October 13th, 2007 Ahmad Al-Mahir
That’s what Hari Raya Aidifitri is for in my humble opinion. Rejoicing the successful completion of our fasting and the battle against our own weaknesses. You don’t know how many people I’ve come across who (wrongly) wish me a happy new year on this day. It’s definitely not the new year (for those curious our new year is the beginning of the month of Muharram in the Muslim lunar calendar). Of course it’s not their fault that they don’t know what this day of celebration is about. It is really up to us to explain it so they don’t repeat the mistake. Then again it only comes once (or twice if you count Hari Raya Aidiladha or Haji which some people get confused about as well) a year so some will most likely forget the next time around…
I’ll have keep this short for now. Busy busy busy busy!
Anyways, do have a wonderful Aidilfitri. “Taqabballahu minna waminkum” to all my fellow Muslim brethren. I beg forgiveness if I’ve offended in any way this past year and at the same time I forgive those who may have done me wrong. Though it’s sad to see the fasting month over, it is a day of festivities so do enjoy yourself. And may we live to see another Ramadhan so we can do it all over again!
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September 23rd, 2007 Ahmad Al-Mahir
After a few weeks of animating what can probably be classified as content for an action library, the powers that be decided to put me on one of the animation teams (called pods) and then handed me an actual shot to work on! A real shot from the the upcoming movie! Yes folks, the moment I’ve been waiting for has finally arrived! Of course it’s a simple and relatively short sequence, and there’s all likelihood it might get cut from the final edit, but I’m cherishing the opportunity and making the most of it hoping they’ll like what they see and give me more shots to animate. It’s been a blast so far and I’m learning so much about the animation pipeline and process from the rest of the guys. I’m not getting carried away though. I know it’s just a tiny drop in the entire production ocean but it’s still cool on their part to give me a chance and “bring me into the fold” - as it were. I’ll take what I can get, baby. And btw Ramadhan has been smooth and quite educational for me so far. May it continue, Aaameen.
So, yeah I’d say this has been a good week! 
PS: The previous website design was nice but had a few bugs in it and I felt the navigation wasn’t as user-friendly after I messed with it. I do believe this one is much better though! Right?
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September 12th, 2007 Ahmad Al-Mahir
I’m getting into the groove here at work and keeping myself busy on some animation tasks. I’m averaging one (simple) clip a day so it’s a pretty decent start. Of course there’s always refinements to be made, but I think I managed to get some solid basics down at least.
The holy month of Ramadhan is upon us now and to all my Muslim brethren I wish you a very productive month of fasting filled with blessings and good deeds. I hope you can make the most of it as I certainly intend to.
Here in Batam the local TV channels have been advertising numerous programs related to the holy month for the past few days. That’s something quite different compared to the channels back home. I may try to check some of them out if I can spare the time. I actually get a sprinkling of Malaysian channels too together with Singapore’s basic terrestial channels. I don’t usually watch tv though, apart from catching up on the evening news and some random channel-surfing with my tea.
I guess it’s Maggi instant noodles for me for Sahur tomorrow. Catcha laters peeps!
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September 5th, 2007 Ahmad Al-Mahir
As the last remnants of my acclimatization bug fades away, I’m getting into quite a routine here at work: Have a quick breakfast at home (if I get up early enough). Leave the house by 8.45am. Start work at 9am. Lunch around 12pmish. Dinner around 6pmish. Leave the office at 7pm. Have my late night cup of tea at home and then it’s off to bed.
I’ve got my own desk and a nice powerful workstation. They’ve also given me some animation tasks to do which should span a couple of weeks or thereabouts, and even though it’s not quite working on actual shots, it’s a good way of getting familiar with the project file structure, rig and animation workflow in XSI. Unfortunately, I’m not at liberty to reveal anything specific about what I’m doing at work. I don’t want to get in trouble here. I did notice that a few of the production crew guys are slowly warming up to me and I’m actually starting to make friends. They’re all a nice bunch of guys really, and very friendly, but I tend to avoid chatting with them or hanging around their desks as I don’t want to bug them while they’re busy working (which seems to be practically all the time).
I also haven’t been taking that many pictures sadly - in fact I haven’t taken any since that 1st day I arrived. I have to remedy that somehow. Fact is there’s just not much for me to do besides work.
I have had a few people sharing my house here recently though, which I really appreciate. Nothing is worse than staying in a large house all by yourself (OK I know there is but I’m not going to mention it!). Anyway, Raymond who’s been staying with me for the past couple of weeks left Batam last Friday, and I had to spend Monday on my own before my SP colleague arrived with his students the very next day. They’re here as part of a student project and so I get to share my home with a fellow lecturer for a few days. In a day or so another colleague will replace him (on yet another student project expedition) so I’ll have company til the end of the week. Then I guess it’s back to lonely days once more. At least, as anticipated, work is starting to take my mind off the loneliness.
Catch you in a few days!
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August 15th, 2007 Ahmad Al-Mahir
I knew something was up when I went to bed with a slight sore throat yesterday. I woke up clammy and my nose was blocked. And the sore throat had gotten worse. I didn’t develop a high temperature though, so I thought if I drank lots and lots and lots and lots of water, whatever it is that’s bugging me will be flushed out of my system. I also didn’t want to give the company the impression that I was trying to get out of work today.
Well, it basically kinda got worse before it got (slightly) better. My nose started running like a tap and I could feel my temperature rising with each passing hour. Raymond (another Singaporean working at the company) handed me one of those Vitamin C tablets, and I managed to get another staff member to donate one of his Panadol. I think they helped alleviate the symptoms some. Also, I continued to chug water throughout the day (and obviously made quite a number of trips to the restroom in between). Coincidentally, there’s a water shortage warning or something on the island recently so that definitely made me feel extra guilty! I can’t imagine what could have caused the bug though. It’s not anything I ate I don’t think. Maybe it’s just me acclimatizing to the environment. I probably just need some good old-fashioned sleep. And more water.
I just hope I’ll recover in time to go home and meet my family tomorrow. They have a public holiday here on Friday so the company’s closed for the long weekend. And I’m expected back at SP for some meetings anyways. I’m really looking forward to that ferry ride relatively speaking. Nothing’s worse than coming home for a short break after some time away, only to be laid flat on the bed all that time recovering from an illness!
And what did I do at the office besides you may ask? I’ve been slowly getting re-acquainted with Softimage XSI via a library of resources they have on the server Boy, firing up the software and messing about with all the nifty little features sure bring back memories of my time at Bournemouth…
Of course I’ll find any excuse to remember my experience there. I’m just an old sentimental fool like that! 
OK. Maybe I’ll see ya when I get back to Singapore!
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