practise what you preach

it is an interesting day. what turns to be a catch up with a good friend turns out to be the biggest teaching i will ever need. first, we realize we match in terms of personality. so the understanding is there.  and he is logic as 1+1=2 and no emotional and feeling should be involved in anything, no matter what. as conversation rolls on, it turns out he felt that he is stagnant at his current position. and he seem to be seeking advice from me.

i started asking what went wrong and how is handling it in terms of career and relationship. i think this is one of the best advice i have ever given. i tell him, be very logical and be you in your career. in relationship, be the opposite. don't be you. be the person who wants to make the relationship to work even though you apologize for things that you do not do wrong. there is no right and wrong in relationship. it is just a relationship that requires mutual understanding and compromise. be the bigger person. listen to me once.

he suddenly got enlightened. for all the things that have been his stumbling block suddenly becomes clear. good. i ask him, just do it. don't think.

blogger decides it's time to act, not to react. time to move on, not self degrade.

power of positive thinking

yesterday i had a quick chat with my side team member. i ask him, "when are you going to achieve your significant milestone in business?" he said soon because he found inspiration in people like me. i am dumbfounded to be honest. i did not expect such kind words will come out from this smart fella.

he told me one thing, we both know that we are smart but we are losing out in terms of income to people who do not even have diplomas. what does this put us? sore losers. that is why he want to go all out to prove himself. he also want to help his senior partner to achieve greater heights.

his kind words made my day and i feel like i can achieve anything under the sun. just like this. he did advice, succeeding alone doesn't mean a thing. succeeding together that is something. thank you very much. i shall remember these days.

the decision that has changed my life positively 180 degree

i am thankful each other i am inspired. blogger feeling that is his best day of 2017.

2016 Flashbacks

it has an eventful year. many new different experiences had been gone through with the flash of a second. i felt 2016 passes by very fast. it is now November. as the year end approaches, it is timely that i make a recall of the happenings in my life. since the blog is last updated about a year ago, i would like to get back my blog writing mood.

2016 will definitely be a year where i know more about my friends. when i typed more, i feel that personally, i get to know them better. one friend which i shall call C is a friend which i know through weekly badminton session. occasionally, we will chit chat about investment and job and that's it. this has been going about like four years until recently, i spent more time such as board games, swimming and movie that i get to know this friend better. he is an stock market value investor. in the past, when the subject investing is brought up, all i know of is fixed deposits in a bank and property investing. after discussing much with C, i learn that stock investing is really interesting. you have to do research, check the fundamentals and read the news about this. C wants to own a fund management company someday and hence, he is spends much time researching and sharing news about investing. i, who was always afraid about stock investing, begins to listen. so much so that i begin to ask what is the methodology in investing, how he values a company, then an idea struck me,  "why don't i start value investing?" 

the timing cannot be more right when i was reading through business articles and news that a news feed pop up that asks whether i would like to join for a brief talk about value investing. at first, my mind is hovering about whether this is just some scam class to cheat the money from you. incidents happen an another bestie of mine, M begins to stock investing as well. hence, i forward the invitation to her. she was interested and asked me to accompany her to go and the results: i become more passionate than her about value investing. we went for the briefing the first time, my heart wants to say yes but M told me, "take your time and think it through as the fee wasn't cheap at all". it is expensive. i do admit. hence, my rational thinking self convinced me to take a step back and think about it. i kept thinking about the programme subsequently. a few months later, M brought some friends to join and ask me to go for the briefing again just to see whether the case studies presented would be different "you know la, being Asians, no harm knowing more plus the course is free." so this time i went again. and immediately i signed up.

there it began, my value investing journey began. it started with a 3-day course and subsequent tutorials every month. during the course, they conducted mini games to test out the patience and investing skills of the 80 over participants. i listen and observe very closely the materials. and on the last day of the course, the put us in a room and required us to play the virtual stock trading environment. to be honest, my heart beats super fast but i remain calm because deep down i know; investment is all about numbers, research and judgment. i need to focus. the facilitators will shout here and there for stock trading news with all kind of news coming up every quarter. i sat down and think quietly. i look at the numbers and begin computing the value of the companies that are presented. through my focus, here is the result:

I won!

i was overjoyed. hahaha. i won some cold hard cash yo! part of the cash is used to fund back my 3 day course. in some way, i treat it as my subsidy of my investment amount in this course.

so, that is all my journey of investing in 2016.

then, let's move to my favourite topic of all time: friends. usually, i love to make new friends. reason being the topic of conversation is varied. hence, i took the courage to join my friend, C for waterfall hiking in north of selangor. during this fall, i was able to know my friends around me better, catch up about their latest happenings and hang out for same interest. i like this new approach. it makes me feel alive. 

Perdik fall hike

besides waterfall hiking, i have also become more accustomed to social responsibility. M suggested that we went for a visit to the kids home and buy them food and soft toys. her reasoning: she wants to feel that she is helping the uncle who is seeking cancer treatment, making the kids happy and feeling more useful to the society. i agree in no time. besides, we are quite familiar with the kids after visiting for two times prior to this. i like spending time with kids. i believe children are the future of the world. if you take care of them well, they will, too take good care of the world in the future. nobody can count on oneself only to make the world a better place to live in. you need forces and children are the best forces you should count on. previously we had a painting session and this time around, we have pictionary session. oh yes, i found out that my mind is still very much childlike at heart. i can freaking guess the children' drawing like most of the time. 

Praise Emmanuel Home

besides that, i have also know some friends who are into opening music gig. at first, i was like ok, maybe it was just some chill club and sit in the cafe sorta setting. turns out, it was the rock style kind of closed event in a rented shop lot. i was pleasantly surprised. the band performing was Relent, a local band in Malaysia. i like their music: coordinated and moving. the song is just so so. the much credit should be gone to their guest star appearance : Moira Dela Torre. OMG, her voice is superb and she is of one of the Top Voice Philippines. moira was so good that i had goosebumps. go moira. really love her voice. during her singing, she asked " are you in love?" imagine this lady asking you that question. all the fan crowds go "Yes!" really adorable. 

Are you in love?

that's it. my happenings in 2016. i love 2016 for the person I have become. Thank you 2016. btw, santa claus is coming to town.......

enjoy 2016 everyone. 

signing off,

KCS

Moderation

“In everything the middle course is best: All things in excess bring trouble to men.”

this phrase is very much needed in malaysia now.

blogger feels the middle path is not necessarily that bad after all. you learn how to balance on the fence without falling.

The Future

it was an invitation to help out at the orphanage. since it was a private event, i was thinking why not. just draw and distribute food to the kids. i thought it might do myself and the kids good since drawing is one of my favourite subjects. mediocre level compared to those friends of mine. still, i like the concept of colours being blended together and shading.

when i reached, i was the first one to reach. as i wasn't familiar with the home, i decided to loiter in my car, awaiting my friends. then, when my friend arrived, we started the meet and greet session. the kids were ravenous but surprisingly obedient. they were sitting in a big circle in the living room. hence, i started distributing the pizzas around. some were quite shy and some were quite daring. understandable as everyone is entitled to eat as much as they want.

while they were eating, i started to think. if i myself felt inadequate last time, what about they? of course, they have a shelter, a master to take care of them and an occasion outings. when i was younger, i craved for special attention. that makes me felt special. how do they feel? and i also thought about the disadvantages it brings being an orphan. well, i hope they are still too young to understand. all they should know is, with education, the possibilities are endless. i hope they have that in mind.

after the lunch, the event organiser asked the children to group around her. she was very suave and charismatic. she resembled one of my aunties residing in ampang. very similar style in the way she carry herself, the way she talk and even the cantonese dialect she speaks. i was impressed. thats how i decided, she must be as kind as the auntie i had. you may say i judge too quickly, but i say, my instinct and judgment beats your whatever-too-long-observation-requirements-to-be-good a crap. sometimes, you just know whether a person is kind or not from his/her actions and speeches. you don't have to wonder to far off.

then, she briefed them stating that she wanted to draw a picture. and the title is jeng jeng jeng, "The Future". i was taken aback for a moment there. a topic i stopped thinking for awhile. it got me thinking. what is the future that i want to see? she mentioned it can be anything 50 years from now. oh perfect. my retirement plan. haha. all i was thinking was reading, a beach and a picture. a bit odd but those were things that popped up in my mind at that time. so i just decided to draw along. why not.

everyone got into their positions with their utensils ready: a brush, buncho water colours, a pencil and a drawing paper. i distributed the papers around to check that everyone has a piece. i don't hope that by taking one myself, one poor kid will have none. luckily there is extra going around. yippie for me.

while drawing, there is this kid, "Onn", who told me he loves "seni" in school and he had been to melaka to visit the stadhuys building and singapore's universal studio. wah, kids nowadays are pretty lucky right. only 10 years old had the chance to visit singapore, he kept asking me what he was drawing. i have to keep guessing. he kept pushing until i get it right. i was relieved.

after finishing my drawing, i talked to him for a bit. for don't know what reason, he decided to take another paper and started a new paper. okay, maybe he has overflowing of creativity juice in his head. the purpose of this project is to let their creativity run free. i agreed. it did the job for me. for a moment there, i felt happy.

after finishing and all the cleaning up of my brush and polystyrene plate, i saw a kid holding my drawing. i asked him. yes, do you want to add colours to it, he nodded. okay la, since he was so keen, takkan i say tak boleh kan? there he goes. but after a while, my drawing was missing. that good huh? it's alright. i live for the moment, not for the picture. to me, the picture is just a window opportunity to see myself and to know what i want in the Future.

it has been a humbling experience to be able to learn from all this. one, you don't have to have a lot to be happy. two, you just have to make do with what you have. three, you can be kind to others, and others shall be kind to you.

a few photos to share to end the day. definitely a weekend to remember.

i was fortunate enough to grab a photo of my drawing before it went missing. =D

the kid who refined my painting. suspect no.1 for my missing drawing. it's ok. he can have it.

and the rest of them. the indian kid called me brother. i almost wanted to laugh of how informally he addressed me.

ps: my friend said she will organise one in the future. i gave her a doubtful look. she said, "don't look like you don't enjoy it. i know you did." she is reading me like a book. hope to be back in the future.

imba-ness

while working yesterday, i kept hearing this word mentioned by my colleagues. it was odd at first. i never heard of such a slang being used in a conversation. for one, i am not a fan of this short form in my sentences. "fml", "yolo", "lmao" are not really my choice of words. the weird thing is when they mention such words, my friends' expressions on the face is totally blank. as if such word is meant to express everything including the face. hmmm.

have i come to an age where everything has to be shorten. and i am expected to pick up all this words. curiosity filled my head for the entire working time since i heard of this word. the thought of asking is sort of embarrassing because it somehow reveals one's age. i know la, i am oldest in the audit team. people in the audit field are so young. 

the imba feeling one has. i don't even know how to use it. help is very much appreciated

thus my effort being put in the G search engine. when i found out what it meanss. i was like. what kind of slang is this. according to the definition,

"Imba is used mostly in online games or games that have patches or different versions. Imba means that something is imbalanced and should be "nerfed" or made worse. When something is imba it means that is is too good and it makes the game unfair."

then i recalled that they use the word to describe how nice a song is. i am confused. i thought it is referring to the situation where once feels unbalanced due to unfairness. but they literally use it to describe the unbalanced feelings they have when listening to a song. what's right, what's wrong? i guess in the world of "yolo and fml", i should just keep my mouth shut. that's the politically correct thing to do.

the interesting thing of the day

With much time on hand in office, i decided to have a read on the belated Yasmin Ahmad's old blog. I just wanted to kill some boredom. I literally felt asleep. This is actually a luxury seldom obtained by assurance associate. Must be my lucky day today. 

Well, I come across one of her article, it felt that she was talking in person. She is definitely a person who had left behind a legacy. It is very difficult to find a similar person with such optimism in life. But I learn a lesson for today; we have to believe our instincts. with the right intention, it will eventually be rewarded and noted. 

To end this, this is quote that sends the chill down my spine:

If your intentions are pure, if you apply your craft with a view to observe humanity and, ultimately, God himself, very often something powerful will surface. And the next thing you know, hordes of strangers from all around the world are stepping forward to tell you "the story of their life or how their father died." 

i will pray for you

it is an ordinary day. working in the office as usual. a colleague is getting married soon. hence my good luck wishing and envious display for having 4 months of leave. who takes a 4-month marriage leave anyway? then she popped up the question, so bila nak cari gf. i was like.... errr.... when the time is right la. i told her i am not really setting very high expectations. after telling her that, she said no worry, i will pray for you. i was like. okay. i got this question a lot lately. omg. if it reaches a state when you colleague prays for you, i have nothing else to say.

miss right, where art thou?

i ain't rushing, just a little curious how you would look like

the simple wan tan mi

if i compare myself to myself years ago, i would say i have changed. not because of all the people i know or all the skills i learn at work or the degree i earned. it's the perspective i currently have. the "i" who wants to travel everywhere, eat everything and see all the views in the world. yet, as i grow, i find that i feel a less satisfaction seeking such past dream. i still yearn such thing occasionally yet the satisfaction has been different.

at times, i feel that if i have a day of quiet reading and a simple wan tan mi at bunga raya, i would be more happy than travelling and eating fine dining. you may say i am the sour grape. i am at a phase which i think  finding contentment in my daily life can be very rewarding. looking at all the positive side of things could not be so bad after all. if we just stop walking for awhile and look around, there are a lot of things to be thankful and grateful about. but here we are, looking straight at want we possibly can get or not and yet, losing what have been besides us all this while.

blogger just want the simple wan tan mi at times. bunga raya street food is not comparable than the sydney fine dining, it is better.

they made me laugh for a bit there

they are quite unique in their own ways. they can be carefree, they can be persistent. one for sure, they sure are playful.

as i was watching them today, a bunch of children we running here and there. my god, some are shouting at the top of their volume. i was cringing inside, my ears hurt. oh well. at times, letting children be children is the best you can do for them. after all, their minds just have one thing. how to have fun.

and the simplicity of their pleasure even amuses me more. all but for one bucket of ice water. five of them surrounding the bucket of water, slowly dipping their hands. the coldness must have given them the never-ventured experience. one was like "oooo" the other, "aaaaa" and the next "just giggling". i think they felt lucky today because i believe any other day, they will not be allowed for splashing water. but today happens to be a small gathering where everyone prays. hence, the subtle leniency must have given them the upmost joy. i was smiling there, watching them. so simple, a bucket of ice water is only what it takes to be happy.

i wonder why adults have gotten so complicated. maybe, we have gone through the experience before. after a while, left two little boys dipping their hands in the icy cold water. an idea came. i flicked on the surface of the water and it went splashing into their eyes, hoping they would give up playing with the water. how persistent prevails. they faced away while dipping their hands inside. one thing for sure, slightest hint for revenge was none existence. on the other hand, they were quite happy. haha.... i did a few more times, each time increasing their level of excitement.

oh kids, stop being so cute. you have just made my day then.

10 percent

it is a funny thing that i realise such a small lesson while watching television today. i was watching a kid cooking competition programme by masterchef australia. there were fifty kids competing against each other, vying for the crown of junior masterchef.

Junior Masterchef

first, i would like to commend on this programme. it has not only fired up the kids' spirit in cooking, also encourage people that you can achieve great things in life no matter what age you are. the thing that is stopping you is your mind and thinking. i was wondering, 'if all these kids attend the competition, what happens to school'. if it happens in asia, i am quite certain the tv show will receive wide criticism for depriving children proper education by lavishing them with unrealistic dream of becoming chefs. such thinking does not only limit what a child's dream in life but also restricts one's passion for cooking. tell me honestly, do your parents tell you to be a chef or cook when you were young? of course not, they will say being a chef comprises of a lot of hard work and we should study hard to work in white collar jobs.

Ham Cha

such was a thinking embedded on me. i think if i were given an option to choose all over again, i might have opted for another career now. i like cooking. it calms my mind and towards a certain extent, i feel happy. yeah, i am a natural high person. i get excited very easily which is not necessarily a good thing because i notice i am being misconstrued as not being serious. hence, i have tried to lower my excitement level every now and then. i am more subtle now.

back to the topic of 10 percent. in this show, the fifty kids were divided to 5 groups of ten. they will compete for one spot in each group and the rest will enter further rounds until the number totals up to 20 when the real challenge begins. my heart had this feeling of being disheartened. for me, if i were to put in a group of ten and only one of us is chosen, i would have given up. i believe such thinking is kinda pessimistic. in life, it isn't the outcome that counts, it is the journey that inspires to be the best we can be. i think by watching this show is not so bad after all because i learn to do my best. the bad side about me is that just as easily i get excited so does the pace my motivation level changes. by learning one lesson today, i think i have become a better person, perspective wise.

blogger feels that if everyone gives his best, there shall be no regret in the world and what a pleasant world it would be then.

seven early eight early?

there is this expression that chinese love to use, which is zi zao ba zao. i wonder why does it begin with seven not six or five. probably got to do with the ancient chinese history. waking up today is quite refreshing because i  am not disturbed by any metal drilling noise.

the first thing that comes to my mind is i have a good dream. the thing is i seldom dream and if i do, i normally don't remember it well. but this time around, it is a good one. in it, i dreamt of my late grandmother. she was telling me to eat "loh mai kai" which i find it weird at first. then she was telling me it is very late already and she can't cycle home. then i told not to worry because i can drive her back tomorrow morning and just stay at my house. weird but pleasant. i think i saw her smiling. i heard of stories of people dreaming about their beloved ones who have passed away. sometimes, if they want to let you know that they are doing well in their after lives, they will tell you in the form of dream. no matter how true it is, since it is good, i will just take it.

blogger feeling good.