Models and Mortals...

The Pricks in Politics

2012-10-12T23:49:00.001+08:00

When I was younger, I used to think that it is better to keep my political views to myself - just to avoid any trouble because my frank opinions may just be misunderstood. Now, too many of my relatives are involved in politics - be it pro or anti-opposition. When I say too many, I really do mean TOO MANY. When we all get together, we do exchange our opinions on the outlook of our political scene, especially in Sabah. The resignation of our granduncle, Datuk Seri Wilfred Bumburing, did not shock any of us actually. In fact, we were comtemplating among ourselves on which party that he would join when he resigns. Well, he retired from UPKO (a component party of BN) and join PR. I guess he has his own reasons - will try to ask him on what's his motivation to do the move. Hahaha!

Anyway, unlike Tun M, I am always with the view of "It is always better to be with the devil that you know than the devil that you don't" - in politics, there is no such thing as being an angel la. When a person is too nice, he will not be able to be a politician. This is my personal view - politics always has that 'dirty' element in it. I mean, come on, when the others are playing dirty, those 'new naive' politicians will have no choice but either to join them or be 'killed' in the process. Whatever it is, we, the mere mortals, will just try to sway ourselves from getting ourselves entangled in any political issues.

Recently something caught my attention, which triggered myself to be a bit more vocal in my political opinion. Like I've said before, I am not a pro-government nor am I a pro-opposition. I believe that in any country, it is always for the best when there is a good mixture of government and opposition representatives in the parliament. It creates balance.

Anyway, back to the original topic. This is about the recent Budget Report 2013, where the PM, announced that, "The Government will allocate RM386 million to ensure the prices of essential goods in Sabah and Sarawak as well as in Labuan are sold at lower prices through the opening of 57 KR1M (Kedai Rakyat 1 Malaysia); and to bear the cost of delivering products from Peninsular Malaysia to Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan including the interior areas."

I don't want to say whether it was a good idea for the PM to just make a general statement like that in his plan but I am sure that he is aware that every single point that he tabulates during his budget plan presentation, will be criticised to the max by the opposition parties - what more, GE13 is so nearby.

What I don't like is the statement from the opposition parties! I mean, if you want to make criticisms, please be more prepared with facts rather than shooting 'blanks' la.

Check out this media statement by Tony Pua Kiam Wee, DAP National Publicity Secretary & MP for Petaling Jaya Utara on Tuesday, 2nd October 2012.

Pua's big header of "Why is the Federal Government helping Mydin make astronomical profit to set up 57 KR1M in Sabah and Sarawak with RM386 million?" really amazes me on how shallow a politician's mind could be - if Pua wants to trick the public to turn against the Government by making such a remark, he has made a mistake - we are not stupid fool la. There are so many other things that he could pinpoint on the mistakes that the Government has made. Oh well, the remark is not accurate at all! First and foremost, who is helping who here? I don't think a big corporate company like Mydin will need any help to gain profit from the Government la. In fact, in the case of KR1M, Mydin is helping the Government to manage these shops as part of the company's CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) - check out this video by Mydin's Managing Director. Other big retailers will not even want to be part of it because they have to invest their resources (which could be used to gain profit for their own company) to assist in setting up KR1M stores.

One more thing, where did Pua get the data that Mydin is making astronomical profit out of this KR1M deal? Even a layman will know that you get better profit if you sell things more expensive. The items in KR1M are cheap because the profit out of the items is low! I think Mydin would be better off sticking with their own business. Its MD explained this in an article that just came out today that it is NOT a fast way to get rich!

Pua also said, "We call upon the Government to make available the RM386 million to all small retail outlets already in existence throughout Sabah and Sarawak to ensure that the maximum number of retailers and consumers will benefit from the programme to sell basic necessities at lower prices." Seriously, I want to ask him, if he has millions to invest, will he want to risk the money on someone who has little experience in retail supply chain, or someone who has only a single shop, or a company who has a proven track record of opening various formats of stores across the country? Simple risk calculation, right? I think that even if the Government offers KR1M to any other businessman, not many will take it up. In fact, according to the Malaysian Digest article, after realizing how the model of opening KR1M is not a fast way to gain richness, a lot of those who were keen before, decided not to pursue it.

One more thing to add, having multiple retail outlets across the country to get into KR1M project will be a total management nightmare - consistencies in processes and even item assortments will be gone and tracking the returns of the money invested will not be easy! At the end of the day, isn't it commonsense that in order to minimise the risk of project failure (in this case, involving millions of ringgit), you would want the project to be handled by ONE party (this is simple project management la!). The more party is involved in a project, the more complex the project management would be! I mean, HELLOOOOO, how does he think that he could run a country without even deducing such a simple common-sense?

Another politician who made a statement about this issue is the Kota Kinabalu MP, Dr Hiew King Cheu. I realized that a lot of these so-called educated politicians just like to make general statements without getting their facts right - Dr Hiew said, "...KR1M shop is a direct competitor to take away the business and income of the local small business and sundry shop or kedai runcit. This KR1M has the government finance and capital support, and it is selling goods at very price would definitely "slaughter" the existing small businesses. How can the Kedai Runcit survive? This will even affect the business of the supermarkets too." Doesn't he know that the kedai runcit can purchase these items from KR1M (at lesser prices) and re-sell the items in their shops. In this case, the kedai runcits will gain more customers too! From the selling prices, I am sure that KR1M has always been targetted to assist the needy who are living in towns/cities. The target audience is specific and the range of products is limited to essential items. Therefore, I don't think that the sundry shops/kedai runcits will be 'slaughtered' by KR1M.

Having said all the above, there is one thing that I do agree with Pua. It is the transparency of the allocated budget! The Government has always been 'weak' in this. They should be more open in terms of how the money is disbursed and show that there is no hanky-panky going on in the background. Well, that's what we, as the public, hope la... The Government needs to win back our trust so what's the harm of being transparent to your potential voters, unless of course, you have something to hide la...

In conclusion, the PRICKS are those politicians who choose to just say whatever they want without doing proper research, playing TRICKS to the public, thinking that we could be fooled. In this era where technology is available to everyone, news travel and rumours get spread so much faster than before, it is hard to fool the people la!

In the end, the people will decide! Personally, most of the people in politics are always with 2 faces - it is up to us to see which party is good for us and the country.

I will leave all of you with the above pic that I find to be, in a way, true to certain extend.

Until my next post, let's pray that our country will be more peaceful and we can live in harmony regardless of our race, personal faith and sexual preference!

Note: My Vote

2012-06-18T11:59:00.000+08:00

"Political reality is very different from what it looks like outside. Always harder to be working than to observe & criticize" - tweet from Hannah Yeoh

When I read the tweet above, it does make sense. Yes! It is always easier to talk and criticize than to be in that person's shoes. Now that we are about to have our next general election (God knows when now), a lot of efforts can be seen from every sides; ruling and opposition parties are trying to out-do each other. Strategies are planned and people are 'pulled' from everywhere.

I know a lot of my relatives and friends in Sabah are very active in various political parties. Some, did asked about my view on our country's political scene. To be honest, I am not a fan of politics, mainly because of one reason: corruption! I have heard a lot of stories on how 'business' transactions are done in favour of one political party. I think that modern politics is always associated to personal gain. Most politicians (please note that I put the word MOST here) are in politics for their own gain first then for the people - that too, certain sets of people who are in their favour. In its true essence, politics is meant for the benefits of the citizens. But, all of us, mere mortal citizens, are aware that our politicians are in politics not 100% for us. You can see how when it's near an election, then only we see their faces in their areas. There are so many things that could be done to assist the poor, the illiterates, the under-developed villages etc. The attention is only given to these groups only when media is present or when the topic is 'hot'.

Do we practise true democracy in the country? There's doubt to this. Votes are bought and ballots are rigged - rumours? Maybe. But, I have seen for myself where certain party used lorries to deliver zinc pieces to home owners during election. Is this right and in accordance to the election rules and regulations? In Sabah, we have those non-Malaysians with our Malaysian Identity Card (IC) casting their votes for their 'sponsors'. Sad but true, democracy is manipulated fraudulently and its rules are bent just for the sake of winning the election.

Now, talking about our current political scene, the oppositions are gaining a lot of supporters. I see this as a good thing. I mean, the current government has never felt threaten in the past and it's about time that they do. I am not saying that the opposition will be able to take the throne this round but I believe that in anything, it is always good to have check and balance. If the parliment is monopolized by only the ruling party then decisions made may not have been thought through. With more opposition members in the parliment, at least, the governing party will be more vigilent and will be kept on their toes by the opposition members - it's only human nature, right? Afterall, monopoly is never good, what more in ruling a country.

There is so much of political 'heat' now, bloodshed events and sensitive topics (sexual orientation, religion, race etc) are raised without thinking of the consequences, which of course, is not giving any benefit to the public and causing a lot of mixed feelings among us. Innocents are caught in the middle of the political 'tug of war'. All we want is to have a peaceful country to live in. If only there is a way to measure the citizens' happiness (like the iPad game Kingdoms of Camelot) then any government can see whether they can balance the happiness with the economy of the country etc. Oh well, they just have to learn to listen to the general public more but not having those selective 'hearing' though.

Frankly speaking, I just can't wait till the election is over. The longer the wait, the more incidents we will face. At the end, I hope and pray that true democracy will prevail as my vote will remain unknown to others but me!

Till my next post, wishing all my readers, peace and let's vote!

From Captain America to Thor - My Review of The Avengers 2012

2012-05-24T00:30:00.000+08:00

To those who have not seen The Avengers, please do not read further as I do not want to be responsible to spoil the movie for you.

I love the movie! It is the best Marvel movie ever! I love the action part of the movie - how the Avengers fight with the fleets of Chitauri in the middle of New York City! Now, it's always New York City, right? The city has been through so much and even Marvel likes to use this city as the location of Stark HQ. Those one-liners are cheeky, although yeah. some are corny ;p Oh ya, I laughed so much when Hulk hit Loki again and again on the floor - that was so funny! Check out the YouTube video below:

One thing that I could not help but notice is the similarities between this movie's Dr Banner and the TV-series' Dr Banner.

Don't you guys think that Bill Bixby and Mark Ruffalo have some resemblance?

And how hot is Scarlett Johansson as the Black Widow / Agent Natasha Romanoff? Taken from this site - where she confesses that she wasn't wearing anything underneath that unitard!

I don't mind watching this movie again! It is just done so brilliantly! A definite 5 out of 5!

Email: Good or Evil?

2012-05-23T09:54:00.000+08:00

This blog entry has been sitting in my draft folder for ages! Been trying to finish it but work just got in the way. Last night when I was monitoring the stocktake processing, I manage to finish this off!

So, enjoy my "Email: Good or Evil?" posting!

This was the logo used by Digital Trends in their article "Europe's Largest IT Company Bans Email". Cool eh?

Here's the thing - if we ask any professionals nowadays on what is the most important thing to have for their work, many would say, "Email is critical for my work". Actually, what they really mean is that "Communication is critical for my work" and the most used tool to communicate is the email system.

Now, let's put it this way. In a day, we have 24 hours of 60 minutes each - so, in a day, we have 24 x 60 = 1440 minutes. I receive around 1500 emails daily and 90% of the emails are internal - I am managing 3 projects with various vendors so 10% of the emails come from them. Thanks to the well-managed spam filter by our data centre team, junk email is rare. With the large number of received emails, it is hard to do your work and keep up with the incoming emails. I try to spend each and every free minutes to clear my inbox so that I don't have massive backlog on my email. If I use half-a-min for an email, that will take, like 12.5 hours already! Wow! A lot more can be accomplished if the 12 hours are spent on proper work. Gosh, once we start to quantify things, perspective would change drastically!

Most of the internal emails I received, are of type "for-info-only" but they are cluttering my inbox, making it difficult for me to filter the urgent emails out of the "for-info-only". Some senders just want to loop you in, just in case ;p Honestly, I am also guilty of these so-called "for-info-only" emails. I would write an email TO a particular set of people for them to action on the content but I would CC those who just need to know that the task has been delegated and will be followed up. I also need most things to be done via email because I use it as my personal tracking system. Having verbal communication is great but people tend to forget so, usually, I will put down the discussion into an email to ensure that I do not forget anything and that I can refer to the email for future references.

Catch 22 situation eh? To email or not to email? For me, the "for-info-only" emails are good to read when you have enough time in your hands so can they be channelled through other tools other than email? I think that taking email tool out of an organization like what Atos did would require a lot of effort to educate and change people on how to use an alternative communication tool like Yammer or Podio. But if it could take away even half of my incoming emails daily, I would want to give it a chance!

Verdict of Email: Good or Evil? You decide!

Till my next post, peace and adios!

Hammer the Yammer

2012-05-02T01:34:00.001+08:00

Nailing Yammer into our organization!

"The first step is the hardest" - I do believe in this proverb. It is always difficult to adopt something new or to impose change. Those who have read the book, "Who moved my cheese?" will be able to relate to the process of changing people's mindsets.

My objective, at the end of the day, is to reduce internal emails by using Yammer to be our collaborative tool but since this is the beginning of a long journey, I can already see some challenges at hand.

Firstly, Yammer vs Email. Email is very personal. You can control who to address it to and therefore, you can write it with those intended audience in mind. Language and email mannerism can be tailored accordingly. Social networking, on the other hand, is opened to a wider audience thus, making it a bit more complicated for an email-person to adapt to. How does one write things in social network channel as compared to writing an email? This is where Yammer groups can be used to assist those users - when writing to a particular group, you imagine as if you are presenting in front of them so your updates in Yammer can still be tailored to a particular group of people. Now, when you write an update in "All Company", you just have to imagine that you are presenting in front of the entire company so you, in one way or another, automatically tailor your updates as if you have your colleagues from same and other departments as well as your bosses present in front of you.

Next, Yammer vs Facebook (FB). Well, it does not help that Yammer does look like Facebook. Therefore, the young users in our company tend to use Yammer as if it is their FB page. They identify themselves as someone who we don't know of - using nicknames that are not familiar in our working environment. Talking about profile picture, some are not bothered to put up their photos at all while some, put their kids' pics as their profile pics. I mean, I'm sure that you want to show how your kids are etc, but just ensure that you put up your pic as well. No one knows who you are if your kids' photo is your profile pic and your name is put as 'Lady Gaga', right? For this cases, just to remind them that this is a professional network and not personal social network. Once professional is mentioned, then people will change their names and pictures to be more professional. Save those glamorous nicknames and nice photos for your FB page, ya?

"What are you working on?" vs "What's on your mind?". Although in Yammer, it clearly asks for "What are you working on?", we still get updates like "I am hungry and lunchtime is still so far away" or "It's raining outside and I need Nescafe". Yes, these are the typical facebook status updates. Again, Yammer vs Facebook syndrome here. So, just need to ensure that the users are guided accordingly on what are the suitable updates in Yammer. Actually, you just have to remind them that the bosses are reading your updates in Yammer and then, the users will be more cautious before clicking on the Yammer update button :)

Novelists in our midst. I think that there are times when we need to stress that updates should be limited to a few sentences or at most, a paragraph. Some users tend to use the Update section to write 'novel'. Other colleagues are reading Yammer to get quick updates on things that are relevant to their current task and if the updates are so long, the time spent on Yammer will be longer than what it should be hence, shorter time to perform the actual task. I think that this is the hardest to implement - some people just cannot write simple updates and Yammer does not have the 140-character limitation. It can also be discouraging when users post long updates and they get feedback that their updates are too lengthy - then, they may just stop sending updates in Yammer. Personally, I am still thinking of how to address this one, so anyone who has an idea on how to help me here, please do send your comments.

Yeah! In short, 'pushing' Yammer to users is not that simple. Our implementation is still in progress - as of today, we have 58.4% of our users online. Just need to learn on how to 'hammer' this tool to see whether we can achieve the target of reducing our internal emails traffic. It's normal that internal adoption/promotion is the hardest to do.

Till my next Yammer posting, let's hammer the Yammer!

Holy Week 2012

2012-04-08T02:23:00.001+08:00

I have been blogging on my Geeks'tuff label these couple of weeks, so this Easter (while trying to stay up to monitor the stocktake processing in my laptop), I thought of just sharing something about the holy week.

Last Friday, 6th April, I had the opportunity to attend the last Way of the Cross and the students did a very good re-enactment of the stations of the Cross - unlike in other few countries, no one got seriously nailed on the Cross here ya! I was so touched by the whole re-enactment that my tears just suddenly flow throughout the whole service.

It was very fortunate that I could sit in the main church where the re-enactment took place - to be able to imagine and feel such torture and suffering - I can't imagine how a person could go through that much. Well, His love for us is so great that he is willing to show how he would suffer and bear the torture for us - I can't help myself from feeling so remorse after the whole thing. Good Friday has always been a holiday for the East Malaysians and the mass is always at 3pm. Since it is not a public holiday in West Malaysia, the mass is scheduled to be during lunch time and after office hours. I'm glad that I went for the 7:30 pm mass because I don't have to rush back to office after that. It also gave me time to reflect during the drive back home - John 3:16 says: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life"

Dad used to say that Easter should be a bigger celebration than Christmas. I never thought about what he said seriously before. Now, come to think of it, it does make sense for us to celebrate it more than Christmas. The significance of Easter is more because it shows us the hope for salvation and redemption. This is the time when we should be celebrating Easter with our family members. This year, since we are quite busy with the stocktake and many other activities with the other projects, plus I was already away last week for a family event in Singapore, I've decided to spend the holy week in KL. I don't know why but it is not the same - to have at least that Easter Sunday brunch with the family seems to make my Easter more complete. It's like celebrating your birthday alone - you don't mind but it would be more meaningful to have family and friends around, that's all...

So, to my dearest family back home, have a wonderful Easter and I miss all of you so much!

Till my next posting, to all my readers, I wish you all a great weekend and to those who are celebrating Easter, have a blessed Easter! Peace!

Yammer-ing Away!

2012-04-03T23:51:00.003+08:00

Yes, Yammer is live and the network community is increasing by the day.

While I am still in search of a better mechanism to introduce some steps / guidelines to our new Yammer users, I found some materials from the WWW that may be usable in our company.

My initial perception of Yammer was... an intranet 'facebook'? Hmm interesting and has potential... This will definitely attract those Gen Ys and Gen Zs team members!!!

I like the idea of having our external IT consultants to be in Yammer where we can create our own network and collaborate. This will definitely reduce spamming in our mailboxes. One drawback is that everyone is so used to emails and therefore, Yammer notification is something new and not being looked at as frequent as emails. At this point in time, I will NOT encourage any users to configure their notifications to receive real-time notification for every feeds in our Yammer network, that will just create a lot more traffic in our email server.

Nowadays, I prefer to ask general questions in Yammer rather than spamming a lot of people's mailboxes. At least with Yammer, you can post your question to a particular group or network of people. With that, unlike emails, my question is targetted to a selected set of people within my network without me forgetting who to include in the TO and CC mailing list. If I were to ask a general question for the entire company, I will be able to do so and I can get feedbacks from various team members from other departments as well.

Another thing that I like about Yammer is that its support on mobile devices - which is a useful thing to have. I am planning to get a group of people who usually are assigned to work out of the office to test this out. Basically, get their mobiles installed with the Yammer app and then get them to send updates via Yammer in our group. At least, less emails and they can freely update everyone involved while they are on the road too. I think that they will be more receptive to use Yammer to send updates because it looks more casual than sending an email out. If the response is good for this group of 'guinea pigs' then, what we can do is to encourage more out-of-office team members to do the same :)

That's all for now, will post some #Yams again soon! Till then, peace to all readers ;p

To Yammer or Not To Yammer

2012-03-29T02:11:00.000+08:00

The company has decided to introduce Yammer as a collaborative tool for us. I see this move as a positive move to bring all staffs 'closer' virtually. With so many staffs in a company from various departments, it is a good channel to get to know each other and share opinions on certain topics.

What we need to do is to promote Yammer not only as a tool to improve productivity and efficiency but also to achieve it in a more fun waY! Yes! The Yammer WaY! Since they are a lot of users who are working outside of office, with the cloud solution, they can still keep track of what is happening in the company and still collaborate with the rest of their team members. Yammer client can be installed in all major smartphones, Blackberry, Iphone, Android, so we can always contribute in Yammer from anywhere.

The 2 challenges that I see now are:
** The level of maturity across all the users
It is not easy when some users are more internet-savvy than the rest. They can differentiate the usage of a corporate social media channel like Yammer as compared to personal social media channel like Facebook. So, Yammer tips and tricks in both English and Malay will need to be written to, hopefully, educate all users.

** The corporate readiness
Policies are to not established yet so users are confuse on the usage of Yammer in the workplace. First step is always to introduce, next step: need to outline policies of what are the Do's and Dont's within Yammer networks.

I am excited about Yammer in the company but at the same time, concerned that something good like Yammer will just 'die' off if nothing is done to promote it for work purpose. So, a note to self, first step is to dig up some good reading materials from the Net on how to get Yammer working as a productive tool and then share slowly with the hope to guide all users to see the benefits of Yammer and then eventually, get positive buy-in from top management :D

So, to Yammer or not to Yammer? Definitely, Yammer all the way! :D

Till my next posting, peace to you all out there!

My review on the movie, 'The Help'

2012-03-21T19:53:00.000+08:00

Last week, I had the opportunity to watch "The Help". At first, I thought that it would be one of those draggy drama movie. But to my surprise, it was an engaging movie!

The movie is a roller-coaster ride for me - there were times when I was laughing (Minny's special pie for Hilly?), scared (hearing Minny's voice over the phone during the Leroy's incident?) and of course, touched (by the relationship between Aibileen and the 3-year old Mae Mobley). This adaptation of Kathryn Stockett's novel, centres around a writer who is trying to reveal the stories behind closed doors on the black maids and their masters. Although it is predominantly based on racism in the 1960s, it touches the value of difficult friendships (in the case of Skeeter and the maids) and the courage to stand up on what you believe in.

I feel that being Skeeter is the toughest. It is not easy to have a different point of view from the rest of your peers and being able to stand by them. She could have done what her mum did, just follow along even though she does not agree, but no, she stood by her opinions, even when she knows that she would lose everyone around her. Not an easy choice but at least, her conscience is clear.

I give this movie a 4 out of 5! Worth watching -> better not in the theatre though, get the DVD, it is better to watch at home :) unless you want the cinema-quality popcorn, of course!

Till my next posting, peace to all!

Fri, 9th March 2012: Of My Friday Frustration

2012-03-09T09:07:00.000+08:00

Firstly, let me start by saying that I still love my job - it is never boring and I am blessed to have very committed & hard-working team members!

I just feel down right now - maybe should not blog when you are emotional but hey, this is why I've put up this blog in the first place - for space to release my thoughts and feelings! Prior to writing this blog, I've just posted a tweet:

When it comes to my work, I try to be a strong and professional person and try to be better at it everyday, but this morning, I could not help myself from shedding some tears after reading an email. I feel that sometimes, emails must be re-read repeatedly before clicking on SEND button. Sender may send it with good intention but when the good intention is put wrongly, the intention is lost hence, the emails will be perceived wrongly. At the end, wrongly worded sentences can hurt and de-motivate people very fast.

I am so disappointed and in some ways, feel under-appreciated now! I understand that currently, the system implemented is not perfect, but it does not mean that we are letting our hands off from the issues. We are pushing so many parties to look at the problems - not easy to push these vendors. We are getting responses now although not as fast as what I've expected but at least, something. Just like all other things, systems need time to mature and people take time to adapt to new changes everywhere. At the same time, year-end and stocktake activities are coming - 2 tasks that a lot of people from other organizations question - how come we are the champion of these activities whereas in other companies, Finance is to champion both activities while IT is to just provide the tools and system. I told my team that in this company, it has always been under our department and because of that, we are better and more experienced in planning and executing the tasks, that's all. I have a team of IT team members in the warehouse performing inventory tasks to help to clear the paperwork pending - I am proud of our teams who never questioned me on why are they doing other department's tasks.

Back to under-appreciation, it is so sad to see that the many effort and tasks done well are not given recognition. I am not asking for myself because I believe that without the team members that I have, there is no way that I could perform my work. I think that the best way, although may be viewed as extreme, is to imagine the company without these team members! Or imagine we are back in year 2000 (12 years ago), before this department was established.

There is a way to motivate team members to perform better and more, but before we demand for more, I believe that we should, at least, give credit where it's due. It does not take much and it does not hurt to simply say, "thank you for a job well executed & keep up the good work!". I've always believed that without these team members and those certain vendors that we have been doing business with, there is no way that we are in this position in the first place. While the objective is to push our people to perform better, let's not forget to reward them for the good job that they have done all this while. Else, tiredness will sink in and the feeling of being taken for granted will emerge - soon, we may lose those valuable assets.

Oh well, what a start for my Friday, ya? I wish the rest of you to have a better day today! To my team members, thank you for your all your contribution & keep up the good work, you are appreciated! Okay, got to rush for my acupuncture! Till my next post, peace for now!

Speech done for Mum's Retirement Party

2012-03-06T13:19:00.000+08:00

In order not to lose this special once-in-a-lifetime speech, I 've decided that it is best to place it in my blog. So here's the speech that I did for mum's retirement party.

"A very good evening to all who are present here tonight. The excellent principal of SM Maktab Sabah, Pn. Hj. Nuinda; Chairperson of PIBG, Datuk Fatimah Syara; Penolong Kanan Pentadbiran, Pn. Samsiah Almalik; Penolong Kanan HEM, Datin Rosiah Liman; Penolong Kanan Ko-Kum, Mr. Jahid Paki; other teachers, wardens, staffs & all the students of Maktab Sabah.

First and foremost, my mother & our family would like to thank you for celebrating her retirement together with the Hostel Annual Dinner. This is such a perfect timing for us as the hostel has been our home sweet home for the past 26 years.

I remember when my mum was transferred from SMK Menggatal to here, I was only 9 years old. This hostel compound was the playground for my siblings and I. I am proud to say that my sisters Linda, Veronica & I, together with our brother, Valentino, are Maktab Sabah products. Royline, on the other hand, joined SM Stella Maris, unfortunately :)

It was not easy for us to be in a school that our mum is working in, all my teachers know my mum so cannot be too naughty in class lah :D but mum managed to integrate the hostel students as part of our extended family and we grew up having hostel friends and seniors to help us in our studies too :). I guess that is one of the plus points of growing up as Matron's children. So personally, the hostel is a sentimental place and will always be dear to my heart.

On this special occasion, my mum and our family would like to thank the hostel management and the school for the home that we have in the hostel and for the 26 years of having our family to be part of the hostel family. We, also, would like to apologize for any shortcomings or anything that may have offended or hurt anyone throughout our 26 years here.

Finally, we are proud of my mum that she has spent her 26 years with this school. I cannot imagine of any other place for her and for us, siblings, to grow up in. It has been such a wonderful 26-year and we hope that the school and hostel would continue to excel for many-many more years to come. This place will always be remembered and will always be special in all of our hearts :). Once again, mum, we are proud of you, happy birthday & we all love you dearly.

Thank you very much."

To those who would want to watch the video, just click HERE

Please forgive the quality of the video as my sister was using my iPad to take the video and also, please ignore the background noises/comments too. Hahaha, Presley's shout, my sisters talking etc... anyway, still love all of you!

Till my next entry, peace to all models and mortals out there!

What a leap day for me and Erykah Badu!

2012-03-01T22:29:00.002+08:00

29th Feb 2012 - What a day! 29th Feb comes once in 4 years and yesterday was definitely, a memorable one!

Salary came in and I have a few things to settle. So, went to the ATM to do my withdrawal. Entered amount to be withdrawn, waited, card returned, screen went back to main page but no cash received. I thought that maybe I wrongly did something or maybe I missed any notification on the screen, so I tried again. Entered amount to be withdrawn, waited, card returned, screen went back to main page and again, no cash received. I was puzzled and decided to check my bank balance, WHAT THE HELL? My balance got deducted and here I am, still cashless! So, I had no choice but to go to the bank to settle the problem. I explained the situation to the bank officer, she said this is not a common occurrence but it does occur. Yes, there was a court case reported in Sarawak on this.

Well, back to my story... The bank officer checked in the system and yes, the system says that I have made 2 withdrawals but I told her no cash came out of the ATM. She said that they will check the system etc and will call me back. Today I received a call from them saying that they are still in the process of verifying etc and that my account will only be credited after a week, if it is legit. A week??? What the hell? Don't they know that people have commitments and bills to pay? What a disappointment!

Another disappointment that is worth mentioning is about Erykah Badu's banned concert. She was supposed to perform last night, 29th Feb 2012 and due to the publication done by The Star on Mon, 27th Feb, the concert is banned by the Malaysian government. The published photo of Ms. Badu was questioned as she had the arabic word of 'Allah' tattooed on her bare skin (pix below):

Here's the news clipping taken from Telegraph UK:

Malaysia bans singer Erykah Badu for Allah tattoo

Muslim-majority Malaysia has banned a planned concert by Erykah Badu after a photograph appeared of her with the Arabic word for Allah written on her body.

The Grammy-winning R&B singer was scheduled to perform Wednesday in Kuala Lumpur, but some Muslim groups said Badu was an unsuitable role model for young Malaysians after seeing a publicity photo of her with what appeared to be temporary tattoos of the word Allah on her bare shoulders.

A government committee that includes police and Islamic policy officials decided to forbid Badu's show because the body art was "an insult to Islam and a very serious offence," Rais Yatim, the information minister, said in a statement.

The photo of Badu had "triggered public criticism that could jeopardise national security and cause a negative impact to the government's image," the statement added.

The 41-year-old, Dallas-born singer had already arrived in Malaysia. She can stay as a tourist but will not be allowed to perform, an anonymous Information Ministry official said.

Razman Razali, managing director of the show's Malaysian organiser, Pineapple Concerts, said his company hopes the ban will be reversed.

Badu is "worried and dismayed," he said. She was slated to perform in an auditorium that can hold about 3,000 spectators.

It was the first concert by a Western performer to be banned in Malaysia in recent years. Several other stars, including Gwen Stefani and Avril Lavigne, were told to dress modestly while performing.

The photograph of Badu, which also appears on her official fan website, attracted attention after Malaysia's most widely read English-language daily, The Star, published it Monday.

On Tuesday, the newspaper apologised to Muslims for what it called an "oversight," saying it deeply regretted any offence sparked by the photo, which was "inadvertently published." The Home Ministry summoned The Star's editors to explain the photograph, which caused some Muslim activists to demand the newspaper's suspension.

I saw 4 comments to this news and got curious, so here they are:

In Foxnews, there were more than a thousand comments. Very mixed reactions from so many people but mostly... *sigh* I remember in 2002, when I went to Australia for a business trip, when we told the taxi driver that we were from Malaysia, he mentioned about Anwar's sodomy case. Now, we will be known as the conservative Malaysians who banned Erykah Badu's concert.

While I do not condone to such display of temporary tattoo in a sensitive nation like Malaysia, I am amazed with the amount of negativity received by our Malaysians, up to the point of banning her concert. I thought that once a personal apology is given, we would be liberal and matured enough to forgive a foreign artist for a photo-shoot taken somewhere else, and continue with the concert and we could enjoy her music and the event organizers will not be losing their investment. It's not as if she purposely put the temporary tattoo especially for her concert here and it's not as if she's planning to perform with that 'accessory' in her concert here. It was a photo taken somewhere else and for something else! Again, very disappointing... *sigh*

What have we become? We should uphold our values but at the same time, be more tolerant and considerate of others, and be more forgiving to those who may not understand. Frankly, my fellow Malaysians, I am very disappointed and at the same time, I am scared to be living among those who are too fanatic. Here we are, a multi-cultural, multi-racial nation, living together in a community and yet, there are some of us who are so narrow-minded. IF the number is so small, I don't think that the ban would happen. IF the tolerance level is this low for a foreigner, what would the tolerance level to a fellow Malaysian then? I don't want to even think about it.

Sad but true, we are so far away from being the 1-Malaysia that we dream of or we claim to be. What a disappointing leap day *sigh*

Anyway, my mortal and model readers out there, I wish you peace and let's pray for a better and more tolerate nation.

Celebrities and Leaders: Individual or Representational

2012-02-26T17:58:00.002+08:00

As someone who is quite active in social network channels, I can't help to notice that more and more celebs and famous leaders are using these channels too. For mere mortals like me, I don't think that my opinions are taken too seriously when I post anything on my Facebook status/wall, or tweet something on my twitter page or even what I write here. Recently, something struck me... when someone as famous as Bill Gates tweets, will people see his tweets as his own personal view or will people start associating his view/values to his company, Microsoft?

Something closer to home, last year, when the tsunami hit Japan, our Prime Minister's wife made a comment that was resented by a lot of people. Her distasteful comment was taken so seriously, I remember reading so many tweets about the FLOM's (First Lady of Malaysia) blunder, right after her vid was shared all over the Net:

I am sure if she tweeted it, she would get the same reactions from the public. Again, even if it were to be her personal opinion, but once voiced out, people will associate it to what she is representing ie: Malaysia.

What about Mel Gibson? His racist remarks, "The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world" has caused him losses and his reputation went down the drain. What about the recent tweet by Blake Shelton, which he had to apologize profusely the day after the first tweet. When I read it, it didn't even cross my mind on him being homophobic or anything but to the gay community members, they were outraged and demand for explanation and apology.

I am sure that it is a challenge for someone who is recognized by the public to voice out anything personal anymore. At the same time, can the public ever treat those opinions simply as that person's personal views? I guess our human mind is very associative in nature. Naturally, when we say Obama, we immediately think of US, and when we say Steve Jobs (although he is no longer in our midst), we instantly think of Apple.

Therefore, I think that, whether the celebs and leaders like or not, it is part and parcel of their jobs that their opinions will always be taken seriously and associated to what they represent. In a way, once you are famous and represent a big association, you, in a way, lose your right to voice out your personal opinion without getting your remarks/comments associated to whatever that you represent. It's sad but it's true, that the public will no longer see you as an individual but as a representational figure of your position.

Peace for now, models and mortals out there. I am hoping to write again soon.

Blog Disclaimer

2012-02-24T22:47:00.000+08:00

I never knew that my blog has an audience until recently. Thanks models/mortals out there for dropping by.

Therefore, I believe that I should be putting up a disclaimer for this blog. It's never too late ;p

Disclaimer for "Models & Mortals"

"It is your own responsibility to read this disclaimer prior to reading my blog. Upon exiting this disclaimer page and upon reading any part of my blog, you immediately provide an agreement to this disclaimer and therefore, waive all rights for any legal action against the content of this blog. So, do think twice before reading further.

Please note that this is my personal blog. The views written here are personal in nature. This blog is merely a virtual place for me to express myself in whatever mood I am in at the point of posting its content. Whatever written here has nothing to do with the people, organizations, institutions or companies that I may or may not be related to. This blog is just a collection of my random thoughts and therefore, my employer (current or past) will not be liable to it. I created this blog with NO intention to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company or individual, or anyone or thing, especially those with the ability and desire to fight back. This blog also, is not a reviewed journal nor is it a paid publication. Therefore, to the grammar nazis and/or the spelling-bee champions out there, excuse me for any of my grammatical mistakes and typos.

This blog is created to do no harm, to not injure others, defame or libel. It contains my personal opinions and not counsel. What I have written on my blog is not to be taken as fact nor absolute. I will not be held responsible if anyone uses my opinions, tips, techniques and/or recommendations, and is injured in the process. Moreover, I will not be responsible to those who use or rely on the information posted here - they will be responsible for any action, content, products, services, damages or losses, indirectly or directly, caused or alleged, to have been caused by my writings. While I do refer to and/or include links of other third party web pages, I am not responsible for the content, products or services of those web pages. If I refer to or post any of your creations and you feel that it has not been used properly and/or you are not fairly credited for it (to my best knowledge/try on finding the original creator of the external materials), please do contact me in my email. Similarly, those who use any of my personal materials posted in this blog are required to provide credit to my page as the source of the material mentioned. I think that this is a win-win situation for all bloggers.

COMMENTS POLICY

You are welcomed to disagree with me, challenge my views or even tell me that I am completely weird in the comments section placed at the end of each posting entry. Please take note that all your comments will be moderated by me at my own sole discretion. Any tasteless, rude, blasphemous, profane, abusive, racial or insulting comments will be deleted. Spam or marketing messages are not allowed and will be deleted.

While comments are moderated, I am not responsible for the content of any comments nor will be held liable for any posted comments submitted by anyone on this blog, nor the laws which they may break in my country or theirs through their comments' content, implication and intent.

I am not responsible to reply to each and every comment moderated and approved. While I appreciate each and every comment, I do reserve the choice to post my response to it, depending on my capacity to do so. Please understand that I do have a full-time job and I do want to keep it."

Disclaimer as of 24th February 2012

November is gone, December is here!

2011-12-01T14:37:00.000+08:00

Gosh, I must have been so busy in November that there is not a single post done :(

My hands have been itching to write in this blog but as usual, many other things got in the way.

Just a simple note for now, life is good and hoping for a better tomorrow.

Happy Retirement, Mum!

2011-10-15T19:56:00.002+08:00

I'm back home in KK for 2 reasons. One, to renovate (or should I say fix) our house in Petagas and two, to celebrate my mum's retirement with other family members & mum's colleagues and students.

I know that we have been in the school hostel for a long time but when the school announced that mum has been with the school for the past 26 years, I've just realized how LONG it has been. This place has brought so many sweet and bitter memories to our family. Personally, I've grown up here. I remember when I was in my primary school, I would be woken up by some punjabi kids who were worshipping in the Gurdwara opposite the hostel. Then, when I joined the high school, I would walk to and from school with my schoolmates who were boarding in the hostel. During exam times, my mum would ask me to go to the hostel hall to join the study time after dinner. At times, I didn't feel like going but I would feel guilty too as all my other friends would be studying while I just feel like sleeping at home. I'm glad that my mum encouraged me to study there. The study hall was quiet and not distracting hehehe... ***for everyone's benefit, the study hall for girls is at different location than the boys so, no distraction!

Anyway, am proud of my mum that she has spent her 26 years with this school. I cannot imagine of any other place for her and for us, siblings, to grow up in. It has been such a wonderful 26-year and we hope that the school and hostel would continue to excel for many-many more years to come. This place will always be remembered and will always be special in all of our hearts :). Once again, mum, we are proud of you!

Blogging is long overdue

2011-09-02T13:32:00.001+08:00

Talking about something that is long overdue... Blogging... There are some moments worth sharing in this blog but time and mood just cannot sync together. Blame it to my procrastination!

Anyway, one thing worth mentioning is the success of my sister's wedding in Sabah! I think that it was one of the most beautiful weddings ever! Not only the location is perfect, but the setting is also picture perfect. Am so glad that the cake turned out fine too :D

Here are some pics to show how beautiful the wedding was:

Transparent canopy hehehe...

Family pic

Janang presentation from groom side to bride side

Thematic door gift to guests

A memorable guestbook

My creation!

Cake details

All the sleepless nights were worthwhile! We enjoyed the night and we hope all the guests had fun too!

Now, am wondering what is the next cake creation ;p I am thinking of sharpening my royal icing skills with string works etc, but that requires a lot of time. Hmmmm....

Another thing that I've been doing, or shall I say, my personal project is to renovate the house in KK - so far, Phase 1 went well :) Here are some pics of the repainted and tiling work done on the master bedroom:

From outside of the house - paint work in progress

Front view after exterior paint work

Side view - need to change the frame colour (Phase 2)

In & Out paint colours

Living Room: Marble polishing and treatment in progress

Living Room - After cleanup (please ignore the broom and mop hehehe)

Another view of the living room - love the cool blue effect

Master bedroom: Carpet is removed & replaced with tiles

Entrance to master bedroom: Love the colour combimation

Master bedroom (where at the moment, I have the freezer in hehehe): love the tiles!

Dining area: Nice :) There maybe Phase 2 work to be done here...

Next major work is the ceiling (Phase 2)

Now, am planning for Phase 2 of house renovation: Ceiling, Car porch tiling & maybe extending the dining area to have balcony? We'll see how it goes la!

Alright model and mortal readers, until next update (hopefully soon), peace!

My toughest challenge so far - "You Lost Me" by Christina Aguilera

2011-04-03T03:23:00.000+08:00

This is by far, the most challenging song for me. The technical difficulty of this song is high and to perform it live is really difficult. I have to remind myself on where should I be able to 'steal' some air throughout the whole song & I never really liked songs with a lot of ad libs / runs. Although it is challenging, I do enjoy learning it - I guess I'm one of those people who love challenges hehehe...

Anyway. here's the lyrics for those of you who would want to give it a go!

You Lost Me by Christina Aguilera
Songwriters: Christina Aguilera, Sia Kate Furler, Samuel Ronald Dixon

I am done, smoking gun
We've lost it all, the love is gone
She has won. Now it's no fun
We've lost it all, the love is gone

And we had magic
And this is tragic
You couldn't keep your hands to yourself

Chorus:
I feel like our world's been infected
And somehow you left me neglected
We found our life's been changed
Babe, you lost me

And we tried, oh how we cried
We lost ourselves, the love has died
And oh, we tried, you can't deny
We're left as shells, we lost the fight

And we had magic
And this is tragic
You couldn't keep your hands to yourself

Chorus:
I feel like our world's been infected
And somehow you left me neglected
We found our life's been changed
Babe, you lost me

Now I know you're sorry and we were sweet
But you chose lust when you deceived me
You'll regret it but it's too late
How can I ever trust you again?

Chorus:
I feel like our world's been infected
And somehow you left me neglected
We found our life's been changed
Babe, you lost me

--- End of Song ---

Now, to all my model/mortal readers, tell me how did it go with your try & wish me luck :-)

Especially for my cuzzy & A...

2011-03-29T03:33:00.000+08:00

Don't be stupid, dude! You can still change your fate to be with the one you love bah!

England Dan & John Ford Coley
Sad To Belong

I met you on a springtime day,
You were minding your life and I was minding mine too.
Lady, when you looked my way,
I had a strange sensation and Darling, that's when I knew...

That it's sad to belong to someone else,
When the right one comes along.
Yes, it's sad to belong to someone else,
When the right one comes along.

Oh, I wake up in the night,
And I reach beside me hoping you would be there.
But instead I find someone,
Who believed in me when I said I'd always care...

Oh, it's sad to belong to someone else,
When the right one comes along.
Yes, it's sad to belong to someone else,
When the right one comes along.

So I'll live my life in a dream world,
For the rest of my days.
Just you and me walking hand in hand,
In a wishful memory...
Oh, I guess it's all that it will ever be...

I wish I had a time machine, I could,
Make myself go back until the day I was born.
Then I would live my life again,
And rearrange it so that I'd be yours from now on.

Oh, it's sad to belong to someone else,
When the right one comes along.
Yes, it's sad to belong to someone else,
When the right one comes along.

Oh, it's sad to belong to someone else,
When the right one comes along.
Yes, it's sad to belong to someone else,
When the right one comes along.

Oh, it's sad to belong to someone else,
When the right one comes along.
Yes, it's sad to belong to someone else,
When the right one comes along.

Oh, it's sad to belong to someone else,
When the right one comes along.
Yes, it's sad to belong to someone else,
When the right one comes along.

One down, one more to go!

2011-03-27T04:51:00.000+08:00

Yes, one wedding reception is down and another one to go! Yes, that also means that one wedding cake down and another one to go. I'm excited actually! Very very excited to get the other one done too! Love the process of designing a cake and of course, to do the deco-prep and then finally, putting all the decorations together to my personal masterpiece!

The tiffany blue cake went through a long journey - from KL to KK to Sibu to Saratok. So, anyone who is into cake would understand what would that do to all the pre-prepared sugarwork and to some certain extend the shape of the cake. Anyway, at the end, all went well!!!

Here's the short story of the cake (be shocked to see some of the horror pictures):

The card designs inspired the cake design :-)

The top tier (final destination)

The royal icing frame got broken too!

Middle tier - with minimum damage (thanks to Arry who carried it well from KL to KK)

Bottom tier was the worst of the lot. Not only it weighs 13kg (luckily Boy was there to carry this from KK to Saratok, it was his baby throughout our journey)

Repair tools were ready

This was our repair station in the hotel room, Saratok.

After working the whole night, the cake is assembled. Thanks to Boy and Sis Linda who helped a lot! Love you both!

Am so proud of the finished product!

After cutting ceremony and being eaten!

At the end, like the great Aamir Khan said - All Iz Well!

Models & Mortals, stay tuned to my next cake ya! Thank God, the cakes are going to be baked my sis Linda and I will just do the decoration portion - which of course, is my favourite part in the whole thing!

Weddings and me!

2011-02-28T09:54:00.000+08:00

I just love weddings! It is simply because:
- weddings lift everybody's mood, from the bride & groom to all their family members and friends..
- weddings bring family members closer together.
- weddings take the couples' relationships to another level, a mark that they have overcome the obstacles of being accepted to be together by the families and society. Some may have to endure multiples tries to convince and 'fight' for their love while some may have walked an easier path, whatever it is, to go from boyfriend/girlfriend status to husband/wife, the couples may have shed some tears along the way and the relationships may have faced trials so wedding is the mark of an accomplishment for them.

I am happy (or rather relieved) that my sis has received the blessing to get married from my parents. It was not an easy ordeal but parental love conquers all (and of course, supportive siblings *wink*).

I love the planning of a wedding and what more I can challenge my cake decorating techniques ;p It can be very stressful since I am not doing it full-time and have to squeeze the cake decorating tasks after working hours. Despite the stress, I am surprised that I am still so excited about it! Here's what I've done so far (have to put on the bed because the room is most of the time with A/C on), and from this week onwards, I will be in turbo mode - have to leave office on the dot else my cake timeline will be affected!

Weddings just make me happy :-) Maybe I should venture to wedding planning in the future, afterall, it is sort of like managing a project too, plus I can sharpen my cake decorating skills along the way, kan? Hahaha! Hopefully, one day... *dreaming for a while*

Ok, gotta resume office work for now. Peace models and mortals!

Happy Valentine's Day to all, peace and no war :)

2011-02-13T17:33:00.002+08:00

I am sure that most Malaysians have viewed or read the YouTube video titled, "Valentine's Day - Haram Dalam Islam". My first reaction as a true 1-Malaysian was annoyed and I was wondering how come people like her still exist. But then, because of its disturbing nature, I started to think further about this topic. There are always those people who think on the extreme sides - be it on the extreme good or extreme evil. We also have those who are fanatics. Well, at the end of the day, as long as, our thoughts are well and our intentions are pure, why do we need to worry? God is Most Merciful and He is Great. Love to others is always encouraged in all religions, there is no religion which promotes hatred so why do people over-analyze Valentine's Day like this lady, Ustazah Siti Nor Bahyah? At the end of the day, everyday people are doing 'maksiat', don't blame it on a particular day like Valentine's Day. At the end of the day, it has nothing to do with people from a specific religion to do bad, come on, if we look at the criminals in any prison, they are of various races and religions - so why blame religion when a person does bad thing? Blame the person, it is his/her choice to do what he/she did in the first place!

Whatever the origin of Valentine's Day, it does matter for it is a celebration of love. So, Happy Valentine's Day to all my family and friends! Let's celebrate the day of Love by thanking God of the loving family and friends who are in our lives. Let's appreciate others for caring and loving us all this while. Let's respect each other, regardless of their nationality, race or faith. Life is too short to have hate in our hearts. Forgive and forget, life moves on :)

Happy Valentine's Day to all my model and mortal readers out there, may your 14th February be filled with love, joy and happiness.

Sometimes I wish that I could read minds...

2011-02-12T15:01:00.001+08:00

I've been wanting to post something that I just realized recently - it is a common behaviour for people to just keep what they really think to themselves but at the same time, because they are bothered by it, they affect the people around them. I, too, do this at times, but I am trying to learn to express myself more when it comes to things that bother me. If it doesn't bother me then I can't be bothered to waste my time and energy to even entertain the issue.

As the eldest in the family and as a manager managing multiple projects involving multiple vendors / consultants / biz users / IT team members, I sometimes wish that I could read the minds of people around me. This is because at times, I can feel that there's something bothering the person but he/she just does not want to tell. There are times when I actually ask whether there is anything wrong or not, and the most common answers are like "everything is fine" or "later lah I tell you". Opportunities given to express themselves but not taken, what the hell?!!!

I wish that I could have the telepathy power that Jean Grey has **having the looks and body wouldn't hurt either *wink*wink**

But yeah, if only we could read each others' minds or people could simply start to just tell what they exactly feel, then open the situation for discussion, I think that a lot of issues could have been resolved and the World would be a much better place.

Telling someone on what is bothering you may not be as easy but with the right tone and words, we can always tell someone that we are hurt or offended by them. I hate it when someone bottles up everything and later blow up and bring things that I can't even remember doing/saying. Why don't they just say it there and then when things are still fresh? Compose an email or a letter if can't voice out and if ask, tell la... Rather than finding out from someone else or beating round the bush, I would rather hear it from the source itself in a straight forward manner. I just can't understand how can someone bottle up something that is bothering her/him for so long - so stressful la like that... Just inhale and exhale, compose yourself and tell what's bothering you - less heartache and less stress. Believe me, you will feel much better after telling - how the other person takes it, is another thing, as long as it is out of your chest, you will feel better as the issue is out in the open...

At the end of the day, a person doesn't have to be a bitch or an ass when he/she tells the truth, right? Be tactful and the other person will be able to take the comments / criticisms better. Then, solve the issues like adults and close story la... Forgive and forget... Life is too short to be spent with stress and heartaches.

Peace to all my model and mortal readers out there!

Goodbye 2010, Welcome 2011

2011-01-10T05:28:00.002+08:00

It's already the 10th day of year 2011. Been wanting to blog but as usual, work got in my way after I came back from the Christmas-New Year holiday.

I'm very thankful for all the wonderful blessings and beautiful memories that 2010 has given me. Lessons learnt from the not-so-good experiences will be my guidance for 2011. For those who left us in 2010, may their souls rest in peace and may we always remember the best of them when we were together.

Christmas 2010 was great, spent the day with my extended family members. Thanks to all of you (you know who you are) for making Christmas not so lonely for me, love all of you.

I closed my 2010 book with a nice BBQ party in sis' place in Labuan :) Alamak, how come we didn't take any pics ya? Anyway, so happy to have made it there on 31st Dec itself. I wish that Dad was there and I noticed Mum was missing Dad so much too. Whatever it is, we love you, Dad and we pray that you are blessed always.

What is in store for me in 2011? I hope that 2011 will be as wonderful as 2010 or even better ;p I hope that our countrymen will start to realize that there is no point to listen to the politicians who are trying to divide the nation by playing the race/religion game. Instead, let's just learn to live in harmony with each other, just like our grandparents did. Personally, I have lots of projects in hand and I hope that all of them will be successful :)

On my cake decorating side, I hope that I could do 1 new project per month else, my skill will be rusty - really don't want all the skills learnt to go down the drain just like that, right? Big or small project, it doesn't matter. I just have to have the discipline to get it done **fingers crossed** God willing, I should be able to fit the project in my busy schedule...

I hope to close 2011 with all my family members present in my grandma's place in Linsuk - this is a mission that I've been trying to achieve and having such a big family, it is not an easy task.

To all my blog readers, I wish that all of you will have a wonderful year ahead. Just remember that we are the one who will be writing our 2011 journey, no one else. I've always liked this quote from Edith Lovejoy Pierce:
"We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day."

Finally, to all my models & mortals friends, as Oprah has said it, "Cheers to a New Year and another chance for us to get it right."

Disappointed

2010-12-22T13:58:00.000+08:00

Here I am in my office, trying to settle my office work after the 2-week biz trip to India and at the same time organizing the big family gathering on 28th Jan. I am not complaining in doing the gathering - no, not at all, in fact I love doing it, and I hope that no one will take this wrongly but I am doing it because I don't spend time with my family often and for me, Christmas is supposed to be filled with all your loved ones. It's all about taking that special time to express our gratitude to have such a big family and a special time to ask for forgiveness before going for another 'year book' to 'write'. There are people in this World who are left with no one... I wish that I have the resources to make their Christmases better.

I cried when I found out my dad will not be there. My sis in KL will not be there, my sis in Labuan may not be there then the other sis now is saying she may not be able to help - does that mean that all of them are not going to be there? I am about to lose it! I can't believe what is happening to everybody here - is there something that I'm missing? I can see the rest are so excited to get together but my own family, who are the most important to me, are not going to be there? What the hell, man?!!! Here I am trying to make a complete family gathering and I end up without my own family during Christmas - in that case, this may be the last time that I will organize such event la. It's nothing to do with the money or time that I've spent in organizing this, it's just that my sincere purpose of doing this is that we may never know when else we can spend such time together, we never know when we will be called by God, so whenever I can, I just want the family to be complete. Grandma in the kampung said this to me and I feel that it is important, not only to her but also to all of us - we are not talking about everyday here - this is a once-a-year thing, and whatever shyness or disagreement amongst ourselves, we should be able to get passed it together because we are family.

You may think that you will not miss anyone or no one will miss you but believe this, at least one person will surely miss you especially during Christmas time - be it your grandparents, your mother, your wife, your father, your husband, your sister, your brother, your other extended family... Oh well, I think that Christmas has become less and less special for others, I cherish Christmas so much, maybe because of my own unique situation, which no one may not understand...

It may just be my personal opinion but life is short and too precious to be filled with hatred or negativity, and family is not chosen by us, in fact, God made that decision for us already. I'm not saying that family wont hurt us but we learnt from it and be more careful in the future, at least family ties will still be there, right? Oh well, I don't get it.

Whatever it is, the party will go on, I will still put my 101% in it to make it successful and to get as many family members to be there as I could - we never know that this may be the last Christmas that we could have all of us in one place kan?

To my beautiful model and mortal readers, I wish that you will have a great Christmas with all your loved ones. Like I've said, life is short so cherish all you could get out of it!