notes

u know those little notes that u see on facebook. the ones that seem to sort of "replace" blogs nowadays. well, just happened to stumble across one post that sort of provoked.

from the exterior, ppl seem to be who they portray themselves to be. u see wat u wanna see. u see wat they project for you to see. delve deeper into their minds and you may not like wat you see.

sometimes we have a preset of how a person should be/ is. but when u happen to look beyond the exterior, it can be surprising wat can be found.

ppl worse than who they are. ppl better than wat they can be. ppl who surprise you. shock you. disgust you?

sometimes staying as acquaintances or even observers may be better?

deep ramblings nurture deeper feedbacks.

autocracy

autocracy. are you a victim of it? or are u a slave to it? why do some people like to deal out lashings of dictatorship? is it worse if they're actually your friends? when do you draw the line at friendship and go into the work zone? do you harden your heart at wat your mind might be thinking? is it for the better good to order people around even though your gut tells you not to?

how is respect earned? through hard work and perseverance. by gaining it. it is a long and arduous road to take in the path to being respected. however, to lose it all, it can happen in just a blink of an eye. has respect been lost for that authoritative figure? to think so highly and now to be let down in just a few words. it is sad. is it all gone yet?

so wat do you do when you are autocratised (if there's such a word). to be a victim of autocracy. do you just nod your head silently and accept? do u stand up for what you feel is right and fight till the end? people are different. people respond differently. while "other" people are even sneakier and take the path less trodden. using names to throw at you. using connections to get to their means. selfish u think? you may be right.

not thinking of others is selfish. putting other people in hot soup while getting yourself out of it and not giving a damn in the process is selfish. not compromising is selfish. not putting others in front of you (for at least once in your life) is selfish.

In every interaction there is a balance of give and take. Of offering and receiving. To just take take take all the time is selfish. To think of yourself yourself yourself is selfish. Done once it may be acceptable. Twice perhaps tolerable. Thrice and its already pushing it. But if it's repeated time and time again, it's just like lowering the volume of a pressure cooker. by doing that, you increase the pressure by the decreasing volume. It gets all wobbly and unstable. let's out and angry hiss and puffs. and at the breaking point it will all explode. BOOM! in your face. in your hair. on your shirt. but when will that day come it's unknown. when will it happen, well who knows? Just hoping that it will never come? cos when it does, it's gonna be real ugly.

so is tolerance the order of the day? how long can one stand around and just accept? frustration. disappointment. anger.

so suck it up. stick it out. hang in there.

and go grab a stress ball.

ego

If I were to ask you: What one thing in the world is the most inflatable? What would you answer? A tyre? A balloon? A ball? Nah. For me it would be the human ego. Ever heard of something without any limit to its inflation? The ego would be the priamry culprit. So highly inflatable that it would make any hot air balloon's cover its face in shame.

Now this so called "disease" is not limited to man only (although usually it is). Found out that even women have this problem of being egomaniacal. Up to the extent of throwing caution to the wind and jeopardising lives in the process. Who cares about life and death? Who cares if the words "critical" and "needing immediate attention" are in the same line? At the end of the day it is the human ego that needs to be soothed. The human ego that needs the most attention. And the human ego that must not be scarred.

I guess as you grow older, this mysterious thing called ego gets larger and larger. Would it be akin to a tumour that gradually sucks all the life out of you? Drawing all the required "nutrients" to ensure its survival? Ensnaring other so-called innocent cells in the process of its metastases? Perhaps... perhaps...

If the human ego is bruised, what would its balm be? An apology? No matter how insincere it is? But have you ever stopped to think about the opposite party? To consider things from their point of view before throwing accusations and hurling your unhappiness unbridledly in a high-pitched voice? Perhaps not. Perhaps not.

Humans nowadays lack another "e" word. And that is empathy. Not many people walking around have this attribute. Ok, some do. But the amount that is present is just too minute to make this world a better place.

Then again, it takes all sorts of people to make up this world. Because without them won't this blue planet that we live in be just too mundane? But mundane is good. Occasionally.

So oh well. If an apology is warranted, no matter how begrudgingly it is said, it will be wrapped in utmost sincerity. As much sincerity as one is able to muster. So saccharine sweet that just by listening to it you would be getting diabetes. One must learn to eat humble pie once in a while. No matter how bad it might taste.

Sigh... It's just that some people, just because they are more senior and have more experience, think that the world belongs to them. The world is "their" oyster. "All hail the oyster ruler! Bow down or be punished!"

The only weapon against this animosity. Kindness. Kill them with kindness someone once said. Tons and tons of positiveness. Huge loads of optimism. Large amounts of good-naturedness. Stand back and be prepared to watch the ego crumble. Crumble. Crumble. Crumble. Bit by bit it may seem. Slowly and surely it might be. But at the end of the day, just to get a little dent in their wall of ego would be a joyous victory.

So go ahead. Spread a little kindness to the world. Show a little joyfulness. Share a little happiness. And it would make these bleak times of human morale more tolerable to live in.

Cheers:)

Happy New Year!

wow... 2009. that was fast! wat happened to 2008? I truly truly loved that year:) wat with convocation, trip to cambodia and thailand, switchfoot concert, starting work and my first run, it was truly a memorable year.

the mega sale (year end one) has come and gone (today's the last day). did manage to get some stuff for meself and the family:) but some items were still out of reach (budget-wise).

lau's gonna leave in about a month's time. sad sad sad. really gonna miss her and all the fun we had hanging out with her and the bunch of VOs. she's the makan expert of the group and not to forget fitness freak too:)

work has been crazy for the past month or so. the amount of cases being seen and warded has been exponential in my opinion. wat's with the sudden increase of cases man! but work's work and for the animals we gotta give them the best that we can:)

and ooh ooh, just found out that Jason Mraz is gonna be coming down to KL:) but on a terrible terrible Wed pulak. aiyo... oh well, I got hooked on the Remedy and absolutely loved You and I Both. Here's hoping that the ticket won't be too pricey and that I'll be able to find gang to go:P

Cheers everyone and have a great 2009!:D

Malakoff 12 km run

ever since the advent of facebook, it has seriously taken a toll on my blogging. it's so much easier to just upload some pics and write some stuff under the pictures. then they're for all your frens to see. pretty nifty and convenient.

so yeah. my colleagues managed to convince me to join this 12 km run at TTDI last Sunday. well, if they could walk for 12 hrs non stop for 67 km, run a bridge marathon that was 25 km, join a biathlon that had them swimming for 800 m and continued with a 7 km run, why couldn't I do it too!

so got up at 4am that morning. grabbed my new Mizuno Wave shoes (so so comfy and excellent for running) and headed to our meeting point. Lau was late cos she woke up late heheh, but then we were off to TTDI. ate one powerbar (banana flavour - don't like it).

the whole thing was supposed to start at 7am for the 12 km runners. but dunno why we were only flagged off at 7.15am. so can u imagine the anticipation and waiting?! by the time the whistle was blown, I was like "just get it over with!".

the run went along much better than I anticipated as there were lots of hillwork (going up and down). but actually making it in 1hr 11min was definitely an achievement for me:))) thanks also to my chocolate powergel for the added boost during the run (although it was all thick and sweet and difficult to swallow:P)

at the end of it all, it was really satisfying to cross the finish line, hear that "beep" as they took the time and getting the finisher medal. My main goal for that day was to actually finish the race (as it was my first one) and the finisher medal was an added bonus:)

Really happy too that my fren's all got thru within time and managed to get medals too:)

Lau said that after this, it would either be I won't join anything like this anymroe or I'll be hooked. I'm still thinking which category I fall under. heheh...

VOs

life at work is more bearable when you have ppl you can go crazy with:DDD


Camp 5 rock climbing!



lunch at Carl's Jr






dessert at Chillis:D



oh, we're a decadent bunch (in food terms!)



erni's cats



Beckham!!! so fat!!!



no pictures pls



Putrajaya gardens



ain't we a healthy lot?


















sze min - my willing model:D



Putrajaya bridge. finally get to visit it!:D



gorgeous architecture















super terror... in the car also can pose...



Putrajaya mosque






lovely sunset. there were tons of ppl with their slrs (envy!) taking pics at this time.






till our next outing!:D

working life...

convocation was last week. it's been a crazy past 4 months. starting work, meeting new ppl, handling my own cases, dealing with clients, getting paid (the best part:D).

working life has its up and downs. I dearly miss all my coursemates especially those that I hung out a lot with. the makans, the group studies, the late nights, the gossips:)

but I guess life must go on and another chapter in life begins. hope that everything that happens will happen as plan:D

Cheers my dear coursemates. till our paths cross again.

up up up 2

petrol price hike...

great.
just great.