Hey all, what’s up? Finally, it’s our turn to brag about ourselves.

I’m talking about the good people from the Technology team. What we do may seem dull to others but hey, we’re fun people!

Let us start with our head Mr. Nazrul. He is extremely knowledgeable in everything to do with technology. He is a walking and talking version of the internet, guiding us through our day-to-day work. He is always there to save the day whenever we’re in trouble. With his cute physical appearance and a great sense of humour, Nazrul is a notable leader and also a dear friend.

Always laughing hysterically…

Fazil on Nazrul:
“If you hear someone laugh loudly, chances are it is always Nazrul. But he can be quite senyap especially when you’re doing work, he will popup behind you (like a Javascript code) without notice!”

What do u think of Nazrul, John?
“Well, I gotta agree, he’s one nutcase when it comes to the techies. Gives me the ‘wax in,wax out’ thing aaaaaall the time. Grghh… still, great teacher nonetheless. Thumbs up!”

Ok, then there’s the baby of the team, Mr. John. Although he’s the latest addition to the team, we blend very well but I will always make him sit every time we discuss or talk of his height!! We can always use him in the future to reach on something high on the shelf. Haha! Well, Mr.John is on Game Development, and he’s really crazy when it comes to this part of Technology world. And I have so much to learn from him. He’s a little panicky sometimes but overall he’s adorable (now I sound like a cupid agency or something). Oh!

“That’s his new nerd haircut and his big water bottle that he uses to pukul me everytime I didn’t hear him calling.”

Wait, Fazil has something to say too
“The cleanest desk ever! He only brings his Mac and himself (DUH) to work and that’s why he always gets his desk clean. And yes, mine is the ‘cleanest’. *Wink wink*”

Sweet face and messy desk to show that he’s busy la konon.

Then there’s Fazil. With a military haircut and a cute goatie, Fazil is the ‘diam- diam berisi’ teammate who is equipped with all-you-can-name-it knowledge about web development. He is a funny guy if you get to know him better and if he’s on leave, all the subsidized newspaper will not be arranged nicely on the shelf for us like everyday. Hehe. But overall, it’s nice to work with him with his funny personality. No wonder he got himself a cute wife. Haha..

John? Any comments?
“Silent man, evil grin, wicked smile, gets things done. It works I guess?”

And last but not least, is yours truly, Hafizah. Haha! This is getting weird, should I brag about myself? Well that sounds so wrong. Let me ask Fazil to do this.

These are few of our workloads and me looking skinny beside it. Hehe

“The only one that have dolls on her desk! Smurf and Angry Bird. Not only that, she has the BIGGEST headphones! Call her once, call her twice then she will hear. The most ramah person in Technology Dept, she can talk to anyone, including the newbie one! How she does that? It breaks the rule of programmer, though. ‘Talk more to PC, less to human’”.

Wow! Err.. Thanks Fazil. John?
“Big bully with her Galaxy Note in hand. Guess they both match the description… =P”

Ok, now on with what we do here in e-Media. We are the people armed with codes who are supporting e-Media in whichever area that needs them. We did the web and mobile for 3 main products, NST, Berita Harian and Harian Metro and also other niche sites. In future we will be developing a lot of new applications on mobile, namely android, iPhone and iPad, which is exciting to us to explore and with the guide of our sifu, Nazrul, and together, we can achieve it!

As for the time being, we are occupied with lots of enhancements and new developments, as you can see below on our board. We are happy with what we do, and being in e-Media specially make it even better, with fun colleagues and fun bosses.

By Hafizah.

Are you interested to work with us? We are hiring! Check it out!

Earlier in 2011, Hanna, Fanna and myself had survived the New Straits Times’ Pre-Entry Editorial Training Scheme (PETS) for three months.

During that training, we learned how to write hard news, recognise our house style, craft interesting leads and picked up interviewing skills. When we finally graduated from the PETS programme, we had hoped to be placed with news desk.

Hard at work?

The management had bigger plans and decided to send us to eMedia. It was frustrating when something you yearned so badly wasn’t meant for you.

But we always looked at the bright side of things. To be in eMedia was not bad at all.

So, when our lovely bosses decided to send us back to news desk, we were terrified. Not because we were afraid that we couldn’t handle it. But to fall in love for the second time with news desk….

Don’t you just hate it that you have to leave just as you fall in love with something? We were scared of that. The heartbreak.
As I write this, our stint with the news desk would be over. We are now attached with Life and Times.
Things went well during our month at news desk. Our daily routine looked something like this: Every morning, it was a must to see the editor who would assign and brief us. Then, we were off to the assignment. We came back and debrief, quickly wrote the story and patiently waited until the story was given the green light.

On foreign ground: This is the news desk

This training has taught me a lot. My most memorable assignment was about gifted Form Four kids from Sekolah Permata Pintar. These clever kids had experienced a college lifestyle while their peers were still struggling in school.
I learned that everyone is different. While I may not be as intelligent as those kids, I don’t think I could ever lead their lifestyle. Life, as it is now, is how I love it.
I enjoyed every single day at news desk. It was a good learning experience. But I also realised why I never made it to news desk. I believe God has something else planned for my future.
I’m glad to be where I am now. I hope I can (and will) contribute to eMedia. Perhaps, one day I’ll be recognized as Datuk Ridhatul Rizki Sayuti. *tak salah berangan kan* ;p
News desk is good but eMedia is so much better.

Oh, how I’ve missed my workstation!

By Ridhatul Rizki Sayuti

Proof of a hot chick? See below.

Okay, so it’s not quite me…

As a start, we needed a fashion buyer in-charge of getting the right products for the targeted customers. This is a very crucial step because this project is handled by a group of men: Ken (Business Development Senior Manager) and co.
Now tell me girls, can you trust these guys to pick and buy clothes and accessories for you? Since I am part of the targeted consumer, it was only right that I should be hired to be the fashion buyer *hint hint*. I was oh-so-excited. It was like the whole gravity of the project was pointing at me.

Nothing like a yummy meal to start any meeting. Pasta lunch courtesy of Eve

Buuutt since I already have a fulltime job already, I shall not be greedy. A luckier person will get the job.
However, the few of us were tasked to guide Ken and co while waiting for this fashion buyer to come in. Our brief was simple: to come up with a scrapbook filled with clothes we loved and create looks. This scrapbook would then be handed to Ken and co to bring along when they go off to their suppliers.

Our sources of inspiration

Our little meeting started off with lunch at the office thanks to Eve. The real work started after our appetite was satiated.

Snip, snip

By Hanis Azarea

The place was overrun with ‘international students and teachers’ dressed in various uniforms. We must have looked like a gathering of misfits, geeks, jocks, school hooligans and uniformed ‘students’.

You see this was the legendary Back to School party for the cool people from eMedia and Alt Media.

Eager schoolkids arriving right on time.

Stay away from this teacher!

True to the school theme, teachers and students were divided into sporting houses or rumah sukan for the games. Members from the pink, orange, yellow and green teams competed ferociously in the Human Bingo, Gingerbread Eating Contest, Frame Game and Chinese Drawing games in the bid to win themselves delicious cookie medals and shopping vouchers.

Chinese Drawing game

The highlight of the party was seeing the Best Dressed finalists battle it out for the title. The six who made the cut were three very geeky students, a Scout, one preppy cheerleader and a sizzling saree-clad teacher.

Some of the Best Dressed finalists with their best poses.

All six were required to strut up and down a makeshift runaway and strike their best pose too.

In the end, it boiled down to the Scout and the scrawny Geek. The Geek would have won with his impromptu planking…until the moment the Scout decided to pull a ‘smackdown’ on him! The crowd went wild cheering him on as he received the iPad 2 as the winner for Best Dressed.

And the winner is….

The Back to School party was a fun gathering with many who walked away with fabulous prizes from the games, lucky draw and gift exchange.

Now, I wonder what next year’s theme will be……..

Until then, happy new year!

By: Junee Yusoff

Too cool for school : P

The students were divided into four houses; Green, Pink, Yellow & Orange

The December babies blowing out candles on their yummy-looking birthday cake!

Cikgu Sinah & Teacher Kim during the ice-breaking session

Go! Go! Go! Yellow house members posing as the mighty morphine Power Rangers

Gingerbread eating contest tenderly demonstrated by our two MC’s

Can you guys guess what these kids have drawn?

Wouldn’t you like to taste these delicious medal cookies?

Look at all these bright and happy faces!

The fellow teachers and students from the School of Hard Knocks! : D

The battle of the bulges must begin!

Thus, this special group of people trotted off to the gym to get in shape. Running, cycling and lifting weights became a regular routine for the gym bunnies. Apparently, this wasn’t enough…..

This was how the eMedia bootcamp came about! The idea was to get like-minded people together to have fun while exercising. OK, I’ll admit it. It does get a bit boring in the gym especially when you’re suffering alone!

Fortunately, Cheryl knew a personal trainer who would conduct the bootcamp at our own office space. And as personal trainers go, this one was quite hot too…. :p (feel free to stare at the photo below **grins**)

Meet Jeremy Ng, the trainer…=D

So began the ‘torture’ sessions on every Tuesdays and Thursdays. Led by the Queen Bee Cheryl, the brave ones include Evangeline, Su Lynn, Chin Guan, Rizki and Farhana!

Stretching and warming up is very important

The bootcamp has been going on for more than a month now. Jeremy has cleverly and creatively designed different workouts for each session to make sure no one hits the plateau and of course to avoid boredom.

Evangeline showing her “ass”-ets

Higher, Cheryl!!

If looks could kill…….

And the hard work has paid off. Designer Chin Guan has lost an impressive four kilograms in just four weeks! While the others have some catching up to do, everyone is getting fit (judging from the glow and smug look they have on their faces!)

”Must lose more weight…” Chin Guan thought.

Being fit and healthy is important to the folks at e-Media…just like our food and parties. It’s important to have fun while leading healthy lifestyles.

Perhaps, we should organise a paintball match or wall-climbing session next?

ENDS.

By Nurliza Fathi

Agaknya siapa yang boleh melompat setinggi itu?

Saya telah menghadirikan diri bersama dengan pasukan rumah biru NSTP. Buat pertama kalinya setelah setahun berkerja, barulah saya menjejakkan kaki ke ‘rooftop’. Dan di sana, saya nampak ‘basketball court’ yang tidak berpenghuni. Terus saya memandang badan sendiri yang semakin berisi akibat makan berlebihan selama ini tanpa bersenam.
Secara tidak langsung, semangat bermain ‘basketball’ terus datang.

Tingkat 6 NSTP menjadi tempat Roofers berjumpa dan bermain

Keesokkan harinya, saya terus membeli bola ‘basketball’. Sejak dari hari itu, saya mula bermain ‘basketball’ setiap hari selepas waktu kerja. Ada juga ‘team’ lain yang main, tapi berlainan masa. Apabila semakin aktif bermain ‘basketball’, saya mula buat ‘team’ sendiri yang diberi nama ‘Roofers’ yang kini mengandungi lebih kurang 20 orang ahli.

Lat-ta-li-lat….

Kesemua ahli datang dari ‘departments’ berlainan. Ada ahli-ahli dari e-Media, Berita Harian, Harian Metro, IT, Resource Centre dan Advertising.

Chin Guan sangat ‘terer’ main basketball

Ahli Roofers dalam aksi

Dari mula bermain pakai kasut ‘ballet’ crocs warna pink, saya sudah memiliki kasut ‘basketball’ sendiri yang kini sudah pun haus.

Kasut basketball tersayang

Sekarang, saya dah ahli kumpulan ‘Roofers’ akan bermain ‘basketball’ pada setiap hari Selasa dan Khamis selepas waktu kerja. Staf e-Media juga selalu bermain bersama-sama termasuklah boss kami, Cheryl. Pada bulan Ramadhan yang lepas, saya berhenti bermain ‘basketball’ selama sebulan kerana penat berpuasa dan berat badan pun dah bertambah balik akibat makan berlebihan semasa waktu berbuka.
Hehehe…. Jadi saya kena main dengan lebih kuat lagi!

By Ida

The press conference to announce the nomination was held last week and it was exciting! I had tagged along the content and video teams as they headed to Holiday Villa Hotel and Suites Subang. Obviously, we were there for work…and to rub shoulders with the stars. :p

Najwa Latif looks scared here. Don’t worry Najwa, Amir doesn’t bite!

A day before the PC (it stands for press conference, noobs!), the ladies from the content team had a furious debate on their outfits for the event. Serious questions such as ‘should we wear a shimmery dress paired with killer heels’ as the theme Big, Bold and Silver suggested or ‘do we stick to our casual work wear’ were pondered on. Yay or Nay?

Well, it was a loud NAY as we were specifically warned not to outshine the celebrities!

Not to worry though since we turned up at the PC wearing the most glamorous accessory; our smiles!

“Listen here, Angels. This is how you do it,” instructs Amir. L-R: Fanna, Hanna, Rizki and Amir.

Starstruck

Hanna must be admiring how nice Lisa Surihani’s hair is.

The three Angels in the content team were Fanna, Hanna and Rizki. And of course, Charlie was dear old Amir. These beautiful people were tasked to interview all the celebrities present. They also took turns updating ABPBH’s Twitter and facebook accounts to keep the info-hungry fans happy.

Hard at work?

Two Padawans-Hanis and Foo Soo-and their Jedi master Lobak make up the video team. Click, click, click went their cameras as they recorded and photographed the madness which happened that day.

“Testing one, two, three,” says Lobak while Hanis stares intently into the camera.

Then there were the two ladies who kept a close eye on everyone. Su Lynn and Hani made sure everyone did their job and got back to the office safe and sound.

It was a busy day. But my starstruck self was just happy to be surrounded by celebrities.

B-)

By Azira

OK, that was an exaggeration. Though for a moment, we thought a small fire had broken out at the pantry when we saw smoke wafting out.

The folks at eMedia dashed from their workstations to the pantry to take a better look and I suppose to be a part of it. It’s the kaypoh-ness in us Malaysians. Only Lobak was sensible enough to lug the fire extinguisher along.

Anyway, the cause of this little incident which happened last week was……

Burnt toasts.

And the culprit was…………………….

Yes, our dear Queen Bee can’t toast bread apparently. Her cooking disasters aren’t limited to just toasts. Her attempt at making half boiled eggs earlier in the week turned out equally doomed when they exploded in the microwave.

Egg-plosion in the microwave just for gooey half boiled eggs

We didn’t manage to take any photographic evidence of the egg incident but by heck, it was a messy affair!

Don’t worry though. She has now sworn to not make any more toasts or half boiled eggs or cook in the office…….

“I’ll just have to get you to do it for me,” she laughed. 0_o

By Evangeline

Hello, everyone!

The eMedia office has been a hotbed of activities these past few months since we moved in and everyone has been busy with a lot of events.

Some of the earlier projects that we’ve been doing include Hackweekend and Otak2. These were all under WakaLab initiatives, which was soon launched in September amidst
great fanfare, cool contests and fun parties! WakaLab has also been busy with such events as the 100 Thousand Poets for Change.

As for the rest of eMedia, we have been working hard with some projects including organising brainstorming sessions, like the recent one for Harian Metro – the number one newspaper in Malaysia.

So if you come to the office, be wary not to step on the oodles of grey matter on the floor. And if you see us with vacant smiles on our faces, we’re not zombies – just all our brain cells have been stormed out like that tornado in Wizard of Oz.

Stay tuned because as soon as they are ready, we’re going to bang on the gongs and blow the trumpets so hard, the heavens will tremble at the noise.