On Focus

Smartphone is a double-edged sword.

It makes our life easier (push email, keeping up with the latest news, and saves phone bill), yet it also make our life miserable (reduced ability to focus on a single task).

What did I do for the past 3 weeks to combat the miserable-ness of having a smartphone?

I treat my smartphone (in this case a Blackberry) like a computer.

I switch it on when I need to use it – which means when I’m working (from 10.30 am to about 8 pm everyday).

And I switched it off when I don’t need to use it – which means after office hour and on my off days.

More precisely,  I switch off the radio signal every time I put it into the pocket of my pants.

People say phone signals is radioactive and it could affect your balls. I don’t know how true this is but I prefer to be extra conservative.

Incoming calls? I will get text notification when I turn on the signal. If a call is important, I will return the call. If the caller thinks their call is important, they will send me a text message.

I don’t do voice mail.

On weekend, the phone is turned on every 6 or 4 hours to check for any incoming calls or SMSes.

On watch

Because of my newfound detachment from my smartphone, I think I now need a watch to tell the time.

My budget is only about RM1,000. I used to think Casio and Seiko have nice designs but at the same time I think they’re too Ah Beng-ish.

(Caveat: There is nothing wrong in being Ah-Beng-ish, it’s just that I find Mat Rempits are sexier to the opposite sex).

The next option is G-Shock. They’re utility watch, which means it is not used to convey status or your sophistication in taste.

They’re strictly used to tell the time, to set alarm clock, lap timer and etc.

They’re durable and water resistant too.

The problem is, it gets in the way of the cuff of a shirt because it is quite bulky.

So another option might be Fossil and Swatch.

Fossil (estimated price is about RM700 to RM800) has a few options with a really big face that I like.

Yet, the minimalist in me yearns for something simple, not-so-in-your-face and that leaves me with Swatch Skin (estimated price is RM360).

I am still undecided on this. Which means I am not sure if in the end I will be buying a watch, or which one I’ll go for.

On languages

When I was in college, I learned Mandarin and French. And again, I learned Mandarin last year at YMCA KL.

And I recently signed up for second level French class after finishing the first level in May.

Right now, I think I am done with classes. I plan to get a private tutor to improve my fluency in both languages.

I can practise speaking in Mandarin with my housemate, and colleagues.

For the month of October, I plan to memorise at least 1,000 words of French and Mandarin.

Learning two languages at the same time. Ambitious? Let’s see how it goes.

On sex

I have a gay friend who happens to be my Facebook friend as well.

He likes to run after his office hour and one day, he posted a photo collage of long, beautiful legs.

At first, I thought it was a photo of girls’ legs.

Upon closer inspection, it is actually a photo collage of HIS legs!

This made me realise that men and women, we are not that different physically.

If I see a pair of nice and toned shaved legs, I could not really tell if it’s a men’s or a woman’s legs.

If I see a photo of a nice perky derriere captured from the waist to the thigh, I couldn’t really tell if it belongs to a men or a woman.

Which brings me to another point – pussy.

After being intimate with a few number of women, you will start to notice that almost all pussies are the same.

The only difference is how they SMELL.

Some will have no smell at all, some will smell slightly metallic, and some will smell like a rotten cube of cheese (if you’re unlucky, you can’t get rid of the smell from your hand if you wash it under some normal running pipe water).

In the end, you don’t stick with one girl because of her pussy.

It does not matter if her pussy is tighter than another girl’s pussy.

Or you don’t stick with a girl because her pussy smells better than any other girl.

You stick with a certain girl because how they make you feel.

Some will make you feel like you’re being taken advantage of.

And some will make you feel like a real men.

P.S – Please bear with any grammatical error. I wrote this blog post like an online journalist who writes breaking news – execute first, clean copy is (mostly) the job of a sub-editor ;-D

The post Focus, French and Sex first appeared on Minimalist Guy.

These are the contents of my wallet.

They are:

1) A few notes

2) Malaysian identification card

3) Original  and renewed driving license

4) ATM card

What is not inside:

1) Receipts from purchase

2) Name cards

3) Coins

4) Condoms

5) Access card

The post What’s In My Minimalist Wallet first appeared on Minimalist Guy.

Travelling lightly is a joy because I know I will have a stress-free and superb j0urney.

You know those backpackers that move around looking like they’re carrying a bazooka on their back?

Don’t be like them.

These are what I keep in mind when I aim to travel lightly.

1. Pack only the essentials. I use a small 35 litre backpack, and I don’t aim to fill it to the brim either.

I have two pants and 4 shirts (which is already too many) for my trip. A running short and singlet to run. A netbook and a toothbrush is my only toiletries.

I can pack all of these in under 7 minutes and I don’t have to worry of losing any luggage after the flight because I carry everything by hand through a flight.

2. Make time to relax. Most people try to rush too many activites during a trip. Take your own time, look for good coffee shops to relax in. Or you can look for a running route (if you run) and enjoy them. Read a lot too.

3. Be present. Don’t always be thinking of what you’re going to do next. Be fully present in what you do and you’ll enjoy the trip better.

I am now in Siem Reap, Cambodia for Blogfest.Asia 2012. It’s a 5-day event from the 1st November to 5 November.

I first attended this event two years ago in Penang, Malaysia.

So what is Blogfest Asia ? The official website says it is ” A meeting of Asian bloggers and technologists in Siem Reap, Cambodia”.

And obviously, I’m a blogger because I spent almost 3 hours yesterday fiddling with my Blackberry just to get it running on a local sim card!

Today is the second day of the event and I will post more update soon.

The post Travelling lightly to Siem Reap first appeared on Minimalist Guy.

Minimalist B & C: OK.

Minimalist A: Who is going to own the washing machine? Not me

Minimalist B: Not me.

Minimalist C: Not me.

Minimalist A: OK, it will be mine. (Sigh)

The post The Story of 3 Minimalists first appeared on Minimalist Guy.

I am a social rebel because at the age of 28 years old, I have never owned any car. But I know how to drive a car.

I don’t keep my money in a wallet. In fact, I don’t have one.

I sleep on a queen-size mattress without a bed-frame.

I left a white-collar job (I was an auditor, then a manufacturing executive) to do a blue-collar job (a journalist).

I was never really interested in buying a house.

I am a minimalist.

The post Are you a Social Rebel? first appeared on Minimalist Guy.

I’m here to announce that I am taking a break from writing here at The Minimalist Guy.

Currently, I am working on some other side projects. Yes, projects.

I don’t know how long this break will be. But that doesn’t mean I am no longer a minimalist.

I am still one

In the meantime, feel free to browse the old postings in the archive.

-KC-

The post Hiatus first appeared on Minimalist Guy.

The reason I said this is because lately, I have been thinking about all the choices that I have made.

Did I take the right major when I was in college?

Am I doing the right job to put food on my table? Should I just stick to being an accountant, get a professional qualification and climb up the corporate ladder?

Was it a mistake to switch from a white-collared job to a blue-collared job?

Did I make the right decision when I decided to date so and so back then?

All these questions do keep coming to me from time to time.

Looking at all the choices I have made, I still believe I can do what ever I set my mind to do.

I’m not sure if my friends who are of the same age with me and are married with kids will think the same.

But I sometimes do ask myself how would my life be right now should I choose to get married and have kids.

Will I be a happily married man who comes home everyday from work to a lovely wife and two beautiful twin daughters? :P?

Or will I be a 20 something guy who feels tired and dragged down by a family commitment?

I don’t know and I don’t have an answer for that.

Maybe this is what we call it a late 20’s dilemma

But I know one thing that I want right now.

I want to be healthy.

Because whatever it is that I want to do, having a healthy body is important.

Today is the 12th day of Ramadhan.

I have been exercising for 7 days out of the 12 days.

I feel a lot better right now.

I think I will be approaching 30 with a lot of ‘gaya’!

The post I’m Ready to be 30 first appeared on Minimalist Guy.

Girl: I’ve never done this with any other guy before.
Boy: I must be a very special guy then.

2. If you treat relationships like jobs, you will never be single. You are either in between relationships, or in one.

3. Sometimes you have a question in your head which needs answering but you don’t know who to turn to for the answer. Ironically, if you work hard enough, you will get the answer, from an unexpected resource.

4. Shah Alam and TTDI is like a typical Malay girl next door. Sweet, inviting and charming. Yet, at times can be very confusing.

5. Girls with even a little bit of Javanese blood tend to have very nice smiles (meaning: a beautiful set of teeth). Case in point: Datuk Noraini Ahmad.

And 9 out of 10 Kelantanese girls tend to over rate their intelligence.

Fashion-wise, they are two seasons behind.

The post Ruminations on Life, Dating and Sex first appeared on Minimalist Guy.

The following are 7 reasons why I was never a Player.

1. Swagger

I don’t have swagger when it comes to behaving properly on the first date. I’ll sweat, my lips get dry and my palm gets wet when I am seated at the same table talking to a girl that I find attractive. Attractive means witty, beautiful face and gastronomically adventurous.

2. Sex pub

Most players will have a ‘sex pub’. It is a a nice, romantic spot where they will always take girls because it creates an ambience that makes girls amenable to the idea of sex.

As for me, I usually take girls to a mamak restaurant for a first date. And I’ll make sure we both stuff ourselves till we feel bloated and unsexy.

And therefore we will not be able to have sex later. Abstinence is the best policy-kan?

3. Availability

I’m always available for the girl I like. Weekends? I’ll skip teh tarik with the boys to look after her sick kitten.

4. Player paraphernalia.

Flashy car? Nope. I don’t even own or know how to drive a car. The girls have to come and pick me up if they want to date me. Yes, I really don’t own a car.

Expensive watch? I couldn’t remember when was the last time I had a watch.

Silk sheets? I don’t even remember when was the last time I changed my 200 thread cotton bedsheet. I bet you can see some stains under UV lights on the bedsheet.

5. Friends

I have mostly male friends and my female friends, they mostly want to be my ‘friends’ only

6. Phone

Unlike the established player who has more than one phone, I really have only one phone. And it’s a Blackberry Curve 8520, the cheapest of all model.

But wait, using a smartphone and riding motorcycle to work?

That makes me a glorified Mat Rempit KL-kan?

7. Denying being a Player.

I’m just a regular guy who denies being a Player. So I surely am not one, am I ?

Postscript – To any girl who might be reading this, I am a relationship material guy. I can give you my ex-girlfriend’s number for a testimonial.

Postpostscript – And you might think I’m being facetious with this posting, but I am really looking forward to know you better.

The post 7 Reasons Why I Was Never A Player first appeared on Minimalist Guy.

I am writing this very short blog post for them.

This post is for you, guys.

Kawan-kawan,

Navigating a relationship is not easy. It takes a lot of work.

But of all the works needed to be done, there is one thing a guy must do.

If you only do this, the rest of the relationship takes care by itself.

I call it The Most Minimalist Role for A Guy in A Relationship.

It is only eight words, yet very powerful.

The most minimalist role for a guy in a relationship is to………

……..understand the girl more than she understands herself.

Everything else comes second to this.

Everything else should flow from this.

Because……..

……….if you understand the girl more than she understands herself, you know that she needs a man.

And you be that man.

You also know that she needs emotional pampering to feel loved.

And you make her feel loved.

You also know that she needs sex to feel a deep connection with you.

And you give her sex.

In return, she gives you Female Affection.

“When love beckons to you follow him,

Though his ways are hard and steep.

And when his wings enfold you yield to him,

Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you.

And when he speaks to you believe in him,

Though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden.”

–Kahlil Gibran–

The post The Most Minimalist Role for A Guy in A Relationship first appeared on Minimalist Guy.