Singapore Swing

Singapore Swing

Assalamu ‘Alaikum,

If it’s Tuesday I must be teaching. Heck I don’t know what day it is anymore. I never thought life is going to be so full signing up to be a full time post grad university student. But I forgot the full time lectures are held in part time hours. So hectic is an understatement. Last time I was a student I was a carefree twenty something whose only responsibility in life is to pass exams. Now responsibility is my middle name.
I couldn’t turn down the good professor’s plea to teach my subject at his university on top of my own post grad studies. Truth is the extra income will come in handy. Now I need to balance my own assignments, mid term and final exams with PowerPoint lecture preparations for my own students at the other U. Lets not even talk about the Graduate Business School up north to which I’m consulting to help out a schoolmate. To my glee I find one U’s lecture notes make good materials for the other U’s teaching; I suppose that’s a special privilege for all student/teachers. I have turned up to teach at one U when there were no classes to teach, and have turned up to learn at the other when there’s no lectures scheduled. Talk about disoriented. The Investment Bank’s Chief Learning Officer’s request for in House Courses for his Bank have also been accepted for which Course materials also need to be prepared. All in the same space of time where just a million other things also need to be completed. Reminds me of that famous ayat in the Quran when the mountains and the oceans declined the responsibility but frail Man says, I will do it. Praise be to Allah in all situations for His nikmah.

Now I find myself in Singapore at another hotel where internet is free and I feel the itch to write again. Heck I can spare a few minutes. Tomorrow’s the first of three days in an Islamic Asset Backed Securitisation Course I’ve agreed to give on behalf of this international training company. I told Andrew the MD, my own company will handle all Courses in country but outside will be his job, I just come to teach. Singapore is our first JV together so to speak. His price is of course almost 3 times what I charged in KL but his marketing outside Malaysia is more organised than mine, so it’s a happy arrangement. We are pleased this maiden venture is working out although Andrew says the majority of the participants are Indonesians. So his marketing team’s prediction is right. You want Indonesian participants, do it in Singapore You want Singaporean participants, do it in Brunei. Now he’s busy planning 2010 calendar; my wife says do a few during the school holidays please. Hmm a Course in London in summer will be good, perhaps followed by another one in Disneyland, naah Andrew will not buy that.

The Singapore taxi driver always paraphrased his conversation with Singapore’s good, everything’s here is good, but I caught him with the 70 Singapore cents per litre of petrol in Malaysia. He blinked rapidly and was silent for a long while. Felt strange to walk into a food court to search for a halal stall. Didn’t trust the Nasi Lemak Special stall, nor the Ayam Penyet and everything Penyet stall in Marina Centre. Settled for the Banana Leaf stall. I asked the Indian looking owner whether this is a Muslim stall. He showed me a halal card instead of giving me Salam. I decided to invoke one of the Majelle legal maxims I’ve been learning in Usul Fiqh classes, and dived into the banana leaf rice, poppadum and all.

Later gang, duty calls, back to work and study.

Wassalam,
Zahid