Reflection

This will be the last blog entry of year 2009. I know I rarely write but today is the last day of the year. Whether it is good or bad year, it is going to be over soon.  Did I enjoy the ride?

Today is just like yesterday! The day I moved back to Penang, the first working day… everything seems so fresh in mind but yet so far.

Thank you for the bad days you have given to me, because it made me to become a better person.
Thank you for the good days you have given to me, because it made me see this world as a wonderful & lovely place.

~ LIVE THE MOMENT , BECAUSE FUTURE IS UNKNOWN ~

Glimpse of George Town, Penang

Have been calling this place, my second home for a very long time. Will this place remains as my second home in the coming years? I have no idea. As I continue to search for the sense of belonging, I am preparing.... preparing runaway from this place again, it won't happen soon but the idea is always in my mind, hard to erase.

I might be fated to become just a passer-by in this place, nothing more than that.

 

 

 

 

Gift from Taiwan

Hooray … Finally I received the parcel from a backpacker friend, Gigo from Taiwan. I met her during my trip to NZ. Now, we are back to our own country to continue what we left behind. She is a freelance accessories designer. I envy her to be able to work on the profession that she has passion with. Honestly, I have no courage and dare not to leave my current ‘rice bowl’ to live my dream that might not able to bring food on the table.
All her designs are handmade and very unique.  Check out here creation at here.

Here are the gifts I got from her.

~ Postcard ~

~Card~

 ~Necklace with pendant~

By looking at the shape and design, I guess this should be a pin but I'm unsure about the usage.  I need to check with her on this. Hehe…

 

~A lovely light blue t-shirt, the message “Global warming”~   

~Front view~

~Back view~

Looking at these gifts unfold some moments in NZ that now has become just a memory.

Finally I have become another online shopper ...

Initially, I really do not feel secure and skeptical on buying things online, what if I pay them and they do not send me the stuff I order or send me the wrong thing. But, I cant resist when I see things that sell online that are indeed cheaper that in the shopping mall, guardian or watson.

It started with buying a few facial products online and I got addicted to shop online soon after that. Whenever I am free especially weekend I will start surfing around until early in the morning just to get the best price of the same item in the “internet mall”.

I will still take some pre-cautions when come to online shopping. Previously I love to shop and strongly agreed that shopping is a temporary painkiller after some bad and stress moments. Now I still hold the same believe but with different approach.

Called me internet addict, I m one by looking at how many hours I spent online daily. I will continue to lock myself in the room with my laptop and USB modem… I can’t foresee how long this lifestyle will last, perhaps it will stop until I find my next venture! ;)

Work around the world!

Find a job that helps you to live out your dream of travelling the world!

Recently I bump into an article about works around the world… I love the idea of breaking the routine work and the do different thing each day but I will never fit into the job!

Travel TV Presenter

- This is a NO for me. I am not photogenic and not good enough to be one. I don’t have the vibrant personality to show to the world.

Travel writer

- Looks like a cool job, I love this job … travel and write what I feel and see. However, my writing is always boring and can’t give the story a fresh spin. This is out too.

Luxury hotel Inspector

- Don’t even aware that there is this job in the market. Should be pretty fun to have experience staying at the luxury hotels to dusty and bugs infested room. But, what about staying at the haunted room? Scary ...

Travel photographer/videographer

- Interesting & creative job by taking a picture that can tell a story. I like taking pictures but I just hate photo editing job because it is too tedious. In addition this job need some investment on some expensive camera and tool too.

 Commercial pilot?

- I m too old for this! And I hate the long hours in the plane and I don’t want to hold responsibility for hundreds of lives in the air. 

I need a job that will inspire me to climb one mountain after another mountain. I am not changing my career path from IT consultant to any of the above. In fact, I want to take that as a hobby. Perhaps, it is time to find a photography workshop or course to enroll. Above all the choices, photography looks more interesting.

Another weekend came and gone

After 5 working days, weekends are the moments that I always longing for. My weekend is almost over, what have I done?

Catching up with friends, shopping, sleeping, cleaning & surfing net are my most common activities of my weekends.

How many weekends do I have? It’s just like a cycle! Work – Rest – continue working again!

I m just getting bored of it! Perhaps, this weekend I am just too free … or perhaps I m starting to feel sick of running in the circle …

I was talking to a Taiwanese friend that I met during my NZ time couple of days ago, she told me that I should go to Australia for another backpacker trip… I am tempted to go but I’m not ready to hit the road again so soon. Backpacker life has a mission but without direction, north, south, east & west can be my home.

There are too many things I wanted to achieve in Malaysia before I step out from my homeland. Perhaps it is time to saving money for a bigger backpacker plan!

It’s time to wake up and make a bang in my life again! Let me think what will my next life destination…

YOU get to choose what you want to do with your life, how YOU want to live it and decide what kind of emotion YOU want to live in!

Miley Cyrus - The Climb

This song was played quite often lately at OneFM in the morning. It is really an encouraging song to welcome the day! No matter how bad the day is, just let this song keeps playing ...

I can almost see it
That dream I am dreaming
But there's a voice inside
my head saying
"You'll never reach it"

Every step I'm taking
Every move I make feels
Lost with no direction
My faith is shaking

But I gotta keep trying
Gotta keep my head held high

There's
always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be a uphill battle
Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose

Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waiting on the
other side
It's the climb

The struggles I'm facing
The chances
I'm taking
Sometimes might knock me down
But no, I'm not breaking

I may not know it
But these are the moments that
I'm gonna
remember most, yeah
Just gotta keep going

And I, I got to be strong
Just keep pushing on

'Cause there's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be a uphill battle
Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose

Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb, yeah!

There's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna wanna make
it move
Always gonna be an uphill battle
Somebody's gonna have to lose

Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waiting on the
other side
It's the climb, yeah!

Keep on moving, keep climbing
Keep the faith, baby
It's all about, it's all about the climb
Keep the faith, keep your faith, whoa
TO LISTEN

~ Sometimes, happiness can be very simple but sometimes happiness is just out of reach no matter how hard we try ~

Huka Fall still in my memory?

Today, when I was cleaning some of the photos in my camera I found

this video. Looks like I still unable to remove the ‘NZ memory’, the

video was taken a year ago but it is still in my camera.

Huka Fall, New Zealand, another awesome waterfall in North Island.

Nice blue water flowing …

Love the tranquility at the highway.

The speed of the car passing through the green palm oil plantation and hill were great. The rush of calmness and the surge of inspiration gave me some quiet and peaceful moment. Moreover, going back to Ipoh is always a moment I longing for. It has becomes a routine for me to go back once a month and usually I never fail to do it.

Whenever I am at home, I lost my 'mission bible'. I can't think clearly and all I want is to enjoy and I definitely not in working mode no matter how hard I tried.

Perhaps, it is good that I stay away from my family and it's the only place I can think clearly about my goal and future.

“Runaway” was the song in my head

It was almost a year since I came back from NZ, I still bombarded with questions when friends found my adventures at NZ. My story telling moments never ends. Some were stunned by my action while some just envied on what I did. I have answered this question many times, I lost count of it. “What’s make u want to runaway from Malaysia became a solo backpacker for 6 months?” Just imagine if I continue to stay in the comfort zone for another 6 months, doing the same thing and living in the same environment, maybe I will have a greater height in my career. While my short 6 months life in NZ, I encountered and experienced so much; happiness, sadness, loneliness and hopelessness. I have seen through so much and stretch myself to the maximum limit by throwing myself in a place full of stranger and taking step by step to live like them, eat like them and work like them. I can never be one of them but I can at least try to experience to be just one of them.

There were times, I walked past the breezy cold streets every single thing was a stranger to me. I knew no one and I had no one there. It was the tiny yet strong will that made me to move on and embraced the moments.

In the end, I lost something and I gain something. It's hard to make a decision that goes against what everyone else in my life wants me to be, but everyone is entitled to make their own decisions. This decision had made me to become a better person.

The greatest side achievement is to be able to encourage friends to do the same, if I can do it they can do it too. I feel proud to have another friend is following my footstep.

welcome to the uncertain backpacker life! Life was like a roller coaster, no planning, no idea how long u will stay at that place, uncertain on when will be your next destination ..

Gosh .. Talking to her makes me so tempted to do it again!

It’s hot and spicy time!

My Weekend Project – Simple Seafood curry


Ingredients:
60g Spargo Mills Mamak Seafood Curry Premix + 1 teaspoon of chili powder
200g long beans
1 tomato
1 onion
100 ml milk
100 ml water
200g fish
200g prawns

Work and Holiday visa in Australia for Malaysian

Finally in Feb 2009, Australia has allowed Malaysian to apply for Work and Holiday visa. If they have implemented this a year earlier, most likely that I had landed in Australia instead of New Zealand.

http://www.imi.gov.my/eng/perkhidmatan/im_WorknHoliday.asp

http://www.australia.org.my/klpr/visa_462.html

The requirement is stricter than the holiday working visa for New Zealand, but it is still worth to give a shot if you never live as a backpacker life before. It will be very interesting life journey by making every corner to be your temporary home.

When I was told by a friend that the visa is available to Malaysian, I can’t hide the fact that I was a bit tempted to do it again.

Will I do it again? I can’t.. and I won’t at the moment ..
Now, I just want to pick up what I had left a year ago and concentrate on my career.

Promote yourself to get promoted

It's time of the year to do self evaluation performance review. This time, this performance review is important for me because it will impact on my probation confirmation. So, eat porridge or eat rice (chinese proverb) also depends on it.

I just hate doing this. Same goes to writing resume. First, need to list down all the accomplishments and deliverables. Got to be proud in giving compliment to myself on the achievements and even if I was not able to meet timeline, I still have to dig out some reasons for that.

Writing performance review is like digging the past and planning the future..

Moreover, have to write about something outstanding to highlight the achievements.

I am never good in writing, I just cant do it but still have to do it!

When are they going to abolish performance review process? I know it is never going to happen. I can only wish that in my dream..... good night

No point dying young

Found this article from TheStar. Most of us are blind when we are too focus in searching for our dream life and neglected our health.

Beautiful Queenstown from top, NZ

Relax and chill out. There is no point in dying young because you neglect your health in trying to earn more and more to match your desired lifestyle.

Perhaps it is time to stop and think awhile before it is too late. Life is too precious and short and yet there are so many things you wanted to achieve ...