Fighter

Every once in awhile an inspirational song comes by. I am particularly moved by the following lyrics: "And if I can last thirty rounds, there's no reason you should ever have your head down".

In everything that we do, the only thing we can do is our best. That way we can hold our head high knowing that at that point of time, there was nothing more that we could do. 

~ Inspired ~

Relationships and Egos

As I was scrolling down my Facebook wall, I saw this photo. It just struck a chord with me as I am in the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) line. Regardless of the situation, the first reaction is to apologize followed by empathy to understand their feedback better and then promise of improvement for the future (and of course action plans to actually improve where relevant). 

An ego has no part in being a customer service personnel. Though there are many times where I was sorely tempted to throw a sarcastic remark. There was this time where a customer wrote in an e-mail complaint with font size 30. I actually wrote the reply with the exact same font...... but changed it back to normal before hitting the send button. So..... so tempted *evil grin*

Important things to remember in this line of work is to not take it personally, appreciate the time that the customer took to feedback instead of just abandoning the brand completely and remembering that "aplogizing does not always mean you are wrong, it just means that you value your relationships more than your ego". A successful CRM is one that is able to maintain profitable long term relationships. 

*ponders* 

Dangerous Dash

The other day when I was driving home from work, it started drizzling a little bit. So on the left side, many of the motorcyclist were stopping to put on their jackets or windbreakers. Suddenly the wind blew and something flew away from the motorcyclist towards the main road. Without looking at the passing cars, he dashed to grab whatever was that thing was. This was a highway mind you and cars were not exactly going at a slow pace. 

How many times have we made dashes in life without considering the danger it posed to ourselves as well as the people around us? When we are focused on a particular item, we lose sight of the big picture. Life is more than one thing that we seem to be always chasing be it career, money or relationships. It should be a healthy balance. 

*zen*

Malaysian Table Setting

Malaysia is a very interesting place. For one, I believe that a table setting like the one shown above can only be found here. Where else can you get a water goblet filled with orange juice with tea cup, and western utensils with Chinese soup spoon and soy sauce? Let's not forget the turn table lazy susan (thanks to my honey bee for teaching me a new word ^^ ).... 

Delving deeper just a little, the setting actually shows the amount of tolerance and respect we show to each other. My company is mainly dominated by Chinese, but we do have many colleagues from other races and nations. While the menu was oriental cuisine and should have only need chopsticks, western utensils were used as the basic table setting for this annual dinner so that everyone can fully enjoy the dinner. 

Instead of focusing on the race of a person as the source of a conflict, people should look at that person for who he or she is. I do not deny that most stereotyping is actually quite true, but this is because of the upbringing, exposure and experience that a person goes through when growing up. However this trend is changing as children go through the same education system and/or is exposed to global happenings through the internet. Note that the key word here is changing, many still stick to the old ways. 

My group of buddies does not consist of only one ethnic. Though our common point is using English as our main language. Perhaps it makes us sort of outcast from the traditional people or seen as traitors for not using our mother's tongue. Can I argue that my mom (and even my dad for that matter) speaks English as their first language, hence it IS my mother's tongue? =D 

Rather than defending a certain trait / food / language as a definition of a certain group of people. Perhaps it is best to pick the best of them and move forward. It is like the Nyonya people who took the best of Chinese and Malay cuisine and now is considered one of the best food around. Think of it as evolution. Species that want to survive will always continue to evolve to better suit the environment through the combination of genes. Last I checked, we were all considered homo sapiens. 

In addition, great civilizations in the past did knowledge exchange when they traveled for trades. There is this series on Discover Channel, "1421: The Year China Discovered the World" (there is also a book). It is fascinating as they traveled for trade, they picked up and passed down knowledge everywhere they docked.  We are not who our ancestors were. A lecturer once said, people praise people that they did not meet for a long time by commenting that they did not change at all. While it is meant that the person did not aged physically, the lecturer asked, is it a good thing to not change at all after years? Not changing means that person is stagnant and never improved. Something for you to think about ^^ 

~ Oops seem to have drifted a bit far from the original simple topic~ ~ ~ ~ ~ good night people! 

Life's Necessities

Growing up, Disney was a large part of my entertainment. It was really nice to believe that dreams do come true. Of course characters like Belle, Ariel and Mulan are among my favorites as they displayed such strong personality and get to their dream on their own effort. Then there's all their beautiful dresses which will probably inspire my wedding dress ^.< especially Belle's one. Mulan taught me responsibility, Belle to look beneath the surface and Ariel to go after what you want. Though, it just occurred to me that all my three princesses left their home to fulfill their responsibility or chase their dream. Plus they were all very rebellious girls. My parents must be thankful that their influence was not that great =D 

While the princesses gathered the most attention from little girls such as me back then, classics such as the Jungle book and the Lion King took a back seat. But recent thoughts about life made me think of the song "The Bare Necessities" from the Jungle Book. As humans, the bare necessities are basically air, food and clean water, clothes, as well as shelter. Sounds simple right? Yet why is it that people are not able to make end meet? With the amount of technology that is available, it is still not possible to provide food and water to the world? Instead, people are obsessed with things that they cannot have but want to claim a certain reputation. 

And don't spend your time lookin' around


For something you want that can't be found


When you find out you can live without it


And go along not thinkin' about it


I'll tell you something true

The bare necessities of life will come to you





I am not saying that everyone should stop working and wait for things to drop from the sky. After all, Baloo still had to lift the tree bark to find the ants and he had to pull the tree down to get the bananas. But, if we are not constantly chasing the latest phone or a certain expensive model of car, I think expenses would not be that high. The availability of credit cards leads to impulse buying which usually a lot of people will regret. I read Shopaholic, and found her to be seriously annoying. How many times is she going to repeat the mistake of over spending before she learns? 




Instead of listening to what people say you need to be happy, think about what you think makes you happy. It is a common technique for sales people from beauty boutiques and gym personal trainers to tell you that your skin is bad and your BMI is not good (some might tell you outright that you are fat) so that they can convince you to buy their products or packages. Having recently joined a gym, I tried to go on the advised diet plan which failed because it made me miserable. When I am miserable, I crave even more food. So instead of controlling everything I eat, I just make choices (such as choosing low fat options) when possible and eat with moderation. If my mom cooks fried chicken for dinner, I will eat, but just eat one piece ^^ By the way, did you know that certain low fat options have higher calories than the normal one?




Okay enough melancholy for a Sunday night. Let's start the week with Hakuna Matata! 

*feet tapping*

Gym Life

A friend asked me today, what does it feel like after going to the gym? I answered, it feels like being alive. They started laughing, saying, "so we're dead or half dead now la?". In a way, perhaps we are... or at least those working in the office life.... everyday we wake up, go to a cold office, sit whole day, go home, sleep and repeat. The heart is just at the normal pace.... or even when it does increase, it is more from mental stress which is not good. Since starting work, I have been falling sick a lot more often than I ever had when I was studying. Spent a lot more time in the sun and walking back then ^^ 

Walking these days are mostly within air conditioned areas or underground. Neither of which gives me the warmth of the sun. Weird for a person in Malaysia to like the sun right? Mostly people complain about how hot it is here. But I am sort of a solar powered person with energy highest when the sun is up (but with not much retention ^^).... this is not to say that people should go out under the sun after 11am.... even I do not do that. But the mornings and evenings are lovely. Afternoons are also great to spend outdoors under the shade of great trees with a playful breeze. 

Anyway coming back to the gym, after leaving university, great trees are hard to find. Furthermore, weather has been unpredictable lately, hence making it hard to go for walks or jogs. Even wanting to play sports is hard as many people are too busy with their careers. So with encouragement from family, I joined the gym. I wasted half of the first month as I was too sick to go. But after that, I started the momentum. The first round was 30 minutes on the treadmill and it built from there. Now I am joining body combat classes, extending my mill times and working on the muscle toning machines. 

In my first body combat class, I nearly gave up half way because I was dizzy and my face was very pale. But managed to push through and the second class was easier. It is a great feeling to be able to improve physical strength. Or perhaps it is just a feeling of accomplishment that I love. That and feeling the heart beats when exercising. The blood rush is what makes me feel alive during and after a visit to the gym. There are times I go to the gym before work. People ask if that makes me tired. On contrary, I feel most energetic and alert at the office on those days. 

Only draw back is that it is addictive..... now crave for physical activities more often...... and it is more difficult to sit still....... then again, we are only young once. Now is not the time to sit down, now is the time to get out and make waves ^^

*leg tapping to fast pace music* 

Birthdays

What are birthdays about? Some use them as an excuse to just go out to celebrate, some need another reason to get drunk and some just let it pass quietly. A friend once said that your birthday should not be about you, but about your mother who carried you for 9 months and went through labour to deliver you. Which is very true.

In anyways, birthdays is also an occasion to show how well you know the person (especially if you hide your birth date from Facebook) through planning of the event or presents. Sometimes simple presents can mean a lot compared to a costly present that has little thought. Once I received a pair of dolphin earrings that was wrapped in layers and layers until the first view was a pyramid shaped present. Though it has been many years, but that present has remained in my mind for the effort that was put in.

In my past few years of my birthdays, I threw huge parties... so much so that this year that I did not do anything, people actually asked "eh? no party this year?". This year I did a little something different. Went to the Land of Eagles for my birthday. As I went with my usual gang of guys, it did not have the usual excitement of a party or gathering. In fact, it hardly felt different from any other day except a couple of sms-es and a call.... not forgetting the surprise cake at the end of the day.

Then came a belated birthday outing, where we went to Teluk Gong for seafood, One Utama for batting cages (not my thing.... the ball hit me instead of me hitting the ball), shopping and drinks then Italian dinner at Bonasera. When I got home, there was a present waiting from another friend ^^

Seafood Pasta with White Wine

After that went with another couple of friends for Snowflakes followed by McDonalds.

The top bowl is their best seller, Grass Jelly with taro (yam and sweet potato) balls and the bottom bowl is Amber Jelly with Pearls which is mine and nice ^^

Before falling asleep, I realised that I have special days all the time and not necessarily on birthdays. Having the luxury of friends who will bring other friends to try new food and activities, who will tease and joke, make the effort to organize gatherings in a way that you can make it (there was a period of time when it was very hard for me to go for gatherings due to work) and of course be there in times of trouble (such as when I get lost on the roads ^^) 

So as a conclusion of the thinking I did since Langkawi....... life is awesome so far ^^

*happy*

the Five People you meet in Heaven

After having this book by Mitch Albom for the longest time, I finally took the time to read it. It is truly an inspirational piece of work. It starts on the last day (and birthday) of Eddie's life and brings you back to revisit his entire life. In that visit, he meets five people who has changed his life and whose lives has been changed by him. Some are those close to him while others he has never met. In the short time he is with each person, they unveiled the reasoning behind the events of his life to him... and passes on to him five lessons.

It is an easy reading book yet will give you thoughts to think about. In one chapter the readers will be brought to think about the interlink of life and death. Perhaps that is why Eddie dies on his birthday? There was a time where I had a discussion with a friend regarding the poem "no man is an island". It does not as simple as the way the phrase is used to mean that everyone needs someone, but rather everyone is part of everyone else. Much like this book where he meets people who have touch his life yet he has never met in person.

No Man is an Island

No man is an island entire of itself; every man

is a piece of the continent, a part of the main;

if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe

is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as

well as a manor of thy friends or of thine

own were; any man's death diminishes me,

because I am involved in mankind.

And therefore never send to know for whom

the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.

~John Donne~

While it is a little depressing when he learns of the wrongs that he did and how he was wronged, it all brings to the purpose of his existence on Earth... and that brings hope and faith that we are important and have a reason for living. After being injured from the war, he was a maintenance man for a amusement park. Not a very sought after job or one that is appreciated like farmers or construction workers. But if you think about it, what are the basic needs of a human? Food and shelter which they will provide. We all know of the tragedies that can happen in an amusement park that is not properly maintained and Eddie's purpose was to keep the children there safe. (Though if you think about it, why do we create dangerous rides?)

*deep in thought*

Written in the Stars......

At lunch today, one guy was going through descriptions of people according to star horoscopes. I have always found that my Virgo stars are quite accurate in describing me, while another friend at the table had nothing in common with her star's normal qualities. Perhaps horoscopes are merely self fulfilling prophecies, we behave as how we believe we should be behaving. After all, with billions and trillions of people in the world, can it really that simple to categorize them into 12 different personalities? And how would the 12 animal zodiac affect? Or maybe it would combine and hence there would be 144 personalities? Come to think of it, there is another 5 elements to each personalities which would bring to a total of 720 personalities? Hmm.... might be possible after all ^^

There was one time I was told that some people's fate or destiny is fixed by the stars while others are not. For example, me being a total Virgo could mean that I am more influenced by the stars that my friend who does not have any characteristic of her star. Is that a good or bad thing? Well, I do like being a Virgo, though it can be very annoying and tiring at times.... but generally I am happy the way I am.... After all, most stars have both strength and weaknesses. It is good to know that in order to optimize your strength and cover your weaknesses.

So is your destiny written in the stars? Or will you take fate into your own hands?

A song with beautiful descriptions and images....

*humming to starry starry night*

When in the countryside.....

Ever wonder what city people do in the countryside? Well what I did was:

• Pluck mangoes with a bag on a long stick
• Bury dead fish from the pond
• Attempt to trim away branches with a blunt parang
• Trim away branches with a sharper small knife
• Transplant baby mango tree
• Attempt to dig out a deeply rooted plant with a hand spade (whose handle is made of a thick branch of some sort that has a knobby end that makes it look like a bone)
• Ended up just cutting off the top part of the plant with the same hand spade and hammer.... how it was done I will leave to your imagination....
• Eat
• Sleep
• Watch TV (lots of Merlin, CSI and Master Chef)

The last three seems so boring after the first few yes? ^^

*bone tired*

Happiness is.......

“When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn't understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.”

Some people would probably brush the story off as one that is childish or one that is only imaginary or even idealistic. Life is more complex and complicated than just being happy. But if you think about it, why do people do what they do? People earn money so that they can buy things that they believe will make them happy. Do they really need the latest phone or expensive cars or largest diamond ring to be happy? We are in the rat race because we are forever in the pursuit of happiness. We are scared that if we slow down to appreciate the scene of life, we would lose to those running forward. Where are we running to? We all end up the same place anyway, regardless of who we are and how much we have.

So on this lovely Sunday morning, take a breath and look for the non materialistic things that make you happy. Be it a happy memory, a hand to hold, a child's smile, the lovely lovely weather ^^ or a person to talk to.

A lovely morning on Kenyir Lake

*absorbing the calm and soothing morning*

It gets better

There are a lot of self appreciation and motivational songs lately. Perhaps from the increase in depression and suicides due to the pressure of current society. Even those close and dear to me seem to be facing troubles and feeling down. Sometimes, it is hard to just listen to their problems and not being able to help in any way.

Anyways, these two are my favorites for the time being. Hear, listen and feel better!

Charice with Louder (love the video ^^ )

Selena Gomez with Who Says.

"Talk to someone, if that doesn't work, talk to someone else. Life is worth it"

"It gets better"

~Jeremy~

"It is better to light one small candle than to curse the darkness"

~Elenor Roosevelt~

"Now and then it's good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy"

~Guillaume Apollinaire~

*deep in thought*

Saving the Best for Last

Over the weekend was helping my mom clean out the refrigerator. A lot of expired food had to be thrown away.... saddest are the food that was being kept for special occasions such as chocolates that were given as a present..... saving the best for last is great if you do not miss out on when that "last moment" is.

Reminds me of a story about this man who gave his wife a beautiful set of jewelry. She was very happy and wanted to save it for a really special occasion. Years went by, when she died, her husband buried her with the jewelry saying, "I guess this is as special as it gets".

You will never know when the last moment will be. Saving is good, but don't let it keep you from living life.

Cheers.

Irony in the Cinema

I was in the cinema the other day and was watching the advertisements before the movie. So there was one that talks about the diseases faced by Malaysian these days such as diabetes, heart attack, lung cancer and so on. This was followed by advice on living a healthier lifestyle with more exercise eating healthy and avoiding alcohol. The irony was the advertisement after that was for Twisties...... and then baskin robin ice-cream cake and ending with KFC...... contradictory message much?

~shaking head~

Copy Blunder

When setting up the company e-mail, it is easiest to just copy someone else's signature and change the name and designation. That should be a fool proof way since the company's name, address, contact numbers and fax should all be the same. It would have been so... if there was not the small print of mobile phone towards the bottom of the signature. For almost 3 months, my recipients have been getting the wrong number.... no wonder my phone never rings for business purposes @@ who knows how my calls I missed....

So how did I finally discovered it? A partner was supposed to sms me a contact and I was wondering how she has my number since I do not have a name card and have been a little stingy when it comes to giving out my number. Then she said from my e-mail... *stuns* *rushes to check e-mail signature* oops.....

The best part is that the number belonged to someone who has permanently left the country so the number was probably disconnected, hence there was nobody to take the calls and then tell me that strange people have been calling that number for me....

Lesson of the day: Do not copy and paste blindly.......

*laughing*

Office vs Operations

My internship is coming to an end soon though my connection with the company is not severed with this ending. During my training, I had to the opportunity to experience both office life and operations life equally. Both has its pros can cons. Obviously the main con of being at the operation level is the unstable timing, long hours and having to work when everyone is off. Though at the same time, it is enjoyable as it is a lot of hands on work. For example, thanks to my training there, I can now saute pasta without using a tong that will break the pasta and I can also flip pancakes, omelette's, crepes etc. with just the pan. Also, I got to meet different people every single day.

Office on the other hand has a more stable timetable though because I chose to be in the marketing department, working over time and on weekends are quite frequent as well. The workflow is also more stable as in there's work to be done the whole day through instead of rushing through lunch and dinner crowd and stand around mindlessly between those times. Those breaks really drive me crazy. Such a waste of time just standing around. And it is not like in the office where you get to sit if there is nothing to be done. Other than that, it's the little things such as having a variety in work clothes and proper meal times that makes the office a better place to work in.

I only have one question... Why even though the office is a much easier life than working at the operations level, I fell sick a lot more frequently when working in the office?

~puzzled~

Technology: Boon or Bane?

People have been arguing about the benefits and negative effects of technology on our lives, especially the younger ones who are more easily influenced by the media. Like the invention of the internet. It is great that you can read this post within seconds that I wrote and posted it up, yet at the same time, suppose I am not writing something healthy? Then how many people that could be negatively influenced by a single writer (for writers with a lot of people reading anyway ^^)? The argument would be never ending as for as much good as technology will bring, it will also bring the bad.

But today I witness how technology can really help people. We all use phone all the time. Yet it has never crossed my mind how the mute or deaf can communicate with people far away. I was walking by a restaurant, when I saw a guy doing sign language, but there was no one sitting opposite him. Only upon closer inspection, I saw that he was actually had a phone in front of him and he was having a video conversation. Then only did it dawn upon me how important the development of video conferencing was to them.

In the end, it is up to the users to decide if technology is used for good or evil. It is after all just a tool. We can use a knife to kill but we can also use it for surgery that can save lives =)

~thinking of the ipad2~

Archery

If I had to choose a weapon during the mythical period, it would always been the bow and arrow. Of course having characters like Legolas from LOTR and Robin Hood makes that weapon look so awesome. Plus elves, whom are a fascination to me, love using the bow ^^

During my years of studies in university, I took a course on outdoor archery. It was awesome! Except for the heat, the long waits for turn to shoot since it was quite a large class and the initial hunts for arrows that fly astray ^^ After that, the nearest I got to the bow and arrow is at the indoor archery range at Sunway Pyramid which I went recently.

While it will never come close to the thrill and challenge of shooting outdoor at longer distance, just holding the bow, pulling the string, aiming then releasing the arrow to hit the target is exciting enough. The intense moment is when your muscles are straining to pull the string back and also push the bow forward in a balance steady enough for you to aim. Then, when ready, you let the arrow fly, and it hits the intended target. That is a moment of pure satisfaction. (of course it takes a lot of practice before you get to that satisfaction part ^^)

~Wonders where there are outdoor archery range~

Change

I was informed that I have neglected this blog for too long. So I guess it is time for a little update. I am longer attached to the previous internship place due to certain problems and now I am working in an office-based environment. It is such a change! Now I get to enjoy a more "normal" lifestyle with waking up in the mornings, working through the day, going home for dinner and can even go out with friends after dinner. My meals are more regular (this is some how very very important to me), I do not have to waste time standing around 4 hours everyday during non peak hours at the restaurant, my dressing is a lot more comfortable these days ^^. I can go on and on but I am sure that you can get the message that it is a very much more comfortable workplace here. Plus I am kept so busy that I hardly notice the time going by!

But talking about change, people around me has been commenting that I have changed a lot since starting work. I just hope that it is not in a bad way. But change is normal, it means that at least I am learning to adapt to the working environment rather than cling on to the glorious past of academics. Though....... personally, I do not think I have changed that much. Just perhaps I now no longer have to keep the "good student" image so have become a little less restrained in my speech and actions.

The only major stress factor is what I am going to do after my internship. For the first time in my life, I will need to make a choice in the direction I want to take. Previously, my road was very clear and no major decision was neccessary (except telling my parents when I was in kindergarten that I refuse to go to a Chinese school). But there is still time, let's stress that when the time comes.

Enough of heavy stuff, there are still many photos that has yet to be uploaded from my trip to Cameron some time ago. Will be sharing them in little bits. The one below was taken specifically to be a desktop background. Flowers always relax me..... further more such pictures will bring back to memory the cool air and light breeze.... ah...... ^^

Cheers! Enjoy your weekend!

The Working Hours......

A friend told me that it is okay to emo on my blog once in awhile..... so here goes..... working hours in the F&B industry, especially on operations level sucks...... ever since entering the kitchen, I hardly have time to spend with my family, what more my friends. Even the times that there are night meet ups, by the time I get off work, I am so tired that I barely participate in the conversations.

Nobody is indispensable and sooner or later people will get tired of arranging their schedule to fit a single person. It is also not fair for us to expect them to. If as an intern, the working hours can put such strain on socialability, imagine the damage it can do to relationships if working full time on that level..... because of Valentine's Day, a lot of the staff can only leave after 12am and the last person left at 5am... that person was back at the restaurant at 9am.... no wonder my lecturer warned us that one of the dangers of this industry is the divorce rate.....

So people, be nice to the staff when you are out in restaurants..... especially on busy days, it is not that they do not want to give good service, but there are just too many people to attend to and the kitchen may not be able to cope with the bulk of orders ^^