Friday, August 27, 2010

To Have? To Be?


Many people spend their lives trying to

HAVE money and things so that they can
DO what they want, so they can
BE happy...

when it should be the other way round:

BE, then you can
DO, so you can
HAVE whatever you want.

Be who you need to be to fulfill your ambitions.
Go within, find your purpose, know your strengths and use your gifts to the full.
Then you will have.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Mad World


Eight Hong Kong tourists were killed in a bus hijack in Manila, Philippines, two days ago. My condolences to their families, and may the victims rest in peace.

This is a mad world. Most, if not all, hijackers are lunatics. It just saddens me that bloodshed cannot be prevented in this isolated incident which rarely happens.

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Snappy Snapshot: Riverview


The condominium is called Riverview.

I'm just curious... what kind of river view are they referring to?

Snappy Snapshot: Vuvuzela


My friend bought me a Vuvuzela keychain as souvenir during a trip to Johannesburg, South Africa. Being the city which hosted the 2010 FIFA World Cup final, i guessed buying something related to the said event would be something everyone would have thought of.

Although the major media networks tried to ban these brightly coloured horns for their unbelievable din, it was decided that the horns are an integral part of South African football culture and FIFA agreed to permit their use in stadiums during the said event.

Mesmerizing Concrete

This is a picture of apartment complex in Tokyo, Japan. This building seemed to extend forever. Creepy!

On the other hand, this photo was taken during my previous Hong Kong trip. Hong Kong was one of the most densely populated place, and judging from this apartment complex, i can believe it.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

T-Shirt Connection


Last Sunday i had dinner with my friend at a Chinese restaurant that we used to patronize some time ago.

The waiter at the restaurant kept looking at me. After we placed our order, the waiter finally asked me, using his simple English: "You... that (pulling his shirt and pointing at my shirt)... from Myanmar?"

I was wearing a T-shirt with the wordings "Beautiful Myanmar" printed on it.

Then my friend told him that the T-shirt that i'm wearing was indeed bought from Myanmar from the previous Myanmar trip.

The waiter was very excited and told us that all the waiters working at the restaurant were from Myanmar.

I guessed for those who have been forced to leave their homeland to earn a living at a foreign soil, seeing things related to their own country really means a lot to them.

Later when we were returning home, the little Indian boy stays on the ground floor unit pointed at my friend's T-shirt and said: "Saya pun ada satu baju yang sama. Siva (I guessed it's one of his siblings or relatives) pun ada satu."

My friend was wearing a T-shirt with the wordings "Hard Rock Cafe Kuala Lumpur" printed on it.

That T-shirt was bought at Kota Raya, RM5.00 per piece, free size. The price would suggest that one bound to see a lot of people wearing the same T-shirt as you on the street.

Of course, this would include our little Indian boy.

It's amazing how a simple T-shirt can relate and connect one with another...

生命是个橘子


“生命是个橘子”,自己决定了生命,就像你选择买了这个橘子,酸甜就要自己负责了。橘子买了,酸甜自负,何须怨尤?

“生命是个橘子”,失去健康就像变味的橘子,可能发生在自己身上,也可能发生在朋友身上。“时间”一到,早晚要变味的,唯一的“生命”是在变味之前。

“生命是个橘子”,一瓣跟着一瓣,有时一瓣瓣都是甜的,也有时是酸的,但也都要亲自尝了才酸甜自知。

“生命是个橘子”,太酸了不好吃,太甜了也腻,酸酸甜甜都尝才是真人生!

“生命是个橘子”,人生一路走下来,是否只有等到人生将近,才真正能体会橘子是酸多于甜?还是甜多于酸?

“生命是个橘子”,事件总是一瓣接一瓣的发生,滋味酸或甜只由自己决定。

“生命是个橘子”,好像人生也不必有一定的游戏规则,人生哪里有答案?如果,人生只是个橘子而已,那橘子放久了会坏。为什么不趁新鲜时多尝尝?真的是这样吗?


其实生活原本就是片片段段,但加在一起就是人生。就像一个橘子,不正都是由一瓣一瓣的橘片组合而成?

Friday, August 13, 2010

Zainal Abidin Meet & Greet @ The Summit Shopping Complex, Subang


Stumbled upon our veteran local artiste, Zainal Abidin, at The Summit Shopping Complex, Subang last Sunday. There was a "Zainal Abidin - Meet & Greet" session in conjunction with "Raya Raya Kat Summit" Balik Kampung Fair at the said shopping complex.


Zainal Abidin was presence for only about 15 minutes and i count myself lucky for being able to see him in person at a very close range, watching him singing a few songs, including "Hijau". I still remembered watching Zainal Abidin's music video being aired on RTM when i was a kid.


"Hijau" is sung back in 1989, which has already highlighted the issue of saving Mother Nature. Part of this song (if not mistaken) is sung in Kelantanese dialect. This song has successfully blend the unique dialect into the plight of environmentalist. It was a hit back then.


Zainal Abidin, in my opinion, is one of Malaysia’s most successful singer. To be frank, i only knew a handful of local artistes and Zainal Abidin is definitely in the list!



Talked about how time has passed... Zainal Abidin's look has changed so much in 20 years...

Monday, August 9, 2010

Life Is Not Fair


Recently two friends of mine rambling about their "psychological imbalance" towards money matters.

One of them, C, an ex-classmate of mine and currently in education field, told me about how she felt that life is unfair as one of her colleague charged double the fees that my dear C charged in her tuition lessons. C is of the opinion that her colleague has over-charged in tuition fees and that her colleague does not "qualify" to charge that high (as C thought that her colleague is not that up-to-standard after all).

Another one, S, also an ex-classmate of mine and currently in construction field, told me how she felt that life is unfair as one of her ex-classmate in University earned double the salary that S is earning now. S is of the opinion that she has been ill-treated by her company by underpaid salary. Hence, C and S are now consider themselves on the same boat and embrace each other on their "ill-fate".

This is my two cents worth. C and S's case are totally two different matters and cannot be placed on a par. The two cannot be mentioned in the same breath.

Tuition fees and salary are two different matters. Tuition fees is offered by the teacher (C) and regardless of what is the price, it is all depends on whether the parents think it is worthy or not. In other word, say a price and the parents will consider whether it is worthy of the services rendered/price paid.

I used to provide tuition lessons many years ago. It was a one-to-one tuition class, RM25 per session, 2 hours per session, twice a week. My brother also provide tuition lessons when he studied his A-Level. It was also a one-to-one tuition class, but he charged double my fees with the same duration of time. If you asked me, i never considered my tuition fees under-charged. In fact, i think it was reasonable considering the mother of my tuition student often provides me with meals at the end of tuition lessons (which is a cost in itself).

I just thought that C can always revise her tuition fees if she really thinks that she has under-charged but at the same time, she is wary of the fact that she might lose some of her students due to price-hike.

On the other hand, salary is often offered by the employer to the employee (S). It is the employer who consider whether S is worthy of the salary paid. S may ask for an expected salary that she thinks she worth but it is up to the employer to determine the salary amount.

When i just joined my previous company, i was offered an X amount of salary. I took the offer as i thought that the salary is reasonable and not very far from my expectation. More than a year later, my previous company employed another one for the same position with the same working experience, but with a salary of RM200 more than what i got when i first joined.

A colleague of mine from the same batch felt that it is very unfair for someone to receive a higher pay when the position and working experience is all the same. However, this is not an issue for me. I always think that everyone has a price that he or she worth in the working arena, be it academically or capability.

If i were to look for a reason for a RM200 more in salary, i would say that the new staff excelled academically than i am and the new staff used to work in the company on a part-time basis and from there, my boss got to know what kind of employee he is looking at. As opposed to someone like me whom he never met, of course there would be lots of doubts arising.

S can try to voice out her concerns to her boss and see what are the reactions. If the company thinks that this is what S worth and S thinks that she has been under-paid, S can always opt for a better job elsewhere. However, S must first prove her worth and strive to place herself in the same salary range as her ex-coursemate. After all, there is no free lunch in this world. Everything comes with a price.

Like Bill Gates said “Life is not fair - get used to it". You must accept that life is unfair. You must learn to adapt to your life, then change it.