Thanks but no thanks

I should have sleep earlier but instead I spent time trying to find a topic to blog about which ended as an unsuccessful effort. Nevertheless, I decided to do a short post this time just to speak out my feelings.

I know there are things in life you couldn't change/get and I need to leave it behind and look forward to making a better future. The thing for me is that I am looking forward to making a better future but I couldn't quite leave the past behind. I'm (still) feeling hard done by what I couldn't get in the past despite the hard work and effort that I put into it.

I appreciate the words of bracing from you but only because the words came from a friend that I really treasure like you. I know that feeling hard done about not getting the thing I wish for won't give me a happy life. In those moments of emotional struggles, I sometimes welcome that feeling of emotional pain and the state of oblivion because it allows me to feel that I should have let go of everything and just give up.

I've faced with this kind of situation before during my college life. At that time, I was able to turn those feelings into motivation and subsequently push myself into achieving(almost) the target that I set. Yes, it came at a heavy price in sacrificing my social life, well-being and happiness but as you once said 'The end justifies the means', I did not regret at all for how I went about my college life.

Now, I'm faced with a tougher struggle with myself emotionally. I've hit a heavy road bump and at one point almost give up everything that I had worked for. I'm glad that my perseverance got me over the idea of giving up and gave me the strength to continue. I know perfectly well the road ahead is much tougher and longer than the one I faced during my college life. I am ready to take the same approach in dealing with myself emotionally as well as my life(albeit, and hopefully, with a little more wisdom). At this point in my life, happiness is a reasonable price to pay for chasing the success and dream that I want.

I also know there is no guarantee of success for the fact that lady luck has deserted me many times before. But as people says the fear for failure will only separate you from success further, I am ready to give everything that I got to chase that elusive dream no matter what the end result is.

Malacca One Day Food Trip

Hello dear readers out there. Welcome back for another latest update on my rather fulfilling holidays so far. Yesterday, I went for a one day food trip to Malacca with my buddies for life: Ming Yang, Kar Leong, Kanesh and Pauline. It was indeed a tiring but wonderful trip for us as we drove around Malacca and filling up our stomach with amazing foods. =D

The day before the trip, Kar Leong and I went to stay overnight in Kanesh's house. We planned a little for the timeline and location for the food trip initially before getting into a discussion about the 1MDB issues. As I was the one that will be driving for the trip, I got into sleep much earlier than I would like to as I had to abandon the Wimbledon men's single semi-final match between Roger Federer and Andy Murray. I woke up on 5.10 a.m yesterday followed by Kar Leong and Kanesh. We planned to leave Kanesh's house at 6 a.m. to pick up Ming and Pauline but we couldn't due to Malaysian Standard Time(MST). After picking up Ming, we went to MCD opposite Taman Midah and I grabbed myself a chicken muffin with egg for light breakfast before we went to pick up Pauline.

The drive to Malacca started around 7 a.m. During the journey, the rest of them talked while I focused on my driving. First time in my life hitting the 170km/h mark. I was feeling like Michael Schumacher during the drive and we managed to reach Malacca in 1.5 hour of driving. When we reached Pusat Bandaraya Melaka, it was a bit of a surprise as the shops were not opening yet. Got a little help from an old lady about where to buy the parking tickets.

Let's selfie first before we go hunting for food

First stop, we went to eat the chicken rice balls on Kedai Kopi Chung Wah. Queued for the food about 15 mins before there were seats for us. The food is so so but sort of a must try in Malacca.

 Chicken rice balls

After the rice balls, we walked around Jonker street for sight seeing and photos taking. Here are a few selfies taken: 

Both from Ming's phone

Next we headed to Bukit Rambai to taste the famous Aunty Koh's Cendol. The cendol is really tasty as it is served with three scoops of coconut milks as well as Gula Melaka. About the purest form of coconut milks you can ever get. The cendol is so nice that we even volunteered ourselves to watch our bowls and spoons. After that, we went to Klebang to taste the original coconut milk shake. I guess the milky cendol we tasted earlier caused us to feel a bit so so for the coconut milk shake. Nonetheless, vanilla ice cream on top of the coconut milk shake still made up for it(for me at least). =)

 Aunty Koh's Cendol

Klebang Original Coconut milk shake

After having enough coconut milk, we planned to go for satay celup at Mcquek but to our disappointment it only open at 5p.m. Instead, we went to have pork satay at Sun May Hiong Satay House. After pork satay, we went to have nyonya laksa, pie tee and popiah at 486 Baba Low's and then went to buy some kuih-muih at Baba Charlie. 

The best part of the trip had to be the Baboon House's burger. The inside environment is nice and the burger is tasty. We couldn't take photos inside the Baboon House because it is prohibited but I still managed to find the photo in Google Image. LOLS

The Baboon House 

Highly recommended even though it's a bit pricey.

On a side note, saw a really beautiful mansion and I decided it is worthy to be in my camera roll. 

Chee Ancestral Mansion, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Malacca.

For the last stop of the trip, we went to meet with Xiao Ran, Gwen, her boyfriend and cousin at a mamak and had cheese naan and chicken tandoori. Nice to see Xiao and Gwen. (no photos taken =((( )

We set off back to KL around 7p.m. I did not speed all the way this time as I slowed down to enable myself to join in the conversations Ming, Pau, Teo and Kanesh were having. Reached KL around 9.45p.m. and after sending Pauline home, the guys went to play darts at Q Club opposite One Shamelin. Exciting last game of crickets as I managed to edge out Ming 384-370 for the win. =D After that I went back home and had three shots of red wine using the shot glass Ming bought for us as souvenir from Edinburgh before went to sleep.

That's all for the Malacca trip and stay tune to the next update. BYE! =D

Week in review (29/6 - 5/7)

Hello everyone out there! So June has come and gone and soon it will be my holidays. As the month of July dawns upon me, I realised that I got another 2 weeks or so before going back to Singapore to get ready for my 2nd year of tertiary education. Sob sob =(((

Anyway, it's kinda of unbelievable that I rediscover my interest in blogging during this holidays. 15 posts(including this one) in the space of less than one month. Compared this to 6 posts in the last three years, it's really an amazing feat for me. I can't be sure whether I will blog as frequent once my 2nd year in university resumes but I do hope I could manage some satisfactory number of posts for my own(and my close friends') leisure reading.

As the title of this post suggests, I want to do a little review of last week because it's been quite an interesting week for me, at least in terms of my working and leisure time.

28-30 June
I began last week with the thought of these two days might be my last couple of days in my current job. This is because a small mistake on my part the previous week caused Michelle(boss's wife) to inform me I will only stay on the job until the end of June. Although William(the boss) did not give any hints of anger regarding my mistake and my colleagues reassured me that Michelle's words were out of anger, I took Michelle's words for real(albeit with a little doubt) and so I wasn't really feeling that focus at work.

Monday's work began with a big shouting and argument between William and Michelle in the morning. I wasn't sure what they were arguing about but it was ugly. The shouting went on for about 10 mins and the whole office was in a tense mood. First time in my life witnessing such shouting at work.

1-2 July
Went to work on Wednesday morning and met a new colleague. Her name is Chiew Wan. I know it's pathetic to feel as such but I was disappointed to see her because I thought: Oh, she must be the new staff that is going to replace me. Sure enough, Michelle told me to teach and pass on my duties to her and William told me I will work until the end of the week. I must say I was rather impressed with Chiew Wan as she seemed ready to learn and work right away when I was teaching her. Not to self praise but she have me to guide her and pass on the duties while I came into this job with no predecessor guiding me.

To my surprise, Chiew Wan is a very talkable person and I shared some personal conversations with her regarding my work in the office. On Thursday, when she and I went to AIA headquarter(part of the job routine) at Jalan Ampang, she told me the job did not match her expectation and she was having second thoughts about continuing the job. Again, it's pathetic to feel joyful at this but I definitely prefer to continue working until I go back to Singapore and earn more money, though I plan to focus on my university ECA if indeed this is my last week at work. Lols

3 July
After the morning meeting between the agents, Chiew Wan had a discussion with William and Michelle regarding her decision to leave the job. Obviously William and Michelle would have prefer Chiew Wan to stay in the job and replace me for long term, but Chiew Wan secretly told me she made up her mind to leave(she did not say this to the employers, of course). The day at work turned out to be rather free as I spent the hours after lunch not doing any work in particular and reading random articles about various famous CEOs.

At night, went to play basketball with Jeff and Koon Thong at Ampang. Finally got to meet Koon Thong this holidays after he came back. The three of us had some fun shooting hoops for practice, especially teasing Koon Thong because he shot badly(lots of air balls) in the beginning. The first game we played, we were behind very early on as we struggled to find our chemistry after such a long time not playing with each other. We did not lose too badly in the end as I was able to score a couple of baskets in a row late in the game. Overall, the night was fun enough(for me at least) as we had a great time and Jeff praising me for being the one with the hot hands. Hahaha sorry for the self praise.

The night ended with me and Jeff eating at mamak at Pandan Indah. Ordered two pieces of roti naan butter and again I was wrong to order two pieces as I never expect the roti to be so big. I was able to finish most of the two pieces(Jeff ate one quarter of one piece for me) anyway.

4 July
In the morning, I went to a political forum at Corus Hotel, Jalan Ampang together with Ming Yang as well as his father. On a side note, his father said that I seemed fairer and I was really like lmao. Anyway, the political forum was organised by the Institute for Democracy and Economics Affairs(IDEAS). The title of the forum was 'Is Malaysia Ready For A Liberal Political Party'. The panelists included President of Liberal International, Dr Juli Minoves and two local politicians, Mr Khalid Jaafar(PKR) and Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad(PAS) while the moderator was the Chief Executive of IDEAS, Mr Wan Saiful Wan Jan.

I did not record things mentioned or discussed in the forum on my smartphone like what Ming Yang did. To sum up my experience attending this political forum(my first, incidentally), it was certainly an eye-opener for me in terms of being introduced to the concept of Liberalism and learning more about the place of liberalism in Malaysia's political scenes. I was very impressed with Mr Khalid Jaafar's response to several audiences' questions because the way he answered questions is certainly much more sensible compared to the statements made by some Barisan Nasional's politicians who must competing to see who's more idiotic. As Ming Yang put it, Mr Khalid Jaafar can't be Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's press secretary for 10 years for nothing.

After the forum, Ming Yang and I went to eat 'dai bou mee' at Pudu nearby Pusat Tuition Martin. We had a short chat and also saw Jeff and his family driving pass by us along Jalan Pudu. After Ming Yang left, I went to Hoops Station to check out Air Jordan shoes as I received my salary just a couple of days ago and intend to buy after my mother gave the green light. To my disappointment, all the Air Jordan models(the older models) that I wish to buy is for display only and not for sale. I did saw a couple of nice Air Jordan 29 but I decided to try my luck and search in Singapore before I make the decision to buy.

At night, my family(including my sister-in-law) and I went to Sunway Pyramid to have a late parents' day dinner at Shogun Japanese Buffet restaurant. I began the dinner by eating aggressively the salmon fish as I love it so much and my mum won't let me eat raw if it is eaten at home. Too much for my own good, I ate until I was feeling a bit sick of the salmon fish and my mum prohibited me from eating more. Nevertheless, the other foods were good and I ate until stomach a bit uncomfortable. So much so for eating fast that we ate and left in less than two hours. Lols

After the dinner, we went to have a ride on the new Bus Rapid Transit(BRT). Since BRT is still free until the 2nd of August, we took the ride from end to end to have a view on Sunway. It's certainly amazing how Jeffrey Cheah developed Sunway into one of the most popular place in Selangor. Caught a glimpse of Sunway and Monash University and I must say the two universities look too good from the outside not to be attracted to study there.

5 July
The morning began with a chit-chat session with Yu Han, Yan Chun and Kah Yee(all Xue Ji) at VIVA Old Town. It was great chatting with them and listening to their stories about their university life. I was listening to the three of them talking about economics and finance as I am the only one studying science-related course there. After that, Kah Yee and I went to Wings Cafe to meet up with the rest of the gang. Those that came(all Xue Ji as well) include Wei Xin, Yan Ting, Siew Hui(25), Yong Yi(24), Mun Xuan, Ah Weng, Seng Yang and other 26s that I not sure the name. Had a great time chatting there too and we attracted lot of attention since our table is the loudest in the whole cafe(thanks to Wei Xin, Yan Ting and Siew Hui). Haha.

After meeting up with all the fellow Cheras Xue Ji, I went to play basketball at Pandan Indah with Jeff, Koon Thong, Adrial and Kai Hoong. Kai certainly still have his moves although he did not play basketball for a long time due to knee injury. I did not play too well as I couldn't find my rhythm at the Pandan Indah court. The shots just don't fall in. Still we had fun and then went to One Shamelin Wong Kok Restaurant to have dinner(minus Kai) after that. The chit-chat session was even more enjoyable as we had fun talking about girls, relationships, basketball and football(guys' topic).


That's all for the review of last week and I'm signing off. Night fellas! =D

Five Ways to Maximize Your Internship - Dan Schwartz

Came across this post on Linkedin and decided to post here as a note to self. Here's the full article:

If you are a college student or recent graduate and have been fortunate enough to land an internship this summer: Congratulations! Internships are becoming more prevalent in today’s economy. But with more and more internships becoming available, the competition is increasing and the likelihood of receiving an offer at the end of an internship may require you to step up your game and take your work to a new level.

I personally completed four professional internships and got the opportunity to expose myself to a wide variety of corporate experiences before settling in on a career in talent development. Although none of my experiences led to a full-time job offer, I still value each one of them for their own reasons and attribute them to my ultimate success in launching a solid foundation to my career.

During those summers, I recognized that the responsibility was on me to make the most of my summer and to create value for the organization. I came into each experience with a goal and a strategy so that, regardless of how well the internship was designed, I would be able to come away with something that would propel me into the future and fuel my search for my first post-graduate job.

But I know that my strategies and tactics were not limited to my personal success. I had many peers at K-State and other universities that have gone on to do big things in the working world and make an immediate impact in their organizations due to a few simple tactics that they employed both in their internships and post-graduate roles.

Below are five things I did during my internships to make the most of my experiences. Implement these strategies and you are sure to increase your chances of having a great experience: 

Take Projects Seriously

I had internships with other college students who failed to take their project work seriously and painfully watched their experiences suffer as a result. Not only did they waste company resources but they missed out on opportunities to learn and grow professionally. Complete your projects as if your job depended upon it and strive to make a difference in the bottom line of the organization. If you are given a simple project to complete, take it a step further than your supervisor expected and not only will you make a lasting impression, but you will also be invited to higher-stakes meetings and future projects.

View Your Role as a Permanent Employee

I have heard many interns say that their work doesn’t matter and think that the company will just throw away their work once they walk out the door. I recently reached out to one of my intern organizations to ask them if they still had a presentation I gave and they did! I was able to use the information that I presented on for a project I was currently working on as a full-time employee. Although your physical presence may leave after a few months, your work will never die. The work you do over the course of a summer has the same impact as permanent employees so treat your job as such. Feel free to speak up at meetings, ask questions and get involved just as you would if you were there permanently.

Ask for (and Graciously Receive) Feedback

Many internship programs do not offer formal performance evaluations. Rather they assign you to give a presentation at the end of the summer based on your learnings. Take the initiative to ask for feedback on your work and your big projects. This shows that you care enough about the work to care how you did and how you might be able to improve in the future. When given feedback, graciously receive it and be sure to say “Thank You” to the person who gave it to you. Make sure they know how much you appreciate their input.

Find a Mentor

Whether it be your supervisor or another key employee at the company, seek out an individual who is willing to lead you and guide you throughout your internship. Lean on this person to provide guidance when you are struggling with a concept or project and leverage their expertise as much as possible. Your mentor will also be the person who you might continue to connect with after the internship is over as a key contact. If you are fortunate enough to be in an internship where there is a formal mentoring program available, be sure to take full advantage of it!

Set Up Networking Meetings

Using your mentor and/or supervisor as a resource, communicate your passions and interests and ask them to connect you with people who can tell you more about their job role and a particular part of the organization. In addition, use networking meetings to find out more about what it takes to be successful in a certain industry. Ask them what their background was and what got them to where they are today. Finding out this information will help you build your network and gain industry knowledge, which will go a long way in the interview room.

Sports videos

Hello peeps out there. Are you feeling bored looking at your computer/laptop screen and surfing the Internet without any interesting thing to look for? Well, you're in luck(I hope). Sometimes I just random search video on Youtube and I found some really good(and funny) one(for me at least).

Here they are:

Don't you feel Roger Federer's Rolex advertisements are just so classy? My kind of dream man if I'm a girl. His greatness and humility. 

Will you marry me?! Hahahaha

Can I still dunk? Are you stupid? hahaha...that's so MJ-ish.

Shaq, best sports comedian ever hahaha

Not too bad this one.

BURN IT! =O

There they go again

"DBP wants national language to be called Bahasa Melayu again - The Star"

Link: http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2015/06/25/DBP-Bahasa-Melayu/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

I cannot believe and understand why older generation of Malays are still refusing to acknowledge English as a global language. The fact that many Malays are realising the importance of mastering the English language and pushing it to be used as medium of instruction show the kind of challenges the younger generation of Malays are facing in terms of mastering English to be relevant in this fast progressing and competitive world.

Prof Datuk Seri Dr Md. Salleh Yaapar said: "I call upon language enthusiasts to fight these traitors who are becoming increasingly daring". Just for the record, the Sultan of Johor, Sultan Ibrahim Ismail Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar Al-Haj is known as an outspoken advocate of using English as medium of instruction. Are you trying to imply that His Royal Highness is a traitor as well? And also to use the word 'traitor' to describe those that are pushing for the use English as medium of instruction is just inappropriate because those people have done nothing wrong against our country's interest. Heck, in my view, they are doing something that is beneficial to our country's interest. Period.

DBP coordinating body member Prof Datuk Dr Abdul Latiff Abu Bakar pointed out that the notion of English is needed for a country to be developed was outdated. He cited countries like Germany, Japan and China as developed country that do not use English as medium of instruction. I'm with him on this. HOWEVER, please bear in mind that these countries are advanced countries that have the economic power to support the usage of their own national language on the international stage. The reason that those international languages are international language is that they are major economic power in the world. I'm not trying to bring down our country but the fact is our dear motherland simply does not have the economic power yet to support the usage of our national language internationally. And considering the standard of English of our own ministers and ambassadors who are unable to string together a sentence without grammar errors or speak good enough English to represent our country on the international stage, I'm not sure if I want my fellow Malaysians to fall to their standard in terms of written and spoken English.

And I really don't understand why the 'ministry' bothered to entertain DBP's suggestion. Don't you have better things to debate in the Parliament for the rakyat's benefits?

To quote the late President Ronald Reagan: There they go again. *shaking head*

Throwback

I stumbled upon Tucker Max on Wikipedia when I was surfing the Internet to find ways to earn money by blogging(just one of my foolish idea coz I want to earn some quick & easy money, I know it's not realistic at all). He is an American blogger who chronicles his drinking and sexual experiences in the form of short stories on his website TuckerMax.com and subsequently written a book, I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell that became a New York Times #1 Bestseller. I was amazed by the fact that Tucker Max is able to turn his drinking and sexual experiences into money-making. Most of us that have a liking for drinking or hooking up with someone else ended up paying a heavy price for it. Moreover, he is daring enough to write about his drinking and sexual experiences for others to read. Drinking and sexual experience are such a taboo topic to be openly discussed in Asian cultures that you rarely see people parade openly in Asia.

Coming across Tucker Max gives me the feeling that I would like to do a throwback and share about one of my drinking experience. This one occurred just before I went to Singapore to further my tertiary education. A couple of my friends(I'm not naming them for their privacy concern) threw a great night of enjoyment for me. We first went to play darts while drinking some beer at a hang-out place for the working-class people. After having enough of darts, we decided to switch place and discussed about the next destination. 

We came to the decision of going into a pub that have the disco music along with hot girls dancing. Just for the record, that was not the first time I went to a place like that. I had previously went to a club before in my life, but that time I went with a couple of high school friends that are still having reservation on letting their guard down and just get wild. Plus, I was driving that time so I did not drink alcohol a lot.

Because I had drank a bit prior to entering the pub, I was already in tipsy mode. Initially, all that we could enjoy was seeing the hot girls dancing flirtatiously. Then, a couple of hot girls came directly to us and drank with us. The girl that came to me got a little intimate physically with me, as what you may have expected seeing we're in that kind of places. I struggled inside in my mind as naughty thoughts started creeping into my mind but my good side kept telling me the morality barrier. Not that I din respond to her by being intimate with her as well. The fact that I had already been in a tipsy mode and naughty thoughts were flooding my mind got my whole body feeling hot and I started to feel I was close to losing it.

When I felt I was close to the limit of losing it, I made the decision to get out of the pub and cool myself down. Perhaps this was the first time I got intimate with a stranger and so I wasn't daring enough to do anything beyond my own morality stand. I won't deny that this was afterall an exciting experience because I had not have this kind of blood rush for a long time.

On a different note, I finally understand why people often lose control of themselves whenever they are drunk. The thing that really cause us to lose control of ourselves isn't due to being drunk, but because we tend to let the naughty or out-of-bound thoughts take over us because that is our hidden desire. I'm sure, for guys at least, we all have fantasize such occasion in our minds many times and when the opportunity presents in real life itself, it's either grab it or leave it. Well, in my life, I had turned down several times this type of things. I wonder whether I have the guts to really lose control of myself and go wild once. I have been feeling unsatisfied with my life in some way that I feel I want to do some wild and stupid things in life. I'm already 21 now and when else I could do wild and stupid things other than when I'm still young? So much so for being a good boy and buried myself in studies for 21 years.

To conclude this post, I really struggle with myself in the sense whether I have done enough in my life to deserve the chance of enjoying life. I had given it all to my studies hoping some day I can pursue my tertiary education in UK with a scholarship and I could travel around Europe to enjoy the reward of my hard work. It wasn't to be as I always came up short and din have the luck. To be frank and no offence to my friends studying in UK, it is really a pain in my heart having to listen to you all sharing the wonderful things you did while studying in UK and the best thing I did in Singapore was the occasional suppers in someone's room or in the mamak stall.

Forgive me for sharing the unsatisfied feeling deep inside my heart but this is my blog afterall. 

Work life ramblings II

Three weeks have passed since I began working at my current company in the beginning of this month. Well, technically I have just worked for two weeks because I was in Penang for a trip on four of the five working days last week. I look through the calendar and realise I have only three more weeks or so working in this company before I go back to Kiasuland to resume my second year of tertiary education.

I begin to think more deeply about working life in those moments when I was unable to progress with the tasks at hands. Initially, my excuse to myself is that there isn't anyone to guide me properly because most of my senior colleagues(I'm the youngest) are either not in office or busy with their own work. And so I took it as such that I can delay in completing the task because I don't know how to do or I'm not sure whether I will do it correctly or not.

How wrong am I in having such excuses and thoughts. I came to the realisation that 'I don't know' or 'I'm not sure I do it correctly or not' simply just isn't a good enough excuse when it comes to the working world. This happened after my boss demanded that he wanted the results the next working day after he asked for it. Though he did not request for the results to be checked afterwards(probably because I went to Penang trip the next working day), one of my colleagues, that is understanding, was kind enough to remind me that I should find ways to get the task done even though I'm not in ideal situation to do so(I'm working on it now).

It's definitely a good thing that I came to this realization in my second job. I have another similar situation during my first job when I was asked to do telemarketing on accounting software to law firms. My only excuse now is that promoting isn't one of my job scope that was discussed during the interview.

Not only is 'I don't know' or 'I'm not sure I do it correctly or not' not a good excuse in the working world, it's the same thing in college or university. In college or university, having the 'I don't know' mindset simply isn't good enough for you to score well. You got to use your brain more proactively or ask people to find the solutions. My, oh my. Talk about applying what you learn in school/college/university into the working world. I guess I fail miserably so far. haha

It's one thing you realise what have you done wrong, it's another thing that you are finding ways to correct it. That is the problem I'm having right now in university. For your information, I struggled a lot during my first year in university and not doing as well as what I wish or expect from myself. I'm not the kind of person that like to ask in studies because most of the time I done well in studies by just being hardworking. I finally came to the realization that being hardworking is not good enough in university if you're not smart enough. The fear to ask has certainly done more damage and I hope I will be able to change my attitude and approach towards studies for the remaining three years in NTU.

(Back to WORK LIFE ramblings) I told my second brother about me unable to complete difficult tasks at work because I'm not properly guided. His response to me was like: "aiya work less than two months there, cincai la." I'm certain that cincai isn't his attitude at work because I don't think having the cincai attitude at work will get him a monthly salary of more than RM10k. Anyway, my second brother is sort of my inspiration now because I set myself a target of earning(hopefully) at least half of what he's earning now(though I will be earning S'pore dollars, again, hopefully) in the future. Spending so much money on my parents' part to pursue an oversea education not only give me pressure(self-pressure as my mother calls it) to be successful in my career, but also make me aspire to work in a big corporate company in the future.

To achieve my target and aspiration, I'm doing things now that I never done before or attempt to do during high school or college to better prepare myself. Firstly, I made the decision to run for the Special Project Officer of NTU Heritage Club in the hope that I could improve my soft skills and learn how to deal and work with people as well as learning how to solve problems. Second, I also become more conscious of building my resume and equip myself with working experience(especially since I'm not doing quite well in studies in university). Funnily, when I'm planning and writing my resume, the feeling is the same as if I'm counting my As on my SPM/A Level certificate(hahaha).

One of my employer's words during interview came back to my mind: "we want to hire people that could solve problem, not just spending time here." And after two weeks of working there, I'm not sure I fulfill that requirement to my employer's liking. I have a reasonably good working ethics in terms of being hardworking and responsible, but sadly it is working initiative and efficiency that satisfy the employer's needs and expectations. I guess the quick excuses that I could find now are that I'm still young and I'm working in a small company, but still I must learn and develop the correct working habit quickly as it's only one and a half years left to my internship and three years until I become part of the full-time working force out there.

To conclude this post, I want to thank a person. I'm not going to name him/her, though people I'm close with will know who this person is. Thank you for serving as an extra source of motivation with your oh-so-mature thinking and all your criticisms about my ego. As Michael Jordan puts it, everyone needs a wood to be added to the fire as they move along in their life. You definitely are my wood now but not in the capacity that keeps me burning, more so the wood that I'm itching to burn in the future.

That's all for this time and I'm signing off for tonight. Goodbye and goodnight. =)

Happy Berpuasa to my Muslim friends =)

Saw people sharing our Education deputy minister Mary Yap's statement on 'Non-Muslim pupils should eat, drink in private during fasting month'. My two cents on this is that it really depends on what's their definition of 'private'. When I was in high school, I try to avoid drinking water with my water bottle held high. That's my way of being respectful to my Muslim friends.

I also saw people's comments of giving counter arguments like: What about if the (X race) are fasting but the Malays aren't? My humble opinion is that the main point here is to be respectful to those who are fasting regardless of their race and religion. We should really move beyond race and religion on this tiny issue and just think about manners when it comes to the topic of fasting. There is no reason to fuss about our Education deputy minister Mary Yap's statement if we try to reason based on manners. Though I might add it will be better if her statement is something like: Please be respectful to the Muslims during fasting period.

Just sharing my opinion and if there's any part of my opinions here that is offensive, I beg for your forgiveness and understanding.

*Peace* and happy berpuasa and advanced Raya to my Muslim friends out there. smile emoticon

Desire - a sign of growing up?

Today morning(Happy Father's Day!!!) I fetched my mum to pasar in Pudu. While she went to buy the ingredients for lunch and dinner, I sneaked back to Pusat Tuisyen Martin since it's kinda near the pasar. I just happened to sit there reading the newspaper and enjoying the air conditional when I saw a girl wearing a pink Air Jordan V. I got excited because I've always wanted a pair of Air Jordan ever since I became obsessed with sneakers.

My obsession with Air Jordan shoes began when I received a pair of Adidas T-Mac 1 from my second elder brother as a gift last year before I went to Singapore. I had been working for four months back then and planned to use the money earned to buy myself a nice pair of basketball shoe. However, my second elder brother decided to give me his Adidas T-Mac 1 since he rarely wears it. This pair of shoe started my interest in basketball shoe. I guess it's normal to be drawn to Air Jordans once you start browsing the internet for nice shoes because Air Jordans are the crème de la crème. 

Little did I know that the first time I went to a basketball shoe retailing shop recommended by a friend, I found out the cheapest pair of Air Jordan costs at least RM650. My jaw definitely fall a little because buying a pair of shoe that costs RM650 is no doubt a luxurious buy for someone like me that comes from a middle-class family. Nevertheless, my obsession with Air Jordan shoes grows as I often watch video highlights of Michael Jordan on Youtube as well as checking out all the Air Jordan shoe models on Google Image. 

I had never been one of those teenagers who craves expensive items and work to earn money in order to buy it. Back then, I was contented with just being a nerdy boy that do well in my studies. I guess the first sign that I began to develop materialism is when I demanded a Iphone right after my SPM to replace my old Sony Ericsson K300 that I had been using since standard 6. I couldn't resist the temptation as I saw my friends having the latest and most advanced smartphone. Initially I wanted an Iphone 3GS but I ended up buying a Iphone 4 which I have been using till this date. 

Just like in the case of purchasing my Iphone 4, I think I'm starting to lose the battle against the temptation to buy an expensive pair of Air Jordan. Just before I went to the Penang, I've made a sub-conscious thought that I will be working in Singapore after the end of my year 2 semester 1 in university to earn some quick money in order to buy a pair of Air Jordan shoes. Well, it's 1SGD for RM2.80 now, so I only need to work as a waiter/promoter for about 2-3 weeks to earn enough money to fulfill my current desire of owning a pair of Air Jordan. My mum gave me the green light to go ahead and buy with the salary I'm about to earn from my current job but I think I should save it with most of it used to cover my expenses for the Penang trip and all the outings this holidays. Imagine half of my monthly salary will be spent on a pair of shoes. I think I rather use the money earned from working in Singapore. 

In the mean time while waiting for that happy moment of fitting a pair of Air Jordan on my feet, let's have a preview of those Air Jordan shoes that are on my wish list: 

1) Air Jordan 11

People quoted this pair the best Jordan of them all

2) Air Jordan 13

I like the design of the sole resembling the pads on a panther's paw

3) Air Jordan 7

Ain't really fond of this model but the champion pack model certainly caught my eyes.

4) Air Jordan 18

This model would certainly be the top of my list because I just like blue. =D Downside is most of the Jordans sell in Malaysia are those models MJ wore when he was a Bull. 

5) Air Jordan 10

This pair is the first model MJ wore when he came back from his first retirement.

Here's a video about Air Jordan's legacy on MJ's 50 birthday:

It's Gotta Be The Shoes!!!

p.s. Wonder if it is a good thing that I am beginning to chase those desires that I did not fulfill when I was a teenager. A pair of shoes that worth at least RM650 on my feet, SERIOUSLY!? O.O