Hardy Pine

Back to square one

2011-11-25T05:11:00.005+08:00

My friend knows that I am looking for a job and offered me to look after his vegetable farm. If I accept the offer, it will be back to square one for me. My father was a farmer, but I did not want to follow his foot step 40 years ago and left my village. Now I will be a farmer after going one big circle! Sometimes I wonder would I be happier if I just accept my destiny and did not go through so much troubles trying to be some thing different. Maybe I would be relaxing at home, letting my children and grand children to tend to the farm and not worrying how to support them to finish their education.

In those days, every child was expected to grow up and become a farmer with exception of a very few who came from businessmen or high government officials' families. But I did not want to become a farmer. My little heart silently promised myself that I would change my fate. I knew the only way to achieve it was through receiving higher education. Therefore I put my full effort into my study.My friends skipped class for the slightest reasons, but I never skip class even once. I went to school with torn clothes and gaping shoes, I ignored the teasing from others.My mother worked as a domestic help in the town, she would buy new clothes and shoes for me when she came home. But she was not allowed to come home every week end. I did not mind the waiting, study was of the utmost importance to me.

We all had to help our families to process the harvested products brought home by our parents. Arranging them neatly and hooked them up so that they were easy to be handled during the drying process. Although I was very tired after doing these chores, I persisted in completing all my home works and revisions. It paid off, I obtained a grade 1 for my primary 6 examinations. Only 2 persons from my school got grade 1, the other boy was from a rich family.
I told my father that I wanted to continue my study. He was not surprised at my request. He said, "wait till your mother comes back and discuss with her". My mother agreed to let me continue studying but only for 1 or 2 more years. when I grew bigger I would have to work in the farm or she would find me a job in the town.

My mother enrolled me in an English medium secondary school in the town where she worked. She said it would be advantageous for me to know English when I look for jobs in the future. She was definitely right! Since I came from a Chinese medium school, I had to spend 1 year in the Remove Class to strengthen my English before joining the other kids who were from English medium school in Form 1. Although all my class mates were from Chinese school also, but they were town kids so they already knew some English. Whereas the only English I knew were, "My name is...", and "I am 12 years old". Fortunately all my class mates were very nice, they always helped me whenever I ran into difficulty with English language. Thank you guys, if you are reading my blog!!!

During school holidays while my class mates were having fun, I worked in FELDA scheme and rubber estates to earn money for my school fees and especially for buying text books. Besides, I would go round asking friends whether any of their siblings or cousins wanted to sell their used text books. I could get them for half price or sometimes at 1/3 the price for a brand new book. You may not believe me, I had never own a new text book all my secondary school life, except on occasions that a new version was introduced, which was very very rare during those days.
Since I did not ask money from my parents, they allowed me to continue after 2 years. My mother gave me pocket money of RM30 every month. At the beginning of a new school term I would carry a flour sackful of rice from home, and I need not buy rice for the whole school term. I managed to complete my secondary school education on a year-to-year basis, hinging on whether I find jobs to earn enough money for the next term. I like to think that I was lucky because I found works every school holidays. But in fact it was due to the fact that people around me were nice people, they were always on the look out for holidays jobs for me, therefore I was never short of jobs.

With my Malaysian Certificate of Education(MCE)/Senior Cambridge(SC), I got a job with the Broadcasting Department (RTM) as a technician. I took up a correspondence course (now it is called distant learning)to prepare for the City & Guilds Institute of London examinations. It was recognized by the Broadcasting Department and the Telecommunications Department at that time. I obtained my Full Technological Certificate after 6 years, normal duration was 5 years but I met a road accident in between. After working for the government for 7 years I joined a private firm because there was the opportunity to learn computer servicing which was very new then.

I was job-hopping frequently after that because it was the fastest way to gain rapid salary raise.It proved to be of my own undoing later, my pay was so much higher than my peers that I was asked to retire early.
For the next 10 years I worked in many kinds of job which were totally not connected to my formal training.Now I can't even get one of those jobs due to my age.Soon I may have to become a farmer as I was originally destined to be. Oh what a joke!

Kaori Kobayashi - Nothing's Gonna Change My Love for You

2011-10-30T21:43:00.000+08:00

He put a computer in every home

2011-10-09T17:49:00.000+08:00

Co-founder of Apple Computer, Steve Jobs, passed away peacefully after a 7 years long battle with pancreatic cancer on 5 October 2011 at the age of 56.

He produced the Apple personal computer making it possible for ordinary man to own a computer at home. Before that you could only find a computer in the office of a company which is above medium size. It was even out of the reach of the average small business.

With the increase in personal computers (PC) in every home the Internet under went a tremendous transformation. It was no longer limited to large corporates and the military, it was within reach of everyone. Steve Jobs changed the way the world's leaders run things.
Steve not only introduced PC into every home, he brought to the world iPod, iPhone, i Pad later part in his life. He had changed the way people, especially youngsters, manage their personal life and business and the way they communicate.

Steve Jobs was ousted once from the company he started in the 80's by ungrateful share holders, but returned to rescued the ailing company ten years later. He turned the company around and make it what it is today - the world's most valuable technology company.Steve Jobs lives in our hearts forever!

I'm old and weak

2010-08-29T16:43:00.000+08:00

I discover I like to lock myself in my room thinking of old days and friends who had passed away. More shocking is,sometimes I find tears in my eyes. Am I becoming weak and old already?

I spend hours in a coffee shop reading news paper or just simply idling there. The people have already got use to it and treated me like just another piece of furniture there.

The children play ground is another favourite hang out of mine. I can spend long hours watching children play and other activities going on there.

Going online is another favourite passtime for me, but it is also proved too taxing for me, it requires typing and interaction.It is unlike the things I mentioned above where I can let my mind go blank.

It got worse if I met any unpleasant incidence in the work place.
Is there a name for this codition? I believe it is called depression.

Self Pride

2010-08-02T21:21:00.000+08:00

If you can not come to terms with what you are doing despite all your achievement in career or business, you have no pride.

This has got nothing to do with how difficult or how stressful your duty is,you should be pleased in spite of all the hard works.

You should feel comfortable with what you do to attain your achievement and believe in it that your deed will bring good to the world and enhance humanity.

Consquence of USA soft criminal law.

2010-03-07T03:14:00.002+08:00

This lovely girl could have lived:

Searchers found Chelsea King's body on Tuesday afternoon, five days after she vanished while jogging in a San Diego park

If this convicted murderer was not released just after 5 years in prison.

John Albert Gardner, a registered sex offender shown in an undated photo from the National Sex Offender Web site, was arrested Sunday in connection with 17-year-old Chelsea King's disappearance in San Diego.

Merry X'mas !

2009-12-25T15:41:00.000+08:00

Wishing all my Christian friends a Merry Christmas!

Your closest ally is your deadliest foe.

2009-11-14T14:49:00.002+08:00

The president of Malaysia Chinese Association(MCA),Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat, told the press 3 days after the double-10 (October 10) EGM, in which he received the "vote of no confidence" from the party delegates, that he was not so much hurt by the decisions of the delegates as the betrayal by his "friends".

He appeared to be very surprised by the actions of his so-called friends. I am equally surprised by his naive belief that there is true friendship in an arena where self interest is the paramount consideration of any player.

A few days later it was every one's turn to be surprised, he joined force with his arch rival Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soil Lek, the sacked deputy president of MCA, to face the the challenge from the "third force" led by party vice-president, Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai.

Yet a more interesting twist to the party internal bickering is the declaration by the Registrar of Societies that Dr Chua is still the lawful deputy president! Umm...interesting, we are now back to what we had 1 1/2 years ago, Ong as president, and Chua as deputy president. What a waste of time and energy!

If they wisely used the time and energy in restoring the trusts and confidence of the voters after the March 8 (308) general election disaster, MCA would be well on its way to regaining the support of the rakyat as UMNO has achieved. WHAT A PITY!

Leave my kid alone

2009-03-15T02:47:00.003+08:00

Everybody wants the best for his kid, I am no exception.
You may step all over me, I will keep quiet for the sake of my kid. But leave my kid alone!

There was this nincompoop who tried to rob my kid of his benefits and gave it to some one's kid instead just because the other person is more powerful and rich. This numb skull who has known me for years had the shock of his life when I exploded.

Of course he had taken care of his kid's benefits in this case, and he wanted to apple polish some other people at the same time. That is a big mistake,my kid has rights too although his father has no money and no power.

Cross road

2008-07-28T14:53:00.004+08:00

It is where I am now.
Where is the sign board?
Dark overcast is looming at the horizon,a storm is gathering....where is the nearest shed?
Well,what the heck, go! go! go!

Myth about integrity

2008-05-08T03:31:00.003+08:00

I guess the biggest and oldest myth is that the most important asset of a person is his integrity.
We were taught not to do any dishonest or disgraceful thing even when you are alone and the lights are off.
We were told God is just 3 feet above our heads watching over us.
We should stop on Red at traffic lights even though there is no policeman around.
You gain a reputation as the cleanest,most honest person in the neighbourhood as a result.But what good does it make?
Your friend appoints you as his representative for his company in your area because he trusts you.But can you secure any sale for him? No,he won't give you stock on credits because he is afraid that you may be cheated by con men and lost all the stock.Maybe he is afraid you will not be able to pay back the lost because your only asset is your high integrity,no landed property and physical assets.
No stocks,no samples = no sales,simple as that.The buyers would not buy from you because they want to see the goods first before parting with his money.Also they want to see the model of your car,the size of your house and location,they want to know which club you belong to in order to judge you.
If you can not meet their standard,they will rather deal with someone else who is notorious for being croocked,cunning and untrust worthy but meet the buyers' criteria for high financial standing.
If I were given the chance to start over,I will amass as much wealth as possible and forget about integrity.When I am rich people will have strong confidence in me due to my solid financial standing and I will not have any problem to pay for compensations should any thing goes wrong.

April Fool Day

2008-03-31T13:20:00.002+08:00

To-morrow is April 01,the international April Fool Day.
I wish everyone a joyous day full of clean funs.Please avoid playing any jokes which will bring harm,sadness,anger to others.Your joke should not cause any loss in finance,time,opportunity to anyone.Playing jokes with bad taste on people is not funny but very stupid!

Will you act any differently?

2008-03-24T13:30:00.002+08:00

My friend was reading the news headline of a local news paper and asked me to explain the news item which she was reading: Trengganu Menteri Besar is yet to be sworn in.I tried my best to tell her the story behind the news item which was not reported.
On seeing me acting like an expert,she teased me,"Why didn't they instal you as Menteri Besar instead and solve the problem?"
I returned the joke and said,"yes they should!"
She said,"You will not remember old friends like us any more then".
I replied,"Of course,chances are I will not remember you!"
She was amused that I was so frank.
It is all a joke,but if I ever become rich or powerful,will I change or still remain humble? I dare not say for sure because I have seen too many cases where people changed after acquiring wealth or power.Fortunately I will never have to answer that question because it is next to impossible for me to be rich or powerful.

Greed distorts

2008-01-03T03:36:00.000+08:00

I know, money is important in our life.But on seeing a person who is not short of money goes so low as to cheat a few hundred ringgit from a jobless old man (stealing from the beggar's bowl so to speak) is really shocking.
Without dignity and honesty all the money in the world would not make one any more respectable than a penniless man.
Stop using the word "leveraging" on your friends,the right word is "exploiting" or "taking advantage of" off your friends.
Sooner or later all your friends will leave you,in the end you will be surrounded by those whom you intend to "leverage" on or who in turns will want to "leverage" on you.What kind of life will that be?

Life is: just live it!

2007-09-09T00:13:00.000+08:00

I was chatting with a cyber friend last night. She is at a very low point in her life at the moment.
She has kidney failure and doctors cannot pin point what is causing it. Her house was destroyed in a hurrican two years ago, and she and other victims received no aids from the government because very few lives were lost therefore did not receive much media coverage even though the damage to property was serious.
She came out with her own money to have the house rebuilt but alas, she entrusted the wrong person. The guy run off with her money without fixing up her home!
She is single-mother, and lives in a trailer (mobile home) with her 11 year old daughter. She felt bad because she thinks she has let her daughter down for not being able to provide for her things like other kids have.
Her 2 brothers are married to rich women who look down upon her and forbid her brothers to visit her in the hospital. The future looks pretty bleak for her, until the doctors find out what is causing her kidney failure, there will not be any tranplant for her. But even if the cause was discover, she still has no money to do the transplat.
The disability welfare check she receives is not sufficient cover her monthly expenses.
Even life is hard on her, but she refuses to give up the struggle. A real tough lady here. Comparing to her, our suffering seems so small.
So, don't complaint about life: Just Live It!!

It's being a while...

2007-08-20T17:24:00.000+08:00

OMG...no new entries for more than a year!
Looks like it is harder to whine than I thought!
LOL....

What do rich people do beside making and spending money?

2006-04-30T14:21:00.000+08:00

Although I have some friends who have enough money to show off their expensive cars,houses and the trips they frequently take, but I do not have friends who are real rich, so rich that they do not have to pause for a second to consider before buying any thing, and most of all, they need not advertise how rich they are. People just know that they are rich.
Sometimes I can't help thinking what do they do in their daily life? They do not have to worry about bills, children educations, etc etc. Do they have to worry about any thing at all? Maybe they have to worry about just one thing, their life span?

Poor man vs Rich man

2006-04-22T18:59:00.000+08:00

A dear friend of mine sent me this in the email trying to cheer me up. But it didn't. The rich man took his son to a place which is hard for me to relate to at this stage, he should have taken the boy to the squatters colony, maybe that will be more relevant.

Below is the story:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>" Give thanks for the things you have & don't worry about the things you don't have"
>>>One day, the father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the express purpose of showing him how poor people live.
>>They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family.
>>On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, "How was the>trip?"
>>>"It was great, Dad."
>>"Did you see how poor people live?" the father asked.
>>"Oh yeah," said the son.
>>"So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?" asked the father.
>>The son answered:
>>"I saw that we have one dog and they had four.
>>We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end.
>>We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night.
>>Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon.
>>We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight.
>>We have servants who serve us, but they serve others.
>>We buy our food, but they grow theirs.
>>We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them."
>>>The boy's father was speechless.
>>>Then his son added, "Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are."
>>Isn't perspective a wonderful thing? Makes you wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks for everything we have, instead of worrying about what we don't have.
>>Appreciate every single thing you have, especially your friends!
>>Pass this on to friends and acquaintances and help them refresh their perspective and appreciation.

Prices have gone up

2006-03-16T14:32:00.000+08:00

Prices of almost every thing have gone up after one month of the 30 sen increase of petrol. Despite the stern warnings given by the authorities, things have become costlier. **Sigh**
Life is getting more and more difficult!

Pine Trees

2006-03-07T19:09:00.000+08:00

I like pine trees. They survive in the toughest conditions, even though they look twisted and shrunk as a result. But they are never quitters. They inspire me.

Chasing The Rainbow

2006-02-25T17:45:00.000+08:00

Spending most of my time on internet trying to find a way to earn some money.
Offers of teaching me how to become rich over night (instant millionaire) showers me like rains! But one thing for sure, they are richer the moment you click on the buy button, it doesn't matter you make or not afterwards.
If I had money I would have being charmed into handing them the money, how fortunate (to be penniless)!
I am going only for the free stuff, let them call me cheap. It won't hurt and that is what I can afford.
Wish me lucks!

Old weakling

2006-01-17T11:37:00.000+08:00

Someone showed me some kindness today, I found it hard to hold back the tears.
Am I turning into an old weaking already?

CNY round the corner,OMG

2006-01-09T02:02:00.000+08:00

Why did it always happened this way? I am broke just before the Chinese New Year.

Memory lost

2006-01-04T14:52:00.000+08:00

Watched a soap opera together with the family last night.In that particular episode it was about young pilot who was looking forward to the day his girl friend will wake up after been in comma for 3 years.The day he hoped for finally came when his girl friend woke up after a major operation on her brain.Guess what? You are right,she had partial lost of memory and could not recognize her boy friend!
The poor young pilot was devastated.He was the one who insisted to have the operation on her to be carried out against everyone's advice.He thought they would have a lot of catching up to do,and now this!
While watching this episode,I felt the same pain as the young man because I had a similar experience once.There is a slight difference in my case,it was not between me and my girl friend,it was between me and old friends.
It happened when I was kicked out from my job for being high in seniority and salary.Then a friend took pity on me and gave a job but on condition that I could get along with the rest of the staff. I was confident that I could do that because some of the staff are old friends of me for over 10 years. But when I reported for duty on the first day my old friends ignored my greetings and looked right through me. For the whole lenght of my stay in that company they treated me as transparent,they chatted and joked in front of me as if I was not there.When I tried to join them in the chat,they would either turn a deaf ear to me or just simply dispered leaving me alone there!
I was thinking very hard why did they behave as they did and found no answer. It suddenly dawn on me now that they might have suffered from partial lost of memory as the pilot's girl friend did!

About money

2006-01-04T00:25:00.000+08:00

Advice given to me by a wise guy,"don't go chasing after money,the harder you chase the faster it will run away.One will run,the other will chase,it's the universal rule."
He further advised,"do your part well and money will come running after you!"
Simple isn't it?
I do not go chasing after money for I can not see any money around me,and the money did not come running after me because I still do not see any money!

Year 2006

2006-01-01T19:15:00.000+08:00

The beginning of another year.
What do I plan to achieve this year? Tell you when I find the answer.

The AdSense Blog

2005-12-31T11:05:00.000+08:00

The AdSense Blog

Holiday is just like any other day

2005-12-26T11:40:00.000+08:00

It is a public holiday today,in leu of yesterday's Christmas.
Everyone in the house seems to have lost interest to create some excitement like in the past.
Does anyone out there know a way to have a joyful public holiday without spending too much?

Merry Christmas

2005-12-26T11:34:00.000+08:00

Wishing all my Christian friends Merry Chrismas!
Peace to the world.

My whine corner

2005-12-24T17:53:00.000+08:00

Few days back 3 old friends came visiting,they are those so called "have made it" category guys.They gave me loads and loads of motivation talks,trying hard to bring me to my senses and start making money.They were bewildered why was I so stubborn not to wish to be rich! I do not wish to be rich? Guess I was so good an actor that I did not show the slightest hint of envy,they felt uneasy.
I tried very hard to break away from poverty since I was 8 years old. I was not successful in my struggle,but I don't need them to come all the way just to point it out to me!