What I finally realized in the 34th week of 2009..

I know I haven't been updating my blog, so I'm just gonna do so in with a KISS, as in "keep it short and sweet."

Among the responsibilities of my job as a Daily Paid Assistant over here in WWF-Malaysia in the Observer Programme of Peninsular Malaysia Seas Project, here are of the following:

• go on to the fishermen boat and record data as in their catch and whether a turtle is caught entangled in their nets;
• assist my supervisor, Mr. Ernest Chiam, on his work duties;
• and to write the Turtle Bycatch Report in Melaka.

When I came here, I assumed that my supervisor would know exactly what he wants to do with the report. However, as time progress, my suspicion of him not knowing how to write a scientific paper got more obvious. The real tip-off was when I asked him about what to include in the 'Abstract' section. I really wish he had told me from the very beginning that he lacks in skills of writing a proper scientific paper so that I can carry out the Observer Programme on my own. As a scientist, one depends heavily on the data to make further analysis before passing any judgement. Although, I do sympathize that my supervisor is currently undergoing a lot of stress from work and on other matters as well. So I am thankful to him that he has helped me out at my time of need (like how I have been waiting for the past 3 weeks just to get my salary for the month July).

Anyway, so that's my life at the moment. I hope I get to blog on other marine related issues, but that would have to wait until I have more free time. Also, I would like to wish to all my fellow Muslim brothers and sisters a Happy Ramadan, and may they enjoy their time fasting. (",)

Observer Programme

I just arrived in KL this morning, and I know I'm in KL when the taxi driver can drive as fast as a tuned up car. There were a few screeching turns, which surprises me that the guy didn't care to answer my question about "whether it's OK to drive like this to his taxi." Anyhow...

By 1st of July, I'll be working with WWF-Malaysia in Melaka as a Daily Paid Assistant on the Observer Programme in the Andaman Sea Ecoregion project. Basically, I'm being paid by the day for the work I do over there, which is basically to: i) collect data; ii) get to know the fishermen; and iii) evaluate the data collected to highlight the hotspots for fishery and incidental catch of turtles. First of all, observer programme can be defined as being "responsible for providing the training and support necessary for deploying observers on board fishing vessels in order to collect the fisheries-dependent information essential to achieving the management objectives of the programme" (WikiPedia: Fisheries Observer). This will definitely help me to understand how fishermen react when they see a turtle in one their catch, and at the same time, learn the variety of species by which they caught. My time there will end by 30th of September, and I'm really looking forward to this experience.

In the mean time, I'm going to watch Transformers2 with Kuan, Pian and Ting Ting tomorrow at MidValley. Hehe.. ;D

1st day fasting this year...

Yeap, I'll be fasting today as it is the 1st day of Rejab, the seventh month in the Islamic calendar, and also one of the four sacred months as well. So two months from now (in accordance to the Islamic calendar), Ramadan will start.

By then, I'll be fasting on the waters of Malacca Strait.

What a wonderul world

When I took my shower this morning, I was thinking about how to make my statement in celebrating Father's Day today. As I was thinking, my phone was playing "What a Wonderful World" (I'm using C702, so the phone was built to be spill-proof, meaning a bit of water is still OK). Then I kept thinking about my adventures overseas as I grew up, and how thankful I was to my dad that he gave me that opportunity. I mean if it wasn't for the fact that he got the job with Asian Development Bank (ADB) in the Philippines, I wouldn't know much about being a third culture kid (third culture kid means a kid that grows up a portion of their childhood overseas, like in my case, I'm a Malaysian who grew up in the Philippines and Pakistan). So for this Father's Day, I dedicate to my dad, Abah, the song that really made me realize the hopes and good in this world, What a Wonderful World.