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Tuesday, November 02, 2004
Random thought of the day I look at kids nowadays and realise how fortunate they are. They get to go on trips with their mommies and daddies and of course, have a whale of a time. Cool. But I suppose, life has been fair so far. I have had my share of overseas education, my character moulding years away from home, my career building months at the law firm (which taught me to be smart and strong) and of course, now... as you progress further down the line, your responsibilities become heavier and you become more stressed. But you can only grow stronger. I only have to look back at my secondary school years away from home and thats enough to prove it. I was studying in Ipoh and my piano teacher was a Penangite. Every weekend I had to take the express bus from Ipoh to Butterworth (because it was cheaper), then take a ferry (which costs 60 cents) from Butterworth to Penang and then take another bus to my piano teacher's house. Immediately upon arrival I would begin my piano lessons on the spot. For 2 hours. I must thank my teacher who was very very kind to accommodate me. And I would spend the night at her house, usually in her living room. And the school I was studying at, was a boarding school. I had to endure the hostel warden's fierce interrogations every week whenever I asked for his permission to go to Penang. For some reason... he always used to think that I was up to something fishy... hmmmm. And the only instrument that I could use in school to practice, was a clavinova which basically does not make any difference in volume whether you hit the keys hard or soft. So I used my imagination. I imagined I was playing the songs as I would in my piano teacher's house. That the keyboard was a "wonder" to play and that the sounds that came out were wonderful. To maximise the effect I memorised my music scores. And the tutoring carried on for one and a half years up to examination time. I took my exams and I passed with merit. I was officially a pianoforte diploma holder. At that time, it seemed a normal thing to do (to get my diploma under such circumstances). In retrospect, I wonder how I made it through without thinking of giving up. Not even once. I suppose its the passion for music that kept me going. Which is why, although I did not take any more practical examinations after that, I kept reminding myself that I had to maintain my practical standard... I have to. After all I did come a long way. ;) I want to thank my mom for supporting me all the way. And I want to thank my piano teacher who has been brilliant and supportive. And to my best friend who let me practice at her house during the last few weeks prior to my piano exam. And all this happened back in 1997-1998. It took me nearly 6 years to put it down in writing. To convince myself that this is something worth writing down. Ahhh... I feel relieved. And I feel stronger now. :) Saturday, October 30, 2004
Buy Now and Pay Later-Now Who's Idea was it? I am sure everybody knows of our local favourite furniture and electrical appliance store- Courts Mammoths. If you read their brochures or come across their adverts, you would be amazed at the flexibility of their payment schemes. "Pay nothing until 2005", "Only RM7.95 per week" and the all too familiar "TANPA CENGKERAM" are to mention but a few. Any average consumer would be attracted by such flexible payment schemes and go out of their budget to purchase the furniture of their dreams. But did you read the small print? As low as the monthly, or even weekly instalments may be, you would be paying a hefty amount in interest, which you would not realise because of the small amount that you are paying off. Is it not very frustrating when everything you want has to be paid by way of instalments? I remember a scene in the Singaporean movie "Money No Enough" where the wife of one of the heroes in the movie made a statement "Besides my daughter and myself, everything in this house is paid by instalments." Sounds familiar? Technically, when you buy something on instalment, the goods are not yours until it is fully paid up for. This is the "hire purchase" principle (which is commonly used in vehicle transactions), where you "loan" the goods from the owner and then pay a fixed amount of "rental" to have right of use over the goods. You will have an option to purchase the goods at the end of the loan term. Therefore, nothing is yours until you pay it off, by instalment, by credit card, by direct debit, etc. etc... Do not become a slave of money-let your money work for you. Firstly, acknowledge that you are making X amount per month and you have to save Y amount for your savings. Stick to your budget and set aside some money for insurance, etc. You will say: Who are you kidding? Of course we tend to overspend, with so many attractive deals out there and stuff. I admit. Its not easy. Sometimes you look around and you want to kick yourself in your guts for being so "stingy" about money. But there is only so much that you make in a month. Either you take proactive approaches to do part-time work or you accept the way it is and spend your money wisely. Look around at rich people... How do you think they became so rich? They saved every single penny. Trust me. There's this old man who sells fried kuay teow for a living on his bicycle (this is a true story). He had been selling the same fried kuay teow at the same spot for over 30 years. And he still wears the same old t-shirt that he has been wearing for all these years. And guess what? He has three shophouses, two bungalows and he owes the Inland Revenue over a hundred thousand in income tax. Surprised? Of course I am not saying that we should all quit our jobs and go fry kuay teow, but you get my point now, dont you? :) Do not drown yourself in debt... It makes you miserable. Wednesday, October 27, 2004
Spoon fed-not For decades, we had been taught what NOT to do, rather than what to do. DON'T go to the party. DON'T drive at night. DON'T go against your elders. and the list goes on... but Why? We forgot to ask the question why. We were trained from young to be obedient and obliging. Anything less than that and we would be viewed upon as the black sheep of the family, etc... Take a look at a typical university lecture/seminar in session. Who asks questions? Brits, check, French, check, United States, check check (because usually they ask the most questions), Pakistanis, check, Australians, check Malaysians? Zilch. Why? Because we assume everything is correct and everything is ok. We expect the lecture notes to be in order and everything the lecturer tells you is correct. We take everything for granted. And in a typical classroom in Malaysia, if you ask too much questions, you will be classified as an irritating nerd. Therefore the best solution is to shut up and listen. Can you blame it on our education system? I would only apportion a certain percentage of liability on the education system. The rest of it, is entirely up to parents concerned. What kind of individual that you want your children to grow up to be. Take a look at a typical Malaysian family. How do most parents talk to us? Parent:"You cant do this because I told you so". Child: "But..." Parent: "No buts. I am your father and thats final." The reasoning process is sadly, always left out. And it affects an individual immensely. We are afraid to stand up for our own rights because we are afraid that it is wrong to do so. We foce ourselves to accept what is right... even though it may not be right in the first place at all. Of course, there is always a cause for rebel. You cannot simply go against your parents for every single thing they say... Communication has to be collateral. Parents should try to reason, and children should try to comprehend. It works vice versa. In retrospect, I am grateful because in our family, we talk a lot. We communicate our feelings and voice our grievances. Of course we have disagreements and sometimes we have to bang the table to get our messages through... but it makes it all the more interesting. I have seen families who basically just sit down in front of the telly, have a good laugh, eat lots of junk food and thats it. No communication, nothing whatsoever. Or kids who are engrossed in their own world of animes, cartoons, computer games, comics, etc... true, there may be peace and quiet around the house, but is that what a family should encapsulate? And when they grow up and do not want to listen to parents... parents say "Ah... this is life. They are aleady grown ups... let them do what they want. Our responsibility ends here." Question: Are you nto responsible for what they have become in the first place? In order to voice your opinions, you need to be trained. You need to be confident in what you are saying, you need to believe in what you are saying and put your points across to the person on the receiving end. And what would be a better place to train yourself than at home. My message to parents and parents to be: We dont just need shelter and food you know. You need to mould us. Help us achieve our full potential. Help us realise what a big difference we can make to our lives and the lives of other people. Make us strong enough to face the challenges of this world, and compassionate enough to love. Give us the courage to stand up for what is right, and most important of all, have faith in us. Tuesday, October 26, 2004
Second hand books, and then some This is going to be a quick one. I just simply have to jot this down before I forget. I am a big fan of second hand books. Therefore I usually scrutinize online second hand shops for good deals. More so when I was a law student...like all students who are on a tight budget, I scout around for cheap law books and usually purchase one or two books from the university library's mini old books corner. True, they may be outdated, but some of the principles remain unchanged. It is up to the individual to do the updating work. I remember when I was in Worthing, my very dear friend introduced me to this wonderful second hand bookshop called "Kim's Bookshop", which sells antiquarian books, used music scores and piano books, amongst others. And it had a very ancient feel to it. I marveled at their collection and purchased about 13 used music books and music scores altogether. Some of the publishers of the books have even ceased to exist! Thats how old the books are. Simply amazing. Right, second hand books I will buy... but did you know that some people actually sell their dissertations and thesis online? (Looks around and feels shy) Maybe I am the only person who doesn't know. (Shame on me!) Anyway, I felt a bit taken aback by the fact that one can actually sell their thesis and dissertation online. Perhaps they are really in need of cash. Or perhaps they were so sick and tired of the course they took up, they could not wait to dispose of them. Economically. Either way, I have a strong feeling against it. Perhaps its just me... I treat my work with respect. I have kept every piece of my university written assignments in my laptop and I read them occassionally. It reminds me of how much effort I have put into my work and how I can do better. And like anything you treasure, you would not simply auction it off at an online marketplace, save in dire circumstances. I respect the written works of an individual and I cannot imagine how one can just purchase someone else's work, reproduce it and pass it off as one's own. Apart from plagiarism and intellectual property issues, I find it an insult to the original author of the works. Maybe I am a bit too dramatic here...after all copyright laws are in place. I still feel that there is a need for originality. The human brain is so complex and an average human only uses 20% of their brain. Why not develop our brains to their fullest potential and contribute to our society? And one more thing, you never know when you need your dissertation for future use. Imagine when you are interviewed for a job.. and you are asked to present your written work, and you decide to present the one that you had just sold off. And the person who bought your dissertation/thesis decides to apply to the same company as well. Now who has copied the other's work? And when you finally spill the beans... that you sold off your work, I do not think it would put you in a very positive light. Unless you have a very very justified reason to do so. We must respect our individualism. Treat every piece of your work with respect and care...and you will be respected in return. For each and every one of us are special. I rest my case. :P Sunday, October 24, 2004
Trip down memory lane 1-1st day in Newcastle, UK Ok... this was like the 19th September 2000... and thats how long its been since then. A twenty year- old came to Newcastle, England with hopes, aspirations and dreams... Now... since we took Air France, we (me and 26 others from the same college) stopped over at Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris and later own boarded a Fokker flight to Newcastle. Now I remember these details crystal clear... because all of our luggage were delayed upon our arrival. Imagine arriving at a totally alien country, where the first thing that greets you is nothing but a strong gust of cold wind that slaps you in the face... and you discover that your luggage went all the way back to Singapore Changi Airport. Which was exactly what happened to me. Now... with all due respect to the French, I do not understand how their airport staff could have caused such a blunder since their personnel had taken the trouble to come to talk to each and every one of us to ensure that our luggage were checked in for our onward flight to Newcastle. Strange. I can only classify this as "misteri nusantara". Enough said of the delayed luggage. I strolled around town with my roommate in my grey suit and maroon scarf (which was all I had in my hand luggage), braved the harsh cold winds of Newcastle and managed to survive for 5 days before my beloved gigantic green suitcase finally arrived. Whew. Right... I am supposed to talk about my first day, right? Yeah... well actually when I first arrived at the city campus of the university, I was a bit dissappointed..because it was just in the middle of the town. I had the preconception that universities should have acres and acres of land and majestic towering buildings...like an entire city on its own. Obviously the city campus lived up to its name... hha. I remember my first meal at the unversity... roast chicken with potato chips, gravy and some dessert ( I can't remember what dessert it was). English food is very bland. Thank goodness I know how to cook, I thought to myself. Apart from the cold English weather, and the fact that my accommodation was 3 miles away from the law school, and the jackets I brought with me were far from adequate to protect me from the blazing "blizzards"... I think my first day went pretty ok. And the week following that... was absolutely wonderful. :)
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Profile Right... four years exactly into working life and suddenly I found the urgent need to ramble about my not so interesting life...here goes:
I am: Liberal and radical on paper only. This is the basic description I would give myself. I am a good listener and usually offer sensible advice. If I don't sound like myself, its must be my evil twin at work :P I am passionate about: Music and Arts. Can't imagine what this world would be like without these two essential elements. When I'm not working my head off I like: Meeting new people from all walks of life and listening to their life experiences. I take things with an open mind (albeit not completely Zen like) and always remind myself not to take anything in life for granted. And I wish: All my friends, my family and everybody else who will somehow cross paths with me, a fulfulling life, in terms of work and relationships. And remember, you only live once. So make the best out of it. :) Tag Board Calendar
Links Affiliations: SARAWAK BRITISH ALUMNI ASSOCIATION The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn Alumni Association, Malaysia Be a part of the blogger's community!  I read them: Bk's Homepage updated! January 2007 Matty Benji Firestorm's Portal Lily aka Helibely Songie The Angelic Grace Tony Pua 5xMom Competitive Malaysia The Cooking Engineer Dodoro May's Bloggie Kenny likes whisky and Cognac Rojaks Daily Gentle Ethereal Musings Xes Marita Paige Chets Corner Wilson's Digital Memory Wena's Mum-mum Kuching Kayaking Fish fish's blog Bujang Lapuk Abroad Nadai Nama Nama Jasmine Mikel Lian Dr Chen's Ramblings Benjamin the Violinist Ah Mok's blog Kent's blog Kenny Sia Joyce Lee Parisian 15 Kris's Memory Stick Irene's Sweet Surrender Pink Cotton Kawaras Andrew's da man Benjamin Sew cracks me up Jay So Rules Robin Wong Allen Kenneth Ivan Ann Kuching Fest I blog here too The Cook Blog Useful links on education and other youth programmes China Synergy Program for Outstanding Youths TinKosong.Com RECOM Educate, Deviate by Tiara Shafiq Up With People Doctorjob.com (Malaysia) Support Bolehland Read Blogs Malaysia Chinese blogs Estelle Xu's Journey With Good Friends Willis Double Happiness My other blogs My Nano '05 (archived) My Piano Diaries updated! My 2005 Nanowrimo Novel (By Chapters) Chapter 1-Memory of Fallen Petals Chapter 2-The New Landlady Chapter 3-The music room Chapter 4-A look into the past and some girly talk Chapter 5-The beginning of it all Chapter 6-The Proposal and a sea of memories Chapter 7-A story untold My Article Index-where you find links to my favourite articles! UPDATED December 06 online Online Casino  Credits |
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