I used “was”, because my friend told me, his good friend has just passed away due to cancer few months ago. It was very sudden. My friend then told me the whole story and somehow, I’m deeply touched by the entire incident. Perhaps it’s because I can imagine myself in that position, to lose someone so dear, in such a short time and totally out of expectations. I was completely speechless after that and didn’t know what to say.

To make things worse, this friend of his has actually lost her boyfriend due to cancer 2 years before this. She was really unlucky even though she came from a very rich family and had the opportunity to further her studies in US and UK. Her friends used to be envious of her because of her background, and they often regarded her as someone lucky.

But in her diary, she wrote that her greatest gift was her family and friends… not the money, nor the opportunities.

And I agree with her. Having all the money in this world is useless if you cannot even spend quality time with your family and friends because money can only bring you ‘that’ far. How often have you heard of stories where rich people end their life due to loneliness or rich people trying so hard to know some real friends? Because money can’t bring you those. Money can’t buy everything.

And really, if you don’t have the opportunities to spend quality time with loved ones…. what’s the point? Do you think you can still lead a happy life?

So stop thinking that people who can fly here n there, buy big houses and cars, and can afford everything they ever need ….are lucky. Because that is not how you should define “lucky”.

At the end of the day, family and friends, and the moments you spend with them, are the things that will decide whether you’re a lucky person or not. Nothing else matters more than them.

And people, always remember that life is really fragile. It just takes a few seconds to decide your fate, to decide whether you’re going to continue living in this world, or not. So, just live your life to the fullest. Stop giving excuses for not doing certain things that you really want to do. Also, if you feel like you’re wasting your time doing something, then make a change. If you think there’s something you really want to try out, then go for it. And if there’s someone that you really miss, give him/her a call. Don’t just sit there doing nothing and waste your life. Life is too short for you to waste it like that.

Last but not least, all I want to say is that most of us have the wrong assumption that being lucky is to be able to buy all your needs and wants. This is how our world has made us think. In the end, most of us chase after all these things in order to be the next lucky person that everyone around us envies or talks about. And most often than not, this ‘chase’ will never end because it’s just too impossible to end.

But don’t get me wrong, it CAN end…. not by being involved in the ‘chase’, but by being content and appreciate what we have. Once we do that, I’m sure most of us will realize that ….actually…we’re all very lucky because we can spend quality time with our loved ones. So what’s next then? Help spread this ‘good luck’ of yours to other people.

Hope it helps.

Anyway, here’s part of the content extracted from the web site.

WHAT IS A TURTLE BLOGATHON?
A Turtle Blogathon is an event where we blog non-stop for 24 hours, about matters relating to marine and freshwater turtles. We will be staying up all night, researching, writing and publishing one blog post every hour, even when you’re asleep. And for staying up all night, we collect donations.

The name “Turtle Blogathon” is adapted from the original Blogathon where bloggers update their websites every 30 minutes for 24 hours straight to raise funds for their chosen charity.

WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?
The main objectives of staying awake all night and doing the Turtle Blogathon are:

• to raise funds for the Turtle Conservation Centre (TCC) because we are a new turtle conservation organization and we are starting from zero in terms of funding. What we do have is experience, lots of experience
• to disseminate information about marine and freshwater turtles because we realize that the general public doesn’t know much about the turtles, despite these creatures being on earth since many years ago. Did you know that the earliest known turtles date from 215 million years ago, making turtles one of the oldest reptile groups and a more ancient group than lizards and snakes?
• to spread awareness about the plight of these turtles, because they are fast becoming extinct. And if we do not do anything today, our future generations will not know what turtles are!

So there you go, some basic information you need to know about this.

And yes, you can play a part in this too. Simply help to spread the words around or go to their web site HERE and have a read..

Hope it helps.

Well, irregardless of the reasons, it is a fact that we all must admit. Just look around you and I’m sure you can find the following examples pretty easily:

• People having problem listening to others properly.
• People interrupting while others are doing or saying something.
• People getting agitated when something goes on for a bit longer than usual.
• People falling asleep during a long meeting session.
• People getting tired of a new toy which was bought few months ago.
• etc….

As more and more content come pouring onto us, our attention span will become shorter and shorter because there just isn’t enough time for us to go through every single content. In the end, we’ll spend very very limited amount of time on 1 single content before we chuck it aside and go on to the next one. And yes, content in this context can be the person talking in front of a meeting.

I know this (the amount of content pouring in) cannot be avoided at times but what can be done here is for us to be less wasteful. Pick the content carefully and give our full attention to it. Listen to the person WELL if you chose to listen in the first place. Focus on what the person in front has to say if you chose to sit in the meeting (remember that nobody can force you to do so besides yourself). Fully utilize the new toy that you have just bought…. or better, justify why you need it before buying it and remember those reasons AFTER you bought it.

And I believe that is the best we all can do for ourselves, our money, our toys and also the people around us. Be more selective and then give our full attention whenever we are engaged in something or with someone.

Oh, and as for businesses or content providers….it also means if your stuff is not good enough, you will be totally ignored. but either you try to make us look at you….or don’t try at all. It’s up to you.

Maybe it’s the restaurant’s policy for not allowing their own people to eat… I don’t know. All I know is that…those clean food should not be wasted that way. They can pass to their workers, or ask people if they want to take away, etc. Anything is better than just throwing them away like that.

Maybe they are not to be blamed? Maybe they are being trained to do so by the customers? Or maybe they just want to keep a good image of the restaurant? *sighs*

To be honest, I believe their action could be due to the fact we’re in Malaysia – a country where clean food and drinks are abundant. However, this abundance has actually caused people to waste a lot of food and water. After all, things that can be obtained easily will not be treasured and appreciated – in this case, the food and drinks.

Yes, I know most of us here can afford good food and drinks…and we pay for them. So we are supposed to have the rights to do anything with them (a friend once told me this). But shouldn’t we think about those poor people who cannot have proper food and drinks (and they exist even in our own country)? And don’t you think it’s really a big waste if we just throw those food away?

Maybe it’s time to do something about this bad habit of ours? Don’t get me wrong. I’m not asking you to swallow everything even though you’re very full. I’m asking you to try your best not to waste – don’t take so much if you can’t finish, don’t order a large portion, share it with friends, take away, etc.

Well, I know sometimes we can’t really avoid wasting a little bit of food, but we should always try to minimize that. Learn to order according to the amount you can consume.

But also it makes us listen too much to others.

• When we want to know about local news, we go to CNN, BBC or The Star (for Malaysia).
• When we want to find nice food to eat, we go search for food reviews.
• When we want to go for vacation, we Google for the interesting places in the world (within our budget).
• When we want to solve a problem, we Google for it and get the top 5 articles in the search result.
• And for some people, when there’s a problem they don’t know how to do, they go to YouTube (I actually have a friend who went to YouTube to learn how to fold clothes! Oh, and he ended up making a big mess).

..and others, just to name a few.

As a matter of fact, the amount of information that we get everyday is just enormous and I believe it has reached a stage that filtering the information becomes more tedious than receiving the information. Thus, we turn to the so-called professionals aka the media and the ‘expert reviewers’. We believe that they will do the proper filtering for us. After all, we do pay some of them for that!

Actually there’s nothing wrong with this but I do notice that as time goes by, these individuals might end up having a louder voice within us than our own voice. We become indecisive. We believe most of the things THEY say, right or wrong. Or when there’s only one solution in Google for the question we asked, we believe that should be the right one (especially if there are some idiots who claimed the solution is genuine without trying it). But is it really the right one?

Perhaps it’s time to really think about such things (I know some of you already do. So this is aimed at people who rather go with the ‘flow’). Forget about all the press, news, articles, reviews or even commercials. They are there to HELP you in making decision, not making the decision for you. Ask yourselves, what is it that you really want? You want to buy a car? Do you really think you need it? Do you have the money? Will you die without buying it? What about that game with superb review (sorry ya, I’m a video gamer), do you think you will really enjoy it? Can you imagine yourselves enjoying the game after reading the review? How long do you think it’s going to last you? Can’t you wait for 6 months and get from the secondary market?

Ask more questions! Fill up some blanks with those reviews, articles, etc but the final decision should come from you. Stop listening too much to others and start listening to yourselves.

p/s……. few years ago, all my friends told me to give up on a girl. But my heart told me to go on. The end result was not what I wanted but I have no regret at all. Because if I’ve listened to others, the issue might still be unresolved until now.

p/s…….. also, remember that listening is not a bad thing but listening without filtering is.

You know what? For me, those things can be quite hard to achieve especially for busy people who have limited time on their hand (those caught in the rat race). So, let’s stop finding a big mountain for such people to climb. Forget about going to the recycling centers, the old folks home, the orphanages, etc.

If you can do that, good. Bravo. Respect and keep up the good work.

If you can’t, don’t fret. There are still few very simple things that you can do.

Spend more time with your family especially your aging parents.

Yes, I’ve said that many times and I will say this again. A lot of people never realize this and all they think about is old folks home, orphanages, bla bla bla…… but they should actually pay more attention to their own parents or grandparents for that matter. These are the people who have raised you up. All they want is more time from you. Sad to say, nobody lives forever in this world and as we speak, our parents are getting older each day. So do cherish the time you have with them.

Honestly speaking, a female friend asked me this question before “if given a choice, will you choose your wife or your mother?” I said, neutral but if I really need to make only ONE choice…I’ll choose my mother. Why? Because my parents have been through a lot for the family. And how many years do I have left with them? I know my answer will not be popular to some people, but nobody is going to change this opinion of mine.

Teach and share knowledge with others

Always be willing to teach and share your knowledge with others. You can do so in your blogs, your workplace, etc. There will be occasions when people just don’t want to listen to you. That’s fine. You can’t please everyone. Just remember that you must always be ready to teach if there is such a need. Never be afraid that your precious knowledge will be used against you or allowing other people to become better than you.

Make other people happier or laugh more

Tell jokes or make other people laugh. That is something I love to do but I do know that I tend to fail miserably at times. That is also the reason why I started my webcomic.

I know some people hate cold jokes but for me, there’s no harm trying. Sometimes people laugh at my act of telling cold jokes….and not the jokes themselves. Although it’s not something to be proud of, it is still 1 way to make people around me laugh.

Those are 3 simple things that I always do in order to make the people around me feel better and indirectly making part of the world a better place. There are many other simple things that one can do to achieve the same goal. So, don’t be too sad if you can’t go for that charity run, or can’t visit that orphanage, etc.

Just do what you can and never look down on the positive effect these little act of kindness can bring.

MLM – you earn money by introducing other people into the business. If they don’t work hard in this not-so-honest business, their money will be wasted just like that.

Stock market – some bosses want to list their companies on the stock market in order to raise capital. And some of them do not have a proper plan in mind. Their only goal is to raise money from the investors. This would result in the investors investing in an “empty can”.

Unit trust fund – some, if not most, unit trust agencies charge a pretty high service charge if the investor plans to sell/buy. If you minus off those service charges, the investor concerned actually does not earn that much in the end but the agencies earn a lot.

Chemical waste - certain people earn money by producing stuff using cheap and unsafe materials. Once the stuff has been produced, the waste is all the unwanted chemical which will kill our planet in the long run.

I want to make a clarification here. The examples above might not be 100% suitable and might not apply to all. However I do notice that as time goes by, more and more people are resorting to the methods listed above (some worse).

So what do all of them have in common?

Earn money ruthlessly, irregardless of the consequences their actions would bring to the society/planet.

I think this is quite a worrying trend. More and more people are getting greedy and desperate. In order to achieve what they want (most of the time money), they care nothing about other things. Some of them might think “Who cares about the society? They’re still buying my products! As long as I can reap profit from this, I don’t mind.  And as long as I can give them cheap products, they won’t care too!”

I don’t know about these so-called “business” people, but for me, I would not want to earn money in such a way. In my opinion, all of us should play a role in HELPING the society and the planet, not harming it. Why build your own happiness on other people’s sorrow? Just because you can enjoy that short-term happiness? What about other people? Your short-term happiness might end up becoming their long-term pain.

Remember,  always know your responsibilities to your society, to the generations to come and to this planet. Understand well your role in this world and let’s try to make this world a better place (and yes, if we don’t do that now, it might become too late…or perhaps, it’s already too late?).

And also… you don’t need to resort to those methods to be rich.

My reply was 3k to 4k but some of the readers were saying 4k to maybe 5k.

I said that’s possible, if we were still in 2008.

Many of them do not believe me but this is what I’ve found out based on my own job hunting experiences, from my friends who are also looking around, and from people in the recruitment agencies.

The average salary has indeed fallen in 2009, as compared to 2008. Companies are more reserved now and they prefer to keep their cash than to splash it out to hire talented people. So don’t expect that you still can get good salary unless the said company is very desperate for people (I know few companies who are quite desperate) or you are a very rare talent.

Also, expect more competitions this year. According to a friend of mine who is working as a HR of an IT firm, a similar job opening has only 3 to 5 job applicants in 2008…..but in 2009, it went up to 10 or more job applicants. That’s quite a significant increase, and is not a very positive sign for job hunters.

If you still don’t believe me, then try to do some research yourselves. I have no reason to lie to you anyway.

Last but not least, one word of advice. Appreciate your job. Stop complaining about no pay increment or no bonus. There are a lot of people getting retrenched and also a lot of people who are forced to go on extended unpaid leave. Those people need jobs a lot more than you do. If you still think you can come in late to office, going out for extended lunch breaks, playing games in office or even watching Youtube in office…….then I have nothing more to say except for “Good luck”.

p/s… there are still some companies who have increments/bonuses but the amount has dropped significantly. 2009 is not the same as 2008. This is something people should understand.

p/s… this article is purely based on my own findings. It is not supported by a formal survey (like those done by JobStreet). So don’t come flaming me if my findings are wrong.

I find that most people in Malaysia don’t really know their role as a consumer and customer. Some think they are right all the time, even when they’re expecting the impossible. And some are too timid and don’t want to create problems, thus keeping quiet even after being bullied around by the businesses/companies.

As a matter of fact, there’s no real guideline as to how a consumer should behave. But what I know is…..even if we’re paying for something and even if we are supposed to get good service or product, there’s absolutely no point for us to being rude against those people who are trying to earn a living.

If you're faced with a rude customer, imagine he looks like this

Because at the end of the day, the main culprit behind the lousy service and poor product, is not the one you’re facing. And most of the time, these so-called customer service officer do not have the power to challenge the bosses’ authority. They are just there as….well….canon fodder.

Okay okay…I know some of the customer service officers are very rude and not helpful at all…those are the ones you can scold. But make sure you have your facts right, else you’ll just be making a fool of yourselves.

The reason I’m writing this is because just now, few hours ago, I went to a clinic to get some medicines. I’m a regular there (not something to be proud of) and there were a lot of patients. One of them was a guy in shirt (he looked rich) and jeans. He was arguing with one of the nurses but it was pretty much one-sided.

Guy: How many patients in front of me in the queue?

Nurse: 4 of them.

Guy: But why do I have to wait? I thought I’ve made an appointment last night?

Nurse: Sorry sir, our clinic is first come first serve.

Guy: I came last night, there were a lot of people and one of your nurses told me to come early today. So here I am, and you’re telling me I have to wait so long? (it was 12pm…not very ‘early’ to me)

Nurse: Sorry but these patients came very early.

Guy: Gosh, I don’t have the time to wait so long.

Nurse: Sir, maybe you can come later? Or maybe you can just take the medicines?

Guy: You’re asking me to come later AGAIN? I want to see the doctor and I’m telling you I don’t have time to wait so long.

Nurse kept apologizing.

To be honest, I nearly interrupted. He was the only patient who has the energy to argue for so long and yet, he wanted to jump queue. And his attitude was very very bad. If he’s not happy with the clinic, then go to another one which is just 2 minutes walk away.

Ahem, this post is becoming a ranting post.

Anyway, what I want to say here is, one should always try to remain calm and polite to these customer service officers. I must admit some of them are idiots but most of them are innocent people just trying to do their job. If you’re not happy with them or the business, feel free to change. You have the right to do so. But if you’re still sticking with them and relunctant to change…….then just keep quiet.

Seriously, if I were the owner of the clinic, I would’ve asked the patient to come later or not to come at all, and say it aloud that the patients who came earlier than him were my priority (chase away 1, but gain the hearts of many…not a bad deal).

Yesterday was my cousin brother’s wedding dinner in Batu Pahat, Johor. He’s not a rich guy actually and his parents are not doing very well either. But for the wedding dinner, they decided to make it slightly better….at around RM 500 per table. So 1 person should cost around RM 50.

Well, a lot of people have been telling my friends (not me since it’s not applicable to me yet) not to organize wedding dinners in small cities or small towns since there are a lot of cheapskate people there. They will pay you RM 20 or RM 30……but bringing along the entire family. You invited one people, but ended up having 5 or 6 people…. all for the same price.

And there are also those who give only RM 10 or RM 20, just to enjoy the nice meal.

But well, what I heard from my parents last night, was quite shocking. Around 10% of the people came with RM 5 – RM 10 red packet…..and around 3-5% of the people came with RM 1.

Yes, RM 1. You can’t even buy a chocolate bar with that.

Perhaps, its due to the economy downturn and people are becoming more and more cheapksate than before? I don’t know. I only know that I’ll not have a big wedding dinner in small town or city….because chances are, I will suffer heavy financial losses.

p/s… whether those people hate my cousin brother (or his wife) or not…I’m not sure. LOL