...why interview...

...i was interviewing a girl; introduced by my snr manager. she was applying for the position a sa kind of role. they call it application consultant. well, for a start she already gave a bad impression of herself. she did not read the instruction clearly on the test that we provided. it was specifically mentioned that you have to answer all questions. but, she only answered half of it. i was like, wtf man, simple instruction can't even follow. (it was a simple test to check on one's personality). applying for sa but can't even follow that simple instructions? doh.

ok. next question i throw to her was, this one my previous snr sa taught me one. i throw her a map to iitc and ask her to explain to me how do i get from my office in midvalley to iitc? i said, just pretend we are on the phone now and describe the directions for me to go to iitc. first thing she ask me was, do you know bangsar? i said, yea, i know bangsar. the road leading to damansara heights. bangsar shopping complex on my right. ok, then she said, go straight and when you reach a traffic light, turn to ur left. then go straight somemore. u will reach a toll. that is the phileo damansara toll. you pay rm1 for the toll. i then said, ok. but have i reach ikea or 1-utama already? she said, no. not yet. then i said, ok.

she continued her direction by telling me, just pay the toll and go straight along the road. all the way straight and you will come to damansara uptown on your right. i was abit lost already, so i asked her, are we anywhere near ikea, cos i love shopping at ikea and all my house furniture is from ikea. i usually go ikea on weekends to checkout the latest design. then she answered me, no. not ikea. we are at damansara uptown. from there, you turn right towards the toll. but just before the toll, you go up the bridge towards sony. i then told her again that 1-utama is a nice shopping place cos i love to go shopping there. then she said a whole bunch of things, sri kdu, petronas, etc and voila you turn left and you see iitc. i was like wow. and i told her, congratulations, i am lost.

the whole time she was not even looking at the map i gave her and she was not even sure of the directions. a map was given to her, but she did not even bother checking out what is in there. well, it was a farnee situation and i was surprise that she didnt know how to explain to me the directions; giving simple direct explantions, detailed with landmarks and etc.

my next few questions was to check her personality and her attitude. she is totally not melancholic, so how do we expect someone who is not melancholic to do sa which requires alot of details and documentations? well, congratulations, she did not give a good impression to me that is. so, i didn't give a yes to her. my colleague justin was next to interview her and he asked a set of question and he came out with a set of conclusion which made me like wow. ok. i don't think i can see that in her or even in the near future. anyway, it was a yes to justin cos she is groomable. wakakaz. loon was laughing his heart out groom-able. my snr manager kept on saying that she is good cos she can go out and meet customer. and she is very independent. well, being able to go out does not necessary mean you can set the right expectations and manage the customer well.

wakakaz, who am i to judge people anyway. and well, i think annice has been a fabulous mentor to me all these while and i really appreciate all the comments, all the scoldings, all the guidance, all the corrections that was given to me; making me grow and learned. she has been my greatest inspiration until today and well, she is the only one i can shout loud - a good mentor...

...jom koffee...

...my fren successtan says that his life is getting more and more stressful these days. indeed, life is suffering. but most of the time, we tend to fall into the trap of being the suffering ones and do not want to come out of the ditch full of suffering. constantly we dwell in the world of suffering and starts complaining "why me" instead of "why not me". as much as i want to say "why me", i am much happier to say, "why not". alextan taught me the most simplest of lesson that is not to look at things as problems, but look at it as opportunities. and recently my chat with him lasted until 6am. gosh, somehow we were so hype up to chat; together with kns - the 3 of us managed the nite with pringles and apple cider zapple. gosh.

i had another wonderful chat with another dear fren, fredwong. with a slurpee and some sweet potatoes, we went through the changes of life and how we have managed to lived it all. and that we all do face problems at work all the time. its how we learn to manage it and deal with the gifts that life has to offer us. so, why is it that we all face so many problems at work? problems with managers, problems with subordinate, problems with colleagues, problems with bosses, problems with everyone. hmm, if alextan were to put it, opportunities to learn from everyone of them.

i have alot of problems at work now. pnc, ilmi, tms, inti-genting; juggling them one at a time; learning from the mistakes of others, but if another good fren of mine put it, mattkhaw would say do we learn from mistakes or learn from the best things that others has done? hmm, makes me wonder. i always wanted a mentor to guide me; looking high and low for a person whom i can call mentor; but somehow i went thru my worklife with so many pm, sadly none i wud shout loud. i wudnt want to end up to be like them.

another conversation with another dear friend, paklah's brother put it,
"being the conductor at the orchestra. a CONDUCTOR DOESN'T need to know how to play all kinds of instrument to get a good lovely music and it wouldn't hurt if the CONDUCTOR does know how to play cause i believe tat would even produce a better quality of music (i'm sure we can feel the difference between good music and good music with feelings expressed by the TEAM) plus higly motivated team that respect HIM and gives him FULL support to achieve that result. agree?"

i love chatting with people and learn from each of them the values and the meaning of life. well, if anyone has some time to spare, lets do coffee and talk more about how we can go thru life, after all i wudn't want to be like what the professor has proposed to the fisherman. or spend my time thinking of the 4D to buy: satu dua, tiga empat (one two, three four). so, what's ur number to buy?...

...iced coffee in the morning...

...a group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university lecturer. conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life. offering his guests coffee, the lecturer went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups: porcelain, plastic, glass, some plain-looking and some expensive and exquisite, telling them to help themselves to hot coffee.

when all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the lecturer said: "if you noticed, all the nice-looking, expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones."while it is but normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress". what all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the better cups and are eyeing each other's cups."

"now, if life is coffee,then the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. they are just tools to hold and contain life, but the quality of life doesn't change."sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee in it." so don't let the cups drive you...enjoy the coffee instead. start appreciating the simple things in life now...

...simple things in life...

...appreciating the simple things in life. too often with our super complex mind and with our super gengz ego, we tend to take for granted the simple things in life. we usually let our mind find complex ways to get a solution and figure out the best-est of ways to get things done - digging deep into our brains, soul and heart; taking tireless effort to make our mind work harder. give it a break man. life is too short to take for granted what we already have. make things simple. appreciate the simple things that we are blessed with.

once there was a professor from a very prestigious university and a fisherman by the lake fishing. the professor was on holiday and somehow they bump into each other at the lake. at about noon time, the fisherman collected his net, packed his stuff and was ready to go back home. then the smart professor ask the fisherman why is he going back so early. the fisherman told the professor that, he is done for the day and he has all he wanted for the family and he is going home to see his wife.

so being the smart well learned professor, he then told the fisherman, 'if you work until evening, then you will get double the fish you got now.'

and the fisherman ask the professor, 'then what?.'

the professor then said, 'with more fish caught, you can then sell half of the fish and keep the other half. and then, when you get more money, you can buy a bigger boat and do more fishing.'

still curious, the fisherman ask the professor, 'and then, what shall i do with all the money?'

the professor answered, 'with all the money, then you can buy a even bigger boat, and employ more people to work for you. and according to my calculation, within year, you will have enough money to buy 3 bigger boats and you can go deep sea fishing and catch even bigger fish. and within 5 years, your company will grow so big that you will have at least 100 fisherman working for you. your company can even go listing and you can have more money you can imagine. i will help you to achieve that. with my great knowledge in the industry and my renowned qualification and experience in helping ohers out of this rat race, i can help you make billions in 5 years', said the professor.

then the fisherman looking more confused, asked the professor, 'and then what shall i do?'

the professor then said to the fisherman, 'with all the money you have, you then can retire early and go back home at noon to meet your wife and enjoy the whole evening doing what you like to do and relaxing at home with your wife and kids.'

then the fisherman; having understood what the professor was trying to tell him said, 'ok, that is what i am going home to do now, to spend the rest of my day with my wife and kid'

...advertisement...

...this advertisement caught my attention. what are people doing these days to attract customers. fact (or is it not?) of publicity...

...have you thought about it...

...just didn’t think. it happens so often. many situation goes wrong not because people are ignorant, but because they just don’t stop to think for a moment or two. an awkward situation has arisen which could have been prevented by a few minutes thinking. get the habit of putting yourself in the other mans shoes before you open your mouth. it certainly takes a little effort, but the results are worth it every time...

...port dickson love affair...

...the past 2 weeks has been the busiest ever. i drove to port dickson 3 times and drove to nilai 3 times. for the port dickson mornings, i have to leave the office at 730am and for the nilai mornings, i have to leave at about 800am. and every night is rm45 to my petrol tank. driving is just so tiring and every night is working until 930pm. what am i doing to my life. now going to port dickson is so dreadful.

when i am down and sad, i always think of driving over to the nearest beach and throw my shoes off and relax, when i am depress and sick of things, i always think of having sands between my toes. when i feel that the whole world is so unfair, the sound of the waves hitting the shore brings peace and serenity to my over-imagnative mind. when i feel that the sundays morning are so bored and motionless, i would watch beach break and dream of being there having a fun time. but port dickson, the nearest beach is not such of a love affair to me anymore. so s.a.d...

...opening the door of your heart...

...i just finished reading a book. for the first time in my life, i have actually finished reading a book. opening the doors of your heart gives an insight into life; describing true stories of hope, forgiveness, freedom from fear and overcoming pain. it teaches us how to be happy. indeed, whatever tsunami that strikes, there is a way out. opening the doors of your heart is a very powerful book; breaking more grounds and giving new insights that we can imagine...

...chicken and duck...

...upon return from kaohsiung, i was overwhelmed with energy and dynamic perseverance to begin my days with a high profile of dedication. i was full of energy; wanting to ensure that every bit of me works to the best. recent turbulence in the place i spend most of my time in has caused alot negative energy to flow within and without. the tsunami has begun. the epicentre is still quite far from humankind, striking only on the islands around the epicentre. a few island has saw the effect of this high profile wave and its a matter of time when it reaches the end; splashing itself on the shore where we shall see the beachgoers suffer from immense trauma. if just the two walls down under the ocean floor don't crack and split!!!

if you have the time, please read the story below. it helps to strenghten the ties between people and stop the tsunami from happening...

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...once there was a newly wed couple went for a walk together in the park on one fine summer evening after dinner. they were having so much fun time being together in the park until they heard a sound in the distance: “quack quack”

listen, said the wife, “that must be a chicken”
“no, no. that was a duck” said the husband.

“no, no. i am sure that was a chicken,” she said.
“impossible. chickens go cock-a-doodle-doo. ducks go quack quack. that’s a duck, dear he said with signs of irritation.

“quack quack”, it went again.

“see it is a duck”, he said.
“no dear. that is a chicken. i am positive it is a chicken”, she asserted.

“listen, wife. that is a duck. d-u-c-k. duck. got it?!” he said angrily.
“but it’s a chicken”, she protested.

and it went quack quack again.
before he can say anything again, the wife was almost in tears, said, “that’s a chicken, dear”

the husband saw the tears in her eyes welling up and suddenly remembered why he had married her. his face softened and he said gently, “sorry dear. i think you must be right. that is indeed a chicken”

“thank you darling”, she said and they continued their journey in the park together again.
quack quack, came the sound again through the woods as they continued their walk in the park together holding their hands even tighter.

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the moral of the story is that, who cares whether it is a chicken or a duck? it is not important to bother if that was a chicken or a duck. but what is more important is their harmony together; that they could enjoy the fine summer evening together walking in the park.

when we remember the story, we will remember our priorities. what are our priorities here? it’s more important to have a wonderful walk in the park together with peace and quiet than to have an argument over chicken and duck. how many of us always argue over chicken and duck issues? how many of us have gone thru many separations because of chicken and duck issues? how many of us do remember our priorities, our passion or goals than to fight over chicken and duck issues.

more importantly, how many of us are able to say i am sorry just to get over the chicken and duck issues and have a journey together, building a greater foundation and solid environment. the most difficult word to say is i am sorry. the toughest thing to do is to give in.
if we can remember our priorities and understand the nature of life, we can enjoy a walk in the park happily and everyone else happy. who cares if it is a chicken or a duck.