Sunday, July 08, 2012

See Things Differently


This is how easy my darling niece changed her perspective :)








In need of a fresh start with new positive eyes. To see the same things differently.

Story : "A carrot, an egg, and a cup of Oolong tea"

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil.

In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed Oolong tea.

She let them sit and boil; without saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the Oolong out and placed it in a bowl.

Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me what you see."

"Carrots, eggs, and Oolong tea," she replied.

Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg.

Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the Oolong. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma.

The daughter then asked, "What does it mean, mother?"

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently.

The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak.

The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened.

The Oolong tea was unique, however.

After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water color and taste.

"Which are you?" she asked her daughter.

"When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a Oolong tea?

Think of this: Which am I?

Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat?

Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff?

Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?

Or am I like the Oolong tea?

The tea actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor.

If you are like the tea, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate yourself to another level?

How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a Oolong tea?


Step Up and make the most of everything. Kan.



Sunday, July 01, 2012

Real Mermaids from the Sea


I have my 'wow' moment while reading the story about these women divers of Jeju, Korea. Yes, they are real alive mermaid goddesses. Look at this photo, it explains everything. photo & story here



Ini baru real SuperHero, bawa Octopus


Super tak berapa Hero :)

 I was in the plane reading Airasia magazine and the article moved me. I could not found the same article over the internet but found other article written by X-Ray magazine. This is how they make a living - the hard way. Wow.


Excerpt below. Full article also could not be downloaded. Don't know why.

The island of Jeju, Korea, is an island of myths, gods and goddesses. It is also the birthplace of the women divers of Jeju. Although the women divers of Jeju are not the goddesses of myths, they are real alive mermaid goddesses.

The women divers of Jeju have been diving—diving without breathing equipment for centuries. It is not exactly known when the first women divers appeared, but ancient shrines honoring women divers indicate that they began gathering food from the sea prior to the Common Era. Historical documents from the Three Kingdoms period, which lasted between the 4th and 7th century, mention the women divers of Jeju.

The name for these women divers, in Korean, is haenyeo. It literally means ‘women of the sea’. Traditionally, the women wore only a simple home-sewn white linen combination of pants and a top with lead weighted vests where they tucked the specialized tools of their trade.

Precise rituals ensure the women’s survival as they free dive in all kinds of weather searching for shell fish and special seaweeds. The divers stay submerged for two to three minutes at depths of 10 to 30 meters with only a float, or taewak, to mark their position. A bag, or mangsiri, that attaches to the float holds the day’s catch. Although the diving tradition continues today, the women now take advantage of modern wetsuits, fins and goggles.

When the divers surface, they make a unique shrill, high-pitched whistling sound that is their way of expelling carbon dioxide from their lungs and breathing in the fresh air.

The women divers usually work in groups. During breaks and at the end of the day, they retire to their bulteok. Although the word means ‘bonfire’ in Korean, a bulteok serves as much more than that. It is a term which signifies an open-air dressing room. It also serves as a place where the women meet to exchange information, opinions and foster the diving profession.

Diving is still an excellent source of income, and as a consequence, the women divers enjoy more freedom, independence and self-respect than other Korean women.

There is a special ranking among the women divers. Group A are the most able divers. Groups B and C are divided based on experience, character and capability. The groups determine who dives from shore, from boats (to 15 meters) and those who specialize in deep diving (more than 20 meters).

As the women gather around the bonfire, their seating position in the bulteok reflects their position within their group. When a diver is upgraded, her seating position is changed.

Although the working environment of the women divers has not changed appreciably over time, the bulteok has changed. Along with improved diving gear, they have updated their dressing rooms to permanent structures with modern heating. However, the hierarchy of the bulteok is still in practice.

When a diver loses her life, the women stop diving for a while. If they find the body, they have a funeral, but if they fail to find the body, a shaman is invited to soothe the soul of the body and send it to heaven. The shaman also performs an exorcism to prevent evil spirits from preventing further disasters.



A Place I Called Home is

now 5 years old :)

Terasa mahu ke belakang dan berkonsi cerita tentang apartment yang saya beli pada Feb 2005. Bukan apa, office sedang di makeover setelah 13 tahun. Excited dengan perubahan setakat ini. Berdebar debar juga. Di tambah lagi tuan punya office mahu di surprise :) Harap-harap apa yang di rancang dan diimaginasikan menjadi kenyataan.

Entry ini bukanlah untuk menunjuk-nunjuk. Intention hanya mahu berkongsi kisah. Masa beli, masih tiada ada apa-apa yang telah atau sedang dibina. Kosong. Cuma ada rumah contoh. Sebenarnya gerun juga, apa lagi mendengar kisah-kisah developer yang tidak menyiapkan rumah on time. Waktu itu pun bukan lah berkeperluan sangat mahu rumah, tapi dalam hati mahu punya rumah sendiri sebelum cecah 30 tahun :) 

No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow. ~Lin Yutang~ but i love my old familiar pillow :p

Penat rasa menyewa pun ada. Kalau diingat dah jadi kelakar. Apa taknya, antara kisah yg paling terkesan ialah dipaksa pindah oleh tuan rumah dan kemudiannya dalam kelam kabut tu terpaksa menyewa bilik tapi tak sampai seminggu kena halau, kononnya too crowded. Bayangkan, rasa macam lost, sebab tidak tahu mahu ke mana. Nak cari rumah yang mampu di sewa bukan mudah. Tapi tak pe. Alhamdullilah. Itulah pengalaman kan. Pindah dua kali dalam masa sebulan :)

Berbalik kepada cerita asal, as early bird, dapat lah additional satu lagi aircond dan dapat memilih apt yang hujung sekali, punya space sedikit. Pilih package fully furnished kerana rasanya lebih mudah. Location pun bagus, dekat utk melawat arwah nenek, dekat utk pulang ke kampung dan dekat dengan office (apabila jalan short cut siap dibina). 

Banyak urusannya bila beli rumah ni rupanya. Lepas bayar deposit, bersiap sedia dengan 10% down payment, lepas tu mencari saudagar bank dan akhirnya sang lawyer. Oh bayaran nya juga lumayan. Nasib baik beli yang belum di bina, makanya monthly installment pun ikut progress development.

Ready for some touch up

Akhirnya, May 2007 siap sudah terbina. Apa lagi, mula lah kerja-kerja installation dan lain-lain. Serius steress gila. Semuanya perlu decide dan handle sendiri. Nasib baik dapat Uncle Danny - si Kontraktor yang tidak sangat berkira (oh mungkin juga dah masuk dalam bill). Setiap kali ada barang yang mahu di hantar atau diinstall (dari perabut, barangan elektrik, aircond, grill dsb) dialah yang tolong lihat dan QC. Kerjanya juga pantas, dari cat mengecat, tiles, cornish hinggalah perkara remeh sekecil mentol semua disiapkan.

In the making

Rasa puas hati, excited dan lega bila selesai. Alhamdulliah. Allah permudahkan urusan saya. Banyak $$ juga yang saya habiskan. Itu pun dah cuba berjimat gila dan rumah ni pun kan fully furnished.


Nothing much changed since then - house warming, raya Oct 2007

Now sebab dah lima tahun, sampai masa untuk maintenance dan spring cleaning. Balik dari Italy, checked mailbox dapat surat cinta. Surprise. Dari sang lawyer dan developer. Perlu bayar RM2,000 untuk settle kan - Perfection of Transfer. Hmmmm... begitulah kan. Apa pun, I'm grateful :)

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

I wanted something badly



and it was too much for me to handle.

Suddenly I realised, it was a perfect time to let it go

So I slowly walk away

and breathe.

Coffee never tasted this good :-)

Location : Bukit Jalil Hwy, 57000 Kuala Lumpur, Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur,
Posted via Blogaway

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Solo trip, Japan: Osaka and Kyoto (II)

22 & 23 Jan 2012



Nishiki Market - Food Market in central Kyoto : Lumayan
  
Mahu berjumpa Geisha


Hanami-Koji area


Yasaka Shrine







Wedding Ceremony @ Yasaka Shrine

Maruyama Park

Melalui laluan jalan kaki yang penuh kedai jualan utk ke Kiyomizudera Temple

Kiyomizudera Temple

Lucky?

Reflection of Kyoto Tower


@ Murin -An
 
Amazing Landscape, Peaceful feelings

Cantik kan...

No photos allowed - Sanjusangendo


Suka sangat hotel ni - Hotel Anteroom

 Next Morning - last stop before heading to the airport


Entrance: Fushimi Inari Shrine


God of rice and Commerce


Walking through countless red Torii


View from train heading to the airport

Kyoto - Osaka - Home :)

Friday, June 15, 2012

Why i Need my Morning Coffee


Like this quote ha..ha..ha.. :D
When travelling with someone, take large doses of patience and tolerance with your morning coffee  - Helen Hayes

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Solo trip, Japan: Osaka and Kyoto (I)

21 Jan 2012

Long overdue photos - Japan trip during winter and CNY holiday


Going up @ Umeda Sky Building

Lumi Deck - specially reserved space for lovers in the 173 meter high

skyscraper

Sakura or cherry blossoms in winter?

Pink



Osaka Castle - worth a visit but not the Osaka Museum unless u can read japanese

Heading Kyoto, the orange train is the metro

Capsule Hotel @ http://9hours.jp/



My loyal partner, my camera :)

Looking for food for dinner

Lights
 
Inside the capsule - Nite :)

Perfect Sweetness



It is easy in the world to live after the world's opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude - Ralph Waldo Emerson

I realised that things have been good.

I was rushing back to the hometown last weekend as my uncle is sick and admitted to the hospital. After hours being stuck on a plane, apa lagi jet lag pun muncul tetapi mengagahi jua. Arrived mom's house and immediately hop on to big bro car and sleep for another two hours journey (feels like sleeping on the plane though). Selesai semua dan pulang semula ke rumah emak. Semua ada. Riuh rendah. Celebrated bro in law and nephew birthday together with father's day - combo style. I woke up late on Sunday. Kelam kabut bangun. Terus teringat akan pesan mak malam tadi untuk sesi masak memasak. Surprisingly bila bangun, breakfast ubi rebus sambal hijau ikan bilis dah tersedia. Wah :) Mak pulang awal dari kedai to join us cooking. Meriah. Raya pun tak dapat berkumpul seramai ini. Mak sekarang bukan sahaja ditemani oleh dua orang adik lelaki saya, tetapi juga menantu dan sesekali bakal menantu menjengah menghantar makanan. Alhamdulillah. Tidak lah tertunggu-tunggu emak untuk saya pulang. Teman berbual pun ada :)

Oleh kerana tahu akan mengambil cuti yang panjang di waktu yang crucial, I tried hard to complete everything. Work like mad. Juggling my own time. Pagi, petang, Siang dan malam. In between NZ and Italy/Swiss trip investor juga sempat menjengah. Saya mencuba sebaik mungkin menyediakan dan menjawab segala persoalan dari investor dan juga auditor. Meninggalkan department, hati ada sedikit risau. Dengan dua project baru in hand, saya request dan prepare apa yang patut. Tapi saya percaya, mereka boleh survive tanpa saya, (but i made myself available 24/7 mostly on whatapps and emails - just in case). Saya selalu fikir yang terbaik untuk company. Oleh itu, cara kerja saya ialah dengan memastikan company tidak perlukan saya. Maksudnya saya boleh diberhentikan pada bila-bila masa kerana company akan survive tanpa saya - everything in place dan in order. Sesiapa yang menggantikan saya hanya perlu menyambung kerja saya dengan mungkin lebih baik lagi. Tiada back lock, tiada apa yang perlu di sorok-sorok. Alhamdulillah - they made it without me. We survived. Bangga saya dengan mereka. Leadership through Empowerment :)
The world does not stop just because I'm on leave - Firefly
Being able to take time off and realising my dreams, I'm grateful. Jika sepuluh tahun lepas, ia kelihatan mustahil. Terlalu banyak limitation - terutamanya masa, wang dan kerja. Tetapi saya realised kerana tak punya banyak masa - saya lebih hargai masa (fokus, priorities dan tidak membazirkan masa dan energy pada yang tak perlu). Kerana tidak punya banyak lebihan wang - saya berbelanja yang perlu sahaja, ikut budget dan target. Kerana kerja yang umpama air hujan, saya tidak libatkan diri dengan politik kerja, cuba tidak procrastinate dan cuba delegate. Secara tidak sedar, kerana mahu meralisasikan impian, saya cuba menjadi yang lebih baik. Saya tahu ada manis nya di hujung sana :)

Begitulah. In the midst of everything, the sweetness is just perfect. 

Good Night, Sleep tight beautiful people.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

When i Was 5



Happy moments with the balloons, strangled himself and finally fall asleep - lil nephew Hariz

When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life. ― John Lennon

Thursday, June 07, 2012

Heading Home



6 &7 June 2012

Decided to just rest at the hotel and check out late at 11am. Took a bus number 31 to Zurich HB train station and took a train to the airport which only about 15 mins for CHF 6.

Melepak di Zurich airport sampai boring and now after 6 hours arrived Dubai Airport for transit to KL dan teruskan melepak. Ada four hours to kill. Flight depart at 3.55 am for another seven hours.

Then i'm back home. Mixed feeling and exhausted. It has been 10 days - Gracias Italy and Switzerland.

Thinking of my next trip. Ke mana ya?

Location : Airport Rd, Dubai,