Of life and death

26th October 2011

Recently there has been many deaths occurring around the world. It makes me think a little how life can be so short and death so quick and sudden.

There was the flood in Thailand which claimed quite a number of life.. the death of Steve Jobs, the 2 years old in China and more recently Simoncelli. All these news are not good news and the deaths of the 3 latter individuals had cause people around the world to react in a certain manner.

Of course everyone around the world was in a rage over the death of the 2 years old China girl who was ran over and nobody seemed to care for her life. People were talking about it from the office, to the restaurant to the online community condemning the act and baffled at how can we humans be so inhumane towards other humans, so young a child at that.

Millions of people were mourning over the death of Steve Jobs as well. People were crying and saying what a lost to the world as someone so great has passed away. I don't have any Apple products and to me, his death did not made that big of an impact to me. But it got me thinking, what constitutes 'greatness'?

I came across this article http://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/column_comment-steve-jobs-wasnt-great-he-wasnt-even-close_1596888 which made me think of what constitutes greatness. Of course, comparing Jobs to Salk is like comparing an apple to orange and is by no means a comparable comparison but it really got me thinking, what constitutes 'greatness' and how do one achieve that 'greatness' to be a legendary figure?

I suppose one trademark of 'greatness' is that the person leaves a footprint behind to the world. both Jobs and Salk managed to leave their footprints behind. The bigger the footprint, the greater the 'greatness' of a person. Question is, how do we leave footprints?

Surely to be able to leave a big footprint, one needs to be quite intelligent to be able to influence most of the people of its' time. So great intellect which affects people is one measure of greatness.

Another measure of greatness would be how one has helped the world for the better. Mother Teresa is 'great' but I am not too sure whether she's intellectually great. Her heart is great and she left a big footprint with her big heart. I suppose a truly 'great' person is someone who is an intellect with a heart.

GREATNESS = INTELLECT + HEART

I want to strive to be someone with both as I can see the danger of having only the mind and not the heart.

Whatever it is, the death of these 3 people are landmark deaths and we hope their deaths can only change the world for the better. Maybe China is going to have a policy change. Maybe more people will strive to have both intellect and heart. And maybe, there will be more safety measures in the future for athletes.

Maybe, all of us should start valuing our lives.

God Bless~

The PERFECT Dream

29th September 2011

Most of us have dreams. We dream about many things. We dream about having nice cars, big houses, a prince charming or beautiful princess, lots of money, having a good and healthy life etc. But how many of us are living our own dreams?

Taken from http://chris-bradley.org/2011/02/02/awesome-houses-inspiration-bedrooms/

When I was young, I dream about going to school to play with my friends.

As I grew up, I dream of becoming a smart student and becoming a scientist, among other occupations such as sailor and astronaut.

Then I realized that I like numbers and finally I chose a course which have to do with humans.

Dreams change and my point is, are we living our own dream? Or someone else's dream? Who puts the idea in our head that we need to have lots of money and have new nicer cars, new bigger houses, the latest handheld technology, lots of money and plenty of booze?

Those dreams are the dreams of the world and if those are your dreams, then you are not living your dream because it can never be satisfied, as the world will always have another dream they are selling.

In advertisements, the advertisers sell this concept of the perfect dream. The family buying a new house suddenly lives harmoniously and happily. The dude who used the perfume suddenly becomes a hottie. Having a new car would make you weave your way effortlessly on the road (although this will never work in KL). We buy into these 'dreams' and once another product comes out, the perfect dream is imperfect and we are fed with more of these 'perfect dreams'. We slave ourselves with long working hours to achieve these dreams in exchange for less time with friends and families.

So, are you living your dream? Or the dream of the world? Is there really a perfect dream? There is, for those who believe in heaven. For those who don't, a perfect dream can be as easy as living with dignity by making the world a better place.

We often forget, that often, the most precious things in life are free.

God Bless~

Consumerism

25th September 2011

Consumerism is chiseling away the life of our planet. While some of us are eating awesome food here, others are dying of hunger.

Taken from http://www.chrismadden.co.uk/eco/consumerism-illustration.html

I got this thought when I was in church today. With the advent of group coupons (groupons), we can get so many exciting deals and the demand for things is on the rise with the so called 'deal'. We can get buffets, exciting adventures but what are the cost of demanding so much?

While we may eat to the brim of our stomach for RM 40 - RM 60 with the deal, we are demanding more food to be put on the dining table in the restaurant. And with about 2000 plus people buying it, you can surely bet there would be a huge demand for animals, plants and seafood to be slaughtered, harvested and fished. And that's just for 1 of the restaurants. Multiply that by the constant deal and the wastage at the end of the day, maybe the picture is not as colourful anymore (for the life of our world at least).

What about the travel industry? With the cheap flights and discounted prices of holidays, there would be an increase of pollution, from airplane, to nature being invaded to more food being provided for tourist.

I for one, admit that I do purchase these deals every once in a while but where are we heading to with such rampant consumerism? Surely the world cannot consistently supply us with our cravings as it is never ending and always on the rise. But if we don't put a stop to it, then sooner or later, our world is going to be so barren that we are gonna starve ourselves. (ok this might be a slippery slope argument. sue me).

Taken from http://sal.am/tag/consumerism/

I guess all of us should take a step back and think a little before purchasing things. The most important thing would be to be contented with our lives and what we have. If we are contented, we wouldn't think that a buffet or a discounted travel package is such a great thing because we are simply happy and satisfied with how things are and need not look for 'extra' things to complement our life. It's pretty simple. Things work in a demand and supply dynamic. When the demand goes down, so does supply.

Taken from http://www.herdarkmatter.com/2008/12/two-thousand-eight.html

On another note, why not use consumerism in a positive manner. Another idea which popped into my head when I was in church is how companies like Groupon can utilize the people's purchasing power. If only they could feature a home (refugee, autism, spastic, old folks etc.) every week, I think it would be of great help to the home. I think Malaysians are a good lot and are willing to help. Just maybe we are caught up with everyday work and the awareness is low as to how to help. By utilizing this vast network that is already established and the ease of donating by just a few clicks, this could be a great power to be leveraged (or at least I think so). Positive consumerism anyone?

God Bless~

Years gone by

10th September 2011

I am feeling nostalgic and contemplative now. A feeling which I have not felt for quite some time due to my busyness I suppose. Was it because of the weather or was it because of the departure? Looking back at the years gone by, I would proudly say I love my life and I am very blessed even till this day for having good family and friends by my side.

So many memories made and cherished. Were there regrets? Yes, but I can count them with my fingers. If I could turn back time, I might not make the same mistakes, but oh well, such things made me realize what I shouldn't do in the future.

Today I sent one of my friends at the airport. My first time sending anyone away. Will there be more to come? I kinda like airports.

My work is pretty ok. Kids in kepong are not that bad. I got a present from one of my students already in my first week there. But where is my life bringing me to? Or where am I bringing my life to? What does future holds for me?

Sometimes I feel that life is so futile. What's the purpose of having a nice life? It is going to end one day. My thinking could be a little weird since I think not many 23 years old thinks like me. I think most of them would be roaring to go, wanting to earn money or to change the world. Am I grounded in reality, or am I a pessimist?

God Bless~

Lang Tengah Day 2

So this is the second day of our Lang Tengah trip.

We woke up and went for jungle trekking. The receptionist said that her mum (or aunt I am not sure) can go up and down using slippers. I believed her and wore slippers. Dang smart.. it's not a good idea. Kena tipu already.

So up we went and these were some of the pictures which we took along the way.

This was supposed to be the peak

The other side of the island

The strong man who 'lifted' both of us

How dare you did that to us. Revenge! Shou-ru-ken

After that, we went back to our lodging place and had lunch and then we went for snorkeling. This time, we almost missed the boat and we had an amazing race part 2 to chase after the boat before it departs. What an exciting trip we had. Chase after plane and now boat. XD

We came back from snorkeling and did some other things. Of course. We will always walk the beach because it's so lovely.

We even went star gazing at night. The stars shone so brightly and it can be seen so clearly. Very nice experience :D

God Bless~

Lang Tengah Day 1 Part 2

SO here is part 2 of day 1

After our lunch we went for snorkeling and once we came back, we had tea. Tea was ok and we Sly with each other in the room until about 5 something where we went out to play volleyball. The girls walked along the beach while the guys played.

After that, we went walking also, and took pictures. Below are the pictures to feast your eyes with.

Can you see the fishes?

Sunset

Nice clear water

God Bless~

Lang Tengah Day 1 Part 1

21st August 2011

On 5th of August, my friends and I went to Lang Tengah for a vacation. Where is Lang Tengah you ask? It's an island off the coast of Terengganu and can only be reached by a boat. I have been waiting eagerly for this vacation to come ever since I started working as I have been very busy and would like to unwind and relax.

On the morning of the 5th, woke up early at 4.30 a.m and reached Shawn's house at 5. His dad fetched us to KL Central so that we can take a bus to KLIA. We got on the bus and I slept on the way and we reached KLIA. It's the first time I have been there and boy IT'S DANG HUGE!! It's so huge that it's a little crazy. And it's very beautiful too.

Checked ourselves in and went to eat breakfast at McD before boarding. We almost missed the flight as we didn't expect our counter to be the last. It's so far that it took us about 4 - 5 minutes RUNNING. Announcement was made to Mr. Yoong Mun Kiat to come quickly to the counter and go into the plane. That's us. XD Nice start to an amazing trip eh?

First time taking MAS, and the service was good. There's peanuts and drinks on board. Unlike AirAsia where I had to spend RM 3 for a 300ml bottled water. After reaching the Terengganu airport, we exited at once as the van driver has been waiting for us. The van took us to the jetty and off we went on a boat.

Me sitting with an uncle who's from Subang

Very soon, the water turned blue

After about 1 hour of boat ride, we finally reached our destination. The first thing which captivated us was how clear the water is. We were like 'ooooo' AWESOME!

The clear water ^^

This is our hotel room

How it looks like inside

This is how it looks like outside

It's a simple place but it's nice and I like the feeling. Close to nature and so un-city-like.

We checked into our rooms, had lunch and quickly changed our attire for our first snorkeling trip. I don't have photos of them, but the experience was really wonderful, especially at our second snorkeling place where there's so many fishes.

Water is so clear and the fishes seemed to be dancing around us. Simply lovely. Next post about what we did in the evening, coming up soon

God Bless~