Melancholia

These few days, I was and am feeling pretty down with a melancholic feeling. I guess it was the time in London that has reminded me of much of my sweet memories of the past, of being able to spend lots of quality time just chatting the night away with my closest friends.

I guess all the time that I have spend way too much time over here in Germany alone, more than 4 years to be exact. While I also have German friends, they are never the same with my close friends who are now scattered all over the world, with their own business to deal with. 

I so miss the times when I was doing my A-levels in INTEC. That time, even if my schedule was sometimes hectic at times, being with my friends totally made up for it. That time, we ate together, laughed together, studied together, went for outings together, and chatted away the night until sunrise together. Needless to say I savored and enjoyed almost every moment of it. To add to that, I have also met Jen in INTEC as well.

It has been quite a number of years since I left INTEC, and embarked on a journey to Germany to continue my studies and get my first degree. The experience has been unpleasant at the least. I have not been able to integrate myself properly into the society here, and have spend most of my times alone. Having most of my best friends from the other programs in INTEC didn't help as well, since I am not close to all of them. 

The experience can be considered as harrowing at the very least. I realized that I have not been the ultra optimistic and happy-go-lucky person that I was in INTEC. It is said that loneliness can eat away one person slowly from the inside. I became moody, and became settled down with depression. The worst part of it is, I have lost my optimism totally. Any kind of advise that I get, I counter with probable negative results and why it can't be done. I probably shouldn't be surprised if I ended up with no friends now...

They say that true friends will stick around through bright and dark times. I have my friends to thank for sticking with me all this while. You guys were fantastic in your support. There are almost always ears to for me to speak into when I need it the most. I may have lost my mind if not for you, and probably somewhere in the netherworld already. Well, here's my big thanks! Thanks to all of you for being there! Thanks for everything!

Special mention to Jen, for still sticking around despite all my negativity, and for being there to push me up, and for lending an ear whenever I need to sleep, despite her heavy schedule. Well, you just see, I am going to be better than the 1 million guys in the line!

Before I end this post, here's a particularly sweet song by Kymm and JJ that happened to one of my favourite songs at the end of my time in INTEC:

Cheers,
seehua

Living Here and Now: Reboot?

It has been quite some time since I last updated this blog. During this time, I was busy with my thesis, preparing for my final two papers in my examinations, being depressed and being happy.  Yea, it has been quite a semester for me.

As of now, I am busy looking for places to do my masters (somewhere bigger than Aalen, hopefully). While doing this, I am also trying to clear my huge backlog of articles in my RSS feeds, spamming around in ReCom, and designing a new interface for ReCom Wiki.

Life has been pretty good to me so far, with many of my old and newly found friends being so supportive on many of my predicaments and being patient while listening to my rantings. (A big salute and thank you to the all of you out there!)

Anyway, to the main issue of this post. I will be doing a reboot of this blog, and hopefully, I will again be able to post regularly in topics ranging from local and international hot issues, computer tips, politics, discussions in ReCom, and my own musings on random things that always seemed to pop up in my head. I have always wanted to be able to  communicate my points properly to the others by speech and words, so it is my aim to improve myself in this aspect by writing and posting stuffs here again. If there is anything that you would like to comment on, feel free to do so =)

It is good to be back again, hope you guys will enjoy reading what I have to say all over again!

seehua

Appear rich or to be rich?

Buying stuffs has always been a big topic, at least at the back of my head. For me, it is always a decision on whether I need the stuffs or I just want them. What I need are food to keep myself healthy, and clothing to keep myself away from the weather elements. What I want are things that make my life easier, and some of the times, makes me look better(tm).

As far as I can see, the modern society lives on capitalism, with people being persuaded and coerced into buying stuffs that they don't really need. Most of the books that I have read about being successful in life emphasized buying and maintaining a financially heavy lifestyle. The book "The Rules of Work: The Unspoken Truth About Getting Ahead in Business" advocates "buying nothing but the best accessories" in order to make oneself look "great" enough in order to climb the corporate ladder. The writer, Mr. Richard Templer mentioned that we need to behave and walk like the general managers if we want to be promoted soon to their position. This goes to the extent that  we should buy their kind of watches, cars, ties, clothings, handbags, and so on. Of course, there are many more rules that are highlighted in the book, but since those are not the theme of this post, I will not discuss them here.

In the book, "The Secret" Rhonda Byrne touches on the need to change the way our minds think in order to achieve our wishes. So, in order to become a successful high ranked manager or CEO in a company, we have to walk and talk and dress their way. However, it is also subtly hinted that we should start dressing they way they do and use their kind of accessories in order to be able to join their ranks.

It is a well known fact that, in order to join a group, we will need to behave and look like them. But I shudder to think the economic impact this kind of culture is bringing to our world today. Everywhere around me, I see people won't can't really afford things taking loan to buy and tote LV/Bulgari handbags, driving luxurious BMW, Mercedes and high end Toyotas, buying the ever so expensive iPhone, buying the biggest mansion and so on.

During this time of economic downturn, we should really start to think of the implications of our high spending culture on ourselves and the economy in general. This economic crisis itself is caused by the banks in America lending money to people who cannot really afford big homes to do so. When much of these lenders don't get their money back, an economic downpour happens, causing a rippling effect on the world at large.

We as consumers should really start looking into the larger scheme of things, and ask ourselves the main question before embarking on an purchase: "For what do I need to buy this item?" If the answer turns out to be as a show off item, then keep the money safely in the pocket, and turn down the ego. The world now needs more people who can spend wisely rather than more people who spends more on borrowed money.

Remember, in the end, all status items are cosmetic and hence temporary. For me, the real measure of success is a contented life. A person don't really need much to be contented, and most of them cannot be bought by money. For me, a successful life is a life in which I am always surrounded by family and friends who will accompany me through thick and thin, as I will do the same to them as well...

This post is inspired by a post at the Simple Dollar, "Do you want to appear to be rich? Or do you want to be rich?"

C

Book: Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, Chapter Review: Chapter 1: "The Matthews' Rule"

It has been quite some time since I last read a book at the speed and enjoyment that I am having now, in fact, since I got myself a more or less permanent internet connection there in Germany. You see, having an almost always connection to the wide wide web causes my concentration to falter to such a degree that I can no longer single-task well. I really think I should disconnect once in a while, just so that I can catch my breath and get away from the overloading inflow of information for my many sources of news.

Anyway, that is not the point of this post today. This post will mark the starting of a new series of posts in this blog, talking about the books I am currently reading and the insights that it provided me with.

Currently I am reading the book Outliers written by Malcolm Gladwell. Gladwell had previously also written "The Tipping Point" and "Blink," all serving to point the little points that ultimately build up to success. In "The Outliers," Gladwell points out the various small external factors that lead up to success.

Chapter 1 of the book talks about the Matthew Effect, named after a phrase in the Matthew Gospel: "For unto everyone that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance. But from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath." Matthew 25:29.   Gladwell talked about the peculiarities of the ice hockey professionals in Canada, and the football and hockey team of Czech Republic. When we look at the birth month of all these teams, almost all of the players were born early in their respective year.

This boils down to how the selection of the players when they are young are done. The cut off month for most selection process is put at the middle of the year, making those born later in the year not eligible. So, at a young tender age of 6 or 7, those born earlier in the year have a small advantage over those born later. This small difference builds up as the years passed, since the "best" will always be selected to train with better trainers. So after 10 or so years, the best players are the ones with this small advantage when they are young.

This trend continues in life as well. The best people in many fields gets better and better at their own field; the rich kept getting richer; the best athletes kept beating their own records; the best scientists kept discovering newer and better ways to generate energy. The list is endless.

So for me, the lesson from the first chapter in Outliers is clear: opportunities are essential to success. When the opportunity is there, seize it, no matter how small it is, and build on it. Success is often built on a good foundation. Once the basics are down, we can continue to the next step, which is hard work. This is outlined in the next chapter: The 10,000 hours rule. I'll post a discussion on this when I am done with that chapter.

C

Staying Strong

Life is beautiful yet life can be very challenging.

One after another obstacle, one after another disappointment.

It seems endless but not hopeless. In times like this, it is best to keep our mind clear with our goals, stay positive and work stepwise towards them, persevering along the way.

The path may seem long and you may seem want to give up half way, but believe me, keep stretching yourself a little more each time and keep on believing in your dreams and goals. With blessings, you will finally reach where you want to be.

Have my best wishes and blessings, and we will work towards there together.

Remember, there are always sunshine and rainbows after the rain. :)



Jen


P.s: Words for myself as well as friends who needs them. May all be well and happy.