Last Monday, I was invited to visit the @AirAsia ASEAN office that was just completed not too long ago on Thursday. I said yes before realizing that it meant me flying to Jakarta for a day just to have lunch there, and having to come back the same day as I have work to do.

And that made me feel so alive. A jetsetter. Me. Unheard of. 

I guess all the effort really paid off eh? Soon who knows, I’ll be able to take my whole team with me, assuming this project takes off awesomely. Anyhow I’ll keep this post simple and talk about the food I ate at Jakarta. The next one will be about the office itself, which is really, really nice. If you can’t wait, check out the album on Facebook here!

When in Indonesia, make sure you drink Teh Botol SOSRO! Of course, drinking it from a kotak makes me go *palmface* LOL

In Jakarta there’s this place that’s called the financial district, where all the major companies invest in their offices here. Nearby the @AirAsia ASEAN office there’s this place called Potato Head that @kathyjah LOVES going, and so I insisted to Raman to pay them a visit too

The place looks really cool and gives off a nice, warm ambience. I’m starting to see why this became my gorgeous friend’s favourite eatery.

In particular they had this really amazing cock and mocktails (don’t know if that sounds right :/) and here’s some example of what they call their mocktails:-

• No-Hito – as you would expect, a Mojito without a hit-o haha!
• Bloody Shame – Bloody Mary, without the alcohol, which is usually called Virgin Mary LOL

I ordered my cocktail drink (but of course) and found it really good! If only I remembered what I ordered

 

But Katherine told me that the Wagyu burger tasted even burger, and it comes with this secret sauce… The opportunist in me decided to order it as well… and when THIS came, I thought to myself, this is worth getting fat for…

 

Here’s the tasty looking sauce… reminded me of my experience with The Burger Lab, except that this tasted pretty great because of the Wagyu patty (duh) and probably costed a bomb too. Thanks AirAsia for the hospitality

Before I left, I made sure to visit the noodle shop called Bakmi GM that everyone was telling me about, and grab something that looked like noodles and beef (wish I took a picture of the name, but I forgotten!). Whatever it is, this tasted soooo good as well! Now I know why my fellow Indonesian brothers Himawan, Handoko and Hilman Harryanto made such great instant noodles back during KTJ days

Anyhow that’s the end of this short post… next up – get ready to be awed by the sheer class of what goes on inside the AirAsia ASEAN office

A week ago I got a surprise package from @NandosMalaysia, and was pleasantly surprised when I was reminded that Mother’s Day was coming. Not only that, they even prepared a gift for her, too )))))

However I was ever so busy with EYE Project‘s big project in partnership with SEC called the GradMalaysia Graduate Careers Fair (which was a success by the way, with DS @IdrisJala_ giving one of the best speech I ever heard & DS @HishammuddinH2O & family visiting the student leaders in between their packed schedule) that I could not plan anything for my mom.

 

 

We were invited to this exclusive private IMAX 3D screening of ‘The Avengers‘ at @TGVCinemas, Sunway Pyramid on behalf of Harley Davidson Malaysia and Echosphere – and how could I say no after looking at the itinerary they provided us with. Yes, even though this is the second time I’m watching it in the same cinema, one week after my first time right after it launched here in Malaysia! 

It started off  by meeting up my long time friend Emily Er at Harley-Davidson 3S showroom, located at Naza Automall, Petaling Jaya to take a look at what they have to offer. Strangely we were attracted to our own super bikes and this was my choice! Nice? Well it costs RM300,000++ so it’ll take me many long years of hard work before I can think about owning one

Then it’s Emily’s turn. She can’t take her eyes off Captain America‘s shield.. bet she’s daydreaming about his body already after watching the #Avengers hahahah! (Though she said she loved The Hulk at the end )

And the lovely lady behind the wheels is Your Highness the @Helenness, founder of Echosphere and a woman I’ve marked as one of our many future leaders. You’ll go far, just continue to learn and experience the toughest times, stay true to yourself and you’ll emerge a winner! Thanks for the invite

Emily and I chose to be in the comfort of the Colorado. Nothing beats aircon And the view is gorgeous, being surrounded by the loud roaring of Harley-Davidson bikes as well as escorted by police and their sirens… AMAZING!

And look who’s with us! It’s @JehanMiskin the celebrity on his own Harley-Davidson bike

We had some time to kill before the movie so we went to Haagen-Daaz for some good ol’ (but expensive!) ice cream… and this is what we ordered. Cute? These small morsels of what looks like Macaroons are actually bits of hardened chocolate with ice cream inside and costs a bomb! Nice to try, but definitely not value for money

Have you heard of myBurgerLab? Of course not, they haven’t launched yet. But what they HAVE done is to recreate the hamburger experience like you’ve never eaten before. The very name itself implies as such, no? 

Let’s have a look at it shall we?

Looks aren’t very deceiving. They taste as good as it looks and no surprise to why the bun is black in colour

Them yellow buns are special, but in what way, I can’t tell just yet. No, not just yet haha.

After a chat with the founders, I’m really excited to see what else is in store for all of us. A grouping of young entrepreneurs so passionate about what they believe in, these guys will be wowing us with their selection of burgers, forcing us to rethink the way we always see them. Hence, the name myBurgerLab

For starters they already have some juicy fries that will definitely whet your appetite. I can tell no more

This here is their latest development, called the “Ooey Gooey Stack”. Here’s one angle…

And this is the other. Oh, and don’t pray pray with the size yo! And definitely don’t play play with the taste, it really is good as they’ve been working so hard to perfect the recipe.

Newfound friend Veron and with her “A+ Burger”. Love the little pinkie!

Karena Cheow makes a re-entry again. Which looks better; the burger or her?

Anyhow, do follow their progress via their Facebook account: myBurgerLab. Why do you think they are called that, by the way? Can you make a guess? Anyhow, there’s so much more to come and I can’t wait for their launch! 

The Leader. The Follower. The Supporters. Which one are you?

There’s nothing like the feeling of knowing you can leave matters to other people without fear that it will all go wrong without you being there. That is my definition of sustainability. The fact that it, be it projects, initiatives, businesses, can sustain with, or without you.

Yet this sustainability factor is what I feel is lacking in many of the initiatives I’ve come to know, at least here in Malaysia. Why is that? What could be the problem here?

This is what I have to say.

Once in a while a leader pops in and does something really amazing. Those are the times when you can only gape in awe of how that person is able to do what he or she did. Then come the people who support the things they do, and as they come, they gape, the share, they support, they did whatever they could.

Yet, they would not even try to emulate the leader of whom they support, leaving the leader to do most of the work, in fear that they may not be able to be like their leader with the inhuman strength they possess (or so they think).

In comes the first follower. The follower, without worrying too much about what is needed to be able to perform as well as the leader does, tries to emulate the leader. The follower never saw him or herself as a follower, but as a partner-in-crime, ready to replace a limb or a leg of the leader, when the time comes. The follower takes the initaitive to be PART of the system, and understand the flow of the work, so he or she is able to support the leader to the best of his or her ability. Soon, the follower begins to show signs of commitment to the leader’s objectives, and the leader appreciates.

As the supporters start looking at the follower, who is but a simple person, they soon realize that they, too, can play a bigger role and step up to fill in certain shoes that awaits them, according to their abilities. They too, could see that this follower is but a normal human being, not possessing the skills the leader has, yet is able to do bits and pieces required of him, more than just supporting, liking and sharing of the work. Slowly, the supporters from afar begin to join hands forward, wanting to be part of history in the making. Together, they dare. Alone, they are afraid. But now, with the follower’s guidance (being more human than the leader is), they know they are up for it, and that they CAN.

The Leader. The Follower. The Supporters. Which one are you?
Before this, I did not know, confused between all three.

But now I do.

I am actually a Follower. Be it the first or not, I do not care. I have picked leaders I believe in, and I become their greatest follower. I share their dreams, I put my abilities to the best to push their agendas. I wholeheartedly become one with their desires. It is because I believe in their work and effort, and it is by choice. My ego is such that I know I am good at a certain ability, and therefore it gave me confidence to step the steps which they have taken. And yet, my ego does not prevent me from emulating their methodologies – because I believe that they are right, even if there was a better way. I’ve decided the the role I play in life, is to be the best follower you’ll ever come to face. Who’s to say that all of us have to become a leader anyway?

In fact, who’s to say being a follower is a bad thing, at all? It definitely beats just being a supporter. And if my fellow leaders don’t know it yet (and trust me, sometimes they just don’t realize it anyway because of how they are) – it is because of the followers you have, that you were able to get that far. It breeds sustainability. It breeds successors to your cause. Actually, it helps humanize leaders in such a way that a decent person can follow. THAT is how important being a follower is.

In life, everybody has a role to play. All you really need to do, is know that role, and do a pretty hell of job about it, and you’ll find that you’re able to make achievements that no one else can! More than that, you’ll find that the team functions extremely well when each role is played out super efficiently. Haven’t you realized it?

What if I tell you that being a First Follower, is in fact, a leadership style in its own way? Thanks to @JasonLeeCJ, I’ve finally come to realize that I AM a leader, by being a very efficient First Follower. This is what he showed to me, and I urge all of you to watch this video, too.

Isn’t that an eye opener? It is to me, at least. Derek @Sivers who I got to meet many months ago came back into my life to teach me a super important message – being a follower is the most underappreciated form of leadership – HOW TRUE!

Soon, you’ll realize that you don’t always have to do things you don’t like to do. Or set yourself impossible goals you’ll never get around doing. Soon, you’ll realize that wherever you are now, there’s still so much left to be done to develop yourself in whatever you do. You’ll find out how important it is to work with leaders, and also set an example to the followers. Sustainability & succesion will be the two key words to think about whenever you even begin.

Now, you should realize that you being where you are, is as important as the next person above or below you.

This blogpost is dedicated to all my fellow Followers I have met throughout my life, the awesome likes of @ChenChow and many more. Who else do you think is a follower-leader material? Just think of the person behind your success – that’s who it is