Merdeka Day

Today is Merdeka Day and its mean public holiday. Actually I have no idea to celebrate for the day. So, I said to my wife just to stay at home. But my staff and also our neighbours asked us to have a picnic at beach.

Although our house is near to Sahabat Beach (only 1 km ), we refused to go there because.. too many people (we don't know where they are come from)..traffic to beach was jammed since 8.00am.

So, spontaneously, we decided to go to Kahapan Beach in Makuau, on the way from Sahabat to Lahad datu..about 35 km from our home. Kahapan Beach is a not well-known beach..less visitors, but very nice place and good scenery. We arrived at the beach around 10.00pm and spent there about three hours.

Homeless to Harvard

Homeless to Harvard

Today, I just stayed at home. After having lunch with my family, I sat back infront of television... switched on Hallmark channel. I pressed 'info' button and read that the movie "Homeless to Harvard" would be played at 3.00 o'clock.

I watched this movie from the beginning until the end. Actually, I was inspired by this true story, ..the journey of Liz Murray life, from homeless to Harvard University.

Summary of the story :


The daughter of cocaine-addicted parents, Liz Murray's life as a child was bitterly grim. There was never food in the house, everything was filthy, drugs were everywhere and the welfare checks were spent before they arrived. By age 15, Murray's mom had died of AIDS and Liz was homeless -- living on the streets, riding the subway all night, and eating from dumpsters. Amidst this pain, Murray always imagined her life could be much better than it was. “I started to grasp the value of the lessons learned while living on the streets. I knew, after overcoming those daily obstacles, that next to nothing could hold me down.”

Determined to take charge of her life, Murray finished high school in just two years while camping out in New York City parks and subway stations. She went on to earn a scholarship from the New York Times and entered Harvard University in 2000. In order to be closer to her ill father, Liz has since chosen to attend Columbia University, where she is currently studying.

liz murray

Liz Murray’s story is about achieving goals despite the odds. It is a heartening story of determination, persistence, and the will to succeed. It is a story with a tragic beginning and a happy ending. For all of us who are determined to make a difference in the lives of families in need, it is deeply moving and truly inspiring.

Do what you were design to do ..!!



This morning, after having a breakfast, I was thinking why sometimes I felt fatigue, tired, exhaust. My physical turn to run down as well as my emotional balance also was disturbed by unpleasant surrounding.

I read through several articles regarding management, stress and supervisory from related websites. According to the articles, the above matter was related to the early signs of Burnout-exreme tiredness usually cause by working too much-.

But, as a positive thinker, I have to solve this problem before it become more worse.
Sometimes a simple change at work can help me avoid many of the early warning signs of Burnout. So, i need to change...

Wise guy always says:

"Find a job you love, and you will
never have to work a day in your life."

I think my decision to quit my present job is right. Oh well, the grass is always greener on the other side!

Jog

Every morning, I will go to Sahabat Beach for a jog as form of exercise. As a person who always working under pressure, it is important for me to have regular exercise to keep me fit and maintain my health. I usually go jogging for half an hour before breakfast. Sometimes I bring along my kids to the beach.




This morning, as usual, I started my car and drove to the beach. Two of my kids joined me and they were very excited. When we arrived at the beach, the scenery of the beach was very different, not as usual. There was a heavy wind blowing. It made the surrounding very unpleasant. Some of trees collapsed due to strong winds. I saw one fishermen boat was broken.



I felt that this was related to strong winds and giant waves which wipe out southern Philippine villages on 10 August yesterday. It was boosted by a southwest monsoon, wiped out hundreds of shacks on stilts and left thousands of people homeless in the southern Philippines. (TV3 news)



So, I have decided not to go for a jog but we walked on the reflexology stone which was facilitated here. As we know, reflexology is a treatment in which our feet are rubbed and pressed in order to improve our blood flow and help us relax...Syukur !!

Style

Management style:



The road to excellence is always under surveillance.

Good Management is like good food; it has value, substance and quality.

He who manages with his feet must be wary of landmines.

One can always tell who a person is from the management style.

Wisdom sometimes comes from the heart.

From Dr. Henry, the author of "How to be a Successful Manager".

Job Hoping

Last week, I was offered by well-establish plantation company in Sabah as a mill manager. At the same time, my head quarters asked me to be part of executives for new quality department at Kuala Lumpur.

Actually, I'm serving to my present company for almost 10 years as mill engineer. But, sad to say that my salary grade just upgraded last year from A5 to A4. Compare to industry avarage, my salary is under par. Normally, after 5-10 years working, one have already been promoted to senior or management post., Right now, I'm doing the same daily task, routine jobs and after all, no job satisfaction. I can't blame my present company not to promote me because no vacancy so far.

So, last two month, I started to send my resume to several companies. Fortunatelly, one of my application was considered and asked me to attend for interview. Then, after 1 month later, I had received offer letter from that company. Salary ?? almost double.

Until now, I'm still not decide yet. Whether I'm continue serving to my current job but stay in KL or leave it and join new company with new upgrade carrier but still in Sabah.

Focus

Many people appear to have the right vision but the wrong focus. Instead, the sharper the focus, the clearer the vision. The ability to focus is a great asset of an excellent workers, executives or managers.

In order to have the correct focus, it is necessary for us to see the Big Picture, then the micro details, and thereafter, the side effects of anything that requires in-depth implementation.

Last week, i went to kunak, tawau, kalabakan and visited some private palm oil mills togther with my top managements from HQ. We started our trip on Monday and finished it on Friday. ..quite exhausted but very interesting journey.

On the way back to Felda sahabat, i dropped in Lahad Datu Air port and took several photo of the airport. Why..?? Coz , may be i couldn't see that scenery of the airport any more.

As you know, Fly Asia Express (FAX) is taking over Lahad Datu air port and will start operation on Aug 1. Any way, the existing ground handlers currently servicing MAS at Lahad datu (including MAB) would continue to handle the ground operation.

For the time being, the fair remain the same as MAS's but in time to come, fares will go as low as 99 sen...Wow.!! The tickets can be purchased via their website http://www.flyasianxpress.com/ .