The path is harder than I thought

So I got a call from UiTM the other day about having to come for an interview at FSSR for the TPM (Tenaga Pengajar Muda) or Young Lecturer's Scheme where they offer you scholarship to do your masters programme and a chance to work with them as a lecturer. I applied for the animation department but honestly, when I signed up for the programme I seriously wondered why is the animation department being interviewed under the FSSR faculty (Faculty of Arts and Design) when I thought UiTM has already have their own Film & Animation Faculty called the Faculty of Animation and Creative Technology (FACT). I hesitated to apply at first but husband keeps on saying that there is no harm in trying so I applied, and got called for the first interview yesterday.

It was quite a horrible (yet educational) experience for me.

First of all, they asked me to prepare a 5 minute mock teaching in English and since I am going for the animation department I thought why not prepare some slides that shows some interactive stuff regarding the topic. I wanted to do a simple explanation on the 12 basic principles of animation but decided to go with the 2D animation process instead. Took me 2 nights to finish my slide. I wanted to do it in swf format but decided I don't have much time so I just stick with Powerpoint. Faster, less tedious, and time saving.

I arrived quite early at the faculty. Saw my name at one of the interviewing room with the help of the staff there and I waited for the interviewers to call out my name. Seems like there's 8 other candidates for the animation department. (and 60+ more for other department under the same faculty) It kinda surprise me that it is stated there that the animation department is actually more for game design rather than film animation (which I think I have more score with. I am basically clueless about game design.) So anyways, just try out my luck and see how it goes.

They started calling for the video editing candidates first, and then photography, and then printing.. and then... it's lunch time. Guess what? Only the first few candidates manage to make do of their mock teaching materials while the rest had to just do an impromptu due to technical issues. The computer they have does not seem to function and the projector went kaput.

What's worst?
There was no whiteboard as a teaching aid.
Great.
How do they expect us to do a mock teaching just like that?
(Ok so maybe we could be a little bit more creative on this but most of the stuff I wanted to show are digital)

Good thing I brought my husband's netbook. But the problem is.. it's a NETBOOK. 10" netbook. Friggin small compared to an image on the wall projected out from the computer via the projector. pbfft.... UiTM.. when will you be more prepared. World Class University? Oh hell yeah.

As time pass by, I get more fidgety. Part of me says I need this job. I want this opportunity, for the sake of my growing family. I asked around how they did with the interview and what did the interviewers asked them. They told me the interviewers are not even interested to listen to how they teach with mock teaching but more interested on their capabilities. They asked questions about your background and what not. Okay this is a bit uncalled for but seems fine. Feels a bit annoyed that the 2 nights I spent finishing the slides are less worthwhile now.

Then,

My time came. They asked me to introduce myself so I did. Since most of the candidates are from the department itself, i clearly told them that they might not be familiar with me compared to other candidates because I am from the architecture faculty and not the arts and design faculty. They were surprised and some reacted quite well to it. Then I told them about my working experience and what projects I have been handling and showed them some video clips of the work I had done through my netbook. Yes. They said the video is small and hard to view on the netbook. I don't have a choice. Atleast they could view it rather than just me talking bullshit without interactive materials.

Then out of the blue, one interviewer asked me what software did I use to do the animation and I told them I work mostly in Flash. He then asked me if I have skills in with 3D software. I said I could do modeling in 3D but I can't really animate using 3D software because I work my animation mostly with Flash. And just like that I could see the changes in their faces. One interviewer even told me they are actually looking for people with 3D capabilities and that there is no market for 2D animation in this country.

Seriously? I was appalled by that statement but I couldn't fight back because partly I think it's true, though come to think about it.. if there is no market for 2D animation in this country, why are there still 2D animation company still looking for animators, storyboard artists and recruiting more staff to their workforce? Why are they still receiving lots of contracts and projects from overseas to animate 2D series? Why is Animasia Studio still holding strong and still growing? Then I think again.. maybe the interviewers/lecturers don't really know much about the industry. Or that they only think of it in the gaming industry.

And just like that I ended my interviewing session.
Filled with dissatisfaction towards the attitude of the interviewers.
Filled with dissatisfaction that they did not state clearly that this is for gaming animation in the application form.

It's okay.
I will try again.

--

on another note....

I think Malaysia (especially it's public university) need a proper institute that would teach proper animation technique. I am already in the animation industry, and the candidates that applied for work who graduated from the public universities who studied multimedia or graphics could hardly animate. We have to train them from zero. They don't even know the basic principles of animation. And that makes me wonder what have they been learning in uni? What have the lecturers been teaching? They only learn how to use the software but hardly know how to make use of it. And most candidates who applied for work could hardly draw.

DRAW.
They cannot draw.

I guess that's why 3D is more popular than 2D because you don't really need drawing skills to animate. Just be a puppeteer.

sad.

Fever Fever

Shareese is down with fever. He's losing appetite and what worries me is his vomiting. Everytime he drinks milk, he will vomit it out again but only at night due to the wind in his stomach. Since he hardly eats any solids at all during the day, I guess he accumulates wind and this makes him push out whatever goes in afterwards. *sigh* The way he vomits reminds me so much of myself when I'm suffering from gastric. T_T

I think I should be really thankful. Eventhough he's feverish, with cough and flu, and the vomiting and sudden attack of diarrhea on Sunday, he still appears to be active and mischievous. Just a little bit cranky. :(

Mummy, ai du wan eat food. Ai sick sick.. wuwuu..

It's HERE! My First Photobook by Pixajoy!

Yes yes!! It's finally here. I couldn't believe it would be this big. Err.. the description does say the photobook will be printed out in 11" x 8.5" but the size I had in mind with that figure was about an A4. Turns out it's much bigger than that. I think it's quite worth the money (provided you buy with discounts via Groupon or Living Social) =p  I bought mine to be printed out in matte paper, but the pictures turn out to be a bit dull. Mostly because the lack of quality from the photos I took. I think if the picture quality was a bit higher, printing it out on any paper shouldn't be a problem. In case you guys were thinking of getting one, try out the glossy paper print first, just to be on the safe side.

Nice right? : ) LOL I cincai do this in 1 hour..You guys could do better! XD

My how you've grown

I almost forgot that I bought an online Personalised Hardcover Photo Book by Pixajoy via Groupon. The groupon is going to expired in three days and I've just finished combined, compose, arrange and *ahem* design (yeah right, just click, drag and drop) the photo book. Waiting for it to finish uploading to the server. While waiting I can't help but looking at how much my little one has grown. I was scouring through his baby pictures till his recent ones and he surely has been "stretched". From a tiny bubbly round "Michelin Mascot" to a tall Ben 10. :p

See for yourself.

A few days old

Around 3 months old

1 year old

Two years old
So Leng Zai!
My how you have grown~

Simple Little Things

Last Sunday was the day that we did one of the things I loved the most. Cooking with my husband. Honestly saying, I am not the kind of person who loves to spend so much time cooking, well mainly because I am not much of a great cook. Another thing is because of time. I usually reach home from work 9pm, the earliest I could comeback is by 8pm, and that is if I leave the office sharp at 7pm (yes my work finishes that late) and that I don't need to pick Shareese up from my mom's because husband had picked it up first.

So since it's the weekend and I have all the time in the world, I cook. For him. Lunch time was Ikan Tiga Rasa. Followed the recipe from A Mummy's Guide to Finger-Licking Food and he loved it sooooooo much!! He said it's the best dish I've made so far! Happy!! Last time I tried to make it too but from another recipe and it didn't turn out so well but this time it's a success. I love the taste of the fish sauce.

Siakap Tiga Rasa

He promised to make dinner that night. Guess what's for dinner? His very own recipe of Tandoori marinated oven baked Chicken. I made the coleslaw and grilled up some sausages. Heated up some canned mushroom soup for little one as well. He enjoys watching the cars on his plate more than he enjoys eating. Haihzzz this little boy. So susah nak makan!

Our portion

Shareese's portion. Ofcourse, tak habis. Picky eater...

Sometimes doing simple little things like this is enough to make you happy for the whole week.

Safety First

We have always wanted to get a new toddler carseat for Shareese ever since he was 6 month old but due to our lack of budget back then,we just settled for a "third-hand" carseat that my dad got from his boss. Yes, third hand. His boss handed it down to my dad and now we're using it. It's a Britax carseat. Still sturdy as ever though it lacks some cushioning compared to most toddler carseats sold widely nowadays. Well as long as it serves the purpose and keeps my little one safe and sound (most importantly it keeps him from running around wildly in the moving car),we're happy with it.

Now that we're expecting another baby on the way, and alhamdulillah with some extra cash savings and bonus, we've decided to get a new carseat for the baby (and in the mean time, for Shareese to use). It would be great if the carseat can be used from newborn till toddler but not many carseats provide such criteria. Mostly it's either the newborn carseat (which also serves the purpose as a mobile rocker) or toddler carseat to be used for babies who is strong enough to sit. My husband has been doing some studies and research on baby carseats and we found out that Maxicosi Opal fits the criteria. It can be used from 0 month baby till about 4 years old. It really is a bit pricey but for me it's OK to spend a little more for your baby's safetym durability and comfort.Lucky for us, Mamours was having a sale last weekend and we grabbed the opportunity and bought the carseat for a much cheaper price. :D I'm a happy mommy.

What i love most about this seat is it's thick padding that keeps my baby comfortable and also the head support which keeps my baby's head from swaying sideways when he sleeps. The old Britax careseat doesn't come with this and everytime Shareese dozed off in his seat,I feel so sorry for him because it looks like his neck is in so much stress though they say baby's are really flexible and they hardly feel muscle stress or strain but i can't help but feel bad for him. Most importantly I think it's a good investment because I can use the same carseat for my soon to be born baby from the moment he got out to this world till the day he will not need to use a carseat anymore.

For the mean time,Shareese will be "borrowing" his little sibling's carseat till the baby is born.

LEFT : Shareese in his old Britax carseat. He usually sleeps in
 this pose on the carseat to support his neck
RIGHT: Shareese smiling happily in the new carseat. Yays!!

Restarting

Hulla~ Ayez here, trying to start blogging again. I used to have another blog on a personal hosted site but I don't think I can (or want to) afford paying for it when I can just do it at a free site. Unless I want the personalized shorter URL. (which at this point is not really what I care about hahahahaa). Actually the main reason I shifted back to a free blog hosting site is because I wasn't updating often on my personal hosted site. So why waste money when you don't have the commitment for it?

Before the days of blogging on a personal hosted site, I have another blog hosted here on blogspot too which was my uni-days rantings. Come to think of it, I was so immature when writing blogs back then. What was I even thinking........... This time I made a blog dedicated to rantings and sharing experiences about being a mom. A rookie mom to be exact. Wait... A working rookie mom of your not-so-average mother who never thought she would love and enjoy the experiences of motherhood. =) Honestly, I never knew being a mom would be this awesomely rewarding. I would never trade anything else to be in this position. Ever.

I have a two-year old son named Shareese Hamzah who is very funny and never fail to make me laugh everyday by his mischief and unexpected behavior. I am waiting for my second child which I hope would bring joy and wonders to me and my husband as how Shareese did. Hoping I would be able to share more of our stories here with the readers and would love to know more about your similar experiences too.

"I never knew how much love my heart could hold until someone called me "mommy."
– Author Unknown

Priceless experience with you