Love the Mother Earth!

I am sure all young Malaysians love the mother earth. Nothing new in this post. Just want to know whether you are still using plastic bags for shopping. There are quite a number of hypermarkets which have stopped giving out plastic bags for free and started encouraging the use of recycled bags. More and more hypermarkets should follow suit too! (I still receive weird stares when shopping in Tesco recently by some aunties and uncles - sometimes the cashiers too...)

I am definitely looking forward to create better understanding among young Malaysians on the importance to consume and use only Bio-Degradable products to really protect the environment and have fun and look cool at the same time.

Do not use plastic bags when shopping for groceries! Use (very) colourful and nice biodegradable bags like mine. If you don't have enough I can give you some! Good things are meant to be shared, right?

However, I would really love to break some good news to Malaysians. I went to Singapore recently to see how green they were (which initially I thought they were greener). Seems like (agreed by Singaporeans) there have been much awareness and talking but actions don't seem to match them. Pretty significant contrary if you look at the new buildings coming up in Singapore. Where's the green element? See for yourself. I'm always proud to be Malaysians (though not sufficient initiatives but hell, we create plenty! Probably for Singaporeans too.) :)

Keep the Mother Earth green. Happy New Year, everyone.

Cheers and God bless!

One Bribe At A Time

Shaffi Mather explains why he left his first career to become a social entrepreneur, providing life-saving transportation with his company 1298 for Ambulance. Now, he has a new idea and plans to begin a company to fight the booming business of corruption in public service, eliminating it one bribe at a time.

Courtesy of TED.com (http://www.ted.com/talks/shaffi_mather_a_new_way_to_fight_corruption.html)

Why Potong?

After doing the Speedtest as below, you can't stop to wonder why to potong when Streamyx is the only ISP which offers the fastest broadband (sadly the case) among all the other players in the market.

Alternatively, I am using Digi wireless broadband for outdoor as I am always traveling around. It is convenient that now, choosing a working venue with Wifi may not be a must anymore. Saves me from the premium which I have to pay to experience Wifi with food and drinks.

During one of visit to the PC fair, someone told me that despite all the potong and tukar pitches, people still go back to Streamyx which I can't deny any further. Our dearly beloved country simply lack of the infrastructure for better broadband.

However, despite of that, it makes Streamyx less of a bully due to many options to be chosen by consumers on their competitors. Afterall, for me, I don't mind going to an ISP which gives excellent customer service if it also means I have to settle for slower broadband. I don't do frequent downloads.

So, there you go. Your choice still. :)

Cheers.

Amateur Playing with Photo Effects

Just came across a photo-effect editing website called BeFunky (http://www.befunky.com/). Decided to try it as the functions are quite simple to use and really user-friendly. Suitable for graphic-idiots like myself.

You can basically select the source of graphic files from various options listed below:

Subsequently, you can choose what kind of effects which you would like to do onto your original graphic file.

Example of what I have done onto my photo. I have chosen the option for "Sunburst" and under the effect category, there are 6 more options to choose from. Interesting!

The outcome: The photo can be quite freaky to look at!

Try it out and have fun! :)

Cheers.

Immigration Outing

It's the time of the year to travel to Singapore again in December and for Christmas, nevertheless (Orchard Rd, here I come again!). This year, yours truly's passport has expired and must be renewed. How was I to know, I had chosen the wrong time to do that. Seems like everyone is traveling out of the country this year. How do I know that? Look at the queue in the immigration office in Wangsa Maju which took 2 hours to collect the queue number.

Reached the immigration office at 8.45am and I had to go all the way to the back lane of the office building to start queuing. Only got to reach the counter at approximately 11am which I thought was madness. Another few more hours to wait for my turn to submit my passport renewal form. Indeed, as my number was 1369 and the last called number was 1160. 209 people to go before it would reach me.

The hours just passed by reading a book and walking in and out the office. Then, at 1.50pm, I decided to leave the place for lunch, opposite the office in a restaurant which serves spaghetti and other Italian variety. That's where I got connected to the internet via Wifi provided and by then, the last number called before I left was 1260+. Presumed my number will be called in at least an hour time as the speed was almost as slow as a person per minute. However, there were couple of times when I left the notebook at the restaurant and walked over to the office just to check on how far the called number was to the number I was holding. (Again, it was 1369. 4D anyone? :P)

Picture above was taken at approximately 2.45pm after lunch. There were still many people around and some of them (who were not in the picture) had been standing for hours!

I was back to the immigration office by 2.45pm and it was still 1350+. Reckoned it was about my time. Subsequently, by the time I submitted my form the clock was touching 3.10pm. Then, the officer told me that I have to wait for my number to be called again for payment. Another 30 minutes to go?! Nevertheless, yours truly was really in patience mode throughout the day, so wait it was!

By the time I was done with the payment, it was really about 3.45pm.

Returned the next day to collect the passport and in less than 5 minutes, I got hold of yours truly renewed passport already! Most importantly, it was collected with smiling face from the officer. It made my day indeed.

So my advice is.... do not renew your passport at the end of the year!

P.s.: After the renewal, I found out that it's better to choose the option of renewing the passport for 5 years at RM300.00! Share with you more, only per request.

Cheers.

When Mobbing Becomes Green

When Catherine mentioned one fine day that she wanted to organise a rally ala FlashMob to McDonald's, I thought that was a mad, mad idea and I immediately fell for it. It is probably the best thing we can ever do to raise Malaysians' awareness towards the importance of using eco-friendly products and materials to reduce carbon emission.

Full details of the rally is as follows, courtesy of Catherine's Rebeliciousz:

Purpose

1 Creating awareness of the use of less eco-friendly materials used in McDonald during serving.

Goal

1 Capturing the reactions of everyone (especially the waiter and waitress) in the McDonald outlet during the act.

Methodology


Event Flow


1 Partcipants gathered at entrance of KL sentral for briefing at 8.00pm. 2 At 9.00pm, all proceeds to McDonald. 3 at 9.30pm, 10 orders are made at one time along with "special" demand.



Details

1 Video is taken all the way from the briefing session to the end with reactions of the waiter and waitress and those of the customers in the shop.2 Eg, "Can I have my Cheese burger on my plate?"

Resources needed


1 2 Video cams (1 to capture the waiter and waitress, 1 of the customers and crowd) 2 Editing of video

I hope you will be there to support us and join us in this rally. E-mail to myGreenomy@gmail.com with your name, contact number and e-mail address. Subsequently, we will contact you to

Should you agree to be part of GreenMob, you will be responsible for your own safety and well-being. The organiser will not be held liable for any loss, injuries, or damages caused as a result of negligence act by any party or act of God throughout the trip/rally.

How Twitter Decided on 140 Characters!

Courtesy of TheNextWeb.com - Unveiled: why Twitter decided on 140 characters!
.

Show Me What's In the Bikini!

Have you ever wondered that what would I sell if I have ever given away my products or things that I sell for FREE?

Honestly, when I just started the company, I was constantly looking for sales. Quite aggressively too. My objective was to ensure each and every trip I made to the prospect was ended up with sales on each and every product I have in my inventory. However, with each prospect I visited and pitched to, they never buy. Instead, Malaysians being Malaysians, they are constantly looking for free stuff.

And it's not such a bad thing at all.

I recently came across someone sharing about the bikini concept. If I am to ask you to put a percentage figure on how much flesh you can see in a lady in bikini, how much would it be? 90%? Right! And I realise business is just like that! We have to keep in mind that we should be ready to give away 90% of our stuff for FREE. Subsequently, people would be ready to pay for another 10% which may be the most "attractive" part of the..ehem..in this case business. And yes, everyone wants to see the part where the bikini doesn't reveal, and this is where the big money comes in. Forget about the small money at the beginning!

So, the mentality of the Malaysian customers are not that difficult to deal with anyway.

I hope this will stuck into your mind for the rest of your life. And this is such an interesting and easy concept to remember, isn't it? :D

Signing off.

Youth Power

The Gen-Y should not be ignored further. The significance of youths today as a prominent driver to the nation's economical and political development is not a myth anymore or something we talk about in daily 'mamak' sessions.

Why did I say that? Look at the government's effort to engage youths via social media like Facebook. Firstly, there was a period of time when there was this posting about "Facebook Hour" by some prominent deputy minister. He was none other than the Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah (click here to link to his FB account and here to one of his initiatives done via FB).

Secondly, found out that the minister and the deputy ministers of Ministry of Youths and Sports are actively seeking members to be friends of their Facebook account. The difference between the first encounter and the second is the former maintains the account by himself while the latter's accounts are maintained by their secretaries or they call them, "setiausaha sulit" - whatever it means. Now vast difference is observed. Next question is that if they are not sincere in dealing with the youths, and creating an FB account just because it is one of the way to engage them which eventually managed by someone else, why bother?

Facebook campaign by the Ministry of Youth & Sports

The power of youths and particularly, the Gen-Y is a force to be reckoned with. Some people just have to understand that doing what the youths are doing do not make them blend well with the youths. Business wise, it is definitely a growing market and given an economic point of view - it is a generation which grow up with much spending power and willingness to spend. The closest factor I can look at is that our bunch of people grew up watching advertisements and internet, which are sources of marketers' main communications channel to create a lifestyle which money can buy. So to look good, buy the slimming or body make-over package! To be admired and awed, buy the Gucci bag!

One more example - look at the clubs around the city today compared to 20 years back. It does explain about the great opportunity in accommodating to the lifestyle of the young. A couple of my friends spend easily RM150-300 every night, every week at the club. And they do not just hang out on the much anticipated Friday night!

Have you seen other government and non-government organisations with similar initiatives to engage youths? Share with me.

Why Rainbow Connection

If you have heard The Rainbow Connection and enjoyed it, you will understand what I mean as I write this post. Besides the nice music, the lyrics are darn good despite being simple.

It basically tells a story of a person who believes and has faith in something which others may ignore and tell otherwise. It is a song of the unknown and hope. Life is meaningful because we give meaning to it. Everyone may have a different view and meaning towards how we perceive certain things and events.

What is revealing about the song is the part where it sings;

Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection,

The lovers, the dreamers and me.

Our purpose of life (I would like to believe that it is referred as rainbow in the song due to its beauty) can only be found and fulfilled with the combination of our mind and heart. Notice that lovers actually refer to something emotional, which eventually talks about the heart and dreamers in reference to the mind.

I will be nice enough to embed the YouTube so that you can just hear directly from here, without searching further for it. Sarah McLachlan's version of the Rainbow Connection is by far the best one I have heard. Enjoy the song. :)

The Rainbow Connection

Why are there so many songs about rainbows
And what’s on the other side?
Rainbows are visions, but only illusions,
And rainbows have nothing to hide.
So we’ve been told and some choose to believe it
I know they’re wrong, wait and see.
Someday we’ll find it, the rainbow connection,
The lovers, the dreamers and me.

Who said that every wish would be heard and answered
when wished on the morning star?
Somebody thought of that
and someone believed it,
and look what it’s done so far.
What’s so amazing that keeps us stargazing?
And what do we think we might see?
Someday we’ll find it, the rainbow connection,
the lovers, the dreamers and me.

All of us under its spell,
we know that it’s probably magic….

Have you been half asleep
and have you heard voices?
I’ve heard them calling my name.
Is this the sweet sound that calls the young sailors?
The voice might be one and the same.
I’ve heard it too many times to ignore it.
It’s something that I’m supposed to be.
Someday we’ll find it, the rainbow connection,
the lovers, the dreamers and me.

Time to Ponder

Imagine when we are driving on a highway and the rain falls heavily. When things got blurry, we just got to slow down and look attentively and carefully. Same goes with life. When we are working or doing anything which most of the time, when we tend to overlook on what we want most in life, it is time to perhaps really take time to be away from work and the things we are doing and spend time with ourselves only.

Explore what's important to us and we should do just that. :)

Will The Tide Ever Turn?

Never give up, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.

~ Harriet Beecher Stowe.

Came across the quote in my mailbox last week and it made me ponder. For the fact that I can see the great turn of events for the past 30 days was tremendously extraordinary.

Prior to last 30 days, there were couple of times where I felt like really quitting from what I am doing. Although I am working solely on passion and pursuing a dream which I thought would be easily achievable, it got tougher and soon the vision turned blurry. Easy way out? Look for job. Afterall, I could have persisted if I have enough money to last me till I make it, so I thought.

I hate to ask myself this question, how long could I last being broke all the time. Moment of truth came right in the mid of September, when my loyal bank accounts left with RM9 and the other with RM45. And so, I heard a loud ring! Time to send my CVs out to companies around town, hoping to hook myself a nice paying job while I planned to carry on with the business at night. And yes, at night - which subsequently I thought was ridiculous with my stamina; would have dozed off before the clock hit 9pm. The partner would have sent a C4 to my place just to wake me up. :P

What kept me going? I hope to remain as a non-quitter. Everytime I conduct a self-awareness session to youths in unicolleges, "how you do anything is how you do everything," is my favourite phrase and is frequently used. Because of the high frequency usage, I have planted it deep down into my unconscious mind. Putting it in layman term, when I started to feel like quitting, I could woke up one day (may not be subsequent day, sometimes it took me 3 days after to reach that consciousness) and thought to myself to try again - this time, some other methods and tactics. If I ever give up, I will remain a quitter in what ever I do, whether be it career, family (that's most painful), and etc.

I guess when things are not working, we just have to experiment with other ways to do stuff. Can you imagine doing the same stuff every year, expecting that the year will bear different outcome? Albert Einstein just put it in a simple word, "Insanity." Cuma orang gila yang buat kerja serupa berulang kali, harapkan hasil yang luar biasa. One of these days I should attempt to write a blog posting in Bahasa Malaysia. Who knows, the amount of readers would spike record high since the inception of this blog. :D I'm just trying something different...

I was just recently featured in Malaysia SME paper, subsequently in Malaysia Today and was invited as a guest to a midnight TV show, 8TV Nite Live - a share of fame? No. It all came

unexpectedly (I didn't ask for it, ok... LOL) and if I have made a decision to join a company prior to a month ago, where would I be? I wonder.

I am glad I have taken the action and stand. Persistence and perseverance have pulled me through. However, this is just the beginning to something great, I am sure.

Let me know if you would like to walk with me. :)

Cheers.

A Ghost Beneath The Tower

Have you seen this beautiful video before?

A great song from Winston Jazz Routine. It has a very good artistic representation and the lyrics are good too.

Check it out. :)

THE GHOST BENEATH THE TOWER

What is in your mirror?
Medicine for sadness?
Postcards taped upon it?
With soap in scripted letters?

From your loving mother
Don't trade her for some other
Truth is what you see it
Sorry it just seems fit

I felt your shadow on the way home
I felt your tower again, again

What is in your closet?
Boxes stacked from left to right
Packed
You gently wrap your glassware
Place them in the
And free the ghost of

Just remember happiness
It's not some sack of polaroids

I felt your smile on the way home
I felt your tower again, again
I felt your shadow on the way home
I felt your tower again, again

Cheers.

Social Media ROI

View more presentations from Olivier Blanchard.

Thanks and credit to Rachel Foong for the initial post.

Charter For Compassion - Casting for Malaysian Viral Video

Casting Call: The Charter For Compassion - Malaysian team is producing a Viral Video to spread the message of the Charter. Volunteers needed:

Over the past year, the world was invited to contribute their words to the Charter for Compassion. Thousands of contributions from over 100 countries were received. Now, the Charter is complete, and we need your face to bring it to life for the November 12th unveiling.

We are seeking volunteers of all ages and ethnicities to spend a day with us reading the Charter text on camera. We would like to represent a group of people as diverse as those who participated in composing the Charter. Come have fun with us!

Shoot Date: Sunday, November 1
Shoot Time: 11 am - 2pm (You don't have to attend the entire time.)
Shoot Location: TELL MEdia Studios, 1 Jalan SS7/10, Kelana Jaya, 47310 Petaling Jaya, Selangor map

Interested?
Please head on down straight to TELL MEdia Studios today

For more information about the Charter for Compassion, visit charterforcompassion.org

For questions or more information about the casting call, contact Ija Mohan aka @spicyguy : 0162830962

Thanks and credit to Hakim Albasrawy of http://hakim.albasrawy.com/ for the initial post.

Everyone Connects?

Thanks to the Tweet conversation between @joycescapade and @zhiQ, I came across a website (click the link here) which surprised me with its contents. Thought my internet was interrupted when the pixelated images appeared. And the images are meant to be pixelated - it's a teaser. A promotional gimmick of a band who sing the song, "Through My Window" (the song is played in the website too).

Honestly, they are quite good. The style reminded me of Greenday and yes, A-A-R as well. Now, given this promotional initiative of a new band, "Everyone Connects is about getting people to communicate & collaborate because when everyone’s connected, anything is possible" at the footer of the page seems (agree with ZhiQ) out of place. Doesn't sound like lyrics though...

Track it via Twitter hashtag: #ThroughMyWindow

Courtesy of @ZhiQ

How Much Is Your Website Worth?

Courtesy of Whose (My_Swamp), I managed to come across a website where it measures the value of a website.

Go to BizInformation.org, and type your website URL at the designated column.

As soon as you pressed enter, the website valuation will appear with other vital stats (not sure how accurate it is).

And I was surprise to find my blog site worth $2804.90. It's up for grab, anyone wants to bid?

Hello....

No response. :P

Find out yours now and share with me by clicking at the link below:

BizInformation.org

Cheers.

Admiring Pewter

When KJ was jumping with excitement on one fine day after knowing he has bagged the 2nd prize for the Take a 'Giant Mug Shot' Photo Contest, all of us in TalentEDge were invited to the Giant Tankard Homecoming Party to witness him receiving his prize, an Olympus camera from the organiser, Royal Selangor Pewter.

Honestly I have passed by the Royal Selangor gallery countless times in the past, but last weekend was the first time I stepped foot inside the visitor centre. Didn't know it looks great and spacious with rich historical facts and items inside.

Some of the currency and money used during the old days. Only seen in Sejarah textbooks till that very Saturday. Notice the animal currencies in the forms of crocodile, elephant (short nose but long tail) and turtle. And just found out that the the coins can be plugged out from the money tree on the right (as seen on BSN logo).

More animal currencies from the 19th Century. The value of the currencies are actually determined by their weights. So I wonder, how heavy must the currency be to buy a cow...chicken...(Yes, KJ. Chickens to be rear and eaten. Not something else!)

Some of the old tools and equipments used by the founder. Noticed the old wooden abacus on the left, followed by the old catalogues, account books (Yes with old ink and numbers of sales recorded) and old ledgers.

KJ with a "keluarga diraja" costume in yellow, matched with Catherine's similar costume. He was so delighted to be in that costume for the fact as mentioned. Lol.

Who says Catherine can't get rough? Ladies at work! Don't be fooled by the picture. It is actually a very delicate process at work where gentle but firm knocks are required to form the same size and horizontally aligned spots around the cup without gaps. Now, that's what I call challenge!

Guess for which client Royal Selangor produces the trophy to? It's actually one of the products where "work in progress".

And yes, all pictures are taken with my 3-year-old 3.2MP Sony Ericsson K-800 .

That's not all. After the tour we had good tarts and pies with delicious sausages to satisfy our taste buds. Oh yeah, we had fun in their games too, where I must say I my vision and conscious was briefly disturbed after the drinking game (where Heineken was used! And yes, the Royal Selangor Party served alcohol).

There are actually more great and better pictures taken from KJ's camera so stay tuned.

Signing off.

When Work Has Its Meaning

When one has different priorities, we often look for extraordinary avenue to grow towards our dreams. What life is if it is just a repetition of doing things we do not enjoy doing? Recently I came across a write-up, Ya Startups, Even Boring Ones, which rang a bell to me in understanding some of the reasons why we have the dedicated teammates we have today.

Their presence has really bring great changes and impact to the company as a whole and would definitely. They are indeed the catalyst of inspirational legacy in the making.

Here I salute honourably to all the teammates, partners, affiliates and other extraordinary individuals who have been part of who have made the TalentEDge team a reality.

What Makes A Good Ppt Presentation?

Some tips for doing a good PowerPoint presentation. Definitely helps boost the presentation skill a little. Good one from Guy Kawasaki.

Cheers.

Made in Malaysia

I would have to say, 15Malaysia was a great project. Well done to P1 for the showcase. A lot of people used to ask what was my favourite video in 15Malaysia since a month ago. And my reply was always, "So far, all videos are quite good and unique in their very own ways. But if I'm to have a special pick, you would have to wait till all videos are released."

So, in this blog posting, I will share three of my personal favourite picks in 15Malaysia. One of them is none other than, "One Future". And seriously, I have no idea that Tian Chua can be real good actor (notice his facial expression which looks like those when we're going for auditions!). Nevertheless, Tian Chua is a good cast in the short movie which he possessed an amount of experience for. Afterall, he's been there, done that.

I am a fan of humour, and I definitely cannot miss this one. "Meter" which I personally congratulated Benji, Bahir and the team including Khairy Jamaluddin for the brilliant showcase. KJ can really act and he looks good as a taxi driver too. Perhaps he should seriously consider acting or driving taxis if he ever quit politics. A hillarious one below which portrays a normal daily life of a taxi driver who seem to be enthusiastic in sharing his thoughts and opinions about current issues. Watched it already?

My 3rd pick is one real graphically awesome one, "Rojak!". The fact that the movie is narrated in Tamil makes it really cool to watch. And it definitely sums up the whole ecological system of the Malaysian society (which is of course, real complicated) in a very interesting way - via Malaysians' favourite topic - food, in this case rojak. Must watch if you haven't done so and you can definitely watch it below.

Overall, Pete Teo deserves the highest credit in getting 15Malaysia a success. I am definitely keen to meet him in person sometime soon (when I supposed to meet him in a few occasions which I happened to pass). Be sure to watch all the videos in 15malaysia.com and share with me your thoughts which I will be glad to know.

Cheers.

Social Media Hazards

It was devastating to know that one of the friends decided to damage his credibility in the social media when his job is to help certain parties to run their social media plans.

After the whole incident, it really does prove that social media really transmit messages and news faster than ever. The platform of the medium can be personal but the information can really reach the public in seconds. If one is too into it, without knowing the potential consequences, the effect can really be dangerous. Which is why, parents will still have to keep an eye on their children and their involvement in the social media.

One story that still stick in my head is about a story of a teenage girl whose parents' were out of town for couple of days. The moment she knows about it, she updated her one of the many social media's status with the statement of "my parents are AWAY for the weekend. Let's party tonight, my HOUSE!". And we all know that a teenage girl's group of friends in the network may not only consist "real" friends. Imagine the status update is transmitted to the network. With a click, as a friend, I will be able to access the personal information and there we go - address and telephone numbers. What potential danger does it lead to?

Social media may not be able to solve personal problems but it may open doors to many viable solutions. Otherwise, it may potentially jeopardise one's reputation for being a whiner. Therefore, my take from the usage of social media are:

1. Do not simply leave personal information to public. And only ensure the person we trust to be able to access our personal portal.

2. Do not rely to social media for medicine for the soul. Sometimes, it is good to call someone and talk over the phone. Humans are emotional being and voice affects emotions.

3. Do not recklessly insult and belittle somebody else over social media. I.e. Twitter, Facebook

. People just see and notice conversations. Of course, it doesn't spoil the image of others, but it makes the person who wrote the messages looks dumb. And I definitely do not want it to happen to a friend.

4. Do not rant recklessly. There are just some things we can't write and we are definitely not KINGs in cyberspace. Recently noticed a junior of mine in high school who is extremely critical of the Malaysian government. Nothing's wrong with it but we have to watch what we say. I think

cyberspace is like Twilight Zone, we may do everything we like but we will never know that "somebody's watching".

So use social media as an outlet for creativity and network. Do not misuse it as a ranting place for sensitive issues. Sensitive issues are for suitable channels and social media isn't one of them.

The Revival

It is time of the year again, when I attempt to put things in place once more. This time it's gotta do with blogs. I used to own 3 blogs namely, "melvinchan.blogspot.com", "melvinchanwh.blogspot.com" and "iammelvinchanwh.blogspot.com". This blog, "melvinchan.blogspot.com" has been the outlet of sharing and it records the growing-up process of myself, with the 1st post dated back to 2005.

"melvinchanwh.blogspot.com" was created to share articles and write-ups on personal development and entrepreneurship issues affecting Malaysian individuals. Then, the blog went haywired which then paved way for the creation of "iammelvinchanwh.blogspot.com". Subsequently, "melvinchanwh.blogspot.com" was deleted recently.

After much considerations, I have decided to maintain only ONE blog. 1 blog for all and it will be sole and collective voices of me in different areas, which saves me from a lot of hassle, to think about it. And this also marks the start of the revival of "melvinchan.blogspot.com" after being "post-less" for many months now.

Anyway, there you go. If I would ask you to come back again soon for the next post anytime this week, please do. :)

Cheers and God bless.

End of Days?

Came across something disturbing. In less than 10 years, NASA predicted that there will be an asteroid collision on the face of Earth. If it is true, I would really like to know what are the steps that NASA is undertaking to avoid direct collision.

(By the way, the authenticity of the below illustration, copied from an e-mail, is in doubt as I personally have not been able to retrieve similar information from the Reuters site.)

Live to the fullest, everyday! Cheers.

On the 3rd Day of CNY, the Choi San sent to me...

Call me KL people, but I have not gone to Batu Caves yet..........till last Wednesday. Had always been asked to bring the AIESEC interns or visitors to that place, but had never made it in every occasion. So until last Wednesday, a bunch of AIESECers, hailed from Singapore and Taiwan, took the "first time" out of me, and in this case - to Batu Caves.

The chronology of the day began in KLCC when I met a group of AIESECers who brought some friends from Taiwan and China to visit Malaysia from Singapore for lunch. They had about 12 hours break in KL before continuing their bus journey to Penang and eventually, Langkawi before heading back to Singapore.

Mr Alvin was supposed to be the tour guide of the group that day. So initially, he suggested to head to Bukit Bintang's Times Square's indoor theme park. After lunch, I guessed they were too full to ride on any roller costers after having some big fishy meals in Manhattan Fish Market. Subsequently, Alvin thought of a brilliant idea to help with the fishy digestion - climbing Batu Caves. So there we went!

Driving there was easy. It only took about 20 minutes and the parking...was okay for RM2, and easy to find too. After all my life, I heard people talking about the toughness of climbing the stairs of Batu Caves, finally, I got to experience the steep flight of 272 steps to get into the cave...while enjoying the scenery and photographing.

Halfway climbing the many stairs of Batu Caves... on the 3rd day of CNY!

It was actually a scene of greenery...but the camera was not prepared for the sunlight.

The cave was indeed huge and great. There was a small precession in one of the temples when we were inside. Not long after, we sensed rain and we began to leave. We went to Steven's Corner in Pandan Indah to particularly, fill up my stomach as I didn't have lunch when they were in MFM. Eventually, we headed back to Carmen's house to pailin while the others took their time to rest and clean themselves before they headed to Puduraya to catch their bus at 11pm.

While for me, it was more to come. Went back home to also clean myself before zooming to Natalie's house to Fatt Choy. And er, well... it didn't end too well for me. It was nevertheless, great time for the whole day and of course, the Ong fishing session.

Cheers.

On Mission to Cambodia

I have finally discovered the ultimate mission for 2009. A post related to Service is the rent we pay for the space we occupy on Earth from Melvin Chan - Learning With You.

As one of the first steps to fulfill my life objective (as I might have shared with some of you), it will begin with a Cambodian mission trip.

Destination: Cambodia
Period: At least 8 weeks

Objectives:
1. To understand and gain real insight into the daily lives of suburban Cambodians.
2. To find out, if any, problems faced by people who are affected with serious income disparity in the nation.
3. To understand about the economic situation of the country.
4. To affirm needs of assistance required by suburban Cambodians in the issue of poverty, if any.
5. To find opportunities for business expansion.

Means:
1. AIESEC
2. Founding of working committee
3. Forming of NGO
4. Individual basis

This would definitely be an interesting mission. Hope to make this a reality by October 2009.

Let me know if there is anyone interested to be part of this initiative.

Cambodia, here I come!

Cheers.

Melvin's Back!

Bigger and better than before..I hope. And yes, my life rocks!

It's Chinese New Year. At least some serious time off to reflect of the things that have happened for the past year. In fact, a lot of things have happened and many people whom I have crossed path with. In fact, the last 7 months were one of the brokest (any word like that...? But you know what I mean) time of my life. Undoubtedly, the best learning I have experienced in my life.

At this time of the year, I am analysing many routes that I can take to reach my goals. Before, I could only look at one or two because I was on one of them and just clearing the bushes ahead. Now, I am taking a deep breath, hoping to climb on the highest tree around and look for alternative paths that I can take which can lead me to the destination faster. Hmm...where is it ya?

Indeed, a very enlightening moment of Chinese New Year. This is where I have more moment for myself and to re-establish the conversation with myself.

Coming up, it would be more exciting on what lies ahead.

Cheers.