featuring technology tips and music recommendations with a personal touch

It’s that time of the year again. In fact, today marks a special milestone for me: I’m finally turning 25, that is, two and half decades!

It’s become a tradition here on the blog for me to write a “reflection” post on the year that’s passed by. I always start wondering how fast the year has passed by, and this one is no different. Well, except that 2007, the year I turned 25, has ended on a high note. It was such a dramatic year. However, if I were to make a theme for 2007, it would be this:

2007 is the year I stopped looking at the world in black and white, and starting seeing the different shades of gray within.

More on this later. For now, here’s a brief outline for the rest of this post:

1. Good things happen at last
2. The different shades of gray
3. Major accomplishments
4. 2008: the crystallizing year

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Despite my doubts and anxiety about the exam, I proved once again that I’m up for anything I set my mind to: I have successfully passed the Certified Usability Analyst (CUA) exam yesterday!

I waited till today to write about it because it took a little while to sink in. I mean, it’s over! The ambitious plan that started early this year with my attempt to get into the field of usability and gain some credentials has now been realized.

For new readers of this blog, Certified Usability Analyst (CUA) is a certification offered by the world-renowned usability consulting company called Human Factors International as an entry-level certification for usability professionals. It’s the perfect kick-start for people who are passionate about this field of science like me.

My plan to achieve this certification involved traveling all the way to India for a 10-days training course in July. That went pretty well. I came back and had about 2 months to study for and prepare for the certification exam. I wasted no effort reviewing all the course materials and reading lots of online and offline literature on this subject. Finally, I devised a strategy for taking the exam that involved creating a reference sheet (PDF) to lookup any piece of information I may need during the exam (it’s an open-book one). The latter proved very useful during the 2.5 hours, 100 questions exam.

With this certification under my belt, I’m now ready to delve into the world of usability and human-computer interaction. As a matter of fact, I already have a blueprint for a usability career plan. The steps of this plan go something like this:

1. Establish professional credibility by way of certification and actual practice.
2. Work towards bringing usability knowledge and practices into my workplace.
3. Start a dedicated blog and write regularly about different topics in usability such as user-centered design.
4. When I feel confident with enough usability work to back me up, I will start giving public speeches and training sessions.

What I’m really hoping to achieve is something bigger which is to bring the science of usability into this part of the world and make people (especially those involved in IT) aware of it’s critical importance. I honestly hope to look back on this post one day and say with confidence that I’m at least one step closer to achieving this grand plan of mine. It’s not completely selfless, as I’ll hopefully become famous for this effort. But in doing so, I’ll also make the lives of many, many people easier since the institutionalization of usability means we will start making (and using) many products that are usable, useful and effective. Everybody’s life will be easier. It’s what computers were always meant to do, and it’s up to us to make them do just that.

I’m back from India!

I’ve been on a 2-week trip to India attending a 10-day course series offered by the renowned usability consulting firm called Human Factors International (HFI) (read more in my original post).

So I’m now in Dubai airport with 8 hours of waiting time till my connecting flight back home. That’s plenty of time to reflect on the whole trip and that’s what I’m going to try and do here.

Overall, I’m really glad to say that objective of the trip was achieved in excess of what I’ve expected. I got out of the courses with such solid foundation of the material that it feels like money well spent. But what’s more important is that it reaffirmed my passion for this field since it was my first official exposure to the principles and methodologies followed in the world of usability and human-computer interaction design. I can safely say now that I’ve truly found my career passion!

For the rest of this post, I’m going to make a quick run through some of my observations and experiences during the trip in general. The outline will be as follows:

• Training courses
• First impressions
• Hotel
• Food
• City (Bangalore)
• People
• Funniest moments

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Four months in the making, the curtains are finally drawn on my first ever public speech which was, by all measures, a big success!

Of course, when we’re talking success here, we’re talking relative one taking in consideration this being kind of my first public one and the fact that it’s the first time I’m presenting this widely popular phenomenon, known as Web 2.0.

That being said, the speech wasn’t without fair share of flaws. I received some valuable feedback from the audience and the organizers. However, the general feedback was that this presentation was so awesome it’s a shame many people couldn’t make it. Well my friend, that is a good enough testament, for me, for now!

Let’s take a look at the good, the bad and the ratings.

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Has it been one year already since I last blogged about turning 23? Well I guess it has. Funny how when we look back in time, life seems to have gone by in a flash. But when we look ahead in the future, we think it’s still gonna be long time to come.

Well today marks my 24th birthday. Unlike last year, turning 24 hasn’t come in much of a surprise to me. That’s because beginning 2006, I had set out bunch of some specific goals I wanted to do by the time I’m 24. I was very aware of the time that has passed. I can’t claim to have achieved all my goals, but overall I can say I was lot more productive than any time in the past. This was definitely one of the best years of my life!

For this year’s blog, I’m going to start something new. I’m going to highlight the major events of the year. I’m also going to list things in various categories that have I’ve favored or discovered throughout the year. Finally, I’m going to nominate one song to be the Song of the Year!

So starting with the highlights, here they are in chronological order:

• I’ve started the year (Feb 18) by ditching my stupid old company that I worked for since 2004 and switching to a much bigger one. This was difinitely a wise choice and a move I won’t regret.
• Passed the TOEFL exam (March). Important step in preparation for my Masters degree.
• Having a renewed energy and desire to prove myself, I proceeded to obtain the Microsoft Certified Application Developer and Microsoft Certified Solution Developer certifications in a 2 months period!
• To show my gratitude to God for helping me achieve the above certifications, I promised myself that I would never neglect or miss a prayer time again. Usually promises are broken, but I can’t believe how I made myself stick to this one and, you know what, I have, and will, never miss one again. It became a habit. Thanks God!
• Finished my car payments. I now fully own my own, self-financed car!
• Finished my university paper work. (Thanks MoE!)
• Opened my own bank account here. This was so much of a relief as I’ve started doing my banking and bill payment online and on the phone.
• For the first time in my life, I’ve managed to stay on top of all my income and expenses and I’ve tracked all that down to the smallest details using a lovely software package called AceMoney.
• Maintained a healthy relationship with my family and friends. I don’t recall any major problems all throughout the year. This is by itself an achievement for me. I have grown to be more tolerant and friendly.
  ..well to some extent.. don’t you dare sticking a pointy piece of paper in my ear I’ll smack you down! :)

Now, I’m not perfect. There are still some things I wish I would have achieved. Of course, those are going to be my objectives or resolutions for the new year:

• Get used to waking up for Fajr prayer on time.
• Pay monthly charity.
• Read Qur’an on a regular basis.
• Stick to a gym plan.
• Start my Masters study.

(Tip: I found this great online goal tracker, called Joe’s Goals, which I’m going to use to track down my progress in achieving the above objectives)

Alright, now to the part where I tell you whole bunch of different things that I’ve favored throughout the year (and things that I disliked as well):

Category: Friends

The stars of this year are my colleagues at my new company, namely: Ahmed, Saleh, Ubaadah, and let’s not forget Hamdein (aka degre’ mama). Together, we have turned the dull atmosphere of this workplace into an energetic and fun one. Those guys are the kings of jokes and sarcasm. Sometimes, we laugh so hard we have to run to the meeting room to blow off all the laughs. I believe we are all going to end up kicked out of this place someday, and I’ll be the first to go. Hey, I like setting examples!

Category: Music
Till recently, I have heard about a type of music called Ambient Music but wasn’t too interested in exploring this field of music. That was till I recently wanted something so relaxing I could put on and still continue to focus on what I’m doing or relax to. I went ahead and downloaded an ambient mix CD called The Chill Surrounding the Promise of Snow and, needless to say, I was fascinated by the level of sophistication yet simplicity this genre of music has got to offer. I became an instant fan and ended up downloading all the CDs at ambient-nights.org.

Also, I thought’s it’s also important to honor Fadl Shaker’s new album (Allah A3lam) which instantly became an all-time favorite with it’s lovely tunes and emotional content.

Category: Food
Nothing major here. I’m into food for enjoyment as much as for survival :p But if I had to a pick a favorite restaurant for this year, I would say it’s gotta be the italian Paninos restaurant. Lately, I’ve been having my breakfast there every day. They rock!

Category: Places
Since all the buzz was out about how StarBucks is all for supporting the Jewish army and stuff, I was determined not to go there ever again. Thanks to my friends, I found this great little new coffee shop called Oasis. It has the most comfortable couches ever (much better than StarBucks) and I just love its relatively quite atmosphere.

Category: Tech Gadgets
Well, I guess we have a clear winner in this category: my new lovely NEC VT767 multimedia projector.

This medium-sized wonderful projector has been a blessing for me and the whole family. I can now read my favorite e-books in a much easier way and watch my favorite sitcoms in a theater-like experience (coupled with my new Creative Inspire 5.1 5200 speaker system)

Category: Internet
This year, the boom of the Web 2.0 era took us all by surprise. It became one of my major interests on the web. Everyday, there is a new startup that promises to offer a new service or an improvement to an existing online service.
But the best Web 2.0 website (service) that has made a difference in my life in this year has got to be Google Reader. Keeping up with the latest news and stuff will never be hard again thanks to this wonderful app that lets me very easily check out the latest headlines (through RSS) in all interesting websites so that I don’t have to visit them one by one. Thanks to Google for making such a wonderful time-saving app. Google to continues to make a difference in the world!

So there you have it folks, a year in review: 24. To end this year, and this blog, I set out to pick one song that represents the past year and the future to come. My pick was on an all-time favorite song by The Goo Goo Dolls called: Better Days (download)

Here goes the lyrics. Have a good listen everybody :) See you next year!

And you ask me what I want this year
And I try to make this kind and clear
Just the chance that maybe we�ll find better days

Cuz I don�t need boxes wrapped in strings
And designer love and empty things
Just the chance that maybe we�ll find better days

So take these words
And sing out loud
Cuz everyone is forgiven now
Cuz tonight�s the night the world begins again

I need someplace simple where we could live
And something only you can give
And that�s faith and trust and peace while we�re alive

And the one poor child who saved this world
And there�s ten million more who probably could
If we all just stopped and said a prayer for them
So take these words
And sing out loud
Cuz everyone is forgiven now
Cuz tonight�s the night the world begins again

I wish everyone was loved tonight
And somehow stop this endless fight
Just the chance that maybe we�ll find better days

So take these words
And sing out loud
Cuz everyone is forgiven now
Cuz tonight�s the night the world begins again
Cuz tonight�s the night the world begins again

p.s., much thanks to my cousin Afnan for her wonderful birthday postcard she sent me on my birthday. She is truly the star of this one!

Yep .. finito.. over.. done .. finished .. call it what you want .. but i’m done with this. I’m officially recognized as a Micrsoft Certified Solution Developer for .NET Platform with focus on platform security. For none ITs out there, that’s some good stuff :)

If I did learn something out of it (i mean hell beside the actual material in it), it’s that with persistance and patience you can do just about anything you’ve ever wanted. Coz for me, this was something I wanted to achieve since my highschool was over. We’re talking 6 years here! Somehow I never got the energy or the right environment to pursue this certficiation. But after starting with this new job, I think I felt the need to make a standout from the talented people around me by achieving a certification which many of them didn’t have. And with the financial support from my company (yep .. I havn’t paid a penny for any of the 5 exams), it was the right time and the right place to do it.

It’s all so relieving to get something out of your way and be able to look out in the near horizon for something else exciting and new. I mean lets face it, always looking forward to something or anticipating what the future will bring along is what life’s all about. I would feel so dead if I don’t have anything to look forward to.

So what’s next in my agenda? Well, I know exactly whats it gonna be. Yep.. my Masters degree. I haven’t decided if i’m gonna do it online or the traditional way yet. But either way, I’m ready to qualify for admission. I just got my TOEFL score results back a week ago and they were pretty amazing.

Before that, though, I feel that I need to renew my religious vows, if you know what I mean. It’s like, in order to put everything wordly I achieve in perspective, there’s gotta a religious side, or intent, to it. I’m one of those who firmly believe that none of what we do in this life matters if we’re missing out on the purpose of our existence, and I think that’s the way to feel real happiness.

Yep .. thats me baby ! Just nailed the last of the three required exams today and now this pretty logo’s going right into my CV. There’ll also be a certificate (perfect for straight walls) and a pin (perfect for over-bragging) coming soon from Microsoft.

Anyway, it’s been a great journey. But it’s certainly not over yet. I’m just one exam away from the ultimate title for Microsoft software developers which is the MCSD (Microsoft Certified Solution Developer). I’ve scheduled this last exam a month from now so that should give a pretty good head start at studying. It’s gonna be hard (security-related exam) but I’m the man ;)

Oh no.. not that :) I meant I FINALLY GOT A JOB!!!!

Ok hold on.. could you like back off of for a second while I scream top of my lungs…

YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABY!

alright thanks :)

phew.. finally employed. How good does it feel? You have no idea! I’m so so very excited yet it scares da hell out of me to land in the middle of bunch of new people. But I do have couple of friends already over there.. one being the sales manager lol!! and the other.. well.. the tea boy lol

Anyway this company is like the ultimate mix of races!! you get filipinos, pakis (may god help me with those people’s English accent), sudaneese, syrians, egyptions, saudis.. hmm what did i miss.. oh yeah.. Canadians now :p

it’s called Globesoft (they translate it as ???????? ???????? in Arabic.. :D) , located 2 min (car) and 5 min (walk) from where I live (you just gotta love that).. specializes in just about everything related to building IT infrastructure let it be online or onhold.. err.. i mean offline. The salary is ok considering I’m getting a chance to wipe the smell of fresh graduate off my butt, and they provide medical insurance on top of that.

I’d be working on a new ASP.NET project they’re starting, which is another plus factor coz I NEED to sharpen my skill and get experience in this technology. Work hours are 9-1 and 2-6. I just don’t get why they have to break it.. 1 hour isn’t enough for my 2 hours nap! I mean, WHY HAVEN’T THEY THOUGHT OF THAT!.. well maybe i could talk them into making it 2 hours to accommodate my napping needs :) oh well.. I’ll let ‘em like me first before risking getting my *** kicked out on the street :D

This is a major turn in my life. I gotta change my lifestyle, no more Saturday Night Live girls sorry :D, no more waking up 12 o’clock and napping 2 o’clock, no more attempting to count my teath with my tongue (anyone can do that besides Joey??), …………. etc

eeeeh… anyhow.. big day tom.. gotta wake up early.. look good smell good make good first impressions.. come back end of the day and blog about it and any freaks i meet :D

ps, this is where i’ll work (not bragging though :p)