7 Things To Wrap Up 2012!

I know, I know. I've been neglecting this blog, yet again. Sorry guys! 2012 has been an eventful year for me, it made me wonder how I could have left so many things happened unrecorded in this blog! So here's my 2012 in a glance..

1. I Left Nuffnang Malaysia in June 2012

I don't know why, but I still get people calling and asking me about Nuffnang this and Nuffnang that, thinking that I am still with Nuffnang! One time, this blogger even called me and asking me if I would be at an event, 4 months after I left Nuffnang! *bangs head on table* Korang sayang sangat dekat mak eh! ;p So just for the record, I am no longer a Nuffie but Nuffnang will always hold a special place in my heart! As I like to say it, once a Nuffie, always a Nuffie! ;)

2. I Re-joined Exabytes Malaysia

That's right, I am now part of the Exabees again and very much happy with it! If you've been following me since before, you'd know that I used to be part of the team back in 2008. In 2010, I left them for Nuffnang, and here I am again joining Exabytes as the person responsible to manage all their social media channels :)  It will be my 3rd month with Exabytes this month, and hopefully many more months to come!

3. Aydein Is Potty-Trained at 3!

Yes, Aydein is now diaper-free -- well, during the daytime at least! :D There have been a few episodes of "accidents", of course (even now!) but he can now tell us when he's "going" and we'll assist him to the toilet! The funny thing is, he's so used to doing his big business standing that he'll even stand on the toilet bowl whenever he needs to go big! It's pretty worrying, so we've never left him unattended whenever he needs to do his business, big or small. Nevertheless, I'm proud of his big achievement! ;)

4. Aydein Is Now Bottle-Free

The little soldier also just made the bottle-to-cup transition recently -- at the age of 3 1/2 years old! :P It's a little late, but hey, everything's gotta start somewhere right? ;) One thing I noticed as soon as we bottle-wean him though; he doesn't drink as much milk in the cup as he did in the bottle before -- which is fine to us, because we want him to get more nutrition from adult food and drink less of milk like he did before. So that's a yeay to us; about time that we spend less on his milk eh! Save sikit duit papa, nak. ;p

5. Aydein Is Going To School

Everytime I think of this day (the day Aydein will start school), I get all emotional inside. Sigh, my baby's all grown up. In less than a week, the New Year will embrace us, and it will be the start of the new chapter in Aydein's life -- attending a school! His bag is ready, his water bottle is set, and soon, he will be putting on his uniform and begin his journey as a pre-schooler! Words cant describe the way I feel about it now; happy, sad, worried, proud. Oh well, I guess it's a feeling that all first-time moms get. ;(

6. I Am A Proud Owner of an Online Business

I've always wanted to run my own business. I mentioned this in one of my 2010 resolutions and alhamdulillah, together with my elder sister, Pretty Folds is born just a few months back. To be honest, it's really a fun thing to do and business was doing well for Pretty Folds, but the thing I learnt in business is that -- one truly needs to be commited in it in order to be successful! And at this moment, commitment is something that I don't actually have, hence the slowness in stock update lately hehehe. 

7. I Am Pregnant -- Again!

Well, some of you may have already found out about this via my social media networks.. but for those of you who didn't know... I AM VERY PREGNANT! I'm going to be 8 months next week to be exact, so you can imagine how HUGE I am now! :P The best thing is it's going to be a GIRL insyaallah this time, so you can imagine how excited I am! I'm already thinking.. headbands, tutu, pretty floral tops, pink, lavendar, polkadots.. WHEEEEE! ;P I'm going to write about this second pregnancy journey again in a different post, so lookout for it soon! :D

So here's my post to wrap up year 2012.. and I look forward to the wonderful things 2013 holds for me!

The Kind Gesture

Remember my previous blog entry about my former company, Exabytes and the wonderful people in it? For those of you who aren't already aware of this, Exabytes is the leading webhosting company in Malaysia which is based in Penang (HQ) with a branch in KL.

Last Friday, I had the privilege to attend a post farewell party organized by the KL team just for me (I told you they are a bunch of great, wonderful people!). It was just a small private party, held in their apartment in City Gardens. There were just the 6 of us, and 1 person included (mr husband, of course). :D

The evening started with us grilling the marinated raw food which consists of marinated chicken wings, marinated lamb and hot dog cocktails. We also fried some chickens that were cooked way earlier and ended up in our hungry tummies even before the grilled dish is ready. Hehe.


The evening was filled with laughter and joy. I personally enjoyed the evening and spent a lot of time catching up with the lot. During the conversation, one of my colleagues pointed out that Timothy Tiah's -- yes, the very Nuffnang co-founder -- house is just one level above theirs. I was so tempted to give Timothy's house a knock and pester him about my blog's poor returns but thought the better of it. Hehe.


And then, it was the highlight of the event -- dessert! The oh-so-very-thoughtful Chow went inside to get the cake he bought earlier and when he opened the box to reveal the cake inside, I immediately gulped at the sight of the mouth-watering Chocolate Indulgence! :P Although I am not much of a cheese cake lover (yes, weird of me, I know), but this one definitely completed the course. With the sweet chocolate topping outside coupled with soft moist cheesy cake inside, it was really just the perfect ending to the night.


The evening may not be fancy, it may not be much, but as they say, it's the thought that counts and it was definitely an evening to remember. :) Confidential to Chow, Jai, Yazid, Ming Wee and Albert, thank you all for everything. I was deeply moved by your kind gesture. Until we meet again, keep in touch! XOXO.

(click on picture for larger view)
From top-left : Jai, yours truly, Aien, Ming Wee and Albert
From bottom-left : Chow and Yazid

The End of Journey

My journey with Exabytes, that is.

If you are an avid reader of my blog, you would know from my previous post that I have been serving as the sole Creative Writer of Exabytes since April 2008. And today exactly marks my two-year anniversary working with Exabytes with all its glory.

February 2010 Annual Dinner.

Serving for Exabytes for almost 2 years has been very rewarding. However, my career goal has taken a different direction and I feel that it is time to move onto new opportunities and challenges.

You see, I have always had a passion for writing and recently been offered to work with international writers from all over the world. I realize that this offer does not come knocking on my door every day, and with my potential in writing, I knew this is a golden opportunity for me to improve myself, whilst further expanding my wings in this field and gaining a lot of new knowledge along the way.

January 2009 Annual Dinner

It's been a wonderful journey with Exabytes, however. I have met a lot of wonderful people here throughout my two years of service in Exabytes. I have found those of whom I can really trust and rely on, some of whom I promise to keep myself in touch with even when I am no longer an Exa.

Earth Day celebration 2008. (notice we were all greens & browns! and I was still slim & kecik!)

It saddens me to have to make this decision, especially when Exabytes has been far too kind to me. I was given a few privileges that not many get, all thanks to the understanding CEO Chan Kee Siak, a young visionary leader with a kind heart to match. To Mr Chan, if you're reading this, again thank you for the opportunity, the professional and personal development Exabytes has assisted me with over the past 2 years. You have been very kind to me and I am so proud I had the privilege to work with you. You're one amazing boss anyone could ever ask for and I wish you nothing but the best of continued success that lasts a lifetime.

With CEO Chan Kee Siak (and Aydein in my belly) at Malaysia HR Awards 2009. We won!

To all my friends whom I have learnt to love dearly, you know who you are. Thank you for putting up with my silly jokes and crazy craps. I wish you all the best in your future undertaking and I hope that our paths will cross again in the future.

Team building at Pulau Jerejak, 2008. Oh I miss, I miss!

So, so long Exabytes Blog, Exabytes Newsletter, Exabytes Press Releases, Exabytes Website Content and Exabytes work related. I will miss all of you dearly (especially my oh so faithful HP Notebook!).

My access tag & HP notebook which are no longer mine :(

I have come to the end of the my journey and hopefully today will be a new beautiful start for me.

Spread The Joys of Christmas!

Hear the beautiful carol in the air, look at the kids running joyfully everywhere! Oh, it's Christmas once again!

Celebrate the true spirit of Christmas and reach out to all of our Christians friends and families around the world by wishing them "Merry Christmas!" and brighten up their day with Exabytes colorful e-Cards!

It's completely FREE so send one now! Make someone smile today. Merry Christmas, everyone!

Splendid Syawal Promotion

While you are still joyously celebrating this glorious festival with families & friends, don’t forget to check out our Splendid Syawal promotion that will make your Raya, even more meaningful!

This special greeting season, enjoy 20% one-time discount on all our EBiz Plus/Gold/Unlimited plans from 23rd September to 12th October 2009!

This not-to-be-missed promotion will not last forever, so splurge wisely today and be the first to get your hands on any of our EBiz plans now!

Because everyone should celebrate this glorious festival together. :)

Delicious Ketupat Rendang Promotion!

Everybody loves Raya. Why not? On this day, you get to indulge yourself with scrumptious food, meet up with friends and families, go on a holiday, and not forgetting, collect plenty of green $$$ packets too!

With that much of $$$ in hand, why don't you spend wisely and get that much dreamt-about website as Exabytes is giving away 20% recurring discount on any of our EBiz Plus/Gold/Unlimited plans! In other words, you get the same discount each time you renew your webhosting plan with us. Now how cool is that?

But here's the catch. This special offer valid from 15th to 22nd September 2009 only, so hurry now before it's too late!

Whooppy!

guess what people? i was just doing my usual things in the office when suddenly, my boss dropped me an online message through MSN!

here’s the snippet of the conversation :

Mr Chan says : just to let u know I have passed ur probation period
Mr Chan says : u shall receive a letter shortly from KY
Mr Chan says : Congratulations and Excellent, Good Job for the past 3 months
Thara says : oh, thank you mr chan!
Thara says : this is great news! :D
Mr Chan says : I will raise ur salary to XXXX
Thara says : oh! thank u!
Thara says : i am actually rather overwhelmed, i dont know what to say! haha
Mr Chan says : those who work hard deserved to be rewarded well :)
Thara says : thanks again mr chan. i will double my effort, i promise! :)
Mr Chan says : good to hear that :)

and a few minutes later . . .

vooish! i am officially confirmed!

and confirmed = raise in salary. and raise in salary = more income. and more income = shopping time!

hahaha. the joy, the joy! oh Queensbay Mall, here i come! ;)

Do You Love Your Job?

I do! I love it so much, I even do a hula dance every morning before going to work! Ok, that’s a lie. But really, I love my job! As all of you might know from my previous post, I work as a Creative Writer in Exabytes Network, the top webhosting provider in Malaysia. It has only been a month plus since I first entered Exabytes, but I find myself fitting in so well here, I feel that I may have finally found my supreme comfort zone, at last! :) It probably has got a lot to do with my love for writing, but I have never felt this way about a work place before!

I have worked as a graphic designer with the great Studeo Grafix, a branding company. The reason why I find Studeo Grafix great is because I have never known such great bunch of people, lead by an even greater leader, Wesley, in my entire life. They deliver super service, professionally too! But I could not stay long – all because I could not seem to find any time to myself while I was there. It was hard for me to leave them, though. I found that somehow, there was a bond created between all of us even if it was for a very short time. But I will be getting married soon (ngehehe, jangan jealous!). And if half of my day is spent in the office (I used to go back at 10pm every night. Sometimes at 1am in the morning), I thought, who would be taking care of my lonely husband at home? buatkan dia pegi carik tina laen kat luar? tak gila aku? Hehe. But I don’t blame them, though. It was the nature of the job actually. I have asked around, and it seems that working really late at night is memang normal for graphic designers. Besides, they have even asked me way earlier when I was interviewed if I was ready to go back late at night, and I said yes, but I guess I was wrong, so yeah. I have always had high regards for Studeo Grafix and the people in there – and I still do! And if it wasn’t because of the long hours, I might just be on my way of becoming the next great graphic designer there. But fate has other plan for me, and so, here I am, building my career as a writer in Exabytes, hopefully for good this time! :)

I’ll be honest. Before I started with Exabytes, I was pretty nervous. Not about the job scope – about the people there! I went to their blog before, and noticed there isn’t a single Malay employee in there! It is not that I have anything against those of different races, but it’s just that, I do get irritated when they start speaking in their mother-tongue language, which would in the end, cause me to “watch a very bad badminton game” stupidly, and so I worried that I would face this problem in my new working place! But still, I put up my brave face, gathered every ounce of confidence I could muster, and went to the office, hoping that my new collogues would be as nice as those in Studeo Grafix. I entered the office (I was actually late on my first day at work btw!), scanned the office as quickly as I could, and sure enough, not even a single sawo-matang skin detected by my retina.

Therefore, being the only Malay in Exabytes, I thought I was going to be treated differently. But boy was I wrong! I was actually given a warm welcome by all the staffs there even on my first day at work! Once I was stationed at my place, I was surprised to be greeted by at least 5 bleeping MSN chat windows at my screen, welcoming me! And a week later, I was selected to be in one of the board members for the weekly marketing team meeting! Which, ehems, makes me one of the important figures in Exabytes, of course! ngehehe. My nature of work in Exabytes covers almost everything that has got to do with writing. I write press releases, newsletters, articles, meeting minutes, memos and blogs! – the reason why I started to have my own blog! And me being in the marketing team gives me the power to voice out anything I feel is necessary besides contributing ideas to the company! :D Anyway, here’s the list of some of the reasons why I just loveee being in Exabytes!

• I am doing something that I love. So going to work does not actually feel much of a chore, but more of a fun way of filling up my time instead. :D
• I get to have my own personal HP laptop.
• I get off work at 5pm daily! (but since aku ni budak baik, aku keluar jugak la pukul 5.20pm everyday. heeee)
• I am surrounded by a bunch of laid back, friendly young people, most of them around my age!

And no, I don’t have anything against the.. uh, elder generations either, but, kamon lah. takkan laa aku nak borak pasal nintendo wii or facebook dgn pakcik makcik yang kadang komputer pon tak reti nak “on”. kan? haa. :D

But yeah, I just love what I am doing now for all the reasons I mentioned above and more! :D You can check out more of our fun-filled family activities here to know what I mean! :)

Here’s a picture of the big family and I on the last Earth Day celebration. Uh-huh. We all went green the wholeee day just to show our dedication to "saving the Mother Earth"! a’ah, sampai cenggitu skali kitorang punya sayang kat alam sekitar ni nyaaah. Hehe.

And oh yes, you can never rock in green as well as we did! nyeehee. Needless to say, I don’t find working in Exabytes as a job, but more of a career instead! ;)

Until you hear from me again.. Long live Exabytes! ;)