I'm an Apple Certified Trainer!

Several days ago, I finally received my new certificate - I am now an Apple Certified Trainer (ACT) for Logic Pro 8 Level 1.

About a month earlier, ICOM, my employer, sent me to Singapore for the Logic T3 (Logic Pro 8 Level 1 Train-the-Trainer) course. My trainer was Henrik Ahlgren from Sweden and there were 3 of us in the class (me and 2 other SAE Singapore lecturers).

From left: Giri Shanker, Sze, Henrik Ahlgren and Kenneth Foo at the SAE Singapore lobby.

From left: Kenneth, Giri, Sze and Henrik at the SAE Singapore balcony. Both Kenneth and Giri are lecturers there and have been wonderful hosts to Henrik and me.

Henrik was a great trainer, which helped me achieve a score of 95.51% in my Logic T3 exam :D

With my ACT qualification, I also have a new certification logo.


But due to the awkward timing of my Logic T3 course, I will be allowed to take the new Logic Pro 9 T3 exam when it becomes available (without undergoing another class).

Nevertheless, obtaining my ACT qualification for Logic would give ICOM the option to proceed with its application to become the first AATCe (Apple Authorized Training Center for Education) in Malaysia. Only time will tell if that becomes a reality.

Job Vacancy - Audio Engineer

An ex-student of mine told me that her previous employer was looking to hire an Audio Engineer. But more than a month later, they still haven't found anyone yet. So I thought I'd try to help out by posting the job vacancy here:

McGirvanmedia (Asia) in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia, is now recruiting a full time Audio Engineer to help run the studio in the company.

Job description is as follows:
1. Studio Maintenance
2. Recording and mixing of Messages On Hold & IVR production
3. Maintenance of company's IT infrastructure (not core but a little IT skill would be essential)
4. Managing of Voice Talents

Skills:
1. Basic knowledge in recording and mixing
2. Basic knowledge in utilizing Pro Tools

Working hours: Monday - Friday (8.30 am - 6 pm), working over weekends only where required.

Salary: To be discussed and based on experience. But definitely better than market standards + performance bonuses when targets are met.

For more info about the company, please go to:
www.mcgasia.com.my.

Anyone who is interested in applying for this Audio Engineer job can send their CV to either:
jobs@mcgasia.com.my or mary@mcgasia.com.my

I'm an Apple Certified Pro!

Yes, I'm now an Apple Certified Pro in Logic Pro 8, Level 2... woohoo! After waiting for 3 weeks (much longer than the standard 7 day time frame), I have finally received my e-certificate from Apple.

In addition, I have also been granted the use of an Apple certification signature.

Although the Apple Certified Pro certificate looks plain and simple, it is still a hard-earned certificate, nevertheless! As there was no Apple Logic certified trainer in Malaysia, ICOM (my employer) fully sponsored my trip to Singapore for the Logic 301 course and exam (Logic 101 was a self-study effort).

Due to the number of topics to be covered, I had a highly intensive 3-day course at iShop by Club 21, an Apple Authorized Training Center. Fortunately, my trainer, Roy Lim, covered the Logic 301 syllabus comprehensively, which was a big help.

From left: Ben Teng (iShop), Roy Lim (Logic trainer) and me (Sze)

I have also been told that the Logic examinations are pretty tough. So I was pleasantly surprised when I averaged 97% in both the Logic 101 and 301 exams! :):)

My Logic 8 Level 1 Score

My Logic 8 Level 2 Score

Currently, I am listed as the the only Logic Pro 8 Level 2 certified professional in the country (Malaysia, besides one other person with Level 1 certification). This listing can be viewed at the Apple Pro Applications site:
http://www.apple.com/software/pro/training/certifieds.php
and Apple Certification Alliance member directory:
http://www.apple.com/training/certification/certpros/index.php

I also found that Logic Pro 8 Level 2 certification is far less common (worldwide) as most certified users only have Logic Pro 8 Level 1. Perhaps Level 2 (i.e. passing Logic 301 course) is really that tough after all... hehe.

However, despite my Apple Certified Pro status, I am still not a certified trainer. My next step is to achieve the Apple Certified Trainer qualification for Logic Pro 8 Levels 1 and 2. This will then enable me to train my students to become Apple Certified Pros themselves and ICOM to be Malaysia's first Apple Authorized Training Center (for Logic music production software). :)

Offsite Meeting @ Avillion, Port Dickson

Microsoft Malaysia's SMS&P (Small and Midmarket Solutions & Partners) team had an offsite meeting last week at Avillion Resort, Port Dickson. As I was also in that team, a few colleagues and me made car pooling arrangements to travel together from Puchong.

We arrived at Avillion PD before 9am on Friday and started the day with a presentation by the HR Director, followed by a seminar from an external consultant. This seminar was quite fun. We had to identify our own personalities and understand how to deal with different types of people. After analysis, I fell into the "Goal Oriented" category, which is typical of managers and directors... hehe. It's amazing how different types of people can form a better team than only having people with the same characteristics.

Angel and me.

After that, we had a scavenger hunt. This was pretty fun too, although my team didn't win the prize. We ended our day with a delicious 10-course Chinese dinner at the resort restaurant. I also had a small, surprise birthday cake too! :)

It was not easy to fall asleep in the evening despite being very tired. We were staying in the water chalet and the waves kept hitting on the rock wall, producing a natural sea wave sound in the background. It felt as if I was lying on my bed, floating on the sea. However, I managed to fall asleep eventually.

I got up quite early the next morning to catch some fresh air. Avillion at dawn was a picturesque scene and looked beautiful.

Avillion at dawn.

We started the day's SMS&P meeting right after the breakfast. It wasn't too interesting and finished at about 12:30 pm. We checked out of our hotel rooms right after that and headed back home. It had been a fun company meeting and we had an enjoyable time :)

My New Job!

It has been some time since I wanted to change jobs. I tried to leave my job last year but the plan failed due to one of my boss' power of persuasion... hehe.

However, a year later, I finally made up my mind to go and I was determined not to perform a U-turn again this time. Since I had to give my employer a 3-month notice, I had to do it with a lot of courage, as I didn't have any job offer then when I handed in my resignation letter.

I had a few options in mind on my next step:
Plan A: Apply for a job in an MNC (multi national company).
Plan B: Take up a Masters degree.
Plan C: Start my own business.

I kept all my options open until the fuel price increase in June. After a review, I felt that the most secure path would still be Plan A. So I called up Microsoft and met the Inside Sales Manager for an interview. I got a job offer a week later and accepted it within a week.

So now, here I am sitting on the 29th Floor in Tower 2 of the Petronas Twin Towers building. I am the Inside Account Manager and it has been a comfortable 1st week working in Microsoft (Malaysia). Wish me luck!

My new office is on the 29th floor of Tower 2 (right tower).

Skyline Quest

Recently, we launched a website for our new company called Skyline Quest. We had both been very busy and had to delay the website several times. But we are glad that we finally got to finish and upload it online.

So, what is Skyline Quest all about? No, it has nothing to do with Nissan Skyline, but rather, it is a registered business that takes advantage of both our backgrounds in IT and music technology. Skyline Quest is an ICT solutions provider that specializes in business productivity applications, multimedia hardware and software products, music technology tools as well as various types of web-based services.

And if all that sounds too technical (haha), in other words, it simply means that Skyline Quest is a company that supplies a wide range of products and services – computer hardware, software, audio equipment and web services, all at competitive prices.

Our aim is to provide our customers with the lowest prices without making losses. Thus it becomes a win-win situation. So, if you are looking for any IT products and services or audio production and musical equipment, primarily in Malaysia, then please feel free to contact us.

For more information, please go to:
www.skylinequest.com

I'm Pro Tools Certified!

Yes, I'm now Pro Tools 210M certified... woohoo! Last month, me and 3 other colleagues (Nilesh, Vinay and Nian Tze) underwent 4 full days of highly intensive training for 4 courses - Pro Tools 101, Pro Tools 110, Pro Tools 201 and Pro Tools 210M. Such training would not have been possible for normal Pro Tools users but had to be specially arranged and was for experienced Pro Tools users/instructors only.

My Pro Tools 210M certificate from Digidesign. As there is still no news from Digidesign about the other 3 certificates (to be issued by ICOM), I have decided not to wait any more and just post my blog.

Fortunately, we had a fantastic trainer in Andy Hagerman - the Training Manager (Asia) at Digidesign Japan - who guided us through all the courses and certification exams :)

From left: me (Sze), Nilesh, Andy, Nian Tze and Vinay.

Together with one other Digidesign employee, we are currently the only Pro Tools certified users in the country (Malaysia), according to Digidesign's Certification Directory:
http://training.digidesign.com/listings

In addition, each of us also received a complimentary Pro Tools HD 7 Operator t-shirt and we are now qualified to have the Certified Operator logo next to our names.

So what was the most interesting thing I learnt during the certification training? Well, guess what? Pro Tools actually has color!!!... hahaha.

The different shades of Pro Tools

From Stressroid To Promotion

It’s been 1 year and 2 months since I joined this fast-paced company called e-Globalfocus Sdn Bhd. I started the job weighing around 60kg and now, I am only about 50kg (free weight-loss program ;) No, I'm not kidding – I know I’ve lost a whopping 10kg but I can’t help it as I have even been eating twice the amount of food that I used to consume. I remember when I was working in ICOM, I had to go on diet as I gained so much weight. I thought it was a relationship spell - my weight increased when I started seeing Sze and I blamed it on love. Now, I still love Sze, even deeper than before, but yet I am shedding the pounds. So this time, I blame it on work stress.

As an Application Specialist in my office, I took care of enterprise solutions software - MS Dynamics CRM 3.0, SurfCRM and other Microsoft Business Solutions. I had been very proactive in my job, but yet, some of my colleague’s responsibilities were added to my job scope after she left the company. Soon after, we moved office to Tropicana. Then, my boss secured a really huge deal and that project manager’s job was also given to me. All these additions will tremendously increase my skills and knowledge but of course, my stress levels also increased exponentially.

So, I decided to quit. I had 2 job offers from much bigger companies and one of them was Microsoft. I declined the offer from Air Asia as they did not offer any transport allowances with their office so far away. Although they had offered me the highest pay, I still decided to join Microsoft (everyone wants to join Microsoft!). I tendered my resignation and my boss was shocked. He never really expected this from me. He tried to understand my reasons for wanting to leave. Believe me, I had a lot to complain about. So my bosses came up with a new package for me – a promotion and more streamlined responsibilities… and not forgetting, a raise too.

I have known both my bosses for many years, since 2001. I was just an intern then and while driving to work at their old office in Leisure Commerce Square (famously known as Bali then), I still remember the radio reporting about the Sept 11 terrorist attack on the WTC. I had enjoyed working with them as they were pretty flexible and gave everyone a chance to develop on their own initiatives. This is what I mean by growing your own talents to the best of your abilities. With this history and friendship, and not for financial reasons, I decided to accept their improved job offer to stay (while declining Microsoft's offer in the process) and to be promoted with immediate effect.

So, all I want to say is that, I am now a Product Manager with e-Globalfocus and I will do my best to promote the products and services under my responsibility.