Internalisation

I've started reading Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat a few weeks ago and it's been a bane of sleep for me. I normally read before I hit the sack and the book just keeps on provoking thoughts within me. That should explain why I'm writing this post at 1:42am on a working weekday....

The book's pretty good in conveying it's theme across. It's not as captivating as Malcolm Gladwell's books (The Tipping Point and Blink) in the sense that's it not a page turner. Having said that, it's still a good read with loads of interesting facts though it's presented in a more dry/scientific manner. As a fast summary, the book talks about globalisation (i.e. the flattening of the world) due to the convergence of a few factors, one of which is the widespread connectivity due to the Internet. It introduces how it came about, the factors that drove it and I'm now a third into the book where it focuses on how Americans are in danger of being left behind due to globalisation.

This post is not a book review but rather how it has affected me. So the preceding section is not wholly thorough/accurate and does a poor job conveying it's message :)

The deliberate way in which it's written is actually producing an interesting effect. I normally read books (which was mostly easily consumed fiction from mostly the fantasy genre) at a faster pace as I can't wait to find out how the story progresses. This time round, I read less in terms of volume/pages at a given time and but it seems to a more reflective process.

I find that the ideas resonate in my mind and I internalise the concepts that are just presented. This is not something that I'm actively doing and it need not be relevant to the main concept of a given chapter. For instance, I just read about America's scientific & engineering education crisis and how other nations (viz. India & China) might overtake USA in the near future in this area but I end up thinking about how we Asians (alright, specifically me) might need to dedicate more time to learning the various intricacies of my job in order to innovate more. It also provoke thoughts about where I would like to work if I have a chance to relocate overseas. I'm admittedly a lazy bugger and it seems that Western Europe has a nice working culture that fits me perfectly. Grin. They're more conscious about a balanced life but this in a way is affecting their competitive edge long term.

Also thought about whether I want to raise my children (if/when I ever have any :P) in the states if ever I do get a chance to work there permanently. True, the quality of life there is fantastic compared to currently exists back home but it will be a challenge to ensure they have a bright future as education will have to be stressed on. I wouldn't want my kids to be part of the MTV generation with all it's implications (short attention span, doesn't read for pleasure, bad math/science proficiency, etc). Sounds like I'm discussing the common ills of most societies and I'm sure the same problem exists and will get worse in Malaysia as well if things do not change.

Funny how the mind works. You read something and it goes off on tangents. I'm wide awake and it's gonna be a long day for me tomorrow.....

Reflections

Recent events have triggered some soul searching. Do I live a dual existence? Am I overly optimistic? What do I want in life?

At work, I feel like I project an image of a very intense person. I can't be certain, but I think that most of the times, I'm focussed and serious about my work. My job nature requires a lot of focussed thought and the need to think deeply about the various technical details of the task. Being a one man show makes it even more important that I don't overlook details. The ever nearing deadlines and seemingly undiminishable pile of work doesn't help to reduce the stress levels. It's hard to be carefree, to dream about life or even to laze around with these things in my mind. The work ME is striving to organise, manage and ensure a quality job for myself and the team. During sync ups with my manager, it looks like my own expectations tallies with his on what I need to do; and my personal goals tend to be on the aggresive side in terms of schedule.

With that said, sometimes I feel like I'm a totally different person once I get away from work, from my department collegues and NOT dwell on the specifics of my work. Hahaha, the past few chances I had to just chat about life and inane stuff is like a fresh breath of air. I become someone who's more silly and carefree; I revert back to the old dreamer that has countless flights of fancies and desires. I just can't seem to stop talk about anything and everything given a chance. It's like I have so much pent-up emotions and ideas and wants (needs?) that's it's practically bursting for release.

I'm wondering which is the real me? Am I wearing a mask at work? I truly like and am adequately skilled at my work. Am I passionate about my job? I am unsure. Is work consuming too much of my time? For the moment yes. In the overall view of life, in the long term? Again, I'm unsure but there's a chance of that happening if I let it. I still believe that I will stand my ground and dedicate my time to myself and my family once I meet my special someone.

Someone close to me once mentioned that I'm the most optimistic person she has ever met. Question is, is my optimism grounded in reality? Am I expecting too much from people and from myself? Do I set myself up for the inevitable disappointments? Somehow, I can't accept that my current existence is all there is to be, to have. I cannot agree that people are just what they superficially show to the world. I cannot accept that I am the best that I am now. I truly believe that people, given a chance, can be truly delightful, altrustic creatures and that their actions are not only driven by selfish needs. I cannot, will not settle for what is available now. There's got to be more to life.

Am I asking the right questions? Am I just asking too many questions? Where is this headed? I have no clue....

-Confused, pensive & uncertain.

I'm still alive...

Guess the title says it all; I'm still fighting the good fight, still breathing regularly, in spite of the world's (read: never ending work) attempt to the contrary.

Sorry folks, for not updating this small cyberspace I claim as me own. It's really been ages since I last posted anything; it's been nearly half a year by my fast reckoning. Since then, I've completed my US assignment and I'm back in good old Penang.

In that time, life has been moving on at it's own mysterious pace. My best friend has moved to Guernsey, UK for at least 2 years; I've gotten a new set of wheels; friends have married and are starting their lives together & my bro actually came back for a visit :P. In spite of these momentous changes, some things are still comfortingly the same. Parents are hale and semi-active, Penang has barely changed in it's essense; my close friends are doing well and there's always the old fall back: work.

How have I been doing? Hmmm, not too bad, all thing's considered. Work's work and it's sucking up my so-called life due to tight deadlines. Besides that, I can't complain. There's so much I'm grateful for. A list that's far too long for this post.

On that note, I'll sign off. Till next time. ;-)
-An eternal optimist.

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel...

Summer Spectacular @ Cameron Park

Cameron Park Lake: Great place to spend a summer evening

From a local colleague's recommendation, a few of us spent last Saturday evening at a pre 4th of July festivities at his community in Cameron Park called Summer Spectacular. The annual event is held at the park lake and has the usual assortment of stalls selling crafts and food which is supposed to be capped off with a great fireworks display.

The fair was nothing much to write home about, so after a cursory look at the stalls, we went to grab the best available spot for the evening finale. Most of the good locations were already taken but we managed to find an empty spot that we thought was pretty decent (We later found out that we sat under a lamp post... that explains why no one wanted the place. Fortunately, it did not distract from the evening display).

The fireworks started around 8:45pm once dusk came and it was just awesome. The fantastic light show lasted more than 20minutes and was the best I've seen yet. The New Year fireworks display at Sacremento absolutely suck and this one more than made up for it.

Here's a sampling of shots I managed to snap with my newly bought tripod. My digi cam was set up for a 5 second exposure with an aperture of F8.0. I didn't focus too much on fiddling with the settings as I wanted to pay attention to the show. In hindsight, I could have use a shorter exposure, which should produce better shots by having less diffusion in the light streaks.

Enjoy. I know I did. :) (Click on any pic for a larger view)

Rebates

Today I finally received my last rebate from last year's Black Friday mad shopping spree. It took this Canadian company 7 freaking months (Black Friday fell on Nov 25 last year) to send me the measly $10 check; I actually wrote off any thoughts of getting this but what a surprise. This made last year's Black Friday a complete success as I managed to get back all the rebates, totalling $423. Hahaha, yeah, I spent a bomb on electronic toys... but quite a few were FAR (Free after rebates), so what the heck.

The rebate bought back memories of the fun times spent coordinating the spree. 5 of us met a few times to find the best bargains and coordinate activities at my place a few days before the event. The basic idea was each went to a particular store and grab the stuff for everyone based on the list we made up. This way, we managed to get over 90% of the stuff we wanted ( most of the really good stuff were extremely limited in numbers). Oh, the good old times:D We were actually lining up at 2am waiting for the stores to open at 6am in the freaking cold....and it even drizzled a bit...

My haul: lots of FAR stuff. The receipts are in the front. :D

The crowd at Fry's Electronics @ 5-6am Nov 25 2005. And more were coming by the minute.

Shrooms

Always loved the taste of mushrooms; shitake mushrooms are a particular favourite back home. Over in the states, the widely available variety are button mushrooms and they're heavenly.....

My mind's foggy but I can't seem to recall the button shrooms back in Msia tasting so good; the ones over here are whiter and larger compared to the canned pathetically small brown ones we find back in Msia.

Been using sauted shrooms in most of my cooking in the past month and it's one of the things I can't get bored of consuming.....

Did you know that in the old days, Egyptian royalty were the only one who could eat shrooms? Commoners couldn't even touch them. I wholeheartedly support with the Egyptian pharoahs who had such foresight to corner the market......

Enough blogging; time to plan my next shroom feast.......

-Burp. Excuse me.

To continue on the culinary vein, here's some shots of the sinfully delicious treats I had the fortune to try.....Denny's Pancakes swimming in maple syrup
Roadside clam chowder

Chicken Teriyaki dinner setyummy Gelato
Typical diner breakfast Seafood anyone?

Applebee's Pork RibsPink's famous chili dogs

ESPN the Zone's Back Back Back RibsHonourig the Italian flag

Sushi feast

Dragon roll

Chilli's Monterey Chicken & Baby Back Ribs

One of those days

Lethargy sets in; the inclination and motivation to be productive seeps away as the day goes on. Counting moments, passing time with attempts to focus interspersed with frequent breaks of surfing and chatter. Mind's half awake and the inner child is screaming his head off for a change. Welcome to my world.

-Sigh. Snap out of it.



As I toil through the day, my mind takes flight and it made a nostalgic stop down memory lane....

Took these shots of the river bank at Negro Bar, Folsom. According to a friend, the 1st African Americans set up a thriving community here before there was a town in Folsom. It's now a State Park and a popular site for recreational activities like BBQs.

The expatriates had a BBQ here last October. Didn't know half the crowd and the dialogue progressed smoothly in mandarin throughout the evening, leaving me lots of time to experiment with my camera as soon as I grabbed the tripod someone bought along.