Eye Deers: Rambling Thoughts

Internalisation

2007-02-27T01:40:00.000+08:00

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

2007-02-01T10:41:00.000+08:00

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...

2007-01-29T16:35:00.000+08:00

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

2006-06-29T03:46:00.000+08:00

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

2006-06-20T00:11:00.000+08:00

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

2006-06-07T03:48:00.000+08:00

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

2006-06-06T03:23:00.000+08:00

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.

Am I still me?

2006-06-02T03:02:00.000+08:00

A friend asked me if this year long trip has changed me. Have I? It's kinda hard to judge yourself; somethings are just clearer when seen from the outside. Let's not talk about the superficial stuff; we were referring to the intrinsics that define you. Your principles and outlook in life; not your hairstyle, weight or the way you talk (though that could be a sign of deeper things....)

Granted, the experiences and the exposure to the workstyle, culture & life here has widen my perspective. It's been a great eye opener and I've grown in so many aspects that I doubt I would have had I stayed back in Penang.

Having said that, I somehow feel that I'm essentially still the same impatient clumsy guy I was a year back. I still have the same habits and interests, I still get worked up about idiotic behaviour and I have still have yet to achieve the level of fitness that I always wanted. In other words, I'm still the same lazy slacker you all know and love. Grin.

What do you think dear readers? Am I different? Of course I am, but how much so?

-Must be one of those introspective days..... Tales of death and endings tend to have such an effect on me.

Brentwood

2006-06-01T03:37:00.000+08:00

Although recently we had a 3 day weekend with Memorial Day falling on a Monday, I decided against joining the rest who were heading to either Vegas or Yellowstone National Park. Been to Vegas twice and the 16 hour drive after work to reach Yellowstone did not really appeal to me. Must be getting old......

Anyway, the few of us left in Folsom decided to do something that's easy on the wallet as well as the body. On a friend's suggestion, we took a leisurely drive southwards to Brentwood to try our hand at cherry-picking. There's various fruit farms in the county and it's supposed to be cherry season amongst others.

The 2 hour drive down there flew by but the 1st 2 cherry farms we came to were closed! The 1st farm was packed with people swarming the cherry trees and the 2nd told us that we came too early in the season. Due to the late Spring this year, most of the cherries were not fully ripened...They were selling picked cherries at the fruit stands but we wanted to actually choose and pick our own cherries.

Since we were in the vicinity, we decided to check if there were other farms opened for self-picking. Luck must be on our side and we found that the Lopez Ranch was open for business.

The Lopez Ranch: Rows upon rows of trees brimming full of juicy cherries!

The locals call this U-pick and we were each given a basket to hold the fruits that we selectively picked off the trees. There's no entry charge and you only pay for the fruits that you want to bring back. In other words, we can sample/eat/gorge ourselves on as many cherries as your stomach can hold while in the farm.

Eagerly, we dove right in and starting picking. Fresh, ripe cherries are absolutely heavenly delicious! Throw away those preserved, sweetend canned stuff you typically find on cakes/pastries; that ain't cherries. They don't even come close to the sweet juicy crunchy texture of the real thing...

Ripe Rainier Cherries....excellent!Mouth watering ain't it?

I never appreciated cherries before this. Past encounters with the preserved kind and "Cherry" flavoured drinks like Dr. Pepper and Cherry Coke didn't help change my opinion; in fact, it just killed any lingering desire for this fruit. Now, call me a believer:)

In the end, we didn't really picked all that much. Guessed we sampled enough to sate us. Grin. I think for every ripe cherry I picked, I must have consumed at least the same amount in the search for ripe sweet cherries. Guessed we just got tired of walking on our full bellies with the sun on our backs. :)

Our haul. Another couple and I combined for the bottom bucket of the 3.

Compared with the amount the locals typically buy back.....

Catch of the day

2006-05-31T05:41:00.000+08:00

Here's some interesting read that I came across in my daily trawl of the net:

How much will it take for you to have a child? Love is no longer the only consideration when you decide to raise a child.

On a similar note, China might actually have an underpopulation problem in the near future.

Malaysia's top 40 Richest: Guess who's #1 in South-East Asia?

Cognitive Dissonance

2006-05-31T03:41:00.000+08:00

Just the past weekend, we had this discussion about Chinese and Asian culture in general and our ability to find pleasure in consuming almost anything that's edible. A large portion of other races will take a pass on such culinary delights like Pig Intestine soup (it's really delicious!), Chicken feet in black vinegar, curry goat's intestines to mention a few that's easily found in Malaysia. South Koreans consume dog & cat meat; snake meat and even iguana curry dishes can be found within Malaysia if you look hard enough; and you can always head north of the border to Thailand if you have a craving for deep-fried insects as a snack.

A sampling of what's sold on Khao San Rd in Bangkok. Crunchy grasshoppers anyone....?

.....How about some juicy silkworms?......Or fried scorpions?

Heck, anything that has more than 2 feet is fair game to some people!. At first, this trait striked me as a survival instinct that's not all that bad.... It shows we're able to survive and even thrive on what's available in our surroundings....besides, why limit yourself to just specific poultry or cattle body parts? On the flip side, there's no way anyone's gonna persuade me to sample dog meat or even the feline variety. There's a limit to what I'm willing to consume; the thought of eating your pets just turns me off.

This morning, I came across this article that touched on the same topic. Interesting term, cognitive dissonance. It goes on to discuss biotechnology and our genetic nature relating to our carnivorous tendencies.

Food for thought eh?

Dreams

2006-05-26T04:28:00.000+08:00

I always envied people who could remember their dreams upon waking up. During the daily breakfast sessions back in Penang, some colleagues will relate the weird things they exprienced and it fascinated me. Most of the times, all I can recall are small fragments which are quickly lost in the midst of getting ready for the living hours. I have an inkling that sometimes my dreams are vivid; strange mental pictures stick in my mind but rarely can I make any sense of it.

Surprisingly, the moment I was conscious this morning, the last dream I had was still fresh in my mind; I could picture what I was doing in Morpheus' domain. Started backtracking mentally and found that I could remember how the dream went; I actually could find a weird continuity to what occured.

Strangely enough, this cheered me up right from the get-go. While I'm blogging this entry from my cube, most of the recollection has faded into the background but the euphoria lingers....

-deja vu

On the spin-table: "Unwritten" by Natasha Bedingfield. Great song; even better when I paid attention to the lyrics.

Silverworm corner: Still on "Motley Fool Investment Guide" .Spending less time reading these few days; the basketball sessions though invigorating induces an earlier sleeping hour.

p.s: I noticed I had loads of pics from my travels that I have not shared/spammed with most folks. Think I'll sprinkle some entries with random shots....Might write up a few entries based on the more memorable trips I had in the past year.

Memories:

A shot of the sweeping coastlines at Point Reyes National Park in California. The winds on that Spring day was surprisingly strong. If you ever had the chance to visit Point Reyes, remember to pack food; there's only 1 restaurant that does a thriving business at marked up prices.

Breath-taking

2006-05-23T01:45:00.000+08:00

Boy, the day trip to Shasta county was an over-due break in the routine. It was a fun-filled semi-relaxing trip. We had a large group this time around, 15 of us split into 4 cars (3 Corollas/Altis and 1 Elantra)

As usual, the start of the journey was delayed. The lead car drove like a maniac to compensate and the rest of us basically had to step on the pedal just to keep up with him. On a 70mph highway, we averaged 80-90mph. The poor Elantra that I was in struggled just to keep up with the other Corollas initially, though once we hit cruising speeds, it held up pretty well. The 3 hour drive to the 1st vista point was sure fun when you're speeding along.

The first stop was the Sundial Bridge in Redding. It's name describes it well and it spans across a bend in the river known as Turtle Bay. The bridge actually reminded a few of us of the bridge and lamp posts design back in Putrajaya :) Based on some fast googling for this blog entry, the footbridge is actually designed by one of the world's best bridge designers, Santiago Calatrava.

There's only one supporting pylon for the bridge, at one of the bridge ends

Close-up of the pylon

We then made a quick stop by Lake Shasta. A few of us previously passed by the Lake (it's actually a few lakes inter-connected) on our way to the Crater Lake National Park in Oregon last year and the lake view was actually quite enchanting. This time round, the lead car (by virtue of accompanying GPS) bought us to a spot that frankly pales in comparsion to the view by the highway. Though the more-mundane view caused a colleague to comment that Lake Shasta is the "most real" view yet seen in California (she opined that Lake Tahoe's sapphire hued waters bordered by snow covered peaks of the Sierras is soo beautiful, that it's almost fake.... Cynicism at such a young age..). Naturally, we didn't spend too much time and continued Northwards to Mount Shasta.

Lake Shasta: Too real?

Though summer's officially just around the corner, Mount Shasta's peak is still snow-covered and will stay that way until early Fall. We drove uphill till we reached the marker called Bunny Flat and literally the end of the road.

Road side view of Mt. Shasta

End of the road at Bunny Flat

The sight of snow in Summer means only one thing.....

SNOW FIGHT!

The fun was cut short when it started to drizzle. As we hit the road, the downpour worsened and made the descent a mini obstacle course as a few rocks littered the road sporadically. The rain eventually petered off as we reached lower elevations.

The next stop on our list was the Fowler Falls in the nearby district of McCloud. The waterfall consists of 3 stages and we arrived at the Lower Falls. To reach the middle and upper falls and back to the starting point takes 3 miles of trekking.

Lower Fowler Falls @McCloud

Personally, I found the trek to the Upper falls extremely pleasant. The trees along the natural but well-maintained path provided great shade and the viccinity of the falls made the ambient temperature agreeably cool during a hot Summer's afternoon.

The mist at mid Fowler Falls is a great refreshener

Upper Fowler Falls...wish I can come here more often

This is the kind of trip that really perks you up... Great sights, a fun drive in a comfortable car and good, non-work related conversations. Smiles. As beautiful as Fowler Falls is, the final destination of the journey is reputed to be awe-inspiring. This fact easily drove most of us on even though it was touching 6pm and the trek nicely built up an appetite.

The last leg is the McArthur-Burney Falls, around 40miles from Fowler Falls. As we reached the entrance of the State Park, we were surprised we had to pay an day free of $6 per car...when the other stops along the way were without any charge..... As we made our way to the nearby vista point, the sight of the falls took away any thoughts and left me speechless.

Breath-taking

Closer view

The mists from the falls felt like you're in a shower even from a distance. Even the foilage around the falls seemed to benefit; they appear to be more vibrant and greener than usual......

I'm still alive

2006-05-19T06:40:00.000+08:00

It's been a packed but seriously uneventful 2 weeks; my life revolves around work, catching the NBA playoffs, dieting, reading & zzz. Mostly work though, and definitely not enough sleep. On the brighter side, I'm making slow but steady progress on getting into a better shape...

Think I'm begining to get stir-crazy from my self-imposed exile. Thanks to my 2 major deadlines this week, couldn't do much to rectify my boredom. Luckily some of my colleagues are organising a trip to Shasta county. Due to financial/logistical issues, it'll most probably be a day trip instead of a 1-niter. Looking forward to the fun but tiring trip; it's a 4+ hours journey by car to Shasta from Folsom.

Will try and post some pics when I get back.

Silverworm corner: "Motley Fool Investment Guide" by Tom & David Gardner. Time to get a different investment perspective other than the Value Investment principles.

On the spin-table: "Mind, Body & Soul" by Joss Stone. Incredible voice, nice tunes

Routines

2006-05-11T05:23:00.000+08:00

I'm not sure about other companies, but where I work, everyone sends a weekly report to the related people detailing what you did, raise issues, recognise people (guess which is the rare occurance? :) ), vacation plans.....you get the idea.

Well, since just before I took my home trip, I haven't sent a weekly update for various reasons. It started off innocently; it was an extremely peak time and I work closely with my counterpart and he knows precisely what I'm doing and my progress, so it wasn't a priority item on my plate.
As time went by and since all my work is reported in my counter-part's weekly, time flew by without me writing an update.

As such things tend to do, it finally caught up with me. My Penang manager asked for an update this week. When I checked, it's been 12 weeks since the last update. Hahaha, I wonder if anyone would have noticed if I just dissapeared off the face of the earth? It goes to show how big the project team has grown and my place in it :D At least someone finally noticed; it showed my progress report was actually read!

Well, it was fun while it lasted. Managed to "save" 10 minutes each week for something more "productive"....

-Do you believe in Karma?

On the spin-table: "Where'd you go?" by Fort Minor. One of the current hits making the rounds. Not a bad chorus.

Silverworm corner: "Value Investing made easy" by Janet Lowe. Slowly making my way through the book. Think I need to sit down and really digest the book.

Sad state of affairs

2006-05-09T08:59:00.000+08:00

There's democracy, and there's Malaysian democracy. It's depressing to actually read in the mass media (yes, even the Star printed this) that the PM has issued an edict that all BN (Barisan National, the ruling political party) members MUST toe the party line, and that they can't ever support an opposition party's motion in Parliment. In Prime Minister B's own words,

“We have our own democracy. We have survived on the basis of what we have been practising before, and we will continue with this practice.”

“That has not caused us to suffer any kind of problem. I still believe party discipline is very important, and all party members have to observe it.’’

My brain's still in shock; I can't believe my home country has actually reached a stage where we actively and knowingly declare to the world that we will not abide with democratic practises; principles where common sense rules.

How can we not allow a particular party to support an opposing party's motion when it makes sense to do so? Does this mean that one party holds the monopoly on truth? Do they know-all and see-all, whereby discussion or an investigation into any area by others are not allowed?

Finger on the pause button

2006-05-09T00:52:00.000+08:00

As some of you might be aware of, I was sent by my company on a 1 year relocation to the states last October. This relocation was immediately following a 3 month business trip assignment starting last June to pick up the skills/exposure in order for me to contribute efficiently to the project.

It's been nearly 11 months since I started this journey, and it has been a great experience. I've seen sights and visited places which I'll never have the chance to do so on my own expense. I've had the chance to mix with fellow colleagues from different groups and meet a diverse set of people (it's hard for different functional groups to really mingle around in Penang; everyone quickly forms a clique within their own working group; it's sad, but it's a fact). Plus the fact I have a great chance to build up my savings if I'm disciplined enough in my daily expenses.

Having said that, there's a part of me that feels like I'm basically putting my life on hold for a year. This sorta hit me after seeing how things have changed in Penang when I was recently back for a short home trip after a 6 month stretch in California.

There's some things that are either hard or impractical to carry out when you're physically away from your home base. You can't really change your status quo, and you miss out on what your family back home experience. I realise my parents are not getting younger, and that I should try and spend more time with them when I still can. You can't really invest much if you did not have the foresight to set up all the necessary account and paperwork prior to the assignment. Even in this online age, there's still some limitations, specially when your country has yet to fully embace the paperless office concept. There's only so much you can ask your family or friends to do; they can't sign on your behalf after all.

The fast 2 weeks back home was practically spent running around town, trying to complete errands that only I could have done. Signing forms, setting up stuff so I can manage it online or preparing the essential things that I will require when I eventually reach home, etc. Add to this the time I allocated away to renewing ties with family and friends; it's no wonder I was not really productive while I was in the office :P (but that's another story).

What am I trying to say in this monologue of mine? That this trip away from home is a mixed blessing. Any regrets? Not really. I guess it came at the right time, when I can still afford to spend a year away from home. It's a once in a lifetime experience and I really learnt a lot working with my US counterpart; he's a swell guy. I wouldn't mind extending my trip for a few more months. It'll definitely help my personal bottom line:) I guess these thoughts makes me appreciate the chance I got and also, what I had back home. It also adds another consideration if I ever am offered another relocation/long term assignment away from home.

-Am I thinking too much?

On the spin-table: "Remember the name" by Fort Minor. TNT plays this song a lot for the NBA playoffs. Nice catchy chorus, the violin piece makes a nice counter point.

Silverworm corner: "Value Investing made easy" by Janet Lowe. Need to get my hands on BG's actual books; in the meantime, explanatory books on him by other authors will have to suffice.

Full tank, empty wallet

2006-05-03T04:38:00.000+08:00

Found this e-book (sorry, couldn't find an English version for those whose grasp of Malay is not
something you are proud of) that presents an alternative take (to those of the mass media) on the rising cost of living in Malaysia.

You might have been aware that recently the Malaysia goverment increased the subsidised petroleum price by 30cents (~20%) to slightly less than RM2 per liter. This caused a waterfall effect where by the general cost of living went up (food, services, basically everything). There was even a case where the roti canai sellers increasted the price of roti canais by 30cents before the government issued an edict that prevented the prices of food from rising and forced the price back before the petrol price hike. But, the natural order of things prevailed. The food hawkers just worked around this by reducing the portions while maintaining the price. Shrug. Welcome to Malaysia.

As a result, the CPI (Consumer Price Index, generally used as a benchmark of inflation) rose to 4.8% in March, when the average Fixed Deposit (FD) rates was 3.8%!. In other words, you actually lost money if you kept your hard earned income in FDs....And guess what? The government just increased the interest rates in late April; cars and houses just got dearer if you need a loan. Sadly, the FD rates has yet to increase in a similar fashion (correct me if I'm wrong).

It's sorta depressing to come across these few facts from the e-book:

The richest 10% controls 38% of the total Malaysian wealth
Malaysia has the largest Gini coefficient (a measure of the income gap between those who have and those who don't) in the ASEAN region.
43% of the population has a household income of less than RM1500 and 58% has less than RM2000.

Read the e-book with a pinch of salt; it's someone's interepration/opinion based on selected facts; rarely do you get the whole picture from 1 source. It does raise some interesting thoughts though...

-I was happily drunk, till life made me sober

Living in a material world

2006-05-03T02:57:00.000+08:00

*Warning: This is an emo-blog entry. Read it at your own risk of being bored*

No matter how you look at it, money's a huge part of our lives. Yes, spirituality is essential, and yes, having boat loads of money doesn't guarantee happiness.Let's not forget bout health and love and friends. Where would we be without the support from your inner-self, friends and parents?

Having said that, it sure helps if you have the means to be financially free or even better, financialy wealthy**. It's already so tough to reach financial freedom, let alone to be wealthy. Sometimes you just have to make sacrifices in the short term with an eye on long term goals. Be smart about what you need or want. Plan out your finances; invest wisely. Achieve a balance.

Forgive the monologue, guess I'm in a reflective mood. Been thinking and spending a lot of my time reading up on investments and personal financial management. One thing about the line of work I'm in, there's not much personal time left after a 10-12 hour work day. By the time you're reached home, your brain's drained from all the mental aerobics or you just wanna chill with friends or just plant yourself in front of the idiot box and not think. Guess you just have to be disciplined and spend some time to read the books you need to instead of Dilbert Comics. Grin.

** p.s: By financially free, I'm a follower of Robert Kiyosaki's definition whereby the interest from your passive income (investments, etc) is sufficient to cover your annual living costs. By financially wealthy, I'll go with with Stanley & Danko's definition in "Millionaire Next Door" for a lack of a better standard; find your level of wealth by multiplying your age with one-tenth your annual active income (annual income X age /10). You're considered wealthy if your net worth is greater than twice your level of wealth.

-On the spin-table: "Sugar, We're Going Down" by Fall Out Boy. Forget the lyrics, the melody is just so infectous. Simply a fun song to listen to.

-Silverworm corner:
1) Half way thru Janet Lowe's "Benjamin Graham on Value Investing". Finally, his investment principle's summarised and there's more techical meat to the book.
2) Dilbert comics :) Fun stuff

Seek and you shall find

2006-04-30T07:15:00.000+08:00

It's summer and that means one thing.....yard sales! Er, not to mention blazing hot weather and dusk at 8pm of course. Grin.

Spent Saturday morning from 7am till noon driving from 1 garage sale to another with a few colleagues. The very first stop and I managed to find 2 Dilbert "illustrated book" *ahem comics* going for a buck a piece. There goes my supposedly aim to cut down on unnecessary expenses. Oh well.

The best was yet to come. On the 3rd stop (we covered around 18 houses today; I'm surprised there were so many yard sales just within 10 minutes drive of the office), I found a gem of a deal. Check out the pic below.

I found a combi chess/checkers/backgammon/etc set going for a steal (it cost me around half my lunch today) that was almost new. You can see the upper board and chess pieces are made of tempered glass. Below the removable chess board is the velvety backgammon board and you can also notice the drawer on the side of the platform, which conveniently stores all the game pieces when it's not in use. It's gonna make a nice conversation piece :)

Game pieces and the backgammon board with the chess/checkers board removed.

Limau ais dengan garam (versi tak-halal)

2006-04-29T01:44:00.000+08:00

Went to Red Lobster (an American theme-restraurant) and stumbled on to something that knocked me out till 10am this morning! That was superbly refreshing :D Have I found my cure for jet-lag?

My restorative on the right.

They called it a Lobsterita (basically a very generous helping of blended frozen margarita). On the other hand, we had our own term for the drink (check the title of the post).

- Refreshed. Now it's time to work.

Silverworm corner: Janet Lowe's "Benjamin Graham on Value Investing". I'm on the third chapter and it still reads like a biography....I was sorta expecting to find more technical information/ clarifications on BG's investment principles. Let's see what the rest of the book brings...

On the spin-table: "Picture" by Sheryl Crow & Kid Rock. Destined to be a classic.

Witching hour....

2006-04-27T16:35:00.000+08:00

The dreaded jet-lag strikes again. it's nearly 2 weeks since I've touched down but my rebelling mind is still under the impression that I urgently need to be awake at 1am. Oh well, might as well make full use of the time and get some work done. The project deadline's looming closer and closer and there's still tons to complete, no thanx to my decline in productivity.

Found this site in my now daily witching hour trawl of the net. Am sooo tempted to try and make my own hollow book. I blame it on the countless hours of reading mystery novels and Hollywood.

- Now that's weird; it's 1:44am and I'm singing "Breathe"....

2am and I am still awake...................

Winter just wasn't my season

2006-04-27T00:52:00.000+08:00

Can't get enough of this song. Check out "Breathe (2am)" by Anna Nalick.

2 AM and she calls me 'cause I'm still awake,
"Can you help me unravel my latest mistake?,
I don't love him. Winter just wasn't my season"
Yeah we walk through the doors, so accusing their eyes
Like they have any right at all to criticize,
Hypocrites. You're all here for the very same reason

'Cause you can't jump the track, we're like cars on a cable
And life's like an hourglass, glued to the table
No one can find the rewind button, girl.
So cradle your head in your hands
And breathe... just breathe,
Oh breathe, just breathe

May he turn 21 on the base at Fort Bliss
"Just a Day", he said down to the flask in his fist,
"Ain't been sober, since maybe October of last year."
Here in town you can tell he's been down for a while,
But, my God, it's so beautiful when the boy smiles,
Wanna hold him. Maybe I'll just sing about it.

Cause you can't jump the track, we're like cars on a cable,
And life's like an hourglass, glued to the table.
No one can find the rewind button, boys,
So cradle your head in your hands,
And breathe... just breathe,
Oh breathe, just breathe

There's a light at each end of this tunnel,
You shout 'cause you're just as far in as you'll ever be out
And these mistakes you've made, you'll just make them again
If you only try turning around.

2 AM and I'm still awake, writing a song
If I get it all down on paper, it's no longer inside of me,
Threatening the life it belongs to
And I feel like I'm naked in front of the crowd
Cause these words are my diary, screaming out loud
And I know that you'll use them, however you want to

But you can't jump the track, we're like cars on a cable,
And life's like an hourglass, glued to the table
No one can find the rewind button now
Sing it if you understand.
and breathe, just breathe
woah breathe, just breathe,
Oh breathe, just breathe,
Oh breathe, just breathe.

Wish I watched this.......

2006-04-27T00:17:00.000+08:00

Sorta missed my chance when I was briefly back in Penang a fortnight ago; just couldn't find the time with the mad rush to finish the laundry list of errands that built up. Plus the fact that it was only shown in Mega Pavillion cinemas.....

Take care and get well soon

2006-04-26T04:46:00.000+08:00

Last night I found out that my college mate & former uni housemate was recently involved in an accident. CK was trying to avoid a motorcycle in Penang and his Kembara was hit sideways. From the pics he sent out, the side collision happened at a pretty high speed as his car turned turtle.

He wrote that he suffered some permanent disability in his right hand (but he can't tell exactly what form yet) and he wrote to us using his southpaw (i.e. left hand).

When I first heard the news, I was naturally shocked, and grateful that he came out in one piece. Somehow, I still have a hope his right hand will turn out ok and he'll be fine. Take care my friend and get well soon.

Got me wondering if I'm too optimistic and hopeful sometimes. Naive even? In a way, I'm glad I'm not that jaded and cynical. On other hand, I'm afraid I might be setting myself up for dissappointments from my wishful thinkings.

I think I can live with that :) I want to keep on dreaming and aim for the stars. Why be tied down by self-created chains of self-doubt and needless worry?

Pipe dreams you say? Who knows? Only the future will tell, and it looks pretty fine in my eyes. Smiles.

-An eternal optimist.

Silverworm corner: Decided to continue with "Benjamin Graham's Value Investing" by Janet (or was it Jane?) Lowe. Need to keep an eye out for BG's "Intelligent Investor", the book that so influenced Warren Buffet.

On the spin-table: "Every day is a winding road" by Sheryl Crow. Random pick from my Launchcast playlist.

Jet-lag: The bane of productivity

2006-04-25T04:02:00.000+08:00

It's been over a week since I've touched down in California and I'm still suffering from jet-lag. It doesn't matter what time I sleep (day naps or not doesn't seem to make a difference), I'll be up at 1-2am everynite. The worse part is, I can't seem to sleep until around 5-6am and I hafta be up by 8....argh......

I thought I was over it during the weekend when I finally got a chance for some decent rest, but come Sunday night, I'm up and watching Comedy Central until 3am.......

I'll try working through lunch and take an early night's rest and see what happens. If things doesn't change, I'm gonna use the witching hours to get in some work and try some melatonin. A friend recommended that and at this point, I'm willing to try anything....

Diet progress: So far so good, can "feel" a bit of improvement but it could purely psychological. Shrug. Felt lazy on the weekend though and succumbed to microwave dinners of the guilty variety. :P Need to pick up on the crunches and push ups. Seems like abstaining from late exercises did not help the jet-lag.

Current brain food: "Warren Buffet Speaks"
- A collection of quotes from the one of the world's best investors. Figured I'll take a quick read through on his thoughts before reading his actual book. Still deciding whether to start with Warren Buffet or Benjamin Graham. Sorta leaning to Benjamin Graham; after all, he taught WB.....

Rocking to: "Spin" - Lighthouse
- Just so happens to be playing on Yahoo Launchcast's Adult Alternative station....Cutting down on cafeiene and decided to get an alternative natural high from music instead. Ah, what would life be without music?

Food for thought: Seems like the share price for X company is steadily dropping. Getting tempted to take the plunge and invest in it....Need to focus more and get some fundamental investment books under my belt before the opportunity slips away.......

-On a natural high.

Tempus Fugit....

2006-04-22T01:07:00.000+08:00

A blink, and it's almost a year since the inaugural entry. In that time, a lot has happened....and it's been an interesting year. Since the last blog, I've flown enough miles to cover the globe a few times and I'm writing this half a world away from the previous entry.

Time flies, and it's weird how some things have changed while others remain the same. I'm not sure if I can say I've grown wiser, but at least I can save I've grown horizontally, sadly. Smiles.

I'll keep this short; I just wanted to restart this blog of mine. Good intentions, but I need to get out of my lackdaisal attitude and keep to my intentions.

Ta.

-Listening to: "So Julie" by Lo

-Playing: World of Warcraft.
Thanks to EJ who is so kind to let me share his account. The game rox! My life is slowly but surely being leeeched away.....

-Book of the day: "The Millonaire Next Door".
Interesting read. It sorta complements "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" in that Robert Kurosagi imparts financial freedom while this book (can't remember the authors off-hand, and I'm too lazy to google for it :P) elaborates and aims for the next step, i.e. to be financially wealthy.

Been thinking a lot on how to invest my savings; I think I need to read up more before deciding on the investment vehicle of choice. A friend of mine has been advising me but I'll need to do my own research to check out all my options.

Statement of Intent

2005-06-12T21:49:00.000+08:00

Yay! I've finally gotten off my butt and did something I've always wanted to. The thought of keeping a blog as a way of capturing my ramblings, ideas, whines, etc. have been floating around in my mind for goodness know how long. No matter; the die has been cast. Let's see how I fare in using this space to organise my thoughts. Fingers crossed.

Gulp, I'll readily admit, I'm getting the newbie shakes. I'm quite nervous bout publishing my naive thoughts where anyone with a modem can scrutiny and flame to their heart's content. I'll readily (or at least try my best to) accept constructive comments, suggestions and the like. I have no eye deer ("no idea" if it slips past you on the 1st try) how I'll take to flaming. Shrug, oh well, it'll be an experience. So go ahead, post your comments.

You might ask,what am I thinking when I started this blog? If you've read Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling, particularly the 4th book (Globlet of Fire), you would have come across a fantastic device called a "pensieve". It's used by Prof. Dumbledore to store away certain thoughts when his mind is jumbled with conflicting ideas. Well, this blog is my pensieve. It's my place to jot down anything that I want to remember and wonder through when time allows. I'm also gonna use this space to whine, brainstorm or share news with the world; or at least the few poor unfortunate souls who happen to come across my ramblings. Grin.

Here's some ground rules I'll try to abide to when I blog in the future:

I will not edit & re-edit my postings in a vain and useless effort to sound sophisticated. I'm not an elegant writer. Heck, I'm dun even consider myself a writer. So piss off, if you wanna critise my sentence structures and grammatical mistakes.

I'll listen to all views and opinions on my postings. If my views are naive, feel free to comment and suggest improvements. It'll be greatly appreciated.

I'll try to post my real emotions; this will be a emo-blog in a sense. Of course, I'll reflect before ranting.

You'll hear the truth, or least my version of it. :) It's pointless to maintain this blog if it's gonna be a sanitised press statement of my feelings and views.

If you've gone to the trouble in sending me any personal mails/messages, you have my word I'll do my best in getting back to you in due time.

Conversely, here's some rules I'll like the you guys (and gals) to try to follow when viewing this blog:

No flaming other parties; let's all try to be civilised in our comments & discussions.
Dun SHOUT WHEN YOU TYPE. It gives me a headache and it's murder on the eyes.
Please do not link, attach or publish obscene materials. This ain't the space to share your sexual fantasies.
Dun go overboard with the vulgarities. I trust everyone's matured enough to communicate without resorting to cheap shots.

Ok, time to put a stop to these formalities. This first post of mine looks to be growing longer than what I would have thought. My apologies :). I'm excited; I hope this blog will be a great way for me to clear my head. I can't wait to start the real blogging.