Pull the Switch!

Do not bother to find out what the switch is for.
Just pull the switch because I ask you to.

Your predecessors did this for a reason.
And that is why you will continue to do so.

No ifs, and no buts.
And do not ever dare to try challenge the rules.

That's what your life is all about.
You were made for this.

Now PULLLLL THE SWITCCCH!!!

About the Author: Shingo T will like to dedicate this small post to all the people out there who are routinely doing their jobs, and leading their lives, without the need to question.

Complementary Relationship

I remember a short story in my Primary School Chinese textbook many many years ago.
*cough cough*

The story tells of a blind man and a cripple who cannot walk. These 2 guys live under the same roof, but are always at loggerheads with each other.

Think of them as 2 grumpy man, unhappy with their personal disabilities. When you put 2 such men together, there are bound to be conflicts.

In simple mathematical terms,
Grumpy + Grumpy = Damn Grumpy.

One night, while the 2 men were sleeping, the cripple was awaken by the smell of smoke, and realise that the entire house was on fire.

Being unable to move, he shouted for his blind friend to wake up. The blind obviously couldn't make his way around to avoid the scorching flames and falling obstacles to get out of the house.

So the blind man moved towards the voice of his crippled friend, and carried him on his back.

And together, the crippled gave directions and the blind provided the footwork needed to escape the burning house.

After the incident, these 2 men grow close and started helping each other more.

A happy ending! ^_^

In real-life, relationships are about complementing each other's shortfalls.

When the blind and the cripple combine, they become 1 pair of eyes, 1 pair of legs, and 2 brains.

A working complementary relationship creates synergy, and maximise the potential of the outcome.

Like an organisation, the reporting team cannot move without forecast data from Sales. And Sales cannot make projections without past data from the reporting team.

Funan centre becomes the IT hub that all Singaporeans know today only because we have all the competing IT retail outlets to be housed together to create a mega IT mall.

Similarly, a marriage is about a man and woman complementing each other, offering what they can give, and benefiting when they lack.

That is why one plus one gives a value more than two.

So make love, not war.

IT Project

This picture speaks a thousand words.




Click picture to enlarge.

Death and me

I have been to a few funerals in my life, but was fortunate enough not to have the chance of seeing VERY close people to me die.



Which gives me random thoughts of how am I going to face death of a closed family member or friend in the later parts of my life?

Obviously, I'm not cursing for something like this to happen soon. Touch wood! But it is still something that I should at least prepare myself for, lest I be left completely confused and devastated into the point of depression should something like this happen.

My Granny is the closest person, other than my Wifey and my mum, that have a strong family connection to me. She is about 90 years old this year, comparitively senile and healthy compared to her equally aged peers. She used to take care of me when I'm young (and tolerating my childishness and tantrums), and we were very very close.

With my parents working hard to ensure we get a proper education, my Grandma was left with the sacred task of looking after 2 brats. While illiterate, she taught me the importance of taking care of myself.

Now she lives with one of my uncles in Malaysia, and I seldom had the chance to go back to see her. I would be lying to say I am that busy. Pure laziness, there's no excuses about it.

We definitely visit her on 2 occassions every year, her birthday and Chinese New Year. And each time I see her, my joy will normally be tinged with sadness. How many more years do I get to talk to her, and make her laugh?

The thought of death makes me scared sometimes.


It is sometimes good to be conscious of the Reaper. As they always say, cherish the present because you won't know what will happen tomorrow. Don't make your beloved unhappy today, because you may never get the chance to say sorry tomorrow.

With Wifey, I have seen our relationship prosper from the stage of selfish fighting for our own beliefs, to the point of mutual consensus. And now I am so glad I make her my wife. I love her, and I want us to have no regrets when either of us depart first.

If I have to go first, I want my Wifey to remember that there was once a man who loves her so much. And I want her to move on with life bravely, knowing that I will be up there above taking care of her spiritually, and that she have my blessings to get a new man who can make her life happy and meaningful.

While being very conscious of death, it is very important to take a preventive action to delay the inevitable.

No one can cheat the Reaper, and there are 2 ways to die.
(1) Quick and relatively painless
(2) Slow and painful

The former occurs normally with unexpected death. Like dying in the sleep, or even unnatural deaths like plane crashes and murders.

The latter normally occurs with people with degenerative diseases. The lethal poison that slowly drains the burning soul out of your existence. Heart problems, cancers, stroke etc... are all "controllable" diseases that belong to this category, for those who are consciously in control of their diet.

When you get ill someday and have to hinder those that are dear to you, you unleash intangible misery to their daily lives. You create havoc!

So please take good care of your partner as well, because if their health deteriorate miserably because you keep buying their favourite Char Kway Teow (Unhealthy, oily, yet yummy fried noodles) and french fries, the 2 of you will pay for it "dearly" (pun intended).

Live life.
Love life.

And never forget that death lurks just around the corner.

Alice

Alice is the cleaner who works in my company. We are always the first few to reach the company each day, and I slowly get to know her better as a friend.

She's probably close to her 50s, deduced from the fact that her elder daughter is studing local university, and the fact that she looks happily young.

Its true. A person with a positive mindset ages slower than the rest, everything else equal.

Alice and I chit chat on random topics, though I often liked to know more about her. It has always been my interest to make people's business my business. Call me kaypoh.

She used to be stubborn and rebellious during her youth, but all that changed after the death of her father. She started seeing the bright side of life and took complete charge of her life.

She is now actively engaging in activities in a local old folk's home. Interacting with these old innocent folks (some have lower IQ) make her realise that the world isn't as vicious and uncaring. She loves to talk to these old folks, and as a team, they bring them for outings, much to the enjoyment of the old folks.

It is often said that how you treat your elders is how your kids will treat you when you grow old. How true. Alice's kids are still studying, but are following their mum's footsteps in event organising for the old folk's home which they have adopted. Juggling between studies, and charity work, Alice's daughter has no time for television (and boyfriend too).

Alice also sleeps at 9pm+, as she has to get up at 5am. A habit she has developed for a long time, even on weekends. And she says there's plenty of stuffs to do in the wee early morning. Jogging in particular is something she likes.

There's plenty of stories from Alice's personal experience. But all in all, I'm amazed at how meaningful her life is.

She ain't no ordinary cleaner that you see at work.
She is a happy person with a great personality, who happens to be a cleaner.

A bottle of water.

There was once a small community in the middle of the desert.
The only thing that kept the people alive was an oasis.

The people were happy, until one day when the oasis slowly became smaller - it was going to get dried up.

And within two months, it dried up.

And so the people in the desert were left in absolute thirst. It was only a matter of time that they will all die, so long as there is no rain.

A bottle of water suddenly fell miraculously from the sky. And the thirsty folks went into an all-out brawl for the right to survive. After the battle royal, the sole survivor stood up with the bottle of water, while the losers sulk over their plight.

And the winner opened the bottle cap, poured all the water over his own head, to the amusement of the rest. He then took a comb out of his pocket and started combing his hair.

And now he looks better than ever!

The problem with being that damn good.

I have a VERY positive mindset.
I am seldom unsettled by unhappy events.
Everything's appears to be going my way.
And these days, I can't help but wonder what the hell got into me?

Why the hell am I so happy?
I'm not even on steroids.

It is not that I have no problems.
Everyone is beseiged by their fair share of problems - some are small, and some are HUMONGOUS.
Rather, its that I do not consider any issue problematic enough to warrant developing my wrinkles. And when you have that kind of attitude, "problems" just disappear somehow.

And because things are always going my way these days, every day is a GREAT day, regardless of work or life after that.

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE waking up fresh and very early every day.
I no longer press the snooze button (unless I sleep late) because I want to get up so badly to enjoy the wonderful day, whether be it a lovely day at work, or a idling weekend.

And you hear it right - I embrace work!
It does not make me a workaholic (hey, I leave at the dot on most days).
Because I am having fun while working.
As I always say, work should never be a chore.
Call me crazy. Maybe I am.

At work, I get respect from the peers, recognition from the people I work with, freedom to exercise my creativity, and a pay I can live with.

At home, I have minimal to worry about. My Wifey have been an excellent companion, and I really really love the feeling of loving her. She makes me understand why I am working so hard for. When a marriage is done right, you get the blessed feeling that being single does not give you, and you start wondering "Why will anyone want to remain single when they can choose to get married?"

Joy brings happiness.
And happiness induces confidence.
Confidence in turn, create an attitute.

And the problem with this attitute is that I have to constantly remind myself to keep this attitute in check lest my confidence be mistaken for arrogance.

Have you ever had the feeling that you are doing good in some area, but have to humble yourself down even though you know you are that DAMN good?

Why can't you dance in the rain when you feel like dancing?
Why can't you be yourself when the whole world expects you to be someone else?
Why can't you colour the sky green if you feel that's the colour it should be?
What if right turned out to be wrong?
What if you are living in a dream, and your dream is the actual reality?
What if the man in the mirror was actually staring back at you, thinking about the same thing thats in your mind?

Yes, there are areas which I admit that I am ignorant.
And these are the areas I will humbly listen to the more knowledgable, or go read up to improve myself.

But there are also areas that I'm that damn good at.
And I want to share with the whole damn world, without making anyone feel uncomfortable.
I'm aware there will always be a higher mountain, so I am definitely not the best at what I am good at. But it should not hold me back from helping others out with what I know.

Moreover, having achieved so much in life (it doesn't have to be in monetary value), why can't I just bask in my achievements?

So how does one prevent confidence from being interpreted as arrogance, without having to act humble, when all it does is to make you a hypocritical liar deep down your conscience?

How do I make a MYSELF out of ME?
And how can I make you accept MYSELF?

A Malaysian's appeal.

The below article was stolen wholesale from Pinkpau's blog. Credits to her for extracting this article from The Star.

According to Pinkpau, this person has taken a full page ad in the newspapers. That's what I call patriotism!

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Dear Malaysian Politicians,

Please stop the power chase, call for a truce and focus on the economy.

I do not claim to speak on behalf of all Malaysians, but I have strong convictions that many share my sentiments.

Our concern today is not who rules the country or heads the state governments but the looming bad economy.

Whether Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat leads, it is meaningless if Malaysians have no job to go to, no money to pay rent and no means to put food on the table.

I am a business owner, like other business owners and managers of corporations I have a responsibility to ensure people under my care and payroll continue to have jobs and a decent income to take home. We work hard and willing to go the extra mile to make sure our nation not only survive this crisis but come out stronger and wiser. We need your help.

Let me explain. I am in the business of Training, Development and Consultancy and have 20 people in my team.

Saedah is 42. She keeps the office clean and helps organise the training rooms. She has four children and her husband is unemployed. She was first hired on a part time basis, because she is very hard working and has a great attitude, we offered her a full time job to help provide a stable income for her family. Even then, when her third child started school this year, it was a struggle for her to buy new school uniforms and other necessities. Saedah lives on a ‘kais bulan, makan bulan’ basis, so, if she is jobless, her tap runs dry.

Samsuri is 27 years old. He lives with his sister and her family in a low cost government flat in Sunway. He does our despatch, helps with various clerical works and occasionally acts as a driver. During the first week at zubedy, we learned that he not only did not have money to buy new clothes and shoes for work, he had no money for lunch. Like Saedah, if he has no job, his tap runs dry too.

Alicia in Client Servicing turns 26 this year. She lives with her dad who is 71 years old and retired. Her mom passed away when she was little. Alicia is a hard-working team member, has a gentle caring outlook and fun to be with. (We like to poke fun at her as she blushes easily). Last May her dad went through a major operation, thank God he has recovered well. Alicia needs a job, both for herself and her dad.

Sudesh, 38, is one of our facilitators. When his father passed away last year, he moved back and lives with his mother in Seremban. He shuttles between Kuala Lumpur and Seremban daily, leaving home sometimes as early as 4 in the morning and returning late at night. He is no stranger to hard work and sacrifice, he knows what he needs to do to survive and to care for his mother, but he too needs a job.

Like fellow Malaysians, every one of us in zubedy needs employment, those that live from hand to mouth like Saedah and Samsuri and others like Alicia and Sudesh with family to care for. We Malaysians need the Malaysian economy to be strong. We need you, our leaders, to work hard and to work together to make our economy viable.

So this is my plea.

Pakatan Rakyat, please stop your attempts to take over the federal government and persuade BN’s lawmakers to join you. Stop all legal proceedings, no more 916 and let go, just let go. The nation can wait till the next general elections if they want change. By doing so, Malaysians will see your party as caring, unselfish and gracious and give you their support in the next elections.

Barisan Nasional, please stop any attempts to take over PR states and win over PR’s lawmakers. You have proven your point with Perak. The nation can wait for the next general elections if they want your party. Focus all your talent, energy and hard work in steering the country out of an economic downturn. By doing so, Malaysians will see your party as caring, unselfish and smart and give you their support in the next elections.

BN and PR! Call for a truce. Get together and compromise. Someone has to give in. Or has hate consumed your heart till it blinds you? You can do it. You have enough intelligent people between you. I am sure you can find solutions. Take the nation to heart. That is why you are in politics in the first place.

Focus on the people.

Focus on the economy.

Anas Zubedy
Managing Director
Zubedy (M) Sdn Bhd


About the Author: Shingo T agrees wholeheartedly with Anas Zubedy. POOK the political divide, BN and PKR, and start managing politics like a benovelent government. Don't let my beloved country go down the path of self-destruction.

Meme: How do you sleep at night?

Khengsiong has tagged me a meme with the following title:
How do you sleep at night?

The questions and my replies are as follows.

How do you sleep at night?
Is your sleep affected by the national angst? Do you drop off easily, as you always did? Or does it take a while to get to sleep?

I sleep with my eyes closed. =p
I normally have no problem sleeping at night because I wake up early on both weekdays and weekends. I used to have insomnia problems during my school days, but not any longer since I started working. So my conclusion is that work drains more energy than schooling. How true.
I have to sleep with the lights closed and with no sound. Else I can get quite easily irritable.

What strategies, if needed, do you use to get to sleep?
Pills? Sheep? Late night television show? And/or…?
It is important not to get too conscious of the fact that its late and you need to fall sleep. The harder you try to sleep, the more you can't because your brain is active.
For me, I visualize single colours in my mind while keeping my eyes closed. Its like counting sheeps, but the act of counting is a brain activity. Single colours are brainless stuffs.
Experts also suggested once that in the last 30 mins before you sleep, you should stop doing things that will stimulate your thinking (eg. reading newspapers).

Do you wake up in the middle of the night, plagued by obsessive thoughts?
Nope, the only reason why I wake up is to go toilet.
I am seldom perturbed by thoughts, it has very much to my positive attitude in life.

What strategies do you have to get back to sleep?
I find that sleeping when facing the sides and having your body curl like a hunchback helps me alot in going back to sleep. But then that's just me.

Are your dreams affected?
Are they more anxious than before? Do they wake you up in a sweat? Or are they peaceful, innocent, undisturbed by the general malaise?

Peaceful.
And nonsensical - the most insignificant people appear in my dreams.

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The rules of the meme are:

(1) Answer the questions.
(2) Link back to the original meme.
(3) Tag others to participate.

And I will like to tag the following bloggers
(though you can always choose not to do it)
(1) THB
(2) Numbernine
(3) Cherish Tulip
(4) Anyone who wants to do this