Happy Iedul Fitri 1429H

This is probably my last post before Iedul Fitri, so …

Taqqaballahu Mina wa Minkum, Syiamana wa Syiamakum

Happy Iedul Fitri 1429H

纯粹的快乐 iedul

سعيد iedul نقية

純粋な幸せiedul

Selamat Idul Fitri 1429H

to all of friends, big family and colleague.

And to all who have had their fasting may Allah SWT accept our good fasting intention.

How Many Days do We Have to Work in a Year

Two reasons of why I write this post: my previous post about Key of Success: Gratitude and why I choose to be a freelancer.

Just all of sudden, my melancholic side of mine start to think, how many days are my working days in a year compare to the total days in a year? Then… after the calculation, I just feel very thankful and I am very happy of my choice, to become a freelance IT trainer.

Ok.. let’s see the calculation first. “How many days do we have to work in a year”.

According to the 2008 calendar data:
Average working hour : 8 hours
National holidays : 15 days
Saturday – Sunday : 114 days
Total Days in a year : 366 days

Now, based on that data, let’s calculate how many working days in a year. We are working in the average of 10 hours a days. If in one day we have 24 hours then:

Total Working Days in a Year = (10/24) hours x 366 days
= 152.5 days
= 153 days

Yes, we get 153 days, it’s a lot, but, 153 is the result of full 7 days working (Monday to Sunday)! So the next question would be… do we really work in full 7 days a week? Or maybe… are you one of the persons that have a full 7 working days? I believe even the labor surely have holiday, at least one day in a week or in a month. And I believe, if you have the ability and the facility to read this post, you’re not included in the list of people who work 7 days a week. He he … Most of you would have Saturday and Sunday holiday (or Sunday only). Well guys, we should be thankful for this. And also, we should work at our best. The reason is really simple. Let’s see the data again. Total of Saturday-Sunday in a year 2008 is 114 days. So now you’ll have:

Total Working Hours in a Year = 153 – 114 = 39 days only!

Cool. Fantastic, so actually, we never work more then two months a year! May I know how much is the total of your salary in a year (he he). Hey… don’t forget to deduct the total working hours in a year with the total of National Holidays in a year. the number is 15 days. And also… I don’t know what it is in English, but Indonesian said that it is Harpitnas (Hari Kejepit Nasional). Maybe I can say it the extension of National Holiday. For Example, if there is a National Holiday at Thursday, usually Friday would be Holiday also. he he.

Total Working Hours in a Year = 39- 15 (plus plus) = 24 (min min) days only!

Also, you should include your day off facility (if you have that facility and use it). Gosh. Our total working days in a year are not even a month!

Well, then, lets see my two reasons. First, about gratitude. How much we really appreciate this God gift. Man, less then one month work. How will you fill the rest of the days. How would you color the rest of the days? What would you do?

The second reason. Yes, based on the calculation, we only work only for 24 days. But, if we work regularly, at the office, in Jakarta… whooaa… we should recalculate it again. Start from the working hour, it would not be 10 hours a day (because we have additional hours when we’re in transportation mode, and traffic jam, he he). And I think, this is the reason of why most people always complain. That additional working hours is distributed to all working days. So, its a kind of… wasting time.

About freelancer. Yes, it is my choice. It is actually a type of work that most people don’t like. But now, I really love it. Why, because I can manage my self in a running tick of time. I can not manage the time and I don’t have the ability to do it. It is tough, but fun and challenging. And guys, what motivate my the most is, I’ve already talked to some of the freelancer, some of them really can do work for 2 months, and have holidays or do self development for the rest of the month!

World’s Youngest Cisco Certified Network Associate is a 12 year old Irtiza Haider from Pakistan!

Irtiza Haider has recently become the known world’s youngest Cisco Certified Network Associate.

Certifications at any level are tough — they are challenging to prepare for and certainly stressful to sit through. So when you hear that 12-year Irtiza Haider of Class 8 has recently become the known world’s youngest Cisco Certified Network Associate, you can’t help but wonder what enabled someone so young to accomplish something so big! “Well,” he starts off, “My father encouraged me a lot to undertake this course. He knew I was always interested in computers and he thought it would be a good way to spend my free time during the summer.”

The CCNA, is a certification that emphasizes on the technology and skills needed to work with networks of 100 nodes or fewer, covering both IP and non-IP networks including IPX and AppleTalk. Moreover, you need to have 80 percent of the questions correctly answered in the 2 hours, in order to pass the CCNA test.

So, did Irtiza find the preparation process difficult? “Yes. It is quite technical and you need to be able to understand theories and concepts, which obviously are not meant for students who are only 12 years old. But I was fortunate to have good teachers and people who supported and encouraged me.”

Irtiza had already enrolled in the CCNA classes back in June of 2007 however he, his father and teacher went to Islamabad to attend the Cisco Academy Awareness Day in Islamabad on June 19, 2007 to learn more about the prospects of the program. “I was very encouraged by Cisco representatives at the event and we got more information about how to proceed further.”

Amongst a lot of peers, they also met with Mu’men Suliman, Area Manager of the Cisco Network Academies. “Moving forward with the great expansion of the Cisco Networking Academy in Pakistan,” says Mu’men in retrospect, “I believe that Irtaza sets the bar of how the young generation is keen to earn the knowledge and expertise of Networking and advanced technologies in a country that will lead the future of the ICT platform.”

The 12-year old boy’s teacher and mentor is Rizwan Dastgir, Curriculum Lead and Academy Instructor at Ahad IT Services (a Cisco Local Academy), in Faisalabad, a city of about 3 million people. In a city well known for its agriculture, it’s surprising to find an IT institute focusing on producing young CCNAs. “There is a lot of talent in Pakistan and Faisalabad is no exception. This institute only helps to provide the people here with a platform.”

As with all things technical, Irtiza had been forewarned by his senior colleagues that the CCNA course would be extremely difficult and very dry, but that only added to the young boy’s persistence. “I found the curriculum very interesting and easy because of the way it was all explained to me by my teacher. I picked it up very quickly.” And if anyone thinks that this young Irtiza had it easy, think again. He spent 9 hour days at the Ahad IT institute, studying and learning. “I spent most of time at the academy during my entire summer vacation. We would start at about 11 a.m. and go on until 8 p.m. with a small break in the middle.”   details…

Source: lanwanword, Saturday, July 5, 2008