Life : My Point Of View



How does one achieve balance in life ? Since I couldn't sleep due to this little insomnia I'm suffering right now , this exquisite mind starts to work me up at this late hour . I was just wondering , the way we live nowadays to survive . Life is about achieving happiness and harmony and all that crap right ? .. but somehow I see that the quality of our lives in general , especially among working adults , is slowly deteriorating . We live in a world where money is required to get us almost everything . When we get to buy what we want , we become happy right ? Ok.



And in order to get money , we need to work . Only then we'll be able to get to do things we want . However , nowadays , I think us working adults are being overworked while earning 'just enough' money for us to survive every month . With oil prices and other things currently on the rise , it has definitely put a strain on our pockets . I feel as if we're gonna have to work our asses off til we die and not really achieve the ultimate purpose : happiness . Every one of us would want to have time for God , ourselves , with family , friends and of course , loved ones . I feel that once you dive into the working environment , things change . You tend to get 'separated' from these things . You have to work and work and work . You're trapped in this thing called 'routine' . Becoming a slave to time . After work , all the time you have left when you get back home , is dinner time and off you go to bed . And the next morning , the cycle continues .. again and again . Why ? because you have to . In my case , its different , my work would definitely suit those bats and jobless draculas out there coz of the shifts .



I wish that there will be lesser days to work , so that we could have ample time for us to achieve our individual happiness . I cannot help but feel pity seeing some people working so hard til it endangers their health hoping to earn that extra $$ . I ask myself , "All that hard work , is he 'happy' ? deep down inside ? " . I wish the world would not be too concerned with money , paying your bills etc... I may sound like a spiritual guru or something , but I just feel that it sux that we cannot be happy and earn enough money at the same time to carry on with life ... stress free . I feel that we all deserve to be happy and deserve an equal amount luck and security amongst each other . I just feel like the idea of having to work while having lesser time to enjoy life is not the way to go . What's the point of earning lots of $$ if you don't have time to spend it ? Before everyone jumps to a conclusion that I'm currently unhappy with my job , let me just clarify that I'm doing just fine :) .



Somehow I think the world lacks this thing called love , you know . Work makes you less compassionate , it distances yourself from those you care about unintentionally , thus people tend to care less for one another . Melodramatic it may sound , but you just can't help but feeling corny once in a while . Seriously , look around you , theres more hate in the world nowadays . Wars and more wars , friends become enemies , broken families etc.. I just wish that we only have one race . A universally unified race , not separated by colour nor creed .



How do we get out of this 'programming' ? study-->work-->die . Can we get out of this vicious cycle ? Can we be free ? If I were going to die , I definitely would not want to die feeling tired of work or anything and not achieving my happiness . I wanna die happy , with a peace of mind , having felt emotions , love , friendship , family values.. having fulfilled what is required of me religious-wise among other things .

Point to ponder , nevertheless . No ?

Picture of the day

This pic made my day . About an overweight baby in China . Weighs about 5kg . The mom complained she had to get clothes of a 1-year old and handmade mittens and socks for him . The best part , this boy was cool enough to just give a smile to the camera . I thought that Donald Duck thing he had on was funny . And those mittens , haha ... XXL !



The innocence of babies sometimes amuses me . Amazing .

Just For Laughs - Malaysia Boleh !

I got this from a good friend of mine , Nizam @ Neezmo in Melbourne . Just thought I'd share it here : (Not for those who can't take a joke , you've been warned)

1) Kancil

Dr. M :Have you seen the Made-in-Malaysia car "Kancil"? You know, that very little 600 cc car ??

Well, Dr M really wanted to sell it to the US , so when Dr. M paid a visit to the White House after finishing formal discussions George W. Bush, Dr M checks with Bush to find out if there is a way to sell the Kancil in the USA . After having looked at the brochure,

Bush : "You know, I think this 'Kernchill' is too small for us Americans."

Not one who gives up easily, Dr M persisted and finally Bush offered ,

Bush : "Ok, take this number down. This guy is my good buddy and he's also the CEO of the biggest compact car distributor in North America ."

Dr M was satisfied with the meeting and returns to Malaysia. The next day he called the number and a lady answered,

Lady : "TOYS R US", can I help you?"

2) Malaysian Space Project

Mr. Samy-vellu went for the United Nations' meeting. He represented the Malaysian Prime Minister. All nations were discussing about space exploration by the year 2008. Here are some of the conversations:

China Delegate : "By the year 2008, China will start their moon exploration project."

Russian Delegate : "Us too, we are going to explore the moon. This time we will see to it that our cosmonauts will step on the moon."

George Bush : "We the United States will also explore the moon for the second time."

Malaysian Delegate: "By the year 2008, Malaysia will explore the sun."

There was a long silence. Bush stood up and asked the Malaysian delegate:

Bush :"Isn't it too hot to explore the sun?"

Samy Vellu (after a long silence):

Samy Vellu : "We will do it in the evening."

3) UMNO , MCA , MIC

There are three major races in Malaysia - Malay, Chinese and Indian.

The Malays have the political power and so they set up the party UMNO, which literally means "U Must Not Object".

The Chinese, on the other hand, controls most of the Economy and they called their party MCA which means "Money Conquers All".

Then there are the Indians who have no say in politics or economics. They set up their party called MIC. Hence, every Parliamentary meeting the Indians would ask: "Must I Come?"

Beautiful Morning Views - Part 2

Privacy : Make $$$ out of it

Noticed anything in the idiot box lately ? How the contents have changed in recent years . The sudden booming of reality shows are almost aired every night . Most noticeably reality shows depicting the personal lives of 'celebrities' . Shows like Jessica's 'Newlyweds' , Ashley's 'Ashley Simpson Show' , Britney's 'Chaotic' etc.. are famous over here . In true Hollywood style , in America - Land of possibilities , people actually make money out of revealing their personal lives . We're talking bout what they do , their bad habits etc ..

Astonishingly , no matter how ridiculous it is , people actually DO watch them . However , take note that only 'celebrities' can pull this off .

Simple marketing and publicity tactic :
Show your lifestyle , get viewers to watch , more viewers = higher show ratings = higher demand = more $$$ generated .

Not only that these 'celebrities' are justifiably rich already , their wealth have increased exponentially through this reality-based TV concept . I guess its true that everything has a price nowadays . Including your personal privacy . In fact you can 'sell' your privacy and make more $$ .

I wonder how they cope with the pressure of having everyone know what's going on in your marriage or family . I mean its cool to make money , but how much money do you actually want in this world ? at the expense of your own freedom ?

$$ does make the world go round after all .

Compassion : Strength or Weakness ?

Does compassion make you weak ? or does it make you stronger ? I always wonder . They say when you're in a leadership position , you must not show compassion , or else your followers will see you as weak . Why is it a weakness ? is by being compassionate equates being vulnerable ?Vulnerability is a weakness nowadays ?

I thought when you have compassion , you'll have an emphatic understanding of things . Like knowing what the other feels , which makes it easier to make the right decisions . However some do say that too much compassion would lead to bad leadership and decision-making . I don't really have the stats to show , but showing too much compassion would make you end up being a doormat . You know , when you're too nice and merciful , people take you for granted . But the good thing is , you'll be well-liked and will be sorely missed when not around . However , the bad thing is that you get stepped on , used for a joyride and at a later stage , easily lose respect .

Makes you wonder why teachers , headmasters , dads , bosses etc... .. behave so strict , cold and aloof . I think you tend to listen to them more , take them more seriously . Because by not showing any compassion , you portray this self-image of invulnerability . Invulnerable meaning you will not be affected by things , like peoples emotions etc .. When you cannot fool around too much , you tend to respect them . The bad thing is that you'll be hated , considered boring and end up being the butt of everyone's jokes .

So to what extent do we show our compassion ? How do we control it anyways ? hard right ? . Giving in too much is bad , not giving any at all is bad either . Where's that line to balance it out ? The last thing we need is to become a pushover/doormat/'best friend' , but we also don't want to be cold/ruthless/biatch right ?

Just thought I'd bring this up coz I've been observing these things lately . Interesting thought to ponder is it not ? Like why most leadership roles are given to men , compared to women . They say that men do not allow their compassion affect their judgement , while women are compassionate beings , making decisions based on feelings . Is this true ?

A world without compassion is a world without colours , that's what I'd say .

Sometimes the most beautiful views are just around us

Just thought I'd share this pic I took while I was driving back from work . Yes , driving BACK from work . Ok , I'm not a photography student , maybe my shot sucked , but you really have to be there to see it with your own eyes . I took it while I was driving , cruising the morning KESAS highway back to home sweet home .

I just thought the skies look amazing that morning , that's all . You get a very soothing feeling , just by looking at it . I felt so at peace . With the smooth jazz music playing in the car , I thought it was a perfect setting .



You don't really want it to end , you wish the skies would stay like that forever . To me , these skies represent hope . To a new beginning or something , that's how I felt at that time .




Apologies if the picture qualities are blurry . The pics were taken using my Razr . So there you go , sometimes we neglect the natural beauties around us . You just have to look around and see how amazing our world can look like . So start waking up early and check out your skies :P

Welcome to Dewan Nickelodeon

As some might know , theres the Dewan Rakyat assembly going on right now in Malaysia . I look forward to this because its the only time you get to see mature , old , distinguished VIPs having a go at each other like little kids .

First of all , I'm not into politics and I dont represent any political party whatsoever . Hey I don't even vote , so call me a bad Malaysian if you want . This meeting is held at this month of the year amongst cabinet members , consisting government and opposition party members . 'Supposedly' , its objective is to discuss issues currently going on in the country and sort of find solutions to it .

An excerpt from one of the heated moments recently :

VIP1 : (BLa bla bla....civil service ..bla bla )

VIP2 : What ?!! (bla bla bla no la.. civil service ..bla bla )

VIP1 : Hah?!!!! You are disobeying Standing Orders ! Do not let this become a taman binatang (zoo) !!

VIP2 : Kau tu kepala segala binatang ! ( You're the head of the Zoo !) .

VIP1 : You're useless and you don't have brains !

VIP2 : Kau tu ada otak binatang (you only got a brain of an animal ! ) je !


Tsk Tsk . There you go . Hold your horses uncles ! These guys can easily be categorised in the 50-something age group . Look at how they handled themselves . These are CABINET MEMBERS ! for God's sake . What is up with all the name callings ? I can totally understand if this was an underworld secret society meeting between mafia heads , but this is the Dewan Rakyat . Please take note that beside this incident , everything went well and conducted in a civil manner . This incident does not represent the entire atmosphere throughout the meeting .

Seriously , why do we allow guys like those two in the cabinet ? Do we want childish politicians dictating our country ? I thought these guys are supposed to represent the voice of the people . Do people make the politician ?

I just think that we need qualified , mature individuals to be in the cabinet . We can always discuss it like mature adults , minus all the name callings and threats . Sometimes I feel that these guys think they might have a shot at becoming a Prime Minister by being so vocal and aggressive .

Plus another thing I don't like is that they start playing the blaming game on each other . When things go wrong , none would raise their two hands up and say "ok guys , I screwed up , let's work this out and help solve this together " . Everyone's keeping quiet of their mistakes , to save their asses . "

Mr. A : "Eh , its not my fault what , if Mr.B didn't screw up , this wouldnt have happened"
Mr. B : "Well I don't know anything bout that , Mr.C handles it , blame him ! "

ISh ish . These diversion of blame must be like an art for these guys . And bootlicking , oh my God , limitless . Regarding the oil price issue recently , no single politician dared to comment anything until the PM said something . After that , a plethora of comments echoed the PM , all motioning the move saying its a good idea . Tsk tsk .

Oh well , let's just hope we all be honest with ourselves and voice out what we REALLY think instead of beating around the bush or even worse , smiling while hiding a knife at the back .

Cheers .

Not happy with your looks ? Ask Tyra !

I've been checkin out the idiot box just now . I found myself an interesting show , it was a Tyra Banks show ..no , its not Next Top Model featuring my future-wife Naima 'grins' . Its another show , more Oprah-like . I believe its a show where insecure, teenage american girls discuss their insecurities with non other than Tyra Banks .

The reason I was glued to this was that theres this one pretty chick in it . This chick , with her eyes all swollen from crying , tells the audience and Tyra that she thinks she is ugly and fat . I got a shock man.. I was like , "you cannot be serious" . This girl was pretty . And seems like on every show , these 'guests' would have to draw a self-portrait of them on a piece of blackboard and show it to the audience . And on the blackboard , they would point areas which they think looks ugly about them ...."nose too big"... "ears not balanced"... ridiculous stuffs .

And the objective of the show is to help these teens overcome their insecurities by having therapist on the show to give them help . Noble , of course . But I guess shows like these could only work over there you know . I don't think Malaysian girls would really have the guts to come on the show like that . Takes a lot of courage . You gotta understand , its a different environment altogether over there in the States . Their teens are not like Malaysian teens (though some tries so hard to be American) . Over there , you get dissed for looking ugly .

Consider us Malaysians blessed that we don't have a cruel society to that extent . We can be quite cruel , but not that cruel .

Sensitive issue indeed when it comes to looks . But I guess the show would make a good job telling teenagers nowadays not to obsessed with looks too much to the extent of endangering your health . We all have flaws that we just wish we could get rid of . But from observation , looks can be compromised whereas personality and heart undergo more tedious 'tests' .


Heres hoping for a not-so self concious society in the future ....

Malaysian Education System

I've been reading the papers today as usual . Read this article about our current education system . Seems like the Government are planning on revamping the whole system from its current examination-based system . For those who are not aware , we Malaysians attend school for 10 - 11 years (if you take Form 6) , and are faced with 3 major public examinations :

1) UPSR (Ujian Penilaian Sekolah Rendah)- Year Six or Standard Six

2) PMR (Penilaian Menengah Rendah) - Taken during Form 3 , based on Form 1 to Form 3 studies
3) SPM (Sijil Penilaian Menengah Rendah) - Form 5 , based on Form 4 and Form 5 studies

I dunno about other countries , but that's a lot of exams right there . An interesting fact conducted by a group of Australian researchers on Malaysia found that Malaysian students spent an average 3.8 hours a day doing homework , which was regarded as 'wasting time' .

And seems that employers nowadays in fact , condemn our current system . Simply because most students are seriously lacking in their communication and reasoning skills . Hence the current 60,000 unemployed local graduates announced by the Human Resource Ministry in November last year .

There are few recommendations presented , like :

1) The introduction of more Project-based work
2) Shortening of school hours
3) Allowing teachers more creative freedom in their teaching methods

4) Proper facilities to teach

5) Producing teachers who are more open-minded to students' differing views

Interesting fact - According to a 2001 study by UKM , girls excel better than guys in their studies in schools , because girls were method-followers and are adept in the art of mugging , thus possessing the right skill needed for an exam-oriented system .

What bout us boys then ? hmm... girls , gangsterism , sports , girls ? tsk tsk . Many say that this system 'killed the joy of learning' on students . Do you think so ?

Dr. Ibrahim , dean from UTAR and also currently council member of NUTP (National Union of Teaching Profession) , said that "An examination which destroys self-confidence and makes a person feel unworthy should not be conducted" .

You know I think he's right . Often times back in school , we get pressured to study like maniacs to excel in exams , or else we'll be branded as 'stupid' . I feel like we only study for the sake of exams , not for us . Come on , how many of us still remember what we studied back in school and have actually applied in our jobs ? very little right ? then what was all the trouble for all those years ? an excuse to keep us from seeking 'true' knowledge ?

People skills are so essential these days . Though not the ultimate criteria , but ask any employer and they would say its a priority . Employers nowadays not only want competent , smart workers , but they also want someone who can 'blend in' with society and co-workers . You can be a super nerd who writes programs for fun , but if you lack the people skills , you think you can go far ?

The article also mentioned about graduates' lack of mastery in English . Well from what I see , its not like we don't understand English , we do . Basically I just think that we don't speak the language as often as we should , with of course , English-speaking peers . Grammars in written and spoken English can be different . All we need is just some practice here and there . I can't say mine is perfect either .

So are we happy with an education system that forces you to excel in something that you can't really use in your future jobs ? or is there a way to change it ?

Failing an exam means you're stupid . Do you think that's the best way to educate our kids ? Can intelligence only be measured by how high you score for a piece of paper ?

Think about it . Here's hoping Malaysia Boleh ....

Public Announcement : Regarding future postings

There has been some MAJOR trimming going on in this blog of mine . I have deleted ones that seemed 'too heavy' / 'personal' for normal readers . From my observation , nobody cares bout whats goin on bout you ... emotional-wise , you know , personal issues goin on in your life . I see that people respond more to general things , like funny articles , my work , family .. but not bout me . So this blog has been refined to suit that . I know what must be done , Thank You .

I decided that some things are better be kept inside . So expect the 'old' Az to make a comeback . I'm keeping things to myself again from now on . I just feel it's useless to let it out nowadays , coz frankly speaking , nobody cares . I can assure future readers that there will be nothing about me except maybe bout work or life in general . Apologies for being emotional in my blog postings . If you knew me back then , I'm not like this at all . So things will be very quiet on that front from now on . I promise you that there will be nothing about 'me' from this post onwards .

After all , maybe I'm a bit tired of being 'read like a book' . Whatever bullshit feelings will be handled by me alone , like a man . That's how it used to be and how it should be in the first place . No doubt it was fun letting it out , however I believe it stops now . I've handled it alone before countless times , I can definitely do it again . Getting back to being a man now . Someone compared me to a very self-centered , arrogant bastard I knew in my career , so I'm gonna prove that person wrong . You won't be hearing anything about me anymore , personal stuffs especially . What goes on in this heart and mind , stays inside me , I'm gonna shut it . Like I said , no one cares to read it anyways .

This doesn't necessarily mean I'll stop writing though , I'll write about 'safe' things . I'm playing safe in this blog . If I got any funny articles or anything bout life in general , I'll post it .


Now that we're clear . Happy reading and blogging everyone !

This is the leader of the world ?

Something funny caught my attention while I was reading the papers today . President Bush needs to work on his vocabs man hehe .

1) (of astronauts) "... the wonderful entrepeneurs of space ... "

Correction : The president surely meant explorers , not entrepeneurs . There are not many deals to be done in space .

2) " We cannot let terrorists and rogue nations hold this nation hostile or hold our allies hostile "

Correction : WTF ? For hostile , read hostage . The two words start the same way - and then part company .

3) " I don't have to accept their tenants . I was trying to convince those college students to accept my tenants "

Correction : I don't think the President's a landlord . Sure he rules America but he must've meant tenets ( as in principles , a doctrine held firmly ) , not tenants .

4) " A tax cut is really one of the anecdotes to coming out of an economic illness "

Correction : For anecdote , read antidote .

5) " They said , 'you know this issue doesn't seem to resignate with the people "

Correction : Resignate ? No such word . He must meant resonate , to create sympathetic emotional responses to a situation . Politicians will always hope that what they say will resonate with the public .

6) "Arbolist ... Look up the word . I don't know , maybe I made it up . Anyway , it's an arbo-tree-ist , somebody who knows bout trees .

Correction : He made it up alright . And since the Latin word for 'tree' is arbor , the nearest shot at a new word would be arborist (cultivator of trees) . I wish the President would confine himself to mastering the words already in the books , rather than creating new ones .

7) " See , without the tax relief package , there wouldn't have been the commiserate - not 'commiserate' - the kick to the economy that occurs as a result of the tax relief "

Correction : Commiserate is a real test . He can't mean , " to express pity or sympathy with others " . My guess is that he is searching for commensurate , "proportionate to " . eg. The stimulus to the economy would be to commensurate with the tax cuts .

8) " The federal government and the state government ... must welcome those faith-based programmes for the embetterment of mankind "

Correction : 'faith-based' ? religious seems more appropriate . And its betterment, not embetterment , which does not exist . Was he confused with embitter ?

9) " Governor Bush will not stand for the subsidation of failure .."

Correction : Subsidation again , does not exist . It shouldv'e been "He will not stand for subsidizing failure " .

10 ) " Security is the essential roadblock to achieving the road map to peace "

Correction : You can't achieve road maps through roadblocks . I dunno where he's going with this . He shouldv'e just kept it simple and said " Security is the essential roadmap to peace "