Simple Thoughts of Me

Another Step towards Wisdom

2010-09-19T23:08:00.000+08:00

In the past few months, I encountered an exciting experience. Another breakthrough in my learning experience!

I started to appreciate the role of wisdom in life, especially when making a decision that will impact others. Together with such revelation, I begin to understand my lack of wisdom self.

Thankfully I was blessed with a perseverance and humility to admit my inadequacy. With the learning mindset, I put effort to observe some wise leader around me.

I noticed the following actions or mindsets can help me to be wiser in my decision:

- Be truthful cause the truth and only the truth that can set us free

- take time to look at the long term impact

- make sure you have a decision that is accompanied with a reason.

The last point is really helpful for me. I will imagine that I am explaining the reason of my choice to a virtual being in side my head. If I can not convince someone with my reason. There might be something wrong with he decision making process.

Though not perfecting me, the above steps help me in decision making and challenging my mind that is more incline toward intuition than facts.

- posted from iTouch -

The Greatest Power

2010-09-13T22:57:00.003+08:00

You might have heard about "an incredible love story" that is distributed through email. It is about a story of a couple that lives on the mountain. Out of his love to his wife, the husband hand-carved over 6000 stairs up on mountain. For complete story read here

Some started to argued that this story did not happened. Fair enough to doubt the existency of such incredible tale that proclaim the infinite power of love.

However this evening, I watched the television and found out there is a man named Dasharath Manjhi, that "moved" mountain because of his love to his wife. The following is quoted from expressindia.com:

Dashrath Manjhi was born in 1934 into a poor labourer's family in Gahlour village near Gaya in Bihar. Being illiterate, there seemed little option left for him but to spend his life working in the fields.He started working in the fields near a hill which rose on one side of his village. To cross the mountain, one had to traverse a narrow and treacherous pass.
One day, when his wife, Phaguni Devi, was crossing the pass to bring him his lunch, she slipped and hurt herself. This incident disturbed Das deeply and that very night he decided to destroy the hill which had injured his wife.The next morning, armed with t a hammer and chisel, he started off on a task that was to become an obsession. ``The villagers called me a madman'', recalls Dashrath Das.

With such story, I recalled the preaching by Fritz Macarena during the Evangelization Seminar organized by SACCRE

Love is the greatest power. Because when we love someone, no sacrifice is too great

Merry Christmas

2009-12-25T13:17:00.000+08:00

I was surprise to learn that a lot of non-Christian in Singapore celebrated Chrismas with their family. They bought gifts and prepared special lunch / dinner for this special day.

However it is also surprising that quite a number of them did not know the meaning of Christmas itself. A colleague of mine was asking if this celebration is to recall the birth of Jesus Christ.

So it is called CHRIST-mas

The art of communicating

2009-09-20T02:06:00.002+08:00

This post is gonna be a short reminder to me....

A good communication could only be achieve if the person answer the query in the questioner's mind. Hence LISTENING to what is actually the main concern of the counter party is important.
It is not about getting a right statement to answer the literal question but it is about addressing the curiousity of the other party.

I have read about the need of good communication on the following book:

and guess what... I think the skill of listening and understanding people thoughts beyond word is important

Racing against Self

2009-08-12T00:11:00.002+08:00

Dragon boating is more than about team building. Recently, I learnt new thing about this sport. I learnt to appreciate the meaning of a wise sentence, that says " The biggest enemy is ourselves".

As we are preparing for our dragon boat competition, we started to hold a mock race between teams at our training place. I realized that when we were racing with another strong team and we saw that the other team is pacing faster than ask. We started to lose mentally and lay back in our effort. Meanwhile when we focus in our effort, there is a bigger chance for us to catch up with the race and reduce the differences.

It is really about fighting the mind and persevere to the end of the racing line. It is not about winning the opponent but it is about keeping the composure and persevere mentally

Love is about give and...?

2009-08-11T23:54:00.003+08:00

I used to have the perception that in life there should be a time to give and to take or in compact term "GIVE and TAKE". It is just rational in human mind to accept such mutually beneficial relationship notion. This concept is what is believed by most people as the correct equation of LOVE

However, having reflecting more about LOVE, I beg to be different and argue that Love is about give and GIVE! In Catholic view, Love is sacrifice and I think this is an important concept about LOVE.

In engineering equation,

LOVE = GIVE + GIVE

In a loving family, what each spouse need to do is to give towards the other half without expecting a return and this is what usually went wrong in a relationship. We are expecting a reward or return in our "sacrifice". Such "sacrifice" is not a pure "sacrifice" that lead to happiness. Instead, when there is no reply of reward from the intended person, hatred will grow and boredom will destroy the relationship.

Loving someone is being able to give and happy by seeing they are happy and joyful. Just like a mother that sacrifice themselves to the well-being of their son and daughters.

Nobody Dance & Engineering

2009-08-06T22:19:00.002+08:00

Brain: Men VS Women

2009-08-05T23:18:00.003+08:00

Differences between Men's brain and those of women

I think I have those "nothing box" embedded in my brain too.... And to all girls: it is fun to be at the "nothing box" so please show pity to those men that are dying to be pampered by their "nothing box"...

What does that mean to run a business?

2009-08-05T22:58:00.003+08:00

Starting a business sounded like another academic project to me when I just graduate from university. Indeed, gathering a team to work was nothing but easy in the beginning. It took several meetings to prompt the team on the future enormous effort required to persevere and maintain the collaboration.

Once the significant milestone was achieved and there were no outstanding responses from the market, the team started to question whether the implementation of idea worth the sacrifice of time, effort and money. At the end, most team would excuse themselves to halt or abondone the business idea and that what had happened to my team.

Since then, I have been reflecting what is actually my vocation. I have a dream to establish my own company, my very own conglomerate business. However during the search it stumbled to me as if starting a business for the mere aim of earning richness was not appropriate. Instead, I feel like the higher intelligence is trying to tell me that the main motivation behind a business start-up is to provide additional value to other people's life.

In brief, we need to be passionate in running a business because we are eager to add value or help the public to fulfill their need. Meanwhile money, success or richness is the automatic outcome of the loving action of the businessman.

To some, this thought might be too ideal or even irrational. However I would like to defend myself that this is just my wild thought and frankly, I have no idea whether this is the truth about running business.

Lesson Learnt from Dragon Boat

2009-06-07T23:26:00.005+08:00

It is SHOW-OFF time... Despite my weak appearance, I have survived Dragon Boat training every Saturday morning. It is two hours non-stop water training... and It is very exaggerating... I meant VERY VERY EXHAUSTING...

Wait! I haven't finished boosting my self-pride. I was recently chosen as the "pacer" of the boat. To be a "pacer" in a team, one has to have a solid rowing technique and ability to persevere to the finishing line. And... Yesss... I did it...

Cool Huh??? but it is not what I want to share in this blog... The previous introduction is just some kind of adrenalin enhancing story...

Last Saturday I felt very blessed to learn new things from this sport. That morning, my team was rowing under the bright and hot sun as usual. It was a long distance training, where we got to row to go back to our start point. During that tiring moment, I realized we are excited to row to the finishing line as we start to see the finishing point, yet I started to realize if I am to excited and pushing the very max of my capability (increased speed and power), we might not be able to row to the end. Instead we have to maintain consistency and persevere to the end line.

I believe this mentality is also important in my life. As I have been a very ambitious person at the past, I would grab every opportunity that came to my way. At that time I will push to the max, without considering the distance that lay in front of me. What I need is a proper plan with consistent action. Such mentality with a clear vision of the end will keep ones going.

Long live Obama!

2009-06-06T23:48:00.003+08:00

After watching the electrifying speech by Presiden Barack Hussein Obama II, I become one of his admirer. At least, this is true in term of public speaking. He is one that speak out of his conviction instead of the merely pre-arranged script.

That's not all! What I admire the most is his humble yet profound message to promote peace between America and the Islamic counterpart. The speech was delivered with dignity and sincerity.

I believe he is one with superb leadership, which has great vision and ensure action to realize his promise. Just like when he announced that US Government would not nationalized one of the big bank that was in the verge of bankruptcy (If I was not mistaken, it was Citibank or BofA). He delivered what he promised.

Lastly, I praise him for acknowledging God as the source of creation and asking God's grace and blessing for the people. This reflects his belief that God exist and indeed I am firmly convinced that Obama was saying the truth.

By the way, one of my colleagues, who is pursuing Law (Human Rights) as his second degree, told me this morning that he almost cried watching Obama's inauguration speech (Yes, We Can!)

Survival / Success Formula

2009-05-10T15:49:00.002+08:00

I am not 100% sure on the effective of this formula for one's success. However I find this quite useful when I am doing my Final Year Project. It consists of three stage which consist of different attitude, namely:

1. Believe

Prior to the start of a project, one has to ensure that the project that he is doing is gonna be a breakthrough or to the least, he has to find whatever he has planned is achievable. It is good if one can convince himself and believe that what he is going to implement is nothing but success.

Believe that you can achieve the objective, and achieve it successfully!!!

2. Perseverance

During the implementation of the plan, there will be a lot of hindrance, such as: lack of motivation, time or even resources. There will be a time when one feels as if he is doing something wrong or useless. Question may arise in someone's mind that asks if the sacrifice is worth the objective. At this time, it is critical to stand firm and persevere in doing the planned agenda.

A successful person is able to arrive at the decision fast yet slow in changing his decided plan.

3. Compromise

Though perseverance is a must, human is not perfect. Some decision may be wrong. This is a time where deadline might not be sufficient or resource is really limited. This is what should be done when everything else has been done to achieved the previously decided decision.

Compromising the objective or the perfectness of the objective is the last thing that should be persued!

Love is always patient and kind

2009-05-03T01:23:00.004+08:00

Quoted from the Holy bible 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8

Love is always patient and kind; love is never jealous; love is not boastful or conceited, it is never rude and never seeks its own advantage, it does not take offence or store up grievances.

Love does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but finds its joy in the truth. It is always ready to make allowances, to trust, to hope and to endure whatever comes.

Love never comes to an end. But if there are prophecies, they will be done away with; if tongues, they will fall silent; and if knowledge, it will be done away with.

I was reminded again on the nature of love in the church today.

I used to think I am a fair person when it is dealing with reserving seat during the mass. I personally tried not to reserve the seat in the church for mass. My past argument is that it was not fair for those who came earlier yet they could not find a seat for themselves caused you were hogging the seat.

Today, I had to reserve a seat for my dearest sister who could not come earlier to the church on time due to her class. I was upset and not feeling comfortable of hogging the seat beside me, especially after the church warden asked me if the seat were available. I was about to let go the seat, yet I restrained myself for doing that.

My sister came to the seat at about 20 mins after the mass started. I kept silent and tried to calm down my mixed feeling. It was at that time I realized that I was too selfish. It was not about whether it was fair to hog the seat or whether her action caused distraction to my communion with God. Probably, I was just too afraid of being portrayed as unfair or selfish by reserving the seat. In fact, my sister reserved a seat for me few weeks ago and she always welcome me with a smile.

I sincerely thanks God for giving me such a patient and cheerful individual as my sibling.

A Morning Prayer

2009-05-01T00:13:00.002+08:00

Few days ago, I prayed during my trip to office.

"Lord Jesus, Teach me and guide me to be more like You.

To be firm yet caring...

To be just yet loving...

AMIN"

Be detailed!

2009-04-30T23:56:00.003+08:00

Steven Covey wrote in his book, 7 Habits of highly Effective People, to "start with the end in the mind". Steven argued that this is one of the principle for personal success. Surprisingly, this was concluded by Napoleon Hill in his book, Think and Grow Rich, too.

I am not refering to the abstract nature of Law of Attraction, though I never denied the possible existance of such law. In project, being able to think of the end point in detail is crucial. The more detailed, the project manager/engineer is the more issues can be highlighted at the beginning of the project.

Issues that is identified earlier is not a problem. On the other hand, problem is an un-identified and un-controllable issue.

Put the detail in your mind. Scrutinize the proposal, contract, plan or schedule!

Responsibility on Change

2009-04-24T22:20:00.007+08:00

A senior is used to tell me that as a project engineer, we are here to manage changes. It is further affirmed by Rob Kennaugh in his book "Project Management 101 Tips and Tools for Success". The author argues that Project manager is a change agent and he added that change is not usually welcomed in our "regular" world.

I agree with such notion, as I have previously written that

"REGULARITY = COMFORTABLENESS"

However that is not What I would like to highlight today. Instead, I have learned this very day, that as a project engineer, we are not only responsible of what we are changing. The concern is not only on the modification of the regular things. However a good project engineer will also take precaution on the impact of the changes on the existing object.

For example, In changing a tyre of a car, we should not be merely concern on the quality of the new tyre. Instead we have to ensure that the new tyre will perform according to the intention and will not introduce bad effect on the main object.

The Know All Guy

2009-04-16T22:06:00.003+08:00

One characteristic of good project manager is able to answer all questions about his/her project. It does not necessarily to have the complete answer but being able to take the responsibility and direct the questionnaire to the right guy.

Wednesday with Peter

2009-04-16T00:42:00.003+08:00

My wednesday was ended with an insightful conversation with the founder of Wellsprings, Peter, a formally trained engineer that decided to pursue his passion in religious books. He was in the religious book ministry for decades. He was also the pioneer batch of NTU (formerly known as NTI).

Followings are his advice to us:
1. Start a business with product that you are passionate about. Without interest and personal passion in the product, the fire will not last long

2. Focus! Think of one product and push it through. Take the niche and expand the network.

3. Be personal. Based on his experience in selling religious books in Singapore, personal assistance is preferred by most customer.

The first two advices are what I have been hearing from most of the motivational speaker but I do not really believe in it. However it seems that God want me to believe in those points.

As I opened my daily reading, I found this phrase:

And he said to them "Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and enter into his glory?" - Lk 24:25

And today conversation flashed out in my mind, as if the higher power tried to communicate to me.

Happy [Birth]day

2009-04-15T15:15:00.003+08:00

I am quite surprise for getting such a number of email from facebook today. I am not a loyal member of facebook though. Thank you to all that have send me bdae wishes. It is great to have you all as my friends.

Thanks God for giving me such an understanding and caring friends like you all..

and especially for this one...

Life Insurance

2009-04-10T23:59:00.002+08:00

I have decided to sign up for a life insurance. I have yet to get complete information on the coverage and possible return. However here are some analysis and consideration that I have made prior to my action:

1. Will the money I put in worth the coverage that I'll got?

The coverage will pay me SGD100K for death, SGD100K for Critical Illness and SGD100K for Permanent disability. In brief, Touch wooD!!! If I was damned unlucky, I would earned SGD300K in lump sum. The premium will be SGD1,800/year.

Using my limited knowledge in finance, I used the power of internet to calculate the annuity value of my yearly premium payment. Annual payment of SGD1800, with annual interest of 1% (FYI, time deposit in SGD for 36mths = 0.8% p.a.), for 43 years resulted in SGD97K++.

Hence the coverage is worth the money I spent since keeping the money in bank will give me lower interest. Annuity calculator website: here

On top of that, I will be getting extra money from the scheme since part of the premium will be kept as unit trust that can be liquidated anytime as per my request.

2. Is the coverage comprehensive enough?

The coverage includes any kind of death (including suicide) except death due to terrorist attack, permanent disability involving at least lost of two limbs, 31 Critical Illness.

Frankly speaking, SGD 100K will not be enough to cover critical illness however SGD100k will help me pay the minimum contribution of my medical insurance.

3. Will I be covered if I am not a PR anymore?

This is important as I have no plan staying in SG for good. It covers world wide.

4. Will the company go bankrupt during this credit crunch?

I am not a fartune teller. But the mother company seems strong and it is considered as one of the prominent bank in Asia.

The little imperfection that make them perfect for you...

2009-04-06T21:35:00.002+08:00

taken from: http://thinkfamily.sg/

Conversation with a Financial Planner

2009-03-29T21:28:00.004+08:00

Yesterday I met ~~an insurance agent~~ a financial planner. That was my second meeting with him. Again he explained almost everything that he had ever communicated to me in the previous meeting. It refreshed my brain on the concepts that he would like to imposed onto my belief system. He spoke fluently and delivered insightful lesson worth considering.

However I would like to highlight two points that I could not agree with:

1. Life without loan is possible.
Chinese man in my hometown (those that left China decades ago) believes that life with loan is bad. I personally thing such belief has brought those Chinese people in my hometown wealthy and being able to afford comfortable life. "Human tend to seek instant gratification"

2. Don't depend on insurance claim for your retirement
I belief from the case of "Lehman Bro", our generation has undergone a painful lesson that proved nothing is too big to fail. NO THING IS ABSOLUTE IN OUR MATERIAL WORLD

Lazy Saturday

2009-03-28T16:00:00.004+08:00

I skipped my dragon boat training today. At first, I thought it would be good for me that I would have extra free time in the morning. In fact, NOT ENOUGH TIME had been something that I have been continuously complaining in the past few months.

However after waking up at 11AM this morning, I found the guilt of not being committed to the schedule and it almost drained my whole spirit away. I could really feel how disappointed my soul was at that point of time. It might sound too exaggerated to say that my energy was low due to the skipping action but that was what I felt at that moment.

Here are two possible reasons that, in my humble opinion, have caused such reaction:

1. I feel uncomfortable because of skipping my regular activities
I have been noticing this phenomena on myself. Although I used to say that I like to venture into new challenges, I can not lie to myself. I love regularity. The equation goes like this:

Regularity = comfortableness

In engineering term, Regularity has direct relationship to comfortableness, i.e. the more regular something is the more comfortable ~~we are~~ I am.

2. I feel bad about myself of neglecting my commitment
Despite the not-so-punctual attitude, I always try to fulfill my commitment as much as I can. For me, commitment is something absolute and definitely a must-to-deliver item. This may be the reason why I tend to reduce my involvement in many occasion. I prefer not taking part to not being able to produce good deliverable.

Personally, I hope the second reason was the caused of this morning feeling... and I would like to share this lesson:

1. skipping your activities would not always give you extra time and it seems to me, based on this experience, the problem is not on the limited time available but on my ability to commit myself to whatever I have planned to accomplish

2. Completing one target will boost your energy for the next target.

The contagious human energy

2009-03-15T01:58:00.005+08:00

It was almost 2AM (Singapore time) and I was about to sleep when the incident happened.

To be brief, a friend of mine argued with me on email forwarding issue. I was trying to explain to "my dearest friend" that by forwarding the email, one was exposing her friends to the spammer. However "the friend" argued that those email was not harmful in anyway and advised me to delete them if it was too irritating. I was shock with such treatment.

First of all, I did not communicate that the email was irritating. Instead, I was actually trying to explain to her what the email was trying to achieve. The purpose of such email scam was to let the attached party (the originator) to create a list of email addresses. The list might be sold to a company and we would start getting spam in our inbox.

I could feel the anger in the words that came out from my friend. The anger slowly bites me and try to infect my "normalized" energy. I felt uncomfortable talking with the person that time as the negative energy of the individual tried to invade my balanced condition.

Upon realizing such situation, there is no point of explaining anything to the person. I put my best effort to let her ego win and disrupt the communication with a thankful expression.

I hope "my particular friend" has the chance to understand what had happened during that five minutes communication. I have no intention to insult or belittle the person but I think it is unwise to let your emotion rule offer you and not being open to the truth.

Conclusion: Both positive and negative energy is contagious. Being able to mingle around people with positive and open mindset enhance our life quality

What a beautiful gift from God it was

2009-03-15T01:02:00.001+08:00

taken from my N90 phone

Index Finger vs Ring Finger

2009-01-23T22:25:00.002+08:00

Do you know that the difference between your index finger and ring finger affect your personality?

Check it out at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4314209.stm

There is also a recent research that reported study between those with ring finger longer than index finger. They argued that person with longer ring finger than the index performed better in stock trading...

Yeah I know I have longer ring finger than the index but I am not lying... it is written in this article...

http://news.lalate.com/2009/01/13/ring-finger-longer-than-index-finger/

and also... in Indonesian language: http://www.kompas.com/read/xml/2009/01/14/23594446/bakat.pialang.saham.ditentukan.panjang.jari.manis.

Lithogenes wahari

2009-01-23T22:14:00.003+08:00

Lithogenes wahari or known as "climbing catfish" is able to climb rocks using its “specialized pelvic fin” and a “grasping mouth” as quoted from this blog.

Complete article in Indonesia: kompas

The Bright Moon

2008-12-14T13:58:00.000+08:00

I was having dinner at Marche, vivo city yesterday. The moon has again grabbed my attention. It was beautiful and magnificent. it was so bright and clear.

Today I got an email from a friend in Emmaus (my prayer group in st Mary) about the fact that yesterday moon is a rare appearance of it. It was the brightest in the last 50 years!! the moon was 17 thousand miles closer during that time.

To read the full story:
http://sciencemode.com/2008/12/13/missed-fridays-full-moon-its-back-tonight/

Water Crystal Research By Masaru Emoto

2008-12-13T01:59:00.002+08:00

Quoted from: http://www.life-enthusiast.com/twilight/research_emoto.htm

Do you know different thoughts imposed on a distilled water will result in different crystal structure of the water. Some pictures from the article:

The crystal structure of water that is subjected to Heavy Metal Music

The crystal structure of water that is subjected to word "You make me sick, I will kill you"

The crystal structure of water that is subjected to Adolph Hitler

The crystal structure of water that is subjected to Love and Appreciation

The crystal structure of water that is subjected to word "THANK YOU"

The crystal structure of water that is subjected to Mother Theresa

More information on Masary Emoto on wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masaru_Emoto

TIME & MONEY

2008-12-13T01:29:00.003+08:00

Do they sound familiar to you? Yeah, it is one of the most important topic in finance. Time is Money, addressed as time value of money by the financial people. I will not talk about that anyway. I am not gonna explain how closely related they are. Just remember this phrase:

“ Young People sacrifice their TIME to earn MONEY, meanwhile the old folks sacrifice MONEY to get TIME”

That is why in this writing I would like to talk about how to MANAGE them.

I have been doing well with financial management (still along way to the millionaire ~~dream~~ TARGET). However, one thing that I just realized after a conversation with one of my new housemates, he is a very handsome and wise guy, any lady interested can let me know XD. We were on the way back from the Xmas thanksgiving mass in St Mary. I was complaining about how fast the time has flied. I couldn’t even APPRECIATE the one week. As if the number of day in the week is getting lesser and lesser.

My ~~big~~ wise friend from SMU gave me a good suggestion that might be effective to solve my concern. It is to start a diary, taking note , just a brief one, of your activities in each day. I do not know whether such thing will work or not but definitely I am going to try it out.

I have been recording my daily expenses for the previous three months. At first it was challenging. However I realize that by doing such simple thing, I am getting more and more aware of my spending and better in terms of financial planning.

The Trap of Perfectionism

2008-12-13T01:08:00.002+08:00

Dear Reader,

How are you? I hope your life is great as it is for me. You might think that I have been abandoning this blog or you might think I am not serious of being a blogger. You might be right from certain points of view. BUT...

I wish to clarify that I am a kind of person that value commitment as one of the most important things in life. I did take words actually I am trying to be a warrior that came out of my mouth as promise and try to realize it. However I have been a perfectionist in writing blog. Almost everyday I am thinking of sharing something interesting to the world and again... the big BUT comes in. I tend to procrastinate and think that tomorrow will be a better time for me to write my idea in a “PERFECT” manner. And as you see here... the blog is not moving as if tomorrow never come.

IT IS ENOUGH... this blog is not an academic journal that needs lots of check and reviews. It is a random collection of writings that record my thoughts and observation on the world.

I, W****** K******, will quit being a perfectionist in writing blog and finish what I have started. this statement is not binding in any law of any country, so please don't sue me XD

I welcome you back to my blog... I will ~~try to~~ (no more try to... commitment le... never heard about 'le', it is singlish... very happening in singapore "le"...) update this blog at least once a week from now on... YEAH... IT IS A COMMITMENT now....

Cheers,
WK

Pascal's Wager

2008-09-11T20:45:00.001+08:00

Pascal’s wager

Introducing a genius named Blaise Pascal….

He is a French philosopher that utilized the probability theory to justify why human should believe in God.

	God exists (G)	God does not exist (~G)
Living as if God exists (B)	+∞ (heaven)	−N (none)
Living as if God does not exist (~B)	?? not specified perhaps N (limbo/purgatory/spiritual death) or −∞ (hell)	+N (none)

From the matrix, he argued that believing in God is absolutely more beneficial than not believing.

Further information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascal%27s_Wager

What do you think?

Inspirational Videos

2008-08-14T21:36:00.003+08:00

Thanks to zenhabits.net

Let start with words from Will Smith

I think he got it right! Success requires perseverance and Learning from others smooth the path to success.

Here is Job Steve, one of the most powerful business leader. He is the CEO of Apple Inc and Pixar.

And lesson from a professor on the importance of dream in your life.

Or an insightful stroke experience by Jill Bolte Taylor.

Last but not least a father with so much love for his son. This is wonderful!

They are just ordinary people, like YOU and ME, doing extraordinary things. Maybe this hug campaign video will teach us what a person can do for the human-beings.

Take care of your hand, sir!

2008-08-09T15:18:00.003+08:00

I was reading cnn.com today when I saw this photo:

taken from www.cnn.com

Notice the officer that was lifting the lady. Don't you think his hand is a bit inappropriate?

(Moral of the story: Please take care of your hand position when taking photos)

My Monday (cont'd)

2008-08-09T15:15:00.000+08:00

After the peaceful dinner, I walked calmly to Lot 1. Suddenly an SMS vibrate my phone. It is from my meeting buddy. He couldn’t make it on time. Hence I decided to go to CCK library that is located inside the mall. That was my virgin visit to Choa Chu Kang library.

I like to read books but library is not my favourite hang-out place as I do not only love to read book but to BUY the book. I can resist myself of buying other items but not books, especially if there is promotion or discount.

On 7.30 pm I went out from the library and met Andy and Valent for our short ‘business’ meeting. Through this meeting I become aware of the importance of having a face to face meeting for a discussion. The energy level was increased through the meeting. We have a fruitful meeting that day.

I end the day with a smile in my face. And... a thankful prayer before my sleep.

My Monday

2008-08-05T00:16:00.000+08:00

Today was started with a dreadful struggle to get up from the lovely bed after a busy yet pleasant weekend. I forced myself to detach from my rest after the third snooze of my little alarm clock, located at the side of my bed.

As usual I was the first person to leave the house. Walking toward the MRT station, I talked to myself that today was going to be another lucky day. I started to sing softly as I walk. Singing could bring my mood up, one technique that I learned from “The Secret” movie.

Once I arrived at the MRT station, I started to grab a book that I have just bought few days ago to keep myself busy. To my amusement, this book reminded me of many things that had gone unnoticed in my life. One of them was to keep silence moment, get out of the busy me, and be still in the middle of the high speed human activity in this world.

I have witnessed several people’s death. Several are able to face their death with a peaceful mind, some are desperately fighting against it and others are just to fragile to accept the pain and as the result they withdraw themselves from the reality. To my deepest observation, those who are able to face their life with a smile are those who believe in the power of love. At the end of our day, the most important thing is to have someone that loves you around.

I have witness the loneliness that someone feels near death. Not to be bias, but I really think believing in a religion is important. To believe that your journey is not ending but a new and eternal salvation is waiting. The book entitled “Tuesday with Morrie” have surprisingly able to capture and express my observation about this “Love and death phenomenon”. What a great work it has. It also reminds me to define my priority that is beyond the material world. This literature is a very good reminder to my ambitious personality.

In the office, I started my day with small biscuits for my breakfast as my hand busy clicking the mouse and reading emails. I started to have more works that I have to go out from the office at 5.30pm instead of 15 minutes earlier.

I reached Choa Chu Kang MRT at 6.20pm and spending around 30 minutes for a lonely dinner. This time I walked and acted at a snail's pace, tried to appreciate the surroundings and the gifts that I have. Some people might think I am a freak as I walked slowly and smiled without reasons….

Wew… It’s 12.15 midnight…. This post will be continued

The Essence of Dreaming

2008-07-13T22:06:00.001+08:00

Finally, I am back to the blogging world…

Life has been very different from me. I have “evolved” from being a student into a ~~good-looking~~ working young adults. It is not as frightening or boring as what most of my seniors have shared to me. However I realized that the regularity of working life might lead me into the trap of a normal life. The security of regular job and the culture of the surroundings have almost successfully persuaded me to follow the crowd.

I have almost forgotten my dream, which have become lesser as I aged. Although I used to say to my friends, “Dream big now, while you are at university (or a student) and write it down. The working life will not allow you even to dream”. And guess what? I encountered it in my days of working. It is where the “REALITY” seems to be contradicting to your dream.

I am fortunate to be reminded about this. I am lucky to have my dream intact and to have taken a simple small step toward the great intention. Are you curious enough? Visit www.zhops.com

Britain's Got Talent

2008-05-28T00:50:00.003+08:00

Rome Home Sweet Home

2008-05-21T00:24:00.005+08:00

My friends and I had been searching for a place to stay in after leaving NTU hostel. In fact we had been contacting many property agents and asking people that we know for any recommendation and suggestion. The reason that made it difficult for us to find a good place was that our group wanted to move in early July but settled the deal by end of May 08. Many had tried to convince me that it would be difficult but hard works did pay.

After sharing with several friends, many had feedback that our unit is a very good deal. Some pictures of the unit were taken using my mobile phone camera:

So Do you think it's an HDB, Condo or EA?

I would not give you tips for finding good house as I don’t have ones. However I would like to share what we had done to get such a good deal.

Define our requirement. It should not be merely defining the type of accommodation, the location and the move-in time but it is also important to determine the total budget of the group. For us, we base our search on type (e.g. 3+1), location (distance from MRT) and the rental fee.

Search on internet (http://www.sg-house.com/, http://www.flatsdb.com/, etc), read newspaper for any listing, ask friends or call the agent. Don’t hesitate to ask me if you need contact number of a good agent. I have some. (Note: if you are using agent, remember to ask them about the commission fee and other administration fee)

Visit the house with several people of your group to derive a fair judgement. Sometimes the emotion override man's conscience. Don't forget to bargain!

Pray, pray and pray! Yes I did pray to God for His guidance in finding the desired unit the night before with all my heart... And... it's just the night before I closed the good deal.

Last but not least, ensure that all the member of the group put effort for finding the place. It needs not to be fair but sufficient. Hence all will know how difficult it was to find a good place.

A Grateful Engineer

2008-05-06T23:09:00.007+08:00

I have just come back from a prayer meeting in NTU. It has been a while for me not having such a great time praising and worshipping my wonderful God. I came to the prayer meeting with so many things inside my head. I have just cleared my final examination as an undergraduate and completed my final presentation for the degree. I am unofficially a BACHELOR... yeah a bachelor with so many things in his head...

"William Kangdra B. Eng"

Although I have finished most of the necessary stuffs of my academic life, there are still so many things that I have to work on... career, ~~fiancée~~ finance, business, friends or a place for living. All this things distracted me from being thankful of all that I have received during this past few months. And... truly the prayer meeting with the theme of thanksgiving is just a perfect reminder to me.

Here are some of the great events that I should be grateful for:

1. Completed my last examination as an undergraduate in NTU. Definitely there is still room for improvement but I guess I have done my best for all the papers. During the exam preparation process itself I learnt a lot of new things. I meant beside the technical knowledge. Hint: it’s about belief, perseverance and compromise.

My Last paper: MP4010

2. Finished my FYP presentation. I really thank Prof Heng for helping me so much during the presentation and inspiring me throughout the year. If you asked me what is one thing that I regret in life, the thing will be I didn’t take URECA under Prof. Heng in third year. (I am kidding... I shouldn't have regretted what had happened)

My Final Year Project: Electroencephalography (Mind Controlled device)

3. I am a National Achiever Congress 2008 graduate (Thanks Benny!!!). Yeah, it is a great three days seminar. If you were reading one of my posts and thought that being a millionaire before thirty years old is a joke, I think you need to attend this congress. I have meet James and Eric in this event. They are a very motivated and programmed-to-success kind of people.

4. Makan Sutra session. It’s a free event organized by the government agency for foreign student and for me it is a very good networking session. I got to know new people like: Yos from Nigeria, Desy from Medan (my home town), Hartono from Jakarta, Victor from Malaysia (KL), and many more.

Left to right: Desy, Lele, Rica, Kadek, Sophie and a handsome guy :-p

5. I have produced a (technical) paper that was accepted to the Second International Convention on Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology, i-CREATe 2008. Hence I got a chance to go to Bangkok for free. Yay!

Be grateful and all the good things will come upon you!

45 minutes to final paper

2008-04-28T08:12:00.000+08:00

HURRAY.....

A list of the most asked questions in Google.

2008-04-25T02:28:00.002+08:00

It was 2.30 AM and in the middle of exam period. I spent the full day typing my final year report. Without further ado I would like to share this information with you. It is taken from Google Zeitgeist

Who is...
1. who is god
2. who is who
3. who is lookup
4. who is jesus
5. who is it
6. who is buckethead
7. who is calling
8. who is keppler
9. who is this
10. who is satan

What is...
1. what is love
2. what is autism
3. what is rss
4. what is lupus
5. what is sap
6. what is bluetooth
7. what is emo
8. what is java
9. what is hpv
10. what is gout

How to...
1. how to kiss
2. how to draw
3. how to knit
4. how to hack
5. how to dance
6. how to crochet
7. how to meditate
8. how to flirt
9. how to levitate
10. how to skateboard

I guess I am lucky for knowing who God is, having felt what love is and being an expert in how to kiss :-p

Mystery of a couple

2008-04-18T13:36:00.005+08:00

I was having lunch with the current most famous Indonesian in NTU, who is happened to be my close neighbour as well. After the short lunch, we had a small chat about “having a girlfriend”. It reminded me to an observation that I had postulated long time ago. This thought came upon me when I was waiting in a mall with one of my senior. We observed that most of the couples constituted one of the following combination options:

Handsome man and a not so pretty woman OR
A Pretty woman and a not so good looking man

Disclaimer: I said “most” of the couple. Hence if you are part of the handsome + pretty couple, you are the exception.

I suggested several reasons for this trend:

The good looking individual admires the character of the not-so-good-looking person. It can be the personality, the LOVE, the wealth, the inner beauty, etc.

Another possible reason is that most of the good looking individuals are so proud of themselves that make them reluctant to go and search for a couple. Many of them think that they are worthy to be desired by the opposite sex as they are handsome or beautiful. Imagine if both the handsome and pretty individuals are not looking for couple and not putting effort to propose, when will they match?

Morals of the story are:

Don’t think that the only reason for the good and not-so-good couple is merely money. It can be one of the reasons but not always.

If you are pretty or handsome, go and search for your couple now! Don’t wait for a handsome prince or beautiful princess to come and give you an “invitation to treat”

The 22nd Birthday

2008-04-15T01:46:00.003+08:00

Today is my ~~eighteen~~ twenty second birthday. Let's me share my wishes list here:

to always love my parents and family. I want to see them happy all the time.
to start my own online business by the end of this year and make it a success.
to improve my personality and character. to become better and better.
to find ... (sorry, it's not for public disclosure)
to excel in my study and do well in my last exam.
to go back to medan and meet my grandma, family and friends.
to be a millionaire before thirty (please don't tell me that it's impossible)
to find a nice and comfortable place to stay... preferably it is cheap also... hehehe
and many more...

Amin...

Karantina on Fire

2008-04-14T13:52:00.002+08:00

Today around 9.30am, I was woken up by the ring of my mobile phone. It was a message from brother, David. I used to ignore any message received when I was on bed but this time I instantaneously woke up from my sleep and grabbed the handphone. It said in bahasa Indonesia:

“Ko, karantina kebakaran.tp uda reda.semua selamat .ama skrg di ruma goi”

Yeah it’s not a proper bahasa Indonesia and today was not an April Fool day. Oops.. let me translate it into English, or maybe Singlish:

“Bro, karantina on fire. but it’s in control now. Everyone OK. Grandma is now in
aunt’s house”

“Karantina” refers to my grandma’s house where I used to stay in. I have been staying there for at least seven years, I guess. It was located on Jalan Karantina (the address). That is why we call it with such a funny name, e.g. karantina means isolation in english. After reading that message, I called my brother’s handphone and asked for more details.

According to my brother the fire was originated from the workshop that was located just behind my grandma’s house. It happened in the early morning. I can’t imagine how scary the condition was as they have to leave the house from the second floor of the house, it’s through the window.

Everything is fine now. We lose half of the house but I really thank God for His protection to ones that I love. One of my aunts experiences minor injuries but I heard it is not too serious. All of them move to my parent’s house that had been left empty for long time. Please pray for my family. I hope this trauma will not haunt them for a long time.

Pre-exam celebration

2008-04-11T22:10:00.002+08:00

Wooohooo....!!! I am just too excited that I can’t concern to my study. Yeah... the exam is coming. Today is just simply too wonderful for me. Thanks God for giving me such wonderful friends around me. I hope I can always be a good friend to them also... Thanks for celebrating my birthday, MAE-ers... although it is too early... and to Blazers as well.... Two thumbs for the organizers

I was surfing some schools website with one of my friends tonight. He went to SMU Sutomo’s webpage. Surprisingly it was not online anymore. Strange huh!!! Yeah it’s strange! But we came out with a powerful online business idea from there... Guess what.... hahaha... sorry it’s a big plan of us... not for public disclosure!
Anyway... it is another blessing for me and I am just too excited to start the business... Will we make it happen? Wait for the next post...

In spite of those blessings, I am started to worry for myself. My worries are:

- Am I too business minded? Am I only thinking about money and business? I am afraid that I will be too focused on them... and forget about others (Pray that God will always remind me of all this!)

- Can I always be a good friend? A friend that can always help others... I am just too scared to be a best friend of others cause I really don’t think I am that good!

Hope I can be the contrary of the above bad points. Amin....

Unknown Sacrifice

2008-03-27T00:08:00.003+08:00

I had been reading the following story several times yet it has never failed to draw me into feeling the sorrow resulting from such a shameful act by the “son” character in the story. I believe it is also applied to many people, especially me. It might be insignificant sacrifices by our parent or someone around us and yet we consider it as unworthy or even shame to acknowledge the person as someone close to us.

A note for my family: I love you all!!! I am so sorry if I’d missed to acknowledge your help and care.

To friends: Thank you for all your helps and cares. I am a weak human that is arrogant and naïve. I ask you for another help, which is to remind me of my weaknesses.

My mom only had one eye. I hated her... She was such an embarrassment.
She cooked for students & teachers to support the family.

There was this one day during elementary school where my mom came to
Say hello to me.

I was so embarrassed.

How could she do this to me?
I ignored her, threw her a hateful look and ran out.
The next day at school one of my classmates said, 'EEEE, your mom only
Has one eye!'

I wanted to bury myself.
I also wanted my mom to just disappear.
I confronted her that day and said, ' If you're only goanna make me a
Laughing stock, why don't you just die?'

My mom did not respond...
I didn't even stop to think for a second about what I had said, because
I was full of anger.
I was oblivious to her feelings.

I wanted out of that house, and have nothing to do with her.
So I studied real hard , got a chance to go abroad to study.
Then, I got married.
I bought a house of my own.
I had kids of my own.
I was happy with my life, my kids and the comforts, Then one day, my
Mother came to visit me.
She hadn't seen me in years and she didn't even meet her
Grandchildren.

When she stood by the door, my children laughed at her, and I yelled at
Her for coming over uninvited.
I screamed at her, 'How dare you come to my house and scare my
Children!'
GET OUT OF HERE! NOW!!!'

And to this, my mother quietly answered, 'Oh, I'm so sorry. I may have
Gotten the wrong address,'
And she disappeared out of sight.
One day, a letter regarding a school reunion came to my house.

So I lied to my wife that I was going on a business trip.
After the reunion, I went to the old shack just out of curiosity.

My neighbors said that she died.
I did not shed a single tear.
They handed me a letter that she had wanted me to have.

'My dearest son,
I think of you all the time. I'm sorry that I came to your house and
Scared your children.
I was so glad when I heard you were coming for the reunion.
But I may not be able to even get out of bed to see you.
I'm sorry that I was a constant embarrassment to you when you were
Growing up.

You see........when you were very little, you got into an accident, and
Lost your eye.
As a mother, I couldn't stand watching you
Having to grow up with one eye.
So I gave you mine.
I was so proud of my son who was seeing a whole new world for me, in my
Place, with that eye.

With all my love to you,
Your mother.

Tickle.com

2008-03-21T11:42:00.003+08:00

Some tests that I have taken from Tickle.com (mostly during last semester Exam)...

The Brainteaser Test
Result: 29/30

Are You a Natural Leader?
Result: Ahead of the Pack

What's Your Destiny?
Result: Manager

The Enneagram Test
Result: Type 7 - The Adventurer

Your Subconscious Self
Result: Work Life

The Brain Test
Result: Left-brained

The Super IQ Test
Result: Creative Theorist

What Shapes Your Personality?
Result: Organized

The Classic IQ Test
Result: Visionary Philosopher

and... the list goes on...

Life is precious

2008-03-09T20:38:00.003+08:00

Life is a challenge, accept it.
Life is a battle, fight it.
Life is a tear, face it.
Life is a journey, complete it.
Life is a game, play it.
Life is precious, treasure it.

What a nice reflection of life they were. It was taken from one of my friends’ blog. However if you asked me to choose one, it will be “Life is precious“ and I will treasure it to the fullest.

This thought came to me yesterday night. It is when I was walking alone at midnight, accompanied with the gentle breeze and silence of green grass, to the most outstanding building in NTU. Yeah... it’s ADM building! It has been a while for me to walk at night. Anyway, I went to my cousin’s birthday celebration.

Those experience remind me to my previous experience when I first came to NTU. My friends and I used to spend time together for late supper in Jurong West. A life full of fun and freedom! I think I missed those fun moments in my life. University life is going to over soon and I hope to make the best out of the time left by enjoying my days in NTU more and more!

Ps. ADM pond is a nice “ romantic” place to hang out with your gf/bf at night. Recommended for the new couple in BLAZERs. Congratulation for both of you!

Law of Attraction

2008-03-08T00:56:00.002+08:00

This list of four steps, couched in quasi-scientific terms, is quite similar to, and was influenced by, the panentheistic "Seven Steps in Demonstration" first outlined in the famous non-denominational New Thought book Become What You Believe by Mildred Mann (1904 - 1971):

Desire. Get a strong enthusiasm for that which you want in your life, a real longing for something which is not there now.

Decision. Know definitely what it is that you want, what it is that you want to do or have, and be willing to pay in spiritual values.

Ask. [When sure and enthusiastic] ask for it in simple, concise language. . .

Believe. Believe in the accomplishment with strong faith, consciously and subconsciously.

Work. Work at it. . . a few minutes daily, seeing yourself in the finished picture. Never outline details, but rather see yourself enjoying the particular thing . . . Eventually, you will see a time where it will just appear, as a gift or such, or you may see an opportunity to get what you were asking for.

Feel gratitude. Always remember to say, "Thank you, God [or the universe]," and begin to feel the gratitude in your heart. The most powerful prayer we can ever make is those three words, provided we really feel it. Feel as though you already have what you wanted.

Feel expectancy. Train yourself to live in a state of happy expectancy... Find a way it will appear in your life, and keep believing in that. May it be that someone gives it to you, or you find an initiation to get it.

... quoted from wikipedia

Heart vs Brain

2008-03-06T20:54:00.001+08:00

Wew... just finished a quiz on Mental Health module (HP803)... What a fulfilling day it was... and it is blogging time.

Let me start with some secrets shared by my FYP Professor, an inspiring man with wonderful life.

It was a day after LISC 2008 (read: honeymoon with God). I was in the lab with another master student when suddenly my professor approached both of us and offered a celebration lunch for successful submission of our papers (one on EEG device and the other one about new rehabilitation proposal). Nah... It is not about the free food!!! It’s about his sharing... it’s about his way of thinking that he shared during the 4 hour chat. What a great time it was!

Curious enough??? Unfortunately I can’t disclose all the tips here... but let me share some of them:

1. Count your blessings
2. Follow your heart and not your brain
3. Acknowledge others and praise them for their talent or positive character
4. Focus on your success, your dream and go after it
5. Don’t let the negative energy from other to infect you
6. Don’t complain!
7. One can do and so can you
8. Etc (you can read the secret of millionaire mind for more)

He also asked three questions to me:
1. Why did Adam and Eve fall into sin?
2. Why there is pain and suffering?
3. What is the meaning of life?

I have tried following my heart for the previous two days and it has been wonderful. One example is when I went to the convention by URECA Mensa. It was a struggle for me to go for the convention as it was raining that day and I had a lot of deadlines. Despite all that I went there and I found an opportunity to improve my brain memory... what a blessing ~~luck~~ it was!

There is always a time for everything! Just follow your heart!

The Miracle Baby

2008-02-23T13:23:00.001+08:00

If you are wondering where God is or whether God exist. This baby might help you to find the answer!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUdLIH-krL4

It's amazing...

Lucky Engineer

2008-02-22T23:08:00.001+08:00

Presentation about (Post) graduate study in MAE Farewell Dinner has never failed to persuade me to take a master degree. The short forum in the event also stressed some good points of having a career as an engineer in Singapore. Adding my personal opinion, I shall share why engineering is having a good prospect in Singapore.

Firstly, it is pretty obvious that Singapore intend to develop its competency in engineering, from OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) to OED (Original Design Manufacturer). This means that Singapore will need more experts in engineering degree. Looking from nation perspective, Singapore, not like Hongkong, is not going to focus on finance field solely.

As an engineer, one will have an option to shift to other field. In fact I know a lot of people that shift from engineer to business or finance sector. On the other hand I have known none come into engineering field from other fields. It is very flexible! Many engineering opportunities are available with their specific tasks and roles.

Given the current economic situation, engineering career ensures good security. The shaking global economy, which is originated from the sub-prime dilemma, may result in recession in some country. This unstable business environment will directly impact the finance and business sector but is cushioned by the nature of engineering job. No company will shut down its million dollar plants if they are making loss but there are a number of finance industry employees or even CEOs retrenched due to the unfortunate event.

Lastly, it is a good start for an inexperienced graduate. It may not pay starting salary as high as the investment banking does. However the increment is probably better and the four tough year of your study will not be a waste.

Blessed Monday

2008-02-05T13:05:00.001+08:00

Yesterday was a blessed day for me. It was started with the first group meeting which was intentionally arranged between me, another two master students and my professor. The other two master students could not come to the meeting. Hence I am the only person that met the professor, Prof. John Heng. I am so enthusiast to have this meeting to update him with my FYP progress. During the weekend I was able to identify unique EEG signal that corresponds to a certain task. It is great to tell him this good sign of development after seven month of no significant result.

To my surprise, I was not only able to elaborate my findings to him only but I also given a book as a present. Its title is Secrets of the Millionaire Mind. A subject that is currently I am interested in, to be a millionaire. In addition to this wonderful gift, he also shared his experience in this subject. He talked about vision and mission, correct mindset about being rich (right, happy and rich) and also his experience. Now I understand why my senior Andy Prima admires him so much. Hope to get to know more from him and of course to be a millionaire.

The book is not the only blessing that I got for the day. I was called for third round interview by Exxon (I consider this a blessing as well). Yeah after the embarrassing “congrats” case. Anyone reading this blog, please pray for me :-D hahaha...

Thanks God.

An Interview

2008-02-01T20:51:00.000+08:00

Inspired by a ~~weird~~ humble friend of mine.

It was actually happened few weeks ago. I was called for a second round interview by one of the companies that I have applied for. As a mechanical engineering student, I was considered as one of the lucky few to be called for an ~~assassination~~ interview by the company. I arrived at the interview place earlier and was asked to wait at the lounge.

After sitting for 15 minutes, a pretty girl smiled at me and asked me to follow her to... yeah... It is to the interviewing room. With confidence, I opened the door and started this conversation:

WK: good... morning... (With a ~~cute~~ smile)
All interviewers: (with a friendly smile)... Good morning...

I closed the door, moving to the interview table and approaching one of the interviewers. FYI, there are three persons that interviewed me at that time. Let me refers them as OS, OJ and OB.

WK: (offering a firm handshake) Hi...
OB: ~~My name is “Congrads”~~ Congrats...
WK: (asking my self if it was a "congratulation") My name is William...

OB gave out an expression as if he was asking something that I haven’t replied to.

WK: Pardon me...
OB: Congrads... (this is what I heard, it supposed to be “My name is Congrad”)
WK: (with innocent face) Thank you...

What a stupid answer it was! I can still remember how surprised the other two interviewers were after hearing my lame reply.

Defining Memory

2008-02-01T19:39:00.000+08:00

Finally it is Friday again. I had been struggling intensely in the previous two weeks. There were a lot of assignments and deadlines, recruitment fairs and of course the unforgettable FYP (~~Finding Your Partner~~ Final Year Project). It was tiring indeed. However I would not write about the pathetic exhaustion of that busy period in this post.

Last weekend my old friend dropped by Singapore as a transit of his flight from Beijing to Indonesia. Hence I went to the airport to fetch him and bring him around Singapore. During dinner, we engaged in a conversation about our life. A life that I think has been moving very fast. From this conversation, I started to ask myself how vivid a memory that I had during my study in NTU. I am hardly able to express memorable moment during those three and a half years of study in Singapore. Am I not enjoying myself here, in Singapore?

A definite NO will be a correct answer to this. In fact there was a bunch of interesting experiences that I had as a university student in Nanyang Technological University. Those experiences were forgotten because I didn’t appreciate them. In fact, most of the experience, inclusive of studying, is a wonderful experience if we really value the action.

After those reflections, I started to wake up by saying to myself that all the list of things that I had to do that day was something fun. I started to talk to myself that I had to enjoy every single action in my day. As a result, I find my day brighter and happier. I could enjoy doing things more despite my busy schedule. FYI, the method of speaking to your own self is what I identify as “Power of Words”. I will write about this in other post. Watch it out!

Appreciating every action is a way to slow down time and value one’s life more. By defining any activities as something interesting will help us to gain greater joy in our life. However it is good to know the meaning of one’s life as well. Tell me what you think is the meaning of your life?

Delusion of Money

2008-01-24T16:47:00.000+08:00

As the saying goes, “Money is the root of all evils”. These sayings are centuries old and currently rebuked by many motivational book writers such as Robert Kiyosaki, Merry Riana and Peter Tan. They argue that money is not the root of all evils but it is the wrong use of this instrument that leads to wrong doings. This idea is further supported by one of my close friend in his blog, where he argued that money is one of the necessary ingredients to get other important things in life, inclusive of happiness.

The current situation of our world authenticates the notion that money is an important element in human life. It will be a very naive of me to disagree with the majority as I am one of those that keep looking for opportunities to multiply my assets. I have the very same believe that money can be used to facilitate us in reaching comfort and pleasure in today’s world.

However have you ever wondered why we need money or why there is money as our exchange tool? The original intention of money was to facilitate exchange of goods and services between humans, which were previously done by barter. Further reflection of mine resulted into a conclusion that money was created to reduce conflict between humans due to the non-standardized exchange of goods. In other words it was intended to craft more peace in the civilization.

Unfortunately the original purpose of money itself has ruined over centuries and people started to gather money to build up their wealth. Our current society, definitely inclusive of me, has forgotten the most important function of money itself and started to race in gathering them as private wealth. As the result, the current world is too cruel for those that are less able or willing to gather the exchange tools. This stupidity has trapped us in an endless race with our own species. The competition has become compulsory for all human beings to survive. Regrettably it seems impossible to quit from this race or even stop the mass battle.

I argue that this yearning of mans to create wealth for themselves is originated from our very deep desire of freedom, free from the worry of starving or any sufferings in general. Our limited knowledge as a human causes our brain to hallucinate that getting more and more wealth or money will set us free. It was a delusion at the beginning but has become a bitter reality that we have to face nowadays.

I have ever watched several movies that shown primitive lives. They do not need money as they are able to satisfy their needs as well as live happily and freely with the Mother Nature. They do not worry about tomorrow but are able to live their life to the fullest today. It sounds abstract to us as we cannot imagine where on earth one can live without money. But our ancestor did that.

It is not suggested to quit from the race. The only thing what we can do now is to join the battle and be one of the winner. The winner will be able to inspire and help others to get out of the endless race.

Family

2008-01-19T10:21:00.000+08:00

The family is like a book-
The children are the leaves,
The parents are the covers
That protecting beauty gives.
At first the pages of the book
Are blank and purely fair,
But Time soon writeth memories
And painteth pictures there.
Love is the little golden clasp
That bindeth up the trust;
Oh, break it not, lest all the leaves
Should scatter and be lost! .
The husband needs to be blind at times;
the wife, deaf;
both need much of the time to be dumb.
Ivan N. Panin

The above poem was introduced to me in this week “Mental Health” class and prior to this on the same day I did simple graphic editing on my family photos. (This is going to be my first post with a picture on it)

Family and my life

I tried to express how grateful I am to be given such a wonderful family. They are not perfect individuals but our unity as a family compromises the flaws in us. It is just too astonishing to be a part in such an understanding and caring family.

Despite all the blessings that I have received, I was also aware of people in this world that is not fortunate enough to have a good or even complete family. According to some researches, the majority of them are more likely to fall into mental illness. This fact was also affirmed by my lecturer, who is a practicing psychiatrist in SGH. A family does impact the way we perceive and act, it is the foundation of believe and norm.

I, myself, agreed with it but I also believe that we are the one that are responsible to our own attitude. As a human, we are unique and blessed with a brain that is so magnificent. It is possible for us to change anything, inclusive of our own improper behaviour. Let me tell you a piece of my struggle in building my confidence.

I was once a boy with little self confidence as I grew up with my grandmother, which is a conservative yet lovable and caring person. It was terrible for me to even think of speaking in front of a group of people. I stammered and felt cold of just being seen by the audiences.
To cut the story short I was lucky enough to be given opportunities (I won’t disclosed it in this blog) that helped me to realize that nobody is perfect and superior or inferior from the others. My father kept reminding me by saying: “We ate the same food and I believe that whatever things other can do is also possible for us”. It shouldn’t be taken literally; it is true that every person is unique and able to do great things in their own ways. However I believe that my father is trying to tell me that as a human we have the ability to improve ourselves and be even better than the other.

Today I still keep trying to improve my confidence level. I am still far away from being fully confident but I can feel the difference between the old me and now. Hence I want to emphasize that it is not the environment that confined our choice as we usually think but it is ourselves that let us being dragged by the environment. We, as I did, have the choice to form our own personality.

Non academic activites

2008-01-16T09:43:00.000+08:00

Finally the proposal for Barclays Technology Challenge had been submitted two days ago. It was a tiring yet exciting experience to work in a supportive and cheerful team. Thank you Erlin, Henry and Max! After the submission I was hoping other slacking days in my last semester (of course without taking FYP into account). However this morning I woke up with a list of to do list and found out that I still have a number of non-academic activities that I have committed myself to.

Tuesday: Prayer Meeting – to help me grow spiritually. It’s a place to recharge myself with a bundle of prayerful activities.
Wednesday: Yoga class – an opportunity that I think I won’t be able to get after I graduate. It costs $10 for 5 sessions. I believe that this exercise will help me to regulate my body better.
Thursday: Toastmaster Chapter Meeting – to learn public speaking skill and built up confidence level.
Friday: Karate training – It is actually scheduled to be twice a week (Tuesday and Friday). Due to other commitment I have to sacrifice the Tuesday training for good. This is my passion sport. I love it. It builds not only physical strength but also your mental power.

The activities take up almost every night of my weekdays. Should I reduce it?

History and Now - Soeharto

2008-01-14T01:38:00.000+08:00

What a tiring yet a recharging weekend it was. Sunday is always a wonderful day for me. After going to church, I went for LISC preparation day in NTU (I am staying in NTU hostel anyway). It was a recharging spiritual experience that lasted for four hours to five o'clock in the afternoon. After dinner, I went to sleep and found out that it was 10 o'clock at night when I woke up. What a fulfilling rest it was...

At that very night I started to wake my computer up and journeying together with it to the virtual world of internet. A series of chats with friends welcomed my presence and accompanied me until I ended up reading a news on the visit by MM Lee to Soeharto. Here was the link to the news in Channel News Asia:

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/322309/1/.html

He visited the second president of Indonesia, which was laying in hospital in his critical condition. Lately the successor of Soeharto had been sued for its corrupt action before the reformation regime.

I have no idea about the extent of corruption that Mr. Soeharto had performed during his governance in Indonesia. It is also hard for me to understand the sufferings that he had caused to Indonesian society. However I agree with the comment of MM Lee that Mr. Soeharto was a hero of the past that had brought Indonesia to come out from crisis after its independence and he deserved to receive that recognition.

This issue brought me to a reflection of how easy human forgot their history. Even for me, there are many times that I had failed to recognize the companion and care that I had received from others in the past and started to take the current representation of him or her that did not satisfy my expectation as the lasting image of the individual.

Is there not a meaning of the past to us?

Memorizing by Vision

2007-11-04T19:15:00.000+08:00

It is a sunday and as usual I went to church in the morning. It was in the middle of the sermon that I suddenly realized that I was not able to recalled the content of the second reading of the morning mass. Meanwhile the bible was crafted clearly on my mind. I realized that visioning a story that you hear is important. I won't be able to memorize by hearing (if not listening) only.

Does our brain store information as an image?

If a novel is worth written so is my thought

2007-11-03T23:45:00.000+08:00

It was just a sudden flash of idea that come out of my mind. Many novel had been written out in this world and all of them are just imagination. Our life is something real with the various lesson learnt as it flows. Absolutely It is a must to record it.

Let the story begin... :-)