Seeing Green

There was a millionaire who was bothered by severe eye pain. He consulted so many physicians and was getting his treatment done. He did not stop consulting galaxy of medical experts; he consumed heavy loads of drugs and underwent hundreds of injections. But the ache persisted with great vigour than before.

At last a monk who has supposed to be an expert in treating such patients was called for by the millionaire. The monk understood his problem and said that for sometime he should concentrate only on green colours and not to fall his eyes on any other colours.

The millionaire got together a group of painters and purchased barrels of green color and directed that every object his eye was likely to fall to be painted in green colour just as the monk had directed. When the monk came to visit him after few days, the millionaire's servants ran with buckets of green paints and poured on him since he was in red dress, lest their master not see any other colour and his eye ache would come back. Hearing this monk laughed said: "If only you had purchased a pair of green spectacles, worth just a few dollars, you could have saved these walls and trees and pots and all other articles and also could have saved a large share of his fortune. You cannot paint the world green."

Morale of the story:-

Let us change our vision and the world will appear accordingly.

Me and Murphy's Law

I am one of those few privilege ones that always get tested by God. However, God is great. No matter how sticky a situation gets, God the Almighty will turn things around.

Ever been in a "Murphy's Law" situation? Ever been in a situation where you know that things can go wrong and eventually go wrong? I have been in such situations many, many times.

Several instances where Murhpy Law will apply to me:-

• I was rushing for a meeting. Exit carpark and realise that I have left the documents needed for the meeting in the office. Went back to get the documents and try to hit the road, again. Suddenly, stuck in a bad jam because everyone in KL decides to hit the road at the same time. However, was not considered late due to some other members of the due diligence working being late coz' they were stuck at the same traffic jam. Lucky eh?

• Once, I was already late to check-in for a flight to Brunei (don't get me started on why I was late to get my ass to the airport). I checked-in 45 minutes before departure. Since I was late, I was not allowed to check-in my luggage. So, I had to hand carry them all (one big suitcase, a handbag and a laptop. And for those who knows me, I don't travel light!). And of course the gate to the plane would have to be the furthest gate in the satellite terminal of KLIA (you guys know how taxing it is to get to the satellite terminal, let alone gate C31). Madly rush through immigration, took the train and literally ran towards gate C31, only to find out that the flight was delayed. Damn!

• For some strange reason, whenever I want to go to my gym class on Saturday afternoons, all the Ampang people decides to leave for town. The best was what happened 2 Saturdays ago. Hootie went out to buy some groceries at about 11 am and came back about 12pm. I asked him if the roads were busy, and he said no. So I got ready for gym and left my apartment at about 12.30pm. And of course, the roads WERE BUSY! How can it be? Within the span of 1/2 hour, the people of Ampang has decided unanimously to hit the road towards KL. We managed to get to the ever faithful elevated highway and I thought to myself, I can still make it to class. To my horror, Jalan Sultan Ismail was also jam. Again, I thought to myself, since the class instructor is an old friend, he wouldn't mind me making a grand entrance. Due to a miracle, I did managed to get to the gym on time, but only to find out the class had been cancelled because the instructor was admitted to hospital. Again, damn!

• This month, my car insurance and road tax need to be renewed. Now that I'm almost penniless (the car insurance and road tax has burned an additional RM1k hole to my pocket), the sliding door to the apartment decides to give way. Since I'm staying at my mother's apartment, I would have to fixed it before my mother decides to drop in unsuspectingly and nag me on why I have not fixed the stupid sliding door.

I have many more Murphy Law stories to tell. Nonetheless, I believe that things always happen for a reason, whether I realised it or not. As a saying goes, God works in mysterious ways.

The Seed

A successful business man was growing old and knew it was time to choose a successor to take over the business. Instead of choosing one of his directors or his children, he decided to do something different. He called all the young executives in his company together. He said, "It is time for me to step down and choose the next CEO. I have decided to choose one of you. " The young executives were shocked, but the boss continued. "I am going to give each one of you a seed today - one very special seed. I want you to plant the seed, water it, and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from the seed I have given you. I will then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next CEO."

One man, named Jim, was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed. He went home and excitedly, told his wife the story. She helped him get a pot, soil and compost and he planted the seed. Everyday, he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After about three weeks, some of the other executives began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow. Jim kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew. Three weeks, four weeks, five weeks went by, still nothing. By now, others were talking about their plants, but Jim didn't have a plant and he felt like a failure. Six months went by--still nothing in Jim's pot. He just knew he had killed his seed. Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. Jim didn't say anything to his colleagues, however. He just kept watering and fertilizing the soil - He so wanted the seed to grow.

A year finally went by and all the young executives of the company brought their plants to the CEO for inspection. Jim told his wife that he wasn't going to take an empty pot. But she asked him to be honest about what happened. Jim felt sick at his stomach, it was going to be the most embarrassing moment of his life, but he knew his wife was right. He took his empty pot to the board room. When Jim arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the other executives. They were beautiful--in all shapes and sizes. Jim put his empty pot on the floor and many of his colleagues laughed, a few felt sorry for him! When the CEO arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted his young executives. Jim just tried to hide in the back. "My, what great plants, trees, and flowers you have grown," said the CEO. "Today one of you will be appointed the next CEO!" All of a sudden, the CEO spotted Jim at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered the financial director to bring him to the front. Jim was terrified. He thought, "The CEO knows I'm a failure! Maybe he will have me fired!" When Jim got to the front, the CEO asked him what had happened to his seed - Jim told him the story. The CEO asked everyone to sit down except Jim. He looked at Jim, and then announced to the young executives, "Behold your next Chief Executive! His name is Jim!" Jim couldn't believe it. "Jim couldn't even grow his seed. How could he be the new CEO?" the others said. Then the CEO said, "One year ago today, I gave everyone in this room a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds; they were dead - it was not possible for them to grow. All of you, except Jim, have brought me trees and plants and flowers. When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Jim was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be the new Chief Executive!"

If you plant honesty, you will reap trust
If you plant goodness, you will reap friends
If you plant humility, you will reap greatness
If you plant perseverance, you will reap contentment
If you plant consideration, you will reap perspective
If you plant hard work, you will reap success
If you plant forgiveness, you will reap reconciliation
So, be careful what you plant now; it will determine what you will reap later.

Life sucks! (At the Mo)

I know, I know... I've not been updating my blog for about 1 week already... Sorry guys, kinda busy with work and have been out of KL for the last 3 days (yeah, lame excuse, but any excuse is better than no excuse)...

As mentioned, had to leave Hootie for 3 days due to work. But have to say, the trip was very much needed as I had time to rethink about how I feel about my life at the mo...

a) Career

Was head-hunted recently and went for the interview. The job I was offered is rather similar to what I am doing now. The only difference is that I'll be reporting to internal Board of Directors rather than client's Board of Directors. Work wise, scope will be limited due to internal reporting. The interviewers were OK, (why can't I have a boss that looks like Vin Diesel?) and the interview went OK. However, with my current job, although work sucks, my current team members are God-sent. I don't think I can find a boss that gives so much flexibility and is willing to help fight for my rights? Hence, I am torn between getting more money and loyalty. But, loyalty wins at the mo.

b) Family

My dad is currently in the midst of building a new family pad for the family. Honestly, for the amount of money he spent, the house is rather small. And for a house that is tailor-made, the design could have been better. What gets to me is that, he keeps asking me for my opinion but never actually take it into consideration. But, quoting little sister, it's his money, so he can do whatever pleases him.

c) Marriage

Things aren't going the way I imagined it to be. Maybe my expectations were too high when I considered getting married. Not sure what Hootie's expectations are like. We never really talk about it before we got married and now it's taking it's toll. Have to admit, the reason I actually got married was purely selfish and now I have to pay the price.

Hootie is rather a reserved person and each time I brought something up, he'd rather shut up than actually explaining it to me. This habit of his really bothers me. Is it so difficult to actually express yourself? I'm the type of person that has to be in the need-to-know basis. I need to know why certain things are in certain ways, or certain things are not in certain ways. I stand guided by certainties and I find it hard to function in a world where we just keep on going for the sake of keep on going.

The contrary to what people say, the first year of marriage is no honeymoon for me. A lot had happen in the last 9 months and I now stand at a crossroad of whether I made the right decision or not. Hootie's a really nice guy and I'm sure other people would die to have a husband like him (a lot of my friends call him Grade-A Husband). But so much had happened that I no longer feel the same sort of loving feeling I had 9 months back. Don't get me wrong, I might not be happy but I am content. But at the same time, can't help feeling that things could have been better if Hootie had actually listen to my pleas 9 months ago. Now, I'm not sure what to do and my heart has turn cold.

Yes people, I am capable of feeling down. Can't help feeling frustrated, I'm only human. As much as patience is a virtue, not sure how long I can hold on to it. All I can say is that there are a lot of resentment at the moment, not to mention regrets. But like a saying goes, the show must go on and I shall prevail.

How to spice up our boring life...

1. Be spontaneous

Seize opportunities to do something interesting. For example; when a friend invites you for a drink or to the movies—don’t make excuses. Simply, say yes and go. Don’t turn down invitations to socialize when you know you have nothing better to do.

2. Visit a new place

It’s a shame to not have gone anywhere else besides your little hometown; or seen anything else outside of your community. C’mon, there is so much to see. Drive, get on a bus or train and go see the world!

3. Do the unusual

Do something you have always wanted to do but never made time for. Go hiking, camping, kayaking, run the marathon, go to the museum, attend a concert, visit an old friend or do some volunteer work.

4. Plan a “spice up my life day” and commit to it

Mark the date on your calendar for a special vacation, trip or activity. Submit your official vacation day leave request and invite your friends along. Plan for your special day and get ready to have fun. The more the merrier!

5. “Tune up” your attitude

Give up the “I don’t do this and I don’t do that” attitude. Be willing to participate in new activities and embrace new things. Be open-minded, and have fun. You will be pleasantly surprised at what the right attitude can do for you!

6. Be fully present and in the moment

What’s the point of going on vacation and then spending your vacation time thinking about work, bills and other stressful issues? You can’t really spice up your life if you are physically present and mentally absent. To enjoy yourself, be fully engaged in the moment— body, soul and spirit.

7. Leave your hang-ups at home

When spending time with your friends…don’t let your pessimist outlook on life ruin the day. Remember that your friends are there to enrich your life and not to baby sit you. So, leave you high maintenance behavior at home, be a joy to others and have fun!

8. Change your environment

Introduce inspiring elements into your surroundings. Change your furniture, paint your walls a different color, get some potted house plants, a fish tank or even a pet.

9. Make new friends or foster existing relationships

Technology has made it possible to connect with people faster and easily. Make friends with people from different cultures and learn something new. Contact a long lost friend and make plans to meet and catch up. Better yet, pay a surprise visit to a relative you haven’t seen in a while.

10. Be creative

Opportunities present themselves in the most unlikely ways. Ask yourself, “What can I do right now, this week, this weekend…to spice up my life?” Think outside the box.

National Election Day

To all Malaysian who are voting today, HAPPY VOTING!!!

Choose wisely kay...

Hands off the remote!!!

I am a reality TV show junkie. I enjoy watching how one team tries to outwit the other team in Amazing Race. I take pleasure in watching all the cat fights in ANTM. I am even amused by KLS's bitchiness.

Reality TV is a genre of tv programmes which presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and features ordinary people instead of professional actors. Although the genre has existed in some form or another since the early years of television, the term reality television is most commonly used to describe programs produced since 2000. Documentaries and non-fictional programming such as news and sports shows are usually not classified as reality shows.

A bit of history lesson. Reality TV goes way back to the 1940's. Unlike current reality TV shows, reality TV shows back then were more focused on broadcasting unsuspecting ordinary people reacting to pracks and practical jokes (this would be shows like "You're on Candid Camera", "Just Kidding" and "MTV Boiling Points"). Over the years, reality TV shows evolves whereby producers started to toy with more creative ideas such of game/quiz shows, home improvements, competitions and real life moments captured on home videos.

Few of my favourites at the mo:-

a) Kimora: Life at the Fab Lane - love how she bitches around town, with her fabulous fashion sense and extravagant over-the-top gadgets (have you guys seen her diamond encrusted handphone and tailor-made leather seats in her open-top Bentley!)

b) Amazing Race and Amazing Race Asia - no matter how many times they show the reruns of the reruns, I still catch them on tellie

c) ANTM - it makes me wonders how some chicks even made it to the show. But I love how the show has evolved from focusing purely on modelling to modelling with a purpose. For instance, in the latest season, ANTM has gone green (mind you, green is the new black!)

d) American Idol - the amount of talent that the contestants have is amazing. Some of them can sing better than the original singer!

e) Who wants to be a comic superhero? - Yes, I know, this show is a bit over the top, but can't help watching Stan Lee groom real people into having superhero qualities, some of which I feel that we should practice in becoming a better person

f) Project Runaway - Just love watching how the designers use their creativity and create beautiful garments

And the list goes on. I have even converted Hootie to watch reality TV shows with me and he enjoys watching some of it. And me being me, each time I watch TV, don't even dare touch the remote let alone flip through the channels during commercials! If I'm watching something that Hootie doesn't like, he'll just go to his ever faithful PC and browse the net or trade dope over FB.

Have to say that reality TV does affect our lives one way or another. Notice how most of the show in Astro are reality TV? People do love watching other people. As I see it, there's nothing wrong in doing so. We could even learn a thing or two.

OMG!!!

Oh my god! I've have not been diligent in updating my blog... Last entry was on 27 Feb!!! My, my... how time flies when you are really2 busy... Internet connection at home sucks and the only means to the net is from office...

Of late, for some strange reason, I've been swamped with work (so it is true that when it rains, it does pours!). I mean, I was rather free for the last couple of weeks! Can't the bosses practice something call time management and work balancing? It is rather frustrating when the Boss decided to suddenly dump everything at one go... The best part is that, the Boss met the Client ages ago and dropped the bomb 2 days prior to the next meeting! ARGH!!!

So, here I am, writing in between work... Actually, kinda bored with work at the mo and my ever faithful YM Buddy is currently away... Vetting two circulars to shareholders within a day ain't funny ok? Not only do I have to go through the compliance bit but also must ensure that the whole damn thing makes sense to the readers, who unfortunately, most of them are the average Joe and Jane (although I always belief that if you can't convince them, you confuse them!).

Well... better get back to work... Will find something for the soul as I miss my Monday regular post in due course....