Not long ago, I was talking about the good customer service i get in the UK especially in stores like Sainsbury and Tesco. The friendliness of the people here in London somehow amazed me. During my first day in London, I was rushing for the Tube but i was lost at the Tube station with a 2 pound Oyster card. I approached a lady who was also in a hurry to ask her about the top-up procedure. She was very nice. She led me to a machine, showed me step by step PATIENTLY and told me she needed to rush to the tube. I told her i’ll be fine….but when she left, she stopped and turned around to see if i was really OK.

A simple thing like that actually brighten up my dad….after what i went through in the airport of course….well, you know la.

So i WAS carrying this “everyone in London is friendly” mentality until last weekend…when i went to have a walk near Covent Garden. There was this small “event” with a few ladies distributing free Cadbury chocolate. Somehow….i walked pass them 2 times and even stopped at their counter while waiting for my friends……they didn’t even bother to give one to me. And during my 5-10 minutes stay at that little van of theirs….i noticed that nearly all the Asians didn’t get anything from them.

I wonder if Cadbury chocolate is poisonous for Asians?

Then i went to Paddington railway station to buy a ticket to Maidenhead for my training. To be honest, i feel that Asians…no matter where they are from (India, Japan, China, Bangladesh, etc), are like a family to me in this foreign land. To those who are as new as me……i think they feel the same. But to those who have been working here for some time….some of them are quite screwed up. Why? The Indian lady who was at the ticket counter was rather rude. Fine…maybe she was having a bad day. The next day, i went to the same station but a different person was working…also an Asian. He was equally rude.

And that’s not all, there are really quite a lot of Asians who are rude to their fellow Asians (pardon my bad ingerish). If the local people look down on Asians…….fine…..maybe they’re not happy that some of us are here to take their jobs from them (those working in the corporate world are actually pretty friendly)…..and well, our countries are poorer than theirs…no doubt. But for Asians to look down on Asians? It’s like going to the mirror and curse at the person in the mirror.

Maybe some of you don’t believe what i am saying now. If you ever have a chance, try to go to Chinatown in Leicester Square. Most of the shop owners there are from Hong Kong and you’ll be amazed how they treat Asians as compared to Europeans or Americans.

Maybe, we’re actually receiving the same treatment that we give to the Indonesians, Chinese or India’s Indians back in our country Malaysia? I couldn’t help it but to think that I AM like an Indonesian laborer in this country.

Seriously, if anyone out there thinks Asians are more inferior people….you are wrong.

p/s…and no, i’ve never looked down on the Indonesians, Indians or Chinese. To me, everyone is equal.

Have you ever meet someone who is constantly feeling insecure? I’m sure you do.

I came across a few individuals before who always want to be in the limelight…or to grab other people’s attention. They will boast and tell how great or how smart they are….. Well, fine…just let him do whatever he wants.

The problem starts when this same guy, starts to challenge other people in the hope of boosting his “fame”. He will ask you some very ridiculously difficult questions that only he knows the answer……and when you cannot answer, he will laugh at you. Seriously, i’ve experienced this before and i nearly bash this guy up in front of the project manager. BUT…ahem…of course i didn’t since i’m a civilized person.

So…i gave him the chance to SHINE….by asking him some simple questions. Unfortunately, he could not answer and he started to regard me as a THREAT to him….and started creating problems for me. *sighs*. I was like “What the hell is wrong with this guy?” First thing first…those simple questions are really really simple…some are to ask if he has completed his part so that i can continue to work from there. =_=

Have you ever come across this kind of insecured person?

In the end, i gave up and stopped talking to this guy in order to avoid getting a heart attack.

Sometimes, people need to know that teamwork is necessary in most companies. Even if you are a boss….you have no right to challenge people in order to make you feel good or to boost your confidence. Respect is the keyword of the day.

Remember that everyone in this world is worth earning your respect….from the cleaners to the ministers…all of them.

And also remember one thing…….only people who have low confidence or constantly feeling insecure will go out and challenge other people just to make them feel better.

If you are one of them…..do yourself and everyone else a favor….stop doing that. Have more confidence in yourself….but not by stepping on top of others.

Just recently i’ve commented on Jamy’s Kopitiam regarding my perception on life. I might’ve talked about this before in my previous blog but i’m gonna talk about it again here. It might bore you a little because this is about me and my opinions.

When i was a small boy, i used to cry a lot before i go to sleep. Even at the tender age of 5, i started to think about the word “Death” and what does it feel like. And whenever i think about it…and tried to imagine (i can imagine a lot of stuff, like how does it feel for a needle to enter my vein…or how a bullet going through my leg would make me feel) how is it like…to be dead. I could only feel one thing “Emptiness”. There’s always this very unique feeling whenever i tried to imagine how does it feel like to be dead. A scary feeling that used to make me cry a lot at night. And it’s not just about fear for myself…but my fear for losing my close ones.

After few years….i gave up because i know i could never find the answer…or a way to replicate that feeling in my imagination. It’s impossible for now. So…rather than crying over something which i fear will happen…..i concentrate my efforts and energy to cherish every moment that i have now.

Nobody knows what will happen tomorrow. Some people will spend and spend and spend..some people will still work their a$$ off in their 9-5 job just to pay off their loans. Some would just pursue whatever they think is important to them – cars, houses, money, pretty girls, etc. For me, i cherish my moment in this wonderful world.

Sometimes, i couldn’t imagine how some people…with all the good stuff around him/her…started to complain that this world sux and how his/her life is useless and how he/she hates this world. On the other hand, someone who might have just lost everything in his/her life…..somehow, managed to climb back up and achieved great things for humankind….and just be glad that he’s alive.

For me, whenever i’m down, i will look at the blue sky…and smile…or look at the birds, and smile…..or look at the people walking around (but won’t smile else people will think i’m a retard who smiles at everyone)….and just be glad that i am alive in this world. I’m grateful for who i am and what i’ve been given in the first 25 years of my life. Hopefully, i can start to contribute back bit by bit from now onwards.

So for those who think your life sux……don’t do that. Try to look at this world with a big smile and be glad that you are alive. And if you can, help out the people in need….or bring smiles and laughters to the people around you. Make this world a better place. That’s my dream…to bring smiles and laughters to this world. I do hope it’s yours too.

Remember, you only live this life ONCE. It’s now or never. Do whatever things you want …without hurting other people of course. Pursue your ambition…your dreams….but before that, do have a plan in mind. Don’t go banging your head against a wall and then start to curse this guy called Alvin Lim who told you to pursue your dreams. And once you have a plan ready (hope it won’t take too long), go all out for it.

Stop worrying about $$ if you can help it, because $$ will come if you are smart. I’m not rich, but i am sure that life is more than just about $$. Think of what you really want from this one way trip of yours. Whatever you do now, you will not be able to go back in time to correct it. So, go for it…go make the people around you smile more…go make them feel happier…..go make YOURSELF feel happier.

Let’s not be too formal today. I won’t talk about any inspiring or motivational or business or management stuff….. Neither will i talk bout dreams. Haha. Today, i’ll talk about a friend of mine who is so blur that sometimes, his action will make people laugh.

This friend of mine, let’s call him A. He used to be in my school’s chess team. One of the so-called “elites” or “seniors” then. But like me, he likes to daydream…and he always daydream at the wrong time. As a result…he always ended up losing at the last moment. We always call him blur king because he could be winning at one point…..and 2 minutes later, he will get pawned very hard by the unknown opponent because his mind just wandered off somewhere.

Just recently, i heard from a friend of ours again. This friend, B, just came back from Singapore to visit his sister in KL. We were supposed to meet up for dinner but A didn’t have a car then. So B went to his house to fetch him. A said that in front of his house, normally there would be a lot of cars and no parking. So he told B to give him a miss call before B reached his house.

On that day itself, A waited and waited and waited in front of his house. Then B miss-called him and a grey Proton Iswara passed by his house. So A went out, closed the gate and walked to the car and opened the door…and sat in. He tightened the seat belt and asked “So where are we going to eat today ah?” and looked at the driver. The uncle looked at him and said “Aiks”. Then A ..very calmly..said “Aiks. Oh, sorry”. Removed the seatbelt and walked off calmly.

At this time, my friend B, was standing few metres behind, next to his grey Proton Iswara. B said to A “Your friend ah?”. A calmly said “Erm, no”. Then B laughed until nearly fainted on the floor.

How can this friend A be so calm and blur? Aiyo. But this is a very funny incident. Until now, all my friends can still remember this joke.

And yeah, do you think the nice Alvin Lim would be so bad to talk about someone else in his blog? Of course not! This A is Alvin Lim. hahahaha.

“Mirror mirror on the wall, who’s the ugliest person in the world?” asked the supposedly ugliest person in the world. Then the mirror showed him a familiar face. “Oh gosh, this fellow is so ugly! Luckily i’m more handsome than him. Wahahha”….then something familiar hit him “Mm…this guy looks familiar…i’ve seen him somewhere”.

This is a classic example of a person who always complains about other people….and not himself.

How often do we come across such person in our life? I’m sure the answer would be “More than i would’ve preferred!”.

There are some people that i know who always complain about other people or other things. They will complain about the sky, the grass, the guy on the bus, the girl crossing the road, the food, everything. Sometimes, just by standing near to this person, you could actually feel an aura of negatism (er…is this the correct word?). And these are the people that everyone wants to avoid….like it or not, that’s the fact. People would prefer to stay with someone positive, than someone negative.

That’s why these people should actually learn to look at themselves first. Look at the mirror, see yourself in the mirror and ask what is the problem. Or you don’t see yourself at all?

Most people don’t realize that the biggest problem is not with other people or other things…..it is with them. It is the way they see things…the way they treat things which is the biggest problem. If one could just change the perspective a little bit, i’m quite sure one could see a whole new world.

Be positive. But before that, you need to look at yourself and change if needed. Don’t expect the world to change for you. YOU must change yourself for the world.