40.

So....on the 9th July 2012, I am 40 already.
Have I achieved much? Not really.
Do I care? Not at all.
Why compare with others when I am better off enjoying the life I own?

...but sadly, on 14th July 2012, Sahan Shah @ Caarn, one of the XC bro, passed away.
He's the first - after XC years in KK and the whole batch tried the best to contribute what's possible.

So much about life begins at 40...we should also realize that life might not  be there at 40 for some of us....

That is why it is important to appreciate what we have now......not what we wish to have....

RM3 can't go far...unless we share it with others...

1.

ABC & Apam balik after Friday solat.

Soothing cure to the heat of the day. You'd probably spend around Rm3 for a bowl of ABC.

Rm3...and your thirst is cured, insyaAllah.

2.

Buy another one - packed ABC with straw and plastic spoon. Drive back to your office or home. Give the ABC to the first old person searching for paper/ tin can or beggar on the pavement or poor kids by the roadside that you may see on your way back.

3.

That Rm3 you spent, will take you further than expected, insyaAllah...a simple adventure, every Friday after solat...

She is growing too fast...

1.
Alisya Irdina Khairil.
Used to bathe her and Naufal in that sink!!!! Hahaha!!
Now, she can cook simple stuff and wash dishes....
Time really flies. C'est la vie?

2.
Having breakfast with the family is really important....it's the beginning of a new day, so what's more important than starting it as a family?
After all, it may be the last opportunity for you to spend time with them.....who knows?

3.
Over the years, I have disciplined myself to have breakfast before I started doing anything....just to make sure the empty stomach would not be the one to lead the way....that's not a good choice!

4.
Thank you Alisya, for the delicious breakfast today.

Judgemental

1.

For several years, the FB has become the key landing point for many  when it comes to being on the internet for whatever reasons. 

Obviously, I have also been "addicted" to be on FB most of the time I am online. Otherwise I would be on the websites of some photographers that I try to learn from.
Whatever it is, FB has been the place where I usually spend my time....until yesterday, when I suddenly think I am better off if I do more blogging and leave FB as it is, due to certain matters, of course.

2.

At first, FB is a nice place to hang out. Business opportunities, quick and easy marketing effort...and all the likes.
...but it's also a place for me to vent out my disagreement and anger....and it turned out to be a platform for others - usual suspects - to ridicule and belittle me easily, just for the fun of it...
(READ: Maybe in their office they have nothing to do....because they are ok to bring back rezeki for wasting company's time and resources to feed their kids). <-- Now, this kind of posting in FB would definitely be flamed immediately...because in FB-land everybody is trying their best to be good and look good while in the actual sense they are constantly bragging and doing indecent stuff and yet being backed up by many with the same persona.....
For instance, recently there was a bunch of school teachers in a thread complaining about why the hell should they be blamed and asked to wear decent clothing to school when the students could not concentrate in class? Ironically, most of them wear tudung, married and supposedly are good role-models for the younger generations.
All I am saying is - the FB land is a real mess with fcuked-up views of do's and dont's.
Everything is right when everything is wrong...and vice versa.
The arguments would never end and at the end of the day you'll just waste your time (if you are working on your own) or your company time (if you are being employed....which is ok because at the end of the month you'll get that salary anyway....provided you are not being terminated!!!

3.

...and when you try to say something and give real example to a group of people, there will be others who say you're judging people and who are you to do that. Well to these bunch, they themselves never realized that they are the ones who are always judging others wrongly...and most of the time by the way they present themselves (and their writings) they're want to be seen as perfect role models. They are always right. Others should not judge them or other people. Maybe they are right, at times...but most of the the time they are wrong...and still deny it...and still put the blame on others that they are poking by responding to a comment or posting of that person...and some mofos would support them because they never met in person and never know how fcuked-up these bunch actually are.

4.

...and I have long realized, some others who used to be good buddies have been too busy being famous that the conversation and interaction as buddies have diminished tremendously.
Not that it is wrong but it's quite a sad situation - how being famous and wealthy can make others change to the worse (well slightly worse for some old friends but perhaps more better for the persons themselves).

5.

Where am I getting to?

Frankly I'm not really sure...but if I have to say what I have in my head right now, in a sentence, it would be this:

It is about time for me to spend more time in this blog and write whatever I want to, whenever I want to and it's about time to lose some friends who are just too good to be my friends anymore.

There. I think that's what I want to say. Yeah.

6.

Life was much simpler in this blog. I hate crowds anyways. 

So it's the correct timing since it's past nisfu Sya'ban and I have (somehow, miraculously) decided to forgive and forget those who are in that list in my "Book Of Torque - Chapter 1" which I have mentioned in one of the entries in this blog.

7.

...and I would like to say THANK YOU to the eight wonderful people who have been the followers of KampungPath....for whatever reasons.....thank you so much...ahleng ariKen, amirahaziz, sisdee, bungacahaya, AndSoMyLifeGoesOn, SyafiqAzuan, nor azman ab aziz, Eju.

8.

Have a good Friday. Or at least try to.

From Evernote:

Abroad and no passport needed

1.
I have been in Kuching for about two weeks already, on assignment to look on the progress of the team covering UNIMAS job. Kuching is always interesting for me. Just a walk at the waterfront would be an interesting way to discover stuffs. 

2.

Though it is a very nice place, I do have one or two things that I would label as "annoying" in Kuching.

The first one would be the roundabout...if you are driving in Kuching or Sarawak in general, you will have to understand that the drivers here are very very very very very and - oh did I say very? - VERY cautious when they see a roundabout. They will take the time to wait for the coming vehicle to clear out (almost like hoping there's no vehicle in sight!) so that they could go straight into the inner circle....even though their exit is just the next one from their entry point. If it is peak hours....you can multiply the relative time of you having to wait by 100....or make it 1000.

Can't really blame them...they're just trying to be safe 100%....or more!! :o)

3.

Foods are great in this city....if you know where to go. One of my favorite place would be the food court of Kampung Boyan....but sadly, along the riverside, you will find many young people - couples or not - loitering around especially after asar and through maghrib/ isya'. Chances are, if you walk pass them, you'd probably find a bottle of two of liquors being shared. Sad. Very sad. Really.

...anyway, it's their life, so if they decided to fcuk it, hey....go ahead, I am not your daddy!!!

4.

...but frankly, I love Kuching and it will be the place for me to retire....from life.

5.

Since I am.going to be here for quite a while, I should go to places I have not discovered in this city....let's see if the workload is manageable. 

Evernote:Mortarboarders

From Evernote:

Mortarboarders

1.
The past couple of weeks have been very very hectic.....but that's nothing new...
Some changes in schedules and I have a couple of days to be with the family...merely, actually...due to the shooting schedules for convos and all...which means I have a time for them after the event jobs are done...

2.
While shooting, I get to observe the subjects and the environment, learning more and more about the society and all.
Not a bad way to spend time earning money while learning new things...no?
It may just be my observations...it may just be my personal opinion...it might not be valid for whatever reasons others might have....but it is my view and experience....and I am just sharing it here.

3.
It has been a long time since my last documentary/ photojournalism works. Itching to get back on doing shots and jobs in that discipline. So much so that my recent events works were done with documentary/ photojournalism approach. Nothing wrong with that but since the leader of the team is not ME (Hahaksss!) I am not so sure if the shots were 100% accepted by the person. Anyways, with my experience and all, it shouldn't be a problem.
....and it's not. That's why I am in the process of editing some of the works for the FB page of my team. Quite an effort since I am still recovering from the hectic traveling and shooting....and more paperworks waiting to be done.

4.
I am digressing....back to my observation....

5.
1Malaysia. So they say.
...but I can't see the reality happening in day to day events. What more in formal events, particularly the ones I covered recently. It is not such a hoohaa though...but still quite embarrassing, to my definition at least.

Names. The ones given to us when we entered the earth.
It may sound nice for some....but it may be ridiculously funny to others.
...but should we mock and laugh at it...at all?
Sadly, it happened in those events I mentioned. Names of some graduates were laughed at by others, not too loud but not discreet enough to just be neglected. I did not expect that to happen. It wasn't just once but too many times that I felt quite ashamed to be in the hall.

Dudes....Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans, Ibans and all.....have certain names that when pronounced would sound weirdly funny for others of different races....but still, we have to simply respect the differences. Never laugh at their names. At least not openly, in a formal occasion...after all, you probably would not know what your name means in their native tongue....just because they are minors, that does not mean they deserve less respect and tolerance from you the majors....

6.
.....I wish my kids not to have teachers like those bunch, mentioned above....

7.
...yes, they are teachers....sad isn't it?

Evernote:The Sun shuns not from shining....

From Evernote:

The Sun shuns not from shining....

1.
...never a day the sun went missing. Though it might be hiding behind e clouds or the raindrops...it's there, for it is it's duty to be where it should be. A promise kept for ages without fail. Consistent. Nothing less. It shall be there till the day it dies.

2.
Wonder why it never got bored doing the same thing all over, again and again....and again. Awaiting the time for eternal relaxation...when then there shall be none.

3.
I miss the sun, today. Also the beach. Though I did not miss then heat wnd humid environment beyond the eandlines miles into the land....I miss watching it shone it's final rays depicting dusks....when the duty to be present is passed to the moon.

4.
...but I shall wake the next morning to welcome the same ol' sun, marking the first day, of the rest of my life.
InsyaAllah...

5.
For now, it's too late in the night, too early in the morning...to wish the sun good night and to bid the moon good morning...

6.
0426hrs...the hour when the clock is to be rear as it's already way past the to rest. Good night, moon.
...and mwybe I will be wishing good morning to the sun.

7.
...hopefully the sun will still fulfill it's promise.

Evernote:The ABCDE (and F...and G!) of life....

From Evernote:

The ABCDE (and F...and G!) of life....

1.
This is something that came to my mind as I was driving in a hot afternoon in Kuala Terenganu. Hot, humid, dehydrated...and yet this topic came to mind and I somehow felt happy although was in that uncomfortable environment. The ABCDEFG of life....my life in particular.

2.
A is for ALLAH.
Why I existed. Life blessings and rezeki....everything, comes from ALLAH.
I wouldn't be here writing this sentence if it is not permitted by ALLAH.
For all the blessings received, the least I should do is to say ALHAMDULILLAH.

3.
B is for Beloved.
Mother, father, wife, kids, family.
The ultimate blessing from ALLAH.

4.
C is Camaraderie, Commune.
The friends, brothers in arms.
Those who were there to celebrate my success.
Those who were there to ease my sufferings.
Those who I would trust with my life.
...and they too are the best blessings from ALLAH.

5.
D is for Determination.
The unwawavering focus and desire to achieve what I desire.

6.
E is for Exploring.
Anything...anything that my mind finds interesting.
Something that would not be enough until the end is done.

7.
For all that matters, I could have stopped at E but somehow the brain teased me on the next two alphabets...
F and G is for FaceBook and Google+......Hahahaha!
...friggin' geek!!!

Evernote:Homesick.

From Evernote:

Homesick.

1.
Kampung house. Coconut tree. A bright sun.
Some birds, clouds, mountain, padi field, maybe sea shore.
Sounds familiar?
Those would be the elements in a drawing by a Malaysian kid, generally. I believe most - if not all - would have probably done such drawing when they were a kid. No?

2.
The mind is fond of keeping pleasent memories....and perhaps the serene environment of a kampung home set in the mentioned frame above is common. Maybe not. It depends on who you are and who you would like to be, perhaps....or WHERE you actually want to be!!
Nowadays, we tend be present in multiple locations at one point of time. For instance, we might be sitting in a cafe with a friend and a mug of our favorite coffee...but we are busy yahoo-ing a couple of buddies around the globe....and so is the friend sitting infront of us. Or we might be having dinner with our family but instead of having a family conversation we are frantically texting on our BbM with the bosses and team abroad.

3.
I am not saying it is bad...but nor am I saying it is good. It is just a common situation we are facing everyday.
What needs to be done, needs to be done.
The thing is, sometimes the mind dictates what we actually prefer to do - or where we prefer to be. When that happens, we'd then set what infront of us as secondary.

4.
Coming back to the doodle, perhaps that kampung house and the environment set, is just something so nice to our minds that it remains the same as it was since our childhood days.
In my case, at the time I wrote this, my mind is fond of lepaking in a hut by a cool stream but I am with my team doing the stuff we do best (for the moolahs!)...and as I mentioned, it is not bad nor good....it is just a situation I am having in my life everyday.

Evernote:Tablet-top Publishing

From Evernote:

Tablet-top Publishing

1.
Years ago, when people talk about tabletop publishing, it was a kind of fancy thing done by those with IT literacy. Not everybody was on pc tbose days, whatmore doing stuff related to publishing, that was a serious thing, quite.

2.
Enter the blog.
Everybody started to have one. Or two....maybe more. Publishing is just about putting whatever written on to the blog site and anybody can read it.
Then, with the hoards of tech-gadgets available, anybody can blog anywhere, anytime. About anything at all. Whether it really makes sense or not, is secondary.

3.
The traditional way of writing on a piece of paper is seen as outdated....but that is still the best. To me, at least.
If you are a writer, you'd write. On any mediums.
If you're just a techie wannabe....well, maybe you'll do the same on tech-gadgets...for a while.

4.
Doodle? On Galaxy Note??? Yaaah....same thing.

5.
Finally got a tablet for myself....and it does not make me any different from what I was before....cuz I still write, on any mediums....and doodle.

6.
Cool stuff, these tech-gadgets. It makes things easier to do. Sometimes!!!

From Evernote:

My two liners on…

+ Waking-up.

A must, to keep on moving in life.

The earlier I start the day, the more time I have to do whatever I want to do.

+ Breakfast.
An important meal to being a good day.
The earlier the better, the best is to have it with all family members together.

+ Work.

Something that needs to be done, to earn the money for a living.

Not something that governs me totally, I am the boss, I take control of the works not the other way around.

+ Free time.

What all being has everyday - 24 hours a day.

Whatever I decide to do with it, I still have free time for things that matters.

+ Busy.

Just a lame excuse by many who failed miserably to realize everybody has the same amount of hours in a day. 

To a certain extent, it's just a way to show they are important (NOT!)

+ Politics.

A field where idiots and well educated people comes to play for (as they all claim it) the benefit of the others (who do not want to be involved). 

Some gets things done, many others gets nothing done or undone...and looked important (for them) while at it, including those who talk about politics at kedai kopi or forums or whatever platforms available.

+ Facebook.

A social platform where everybody gets to meet anybody.

A place where opportunities are made and also a very suitable platform to waste your time for nothing if you're an imbecile.

+ Wealth.

What every poor would chase and want to have.

Something that is being chased endlessly by those who refused to define their priority in life (if they have any...life, I mean).

+ Paper qualification.

What everybody needs to have to get on board a good company (mostly, except those who decided to start they own).

Couple of years on board, we'll start to realize we are being governed by those with less brain-cells than a goldfish.

+ Hobby.

What people do out of their interests when they have the time to do so.

Some made money from it, some just waste more than what they can actually afford, just to be seen as cool or savvy.

+ Credit card.

A tool for purchasing stuff.

A good way for a loser to start a never ending debt.

+ Opinion.

What everybody would ask or offer everybody else before making decisions on things that matters to them.

What most people would not bother to read when everybody is giving it on a same platform.

...to be continued. As and when I feel like doing so.

http://www.evernote.com/shard/s167/sh/057642ff-f6ff-42f8-bfda-af2b48e09667/df9006d2dc24ffaa24f4df58610569a7

....strategy realignment?

1.

Definition:

strategy |ˈstratəjē|

noun ( pl. -gies)a plan of action or policy designed to achieve a major or overall aim : time to develop a coherent economic strategy | shifts in marketing strategy.• the art of planning and directing overall military operations and movements in a war or battle. Often contrasted withtactics (see tactic ).• a plan for such military operations and movements :nonprovocative defense strategies.
ORIGIN early 19th cent.: from French stratégie, from Greekstratēgia ‘generalship,’ from stratēgos (see stratagem ).

realign |ˌrēəˈlīn|verb
[ trans. ]change or restore to a different or former position or state : they worked to relieve his shoulder pain and realign the joint | the president realigned his government to reflect the balance of parties.• ( realign oneself with) change one's position or attitude with regard to (a person, organization, or cause) : he wished to realign himself with Bagehot's more pessimistic position.

*Realignment: DERIVATIVES realignment noun

SO...in simple words, Strategy Realignment is when you change or alter your action plan to achieve the (still unchanged) overall end-state set in the beginning.

2.

Why am I writing this?

Frankly, it was a phrase - or more like a secret code - used by a group of us back in the one of the main Strategic Study project & implementation for the big corporation I was with back then, whenever we need to take a break and go down for a cuppa coffee or "slurm" (maybe will write about "slurm" in another entry). Or simply put, it is our way to say - f**k it, we have done enough work so let's go down and have a cuppa.

....and the whole team would be sitting in front of a cuppa 10-15 minutes after the code was transmitted. Hahaaa!

So, there it is...that's why I am writing this, initially.

3.

Anyway, since I am already on this topic, let me just type on, whatever I want to say related to the topic.You can continue to read or just move on to whatever stuff you need to do, I don't want to waste your time if you think I have been doing it for the last couple of minutes....

4.

Almost every person whom I see on FB/ blog/ Twitter/ Google+, who wrote about strategy, have different understanding (or misunderstanding!!) about it. Not that they are right nor wrong, it just shows everybody may have different approach to strategy, how they define it, develop it and implement it.
The important thing is just this - if it works, it works!
Be it a strategy, a plan, a vision, mission etc etc. Not everything should be governed by the text books we read, of course....but if we read the text books properly, it helps to achieve that end-state better than just shooting in the dark. The funny part would be when somebody claims as a master of the topic....but everything is just a helter-skelter when it comes to explaining and implementing it....and let's not go into the actual result...if they cannot achieve the end-state, they should be asking me (or the team mates I had) about strategy realignment then.

5.

Recently, in one of the WhatsApps group I am in (no, I don't have BBM, not a high-profile corporate guy...nor a high-profile school kid, to pay for a "secured server" for my discussions talk-cock stuff) which consisted of a motley of businessmen, academicians, top management bankers, oil & gas staff etc locals and abroad...somebody sent an article from a "think-tank" about something. THINK TANK.
Think-tank? Hahaa... just too much thinking and never did any implementation of what they "thought", never did any monitoring, never came down to the ground for actual progress controlling and worst of all, never owning the result...a think tank is as good as - a sewer bucket.

It's quite easy to think and talk...No? What do we have at our warung kopi, teh tarik joints, the more glamorous Kedai Kopi Chap Starbux, SangFransiska? So many excellent thinkers and business minded bunch talking about big bucks stuff...but ask them if they really have

tried walking the talk and be responsible for the results...probably just a handful....or half a handful...or none...

6.

The validity test is simple - to my standard.

If you actually don't even bag-in a single ringgit from what you're yakking about...then you're just talking the cock....and walking the cock...and you should try to accept when people say you're kind cocky....'cuz probably that's what you've been doing most of the time!

7.

Just think about this - if you never get the right result, is it not possible that you have been having a wrong strategy?

8.

So, what's your subject of discussion on your BBM, WhatsApps or the TehTarik geng this week?

...probably you've bagged enough to pay the bills for the whole table...or maybe not because perhaps the end stae of your strategy is just to look important and "hebat" to the rest in that kedai kopi...aye?

9.
Nay?
....wanna try strategy realignment? :o)



*posted from Evernote...since Blogspot dashboard page is kinda unreliable nowadays....mengong!

From Evernote:

2012.01.

Am not sure what am I gonna write. So many stuff to do and I have not used my pen for ages.

After being in Kuala Terenganu for a number of weeks I am not sure if I can cope with the hectic life in KL anymore. However busy I am here in Kuala Terengganu, I still can find time to have a good rest and time to cycle for fun and health. If the kids are here I am sure they would love it too.

So now here I am away from the family....missing them but I am earning good money for them.

2012.01.25.

I am going to board the 9am bus from Kajang to Kuala Terengganu in about 3 hours from this sentence is done. Let's just post this one up into the blog and see how it would look like...writing on Evernote and posting on Blogspot. :o)

BlogIt

Lost count of the days I have not met my family. They're busy schooling. Mama is busy working. I don't know if they're really missing me but I really miss them.

A Cuppa Coffee....

....so, there's a story that goes like this:

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor.
Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life. Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite. He told the group to help themselves to the coffee.

When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: "If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups......

And then you began eyeing each other's cups. Now consider this: Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of the Life we live.

Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee.

...coffee, anyone?

:o)