I guess that's what the word FAMILY stands for.
What do you call your father? Papa Daddy Abah Ayah Abi etc? I call mine Ayah. When I was in high school, some of my schoolmates made fun of the name - AyAh and not AyOh as Terengganu-ans should be using. I didn't matter to me, though.
Ayah is in HR, he deals with people. I always love it when he talks about his day interviewing people, especially for UTP intake. During my time, he interviewed my friends. And most people would say he's a bit psychotic. Scary. Yes, he believes in seeing the other side of people. He's not the interviewer you expect to ask about academics, school achievements, etc. He often asks on what you can offer to the institution you are applying. He makes people sing, act, even recite Quran verses during interviews. I remember once when he made a student from Kedah (oh yes, he has a HUGE thing for Kedah since he's from there) sang the state song. While standing straight. Sort of like singing Negaraku with tremendous respect and loyalty to the country, only that it was the Kedah state song. And there was this one boy who asked to switch to another surah because he was too panicked he couldn't remember the first verse of surah As-Sajdah.
Now how often do you find an interviewer who does that?
Ayah loves to forward emails from his colleagues. They are all HR people, who I guess pretty much have the same kind of thinking as he is. Funny ones, silly ones, stupid ones, informative ones, religious ones, name it.
And recently I found this in my Inbox.
****************************
One young academically excellent person went to apply for a managerial position in a big company.
He passed the first interview, the director did the last interview, made the last decision.
The director discovered from the CV, that the youth's academic result is excellent all the way, from the secondary school until the postgraduate research, never has a year he did not score.
The director asked, "Did you obtain any scholarship in school?" and the youth answered "none".
The director asked, " Is it your father pay for your school fees?" the youth answered, my father passed away when I was one year old, it is my mother who paid for my school fees.
The director asked, " Where did your mother worked?" the youth answered, my mother worked as cloth cleaner. The director requested the youth to show his hand, the youth showed a pair of hand that is smooth and perfect to the director.
The director asked, " Did you ever help your mother washed the cloth before?" The youth answered, never, my mother always wanted me to study and read more books, furthermore, my mother can wash cloths faster than me.
The director said, I had a request, when you go back today, go and help to clean your mother's hand, and then see me tomorrow morning.
The youth felt that its chance of landing the job is high, when he went back, he happily wanted to clean his mother's hand, his mother feel strange, happy but mixed with fear, she showed her hand to the kid.
The youth cleaned his mother's hand slowly, his tear drop down as he did that. It is first time he found his mother's hand is so wrinkled, and there are so many bruises in her hand. Some bruises incites pains so strong that shiver her mother's body when cleaned with water.
This is the first time the youth realized and experienced that it is this pair of hand that washed the cloth everyday to earn him the school fees, the bruises in the mother's hand is the price that the mother paid for his graduation and academic excellence and probably his future.
After finishing the cleaning of his mother hand, the youth quietly cleaned all remaining clothes for his mother.
That night, mother and sons talked for a very long time.
Next morning, the youth went to the director's office
The director noticed the tear in the youth's eye, asked: " Can you tell you what have you done and learned yesterday in your house?"
The youth answered, " I cleaned my mother's hand, and also finished cleaning all the remaining clothes'
The director asked, " please tell me your feeling."
The youth said, Number 1, I knew what is appreciation, without my mother, there would not the successful me today. Number 2, I knew how to work together with my mother, then only I can realize how difficult and tough to get something done. Number 3, I knew the importance and value of family relationship.
The director said, " This is what I am asking, I want to recruit a person that can appreciate the help of other, a person that knew the suffering of others to get thing done, and a person that would not put money as his only goal in life to be my manager. You are hired.
Later on, this young person worked very hard, and received the respect of his subordinates, every employees worked diligently and in a team, the company's result improved tremendously.
A child who has been protected and habitually given whatever he did, he developed "entitlement mentality" and always put himself first. He is ignorance of his parent's effort. When he started work, he assumed every people must listen to him, and when he became a manager, he would never know how suffering his employee and always blame others. For this kind of people, he can have good result, may be successful for a while, but eventually would not feel sense of achievement, he will grumble and full of hatred and fight for more. If we are this kind of protective parent, did we love the kid or destroy the kid?
You can let your kid lived in a big house, eat a good meal, learn piano, watch a big screen TV. But when you are cutting grass, please let them experienced it. After a meal, let them washed their plate and bowl together with their brothers and sisters. It is not because you do not have money to hire a maid, but it is because you want to love them in a right way. You want them to understand, no matter how rich their parent are, one day their hair will grow gray, same as the mother of that young person. The most important thing is your kid learn how to appreciate the effort and experience the difficulty and learn the ability to work with others to get
thing done.
****************************
Only now we understand why. Kan?
 |
| Forever My Father |
There's another email from him that I wish to share, but that would be later.
Because somehow I always feel that posting long entries is a bit gay-ish. Haish.
