Sunday, February 8, 2009

The Telephone Call

I have this habit. If I am busy and I receive an SMS, often I would read and then leave it to continue with whatever I was busy with.

Then, when I am free, and if I remember that SMS, I would reply it accordingly. But most often than not, I’d forget about it until when I start to clear my inbox.

I figured, if that SMS is really important and requires my urgent attention, the author of the SMS would call me to get the reply. Yes… it does defeats the purpose of sending an SMS but hey, I was busy! Its not like I wanted to ignore you… I must stay focus with what I am doing… right?

This reminds me of a story that I got from a Court of Appeal Judge recently. He said that he learned a very valuable lesson from one of his client when he was practicing before his elevation.

One day, one of his client came to his office from somewhere far far away. As he was advising his client, the office phone rang. He answered the phone. It was another client who had a really urgent matter. So he signaled to the client before him to wait whilst he discussed with the “online” client.

After waiting for a while, the far far away client got up and left his office. He thought the client went to the loo but then, even after he had ended his telephone conversation, the far far away client still did not return. When he asked his secretary, she informed him that that client had already left the building.

As he sat back on his chair, he received another telephone call. It was the far far away client. He was calling from a public phone just outside the building. He said that he realized there is no point in travelling from far far away only to have his time robbed by a telephone call. So he might as well save the trouble and just call. This way, he could get the sole attention that he wants from his lawyer. On top of that, there can be no one who could steal his time if he called.

This incident lingered in the judge’s mind and served as a valuable lesson to him. He shared it with me. I thought you might benefit from it too.

Stay focus with what you are doing.



Jangan SMS semasa memandu.




Blog adjourned.

7 obiter dictum:

Andrei said...

stumbled upon ure blog recently and found it quite a good read. btw, u took law at iium rite? im waiting for my spm results rite now and am thinking of taking law at iium. can u tell me roughly wat its like studying at iium? and do u have to know arabic to study there?

Malicious Mind said...

That would be a lesson for me as well.

two_one said...

Andrei: It's good to know that you have interest to pursue your tertiary education in IIUM. Yes, Arabic is a compulsory subject. I didn't know arabic when i enrolled in IIUM but they have arabic for beginners. So if you have an open mind to learn a new language, its not a problem at all. Read my previous post on IIUM at Alma Mater (http://adamalhabshi.blogspot.com/2008/10/alma-mater.html)

MM: A lesson for everyone! :)

Andrei said...

alrite thx for the info. one question tho, iium isnt juz for muslims rite? so do the non muslims have to study arabic too? i mean, if u enter after stpm or a levels, would there be any way to avoid taking arabic? i heard that arabic is only compulsory during the matriculation period... is it? while i always look forward to learn something new, my family thinks i should try to avoid taking arabic as i had a relative who went to iium and couldnt cope with the arabic. according to their website theres a bachelor of laws (shariah) and a bachelor of laws. wat if i were to take the bachelor of laws without shariah law? or is it compulsory for the muslims to take shariah? sry again for the disturbance

two_one said...

Andrei:If i am not mistaken,IIUM is open to local non-muslims only, not foreign non-muslims.yes you have to take arabic for LLB and there is no way to avoid it. You have to take advance arabic for a Syariah Double degree. Give AIKOL a call, I am sure they would be very helpful.

Andrei said...

k thx for the help :)

Anonymous said...

yup. pengajaran jugak.. sy pun slalu kecik hati pasal nih..

pasal andrei, teringat mdm ramizah slalu puji ng boon ka sbb bole bg ayat quran penuh tp bdk2 lain tulis mana yg ada point dgn soklan exam jer..