make decisions without considering feelings. You seek out other empathetic people to befriend.Truth and authenticity matters in your friendships. In love, you give everything you have to relationships. You fall in love easily. At work, you crave personal expression and meaning in your career. With others, you communicate well. You can spend all night talking with someone. As far as your looks go, you've likely taken the time to develop your own personal style. On weekends, you like to be with others. Charity work is also a favorite pastime of yours.

The Three Question Personality Test

I guess almost everything above is correct about me. Check out the bold and italic writings. Arghhh...this is dangerous!! It is so scary! Anybody out there please help me. How can I overcome this issue? (by the way, I do admire one of the players........wish I could play like him)

Petronas Cup...luck was not on our side

huh........it was a stressful night, during the game last night. Our team, my new friends, Penang ...lost to Petronas..... I don't feel like writing this in my blog coz...I really don't know what to write. Its so sad seeing them lost to Petronas. It hurts inside. I don't know why. I don't really know the players individually actually.Maybe coz I was there. I watched how they trained for the past 3 weeks. I was there for all their games except for one. I was there to support and to shout for them. I saw how hard they trained. I saw how tough it was to try to be as fit as they can within 2 weeks.

They tried. They tried really hard. Maybe there was just no luck on our side. The referees were definitely not on our side. The balls shot, instead of rolling into the rim...it came out so many times. The players looked lost. They looked as if they are playing their first game. The defense was bad. It looks as if there are no chemistry at all among them.No 3 points shots from our side. It was a sad moment. It was sad to see them like that.

Well, I guess, there will always be next year. There will always be another tournament. But, I think this year its different. Its different because, they feel more like a team. They feel more like a family. And that makes a big different to all.

To all my new friends out there who played for Penang: you guys are great. Keep up the good work. Don't be too sad. I'm proud to be part of the Penang supporter team! In a way, you guys motivate me to keep on playing basketball....

Basketball again...

I guess my basketball madness has returned. Started from helping out to coach my ex-school and now getting involved in the Petronas Cup. (sort of......buat menyibukkkan diri)
One of the Cagers got selected to play for Penang this year.So, I'm just the "personal driver cum bodyguard" for this kid. He's lucky because he's just 16 and now playing for Penang. Good exposure for him, definitely.

Petronas Cup started last week: 20th till 26th Sept. Usually I just go and watch the games like other people who love basketball. But this year, its different. Totally different.Very different. Maybe I felt that I'm part of the team. Part of the Penang team. Why? Because Penang's Team Manager is my Head Coach. He's my "sifu".He's my "mentor". I learned and still am learning a lot of new things from him: especially if I am interested to become a coach in the near future. Well, you got to learn from the best to become the best!

Well.....I guess basketball can change peoples lives. It can motivate you to do things that you have never dreamt before.Why I'm saying this?hehehe...... I can say that a very close friend of mine (no need to mention name..ahh) lately.....is mad about basketball. And the best part is, she is not a basketballer! She even forgot that her mother is here in KL! And a close friend of hers in JB had complained to me that she hadn't call her up for the last week or so. Friend, if you read this...can I say its because of the "players"? hahahah...jangan mare......
But.....as for me......it really motivates me to move forward and be positive. With all the major problems that I am facing now, the only thing that keeps me motivated is basketball,...and coaching the kids. ALhamdulillah.......it gives me strength:- physically and mentally.


Last night's match was the semi-finals: Petronas vs KL and Penang vs Selangor. I hope Penang can go all out tonight as they are playing against Petronas in the finals. Petronas has been the reigning champion all this while. Penang and Petronas - 2 big names. 2 good teams. I guess what makes the difference now is the team work, the team spirit, the discipline and the fitness level. A team may have a few "national players" but if they are not fit, its not going to be easy for them to win. Let's see tonight.


Memories : I still remember the the moment when I represented Johor in SUKMA 1990 in Kuching. 15 years ago. What an experience! Something that I will not forget for the rest of my life. I've been there, I've done that.Maybe,......maybe now at the age of 31, if I train hard enough, I can be as fit as I am 15 years ago. Who knows.....its the mind that controls everything.Hahaha....dream on Spena...

KL Open - We Won!!!!!

Last Sunday was the most awaited time of the year again by my basketballer friends. Its the KL Open basketball tournament for the non-chinese :) for gals definitely. last year, we got 2nd place. Hmm...why we lost? I think it was because of the rain. I know..I know...its a lame excuse for not winning. But just imagine, players like us, average age of 25 and above(hmm...me being the oldest there) , if we fell down when trying to get the ball......we would be lucky if there was no crack on the floor and we are able to stand up immediately and continue on running! Hahaha... This year...6 of us are the same old players we had last year. We managed to get another 6 new players whom I can say ...they are good!! They are also fit and able to run better than us, the existing ones. Well, actually, I thought I wouldn't be playing this year. I had to go to Kuala Kangsar on the same day that we had the tournament! Well, I guess, I was just destined to help my team mates when the event in KK ended much, much more earlier and I managed to join them in SSP for the 3rd and final game. I am very satisfied and happy with my team mates' contribution and effort (despite of our age when compared to the other teams -we are 10 to 15 years older than them!) Good effort guys! Some of them even had sprained their fingers and even hurt their knees. (that shows how "cute" we are! hahaha) . Did I mention that one of us scored our own goal? (you know who) To my team mates :) Shar, Faiez, Peng, Aweng, Awin, Farah, Alin, Ryzah, Ain, Kat and Tasha.....thank you very much. I love you guys! note: my underbasket is really, really bad. Not to mention my lay-up (which I miss it again). Got to practise more!

MB Cup Johor

Last weekend, I went down to Muar with some of my friends. We were there to provide support and assistance to the TF Dynamites team as they were competing in the first non-chinese basketball tournament in Johor. There were only 3 teams -Muar, Kota Tinggi and Johor Bahru (3 districts in Johor). We were there strongly because we are also part of the Return-2-Victory Project Team.

The tournament was not meant for us to compete acually. It was more of an "exposure" game for the team. Well, we didn't expect to win because this is not the "real" team. The "real" team consists of players from Form 2 , 3 and 4 but because Form 3s have to take their PMR examination soon, we had to put them aside.There is a gap between the Form 4s and the Form 2s. Gap in terms of their knowledge and skills.

Interesting... with only less than a month of practise, the Form 2s and Form 4s managed to form quite a good team with good teamwork. The Form 2s have improved tremendously and providing support for the team. Without the Form 2s, the Form 4 would not have lasted 40 minutes through out the game and without the Form 4s, the Form 2s would not have learnt new playing skills. And ...we won!! There was also one quarter of the game when the Form 2s played and they scored quite well!!

There is a lot of more work to be done in the near future. The team's goal - is to win the PTPZ in June next year. It won't be easy, yet it is not impossible. The team just need to focus and to have the right mindset and attitude - mindset and attitude of a CHAMPION team. And to have this - everybody needs to work hard towards it. Everybody - including me who needs to keep motivating myself to motivate the team. Kids are still kids - there are some things we just have to be patience with. Not only them, I need to find new ideas to help them to overcome some of their issues. And that is definitely a challenge for me.