One or Two?

One of my colleague told me that parents who opt for having only one child are selfish. I ask why. He said that well it's selfish because the kid would not have any playmates and would grow up as a lonely child and to face the world alone after the parents are gone. I never thought of it that way. 'but it could be because people can't afford more than one kid these day' I tried to explain. He said well that is just nonsense because people of our parents generation used to have more than two children and they did just fine. And we are supposedly better off now comparatively. 'but people also marry late these days, hence it could also be a fertility issue' I said. His answer is simply why wait. I do know some people who were so sure they would not have kids...ever. But accidents happen and they bite on their own words later on. And then there is another woman who is also so sure she would not ever have kids. Simply because they are annoying. Really? Is that really a good enough reason? I wonder if it is something that needs reasoning anymore. Why would someone try to justify to bunch of nobodies like us, unless she is really only trying to justify her own self. It is hard enough to decide on having a child at all, let alone having one or two. I say, it is all in god's will. Why fret?

Beh Tahan

There are just some thing that really get on my nerves......
-Older people who think that they are wiser than u just because.
-People who are dismissive. Shuts u off before you can lay your case.
-People who don't listen. And ends up making you repeat and repeat. Or it could be that they didn't really care in the first place.
-Honestly, lately I am sick of people who are vulgar. Using the f word excessively. Or cracking sexist jokes and using vulgarities then expecting you to laugh.
-Pretentious people who tries to be a Brit/American/Australian ..talks relentlessly about it, speak with a fake accent and idolize them. It doesn't matter how long you have been there. You are a Malaysian through and through.
-Opportunists. Pounce on you before you know it.
-Materialistic people. Although we all would have some wants and that's truly ok. It's another thing to fb and show it off or making it a STANDARD. So I like fugly slippers because they are comfortable. And use functional handbags and not those branded ones.speaking of that, people seems to have lack of respect for other people's choices, and judge too quickly. So what if I like kopitiam kopi O compared to Starbucks? People give themselves such a a hard time sometimes trying to appear to be uppity and missing out all the good things.
-Forcing tradition on others. I think really this is a matter of choice. Same goes with religion. But I'll respects yours even if u do not respect mine. What I hate most are people who only preach but their action speaks otherwise. I wish I could tell these people sometimes. Before u do charity elsewhere, why not channel it to your family first. Why is that so hard to comprehend? Does being recognized as generous by the public or strangers more important than your own family's recognition?
-People baffles me at times. At times I try to say nice things or just appear to be polite so as not to offend others, but people treat this as a c'mon to be rude to me. Would it be better if I just shut up altogether.

However in all honesty, I still try my best to talk some sense or just say my peace. Sometimes I just wanna get it off my chest because life really is just too short to brush it off and keep quiet about it. People can choose to be ignorant but you shouldn't. At least I can say I tried.

Retreat

As I grow older, I realize why my good friend HG left KL, then to Singapore and finally settling in Ipoh for the rest of his life. He used to tell me he's sick of it all, the traffic jam in KL, the superficiality of Singapore and that he could not fit in with those people at all, being an introvert also does not help. I thought he was just being too darn difficult.

But it does get you thinking...life's less complicated for him now, and he's not stuck in a traffic jam, people in Ipoh are also generally nicer and maybe just less competitive compared to his colleagues in Singapore.

I'm surrounded with kiasu colleagues here, and office politics just get more and more nonsensical as I changed to a bigger MNC, perhaps because as I get older, I'm more aware of it all and know when or whom to stay away from. Everyday I gotta wake up early and try my best and come home early to beat the traffic jam and to cook a decent meal (also because we'll be stuck in traffic if we went out for dinner). And then, I have to work nights doing conference calls then retire for bed at 12 or 1am. Yes it does get you thinking, how can things get better. Andrew was just commenting yesterday that we've both been working nights and really it doesn't leave us much time to do anything else (i mean hobbies etc,), usually an hour before sleep we try to watch a movie in front of the idiot box.

Not that I would jump on the wagon and move to some remote place, but I think we all can be open about how to improve the quality of our lives.

An Unexpected Offer

An ex-client of mine called me up today and gave me a job offer. I worked briefly for her about 6 months about a year ago. It was one of those horrible projects that was doomed and no one wanted to do it. We didn't talk much and really it was very much a lot of project deliverables that was heavily scrutinized. I never really thought that I was really good at what I was doing because it was my first hand at recruitment. I was not really confident but gave a shot at it and learning as I carried on. The environment was very hostile because I was an on-site supplier. I got an incredible affirmation today when she unexpectedly told me that everytime she though of recruiting she always thought of me! Wow, and she's a corporate figure and held the role of HR director when I knew her. Sometimes we just need these little affirmation to keep us going. Thank you AC.

Miri Miri

It was a week in Miri for a training on negotiations and it was great learnings. You never know how much you really sucked until you attend this training, and practise with your peers, so at the same time you get to compare yourself with your peers. Asians tend to use less key words and speak less, and if they speak a lot, it's usually beating around the bush trying to make a point :) . I did however get to meet some Brunei-ans, and I think most people (even themselves think so!) agree that they are somewhat more aggressive and authoritative (or it could be just too superior-complexed).

Miri itself was a wonderful find. At first I thought I could never live there. Then I kind of liked the tranquility and simplicity of the place. People were generally nicer (or maybe I"m just lucky). My colleague in Miri was full of pride of Miri, showing us this and that as we took a stroll. I think you could ronda the whole town in 1 hour. Another colleague was eager to take us to the Tamu and the Heritage center, and excitedly showed us how to eat the buah salak.

Miri-Brunei relationship is somewhat like Johor-Singapore. It's amusing when they tell us stories about Brunei coming to Miri for grocery and Miri going to Brunei for the cinema!

Should consider cuti-cuti Malaysia and see more of Malaysia really. I just can't get enough of it.

bersih 2.0

another landmark event on the 9th july 2011. let's hope we materialize this effort during the upcoming election.