Generation G!

I just sat for an hour long talk from an Aussie grad on a term Generation G, G being Generosity.
As I sat there listening to this mid 20's girl speak on a new upcoming generation that focuses on generosity and giving, it began to seem a little mundane that such a generation would surface long after Civilization. One concrete example she used was Madonna's Material Girl song back in the 1980's compared to Black Eyed Peas' Where is the love? hit a few years back. At the end of the presentation, I realized one thing, generation G is nothing but a sales gimmick. If you ever come across the term, be fooled not. Companies which take on the Generation G concept is said to be giving back to society. Generation G is simply a concept where companies, organisations and institutes suposedly give back to society as a means of gratitude. For example, for every TOMS shoe you buy in the US, a free pair is given to a kid in Argentina, this is what Generation G is about, generosity and giving back.

To me, its a business strategy to market yr products. What makes it worse is that it manipulates the very idea of giving back and charity. As I tried to point it out to the speaker that this might be a marketing/publicity stunt to sell their products rather than to do a deed, she came up with some mumbo jumbo... Thus the moral of the story is..

Never believe Everything you hear, this is an Aussie grad we're talking about and she refuted the obvious. Disclaimed an obvious fact that most listeners in the auditorium could rather clearly see. Fact is, we listen to a lot everyday, but it all boils down to the way you look at things. Personal perception is, to me, the most powerful tool that one can acquire, and its a skill that no lecture or book can teach. Being self opinionated and coming up with your own conclusions is an art form that not everyone has or wants. Some often to just listen and swallows, I prefer to regurgitate.

Point to self, there's Always more to what meets the eye.

Moulding the clay..

Past couple of weeks I have been spending my time with a bright group of kids in my former school, Helping them out with their debate and public speaking. And as days passed, I just had an overwhelming gush of memories of all that I experience when I was their age. As if it was still yesterday, the nerves, the triumph in victories, the agony of defeat. Mind you, these were a great bunch of students who knew how to blend work and play into one. I did my best to help them and they certainly didnt let up, giving it a good fight till the very end. Every minute they were eager to learn more, wanting to do better, the attitude and the commitment these kids showed in performing and debating really took me by surprise, but it was something I shoud've expected from the very beginning. Fun, laughter, the generation of ideas, the cooperation and understanding were beyond the realms of normality. But as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end.

I can still remember in my time sitting in a huge hall, waiting for my turn to be called up. All dressed up in my coat and tie, shaking knees and sweating palms, I made my way to the stage, and performed like there was no tomorrow. Basking in the lime light of a sea of students, I dazzled the crowd with my wit, passion and prowess. It took a lot of work getting to my public speaking finals back in 05, but every drop of sweat, every class missed, every minute spent in front of that God forsaken mirror rehearsing was worth it. There's a saying among the elit that it takes a great person to speak well, but it takes a smart person to speak effectively.
Needless to say I won that day, the Ecstasy of winning it is still beyond word. Till today, though I was not the best speaker in the world, but something inside me said- Thats the way boy, that'll do. Having experienced an unforgettable ride in my schooling days, I wanted the upcoming batches to feel the same way I did. And now after all is said and done, I hope that they too will have something to hold on to in the latter years of life.

To the debaters of Andalas 08 & 09, its been a great privilege to know you, and work with you all this time. Sure, it was disappointing to bow out to better opposition, but we did so with our heads held high. And remember, the journey doesn't stop here. The end of something, is the dawn of something else.
The one thing I have learned from all this with you guys, its never impossible to have fun while your heart screams with anxiety and fear. You guys have been great, laughing all the way from the beginning till the every end, and for that, I thank you.
It wasn't for your school, it wasn't for your friends, you did it, for you.

Many months or even years down the line, you will all look back at this period, and a smile will be carved across your face, just like it happens to me everytime I think about the good times i had. And deep down you will know, it wasn't about winning or losing, it was more than that, much much more. Keep the commitment, keep the focus, keep the laughter in everything you do. I came to teach and help you guys, but I learned so much more from all of you. I'm very proud of all you for these passed two years.

And finally before I rightfully excuse myself for the final time,
Dont cry because its over, but smile, because it happened! *winks*

Spent Hope.

I just spent 5 and a half hours watching one of the best tennis matches of the decade, an all Spanish Semi-final between Rafael Nadal & new kid on the block Fernando Verdasco. It was such an intense match that got tennis fans around the world glued to their idiot boxes waiting to see the outcome of a phenomenal match. And after being stunned by the quality of tennis, and all the praise heaped on the new star Verdasco,
my mind kept wandering back to a star of our own,

Datuk Nicole David.
To those of you who don't follow sports, nevermind. But, this girl, by far has surpassed all squash related boundaries and has been in the "Untouchables" league for more than 3 years. Back to back world championship winner, she has taken the squash world by storm. And yet, all the recognition she gets is the second last page of the sports section of any news paper.
This, to me is the biggest disgrace, not only to her but to the mindset of this God-forsaken country. Here we have a World Champion at our doorstep, but yet the due recognition we pay to her is appaling to say the least. She has beaten every single household name in the world of Squash, has been ranked world number one for so long that I can't even remember when she got there.
Big deal, She was conferred a Datukship title, Heck we are giving it to everyone these days.
I'm just very sad and disappionted that when we have something so precious, we choose to ignore it and yet we tend to go OH MY! at every other foreign powerhouse breakthrough.
Its time to think. Its time to wake up. Appreciate the grass that's on yr side.
WAKE UP!

The Busy Holiday...

The Christmas and New Year Holiday season, should not be even called a holiday. It is filled with chores, events, parties, errands, visits and so many more activities that you don't have a moments rest to savour the time off that you've been given. Personally, I've had my hands tied ever since the holidays began and looking at the way things are, the holiday has just flown by.

The running around to get that Right gift for that right person, the time spent in church preparing to celebrate the arrival of Christmas, spreading the joy of Christmas throught door to door caroling, Christmas gatherings, kin visiting and even spring cleaning just wears you out throughout the festive season.

But nevertheless, throughout the myriad of things that had to be done, the Joy of Christmas and everything that has to do with it is priceless. Seeing smiling faces all round, laughing with one another, the great food anywhere you go, the countless home invitations, it is something that comes round once a year and therefore it is cherished beyond bounds.

Merry Christmas everyone... And a Happy New Year..

The Sweetest Revenge

How far would you go for a friend? How much would you for a friend? What is your limit like?

Is there a special yard stick that you use to measure the length you'd go for a friend? Having read countless books on human and organisational behaviour there is one thing that all of these books have in common, at some point of the book, they always mention that every human has some good in them, NO MATTER how much evil there is in them, or how cruel they are..

It says that, in every being, there will always be a sense of compassion no matter the level of cruelty there is in a person. But the question is, how can one see the good in a person when there is so much negative clouds hanging over someone? Can anyone say there was a bit of good in Adolph Hitler? Who would care. Or if there was a sense of compassion in Saddam Hussein.

The point is that, no matter what good you do, no matter the countless deeds you carry out, you be can rest assured that the slighest fault or in a better way of putting it, the smallest of misdeeds Never goes unrecognized. You can do all the good in the world, and go to the ends of the earth for anyone you like, but the slighest distest goes longer than the miles you travelled for your deeds.

Why? Simple. Its pure human nature. You can hold the biggggggggest whittttest sheet of cloth, with the tiniest speck of a black dot, and if you ask someone wat they see, the answer would be a small black dot, INSTEAD of so much white. Nobody is to be blamed for this, we all are judged for our weaknesses and inadequaties, instead of being judged for the exact opposite. We love the negative side of everything in our lives, and here are a few good examples.

Suppose you are learning a new language, how does a normal lay man do that? By learning and 'mastering' the profanities first, and then from there, he\she learns to construct sentences.
When we see a great goal scored, instead of admiring the skill and creativity in which the player scored the goal, we'd rather accuse the keeper of being a total loser and not doing his job well.
When we see a horrific accident on the road, instead of looking to see if the drivers are okay, or how could the accident hev occured so that we could learn not to repeat the mistake, what do we do? We hurrily jot down the number plate of the car. Watching a gorgeous girl walking past you, instead of admiring her beauty and class, we become envious and say she looks cocky and arrogant because of her looks. Watching a brand new Beamer drive by, we mock the driver and say he probably had a lot of help getting to the top, no way this fella could afford this car.
Seeing a man wearing a tee, shorts and slippers in a mall, instead of thinking he's a very simple man, our heads go " stupid Apek dunno how dress".

There are just so many examples that I can put forth to prove that it has become an absolute normality that we judge and preconceive notions based on negative casts.
See, its just the way life is. Its either step, or be stepped on. You can never stop one from judging you and 'unleashing' all things negative about you, even if yr positives are 1000 to 1. There's no way of doing anything about it. So. I choose the best revenge of all.

To live well. Its the best form of revenge I can extend to all those who have a made a living out of judging my life and the things I do. Sure I may not be the richest of richest, or the Brad Pitts of Brad Pitts, but there is one thing I can always have that nothing you say will ever take away, my happiness. The choices you make in life, on an everyday basis may not be to everyone's liking, but if it makes you happy, then there is no need to fret. We often worry ourselves of what people might think and say about us. Well I say, I will live my life the way I am happy with, regardless of who it may dismay.
People will always talk, they will always gossip. they will always find the smallest fault in you. So there is nothing you can actually do it, so DON'T even try to do anything about it.
You can't please everyone, so just please yourself. Just list down ten things that you are happy about yourself,it can be about anything, once your done, can you think of ANYONE who has complemented you on those ten things? How many people can you list down who have negative things to say about you? Well more than ten I'm sure.

Remember, the best form of revenge is to live well.

And you would do.....

Let me ask you something.. You drive down this long lonely road on a rainy day, you spot a bus stand and there~!!!

You see three people.. a sickly old man who desperately needs to get to the nearest hospital, a drop dead gorgeous woman who is the woman of your dreams, and your old long lost buddy..

Now, sure, you wanna give the poor man a ride to the hospital, as well as pick up that hot chick who's a daimsel in distress, and you wanna help yr old pal outta the rain...

BUT! you drive a two seater SMART CAR.. not so SMART now is it..

So what do you do??help the sick man? pick that babe up? or catch yr old friend a break? The obvious answer would be to let yr pal take the man to the hospital, and you wait with the chick at the bus stand.

Now's the part you people go ~ Oh yeah>>>

But wait, is it really that simple?? Ask a babe, she'll say, the old guy's probably gonna die soon anyway, what difference does it make if he makes the hospital or not? And the friend, you've not seen him for ages, does it really bite to give it a few more years?

The friend would argue, babes are a dime a dozen.. lose one today, another comes strolling along tomorrow..the old man.. well if he dies, at least he has bragging rights about kicking the bucket next to a hot bunny...

What would the old man argue to his defence??
What better way to die than on a rainy day next to a beautiful woman, and in the sight of two old friends reuniting...

Wisdom comes with Old Age.....

Our so called Datuk

I am absolutely amazed and appalled at the same time regarding the recent Datukship awarded to Shah Rukh Khan. Not only is it wrong, it is enormously ridiculous to have done such a thing, and let me tell you why. First of all, it sends a ghastly message to everyone that we have over looked our very own people, those who have made tremendous amounts of contributions in various fields. Malaysians should be given the upmost priority when it comes to recognizing and rewarding those who really deserve to be awarded because of the contributions they have made to the nation. Not only is this very condecsending to us Malaysians, but it also runs the risk that the title 'Datuk' will eventually lose all its credibility among the common people. Awarding a superstar actor just because his film was shot in Malacca is hardly the proper reason or excuse to confer such a highly respected title.

Those who actually agreed to SRK's Datukship are on the notion that it promoted Malacca and our country to the world. If that is the case, why don't we confer a Datukship to Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta Jones too, who shot Entrapment against the backdrop of KLCC? Why not award a 'Datuk' title to every foreign artiste who comes to this land of ours to perform and promote our country to the world? We are in turn, making the title 'Datuk' the bud of people's joke and a mockery. This has damaging consequences especially to 'Datuks' who have really earned this title. We have to remain practical and sensible to say the very least. We cannot keep throwing this 'Datuk' title around to every Tom, Dick and Harry when those who have contributed so much to Malaysia are out of the loop. The likes of The Alleycats, who themselves have entertained us throughout the decades, and promoted our local music scene to various regions have had their warranted recognition and appreciation elude them, because we have chosen to award people like SRK. No offense to SRK, he is a fine actor and a great entertainer in his own right, but the fact remains that there are more than a handful of individuals in this country alone who deserve proper recognition for their contribution. We cannot choose to ignore really deserving Malaysians, and mindlessly start administering a high sense of recognition to foreigners, especially for a ridiculous reason such as the SRK case.

It is my sincere hope for this nation that we learn to prioritize and give recognition where it is due.We must learn to think before we act, and avoid senseless decisions such as awarding SRK with a 'Datukship'. We must all take this as a good lesson that we need to put our people first, think of own fellow countrymen before choosing to look abroad. The grass always looks greener on the other side because we fail to look at our own yard first.