I appreciate my boss for buying us all pizza as we worked through the late evening yesterday.

Auditors should have bought toto and 4Ds.
Of all forms, they had to pick up THAT ONE that had a missing page! Someone slipped. But as usual, everyone will kena. We do not know who, except that something's got to give - one way or another.

Looking back, everyone slipped big time. Probably, everyone will have a couple of turns at the Wailing Wall.

I wish JCI isn't meant for pointing fingers or for shaking heads. I somehow feel many (if not most) of the pains and fright have been a little over-dramatic and probably self-inflicted. Perhaps that's the price we have to pay for wanting to be the top. In the end, I think if we receive the award, everyone deserves it. But I do wish that we do not accuse people of having slipped and still in the end, congratulate him/her for "everything".

We were probably all doing things we have thought to be 'right" until the standards and requirements were updated. Sometimes, a simple answer might have been better than trying to correct history at the last minute. Sometimes, there isn't only ONE right way to do things. There may be BEST PRACTICES, but certainly we can't straightaway treat anything that is different as being "wrong". They have been done that particular way still with the best intentions. Altho different from how you would opine, but they may not be as terrible as you make it sound to be.

I heard "Come on lah, how you could do things like this?!" And there have also been so many "You should haves ... " and "How could yous ... ".

"I had spent much of my waking hours working out how things could be run. Sometimes I wonder why, just a few months ago, I had thought everything was in place. I guessed people don't like to read emails and documents which I had painstakingly phrased and typed so that they could all understand. I stayed back and spent whole evenings just to try envision how certain workflows should run .... typed out the process and asked for opinions. As usual, nobody answered, except 1. In the end, everyone acted as if all the game rules came from me!"

"Hey, did you come up with the program?!" "Who made it run this way? This is stupid lah!!!" "Who gave you the right to ... ?" "Why you all do things like that???" "Why you never checked ?"

Still, I really wish I had stuck to fixing broken chairs and tidying up cables under the office tables. Life would have been so much simpler. I probably could have more fun during my precious remaining days on earth. Or just let me do simple errands, so that I could at least focus on my yoga, music and movies that I've been missing ..... I need to break away from this unnecessary game driving people nuts. Trying to make sure things are done right isn't a hard thing actually, except when you are dealing with others who believe everyone should contribute but there is only one - ONE - right way to do things. Strange, what had been right before, suddenly became the stupidest thing I have done.

Anyway, I should be learning to bake next. By a certain time, I would have been able to cook, bake, and make all sorts of yogurt shakes !!! Not much time left for me actually. Maybe that explains my sleepless nights and while in the day, I feel like a zombie. And my friends are probably looking towards clearing their annual leaves, go holiday, or learning a modality, or expecting a promotion.

This afternoon, while I was rushing through an explanation for a complaint letter, someone "K" came and talked to me. She is going to embark on another career path, and I really feel happy for her. She is good, and smart. She doesn't need to drive through more blind alleys and unmarked humps. I think we are in a hazardous occupation. Come JCI, having best practices listed in the Hall of Excellence is good, but all the more, having just ONE RIGHT WAY tends to keep us all too rooted to only one mindset. Whether that mindset is right or not, probably depends on one feels about the next JCI.

JCI is finally here to torture everyone.
Come to think of it, it happens for good. Good to recall we are all human after all.

Better not to rely on those who are not counting on themselves to be self-reliant. Better don't waste your time.

Hope

"Even in the worst forest fire there is usually some form of life left that will help to bring life out of the ashes. "

There was this policeman. One day he shot dead a young man by mistake. For some reasons, he was not fully responsible for his death but he resigned from the force anyway. However, he felt so full of guilt that he felt he needed to find out what happened to the dead man's family. To his horror, he found that the dead man had left behind a younger sister who was still schooling at that time. Even before meeting her, his informers have already given him some info regarding the sister and how she had been coping without her only sibling. this man felt sorry for having killed her brother, and so decided he had to be close to that girl and be her guardian angel, just as much as her brother had been to her before he was killed.

This younger sister was brought into the home of an aunt who made her work at her cafe after coming back from school. There had to be some reasons why the relatives did not seem comfortable. She really hated the murderer and had been set on trying to find out how her brother was killed in what she had thought to be an accident. Yet, although it had been finally decided as an accident, the sister had refused to forgive the man who killed her brother.

But little did she know that her brother too, had actually joined the gang to rob the bank. He was new but becos he had needed more money, his bad friends pressurised him into joining them. Unfortunately, the attempt was foiled and within minutes of his first encounter with the police, the brother was shot while trying to help his friend.

Although the hammer is a great tool, it cannot be used in every situation.

Sometimes, you would have walked too far into the thick before you realise your blade is blunt or discover that you have wasted precious time.

Therefore, it is always good to pause a moment before embarking on any pre-set plan of actions.

Another quote from Elena (thank you)

"Any fool can make things bigger,

more complex, and more violent.

It takes a touch of genius - and a lot of courage –

to move in the opposite direction."


~ Albert Einstein

Taal

home decor

Found this huge fish tank on display at a fish shop.

Imagine a really huge one down the side of the hall!!

This reminds me of my trip to the Mekong recently.
I hope our home painting should be of padi fields, neighbour kids, birds and buffaloes and a light shower ... wouldn't it be nice?
hmm.. Wonder if they have such a painting.


Think it will be cooling too.

My dream home

Nice or not? Wish this were my home. There will a thin "ultraviolet" line running along the edges ... and maybe up the stairs also.

Every evening, for a few hours when the lights are dimmer, the place will look nice also.

Satay recipe

I'm not going to guarantee this will work for your tastebuds.


Ingredients for meat (meat not included)

a. Serai + Lengkuas => normal blend

b. Jintan Halus and kasar + ketumbah => dry blend

c. sugar

d. salt

Marinate

Add 3 tblspn of (a) and (b) each.

Add 8 tblspn of (c)

1 tspn (d)

Mix well and marinate. leave for 7 hrs

Ingredients for sauce

a. as for (a)

b. fried peanuts = > coarse blend

c Chilli powder

d. oil

e. salt

f. ajinomoto (optional)

g. sugar

Method

1. 2 tblsp of (a) + 1 small bowl of (b) + 1tspn of chilli powder + 1 tblspn cooking oil + 3/4 bowl of water + 1 tspn of Salt + 5 tblspn of sugar + a pinch of ajinomoto (optional)

2. Stir well

3. Bring to boil in slow fire

4. stir until cooked

5. Can add a little pineapple (grazed + grounded)

Yarn Yard

My company is going to be sucked into the JCI whirlpool soon. In the new economy, companies splurge millions and pay some others who could certify them as the #1.
Since there can't be so many #1s in this world, there's another very clever invention to justify even more millions into it:- BEST PRACTICE.

Can't be helped now. It's a whirlpool. Everyone is paying everyone else and it spirals upwards. Rising costs explains more intensified competitions, which in turn fuels this need to rise to the top and gain more visibility. In such an economy, millions are justified for any service that can help companies move up the next rung. This where tertiary industries come in.

It's either a cyclone which gets one sucked up, or a whirlpool which goes the other way. Either into greater debts (borrowings), or greater revenue. These companies probably don't care a dime where the money comes from. In the end, it's always the last layer of ordinary folks down the "food chain" that gets to pay up. There is no revenue for these folks. Only needs that are met. But nowadays, beyond basic needs, these folks have been educated they need better services, and better qualities of things they probably would need only for a short moment. If you don't know what I mean, just look at the TV monitors and carpeted flooring in the hospitals.

I really wish life could be simpler. We have since walked so far from that garden, populated the earth and desecrated all that is in it. We have done the abominable, and raise killers, thieves and cheats. We have ransacked from the earth more than we can consume, from earth to food; from food to trash and from trash to earth. Until we start having to recycle trash. Nowadays, there are already what seems to be good trash and maybe some places, some people have already started eating trash. As for the industries that made tons of money helping others make money, they sometimes need to recycle some of their ex-products & services, just so much like those in the fashion industries. You can recognise a bell-bottom or a sarong whatever the era. Just that in diffierent countries, they name it differently. Someone could have first brought it out from a 3rd-world country and sold it for more in another country just by sticking a few alphabets onto it. This "value-addedness" in a literate economy costs much less if you live in another country.

Time-Out

My recent trip to the Mekong Delta.

Reminds me of the old house I used to live in (Charlton Lane).
It's no longer there of course. But during those days, there were also rambutans, franjipanies (?spellos), bananas, Jackfruits and other trees.

I really miss the care-free days. I notice that children seem to be less concerned about their appearances, mosquitoe-bites, or however filthy the pet is. This is a good thing.

Nowadays, or when we become adults, we become more sensitive about the clothes we wear at work, the cosmetics, the "professional image" we project ("FACIE"), the way we talk and the amount of "environmental noises" that we encounter at our workplaces.

I really hate dealing with coffee-shop politicians. No matter how many layers of lead they surround themselves with. Or even if they are currently not near my CO2. The buzzing in the air can be irksome sometimes and it doesn't matter whether it is coming at you or not. People who tell you that or think this is a small thing obviously has never been bitten by a mosquito.

Smart-alecs and people who, for some reasons, believe they should be better than others, belong together as far as I am concerned. I classify them in the same genus as mossies becos if you are not careful, and by the time you get the itch, its virus has already gotten you into your bloodstream.

Anyway, this is not about these people and thank God, I don't get to encounter these lately. I just want this blog to be about how I wish to live life:- to the fullest and hopefully as little mossie bites as possible. I wish to be like these children, who seemed not to be the least bothered.

Before my cousin and I went there, we had covered ourselves with longs on top of a layer of repellent. tsk. tsk. But I see that the children playing with us were having fun more completely.

How nice to run around barefooted also. It seems we will do that for foot reflexology sake only.

The dirt didn't bother them.

The mossies also did not bother them.

Must really learn to be like them.

Guess what it means

Not sure if anyone understands what this babbling is all about. In the first place, you have chosen to read. Now that you have finished reading, you have to choose your belief.


The human spirit is haughty. If he continues to walk, he will surely trip and fall.

Personal Growth

Manage Your Time More Effectively

How often do you take on more than you can possibly handle? Unfortunately,

this seems to be the "norm" in our world today. Attempting to do more

tasks than you have the time or ability to handle can lead to missed

deadlines, less-polished or sloppy work, and missed opportunities.



Missed deadlines – When you take on more than you can handle, you

will miss deadlines on a regular basis. Missed deadlines and

less-polished or sloppy work can adversely affect your service image

with your clients and prospects. They will lose faith in your

ability to deliver the level of service and communication they

require.



Missed opportunities – When you live your life always on overload, it

doesn't allow you to take advantage of opportunities that arise in

life and business. You might be given the opportunity to meet and/or

network with someone important in your business – but if your

schedule has no "give" to it, you could miss out! When scheduling

your day, allow some extra time for each appointment. If you don't

need the extra time with that client/prospect, it becomes bonus time

you can use to brainstorm possible new ideas!



We are all given only so much time each day – be sure you are investing

yours wisely!

by Elena Goh

Collected Quotes

"Ability is what you're capable of,
Motivation determines what you do,
Attitude determines how well you do it."

~ Lou Holtz

We are what we repeatedly do.
Excellence,
then, is not an act, but a habit."
~ Aristotle

Judge a man by his questions
rather than by his answers."

~ Voltaire, French Philosopher and Writer

Learn to "read the skies".

Imagine you are setting off on a journey where you will need to strike out

on your own, and you must decide what you would need to bring onboard your

little boat.

It is likewise with business-planning. We do not just plan how to get to

the desired destination. We still have to plan for bad weather and how we

will tide through turbulent seas.

Other than a good reliable map, we will need a good compass also. The

weather frequently changes. The successful business is one that is

well-prepared for changes.

Anthony Robbins

"Your life changes the moment you make
a new, congruent, and committed decision."
~ Anthony Robbins

A Tale of 2 Cities

"There are 2 types of people who lived on earth. One lived in the forgotten city up in the mountains while the other lived deep down in the valleys beneathe.

Those who lived in the higher planes had work to do and they worked like mad.
The other type were those who stopped behaving like they badly needed a living or they would have to behave like mad and so they just ended up like "live & let live". Which in fact, meant that they were plain existing, not living.

These two groups of people really resented each other to the core. It probably came from so far back in time that now one could only guess how it all began.

As I have said, the mad ones lived high up on the mountains. They had slowly made their progress over time. Once the human-kinds were able to control their environments, they moved towards the moutains. It had been a long and ardous journey for early mankind. But soon, they finally conquered their external environments and inhabited the highlands, where the grasses were richer, air fresher, water cleaner and food in greater abundance.

However, soon these too began to dwindle as they improved economically and became heavily industrialised. They had learnt to synthesise their own food, which are so far advanced than the primary produce of the land. However, these by-products wasted the environments they lived in. There came a time when they realised their bodies had to work very hard at keeping up with the pace of life. Even the industrialised air would need fuel to clean them up before they could breathe effortlessly. To keep to their pace of life, they had to "work like mad". Soon after, the predictable happened. Those who finally succumbed to their fatique began their descend to the earth below. Others just obeyed the laws of gravity and tumbled downhill."

"Interesting tho, those who remained on the mountains, felt a certain disregard for those inhabitants below. Soon the age-gaps became apparent. Those who made their descend were mostly older than those energetic ones living the high-life on top."

Old quotes from a friend

Some quotes (contributions from a friend)

We think we see the world as it is, when in fact we see the world as we are.

When you're thirsty, it's too late to think about digging a well.

We shouldn't get too wrapped up in one aspect of life. If we do, we close ourselves off to new experiences.

To keep the lamp burning, we have to keep putting oil in it.

They cannot take away our respect if we do not give it to them.

Each of us makes his own weather, determines the colour of the skies in the emotional universe which he inhabits.

See every problem as an opportunity to exercise creative creative energy.

Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day; teach him to fish, you feed him for a lifetime.

It doesn't really matter how fast you're going if you're heading in a the wrong direction.

Covetousness

Covetousness is a very bad thing we should guard ourselves against. In this world, we can see the impacts when people covet other people's lifestyles, earthly possessions, positions on the corporate ladder, and also sometimes, on the menu too, people's girlfriends or wives. Covetousness, Lust, Greed .. whatever. Guard against all these.

Robert Kiyosaki and Steven Covey had both given the same advice in one respect: that one of our primary goals in life is first, to Mind Our Own Business(es). You see, covetousness is also a main cause of most office politics.

The need for power, fame, or recognition. If the need is too strong, and the end justifies the means, surely wickedness of the heart will arise. Cain did that to his brother, Abel, because he was coveting the favour Abel had received from God.

I am sure there are a few "Cains" within our department. We just have to watch out for their ploys and their liberties with which they took advantage of your trust in their advices. Covetousness is not just problem which bad politicians have. We are also vulnerable to commit the same sin. Therefore, we must understand this bug lurking within our psychological make up so that we can also guard ourselves against being unwitting participants to political games that people play in the office.

Put in another way, the bible says that one should be shrewd unto evil so that one can still choose to remain right with God and act wisely.

Mica 6:8 says:
"He has shown thee, O Man, what is good and does the Lord requires of you: But to do justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly in the Lord."