I’ve been rushing project for the past few days like there’s no tomorrow. As a matter of fact, I’m supposed to submit my work on 23rd of January but I failed to do so. I won’t blame anyone actually and must admit that I’m bit slow, and also my mistakes for misunderstanding the requirements (thus the major revamp few days ago).

Some of my colleagues, on the other hand, preferred to complain about the others outside the company. Honestly speaking, they (not my colleagues) are giving us a lot of headaches but our side is wrong too, for not being able to stop the customers from thinking too much. However, I chose not to join because I feel that there’s nothing much we could do anymore since we’re already at such a stage. The only thing we can do is to work hard together and pull this through. I personally feel that’s not as demotivating as complaining.

Hopefully this won't be seen in customer service department

But don’t get me wrong. I don’t blame my colleagues because I myself am frustrated. But complaining really does not help. And it also doesn’t help to pour oil over fire – or to make someone who is already very angry…angrier. That’s why when some of my teammates started to complain, I chose to make them calm down and look at the bright side of things, rather than making the person even more pissed off.

Thus, the best thing to do is – STOP complaining and STOP discussing such negative things. No point going back to history to say who is right and wrong. We can do that once our project has been completed. For the time being, if it does make you feel better, then feel free to vent your frustration. You can complain, curse, etc. But don’t spend too much time and energy in that because it’s very demotivating and it might make you tired.

But if it doesn’t make you feel better after cursing……then try to minimize it. But the thing here is most people STILL complain a lot about things which they can no longer change…even if they actually feel worse after complaining (instead of better like some people).

My advice to you then is – if it makes you better, then do it for a short while. If it doesn’t, then don’t do it at all because complaining and cursing will not help make the situation better. It’s better to spend your energy elsewhere, where it can be more productive.

Remember that your project is still ongoing and you need to stay motivated to complete it.

And if you want to complain about your job or project being bad and sux…….try to think for those who have been laid off and are currently jobless. Maybe you should be glad you still have a job.

Warning, this is a rant post. Read at your own risks.

Everyday (yes, you heard that right, everyday) my friends will bombard me with all the negative news and complaints about their job, life, and how idiotic our government is, etc. It’s never ending and it is VERY demotivating. My reply will always be the same – a simple “Oh”, a smiley face (or a grin), or…I’ll give them my lecture of the day which will be something similar to what I’m going to write here.

Well, there are basically 2 types of people who love to complain about their life – the type who will feel better after complaining, and the type who won’t. If you just need someone to listen to your complaints, OKAY…fine, just say everything and hopefully you will feel better after this. If you don’t feel better after this, then why are you complaining in the first place? Isn’t it better to find something more interesting or more USEFUL? Complaining will not help you fix the problem.

Remember, don’t worry about things you cannot control. Your colleague being an idiot? Tell him or tell the boss! Telling me will not prevent him from continuing his idiotic behavior. Hate your job? Then why are you still there? Hate the stupid things done by the government? Then feel free to migrate! And if you cannot do anything to change any of those…….don’t complain. Full stop. Go do something more worthwhile like having a backup plan if you get retrenched or stop going back to that restaurant if you still get diarrhea the next time you eat there or swim to another country if your government screws up.

I might sound harsh but I’m really quite “amazed” at how people hate their life, their colleagues, their jobs and their country. Maybe here are some of the things one might think about the next time they feel the urge to complain.

• You still have a job, unlike thousands of people out there.
• You have clean water to drink, unlike people in certain part of the world, drinking polluted water.
• You have a safe place to live in – without earthquakes and volcanoes.
• You have no people to block your airports.
• You can go to work safely.
• You are still earning much more than other people your age.
• You still have transportation even though the fuel price is bit expensive.
• You can still buy your NEEDs and your WANTs.
• You are still healthy, unlike some who are suffering from chronic illnesses.
• You still have your beloved family with you, unlike some who have lost theirs in wars.
• You can still go to places in your country without worrying about terrorism.
• etc etc etc.

You might say your job is not good, your government is lousy, etc… but nothing is perfect in this world – not your country, not your life, not your job. But that’s only how you think or want it to be. They can be perfect, if you want them to. True, things CAN be better…no doubt. But it takes time and we’ll just have to appreciate what we have while enjoying the journey towards a better life, a better job, a better world.

Sorry if I’ve offended anyone. I just hope people can stop complaining about minor things and appreciate what they have more. And most importantly, stop spreading your negative thinking to others.

Warning: This is partially a rant post.

Economy is going down no matter how much the US government is trying to save it. And today, our Bank Negara said that Malaysia will feel the full force of the recession in first half of the year 2009. Worse has yet to come.

Nowadays, I’ve been quite demotivated. Surprise surprise. Most people know me for being a highly motivated person – thanks to my previous “preachings” about life is short, bla bla bla. But after sitting in the office without any project for more than 2 months, I really start to worry about my job security. As some of you know, I’ve lost quite a significant amount in the stock market. It’s just paper loss, but it’s enough to last me 6 months without pay. In other words, that huge sum of money will be stuck in there for a long long time. I’ve bailed out some, but my current savings is not even enough to last for about 2 months.

That’s why I’ve been working hard on writing online reviews and articles. I’ve earned some, but it’s really not much and it requires a lot of hard work. I’ve also tried to look around for “other” IT projects but economy is quite bad…most people do not dare to spend on IT anymore.

Seeing all these factors, I’ve decided to cut down all my “wants”. I only bought 1 game for my PS3 so far – after selling another old game and used some of the earnings from online reviews. There’s another one but I most probably will not buy (even though it’s only RM160). My colleagues and friends have been trying to persuade me to buy…aih…but I don’t know. I guess it’ll be better for me to save up that RM 160.

I’ve been trying to motivate myself more by focusing on few things such as learning a new and cool technology called Adobe Flex (which I feel could be a big hit soon). Maybe I can start something from there. I’m also focusing on drawing, just to relax myself. But other than that, I’m just spending time with my family (though I doubt they are happy to see my worried face all the time).

And it certainly doesn’t help when a friend of mine came to me early in the morning to complain how shitty his job is. I know his job is stressful and has a lot of problems but all I want to say is “Hey dude, look here. You have a job and have something to do, means your job is secure! What are you complaining about? You rather sit here for 2 months like me? Do you think my job is more secure than yours?”

That’s why I always said to people…it’s okay if you don’t motivate the people around you. Just make sure you don’t go and demotivate them!

Good people (like myself) will be able to motivate themselves sooner or later… but it doesn’t help if someone is there to constantly demotivate them.

OK-lah, guess I’ll just proceed from here and see how things go. I’m sure the dots will connect with each other in the end.

Tomorrow will always be a better day.

p/s…. I spent quite some time to design a poster for my company dinner…and got rejected because they preferred a kiddie poster copied from somewhere. Sad. Maybe I’ll post it here so that you people can use it next time. Will open-source it for sure.

p/s…. there’s a wedding dinner this Saturday… the girl i used to court for 3 years. I won’t be going since I don’t feel comfortable at all. I feel that I’ve been cheated all these years. Ah well, never mind. It’s over now. Guess it’s best for everyone too. Just wish her all the best.

Scenario 1

Alvin : How much is this?

Seller : RM 30

Alvin : Here’s RM 50.

Seller : You don’t have small change?

Alvin : Nope.

Seller showed an annoyed look

Scenario 2

Alvin : Can I have the bill please?

Waiter : Here it is sir.

Alvin took out his credit card.

Waiter : Sorry sir, we don’t accept credit card.

Alvin : You’re a franchise restaurant with a credit card sign outside, and you said you don’t accept?

Waiter : The card machine broke down.

Alvin : Then you should let us know before we ordered!

Waiter kept quiet.

Alvin : Sorry, we don’t have cash.

Waiter stunned and speechless.

Alvin’s friend went to the counter and paid cash.

And today, my sister called up a clinic to make an appointment with the doctor (for medical checkup). The nurse scolded my sis for calling so late.

What is happening to all those things about customer rights? It seems like the business owners in this country, be it service-oriented or not, are treating the customers here like fools. Some people are somehow okay with these treatments, but definitely not me.

Back in the UK, when bad service was given to me, I would not give any tips to the waiter. However back in Malaysia, service tax is already included inside the bill. And this is all we’re getting – lousy treatment. For the first scenario, if the seller did not show me the sour face, I’ll be fine.  For the second scenario, it was the restaurant manager’s mistake and all of my friends decided to boycott that restaurant since then.

Seriously, I think the people here should learn how to say NO to such bad customer service. There are other options for us to choose from and since we’re paying for the services, why do we need to suffer such bad attitude and management?

Dare to say NO to such businesses.

A colleague of mine (he’s a unique one) used to say this to me “Crying baby gets the biggest share”. And that is why he’s the type of person who will complain about nearly everything from the project, salary to the traffic. He said if he doesn’t voice out, he will gain nothing.

Do you believe in this theory?

For me, yes and no. Yes because without raising your concerns, nobody will know. That’s why we have feedback form, contact form, survey form and all kind of things for us to raise our concerns. Keeping quiet will not solve anything. Just make sure you don’t make this a habit. Complaining or raising concerns too much will make you a nuisance to people.

More so if you are complaining or raising concerns WITHOUT suggesting any solutions. Not many people dare to voice out, and among those who dare, most of us don’t provide solutions to those problems. If you throw me a problem and expect me to solve it all the time without even giving any opinions, I doubt that is going to help anyone. I can try my best to give you a solution, but I can’t do it all the time.

That’s why I personally feel that people should learn how to raise concerns, AND at the same time provide solutions. That way, it will actually help everyone.

p/s…. maybe that’s why babies tend to cause a headaches when they start to cry. Older babies are better since they might point to something (solution) and start to cry. At least you know what to get for them (or vice versa)