Steve Jobs

I had just started to read Steve Jobs book, and it came as a coincident that my lecturer was discussing with us about him in my general studies class!

I had to admit that I am not fascinated by Apple at first. I always had this feeling that asks, why do people love Apple product so much? What is so special about an iphone?? Even if I used to have an iphone 4, I ponder about these questions... Until I went into the cinema to watch "Jobs".

Steve was actually an adopted child of Paul and Clara Jobs. His biological father was of Syrian nationality while his biological mother is a Swiss-American. His biological mother wanted him to be adopted by a college graduate, and Steve was suppose to be adopted by a lawyer and his wife until he was born and they backed out, as they had claim that they wanted a girl instead. So his adoption doctor called up Paul and told him that they had an unexpected baby boy and asked him if he wanted it. He said yes, and named him Steve Jobs thereafter. His biological know this months later and refuse to sign the adoption paper as both Paul had never completed college and Clara never completed high school, until they promise to send Steve to a college.

Steve know he is adopted at a young age, and his behavior tuned around the idea of being adopted, being abandoned and being special. At 17 years of age, Steve went to college, and he chose to enroll in Reed College, an expensive college. He used up most of his parent's saving. He doesn't know what is his aim after college and how college could help him in his life, so he decided to drop out of college after 6 months. He still continue to attend classes that he liked and picked up some calligraphy along the way.

I found him fascinating. From his book and his story, he is a boy with his own thinking. He doesn't go with every one else, who believes attending college and getting a university degree is the path to life with financial freedom. He have his own dream, his own vision, his own ideals. He is able to make his dream come true, he is able to inspired people, and make people share his dreams and visions.

Even though he had passed away, his dreams and ideals never leave us.

Though I am just starting to read his book, I already learn so much from him. It makes me reflect back of my own life, and my surroundings.



The young Steve Jobs. Aren't him hot??? ;D

An evening in LEGOLAND

So, it's been a while since I posted anything.

Last sunday i went to Lego Land for photography.

LEGOLAND is a very beautiful place. It filled child with happiness, and bring joy the teens and the adults. A place to rekindle your childhood memories and to have fun with LEGO! Truly a great place for people of all ages! 

Anyway, I'm just a beginner who's starting to learn how to use a DSLR aka my baby cammy. The image was not what I want it to be. Sigh. Though I do get to learn a lot from this trip, especially to take extra care of your ISO setting.

Here's a few shots:

LEGO LandThe entrance of LEGOLAND Malaysia. 

Kenny's parents: Mr & Mrs Koh :) 

Me and Auntie. :D

We spot a little bird hopping around. Just rushing to get a shot. It was still hopping and flying around when I'm taking this shot. :) Look cute, isn't it? 

The Petronas Twin Tower. Had a night shot of this one too. :) 

The night shot. I love this pic

The pictures above are the one taken by me. There are a few shots taken by Kenny and Kent too. Coming up soon! :) 

What had you contributed to the world?

A circulating facebook picture inspired me to think through this question:

"What had i contributed to the world?" and "What can I do to contribute more to the world?"

People had become so realistic. Money, knowledge, pride. Whenever we do something, we tend to think of what good could it bring to us?

We worked for money, to live a good life, to buy luxury items. It is true that without money, we can do nothing, but money is not every thing as well. It's worst even when it comes to greed, selfishness, and jealousy, all revolving around money and wealth.

We obtained knowledge, learn, acquire skills to survive in this competitive society. We use our knowledge to gain what we want, to earn money or simply gaining pride. Sometimes, we got arrogant, criticizing those of lesser knowledge/have different opinion than ours. We simply believe ours outweighed theirs. We called them stupid, idiot, ignorant. But does hurting others and creating hatred really necessary??

We climbed the ladder, we judged people, we think of ourselves more than any one else. We want to be the one who earns the most money, come out with the best solution, stand at a higher social ground. We stepped on those harmful to our pride, and look at the weak suffer at our feet.

Is being wealthy so important to us that we can forgo our happiness, friends and family?

Is knowledge so important if we never put it to good use?

Is pride so important if all it create is hatred and and greed?

After all the money, knowledge and societal ranking we acquired, what did we really do to help the world? What had we contributed to the greater society?

So, if you really feel like contributing to the society, there are a lot of ways you could do it.

1) If you have money, give it to charity. There are old folk's home, children's home and NGO around. Find the one you have passion in and give them some financial support so they could continue to fight for a good cause.

2) If you have the time and knowledge/skills, offer a little of your time to the organization whose cause you believe are truly important in making a change in the society. You could reach out to more people and to inspire more people into making a different in the society.

3) If you are an influential person in the society/your organization, you could reach out more easily to the people out there. You could use your influence to help the NGOs, or the charity organization, so they could reach out to more people and advance in their cause.

No matter how little or how much you have, do your part to the world. At the very least, what you could do is to make the people around you happy.

Hobbies and Interests

There are a lot of things on my to-learn list and my to-do list. 

Firstly, create my own graphic designing portfolio. 

- Every designer have their own portfolio to showcase to the employer/other people. After years of learning and using Adobe Photoshop, I have determine to push myself further to create my own portfolio, which includes graphic designing, typography and hopefully photography (will be elaborated below). I hope to push myself further in the designing arena, so I could make something useful out of it 

Second, to pick up badminton and running

- Since Kenny (In case you don't know, he's my beloved boyfriend ^^) is teaching me badminton, I am keen on improving myself and get stronger by training! Before meeting him, I never knew badminton requires so much skills, running, endurance and determination. I used to think of badminton as a sports where you play with your friend, and as long as you know how to swing the racquet, you know how to play badminton, but I was wrong. To be good, there is so much things that you have to learn. 

(Dato Lee Chong Wei : Malaysia national hero in badminton. Almost a champion in olympic)

- I always wanted to do running, but time and venue have always been the problem. I used to go to school early in the morning to run before lessons, but I had dropped it due to extreme tiredness during lesson time. I planned to run three times a week beginning from next week, where I still have to plan where, when and how. I need to train for endurance, stamina and a little bit of speed. Running is actually a very good sports. :) Other than that, I hope to learn yoga from Kenny's parents twice a week, for flexibility and endurance. 

Healthy lifestyle requires some sacrifices. :) 

Third, thinking economically and politically 

- As I wished to pursue my degree in economics and finance in the coming years, I hope to learn to think like an economist. There are so many things to be kept updated. Different people have different kind of views and perspective too, and with that, they came out with predictions, setting standard/rating, and thinking about both the microeconomics and macroeconomics. There are so many terms that I had yet to familiarize with in the articles that I have read, but I hope to learn it one day, in depth. When you think economics and politics, the world can be interpreted in a wider perspective. It's really interesting how things change daily. 

Fourth, pick up photography skills

- Part of my pathway to enhance my designing portfolio, I have decided to take on photography. However, I still have yet to save up for a decent camera for a beginner. My senior had advised me to not buy a dslr but another version of camera with similar function as a dslr, if not better, just with the flaws of not being able to play with lenses. 

Fifth, learn guitar

- Music is a good way to relax, and something that I can learn while I'm feeling wasted at home. It's something that can liven up the mood. Music is also another way to express your sentimental self. I love guitar, I'm gonna get one soon! Still, the money problem. Gotta save up. 

Guitars!! *Drools* 

Chess competition

So much to write, yet so little time to spare...

Anyway, since I just came back from Johor Open 2013, I would love to share about my wonderful and awesome experiences. 

Firstly, the concept about competition. 

In my views, competition was meant for exposure, for improvement and for experience. It is a test to your ability or your skills, a way to weigh the result of your training(s). Similarly, in the economic or the business way, competition was about outweighing your opponent, compete to be the best, improve for the better. Healthy competition creates healthy society. 

Second, the mind and composure during competition. 

No matter how well you did or perform during your training, it means nothing if you can't perform under the pressure of the competition. It's about composing yourself, keeping calm, thinking straight, and just do your thing. 

It's not easy really. I had a hard time overcoming it, and I'm still trying hard to keep focus and stay in the line. It was extremely tough when you are encountering strong opponent, and when you are overconfident during which you think that the opponent was weaker than you. It takes time and experience to overcome these, to be able to climb up the stairs. 

Third, the learning. 

Competition is about learning. You learn when you win, you learn more when you lose. Losing doesn't mean you are worse than anybody else. It simply means, you have a lot more to improve, and by losing, you know where you made mistake, and learn to correct it. Learn from your friend, learn from your opponent, learn as much as you can. 

And based on this three concepts, I had accept the first, testing my strength and upholding my responsibilities and virtues as a chess player. The second concept was the toughest! I was trying to calm myself down and prevent my mind from entering into the excited zone, to maintain straight and sharp thinking during my game, but i ended up losing focus from my 5th games onwards. I got 3 points out of 7 in the competition, where I lost the last 3 games consecutively even though I was winning, due to bad composure. The third concept, yes, of course I learnt. I was keen to learn, and I learnt a lot today. It was really a great and wonderful day.

Johor Open 2013 had not only made me learn a lot, but also open my mind to the JB chess culture. It was warm and welcoming, where people greet each other every where, and everybody is getting to know each other. People win, people lose, yet they are keen on learning, on improving. 

My school coach, the right one. :)) He got second for the competition. 
*Disclaimer: This pic doesn't belong to the owner of the blog**

Chess Spirit! We should never stop learning... 

Disclaimer

Disclaimer:

I write this blog to express my views and perspective, and is open for discussion any time, any where. Any event described here is based on analysis of different similar cases, or examples, even facts and figures.

Bear in mind that this is just my own personal views that I wanted to share and express, in any case does not mean to cause any dispute or misunderstanding. If you agree with me, then you do. If you don't, then you don't. I might be wrong, I might be right, it's a matter of perspective, so feel free to correct me or challenge my views. That is why I am expressing my views in the first place, to share thoughts and ideas.

Also I am very vocal and open about what I think, but what i feel is a different thing altogether. I have no problem in sharing my thoughts. At the end of the day, it's just something I think, not something I do. And for me, I believe these are important, and I hope people would share their thoughts openly with me as well, which even if I dislike it, I wish to accept the views of different individuals and understand why they choose to view it that way.

Anyway, peace out. Agree or disagree, don't forget to smile. :))

With great power comes great responsibility...

"With great power comes great responsibility", this is a quote I could not forget. Thanks J.C. for sharing the quote with me. It still sticks at the back of my mind every time I see the people around me.

Well, something interesting popped up today, and I decided to write a blog post about it, since I think it's a good sharing for every one.

When you hold power, it doesn't mean you have the higher authority over everyone else under you. When you hold power, you are suppose to lead them, guide them, and answer to them. Every decision you made, every word you speak, and every action you do is being watched.

Second, when you are in the committee, you DO NOT reject your committee's ideology or rules for the sake of the ex-committee. They give ideas, advice, or help, but they DO NOT make the final decision. Even if you make the worst possible decision, they have no say in changing it, simply because it's not their duty and responsibility to do it.

Third, you should not misuse your power, or being biased towards anybody, be it members, committees or ex-committees. You should answer to the members, the teams, the organization. Being bias can create segregation within the organization, and as a leader, you would want to avoid that. Misusing of power can cause dispute and hatred, or uneasiness. Remember, people do not owe you anything. They can leave you anytime they want, yet they are still here. Ask yourself why.

Appreciate your members, appreciate every effort, for there is no "I" in the word "team".

I still got a lot more to learn. But all the same, if people don't appreciate my contribution and effort, or makes my reputation goes down, I will leave. For me, I got a set of virtue that I follow, and if you don't respect that, I would not force you to. I would simply walk away from the things that can harm me or my loved ones if I could. If I could not, I will fight for what I believe in. Well that's me. :))

So cheers. The world is a beautiful place. Be happy. :))

Look forward to a better tomorrow. :)) 

Corruption and Politics

There have been many cases I came across lately, where "BN" supporters when questioned with rasuah, will tend to say "PAS, DAP, PKR tak berasuah kah??" 

As this requires a longer comments, I have decided to make a post about it. 

Firstly, corruption happens when an individual decided to forgo or bypass a certain law or restriction in exchange for personal benefits. This can include rasuah, makan duit, penyelewengan, amalan menipu etc etc. When an individual is corrupted, it's usually been done at a smaller scale in secret, and when he/she is caught, he/she will have to be charged under the law, under the allegation of corruption. 

The Barisan Nasional coalition has long surpass the level of individual corruption. It happen in the whole organization. The neutral parties, the MACC who is suppose to act as a neutral party to membanteras rasuah have close a blind eye to it. As a result of this, the BN have the ultimate power to do as they please. Even the scandal and kes rasuah which had been exposed by the opposition group and the people are not being taken care of. These people who have been involved in kes rasuah are still in power, and continue their immoral behaviour. 

The Barisan Nasional coalition has also taken control over the media, the polis, the MACC and even the SPR who is suppose to be a neutral organization. They misuse the media to publicise their propaganda, control the police forces, misusing public fund for personal benefits, and many many more. 

The corruption have been very serious in Malaysia, where the people are aware of it, even fighting against it, but the BN decided to turn a blind eye over it. The BN coalition have no sense of urgency or responsibility to clarify itself. It fails to answer to the people, and fail to give a full explanation about the corrupted and ugly cases in the coalition. 

Welcome to Malaysia, where corruption have to be stop! 

Lost

I should stop procrastinating.. 

Recently, I feel hopeless... Like all my energy had drained from my mind and my body, and I don't feel like doing anything, yet some part of me want to do something. I don't know what the "something" is, but I feel miserable for not doing it... 

I need to get my motivation back. I used to be self-motivated, by every thing that come to me, but recently that motivation disappears. When it disappear, it scares me... To a point when I don't know what to do, or should I say, what else can I do? 

Sigh.. I'm lost... 

Lost.....

Horrible incident, new discovery...

Did an experiment in a lab where I'm mixing 100ml of HCl with Deionized water, put it on a heater for stirring only...

Never did I realize that the temperature was on to the max by the previous user, and so, my glass bottle broke into half within seconds, and there are black corrosive substance that corrodes the bottom of the glass..

My first reaction was to turn off the stirrer, and when I realized the heater was on till the max (500 degree celsius), I immediately off the heat to zero and off the whole heater, and asked for help... It was horrible, the whole acid fume hood was down for the entire day... I feel so guilty.. I should have checked before using, and not assuming every one will be responsible to turn off every machine they use, sometimes people forget, sometimes people pretend to forget... This is a lesson to learn...

Thing is not so bad when I realized I improved in my tactical and positional play in chess... Against coach, there's still a wide wide gap between us, but overally I have improve! Cheers.. :))

Options

A new beginning

Finally I created a blog... 

It's been a long time since I last blogged. 

It can't be denied that blogging is a good way to express yourself and your emotions, and act as a stress-releasing agent as well. 

It's sad to see that many people had abandoned blogging nowadays. 

Doesn't matter, I'll have my blog updated constantly. :)) 

To my new blog!! Cheers!!