You Raise Me Up - Thank you to all

I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who have been part of my life, so I want to dedicate this song 'You Raise Me Up' by Josh Groban to all of you (family, friends, colleagues, acquantainces etc) whether you read my blog or not.




Anyway a diversion from the original intent above, I just recently turn 35 less than a week ago while receiving bottles and bottles of anti-inflammatory (pain killer), anti-biotics and glucose to help with the pain of havinga huge Peritonsillar Abscess just behind my right tonsils. The doctors told me that I have no choice but to go through operation to remove both tonsils and also the abscess behind the right tonsils. The pain in between pain killers were unbearable but many with good intentions claimed that the pain should not be too bad because tonsillectomy is a very simple procedure and done commonly amongst children. Some of them may have thought what a wimp I was based on the look in their eyes or in the tones of their voices. I keep telling myself - get a grip! The pain should not be as bad as it feels. I never spoke of the pain to anyone again.

Fast forward until this day(3rd day post-op), the pain seems to be getting worse as compared to the pain I had prior to the operation. What??? This can't be - I remembered the doctors telling me that the pain will get worse until 10th day post op hence why they gave me medical leave for that long. Again, I thought to myself if I were to take this long to recover at home, I am sure I will be getting a lot of cynical remarks from inconsiderate people. So the message I wrote to everyone is that I got 10 days MC but I will try to come in to work on the 6th day post op. Macho! Actually, when I wrote that message, I did feel that I was recovering much better and faster until about 3 hours ago. AAAAARRRGGHHH PAIN!!

Okay, I know I am not a wimp so I decided to check out the internet and see what is going on or whether there are others who have went through this before. What I found on adult tonsillectomy kinda shocked me. The findings from healthboard.com are summarised below.

Stage 1 (Day 1 - 3 post op) - MODERATE pain. I think I handled the pain well even without taking the pain killers. It is getting bad but I am still able to dish out this blog.

Stage 2 (Day 4 - 9 post op) - Moderate to SEVERE pain. I cannot imagine what is going to happen. All the posts I read in the internet indicated having pain killer medications that one takes orally in order to alleviate the pain. My doctor prescribed medication that I have to take it up my ***. I am dreading this moment.

Stage 3 (Day 10 or thereabouts) - Moderate to minor pain or discomfort. Anyone knows how to time travel??

Anyway, to all who thought that adult tonsillectomy is a walk in the park with simple or at least with common surgery practice, I would like to thank you for raising me up to the next level. Without having this much pain, fatigue from not having enough sleep (due to the pain) and plenty of thinking time from being alone most of the time at hospital, I am now thankful for everything good and bad that is part of my life and thus yearning for a positive change in my life.
Thank you once again.

Hilang - Dayang Nurfaizah & Diddy of AF4 featuring One Republic

A good friend, dj phuturecybersonique, mashed this song sometime early this year for his own pleasure and I love it. Both my sons also love it very much. So I thought of sharing it with my friends and my blog readers. Enjoy the song.

I can't go strawberry picking because I am too short!?

A close friend told me a story that one of his room mates during college didn't want to go strawberry picking with him because he was too short. What???? How could anyone be shorter than a strawberry plant .. okay maybe in Japan where the strawberries are planted on a 1-meter high counter / table. Anyway, if anyone want to give excuse not to go strawberry picking, please do not use the excuse that he / she is not tall enough. As for me, I don't need excuses - I love picking and eating fresh strawberries from the farm early in the day.

Here in Austria, strawberry picking season normally begins in May and ends at the end of June. This summer the weather has been quiet cold and the picking season just recently begun. So my family and I decided to go strawberry picking on a lovely Sunday morning. It is good to go early in the morning because you get to pick big sweet juicy strawberries because most people tend to do that and if you come late morning or afternoon, you are left with the small ones. Since kiasu is my middle name, I would not even consider eating small strawberries when I know the big juicy ones are simply heavenly to eat.

Here are some tips on how to pick strawberries according to Pickyourown.org:-

1. Grasp the stem just above the berry between the forefinger and the thumbnail and pull with a slight twisting motion. Pick only the berries that are fully red. Part the leaves with your hands to look for hidden berries ready for harvest.
2. With the stem broken about 1.5 cm from the berry, allow it to roll into the palm of your hand.
3. Repeat these operations using both hands until each holds 3 or 4 berries. If you got small hands like mine or if the strawberries are huge just like the way I like them, then 2 berries in each hand would do fine.
4. Carefully place - don't throw - the fruit into your containers. Repeat the picking process with both hands. I follow the Pareto principle, 80 % of the effort used to pick the strawberries is being fueled by 20% of the strawberries eaten from the container. He he!
5. Don't overfill your containers or try to pack the berries down. Avoid placing the picked berries in the sunshine any longer than necessary. It is better to put them in the shade of a tree or shed than in the car trunk or on the car seat. Cool them as soon as possible after picking. Strawberries may be kept fresh in the refrigerator for two or three, depending upon the initial quality of the berry. After a few days in storage, however, the fruit loses its bright color and fresh flavor and tends to shrivel.

Anyway, I have no idea why I wrote this piece. I actually wanted to write about the recent fuel price increase and its non-relation to PETRONAS. However, every time I do a research on it, I find too many idiotic comments by the Malaysian public on how to tackle the recent fuel price hike in Malaysia with PETRONAS in the equation. Strawberries are so much easier to digest.

Next steps - Self improvement through knowledge enhancement

Protecting the environment while allowing progressive development and industrialisation in Malaysia is a delicate balance that both public and private sectors must strike to ensure Malaysia achieves its target to become a developed nation by year 2020. Realising this and working in a company that is an integral part of the energy equation, I have gained fresh impetus to seek notable qualification and knowledge through Master's Programme in Environmental Management and Policy to make a difference and contribute towards shaping Malaysia's sustainable development and environmental protection, policy and legislation.

I had my first taste dealing with renewable energy through my direct involvement in Purdue's solar racing team that finished 17th position in the 1995 Sunrayce competition but cost of fuel then in the US was less than $1 per gallon and cost of solar panels and its related technology were exorbitant. Personally, I never thought back in 1995 that within the next decade or so, the cost of fuel in the US could exceed $4 per gallon and the demand for reliable and cost effective renewable energy could grow exponentially.

Then through my various assignments in Europe (Switzerland, England and Austria) and in Japan, I developed further awareness of the importance of environmental protection and sustainable energy resources. In these countries, I realised that strict environmental control and development can co-exist in harmony. Recycling waste in Switzerland is a habit rather than a chore. Companies and individuals in these countries alike practice commendable environmental awareness compared to developing countries. Personally, I think European countries are the frontrunners of sustainable environmental management, even when compared to the US, and are much advance in inculcating such practice in their communities, and I have decided to further my studies in Europe to learn and to understand how to implement suitable and improved policies that will bring Malaysia closer to sustainable development towards developed nation in 2020.

Therefore, I hope that the MSc programme in I am applying for will provide the right foundation for me to be part of think tank that will chart the blueprint of Malaysia’s future environmental and renewable energy policies. I am also interested to know and understand more on potential revenue and cost drivers in the ever carbon-constrained world as providing solutions to environmental challenges will provide clear growth opportunities and at the same time is essential to society’s well being. It is clear to me that global companies that fail to factor the environmental issue into their corporate strategy will lose their edge against their competitors.

Law of Garbage Truck

I recently received an e-mail on a write-up by David J Pollay and I thought it was worth sharing it with my friends on my blog.

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How often do you let other people’s nonsense change your mood? Do you let a bad driver, rude waiter, curt boss, or an insensitive employee ruin your day? Unless you’re the Terminator, you’re probably set back on your heels.

However, the mark of your success is how quickly you can refocus on what’s important in your life.

Sixteen years ago I learned this lesson. And I learned it in the back of a New York City taxi cab. Here’s what happened.

I hopped in a taxi, and we took off for Grand Central Station. We were driving in the right lane when all of a sudden, a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, the car skidded, the tires squealed, and at the very last moment our car stopped just one inch from the other car’s back-end.

I couldn’t believe it. But then I couldn’t believe what happened next. The driver of the other car, the guy who almost caused a big accident, whipped his head around and started yelling bad words at us. How do I know? Ask any New Yorker, some words in New York come with a special face. And he even threw in a one finger salute. I couldn’t believe it!

But then here’s what really blew me away. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was friendly. So, I said, “Why did you just do that!? This guy could have killed us!” And this is when my taxi driver told me what I now call, “The Law of the Garbage Truck™.” He said:

Many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they look for a place to dump it. And if you let them, they’ll dump it on you.

So when someone wants to dump on you, don’t take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Believe me. You’ll be happier.

So I started thinking, how often do I let Garbage Trucks run right over me? And how often do I take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home or on the street? It was then that I said, “I don’t want their garbage and I’m not going to spread it anymore.”

I began to see Garbage Trucks. Like in the movie “The Sixth Sense,” the little boy said, “I see Dead People.” Well now “I see Garbage Trucks.” I see the load they’re carrying. I see them coming to dump it. And like my taxi driver, I don’t take it personally. I just smile, wave, wish them well, and I move on.

One of my favorite football players of all time was Walter Payton. Every day on the football field, after being tackled, he would jump up as quickly as he hit the ground. He never dwelled on a hit. Payton was ready to make the next play his best. Over the years the best players from around the world in every sport have played this way: Tiger Woods, Nadia Comaneci, Muhammad Ali, Bjorn Borg, Chris Evert, Michael Jordan, Jackie Robinson, and Pele are just some of those players. And the most inspiring leaders have lived this way: Nelson Mandela, Mother Theresa, Gandhi, and Martin Luther King.

Roy Baumeister, a psychology researcher from the University of Florida, found in his extensive research that you remember bad things more often than good things in your life. You store the bad memories more easily, and you recall them more frequently.

So the odds are against you when a Garbage Truck comes your way. But when you follow The Law of the Garbage Truck™, you take back control of your life. You make room for the good by letting go of the bad.

The best leaders know that they have to be ready for their next meeting. The best sales people know that they have to be ready for their next client. And the best parents know that they have to be ready to welcome their children home from school with hugs and kisses, no matter how many garbage trucks they might have faced that day. All of us know that we have to be fully present, and at our best for the people we care about.

The bottom line is that successful people do not let Garbage Trucks take over their life.

What about you? What would happen in your life, starting today, if you let more garbage trucks pass you by?

Here’s my bet: You’ll be happier.

Here in My Home - One Love Undivided

A beautiful song by Malaysian Artists for Unity on racial and national unity that we all Malaysians should embrace. Malaysia is a great country that belongs to all Malaysians regardless of income, race or creed. Enjoy the song and go give a great big hug to another Malaysian. We are truly blessed.



Can all of us look at each other beyond skin colors, status and religious beliefs and call ourselves Malaysian? Can we find a common ground where all Malaysians can be happy and live in harmony? Do you all think that Malaysia could have achieved its success today without the great mix of races which really makes Malaysia unique?

Here in Malaysia - I hope that there shall be one love undivided for all Malaysians as we prepare ourselves to be part of a developed nation by 2020.