PNB Scholarship Test

I got my first scholarship call-up 2 days ago from Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB). PNB's style is that you sit for a special test first and based on your test score (and other factors too, so I've been told) they'll call you up for an interview and they will decide from there whether to grant you the scholarship or not.

So, today I had to sit for the test at its office, Menara PNB in KL and truth be told, I didn't know what to expect. From what I saw today, there were about 40 of us for the afternoon slot and I would say 80% of those who came today were previously from boarding schools. MCKK, Kolej Yayasan Saad, the Science schools etc. There were only a handful of us from daily schools if I wasn't mistaken.

Anyway, the test was 60 minutes long as it was divided into 3 sections. The first one was Verbal test. They gave us different passages and we had to answer True, False or Cannot Say statements based on those passages. 30 questions within 20 minutes.

Next was the Interpreting Data test. 18 questions were to be completed within 20 minutes. Most of the questions asked involved maths and were economics-related. Like how they asked us to calculate the turnover profit, the capital growth, the average sales yadda yadda. It can be a little tricky at times. Dah la I suck at maths. Hmmphh.

The last part was the Diagrammatical Series, the one you usually get in IQ tests. That one was okay, I guess. 40 questions in 20 minutes. A little bit confusing after awhile but still manageable.

Overall, I wouldn't say the test was easy but it was still doable. I've been out of practice for like 3 months ever since SPM ended so that didn't make it any easier either. Next would be the interview and only selected candidates from the test sessions will be called upon. That'll be within the next one month.

I don't know if I'll make it through or not. I heard the deal is pretty good. They'll send you for A-level in KYUEM and if you do really well in your exams, you'll be sent off to top universities in Australia, United Kingdom or United States. With 1000 pounds a month as your allowance, that is if you're studying in the UK, I presume. That's kinda...wow!

But I'm keeping this in mind; if I do get it, alhamdulillah, good for me. A great chance for me to further myself in life. And if I don't get it, perhaps my rezeki is elsewhere, just not here. At least this has been a pretty interesting experience.

So, whatever comes, comes. Whatever goes, goes.

Next up, JPA interview on the 8th of April. Another learning experience. Amin.

Gone with death

This was taken from my private blog. This was supposed to be private but something inside me wanted to share it on here.

Pardon the mixed languages. This is how I write on there.

Two days ago, the son of the Media Prima group editor, Datuk Manja who happened to be my dad's BFF died in a car accident near his house in Subang Jaya.

Ikhwanul Ashraf. He was 18 years old. Sama umur dengan kita. Baru habis SPM and all.

Imagine how fast life can change for us. Last Sunday, dia baru masuk A levels kat Taylors College. Life was just beginning to start for him. And then 2 nights ago, he went to mamak to watch a football game at 3am with his friends. Balik lepas tu, he was driving and his car hit a kerb. Ashraf was hurled out of the vehicle and was killed on the spot.

I wasn't close to him but our parents have been friends for years. I think I've seen him once or twice dekat open houses or family-friends gatherings kot. I don't remember what he was like but I'm sure he was a nice kid.

It's really sad. Imagine the so many possibilities he could have gone through but yet, his life ended a little too soon. 18 is too young of an age to go away like that.

Kepada kawan-kawanku yang disayangi, please oh please drive carefully when you're on the road. Fadzil especially. Kau drive paling banyak di antara all of us kot. So please take care of yourself and of those in your car while you're driving. The rest pun macam tu.

There's no need to rush kalau hidup kita sendiri jadi mangsa nanti.

Al-fatihah to Ashraf.

You can read his blog here. Apparently he was a good singer and guitarist too.

Such a talent is lost. It's sorrowful when you Google his name, most of the results come up like this 'Anak Bongsu Datuk Manja Ismail Maut Kemalangan' in most of the newspapers and online news. I'm not sure that's how most of us want to be remembered. But oh well...

May Allah rests his soul. And hopefully, Uncle Manja's family would be alright despite what happened.

SPM Results

So I got my straight string of As for SPM. Alhamdulillah. Surprised or not surprised, I don't know. All I know is it's such a relief to know that this is all over and that I can move on to the next phase of my life with a light feeling.

My parents were more anxious than me about the results, if that's even possible. Ibu was already texting Puan Sharon early in the morning, asking her what time will the results be released and if it's possible for her to check on my results. I was like, "Noooooo! I don't want to know before I'm supposed to. Let the suspense be."

And Papa, well he took a leave from work (so did Ibu, actually) and came to school with me. He was practically in tears when I told him I got my 10As and showed him the slip. Ibu and Papa even bought me a big bouquet of carnations as a congratulations gesture. Not much of a flower lover but still, thank you, you two!

This is for the two of you, too. For providing the means for me to work on. The endless list of books and tuitions to be paid for, the amount of encouragement given everytime I bawled my eyes out because I was so scared of SPM and everything that had to do with it and the immense faith you had in me, believing that I could make it through even when I had doubts in myself.

For that, I, thank you. I love you, too :))

But I have a long, long way to go from here. This is just a beginning of a long journey. I am still figuring out where to go next. A few rough ideas but right now, I'm just doing all the necessary things that need to be done, i.e. 'scholarship hunting.' It's a lot more work than I thought.

Congratulations, too, to the rest on your results! Regardless of what they are. I'm sure we got what we worked and prayed for. One way or another.

Life still continues. Today is already a new day, is it not? <3

SPM Results Jitters!

So it has been reported that SPM 2009 results will be released next Thursday, 11th of March 2010. My stomach has been churning ever since I knew of that news.

Funny how paranoid and jittery we can be when the results day is nearing. I've had a few nightmares of my own already. Few nights back I dreamed I only got 2 As for my SPM. Imagine that! And to add insult to injury, my dad also had his own nightmare. I happened to get zero for my Add Maths paper in his dream. Talk about being even more spooked! Hah.

It's hard to believe that all those 11 years of formal education boil down to this one result, the last month of madness. Those years of studying (or not studying) culminate into the 9 or 10 or more subjects you took for SPM. What you did in the examination hall in that one month will more or less make or break your future and determine the road you're taking next.

But what if a slight misreading of a passage or question were to amount to a huge mistake, one which you didn't realize until it was too late? What if even after months of memorising and hard practice, some facts of the answers just slipped out of your mind while you were doing the questions? What if, what if and what if?

With one week to go before my results are being known, there's nothing else I can do other than tawakal and pray for the best. Really. I've already discussed my post-SPM life with my parents and we've decided that we're not gonna limit our options to anything. Which means, if I do come across a roadblock ahead, I would have no qualms turning around and taking another road, no matter how unfavourable it may seem. As long as it'll take me where I want to be.

IF I can't score a good scholarship anywhere else (even with the Bumi quota. Hehe), then the next biggest possibility for me is to read Law in IIUM. It has the best Law Faculty in the nation. So, why not eh?

You might be seeing me in a tudung sometime soon then ;)

Oh, and good luck for your results! God-willing, we'll get what we worked and prayed for.

#TANDA

Been awhile since I last watched a local Malay theater. The last one was Puteri Gunung Ledang which was really good. Broadway standards.

And I managed to catch another one on Sunday, TANDA at PJLA with the awesome Wai Meng who was kind enough to teman me (thank you!). Basically, the play was a collaboration of six young directors on the theme environmental and natural destruction. I thought it was pretty good for a local scene. The actors went all out with their performances and you can see they had invested a lot in it, physically, emotionally and financially.

There were some flaws too, of course. Some of the issues potrayed were not clearly ironed out. Like the issue on different Gods and faiths and the doubts that came along with it. They should have delved into it deeper and not leave such a big hole in the questions that were being raised.

Anyhow, the main and only reason why I was so hard up about going to this play was because of this guy;

Zahiril Adzim

You see, for some unexplained reason, I find him charming, deep and soulful. Waahh macam aku kenal je dia ni. But yes, he's the only local male actor that I go ga-ga over. And so, a little dream came true today when I managed to catch him after the show.

Me: Hello. Hebat lakonan awak tadi. (Hello. Your acting was superb earlier on.)

Zahiril: Ohh terima kasih. Terima kasih juga kerana sudi datang. (Ohh thank you. Thank you for coming, too.)

Me: Saya selalu juga baca blog awak. Very deep la your thoughts. Baguslah. (I always read your blog. Your thoughts are very deep. That's good.)

Zahiril: Ya, saya jadikan blog tu tempat nak meluahkan pendapat dan perasaan yang ada. Kadang-kadang gembira. Kadang-kadang marah. (Yes, I make the blog as my place to express my opinions and feelings. Sometimes happy thoughts Sometimes angry.)

*drools over him while listening to him chatter away*

Me: Oh okay. Sekarang boleh ambil gambar tak? (Oh okay. Can we take a picture now?)?)

*pointing towards poor Wai Meng who's ready with the camera*


Wai Meng: Tak clear la. Another one. (It's not clear. Another one)

That's better :)

And there you have a very happy, sweet looking me afterwards for I have finally met my soulmate. Ehh I mean, Zahiril Adzim. Oppss!

Some photos from the play. Grabbed from 'si dia'.