Missing monday morning blues

No alarm to give you a fright after the weekend has ended - in fact, the weekend hasn't ended! The usual Monday morning blues are missing. No more thinking "just a few more minutes in bed" to find out that i'm more than an hour late for work! No more staggering to the toilet with the eyes closed. No more rushing about to hunt for that shirt, the same shirt that I should have ironed the night before! No more skipping breakfast, or gobbling down that toast just to make up for lost time. No more burnt tongue trying to swallow that cup of tea. No more speeding past old ladies who are doing 20 miles an hour and hasn't got a care in the world. After all that rushing, the computer at the office seemed to take an eternity to boot up - of course, that's gone as well.

All i had this morning was making breakfast with the wife. Read a few pages of a book, made my way to the bus stop and sat at the top of the double decker bus, enjoying the views as the bus driver took us into Edinburgh city centre.

Shopping on a weekday is great! There are no one there to battle through just to look at the book or CD. The clothes are nicely laid out, still unmolested by the daily patrons. The fitting rooms are empty. No queue for the fitting room or the pay counter. Plus, i don't have to feel that i'm always in the way, like me being in a kitchen.

The weekend may not end for a while, but the feeling is good so far! just hope i don't deplete my semi-retirement funds too soon!

Categories:

• life
• change

Where opportunity lies

Out of clutter, find simplicity.
From discord, find harmony.
In the middle of difficulty, lies opportunity.

- Albert Einstein

Categories:

• inspire
• words

Catching up

Have you got a mentor? A guide in life that you want to aspire to? Have you got an eye on that manager's position for some time now but you are still unable to fit into that position? Do you feel like you're trying to catch up with that someone just so you can actually BE more like that someone, be it a mentor, a position, a competitor, a friend, someone you love, or even someone you hate? Do you feel tired playing catch up? (click her for more)

A sportsman trains hard so that he can beat that champion who was just faster or stronger the last time. An employee works harder than the next person so that she can reach the next rung on the corporate ladder. A boyfriend spends more time and effort with that someone special so that he can fend off all competition and be the ultimate winner. A friend tries to catch up with another friend with what's going on with her life and find out if they're still on the same wavelength. A parent tries to find out what his son is up to so that he still recognises his son. Does any of these apply to you?

We all find ourselves catching up with someone at some point in life, whether we do it consciously or not. This is sometimes a good thing, as only by trying to catch up will we actually improve ourselves. The flip side of catching up is summed up by a common Chinese proverb - there will always be a higher mountain. Put it differently, will you ever know that you have caught up? by following the exact same path as a predecessor, will you end up at the same point on the mountain? or worse, when you think you've caught up, what if you find yourself climbing the wrong mountain?

I was working late one night when a very senior manager came over and asked about my work. He went on to ask if it was really necessary that i worked late that night (he is a really nice boss!). What I remembered from the conversation with him was an advice he gave me - always choose your battle.

Some battles are worth fighting for. Some are not. Not all battles are meant to be won. Victory for a battle may not mean victory for you.

By playing catch up with someone, you're setting yourself a goal, and that goal post is fixed in your mind. The person may have moved on, but you still cling on to that imaginary goal post. You will battle your way through so that you eventually (and hopefully) end up in a place you want to be.

I think setting up a goal post is important. You have to know where you want to shoot the ball. But we can only use that goal post as a guide, and not as an end. We've heard of the saying "the journey is more important than the goal". I believe the choice of journey is more important than being in any journey. It's not just about enjoying the journey or keeping calm in the journey while battling hard. The journey itself is an important choice. The path will always need to be reassessed according to yourself. Your level of maturity may have changed, your thought process may have changed, your perception of life and the world may have changed, the environment may have changed. You will have to look at your current path and see whether this is still the path you want to walk on.

Remember, you have a choice. You always have a choice. So choose your battle, and don't just play catch up.

Categories:

• inspire
• life

Little green man

Would you wait for the little green man to show before you cross the road? Or would you cross the road regardless of whether the green man is there to take you across?

I witnessed an incident when I was heading back today. 3 girls were crossing the road. 1 of them was already on the other side, and she was frantically screaming her head off asking the other 2 to cross. There were no cars, but the 2 just refused to cross until the green man appeared. There was another round of sounding when they eventually got to the other side. She must be really frustrated. (click here for more)

The 2 that refused to cross sound like sensible people. It is your upbringing that provides you with the patience to actually wait for the green man to appear. I applaud the patience that they have because I would have crossed the road already if I were in their position. I won't be screaming my head off at others who hasn't crossed though. I'm not one of those (or so I hope!) that cars hate because they're crossing at the wrong moment and waited too late. However, how much do you rely on the little green man to cross the road?

If you are one of those who wait for the green man to appear before you cross the road, do you look left and right after the green man appears? Or do you just cross as the green man appears? Not looking both ways before you cross is definitely a dangerous thing to do, even if the light is green. So, why not just judge yourself whether it is safe or not to cross rather than relying on the green man?

The traffic light system exists to protect both drivers and pedestrians, on top of providing a more manageable flow of traffic. The system must work since it is used throughout the world. So why do we still use judgement when crossing the road? Do we not trust the system? Or do we trust ourselves more?

I like to believe that we (some of us anyway) still exercise common sense when crossing the road. The traffic light system is there to guide, but ultimately we are the one walking across. To plagiarise the Matrix, it can only show you the path, you have to walk through it.

Categories:

• think
• society
• traffic

Hate mail

I received a hate mail today, judging my action, or rather inaction of picking up a coke can in my annoying coke can post. I think the reader misunderstood the whole idea of the post, but it wasn't a pleasant feeling receiving such mail, especially when i'm being accused as one of the statistic causing the dirtiness/rubbish everywhere in Malaysia. See the person's comment.

Maybe this is just one of many to come. At least the person is passionate about the environment. Just hope he/she will pick up everything on the street the next time u see him/her!

Categories:

• rant
• mail

The sundial, the screwdriver and the ipod

I've always wondered what makes the ipod so intuitive to use. It's down to the click-wheel thing isn't it? Where you can turn the volume up by motioning your thumb in a clockwise fashion and volume down in the counter-clockwise direction. Use it to scroll through your list of songs, files, videos etc. Use it to tune your radio, just like you would in one of the older radios where you physically have to turn a dial just that milimeter more to get the station you want. But why clockwise (and not anti-clockwise) for higher volume? Why clockwise for "down" motion? (Click here for more)

The term "clockwise" seems to suggest that it was the measure of time that gave birth to the rotational direction of "clockwise". Suddenly, the toilet bowl flush test came to mind. It's quite commonly known (especially if you've watched THAT episode of The Simpsons) that northern hemisphere toilet bowls will flush in the clockwise direction and the southern hemisphere will flush in anti-clockwise. Could the clockwise direction then be a legacy of the northern hemisphere?

After digging around, I seem to be right. According to Wikipedia, clocks were first built in the northern hemisphere, and they were made to work like sundials. That is why clockwise is as you know it. Why didn't the anti-clockwise direction prevailed as THE standard way clocks tick? Is this just another example of the north-south divide where northern standards are THE standard? Or is it just something which just came stuck just because it's out in the market first, like the QWERTY keyboard.

Well, turned out I was just partially right. The toilet bowl flush direction is a myth! Check this out.

Categories:

• tech
• ipod

A gift with a difference

Do you think mother's day is a scam? It might have started off with good intentions, but now high street shops are loading up with gift ideas to entice you and persuade you that the item they're selling are THE gift for your mum. Plenty of money is spent just to make you walk through their door. Big neon signs are a thing of the past, but the message is still the same - please buy something from us, your mother will love you for it. Do sons and daughters out there actually fall for this? Do the mums out there actually appreciate these trendy gifts, only to see them find their way into a bin within a week? (click here for more)

I certainly didn't dare to say these things as I only thought of my mum and felt like I should get something for her, until a girl told me how much she hated mother's day. She's going to be a mother someday, and yet she actually loath mother's day! If she's got the guts to say it, why not me?! of course, i will never be a mother, but i'm sure this is equally applicable to father's day, valentine's day, christmas day, birthday... in fact, a teacher once told me that birthdays should be a celebration for the mother because it was the pain the mother went through by giving birth to you! Maybe birthday should be mother's day, rather than some random day chosen some time ago.

Maybe, we could put a positive spin to this. Donate to charity and put it in your mother's name. There are so many ways you can do this now. Have you thought of donating a cow? Where someone out there can use it for milk and manure for fertilizer? What about a herd of goats? Where the goats can be "recycled" because they can breed and the offsprings can then be used to help more than one family! Or sponsor a business as suggested by moongster.

So, how about that? make a gift with a difference this time. For mother's day, birthdays, christmas days, valentine days, anniversaries etc. Hopefully the recipient will receive it. If not, well, you've donated. Just remember to not give such a gift to that person again!

Categories:

• gift
• society
• charity

Why didn't I wear boots?

Went to work in my work shoes, shuffling carefully through the snow but still trying to get some speed into it so that I can catch my bus! It wasn't the best experience as the snow was quite thick and my sole is not made for the weather.

I was quite sensible the day before when I went out for a walk in the snow. Had my hiking boots on and they were a joy to walk in, kept my feet nice and warm. Somehow, it just felt wrong to put on my hiking boots for work this morning.

Had the same problem coming back from work. By that time, the snow had turned slushy and it was horrible to walk in. My trousers were soaked from mid-shins down. It's only at this time that I begin to really ask myself, why didn't I wear my boots? (click here for more)

There was so much unconscious resistance that I didn't even consider putting my boots on on a work day. On any other day, I would have put on something sensible just to be prepared for the unpredictable Scottish weather. Has the social conditioning become so strong that it's so difficult to break it, even in the face of common sense?!!

I wonder how much of these excess fat are we carrying due to social conditioning. Similar to body excess fat, social conditioning adds no value at all to our well being but is a burden nevertheless because we're lugging it around, so to speak, by conforming to it. And just like body excess fat, it affects our health!

Can we do away with all the excess fat? Do away with the need to put on a shirt and tie unless you want to? Wear sandals to work just because you feel like it? Better still, can we convert the excess fat into muscle and actually do something that adds value? Like accepting guys who carry handbags? Or accepting girls who choose not to wear a bra?

DECLARATION: I don't personally own a handbag, but I do have a lot of stuff that don't fit in a wallet now, like a mobile phone. It annoys me having it in the pocket because I'm always afraid I might break it. My other pet hate on things in pockets are coins.

Categories:

• rant
• work
• society
• think

Something to remember by

Had a leaving lunch today at the wonderful Riverhouse restaurant. Had a hard time organising it this morning as i had to find out how many was actually here in the office due to the severe weather! The restaurant actually called to ask the very same question, because they're a bit understaffed, and the parking there was snowed in. I was tempted to not go to the office because I was snowed in too! My car couldn't leave the driveway. I saw the neighbours struggling, so I thought i just catch the bus, only to find out that my usual time of leaving the house is leaning on the "late" side...(click here for more)

Shuffling through the snow quickly while maintaining balance, the temptation was certainly getting stronger to not turn up. It's not everyday that i can say that i'm snowed in and not turn up in the office!! I've got to use that excuse at least once in my life!

The lunch got the better of me. After all, it is MY leaving lunch! I can't just not turn up. As i arrived at the office, I was surprised to see my bank of desks actually full of people. Not that many were caught in the snow.

So the lunch went ahead as scheduled. Had deep fried black pudding to start and a medium done steak for mains. It is my first time for a steak, and the company I was with managed to convince me of having it medium done. Luckily it came medium to well done. Although it did get me curious what does medium done taste like!

As we were having our meal, they started asking me what kind of dishes will I miss most in Scotland. I can't say i'm a big fan of oily deep fried food - once in a while is nice, but not all the time. And then they mentioned dessert. I think that I will miss. Had a lovely creme brulee to finish by the way, and boy was I stuffed! The 3 course was just paving way to a lovely afternoon nap (i wish!)

It was all going well when my manager suddenly looked at me from the other table. Uh oh.. something's going to happen. He walked over and asked if i wanted a speech (for me) in a public place. Of course i said no! And he actually obliged! Surprised as I was, another surprise came along - a gift. The wrapping paper was something from the sixties, but the content was a total surprise. I was expecting an inflatable "something" (don't ask why!), just because it was soft and flexible. It was a Scotland rugby shirt! Definitely something to remember Scotland by.

Categories:

• scotland
• sport
• rugby
• dessert
• food

Imagine hitting the wall

It's a hall with 5 badminton courts, walled off by concrete except for the viewing glass on one side of the hall - the shortest side of course! Don't think the local council would want to spend that much on a badminton hall!

I was on one of the courts, trying to hit the shuttle all the way to the other side of the court, only to find it falling short of the base line by quite a margin! After several attempts, the coach finally stopped the drill and started us on games. I sat out on the first round, and found myself standing next to the coach...(click here for more)

We started chatting and then he finally said something about my shots. For a "clear" shot, which is the standard term for geting the shuttle from one end of the court to the other end in the highest trajectory you can manage, you need to imagine that you're trying to hit the wall at the far side of the court. For a "smash", don't try to imagine where you're going to smash, but imagine a point beyond the smash point. He called this changing the "thought spot". It's a change in perception rather than changing the technique of the shots.

We have heard of this analogy before e.g. moving the goal post, or shoot for the stars. By aiming higher, we might just hit the target that's within our intended reach. When I was doing my professional exams, I had to aim to score high on every single question just to pass! Now, if only i have some way of reminding myself this everytime i'm on the badminton court.

In the heat of the moment, the thought spot is everywhere! There's no one single spot! Maybe that's the key, to accept your limitations and then change your every single thought spot! My... that's hard... breaking a habit is hard. Changing perception? Can the adult mind change as easily as a child's mind? Since we're on the topic of changing perception, why don't we just imagine we're a child, learning to walk. Yes, that should work. I'm a child! I'm a child! (repeat 10 times)

Categories:

• badminton
• mind
• inspire

Losing my identity

An Irish guy came round yesterday for a friendly chat. Knowing that i'm leaving the country after being here for 9 years, he asked something which I haven't thought of for a while - where's home for you?

The obvious answer will be Malaysia. But...(click here for more), he continued about how he left Ireland to work in a company in York (a small town in England). He was home-sick for the first 2 years and when he finally went back to Ireland, he didn't feel like he's home any longer. Friends moved on. The atmosphere changed. You don't feel belonged any longer. So he went back to York and stayed for another 11 years. But still, he won't call York his home. He's now in Scotland, and he won't call that home either.

Although Ireland-Scotland-England is not that far compared to Malaysia-Scotland, the distance seemed immaterial. You can leave Penang for a life in Kuala Lumpur and still feel the loss of identity. Is this true for you?

It does beg the question of what is home? Is where you were born your home? Is home a place where you grew up in? Is home where you spent most of the time working? Is home where you spent most of the time playing? Is home where your love one is? Is home where you finally able to think for yourself and ask these questions?

I like to believe home is wherever I happen to be. Home is an internal state of mind where I'm comfortable with myself wherever I am. Home does not depend on the physical location of the body. It depends on how I respond to that physical location and how I respond to everything in that location, be it people, traffic, social life, work life, transport system etc. I'm home if i'm able to perform tasks consciously and without fear. E.g. i'm home if i'm able to buy groceries even though i don't know the language; i'm home if i'm able to get from one place to another without getting lost.

Can this definition be called home? What's home for you?

Categories:

• society
• identity
• home
• think

TV withdrawal symptoms

Day minus 1

The signs are there already. The TV man said he's gonna collect the TV today, but we said today is not a good day. Of course, we didn't tell them about Desparate Housewives that was on tonight. So, they're planning to come tomorrow. No more excuses then. Hopefully it doesn't end up in a beach somewhere... but hey, i shouldn't care since i won't be seeing it any longer! Ooooo... the emotions begin... time for a cold shower...

Day 1

I thought the guys might come later, and let me watch the simpsons for the last time. But they came just as simpsons was about to start. So, i had to drop my dinner and unplug the tv. It felt more like unplugging myself from the TV! So i watched the 2 guys unceremoniously lift my TV out of the house. Not even a goodbye (that stupid box!)

And then, the clock starts ticking. Suddenly, there's so much time. I've spent the time quite productively packing my stuff away (after plenty of nagging from "u know who"). I'm amazed how much time i've spent staring at the stupid box. Withdrawal isn't so bad. Or so I say now...

Day 2-4

Time seemed to have increased. I'm early for my usual Friday badminton session. I don't even need to know what time is it now. I helped prepare food. I ate slowly. I am actually reading a book i've put off for ages. The bookmark in the middle of the book hasn't moved for more than a month. I can't believe my life, my timetable, was so dictated by that idiot box. And i dare to call the tv idiot! But the house has definitely gone quieter. No more background noise to contend with. I do have the radio on now. Low tech still has its use!

Categories:

• TV
• change

You didn't do your overtime until the boss says so

I don't know about overtime rules in other places, most likely you might not even get overtime but is expected to work longer hours. For those places with a system of overtime in place, how strictly are they adhered to?

i've heard of one where you get overtime if you work more than 1 hour before or after the 9-5 hours. That is if you work from 8.01 to 5.59, you won't get any overtime, but if you work from 7.59 to 4.59 or 9.01 to 6.01, you'll get your overtime. Having a system in place is to prevent abuse of overtime rules, but some common sense should be at play.

It all comes down to whether the boss trusts that you have done your overtime as claimed. Either he has to be watching you, or someone else reporting to him must have been watching you. Or maybe mere peer pressure will force you to work overtime anyway. How can overtime be policed without such absurd ways of checking put in place? They might as well employ an overtime overseer squad with CCTV in place, sitting in a room, dunking their doughnuts and watching you in their panels after panels of monitor. They will need to strategically put some microphone in place as well, just in case you're just sitting there, chatting away. I guess u might ask, who oversees the overseers... see how absurd the system is?

Is there no way of empowering the staff in such a way that makes the overtime system obsolete?

Categories:

• work
• rant

Maybe an iPhone?

Categories:

• tech
• idea

Losing my house

I've just signed over the deeds to the buyer. That's it, the last straw. Soon, i'll be kicked out of this place. And then, my car will follow, and then my job will follow. Homeless, carless, jobless. Somehow, i feel lighter... (click here for more)

It's strange to suddenly lose all these possessions. The job provides me with money so that i can pay off the debt i owe for my possessions. Such a relationship forces a strong attachment to the job, to maintain that security of money flow. Attachment to the house reinforces the idea that the money flow is important so that i can afford what i want.

With all these attachments disappearing, it's quite a load off. No worries about the next mortgage payment. No worries about being nice in the office and do my work in the office so that I can still keep my job and hopefully keep increasing the pay cheque i receive every month. I can afford to be nasty in the office to people who are nasty to me (although I don't actually do it, but it's nice to know that I have a choice). What I can't afford is the next ipod, or the next mobile phone.

So will you trade your job and your house for that sort of freedom? That sort of peace of mind? Of course, you must know that I'm simply passing the cost of having a roof over my head to my parents (or anyone you choose to stay with). I may not even be able to afford the broadband connection (or the electricity!) to publish this blog! Maybe that's a good thing, so that you won't have to read my blog again to realise I've just wasted another 5 minutes of your time making you read until this very word! ;)

Categories:

• rant
• think
• home

Need help packing?

I always feel more than adequate to pack my own groceries at the checkout counter. That is, until the last item goes through the "beep" and i need to frantically pack the last few items as they are spun off the conveyor belt, fumble further to get my wallet and some cash from there. All these happening while i try to fend off the impatient eyes gazing at me by the next in line.

Today, the counter boy asked me if I needed help. I only had milk, bread, some cookies (yum!) and eggs. I said I'm ok. I do remember when packing these things used to be a standard service by the supermarket. Just like someone will always be there to pump the petrol into your car. Nowadays, it's all self-service. But what i liked about the situation was how we have actually been given a choice for packing. Or if you're really cynical, how the supermarket has given you the illusion of choice, knowing that you will certainly admit to being more than capable to packing those things yourself.

Kudos to Tescos for having thought of such an ingenious way of empowering customers by reducing staff budget (i.e. not employing someone to pack stuff for you) and yet actually seen to be providing you a helping hand by asking you if you need help packing! It's a win/win/win situation, that is, if you like to be empowered.

So, do you need help packing? Do you prefer someone else pack it for you?

Categories:

• think
• supermarket

The annoying coke can

Normal day. Time to go. Found my bus. Head inside. Try to find a quiet seat on the bus. Foot kicked on something, a coke can. Walked ahead. Didn't even give it another thought. And the bus journey begins....(click here for more)

So sleepy. And the head slowly tilt forward, like a fishing rod with a fish on its hook. (i did get a "no fishing" sign in school once, asking me not to fall asleep in class!) Then there's this weird clank. Followed by a gurgle. and a clank. gurgle. clink. gurgle. clank. seems to be in my dream, until i felt a sensation in my foot on the clonk sound. It's the coke can i ignored earlier. And i'm still ignoring it. But it certainly didn't ignore me throughout the bus journey! there goes my sleep...

I was going to pick it up, but think it's dirty/sticky/contents may fall out. Why does no one else pick it up? Maybe for the same reasons i have. Or maybe, it's just none of my business. It's not my coke can. Why should I pick it up? It's not my bus. Why should I clean it? Should the driver be responsible? It's not his bus either. The conductor perhaps? Nope, not his either. Maybe the company should be responsible. But who's "the company"? It's just an entity made up of people working for an objective set by "the company". The company does own the bus though, but the company can't pick up the coke can. Only people can.

Will you pick up the can? Will you pick up anything on the street just so it's a cleaner street? Do you feel compelled to have a clean place to live in or do you feel degraded if you do some cleaning up?

I've chosen not to pick it up on this occasion. Thank goodness my stop is just round the next bend. And just as the bus was turning, the can rolled to me again. If only I can bend it like Beckham and kick the can out the side door. The people around probably won't appreciate the free taste of coke splattering all over them. And you think free stuff is good for you. Nothing is free. People are paid to pick up coke cans. Will you do it for free?

Categories:

• coke
• society
• think
• rant