my pad: ipad

nevermind that it’s a belated birthday present (for those of u who would like to send me something, u may still continue to do so); and nevermind that the present didn’t come with any gift wrappings (just saved a fraction of a tree there); unwrapping this year’s belated birthday present is by far one of the most exciting un-boxing experience, ever!

i’ve got an ipad!

traditionally, technology and myself don’t get along too well. for instance, i still can’t figure out most of the functions in my phone. all i can do with my phone is to call, send text, and use it as an alarm clock.

and just the other day, a 4 year old kid asked me this “why does your phone have so little buttons”? hey kid, how many buttons does a phone need anyway?

well, this is 1 of the 2 things that i secretly wanted to improve on this year – to embrace technology; and the 2nd, that’s still a little secret mission…

anyways, from my 1 day experience with the ipad, all that i can say is, it’s by far the best tool ever created for dummies like me. i sort of noticed this when a supposed high tech piece of machine comes with no manuals, no instructions. it’s like, technology for dummies. you just pick up the machine (btw, don’t forget to charge the damn thing first, it’s not as intelligent as it should be) and, “just use it” (ipad’s new tagline, think i’ll copyright that now).

ipad is the simplest way to experience the internet. there’s just no argument about it. and for people like me, simple is best.

ipad – just use it…

puppy love

anyone who has ever loved a dog would love the movie “hachiko”. it’s a heartwarming true story of a  dog-man relationship.

i could relate to the story well, as i once loved a dog, very much. the movie brought back many fond memories of heishi, and the good times that we’ve spent together. though we were two very separate beings (what do you expect, heishi was a “chinese educated” dog, and i was an uneducated kid), but over a short few years, we have grown very close.

some of my best childhood memories were somehow associated with heishi. i mean, before school, heishi’s the one that i always look forward to meet when i wake up and walk down the stairs; and after school, heishi’s the one that i always look forward to meet for our regular walks at the park. in short, heishi was in fact, a very big part of my childhood life.

but, as with all good movies, there’s always a good twist.

i got back from school one day, looking forward to my regular outing with heishi, only to notice something’s missing, something’s different, something just went wrong.

mom sat me down, and she had ask me to stay clam as she had something to tell me. it felt like only yesterday when she told me that heishi was a very old dog, and he had to leave, for good. i was shocked. i was devastated. i couldn’t comprehend as to why he had to leave. i got up immediately and ran around the whole neighbourhood searching frantically for heishi for hours, but to no avail.

later that night, mom explained to me this:

“heishi had to leave because he loves you. heishi loves you too much to want to let you see him leave. that’s why he left”. and she also told me this:

“letting go of someone who loves you is not difficult; letting go of someone who you love is very painful”. heishi made a painful decision to leave so that i will not get hurt, and i love him for that; but if i ever see him again, i will let him know that it too was very painful for me to let go of him, for i don’t know how.

it’s been close to 30 years now since heishi left, and i still have yet to find courage to take in another puppy. so much for puppy love…

on a lighter side, i can say that:

1. moms are always smarter than we are,

2. go watch hachiko if you’ve ever loved a dog!

and i wonder if there’s a dog heaven that i can stop over one day…?

angels

charlie has his, and i have mine…

our journeys are layed with footprints left by the people who touched our lives. i’m grateful to see many nice footprints along my personal walk of fame; some footprints were left by little urbane nobles, some by tremendously talented looneys, and occasional some by cute little angels.

i had the privilege to work with three little angels during some of the toughest years of my working life. though they may not know yet how they’ve lifted me on their little wings, but i would like to take this opportunity to thank them for being the 3 little angels that they are.

moving forward, i’m looking forward to walking more miles with the people whom have left footprints for me to keep myself in check.

angels @ april gathering - 3 april babies!

absolute

absolute; first thing that comes to mind: vodka! well in fact, i’m contemplating on pouring myself a shot whilst putting this down…

isn’t it weird that you think you know (or rather should know) more when you’re older, but somehow you really don’t? the only thing i know now is – that i’m slowly accepting the fact that there’s really no absolutes; only relatives, only interpretations.

i was told that things are never real until it happens to you. i tend to agree, but what is real?

‘real’ is only as real as the consenting interpretation of all parties involved. 

btw, it’s absolut vodka, without the ‘e’. guess you’re not really a vodka fan after all, aren’t you? (chances are you thought this was really about vodka?)

right things right

much have been said about doing the right things vs doing the things right. can’t we be greedy and have both? is it so difficult to do the right things right?

i read this somewhere that’s worth sharing:

there’s 3 main criteria that we evaluate when making decisions: cheap, fast, good (i’ll be the first to agree that  there are lots of other criteria, but this is just for illustration purpose). but the catch is, for most times, we can only choose 2 of the 3 criteria. hence the scenario would look somewhat like this:

1. things that are cheap and fast are not good;

2. things that are good and cheap are not fast; and 

3. things that fast and good are not cheap. 

sounds familiar?

you may be asking: what’s the correlation between this “illustration” with “doing the right things right”? well, here’s the cold truth; both scenarios are equally rare – they almost do not exist (nothing’s perfect, nobody’s perfect either!). so if you do happen to come across one, hold on to it and count your lucky stars!

well, enough with all the bullshit – the heck with what’s right; just do what you like!

life’s a mistake

it’s not what you’re thinking…

friedrich nietzsche was a 19th century german philosopher, amongst many other hats that he wore. a brilliant man (whom some say that he was in love with someone he shouldn’t have) whose radical questioning and sarcastic quotes are still as insightful and inspiring (just the some of them). one of his many quotes were: “without music, life would be a mistake”, and i tend to agree…

in 1998, the malaysian philharmonic orchestra (mpo) gave its first performance in klcc. bravo! but it was only 12 years later did i went to see it. i really can’t believe that it took me that long to finally step into the beautiful petronas philharmonic hall.

as a young one (it must have been about 20 years ago), music was fun. it was so fun that a poor kid took a train from kl, all the way down to singapore just to see the orchestra perform. that was when life was innocent.

today, being caught in the bloody rat race and with all the shitty things happening around us, where do we even find the time and mood to sit down quietly for a few hours just to listen to a bunch of mostly balding men playing musical instruments that were invented a few centuries ago, bearing in mind that we have to switch off our mobile phones and notebooks?

i’m glad i went for the concert. it rekindled an innocent liking for music, a love for life. that was what friedrich nietzsche was trying to say (i think. i’ll ask him when i see him one day). life is really like a concerto, it normally starts with a bang , then slows down a bit, but it never fails to end with a high.

if there’s a moral to this entry, then it is this: life is really a beautiful piece of music. it’s beautiful because it begins with a spicy entry, followed by a period of sourness and a bit of bitterness, but it’s always sweet at the end.

so, enjoy the music!

p/s: where’s the salty part? guess we’ll have to leave that to the dvd 😛

300

for those whom are looking forward to a blog about 300 muscular men: sorry-lah. enough people have blogged about it. and besides, i don’t have no 6-packs to brag about; 6-layers maybe, but that’s another story for another day…

a dear friend asked me a very interesting question over afternoon tea. she asked “would you pay rm300 for a shirt to make you look good?”

seriously, would anyone pay 300 bucks for a shirt?

a world cup jersey is sold for up to usd139 per piece; that’s about rm450! and the poor boys and girls that makes the jerseys in their little factories are paid about usd1.39 per day to make those jersey.

now, what’s the real value of the jersey?

don’t get me wrong. i’m not against people making huge margins and a shitload money. in fact, i salute them for being able to do that.

i’m just venting out some anger for not being able to afford all those super expensive items, that’s all.

so if anyone wants to buy me something, but doesn’t know what to get me, i’ll just ask the gentle soul to get me a rm300 shirt.

getting to know u

the chapter on 2009 has just been closed. what an interesting year it has been. it was wonderful, nonetheless, but i would say it was kinda like a getting-to-know-me year.

this year promises to be a get-to-know-you year. i can’t wait to get to know you more!

a pleasant surprise

history: i’ve never been a fan of yogurt. never really liked the taste, even though i’m a big fan of milk; never really liked the texture, even though i’m a huge fan of ice cream. weird huh? it’s like, i like corn flakes and pop corn, but i don’t like corn…

present: i tried something special in jakarta – frozen yogurt. it’s heavenly! it tastes good, it feels good, but the best thing is, it has only 3 calories per 100g! furthermore, it’s loaded with vitamins, minerals and nutrients. didn’t know “health food” can taste so good!

future: i’ll be back in kl searching for the best frozen yogurt available. hope i’ll be able to find something nice back home… wish me luck!

remembering popo

the only way to hold on to someone, is by holding on to the memories…

a week ago today, popo left us. it seems like only yesterday, but a week has gone by since she moved on.

popo’s last advice to me just 3 months back when i last saw her was the simplest that she has ever given me, yet most meaningful. i will forever remember her last words to me – be happy.

a year ago today, popo shared her smiles with all of us in one of my happiest moments…

 

bye bye popo, we’ll all miss you, and your beautiful smile.