Life (Jeevithay)

Prediksi Barcelona vs Elche

2014-08-24T21:57:00.001+05:30

Barcelona Vs Elche dalam liga Spanyol, Pada laga kali ini akan membahas tentang raksasa Spanyol Barcelona akan menjamu tamunya Elche. Sebelumnya kedua tim ini sudah pernah bertanding dua kali, Pada pertemuan pertama yang digelar pada liga Spanyol musim lalu tercatat kalau Barcelona meraih kemenangan 4-0 dan pada laga terakhir kedua tim bertanding imbang 0-0. Barcelona yang bertanding dalam laga kandang pasti akan lebih diunggulkan dalam pertandingan kali ini meskipun kiper andalan mereka sudah tidak ikut bermain.

Barcelona yang saat ini dibawah asuhan pelatih Luis Enrique Martinez sebelumnya telah mencukur klub liga Meksiko Club Leon dengan skor yang sangat telak 6-0 saat bertanding dalam laga kandang. Mantan pemain Barcelona Cesc Fabregas yang telah bermain di klub liga Inggris Chelsea posisinya telah digantikan oleh Ivan Rakitic yang sebelumnya bermain untuk Atletico De Madrid. Sedangkan disamping itu Neymar yang telah sembuh dari cederanya dapat memperkuat klub tersebut, Barcelona yang gagal dimusim lalu setelah bertanding imbang 1-1 atas Atletico Madrid selesai diperingkat 3 musim lalu.

Dalam lima laga terakhir Elche yang dibawah asuhan pelatih Fran Escriba memperoleh kemenangan dilaga terakhir mereka saat bertanding melawan Tenerife dengan skor akhir 2-0 dan sebelumnya Elche menaham imbang Levante dengan skor akhir 0-0 sewaktu kedua klub Spanyol itu bertemu di laga persahabatan.

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2014-06-03T09:42:00.001+05:30

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2014-05-29T10:24:00.001+05:30

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2014-02-10T16:57:00.001+05:30

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2014-02-03T16:16:00.001+05:30

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2014-01-27T18:01:00.001+05:30

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Sri Lanka

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2012-09-20T09:54:00.001+05:30

Untitled, a photo by Ushan I. Lokuge on Flickr.

Strange Interesting Facts: Facts About Mount Roraima - strangefacts

2012-09-18T17:39:00.001+05:30

Facts About Mount Roraima - strangefacts

Mount Roraima (mountain, South America) giant flat-topped mountain, or mesa, in the Pakaraima Mountains of the Guiana Highlands , at the point where the boundaries of Brazil, Venezuela, and Guyana meet

About 9 miles (14 km) long and 9,094 feet (2,772 metres) high, it is the source of many rivers of Guyana, and of the Amazon and Orinoco

Mount Roraima is a pretty remarkable place. It is a tabletop mountain with sheer 400-metre high cliffs on all sides

There is only one ‘easy’ way up, on a natural staircase-like ramp on the Venezuelan side – to get up any other way takes and experienced rock climber

On the top of the mountain it rains almost every day, washing away most of the nutrients for plants to grow and creating a unique landscape on the bare sandstone surface

This also creates some of the highest waterfalls in the world over the sides (Angel falls is located on a similar tabletop mountain some 130 miles away)

Though there are only a few marshes on the mountain where vegetation can grow properly, these contain many species unique to the mountain, including a species of carnivorous pitcher plant

The mountain marks the border between Venezuela, Brazil and Guyana, although more than three quarters of the mountain is in Venezuelan territory

It is the highest mountain in Guyana, but Venezuela and Brazil have higher mountains. The triple border point on the summit is at 5°12'08N, 60°44'07W

Roraima lies on the Guiana Shield in the southeastern corner of Venezuela's 30,000 km² Canaima National Park, which is roughly located in the Gran Sabana region
The tabletop mountains of the park are considered some of the oldest geological formations on Earth, dating back to the Precambrian Era, some two billion years ago

The average height of the plateau is about 2,500 metres (8,200 feet), making it the highest point for distance of 549.44 kilometres (341.48 miles) in any direction

The nearest peak that is taller is Cerro Marahuaca, to the west-southwest

Despite the fact the steep sides of the plateau make it difficult to access, it was the first major tepui to be climbed: Sir Everard im Thurn walked up a forested ramp in December 1884 to scale the strangely wind-and-water sculpted plateau

This is the same route hikers take today

It is thought that the reports from early Victorian expeditions to the mountain inspired Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to write his classic adventure yarn, The Lost World, in 1912 - now made into countless films

Since long before the arrival of European explorers in Venezuela the mountain has held a special significance for the indigenous people of the region and it is central to many of their myths and legends

The Pemon Indians of the Gran Sabana see Roraima as the stump of a mighty tree that once held all the fruits and tuberous vegetables in the world

Felled by one of their ancestors, the tree crashed to the ground, unleashing a terrible flood. "Roroi" in the Pemon language means blue-green and "ma" means great

Mount Roraima has been climbed on a few occasions from the Guyana and Brazil sides, but as the mountain is entirely bordered on both these sides by enormous sheer cliffs that include high overhanging (negative-inclination) stretches, these are extremely difficult and technical rock climbing routes

Human Values

2012-07-26T11:40:00.001+05:30

In the struggle for life the humans loose humanity and the values of life. Human values are most

definitely different to moral values.
Moral values regard matters of right and wrong, and are constant and unchanging. Right and wrong are not changeable by the moods of society: for example, just because gays are much persecuted, doesn't make homosexuality wrong.
Human (read: corrupt) values are shifty things, often confused with morals and moral values. They change from person to person, from day to day and hour to hour, into whatever currently suits people. It currently suits the Bush administration to relax its laws against torture, and they defend the move by saying it is not immoral. This is not the case. It is simply in agreement with their own current human values. Human values, while occasionally (and with slowly increasing frequency) in accordance with moral values, are usually things that benefit the group of people, or person, perpetrating them.
Surprisingly enough, I much prefer moral values.
-Excerpts from Yahoo answers

2012-03-26T17:36:00.002+05:30

Swimming on lot of thoughts..
human brain is an amazing masterpiece, it can let you travel, smell, feel things by just imagining.
On the 24th of this month I was with my Son celebrating his second year of life even though I was in India unable to make it through due to the obligations i have to the company.

Another beautiful aspect of the brain is that it can justify the action taken, as my good buddy Rajeev pointed out, brain plays a duel role, when a question/doubt comes out of any action you take, the second part of the brain justify the course of action. Humans are blessed to have such a precious Gem on the top, but as long as it is used properly.

2011-12-13T23:39:00.001+05:30

Today is a very sad day of my life. When you loose some one whom you know and met about 2 weeks ago it is unbelievable. Life is just a very delicate rubber band. We think it will stretch but it has its limits. the more you stretch the weaker it gets.

We sailed over seven seas
Searching for that missing key
Unlock a new
World harmony

Climb the highest mountain range
Then we took the longest train
Looking for our
Perfect refrain

I hear voices in the sky
(In the sky)
In the sky
(In the sky)

Hidden rhythms in the rivers run
Blinding beats in the desert sun
Hear them today
Play all as one

Distant voices in a far off sky
Led us to the elusive prize
To the new sound
We testify

Na-Na-Na-Na-Na-Yey-E-Yeh
Na-Na-Na-Na-Na-Yeh
(Etc)

(Chant)

There’s hidden rhythms in the sun
In the sun
I hear voices in the sky
In the sky

13/12/2011 RIP Gamini Mama. We all love you.

Sunday

2011-12-11T13:48:00.001+05:30

Was sitting alone in the house thinking to myself what else I can do to get out of the boredom? Then like a saviour the allotted vehicle come near to the house. its 1.42 in the evening and I barely cooked Lunch, with the doctors diet of boiled food to over come the gastric effects make me see all around as bored boiled!!!!

2011-12-08T15:32:00.003+05:30

Well it’s been a long time since i wrote on the wall.One of the hardest sacrifices a parent can do is to stay away from the child and the spouse for the betterment of them. I am experiencing it first had as i had to leave my family, since I work in abroad.Every time the son sees me on Skype he would mention "Thathi" (Father) continuously.Every time I see him I wish I could reach out and cuddle him. I miss his smell,warmth and the loving eyes. Life is all about making choices, we make choicesfor ourselves and sometimes we choose to sacrifice for the betterment of the others. Some choices in life we do it because we are forced to do it and some we do it voluntary. I am still wondering is it the first or the second case, I have mixed feeling as I believe this is a choice inevitable but voluntary done cos I love my wife and my son.

Game Theory

2011-08-15T16:56:00.006+05:30

Sitting in front of my computer with a swarm of thoughts on work life and personal life....the first thing that comes to my mind is the game theory...eventhough i have seen it in "Beautiful Mind" it really struck when Immad mentioned with an elobaraions of examples,

Game Theory
In mathematics, game theory models strategic situations, or games, in which an individual's success in making choices depends on the choices of others (Myerson, 1991).

- Wikipedia

when you apply the same notion to office environment nor every move 100% satisfy to all individuals. this is true in both personal life and the 8 hours you spent at the office. in a family life where the husband is suppose to be the Key decision maker will always get influenced by the wife's choice and comes to a middle point where both is in agreement.

Another Sick Day

2010-11-29T23:16:00.001+05:30

Too much of work pending and a whole bunch of work to be completed before Wednesday. But on top of that this nagging sore throat and runny nose hits you. Life is an unpredictable vessel. You aim for something and the next time you have obstacles in your path.

Came home from work at about 2.00 pm thinking that having Piritons, Panadols and Stematils will dose you off. I was sleeping trying to sleep for the past 6 hours and was waken up in an array of calls, some people call just to see if my throat is okay… !!!! what a time!!!

Thoughts on a lazy Sunday

2010-11-28T16:59:00.001+05:30

Life is all about making it worth living. Every time I ask "Dayananda Seeya" (My grandmother's brother) "how are you doing?" the reply I get is "I am living for the mere sake of living". Is it true? Well I don't agree he is making the best of situation he is in. here stuck in Vizag with shitty food to eat, myself and Harindra got together and made edible food out of the food that was there. If you can't adopt and make your stay worthwhile you will fell miserable and you will tend to rot in the same place.

This reminds me of a quote from Lord of the Rings;

Frodo: I wish the ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.
Gandalf: So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. There are other forces at work in this world Frodo, besides the will of evil. Bilbo was meant to find the Ring. In which case, you were also meant to have it. And that is an encouraging thought.

We have the power to change course in life. There are both good and evil forces in the world creating equilibrium. But it is you who has to decide what you need to do in life to live.

Time for new changes

2010-01-06T13:59:00.002+05:30

Decisions in life solely depend upon the people who criticize. They might say it is wrong or right, but the decision maker is you. For all those people even if you don’t make any its wrong. Life is all about making decisions. I was afraid to marry , but I did, still I live.
One of my friends told me that he is not ready for a baby and was amazed that my wife is going to have one. But hey, its life after all !!!

Work Life stress

2009-03-09T16:27:00.001+05:30

Well in life many of us goes through different stages……

Of them work stress plays a major part. There aint no job without stress the trick is how you keep your head up high and manage the stress.

Workplace stress

Workplace stress caused by an unsuitable work environment

(Illustration by Henry Holiday in Lewis Carroll's "The Hunting of the Snark" )Workplace stress is the harmful physical and emotional response that occurs when there is a poor match between job demands and the capabilities, resources, or needs of the worker.

Stress-related disorders encompass a broad array of conditions, including psychological disorders (e.g., depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder) and other types of emotional strain (e.g., dissatisfaction, fatigue, tension, etc.), maladaptive behaviors (e.g., aggression, substance abuse), and cognitive impairment (e.g., concentration and memory problems). In turn, these conditions may lead to poor work performance or even injury. Job stress is also associated with various biological reactions that may lead ultimately to compromised health, such as cardiovascular disease,or in extreme cases, death.

Prevalence

Stress is a prevalent and costly problem in today's workplace. About one-third of workers report high levels of stress. One-quarter of employees view their jobs as the number one stressor in their lives.Three-quarters of employees believe the worker has more on-the-job stress than a generation ago. Evidence also suggests that stress is the major cause of turnover in organizations.

Health and Healthcare Utilization

Problems at work are more strongly associated with health complaints than are any other life stressor-more so than even financial problems or family problems. Many studies suggest that psychologically demanding jobs that allow employees little control over the work process increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. On the basis of research by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and many other organizations, it is widely believed that job stress increases the risk for development of back and upper-extremity musculoskeletal disorders.[6] High levels of stress are associated with substantial increases in health service utilization. Workers who report experiencing stress at work also show excessive health care utilization. In a 1998 study of 46,000 workers, health care costs were nearly 50% greater for workers reporting high levels of stress in comparison to "low risk" workers. The increment rose to nearly 150%, an increase of more than $1,700 per person annually, for workers reporting high levels of both stress and depression. Additionally, periods of disability due to job stress tend to be much longer than disability periods for other occupational injuries and illnesses.

Physiological reactions to stress can have consequences for health over time. Researchers have been studying how stress affects the cardiovascular system, as well as how work stress can lead to hypertension and coronary artery disease. These diseases, along with other stress-induced illnesses tend to be quite common in American work-places.[9]

There are four Main physiological reactions to stress:

Blood is shunted to the brain and large muscle groups, and away from extremities, skin, and organs that are not currently serving the body.
An area near the brain system, known as the reticular activating system, goes to work, causing a state of keen alertness as well as sharpening of hearing and vision.
Energy-providing compounds of glucose and fatty acids are released into the bloodstream.
The immune and digestive systems are temporarily shut down.

Causes of Workplace Stress

Job stress results from the interaction of the worker and the conditions of work. Views differ on the importance of worker characteristics versus working conditions as the primary cause of job stress. The differing viewpoints suggest different ways to prevent stress at work. According to one school of thought, differences in individual characteristics such as personality and coping skills are very important in predicting whether certain job conditions will result in stress. In other words, what is stressful for one person may not be a problem for someone else. This viewpoint underlies prevention strategies that focus on workers and ways to help them cope with demanding job conditions.[1]

Although the importance of individual differences cannot be ignored, scientific evidence suggests that certain working conditions are stressful to most people. Such evidence argues for a greater emphasis on working conditions as the key source of job stress, and for job redesign as a primary prevention strategy.[1] Large surveys of working conditions, including conditions recognized as risk factors for job stress, were conducted in member states of the European Union in 1990, 1995, and 2000. Results showed a time trend suggesting an increase in work intensity. In 1990, the percentage of workers reporting that they worked at high speeds at least one-quarter of their working time was 48%, increasing to 54% in 1995 and to 56% in 2000. Similarly, 50% of workers reported they work against tight deadlines at least one-fourth of their working time in 1990, increasing to 56% in 1995 and 60 % in 2000. However, no change was noted in the period 1995–2000 (data not collected in 1990) in the percentage of workers reporting sufficient time to complete tasks.[10]

A substantial percentage of Americans work very long hours. By one estimate, more than 26% of men and more than 11% of women worked 50 hours per week or more in 2000. These figures represent a considerable increase over the previous three decades, especially for women. According to the Department of Labor, there has been an upward trend in hours worked among employed women, an increase in extended work weeks (>40 hours) by men, and a considerable increase in combined working hours among working couples, particularly couples with young children.[11][12]

A person's status in the workplace can also affect levels of stress. While workplace stress has the potential to affect employees of all categories; those who have very little influence to those who make major decisions for the company. However, less powerful employees (that is, those who have less control over their jobs) are more likely to suffer stress than powerful workers. Managers as well as other kinds of workers are vulnerable to work overload(Primm, 2005).

Economic factors that employees are facing in the 21st century have been linked to increased stress levels. Researchers and social commentators have pointed out that the computer and communications revolutions have made companies more efficient and productive than ever before. This boon in productivity however, has caused higher expectations and greater competition, putting more stress on the employee(Primm, 2005).

The following economic factors may lead to workplace stress:

Pressure from investors, who can quickly withdraw their money from company stocks.
The lack of trade and professional unions in the workplace.
Inter-company rivalries caused by the efforts of companies to compete globally
The willingness of companies to swiftly lay off workers to cope with changing business environments.

Signs of Workplace Stress

Stress-related problems include mood disturbance, psychological distress, sleep disturbance, upset stomach, headache, and problems in relationships with family and friends. The effects of job stress on chronic diseases are more difficult to ascertain because chronic diseases develop over relatively long periods of time and are influenced by many factors other than stress. Nonetheless, there is some evidence that stress plays a role in the development of several types of chronic health problems--including cardiovascular disease, musculoskeletal disorders, and psychological disorders.[1]

Prevention

A combination of organizational change and stress management is often the most useful approach for preventing stress at work.

How to Change the Organization to Prevent Job Stress

Ensure that the workload is in line with workers' capabilities and resources.
Design jobs to provide meaning, stimulation, and opportunities for workers to use their skills.
Clearly define workers' roles and responsibilities.
Give workers opportunities to participate in decisions and actions affecting their jobs.
Improve communications-reduce uncertainty about career development and future employment prospects.
Provide opportunities for social interaction among workers.
Establish work schedules that are compatible with demands and responsibilities outside the job.
Discrimination inside the workplace. (e.g. nationality and language )

St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company conducted several studies on the effects of stress prevention programs in hospital settings. Program activities included (1) employee and management education on job stress, (2) changes in hospital policies and procedures to reduce organizational sources of stress, and (3) the establishment of employee assistance programs. In one study, the frequency of medication errors declined by 50% after prevention activities were implemented in a 700-bed hospital. In a second study, there was a 70% reduction in malpractice claims in 22 hospitals that implemented stress prevention activities. In contrast, there was no reduction in claims in a matched group of 22 hospitals that did not implement stress prevention activities.

Telecommuting is another way organizations can help reduce stress for their workers. Employees defined telecommuting as "an alternative work arrangement in which employees perform tasks elsewhere that are normally done in a primary or central workplace, for at least some portion of their work schedule, using electronic media to interact with others inside and outside the organization." One reason that telecommuting gets such high marks is that it allows employees more control over how they do their work. Telecommuters reported more job satisfaction and less desire to find a new job. Employees that worked from home also had less stress, improved work/life balance and higher performance rating by their managers.[15]

Ethics

2009-03-09T16:16:00.001+05:30

While browsing for ethical behavior at work and meetings I stumbled on an interesting factor,

What exactly is work ethics?

Is it how you work? Or how you conduct yourself @ work?

Some of the Wiki's and sites I stumble on state….

What are work ethics?

Work ethics include not only how one feels about their job, career or vocation, but also how one does his/her job or responsibilities. This involves attitude, behavior, respect, communication, and interaction; how one gets along with others. Work ethics demonstrate many things about whom and how a person is.

Work ethics involve such characteristics as honesty and accountability. Essentially, work ethics break down to what one does or would do in a particular situation. The begging question in a situation involves what is right and acceptable, and above board, versus what is wrong, underhanded, and under the table.

Throughout the last few years, there have been companies whose work ethic -- honesty, integrity and accountability -- have been rather shady and have a rather negative impact on other people. This has involved people looking the other way when people have done something questionable, or thinking it would not matter.

Work ethics, such as honesty (not lying, cheating, and stealing), doing a job well, valuing what one does, having a sense of purpose and feeling/being a part of a greater vision or plan is vital. Philosophically, if one does not have proper work ethics, a person's conscience may be bothered. People for the most part have good work ethic(s); we should not only want to do, but desire to do the proper thing in a given situation.

Work ethics are intrinsic; they come from within. A question may involve where they came from, if they come from within. Philosophically, this may lead to various perspectives; however, the truth about work ethics, and where they come from are answered from a Christian worldview. Work ethics come from God the creator. God made humans in His image, and His word proclaims these various work ethics -- honesty, integrity, doing a job well, keeping things above board, and accountability factors.

The Christian worldview holds fundamentally to two central work ethics -- humility and the treatment of others. Humility is being humble, no task is too demeaning. Humility involves servitude, which emphasizes placing other peoples need before ones own. Treating others with decency and respect equate to the golden rule. The treatment of others involves loving your neighbor, loving your enemy, doing good to those who dislike you. It involves valuing others, and knowing they have worth.

Work ethic

Work ethic is a set of values based on hard work and diligence. It is also a belief in the moral benefit of work and its ability to enhance character. An example would be the Protestant work ethic. A work ethic may include being reliable, having initiative or maintaining social skills.

Workers exhibiting a good work ethic in theory (and ideally in practice) should be selected for better positions, more responsibility and ultimately promotion. Workers who fail to exhibit a good work ethic may be regarded as failing to provide fair value for the wage the employer is paying them and should not be promoted or placed in positions of greater responsibility.

One central concept that forms part of the basis of the free market economic theory of western capitalism is that workers who work hard and play by the rules will be rewarded and will move ahead, and that those who do not should be allowed to enjoy the fruits of their own poor performance.

Criticism of Work Ethic concept

Slacker and hippie cultures have challenged these values in recent times. In the 19th century, the Arts and Crafts movement of William Morris in the UK and Elbert Hubbard in the US noted how "alienation" of workers from ownership of the tools of production and their work product was destructive of the work ethic because in the expanding firms of that era, the workers saw no point in doing more than the minimum. The industrial engineer Frederick Taylor revised the notion of work ethic to include giving up control over the work process to management so that the latter could study and "rationalize" the work process, and the notion of work ethic thereafter included acknowledgment of management control.

Marxists, and most non-Marxist sociologists, make short shrift of "work ethic" as a useful sociological concept. They argue having a "work ethic" in excess of management's control doesn't appear rational in any mature industry where the employee can't rationally hope to become more than a manager whose fate still depends on the owner's decisions. Sociology prefers to renarrate excess work ethic as a form of alienation from truer needs for family and community connections, and twentieth century "critical theory" sees the "work ethic" as a unilateral demand which evolved from a mass confusion between Max Weber's "Protestant work ethic" of company founders, and a sociologically uninteresting phenomenon (rare enough to not register on a mass radar screen) which in fact produces deviance (of interest to the sociologist) in the form of addiction and family neglect.[citation needed]

In fact, an excess "work ethic" is often fueled (according again to sociology) by addictions such as the widespread addiction to crystal meth in American rural communities, which has been shown to result from excessive work schedules.[citation needed] In other environments, it creates a sharp divide between work and play, and neglect in the latter of any recreation (time with family, volunteer work, or cultural pursuits) which reminds the workaholic of "work."

The French Leftist philosopher André Gorz wrote: "The work ethic has become obsolete. It is no longer true that producing more means working more, or that producing more will lead to a better way of life. The connection between more and better has been broken; our needs for many products and services are already more than adequately met, and many of our as-yet- unsatisfied needs will be met not by producing more, but by producing differently, producing other things, or even producing less. This is especially true as regards our needs for air, water, space, silence, beauty, time and human contact. Neither is it true any longer that the more each individual works, the better off everyone will be. The present crisis has stimulated technological change of an unprecedented scale and speed: `the micro-chip revolution'. The object and indeed the effect of this revolution has been to make rapidly increasing savings in labour, in the industrial, administrative and service sectors. Increasing production is secured in these sectors by decreasing amounts of labour. As a result, the social process of production no longer needs everyone to work in it on a full-time basis. The work ethic ceases to be viable in such a situation and work based society is thrown into crisis." André Gorz, Critique of Economic Reason,Gallilé,1989

Many white collar employees, in a rational reaction to a demand for a "work ethic" involving the sacrifice of unpaid hours, cultivate a rhetorical "work ethic" consisting of external obeisance to absolute management control while producing little

SLUMP TIME HAS ARRIVED

2009-02-02T15:13:00.000+05:30

The writer is director of the National Neuroscience Institute and Lee Kuan Yew's daughter (Lee Kuan Yew is the former Prime Minister of Singapore).

SLUMP TIME HAS ARRIVED

By Lee Wei Ling

In 2007, in an end-of-year message to the staff of the National Neuroscience Institute, I wrote: 'Whilst boom time in the public sector is never as booming as in the private sector, let us not forget that boom time is eventually followed by slump time. Slump time in the public sector is always less painful compared to the private sector.' Slump time has arrived with a bang.

While I worry about the poorer Singaporeans who will be hit hard, perhaps this recession has come at an opportune time for many of us. It will give us an incentive to reconsider our priorities in life. Decades of the good life have made us soft. The wealthy especially, but also the middle class in Singapore, have had it so good for so long, what they once considered luxuries, they now think of as necessities.

A mobile phone, for instance, is now a statement about who you are, not just a piece of equipment for communication. Hence many people buy the latest model though their existing mobile phones are still in perfect working order.

A Mercedes-Benz is no longer adequate as a status symbol. For millionaires who wish to show the world they have taste, a Ferrari or a Porsche is deemed more appropriate.

The same attitude influences the choice of attire and accessories. I still find it hard to believe that there are people carrying handbags that cost more than thrice the monthly income of a bus driver, and many more times that of the foreign worker laboring in the hot sun, risking his life to construct luxury condominiums he will never have a chance to live in.

The media encourages and amplifies this ostentatious consumption. Perhaps it is good to encourage people to spend more because this will prevent the recession from getting worse. I am not an economist, but wasn't that the root cause of the current crisis - Americans spending more than they could afford to?

I am not a particularly spiritual person. I don't believe in the supernatural and I don't think I have a soul that will survive my death. But as I view the crass materialism around me, I am reminded of what my mother once told me: 'Suffering and deprivation is good for the soul.'

My family is not poor, but we have been brought up to be frugal. My parents and I live in the same house that my paternal grandparents and their children moved into after World War II in 1945. It is a big house by today's standards, but it is simple - in fact, almost to the point of being shabby.

Those who see it for the first time are astonished that Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew's home is so humble. But it is a comfortable house, a home we have got used to. Though it does look shabby compared to the new mansions on our street, we are not bothered by the comparison.

Most of the world and much of Singapore will lament the economic downturn. We have been told to tighten our belts. There will undoubtedly be suffering, which we must try our best to ameliorate. But I personally think the hard times will hold a timely lesson for many Singaporeans, especially those born after 1970 who have never lived through difficult times. No matter how poor you are in Singapore, the authorities and social groups do try to ensure you have shelter and food. Nobody starves in Singapore.

Many of those who are currently living in mansions and enjoying a luxurious lifestyle will probably still be able to do so, even if they might have to downgrade from wines costing $20,000 a bottle to $10,000 a bottle. They would hardly notice the difference.

Being wealthy is not a sin. It cannot be in a capitalist market economy. Enjoying the fruits of one's own labour is one's prerogative and I have no right to chastise those who choose to live luxuriously.

But if one is blinded by materialism, there would be no end to wanting and hankering. After the Ferrari, what next? An Aston Martin? After the Hermes Birkin handbag, what can one upgrade to?

Neither an Aston Martin nor a Hermes Birkin can make us truly happy or contented. They are like dust, a fog obscuring the true meaning of life, and can be blown away in the twinkling of an eye.

When the end approaches and we look back on our lives, will we regret the latest mobile phone or luxury car that we did not acquire? Or would we prefer to die at peace with ourselves, knowing that we have lived lives filled with love, friendship and goodwill, that we have helped some of our fellow voyagers along the way and that we have tried our best to leave this world a slightly better place than how we found it?

We know which is the correct choice - and it is within our power to make that choice.

In this new year, burdened as it is with the problems of the year that has just ended, let us again try to choose wisely.

To a considerable degree, our happiness is within our own control, and we should not follow the herd blindly.

life in a retrospect view

2008-09-03T18:41:00.002+05:30

The childhood is a time that runs out so fast, its faster than light.

wow now US has a say in our elections :)

2008-09-01T13:01:00.002+05:30

A hornet's nest was stirred up following the US Ambassador in Sri Lanka , Robert Blake's meeting with the Elections Commissioner just before the Provincial Council elections. It is widely questioned by the media as to what right the US Ambassador has to hold discussions with the Elections Commissioner in regard to the conduct of free and fair elections. This is not the first time that accusations have been levelled against the U.S. Ambassador for interfering in Sri Lanka's internal affairs. Even during the Eastern Provincial Council elections , Blake has visited the area, prior to elections and inquired as to the measures that are being taken to conduct a free and fair election.

this is where it all begins

2008-08-31T22:26:00.001+05:30

wow, life ... it all start of in an instant
from the first breath, all the people in the room looking at you when u take the first gulp of air,
in that moment time stops for a sec and the baby cry out
anxious nurses and doctors exhale in deep breath where the mother wait to hear the first voice of the child.
that's how life begins