Pointy Haired Bosses and such...

I seriously think that Scott Adams or Dilbert or some Scott Adams spy is working in the company I work in.

I joined this place in Sep 2007 and while I am all for rapid changes and movement and progression, I have physically changed roles 3 times in 4 years and now time again to change again.

In Sep 2007, I started as a PM and quite liked it, or else I would not have left my previous companies.

I had a friend who rightfully used to tell people off when they said their previous company was better. "Wah, your previous company so good, why did you leave? Either you were fired or you were lousy," he would ask them with a quizzical look which often left the other party flabbergasted.

But that is true, why would you go to your new job and keep comparing to your old one? Many people do that. But why do they leave in the 1st place.

In mid 2008, I was moved to a Programme Manager role in which I truly thrived and performed well for the next 1.5 years before another change came into play in end of 2009.

So, in 2010, I was yet in another role, as a Service Manager. A role that did not quite suite me plus it is always difficult when you have a mediocre supervisor. The excellent coaching I had in the last 2.5 years just poofed and disappeared and we were all running about in this newly set up department like chickens without a head.

Nevertheless, I did the best and even took on additional things. Despite all these, efforts were nought and many wasted.

I sincerely feel I have wasted 2 years in my career, I learned things yes, but I am stuck.

So, since I am stuck, do I make a career change or do I make a job change.

There is a big difference there that many do not realise nor accept. I have, in this lifetime, since I started working in 1991, had 8.5 companies that I worked for but seriously only 3 career changes that were drastic enough. (0.5 because I worked as a contract while being full time employed - one of those deals)

A career change, to me is a change that is drastic enough that it is totally something else from what you have been doing. For me, the changes were from being a journalist (2 companies) to a manufacturing supervisor (2 companies) to Information Technology (4.5 companies).

I have been in IT proper since 2000, but started in dabbling in 1998. That is nearly 14 years in one field and in all honesty, I do not know if I am ready to move on. I have been a project manager, a program manager, a technical manager, a requirements analyst, a business systems consultant, a business development manager and a service manager - one fancy title after another.

However, in all honesty, sometimes I feel a need to change. Maybe not just yet, but maybe next 3-5 years.

I came across this article that I shared on my Facebook and I really like it. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/holly-robinson/quitting-your-job_b_1211880.html

Jobs are like college courses. Each one you take teaches you a set of new skills and offers a fresh perspective on life. They aren't meant to be permanent, most of them. They are only stepping stones.

In my daughter's case, the barista job led her to have enough free hours to do what she really loves: draw comics. She's thinking about publishing her comics online. In her free time, she also happened to stop by a new gourmet cupcake store, where she chatted with the enthusiastic owner and was hired to decorate cupcakes and work the counter. Again, it's not much money, but combined with the coffee place, it's enough for her to scrape by. Meanwhile, she has moved out of Oakland and into an affordable room in a house near the beach in Santa Cruz. She's happily experimenting with cupcake flavors and thinking about helping this new business owner with social media and marketing. She is learning something new every day. Life is good.

When you quit a job, any job, it can be terrifying. But it's also exhilarating, as you open yourself to new possibilities. So go ahead. Take the risk. Quit that job, if you hate it. You might surprise yourself.

Perhaps one day you will walk into a nice chic restaurant somewhere in KL and do not be surprised if you see me as the chef cooking up your meal. Be sure to have dessert cause that surely would have been made by my wifey.

Take care and be well.

So beaten and so battered

Look at this face
I know the years are showin’
Look at this life
I still don’t know where it’s goin’
Look at these eyes
They never seen what mattered
Look at these dreams
So beaten and so battered,
So many questions
Still left unanswered
So much
I’ve never broken through
Look at this man
So blessed with inspiration
Look at this soul
Still searching for salvation

I don’t know much
But I know I love you
And that may be
All I need to know

But is it truly
All I need to know, God?

Sometimes when I do not know what to write, I find some lyrics that writes what I need to express. I may be down, but I am never out. I will just have to get up and move on, move forward.

Take care and be well.

Note: Lyrics above taken from a song titled I don't know much, but I know I love you.

What are rights of other Earthlings

Earthling (noun) - an inhabitant of the earth.

Nature, Animal and Humankind.

Make the connection.

I have been a vegetarian all my life, mostly. I may have intentionally or accidentally eaten dead animals. As a vegetarian, I eat dead plants, for my sustenance.

I was born a vegetarian, all my ancestors have been vegetarian as far as I am aware.

However, I am not a vegetarian because of religious reasons.

I am a vegetarian because of ethical and to some extent, environmental reasons.

Recently, Mark Zuckerberg, from what I read, changed his diet. He is mostly vegetarian and only eats animals that he kills with his own hands.

It is not easy. I personally could not kill an animal to eat it, thus, I rather remain a vegetarian.

The environmentalist also claim that vegetarians have a smaller carbon footprint, so I guess inevitably, I am also doing the earth some good.

I have watched the video below a few times already. First, when "Datuk YB" lend it to me and a few times from the website. It is a 90 plus minute video and many people cringe to watch even 15-30 minutes of it.

I would say that I will not recommend it to anyone below 15 although kids are growing up fast nowadays.    

Find sometime and watch it, however long you can, and be more aware of rights of other living things on the earth. 



Take care and be well.

Know your rights as a Human

Below is a nice video on Human Rights that should be shared with as many people as possible.



Following is the complete United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Can anyone name me any country in the world that follows this beyond any reasonable doubts? Surely not USA and surely not Malaysia and if some kiasu Singaporean says the little island country does, let me give him 2 tight slaps in advance.

PREAMBLE


Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,


Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people,


Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law,


Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations between nations,


Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,


Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in co-operation with the United Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms,


Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge,


Now, Therefore THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY proclaims THIS UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.


Article 1.
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Article 2.
Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.

Article 3.
Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

Article 4.
No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.

Article 5.
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Article 6. 
Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.

Article 7.
All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.

Article 8.
Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.

Article 9.
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

Article 10.
Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.

Article 11.
(1) Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.
(2) No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed.

Article 12.
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

Article 13.
(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.
(2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.

Article 14.
(1) Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.
(2) This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 15.
(1) Everyone has the right to a nationality.
(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.

Article 16.
(1) Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.
(2) Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.
(3) The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.

Article 17.
(1) Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.
(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.

Article 18.
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

Article 19.
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

Article 20.
(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
(2) No one may be compelled to belong to an association.

Article 21.
(1) Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.
(2) Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country.
(3) The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.

Article 22.
Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.

Article 23.
(1) Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.
(2) Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
(3) Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.
(4) Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.

Article 24.
Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.

Article 25.
(1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
(2) Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.

Article 26.
(1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
(2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
(3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.

Article 27.
(1) Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.
(2) Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.

Article 28.
Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.

Article 29.
(1) Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible.
(2) In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.
(3) These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 30.
Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.

Now that you know your rights as a human, think about rights of other earthlings, other living things of this earth.

Take care and be well.

Pot and Kettle

"Before the throne if the Almighty, man will be judged not by his acts but by his intentions. For God alone reads our hearts" - Mahatma Gandhi

Quite often the Pot likes to call the Kettle black.

Yes, today was the so called Big Judgement Day in Malaysia, the so called verdict against Anwar and the big rallies and all the hullabaloo parades and marches.

This blog is not about politics, not about Malaysia, not about Anwar who was found not guilty if you have been living under a rock or overseas and don't give a shit who Anwar is.... which neither do I.

This blog is about the pot and the kettle, about you and me.

My guardians constantly tell me that I have to be patient and I have to be compassionate and I have to be grateful and I have to show love. I have to do this no matter what people say and people do. Yes, let them judge me but I shall not feel hate for them.

But it does still upset me when the pot calls the kettle black.

When someone picks or judges me without really knowing me or finding out the truth. When someone makes an assumption and judgement based on heresy from what they heard from another person.

Gandhi made the quote above, "Before the throne if the Almighty, man will be judged not by his acts but by his intentions. For God alone reads our hearts."

Do you really believe this? Do I?

Let's assume there is Almighty for once. I know I have a number of atheist friends that do not believe in Almighty, but let's leave that aside for a discussion some other time.

Man will be judged by his intentions and not actions? So, I can kill a hundred but not have the intention or have a good intention to kill a hundred people and it is fine?

Sounds crazy?

This is called war. Iraq, Afghanistan, WW1, WW2, Vietnam, Korea .... name it. Hundred of people are killed for so called good intentions, to overcome a tyrant, to kill a tyrant, blah blah blah.

Everyone may have good intentions and still do bad actions.

For Hitler, he was doing something crazy with "good intentions" in his crazy little mind. So was George Bush when he attacked Iraq and Afghanistan.

My school headmaster who was a Catholic Jesuit brother plus the discipline teachers used to cane problem students in their backsides so hard that some could not sit for days. The intentions were to make them better students. Good intentions, bad actions but okay in eyes of God?

So, for me, actions are as important as intentions when being judged.

So, why do people like to judge one another?

I have people who barely know me think that perhaps I drink too much. I honestly have no freaking idea where and how they make that impression without really understanding the life I lead or how much I drink on a daily basis.

But then again, maybe they are right cause I do drink 4-5 litres a day, perhaps that is drinking too much ... water that is.

As for alcohol, I personally know people who drink socially a lot more than I do but hey, who am I to judge them.

Also other habits. Some say this and that without rarely knowing what this or that is, but they are quick to pass a judgement. Everyone is bloody opinionated. Everyone is very vocal. But I guess this is the information age, everyone feels it is their right to do so.

Nevertheless, I am happy that my loved ones close to me like wifey, Al E and dad and a few close friends do not judge me for who I am, imperfect as I may be, I still am me, I am who I am. I am not going to justify my habits, good or bad to you nor do I expect anything in return.

And I forgive the pot or the kettle, I forgive you for judging me but f... off and let me lead my life the way I see fit and you enjoy your life. I know God will forgive me.

Have a wonderful life, pots, kettles, whatever you may be, black, white, purple, yellow, brown, it matters not.

Take care and be well.

Then and Now

Today is going to be a blog of pictures. Not much words as the pictures say it all.

I always liked John Lennon, he may be a commie, but hey, I want to be happy and since young, I think I understood life was about happiness and if I was happy, God would grant me anything that I so desired. 

 The picture above says it all. Nowadays, everything is done on the computer. At work, I no longer have a desk phone as all my calls are now made through the computer.

 When I was young, I would always be playing outdoors. In the rain or hot sun and never got sick. Now I make a million excuses just to exercise.

I had a study table and a bed in my bedroom with mostly school books and an Encyclopedia Britannica. No computers, no Internet existed and no television. So, going to room was a punishment. Now, it is more a reward as more and more kids hate to spent time on the dining table having a family meal together. 

 Sad but true. We have so many Facebook friends that sometimes we just do not spend enough time with real friends.

Go Google it. Google is not just a search engine anymore but it is a verb.

 The 1st scene was so common during my time. Our parents used to go to our teachers and support the teachers to punish us if we were naughty or did not pay attention. Now, we have become the parents and blaming the teachers for everything. Look at home, change your attitude and support the teachers out there, they are doing what they can within their means. Yes, not all are great but still, stop complaining and start helping the teachers.

My first TV was a 12 inch CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) and now I have a 42 inch LED. My waist when I had a 12 inch CRT was 26 inches, now, 35 inches. 

 Above is me now, 29 December 2011. Below is me then, likely aged 15, Form 3, so, circa November 1984.

Times may have changed, but some things remain the same. My eyes have been the same since I was born cause eyes do not grow in size. My heart has always also been the same, filled with love and passion but also sometimes anger against cruelty and horrible human beings.

Take care and be well.

Economics for Dummies

Calvin must have been to Malaysia and visited out Government.

When the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great. But when government takes all the reward away, no one will try or want to succeed.

An economics professor never failed a single student before, but recently failed an entire class.

That class had insisted that socialism worked and that no one would be poor and no one would be rich, a great equalizer.

The professor then said, "OK, we will have an experiment in this class on socialism".

All grades will be averaged and everyone will receive the same grade soon one will fail and no one will receive an A. (Substituting grades for dollars - something more readily understood by all.)

After the first test, the grades were averaged and everyone got a B.

The students who studied hard were upset. The students who studied little were happy.

As the second test rolled around, the students who studied little had studied even less. The ones who studied hard decided they wanted a free ride too, so they studied little.

The second test average was a D! No one was happy.

When the 3rd test rolled around, the average was an F.

As the tests proceeded, the scores never increased as bickering and blame resulted in hard feelings.

No one would study for the benefit of anyone else. To their great surprise, ALL FAILED.

The professor told them that socialism would also ultimately fail because when the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great.

But when government takes all the reward away, no one will try or want to succeed. It could not be any simpler than that.

These are the 5 best sentences you'll ever read and applicable to this experiment:

1. You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity, by legislating the wealthy out of prosperity.

2. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for, without receiving.

3. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else.

4. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it!

5. When half of the people get the idea that, they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that is the beginning of the end of any nation.

Sounds familiar?

So how many percent of us pay taxes in Malaysia which is being used for all the wonderful projects like National Feedlot crap ~ the cows coming out from there must be more expensive than Wagyu or Kobe beef because of the luxury apartments the cows graze in.

How much is our defense ministry been spending for a country that is relatively peaceful? I guess to wage war against it's own citizens for peaceful protests.

How much did that ring cost again?

Sigh, Malaysia, TanahAir Ku. I love it enough to want to change it for the better but do you? Does others, do our politicians, do our teachers and businessmen, do our schools and Universities?

Take care and be well.

Resolution

Resolution

audio

a measure of digital audio quality

Resolution

logic

a rule of inference used for automated theorem proving

Resolution

law

a written motion adopted by a deliberative body

Resolution

debate

the statement which is debated in policy debate

Resolution

music

a technique in music theory

Resolution

meter

the replacement of one longum with two brevia

I do not make new year resolutions. I do not resolve to do anything. However, these are my new year wishes and hopes:
 
1. I wish I will get role, work-wise, that I truly thrive in and enjoy doing.
2. I hope that I will get the salary according to the job I have been doing (the last 2 years, I have not been getting so).
3. I wish I will not have to work late and long hours very frequently as I did in the last 3 months.
4. I hope that I will have enough money to pay off debts and some more to finally have a nice break.
5. I wish that this year will be a better year for me in terms of growth in spirituality.
6. I hope that I will enjoy doing stuff again rather than just going through the motions to complete a task.
7. I wish that I can visit Cuba or Argentina.
8. I hope that I am able to continue to make an impact in other people's lives.
9. I wish that I will have less worries financially, emotionally, spiritually, personally.
10. I hope that I will not cause stress to the ones I love.
11. I wish that wifey, daddy and Al E will be healthy, well, as well as wealthy.
12. I hope that I am able to show more peace, love and compassion to everyone that I meet.
 
12 hopes and wishes for this 12th year in the new millennium.
 
A spiritual awakening or the end of the world?
 
May we be blessed and may we rise to what we are meant to be.
 
Take care and be well.