Happy Father's Day

Sis is wondering what toy to buy for little b, coz she's trying to find a toy that's both "child-approve" and educational at the same time. Incidentally, Carmen got him a toy that I totally approve (2 thumbs up for being educational), but given a big "Nah..." by little b... You see, Carmen got him a "Human body" science set that comes with a real sethoscope and a human figurine with all the organs detachable for examination. Plus it comes with flash cards of question and answers about each body part, eg, "What creates the "lub-dub" sound that the heart makes?", "Apart from helping digestion, what is the other main function of the liver?, "How long does food stays in the stomach?", etc...I betcha didn't know those answers off hand, eh?

When I brought little b to choose his birthday gifts, did you know where I found him hanging around? The Bop-It shelf...!!! For those who have never seen a "Bop-It", it looks like this:

The Bob-It is meant for toddlers, to hone their motor skills, even though it is stated on the toy that it's for children aged 8 and above. Little b loves it because he has played with it before at a McDonald's party. And each time he plays with it at the toy store, I tell him that it’s kid’s stuff, to which he will cleverly retort, “I know, Mom, I just want to play here… not buy it!!!” He says it loudly, with all sincerity and innocence, and in front of other customers and shopkeepers… making it quite embarrassing because everyone will think that I taught the kid to play there and not buy....*^v^*

Talking about teaching, we went for a movie yesterday . And there was this kid, (umm, about 4-5 years old), sitting right behind little b. This little kid was a bit sick as we can hear him coughing away throughout the movie. And then, all of a sudden, he sneezed and coughed very hard (probably choked on his popcorn which he inserted through his nose)..... And with that sneeze, thousands and millions of his saliva droplets (probably with pheglm and do I need to mention germs) flew out from his sick mouth and nose, and conveniently dropping onto little b and myself!!!! It was so gross. It felt gross. Even thinking of it now makes me get goosebumps and my reflex automatically signals me to wipe my hair and arm again now.....

Bryan shouted “Yuks” and rub the back of his short hair in a vain attempt to clean himself of "cooties". My eyes took a quick dart to the back to catch a glimpse of the kid and his dad, and I noticed the parents just didn’t care and continued watching movie. So I took the cue from little b and fussed loudly, “Yer, so dirty! So much germs!!!” and started wiping little b and myself vigorously and frantically (on purpose). But the parents still didn’t care, especially the father.… just “buat tak tahu”. So I turned my head around to look at the parents, and the father pretended to be so engrossed in the movie that he did not to see me. I turned my body around to stare at the mother and I see her poking the husband to do something. I was aghast that the obnoxious father still didn’t care and continued watching the movie, without even caring to teach their son about hygiene and closing their mouth when coughing or sneezing. And one wonders how H1N1 spreads so fast in this country.

Only after I turn around to look at the mother again, did she manage a feeble “Sorry...” But still she didn’t reprimand the child and reinforce about hygiene. By that time, it was already too late, as the elapse time was already too long and the kid wouldn’t understand what he did wrong even if you scold him.

And best part is…the father still didn’t budge and was totally glued to the big screen, probably oogling at Mystic's figure. I guess he was just too engrossed in his Father’s day present (to watch X-men uninterrupted) to bother about anything else in the world. I wanted to shout at him “Happy Father’s day, I hope your son grows up to be a better father” …. But of course I didn’t…. coz I know better to care about other people's life.

Instead, I just turn around and told little b about the importance of hygiene and how yucky it would be if he was to sneeze like that kid… and just at that moment, a sneeze crept up into little b's nostrils.... and he covered it with 2 hands before he let go of a soft sneeze.

Bless you little b. Atta boy.... you made your Father's day happy just by being a good kid. :)

Happy Father's Day to all you dads out there.

Everybody gets a little lost sometimes...

Hmmm.... recently I got pleasant surprise call from my long time friend... A brilliant doctor, with a big heart. We were catching up and he was happy to learnt that i have move on to another company after being there for so long .... which led on to his curiousity to compare notes on how he is fairing among his peers. When I told him that I am earning only a little lesser than he does and he joked about how good it was to be in my position, where we dont need to spend so many years "studying" and still earn just as much...

Well, I reminded him that I don't get over time for all the hours I put in... (docs like him get to charge by the hours and earn quite a bit on overtime especially when on-calls).... And also reminded that he gave up being a specialist surgeon (the dough-generating profession) because chose life over money.... And also told him that we all are proud of him being a doctor because he's so self-less and is making the world a better place daily by just doing his daily job.

To which he agreed that he's one of the few good guys left out there... hahaha...

I hope I have somewhat helped to motivate him to reinforce that he has made the right decision to be a doctor all these while. Everybody gets a little lost or doubtful once in a while...on whether you have made a good decision, esp a decision that can impact your whole life or a good part of it..... and it's okay to discuss about it and find some supportive hands to nudge you back to your course of direction and push you along to reach your intented goal.

Just remember, that whether the decision is right or wrong, it was the best choice you made at the time of your decision. And whatever happens after that, is your effort to make that choice the best one that works for you. That itself will ensure the decision is always right... :)

Reflections

As I reflect on the past one year and my achievements, I find that I have indeed grown quite a plenty in such a short time. In just 6 months I manage to launch an innovative product to sell through the web, and I have 3 more products in the pipeline, with 1 already ready for launching. I have learnt to manage upwards, downwards, sideways, horizontally, vertically, diagonally,.... you name it, I've almost done it all. Perhaps I need 3D glasses to demonstrate the dimensions I've been thru ahahah... but I wont confuse you that much. To put it simpler, I have to manage up to the CEO level, and down to even the tea lady and guards, and have to deal with so many different types of customers, which spans from the highest level to the lowest level..., and also learnt to leverage on my peers strength and weaknesses... all these while taking care of and growing my own team. And then there's insource, outsource, hybrids of staff and equipment, thus rendering experience and decisions that can impact from just my notebook up to the nationwide WAN with our unique Active-Active data centre model. Of course, I have my shares of ups and downs, from lavish welcome lunches, appreciation dinners and team building karaoke session, to unwilling farewell buffets (our company culture dont encourage farewell celebrations so it's kept to a minimum). I also have the opportunity to tap into the purview of senior management and how they work especially on the running of a department, a division, a company and how an AGM is prepared and conducted. Also on how deals are negotiated, best practices incorporated into each process and how change management is implemented and controlled. While it may seem to many that we're a "one-leg kick" or master of all trades, but since most of us are handpicked from the best in the industry, many from multi national conglomerates, we came along with our best-practises and compliant processes to ensure the correct proceduce and processes are implemented and followed thru. We have seen the many pitfalls of processes not followed thru and how a simple breach or mistake of "convenience over procedure" can lead to huge financial lost and massive reworks and even lost of jobs. With our experience and background, we understand the meaning of "with great powers, comes great responsibilities". There's plenty of stories that I can tell, from just one year stint here, mainly because I clock in double the normal working hours. The culture have redefine the meaning of "working from home". I see a lot of "advertisement" in Facebook to encourage ppl to work from home and if you think "working from home" means less stress and less work, please re-examine your priorities and goals before you jump onto the bandwagon. People have asked me if all these are worthy since I am not paid a hell lot more for the time spent, but I tell them that it's not all about money when we work. It's about the passion to achieve your goal that will sustain your lifespan in the company. To have an inquisitive mind and the passion to learn to do things better and easier for all, to elevate others in order to elevate yourself, and to grow together with your company and career, .... that's some of the things that I have achieved or this company have given me the opportunity to achieve, which makes it all worthwile.... Of course, (in case my boss is reading this), having good (and higher) pay is definitely a bonus motivating factor... hahaha I hope with all my stories, I am able to inspire others, especially my family to be able to achieve a sense of passion in everything they do, to be able to sustain their morale to boost them to achieve thier goals.

Losing my touch

Hardly have the time to write these days.. .

And when I look back at my recent frail attempts to blog.....OMG!!! They sux big time...

It was like....I was just trying to write something... anything, just to write something... and it turns out to be a really really bad,crazy attempt. I am telling myself, "Don't ever do that again...."

I haven't been blogging for, like 1000 years... I am losing touch with flowery words and catchy phrases and witty one liners... Can't think of any... and bummer, it's already bed time.... I am losing touch... England is leaving me... :*(

Good nite...

:(

Finally realize that I cannot depend on you too. But it is just too late...

:(

:(

Thank you....Amen...

Thank you for giving me the confidence and the courage to stand up for my team, for my rights, and for my project.

I didnt know I can defend my team as well as I did today if not for your support.

Even though you didnt say anything, your consistent confidence and moral support to me has given me the courage to stand up in front of more than 20 people today to present my case and try to get the buy in from all. Your silent protection have helped boost my courage and confidence which pushed me beyond any limits and have taken me to greater heights that I can ever imagine. Something that I have only thought I could, but never realised until today.

I dont think I will ever have the courage to do all these if not for the chance you have given me and your ability to let go and let me lead, explore and grow. I know I still have a long way to go and a lot to learn.... but these are the challenges which I have to face and with every obstacles that I resolve, brings me to a higher level of confidence, comfort and experience.

Thank you for seeing the potential in me and helping me realised my strengths and improve my weaknesses....

Thank you... Amen....

Same same

It's the same... always had been...

I am back...

Excerpt from batman:

Alfred Pennyworth: Why do we fall sir? So we might learn to pick ourselves up
Bruce Wayne: You still haven't given up on me?
Alfred Pennyworth: Never


Thank you for not giving up hope on me. I will bounce back... With leaps and bounds.. *all smiles*

When are you coming back ? Miss you la..

What happened to the happy go lucky cheerful girl I once knew?
Where is your smiles and your contagious laughter?
Where are those happy carefree days?
Where are the dreams and the hot summer nights and rainbow filled days?

When are you coming back ?

I miss you...

Moving on....

And Moving forward...

New Challenge - Gen Y

How do you motivate a staff who:

1) would like to be spoon fed
2) is a gen-Y and thinks that you owe them a living even though they have no business experience or technical background
3) wants to have high remuneration package and yet do not want to put in effort to earn their worth.
4) do not want to learn things from end-to-end but would rather take the easy way out and ask if there's a short cut - (*without business knowledge or technical expertise, it's very difficult to bluff your way through la, dear... Even amateurs like me can see right through your shenanigans.)
5) demands to work on a 9-5 basis only but yet do not want to be viewed as merely a clerical. (want to be regarded as professional it seems)
6) thinks that you are too restrictive when you do not allow access to Facebook, MSN chats and webmail services. (Actually, I am very liberal. If you can justify your need for these services in relations to your job efficiency and effectiveness improvement, by all means, please apply and I shall approve accordingly).

It's pretty worrying to see that in this competitive world, where we not only need to compete with peers but also machines, there are still people out there who thinks that they do not need to work hard to prove their worth.

While I know that if you have such staff, you also would like to slap her to wake her up, we cannot do that. We have to handle the case professionally.

First of all, we would need to ensure she understands her job scope or job description. It is important to discuss the job expectations with your staff in relations to the KPI to ensure she does not lose focus in her job.

Also, ensure she understands her career path on why she needs to learn from end-to-end. (I have already tried this but beware that a sly and lazy person will try to wriggle themselves out of every hard work where necessary. Thus it's important to put in the right amounts of control checks like milestones or checkpoints).

Engage her in her responsibilities in explaining to her that the importance of on the job training and the importance of learning end to end. Every staff have to know that they are part of the complex wheels that turns the company. Every staff is a cog in the company's wheels and as they fit, mesh together and work with other cogs, they can generate enormous power to turn the wheels of the giant machine called company. Let them understand the goals of the company, the division, the section, the team, down to the level of individual team members. All of the goals and objectives must be in line with each other and each supporting its own and the higher level.

The real challenge is to instill the basic value and underlining self motivation into the individual. They must understand that despite how much potential they have in them, it doesn't count if they are not willing to do the difficult, mundane and repetitive daily tasks that are essential to success. Yes, it's difficult to instill humility in an individual, but that's the challenge we have to face today with the gen-Y.

The above 3 things are important factors to ensure you are covered in the old management style perpective especially if your HR is still of the baby boomers generation. One thing we need to understand about the gen-Y is that they have a higher comfort level whereby most graduates nowadays move back to stay with their parents and don't really have the urgency to carve a career path and working is not a survival need, affording them the luxury to choose a job that they truly enjoy. So motivating them with only money is not enough.

They want to have fun at work and if it's fun, money and time spent at the office is not really a problem. Gen-Ys enjoy challenges, are face paced and want to learn new stuffs all the time. So to motivate them, we have to make our work environment fun and a place to hang out, i.e. Google makes its office environment so comfortable that you can literally stay there without going home.

These are some basic traits of gen-Y so that you can identify whether the staff is just plain lazy or the complains are the true manifestation of a disguntled gen-Y.

Good luck and let's have some fun in managing the gen-Y. hahaha.

~ viewed from the eyes of a hybrid of gen-X and gen-Y.

Moodless in the cradle

Don't know why ... Just feel the absence of any mood ... Thus mood less.. haha... Moodless is not even a word... But I don't know how to describe the feeling of an absence of any feeling... Not moody because that will mean I am unhappy with something .. But no, I m not unhappy .., just normal I guess ... Hahaha.... Well, feels good to be normal instead of being constantly ecstatic all the time (aka crazy!) ... Hahaha ... Have a nice day 

Apple of my "i"

Can't help but blog about iPhone again. Apple makes me fall in love over and over again. And it's a great feeling.....I remember professing my love shamelessly towards the imac a couple of years back and now I am in love with the mini version of the powerful machine. Just cant help it... they are so sleek and suave and smooth .... Just can't resist the apple of my "i"... just have to be with it, touch it at every opportunity that I have.

Excuse me.. but I have to go entertain my iPhone.... (he entertains me, i entertain back... that's how reciprocrative our relationship is... which is why it's so fulfilling and so heavenly... Steve Jobs really creates miracles... the more we love our iPhones, the more it will love us back and keep us happy... :)

Can't contain my feelings any longer.... "I love you, you are the apple of my i... :) Muaks..."

Best Day Of My Life

Thanks for making today one of the best days of my life.... *winks*.... It feels like heaven on earth...I shall remember it forever and ever.... tattooed in my heart ... :)

Me and my new love

Welcome to the world of buying accessories, accessories and more accessories.. .

Let's start with a screen protector - Has to be fingerprintless type and has security features.

Then a casing to protect the sides from scratches
Then a pouch or sleeve to ensure total protection when you put in your pockets or bags (in case your car keys scratches the smooth exterior)
Then another pouch to suit another occassion (you cannot wear the same shirt everyday right?)
...Then an extra charger for home, the other for office (too cumbersome to bring adapter here and there...)
Then an extra sync cable for times when you are mobile
Then a car charger just in case you run out of battery
Then a aux cable to connect to your car audio system to play music from your iphone in your car
Then a mobile charger (extra juice) to ensure you have enough battery on the go.

The above are only the absolute necessary...the other luxuries can go on like a docking system for your house audio video system, a wifi sync system for downloading songs, changing your car audio system to enable fittings of iphone into the car if your current system is not "iphone ready" etc... and the list goes on until you finally need to buy a new BMW to match your iphone.. :)

Better get started soon... I am already ahead of you a few steps towards getting my BMW... ahahhaha

Blogging from IPhone!

OMG! How cool is technology? Wayyyyyy cool! I am very impressed with this small powerful piece of gadget called iPhone! It's simply AMAZING! I can truly call myself a mobile user now. I am writing this from my iPhone. And the best part is, the response time is pretty fast! So, moving forward, I can write down my ideas immediately in blogspot instead of scribbling notes everywhere.

I guess this really is a worthwhile investment. It can bring a lot of joy to online addicts hahaha

Alright, keeping it short and simple as I can't wait to post my first blog with my iPhone !

•guess I mentioned the word iPhone many times in this article. Can't help it.... Think I am in love....

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri, Maaf Zahir dan Batin

Got this message in a forwarded email which a certain JackDS forwarded to a yahoogroup. I don't know him, and also don't know the original writer for this poem, thus I don't know who the credit should goes to. However, I think it's very appropriate for this Hari Raya. Just want to take the opportunity to wish all my friends a Happy Hari Raya and Maaf, Zahir dan Batin.

Ampun dan maaf andainya saya ini...

Terkasar bahasa dalam bicara

Tersilap bicara semasa bersama

Termarah yang tak kena tempatnya

Tertanya tak tentu hala ..

Tersasul yang tak sengaja

Terpukul kat mana-mana

Terpekik kuat di telinga

Terhantuk terketuk di kepala

Terpinjam terambil harta & benda

Termoody tak semena-mena

Terumpat bila ada cerita,

Teremail benda yang tak sepatutnya awak terima

Termacam-macam yang kena-mengena..,,

Di hari yang mulia sepuluh jari ku hulurkan semua,

Memohon kemaafan atas segala dosa yang ada

Kerana saya masih bernama manusia

Pastinya tak lepas membuat dosa

Semoga dimaafkan,

Salam Aidil Fitri Maaf Zahir & Batin

The Power of English

English is a wonderful language... you can upset people unknowingly or scold some people but yet they feel happy about it ... it all boils down to the puns, or idioms that you use to express yourself...

No brainer by definition, means...."Something so simple or easy as to require no thought" .... When I said that a report is a no brainer (meaning to say it's a good report that does not require further thought to decipher), a colleague from another department went crying thinking that I scolded her that she has no brains... Hahaha.. A compliment to the report turned sour...

And then, when I scolded someone Smart Alec, that person was HAPPY, thinking that I complimented him for being SMART... hahaha...

Such are the oxy morons of English... And just to be clear, I am not implying that anyone is a "moron"... An oxymoron is a figure of speech that combines normally-contradictory terms (2 words with opposite meanings forming a meaningful word), such as pretty ugly, or deafening silence.

So, you can see, it is useful that you master English... it can be a very powerful communication tool indeed.

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If a small thing has the power to make you angry, does that not indicate something about your size? ~Sydney J. Harris