tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71582082024-03-06T09:11:57.337+08:00Hi, it's Kevin.Kevin Koohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05664189151852400791noreply@blogger.comBlogger406125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7158208.post-17986914781390089422017-07-21T07:41:00.000+08:002017-07-21T07:44:05.567+08:00UntoppleFeeling heavy, off-center today<br />
A small misstep upon the fray<br />
Our hero starts to fall, and calls<br />
Hands splayed out, to the wall<br />
But misses the railing<br />
And goes sailing<br />
Down the stairs<br />
Balance impaired<br />
And palms the floor<br />
When<br />
Someone grabs his collar<br />
And pulls him up - lucky fella!<br />
Choking, with gratitude, he smiles<br />
Off-center, off-colour, for a while.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Koo Chin Nam & Co., Advocates & Solicitors based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Also: Patent, Trade Marks, and Industrial Designs Agents
Suite 2A & 2C, 2nd Floor, P.O. Box No. 9, Wisma Pahlawan, Jalan Sultan Sulaiman, 50000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Tel: (+603) 22730688 / 22732033 / 22736033
Fax: (+603) 22739033
URL: www.koo-law.com</div>Kevin Koohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05664189151852400791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7158208.post-66716121767441711752017-07-09T23:45:00.000+08:002017-07-09T23:45:07.852+08:00Ha Ha Ha, Hallelujah.(A nonsense poem to brighten up your day.)<br />
<br />
Ha ha ha ha, ha ha ha!<br />
Ho ho ho ho, ho ho ho!<br />
He he he he, he he he!<br />
Ha ha ha, hallelujah!<br />
<br />
When times are good, hallelujah!<br />
When times are bad, hallelujah!<br />
When feeling happy, hallelujah!<br />
When feeling sad, hallelujah!<br />
<br />
In the sun, hallelujah!<br />
In the rain, hallelujah!<br />
When in health, hallelujah!<br />
When in pain, hallelujah!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVd1DlaM0xQhDGlyyTQXk6E3XtDFsgmQRGJkhX_XHQFokgDURBc_Q276ujmeF6N607R9Dq8cf_NdQFsLsubXlhKy8ewqjFB-tv9zwPU5OI2MGl5YdYag0uAyyjPRpzCOlPS2kh/s1600/maid-vector.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="395" data-original-width="680" height="370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVd1DlaM0xQhDGlyyTQXk6E3XtDFsgmQRGJkhX_XHQFokgDURBc_Q276ujmeF6N607R9Dq8cf_NdQFsLsubXlhKy8ewqjFB-tv9zwPU5OI2MGl5YdYag0uAyyjPRpzCOlPS2kh/s640/maid-vector.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Koo Chin Nam & Co., Advocates & Solicitors based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Also: Patent, Trade Marks, and Industrial Designs Agents
Suite 2A & 2C, 2nd Floor, P.O. Box No. 9, Wisma Pahlawan, Jalan Sultan Sulaiman, 50000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Tel: (+603) 22730688 / 22732033 / 22736033
Fax: (+603) 22739033
URL: www.koo-law.com</div>Kevin Koohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05664189151852400791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7158208.post-50976087494158237772017-04-20T02:54:00.001+08:002017-04-20T02:54:41.553+08:00Do it, even though you may not get the credit<iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="315" scrolling="no" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fbangkokpost%2Fvideos%2F10153149399172713%2F&show_text=0&width=560" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" width="560"></iframe>
<br />
I really like this video, even though it is in Thai, and not English. The short midget in the video is the embodiment of the "never say die" attitude that we need among the citizens, and his selfless efforts are enjoyed by all.<br />
<br />
It is true that in life, we sometimes sacrifice for others without them even knowing. And other people, who may know it or not, often take credit for the work that we do. But if you want to do something for the good of the people, do it, even though you may not get the credit.<br />
<br />
Too often, we hear others grumble that this isn't good enough, or that isn't as it should be. And if you should catch them in that moment when they grumble in response to something that has just happened, it is the right time to ask, "What will you do about it?" And you shouldn't be surprised to hear the response, "I will not do anything...."<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYxfLSAg7_qq00-x1mj_gQFHtweOtdK8hZWT18yK5-uourO1YqXbgQ4HbfAMjsPggibNKKmspJuD9k7i1V9IzZrtQxbWcXXjWZKPIQ4jaWm81lk3fb36CSUAAxIH0Dj68ejJvF/s1600/i-do-nothing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="484" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYxfLSAg7_qq00-x1mj_gQFHtweOtdK8hZWT18yK5-uourO1YqXbgQ4HbfAMjsPggibNKKmspJuD9k7i1V9IzZrtQxbWcXXjWZKPIQ4jaWm81lk3fb36CSUAAxIH0Dj68ejJvF/s640/i-do-nothing.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<h3>
Why do some people insist on doing nothing?</h3>
<div>
Because it's easier to do nothing, than to do something. Just stay put.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Because doing nothing costs nothing. And you don't believe in being generous.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Because when you do something, you risk doing it wrong. And getting criticised for it.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Because there are just too many things that need doing. And so it's easier to leave it all aside and let it sort itself out.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And because doing nothing frees up time for doing something. Because when you decide to do something, you cannot do nothing.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
But there's a misconception there.</h3>
<div>
Because by doing nothing, it costs you nothing <b>today</b>. But that doesn't mean that it will not affect you tomorrow.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Because what you do (or don't do) today will affect you, tomorrow.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And because doing nothing when you could have done something means having forfeited your right to take positive action to save yourself.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So do something.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Save the country. Save yourselves. Don't just stand there....</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Koo Chin Nam & Co., Advocates & Solicitors based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Also: Patent, Trade Marks, and Industrial Designs Agents
Suite 2A & 2C, 2nd Floor, P.O. Box No. 9, Wisma Pahlawan, Jalan Sultan Sulaiman, 50000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Tel: (+603) 22730688 / 22732033 / 22736033
Fax: (+603) 22739033
URL: www.koo-law.com</div>Kevin Koohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05664189151852400791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7158208.post-60539240739249240492016-12-26T18:04:00.001+08:002016-12-26T18:04:24.896+08:00New Year is in God's Hands<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQUq_kphzaZgLTeCYlRgHbvaS7B1jzk1fu6Ij_5fiU0-6cBksxSXt_t5LeLkiLsgONO23ORpGGO6EZHGEYfb-namA7sdmTzAkGlZFYahQpnnfWFmQ4i0MnZavXs_OWmEXmBuzA/s1600/happynewyear.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQUq_kphzaZgLTeCYlRgHbvaS7B1jzk1fu6Ij_5fiU0-6cBksxSXt_t5LeLkiLsgONO23ORpGGO6EZHGEYfb-namA7sdmTzAkGlZFYahQpnnfWFmQ4i0MnZavXs_OWmEXmBuzA/s640/happynewyear.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Christmas has just left. Happy New Year!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<h3>
When you wish someone "Happy New Year"...</h3>
We always wish our friends and relatives, "Happy New Year!" simply because it's the end of the year. What are some of the reasons that we say, "Happy New Year"? Here are three possibilities. . .<br />
<br />
First, you are happy that it's the new year. Hence, "happy" new year. "I'm happy that it's the new year," you tell your friend, "and so you should be."<br />
<br />
Second, you may hope that the new year is happy. Hence, "happy" new year. "I hope that the new year will be a happy one for you," you are saying, "and here's hoping that everything will go smooth!"<br />
<br />
Third, you might imagine that it's a seasonal greeting, and you say it because it's the "appropriate" thing to say. Hence, "happy" new year. "It's a public holiday, and I'm so happy to see you," you are saying, "so let's just shout <i>happy new year</i> together and drink a toast to that!"<br />
<br />
But wait, there might be a fourth possibility . . .<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
Fourth, you know that happiness depends on yourself, and so you say "happy new year" to remind yourself and that friend or relative of yours, that no matter what happens, you should strive to make the best of things. Hence, "happy" new year. "Happiness depends on you and I," you are saying, "and so let's make this coming year a happy one, come rain or shine!"<br />
<br />
I like the fourth one most of all. It means that your life is in control. It means that you have made a conscious decision to be positive.<br />
<br />
But you know, you're human, and humans are known to be imperfect.<br />
<br />
God, on the other hand, has a sterling reputation for being perfect. Even when you don't think He's looking his best. Because God has a plan for each and every one of us.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAqO5NxvLDwx22n4Dx7URFSWqjTx9JL24dp_jf2XJuDMYDH39OC8pZxDaXnU3HkPJPEfTt30IVOYPsyW6FE7BO7GBgKjDPX3Vnf6girh1QwBeEGkmaq4BNibh0QjH0Z8UgSdyM/s1600/EM-Bounds-Quote-Prayer-in-Gods-Hands.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAqO5NxvLDwx22n4Dx7URFSWqjTx9JL24dp_jf2XJuDMYDH39OC8pZxDaXnU3HkPJPEfTt30IVOYPsyW6FE7BO7GBgKjDPX3Vnf6girh1QwBeEGkmaq4BNibh0QjH0Z8UgSdyM/s640/EM-Bounds-Quote-Prayer-in-Gods-Hands.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<h3>
Into His hands, we commit the new year!</h3>
<div>
There's no better way to distract yourself (especially when you're hard at work, at the end of the year) than to keep on worrying about inconsequential things. Things that won't matter in 20 years time. Things that are only a blip on the fabric of time. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
You can be Mr Meticulous, and worry about every detail. And you might get praised for it, too. Bosses like to have a Mr Meticulous on every team, at least one, so that if someone misses the finer details, there's someone to catch it -- like a safety net.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
But when you're Mr Meticulous (like me), you find that it extends to every area of your life. Every area, no kidding. Personal life, extracurricular activities, et cetera, et cetera. It gets to a point when you feel that you're getting snowed under.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
But there's one way to lighten that load. . . and that's by giving it to God. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We do our best, and God will do the rest.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
My son's painful fall</h3>
<div>
Yesterday was Christmas day. My son had the misfortune of falling down, on his chin. The flesh on his chin split open, about 3 cm, revealing flesh and bone. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We panicked, and brought him to the hospital.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0krCLV00lRgYzzehmPO8J6JGy7m1t2nFRIYTupNtoiWAblhYfNLeIPbvnJiLSJBiETawNBmJI3TvWm7Eb6yQoSTKZBJMNJQQ5rlZYZa0bqGhuwBmt9wjm1nnxs1EDlSmm5Q2u/s1600/WhatsApp+Image+2016-12-25+at+9.58.18+PM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0krCLV00lRgYzzehmPO8J6JGy7m1t2nFRIYTupNtoiWAblhYfNLeIPbvnJiLSJBiETawNBmJI3TvWm7Eb6yQoSTKZBJMNJQQ5rlZYZa0bqGhuwBmt9wjm1nnxs1EDlSmm5Q2u/s640/WhatsApp+Image+2016-12-25+at+9.58.18+PM.jpeg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The flesh on my son's chin split open when he fell.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
My wife panicked more than I did, she saw it first. The above photo was taken by her ... </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Thank God, the jaw was not broken.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Thank God, there was a surgeon available at the hospital.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Thank God, my son seems to be recovering now, but everything takes time to heal ... we have follow up meetings scheduled with the doctor.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
My son seemed quiet after the incident, but I know and feel that he's getting better. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ScaRSNlmV68/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ScaRSNlmV68?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<h3>
Kaizen says Happy New Year</h3>
<div>
We recorded this on Christmas eve. You can see his usual naughty self. Hopefully he'll be back to his usual naughty self soon.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Nat0Jn1Hz8Y/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Nat0Jn1Hz8Y?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Happy new year to you!<br />
<br />
<h3>
Thanks for reading. </h3>
</div>
<div>
Here are some other writings from me.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<ol>
<li><a href="http://kevinkoo.blogspot.com/2016/10/you-were-best-one.html">You were the best one</a></li>
<li><a href="http://kevinkoo.blogspot.com/2016/09/how-to-show-up.html">How to show up</a></li>
<li><a href="http://kevinkoo.blogspot.com/2016/08/people-get-angry-when-they-dont.html">People get angry when they don't understand you</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Koo Chin Nam & Co., Advocates & Solicitors based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Also: Patent, Trade Marks, and Industrial Designs Agents
Suite 2A & 2C, 2nd Floor, P.O. Box No. 9, Wisma Pahlawan, Jalan Sultan Sulaiman, 50000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Tel: (+603) 22730688 / 22732033 / 22736033
Fax: (+603) 22739033
URL: www.koo-law.com</div>Kevin Koohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05664189151852400791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7158208.post-3405240420839957142016-12-18T06:08:00.000+08:002016-12-18T06:08:01.600+08:00How I fell sickChills ran down my spine<br />
Hands shook and knuckles white<br />
<br />
I held her bag and clenched my teeth<br />
She and the kids, had a biscuit spree<br />
<br />
The aircond overhead blew<br />
Its gusts so cold and true.<br />
<br />
Her basket was finally full<br />
And then, I said: "Ah choo!"<br />
<br />
I'd waited, and got the flu.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Koo Chin Nam & Co., Advocates & Solicitors based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Also: Patent, Trade Marks, and Industrial Designs Agents
Suite 2A & 2C, 2nd Floor, P.O. Box No. 9, Wisma Pahlawan, Jalan Sultan Sulaiman, 50000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Tel: (+603) 22730688 / 22732033 / 22736033
Fax: (+603) 22739033
URL: www.koo-law.com</div>Kevin Koohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05664189151852400791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7158208.post-8418742567550518882016-11-28T17:29:00.003+08:002016-11-28T17:29:57.299+08:00Alternatives to Google ScholarI'm currently doing some further study. One of the things I notice is, whenever we mention something to a professor, the next thing they do is type it into Google Scholar. If it's an author, they will Google Scholar him. If it's a paper, they will Google Scholar it, too.<br />
<br />
Google Scholar is great, because it sometimes gives links to PDF copies of the journal article that are floating around the Internet. Of course, all that's changed now that I have found Sci-Hub... the lady behind it has my undying thanks.<br />
<br />
But once in a while, we get tired of Google Scholar, so I had to seek out some other academic journal article search engine.<br />
<br />
Here are some that I have tried, and I think are worth using again.<br />
<br />
1) <a href="http://eric.ed.gov/">ERIC</a> - I like it that you can get links to the DOI, and that you can also specify how recent you want your search results to be.<br />
<br />
2) <a href="http://www.jurn.org/">JURN</a> - Presents a Google-like interface, very clean and bare. But the search results can include government websites, university websites, and the like.<br />
<br />
3) <a href="http://www.refseek.com/">RefSeek</a> - Good search engine that links to academic websites and open access journals.<br />
<br />
4) <a href="http://academicindex.net/">Academic Index</a> - A meta-search engine for academic papers.<br />
<br />
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Koo Chin Nam & Co., Advocates & Solicitors based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Also: Patent, Trade Marks, and Industrial Designs Agents
Suite 2A & 2C, 2nd Floor, P.O. Box No. 9, Wisma Pahlawan, Jalan Sultan Sulaiman, 50000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Tel: (+603) 22730688 / 22732033 / 22736033
Fax: (+603) 22739033
URL: www.koo-law.com</div>Kevin Koohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05664189151852400791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7158208.post-57573070537011978352016-10-16T13:18:00.001+08:002016-10-17T00:41:10.797+08:00You Were The Best One<h3>
So here's a story for you.</h3>
<div>
Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess who lived in a small kingdom. The kingdom was high atop a mountain. When the princess was born to the king and queen, the whole kingdom rejoiced. Her face was so beautiful that the stars in the heavens sighed with amazement. People came from afar to pay tributes to the king and queen, and to catch a glimpse of the princess. They all left amazed.</div>
<div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihf1zWAWBKHRQry0JHeJImd-Oz3wOtXRTRNBUNBd9gXl0Sqpakj7e5wM3EnIYdF3HbM9eBSA6it7nc36cAlvpL4EG6Jjaqt6G1CDL4G7Q5LmzmIDqBesvCcUrphw6F7ZDX240Q/s1600/princessbaby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihf1zWAWBKHRQry0JHeJImd-Oz3wOtXRTRNBUNBd9gXl0Sqpakj7e5wM3EnIYdF3HbM9eBSA6it7nc36cAlvpL4EG6Jjaqt6G1CDL4G7Q5LmzmIDqBesvCcUrphw6F7ZDX240Q/s1600/princessbaby.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
As the princess grew up, suitors came for her hand. Always, the king and queen turned them all away, saying, "She is still not of age. Come again when she is older."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
When the princess had grown up, the king and queen said, "She is now old enough. Let us find her a proper suitor."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The king and queen then issued a challenge and a promise: They would build a tall tower, armed with defences. Every month, for three weeks, brave princes could come and try to conquer the tower. If they breached its defences, they would find the princess at the very top. And then they could have her hand in marriage. </div>
<div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh94CmXS1pX2SsRGc37r1F1zz2vrXmVJ3FZSvCAbv3anPm-CsC-EOHj_AtA-IFL1m2Sz56tOVAx0Cwy45CiwhprAtVnhth1JUQ1MxLK45_w-5CP5BRBpTUUG0OK9FLkPCNCjAPz/s1600/princess-tower-fairytale.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh94CmXS1pX2SsRGc37r1F1zz2vrXmVJ3FZSvCAbv3anPm-CsC-EOHj_AtA-IFL1m2Sz56tOVAx0Cwy45CiwhprAtVnhth1JUQ1MxLK45_w-5CP5BRBpTUUG0OK9FLkPCNCjAPz/s640/princess-tower-fairytale.jpg" width="460" /></a></div>
<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
But for one week in each month, no man was allowed to come near the tower, because it would be under maintenance mode. Anyone who came near would see a signboard with the big letters, "404: Under Maintenance".<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
That was because the princess would be resting at home with her parents, watching Netflix and doing recreational things like gymnastics and horse riding.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The challenge having been issued, the king and queen, and their daughter too, began the process. Every month, for three weeks, the princess was sent to the top of the tower. In the tower there was a gym, a kitchen, and a handful of maids and teachers, who would teach her to be the best queen in the world. Surprisingly, there was no Internet in the castle, so the princess was given a library full of the literary treasures of the world.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Prince after prince came. Many tried to overcome its defences, but none conquered the tower. They always left, defeated.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And the princess would while away three weeks looking out from her window, looking at suitor after suitor turn away. She would recount all the brave attempts to her parents, the king and queen, during her one week in the royal palace. The king would nod his head. The queen would look at her kindly and give her a hug and a kiss.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgy-uPk2NNiSWD0IMVhWR1CkLXHcFFapp_ugLfTbOhYP3yKt4ypoHmPPdzfu20B_ZcYKYL-UjlrDznwYacvD203TupCW1VB4ASpXJlkQnIkKj5UxRydSM-WUsFgy7VponooSxi/s1600/prince-on-horse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgy-uPk2NNiSWD0IMVhWR1CkLXHcFFapp_ugLfTbOhYP3yKt4ypoHmPPdzfu20B_ZcYKYL-UjlrDznwYacvD203TupCW1VB4ASpXJlkQnIkKj5UxRydSM-WUsFgy7VponooSxi/s640/prince-on-horse.jpg" width="510" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Then one day a young prince from a small neighbouring kingdom came by. His men were ready to do their best to conquer the princess's tower. But the prince decided to try something different. He knew that many had come before him, only to be turned away. The prince ordered his men to camp around the tower, while he would carry out his plans.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The first day, the prince sang songs and recited poems to the princess. He was at the foot of the tower and she was at the top, but his voice rang out like the clear call of a trumpet.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The second day, the prince painted a picture of the princess and showed it to her. He was at the foot of the tower and she could barely make out the picture, but she liked it anyway.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The third day, the prince told the princess stories of his kingdom, and the wonders contained within his kingdom's borders. He promised to bring her to see every one of them, while he still lived. Then he vowed to win her hand in marriage.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The fourth day, the prince called together his finest men. They had studied the tower and they believed that there were some flaws which they could use to their advantage. Steadily, they made their advance and defence after defence was taken down.</div>
<div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaU1r288g52IFgKAh7eW7sP8vbQs6brsLktjTHXVI35e2e_PU0JgrN0K1NhlSq9k63ShxrmTUNZsNz77eZ7bKG3yMaEVV_B4k0pFefrr13UKbH8Fu1kZo1X9Jn1CxcYuW-hJi5/s1600/rescuebyprince.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaU1r288g52IFgKAh7eW7sP8vbQs6brsLktjTHXVI35e2e_PU0JgrN0K1NhlSq9k63ShxrmTUNZsNz77eZ7bKG3yMaEVV_B4k0pFefrr13UKbH8Fu1kZo1X9Jn1CxcYuW-hJi5/s640/rescuebyprince.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
When the prince finally reached the top of the tower, he greeted the princess with a bouquet of flowers and a song.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The princess smiled tears of happiness as she knew she had found her one true love. Or rather, she had been found by her one true love.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Her parents, in their wisdom, had designed the strongest defences so that the foolish princes who took on the tower head on would fail in their mission. Instead, the tower could be understood only by the brave and the intelligent princes who took the time to understand the princess and her defences.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The prince and the princess decided to make the tower their second home, after the prince's own kingdom. In the safety of its confines, they raised a family.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The two kingdoms rejoiced at the prospect of the uniting of the two states. A new state was born.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And they all lived happily ever after.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
What it means.</h3>
<div>
That little story was the story of you. You are the result of the union of your mother and your father.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
How many of us think of our parents as kings and queens? How many of us realise that they, too, were once prince and princess? For it is true, they were raised in the love and care of their father and mother, and they were the prince and princess in their parents' eyes.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Every month, a woman is fertile for about three weeks, before having her period. During her period, she cannot conceive a child.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Yet after that, she is ready. And then her man has to do the needful.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
When a man releases his load, it is a race. Millions of spermatozoa, wriggling within the liquid furnace, surge forward towards the goal. One will reach it. The rest will stay outside. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
You were the result of that one spermatozoa who, despite the competition of his peers, managed to reach the goal before everyone else. That spermatozoa was the fastest one. It was the strongest one. It was you.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
When the sperm finally joined its waiting counterpart, the egg, they recognised each other and embraced tightly in happiness. They built a protective wall around themselves and their union became you.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl5D3FMqt6A26cC1G3aBn1-5huWkjXQ6om3wRmvyu7v-VOhr2_UwwaXFoGj79xcy5mH6F2mykmP4wMozbrtcNzREuEq6rmRVXntjFMgoQA1Z90_kpLsXUc_4h1xJ9z7f5xXidM/s1600/sperm-to-ovum.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="390" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl5D3FMqt6A26cC1G3aBn1-5huWkjXQ6om3wRmvyu7v-VOhr2_UwwaXFoGj79xcy5mH6F2mykmP4wMozbrtcNzREuEq6rmRVXntjFMgoQA1Z90_kpLsXUc_4h1xJ9z7f5xXidM/s640/sperm-to-ovum.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
You were the best one, even before you took a single step on Earth. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
You were the best one, even before you took a single breath of air. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
You were the best.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So why let anyone tell you otherwise? Always remember that with your existence, is a confirmation of the one race you won: The race of being born.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And when you enrolled in school, you managed to get admitted. You were whole and perfect. You could speak and hear and understand what people were saying to you. You were perfect.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0VzXrObX_Ry3mClBcmzaonrdxug6V4Ra65Nd8ydy7JUYcyKryneizhJCyf1oYqC0D22Iv094eETu8ZzBQaMAqP71-a3VtxRmYlCLllMhSayN7mbrlXYaYpN5K3ScBYvx6WeKO/s1600/crying+newborn+baby+in+hospital.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0VzXrObX_Ry3mClBcmzaonrdxug6V4Ra65Nd8ydy7JUYcyKryneizhJCyf1oYqC0D22Iv094eETu8ZzBQaMAqP71-a3VtxRmYlCLllMhSayN7mbrlXYaYpN5K3ScBYvx6WeKO/s640/crying+newborn+baby+in+hospital.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
There are many who are less fortunate. But they too, were the best one, in their own time. And we were all the best ones, in our own time, but that doesn't mean that we should ever stop trying to improve ourselves.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Because life is in a state of change, thus we must keep on changing. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Someone told me recently that we live in a VUCA world. "VUCA" is a military term, that stands for volatile, uncertain, complexity and ambiguity. And if you think of it that way, you might easily scare yourself into not doing anything at all, and overthinking, or worse, not thinking at all. And ultimately you cannot act at all.<br />
<br />
But if you remember that you were the best one, and you can do anything you want, you will overcome any label that people attach to the world around you.</div>
<div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj084FYd5QXwytnyNdYJY5c4vGxsSS-th3bZMYWKfjHYROs31hv3IRInN5R4skOQ8JgpGRcE9pJwsEyDGjQWiGodsJNeQvqBSoTgpwfe-iU_feKrY45orVBRaHzl4zNwkNnviek/s1600/vucaworld.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="366" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj084FYd5QXwytnyNdYJY5c4vGxsSS-th3bZMYWKfjHYROs31hv3IRInN5R4skOQ8JgpGRcE9pJwsEyDGjQWiGodsJNeQvqBSoTgpwfe-iU_feKrY45orVBRaHzl4zNwkNnviek/s640/vucaworld.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
I was so intrigued by VUCA that I went on to watch some YouTube videos on it. I saw that one speaker, Gerd Leonhard, said that we have to flip the meaning around. VUCA could also stand for velocity, unorthodoxy, collaboration, and awesomeness. "If you can do that, you can beat VUCA", he said. Another guy, Kevin Roberts, said that VUCA can stand for vibrant, unreal, crazy, and astounding. He looks at life and says, why can't we tackle it in a creative way?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
A friend told me that she had studied in Australia, and, at the end of her course, she had a job offer. But her relatives (who were permanent residents in Australia) told her that life in Australia was hard and she should not stay on. Instead, she should go back. And so she did, despite her deep longing for life in OZ-land. She told me that she feared her granny would disinherit her. (Her granny isn't alive today.)</div>
<div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAjYPnhekj43VHrvGm8yOTeoRGOLDVXSFwEfZCInkR0jUy7hRjmgt2UMGlOPe8bju3kknbotMiol1DKzvIOLpnPTSw8G8uft8QcReoRykBk8592Uul1EBDNYFOJXAhkjNGqhak/s1600/australian_migration.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAjYPnhekj43VHrvGm8yOTeoRGOLDVXSFwEfZCInkR0jUy7hRjmgt2UMGlOPe8bju3kknbotMiol1DKzvIOLpnPTSw8G8uft8QcReoRykBk8592Uul1EBDNYFOJXAhkjNGqhak/s640/australian_migration.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
I asked her a simple question. Why did your relatives decide to become permanent residents and yet ask you to go home? And after some thinking, we realized that they wanted less of their relatives in Australia because those relatives would be a burden. They would need to help their relatives settle down. And increasing the number of immigrants might cause problems for existing migrants. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
They forgot that she was the best one. She still is. I encouraged her to follow her heart's desires, even though she is now slightly over 40. It is never too late to follow your desires.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
She had fears. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"I will need money to survive," she said. "We all do," I replied. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"I don't know if I can find a job," she said. "You'll find one," I replied.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"Maybe I shouldn't go," she said. "If you cut out everything your relatives said, what did everybody else say?" I asked. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
She thought a while and said, "I should go." </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
But she is still thinking about it.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
In the meantime, never forget that you were the best. You can do whatever you decide to do.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Thanks for Reading</h3>
</div>
<div>
Here are some other pieces from me</div>
<div>
<ol>
<li><a href="http://kevinkoo.blogspot.com/2016/10/its-how-you-react-to-it-that-matters.html">It's how you react that matters</a></li>
<li><a href="http://kevinkoo.blogspot.com/2016/09/pergi-bala-or-how-i-misheard-song.html">Pergi Bala, or how I misheard a song</a></li>
<li><a href="http://kevinkoo.blogspot.com/2016/09/how-to-show-up.html">How to show up</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.frugalmag.com/2016/10/how-clever-woman-became-kings-wife.html">How the clever woman became the King's wife</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Koo Chin Nam & Co., Advocates & Solicitors based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Also: Patent, Trade Marks, and Industrial Designs Agents
Suite 2A & 2C, 2nd Floor, P.O. Box No. 9, Wisma Pahlawan, Jalan Sultan Sulaiman, 50000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Tel: (+603) 22730688 / 22732033 / 22736033
Fax: (+603) 22739033
URL: www.koo-law.com</div>Kevin Koohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05664189151852400791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7158208.post-1024356140239771452016-10-02T03:35:00.002+08:002016-10-02T03:35:56.131+08:00It's how you react to it that matters<h3>
We can't always choose what happens to us.</h3>
<div>
Some things just happen to us. Maybe it's something bad. Like, someone mistook you for a bad guy and came up to you, and slapped you. Or maybe, your wife decided to spring a surprise on you and demanded that you sign up for 50 sessions of personal training. Maybe your wife suddenly has a fetish with baby diaper bags. Maybe she just has a thing for buying new things every week and you find that it's a bit too much to handle.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
You will panic. And that's when you hit the panic button. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsrRsbPajalAyXNsBfFEHOKvPP-HJ7G4Ru0WPfxZuTRJ0R93j00qXj8TQMLxdmUVBjDwNUBWIB3h1YeCPvJlPNWJYed7qeuBeDHQf0V86qjjgtO6AzWLCiVQz89PhPTBPTgzXW/s1600/heartpug.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsrRsbPajalAyXNsBfFEHOKvPP-HJ7G4Ru0WPfxZuTRJ0R93j00qXj8TQMLxdmUVBjDwNUBWIB3h1YeCPvJlPNWJYed7qeuBeDHQf0V86qjjgtO6AzWLCiVQz89PhPTBPTgzXW/s640/heartpug.jpg" width="518" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Woof! It's not what happens to you that matters... It's how you deal with it!"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
What happens when you panic? Maybe you'll lose your temper. Maybe you'll burst out with a torrent of words. Maybe you'll slap someone, because you're just too angry to consider anything else.</div>
<div>
<a name='more'></a><br /></div>
<div>
It happened to me. It could happen to you, too. But when it happened to me, I tried my best to defuse the situation. I tried to apply whatever I learned recently to my situation, and make it manageable.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Andrew Bienkowski's book, "The Greatest Gift", which I recently read, told me that at the bottom of many of our problems is fear. The fear that things are beyond our control. The fear that we will be overwhelmed. The fear that we are being defeated. The fear that something terrible could happen. Andrew's solution was simple. He said that we should face our fears.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Easy for Andrew to say. He was 74 when he wrote that book. He'd been through a harrowing childhood in Siberia. He'd lost his whole family. What could be worse that whatever he had already gone through? And so we might kid ourselves.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The fact is that, he was 74 when he wrote that book. And he faced his fear that he could not write it, or that it wasn't good enough to be written. He'd been through a harrowing childhood in Siberia. And so he faced and relived his experiences from his childhood days. He'd lost his whole family. His mother died in 1954, just years after they had been liberated from Siberia. His grandmother perished in the late 1950s. And his brother, an award-winning scientist, also passed away in the early 1960s. He was brave enough to relive their memory and honour them befittingly.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
In his book, Andrew says that if we revisit our memories of a painful event, it will be painful at first. But if we revisit it again and again, it will get less and less painful. And finally we will be able to face it without any pain. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
You must, I think, make decisions without any fear of pain. When others are getting overwhelmed, you must be level headed, and make decisions which you will not regret.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_jB9kf7qD1ZEJS7kgxTve-KuU69-xotDPmYmU_zxGqaFMlTng5J8DiaZiyVjMp9MLHRckOOTek99Rs5c7XrBpDEXv9BGlp7QM2aIKmUmWbMttfn7hO21nMUHadGN-g8kGw5HF/s1600/rules-scientists-life.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_jB9kf7qD1ZEJS7kgxTve-KuU69-xotDPmYmU_zxGqaFMlTng5J8DiaZiyVjMp9MLHRckOOTek99Rs5c7XrBpDEXv9BGlp7QM2aIKmUmWbMttfn7hO21nMUHadGN-g8kGw5HF/s640/rules-scientists-life.jpg" width="510" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We can learn to face life like scientists. I like #1: See failure as a beginning, not an end.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Tonight we visited the gym.</h3>
<div>
My wife and I visited the gym. All of a sudden we had a bit of good news: The gym was having a buy one get one free promotion! But it only applied to the VIP membership, which was at its highest tier. The complimentary free membership was only for 12 months. Nevertheless, we weighed it and it was cheaper than two separate memberships. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Then the salesman took us on a tour of the place. And when that was done, he took us to a machine to test our body fat, etc. Then he wanted us to go through the health check up. He asked my wife to sit with a man, and he sat with me.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
When my wife was done, she was all pumped up and wanted to sign up for the gym membership immediately. I thought about it, and saw that she was super excited. There was a sparkle in her eyes. I thought, it might be worth 12 months of membership.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And then we went down to the nearby cafe. There she said, she wants 50 sessions of personal training... My jaw hit the floor. I asked her why she couldn't go for less sessions. She said that she was on fire, and she wanted what she wants...</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
She said that they offer 15% discount on personal training sessions within the first 5 days of signing up. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
She said that she wants her old body back. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And she said that she will make this her new "thing".</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKUso1GgYgPEImafnWsUIjFgplPzeLvIxeo_aQRVFu_CU1t-9cdnZBtYGJuTwEaC_jRga_1JAALHLr9Rt2pMOL84sczIm2B6e3gjwKqqaPIRs97iEfIKNjPHibQZK_ivIRDjtl/s1600/leodicap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKUso1GgYgPEImafnWsUIjFgplPzeLvIxeo_aQRVFu_CU1t-9cdnZBtYGJuTwEaC_jRga_1JAALHLr9Rt2pMOL84sczIm2B6e3gjwKqqaPIRs97iEfIKNjPHibQZK_ivIRDjtl/s640/leodicap.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">*Only you and you alone can change your situation. Don't blame it on anything or anyone." - Leonardo DiCaprio</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I have been reading Victor Frankl's book. He lived through the horrors of Auschwitz. When he went there, everything he had was taken away from him, even the coat containing the manuscript of an unpublished book that he had written. The majority of the prisoners were gassed upon arrival. He was lucky to be made a prisoner. How lucky the prisoners must have considered themselves! To have life, even though everything had been taken away from them. Even their heads were shaved. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
But there were prisoners who gave up. And Victor made an observation: It was often those prisoners who gave up hope that died sooner, than those who had something to hope for. Hope helps the person live through the difficult times in life!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And so, with head hanging low, I thought to myself: What could be good out of this gym membership, and the 50 personal training sessions? </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I thought and I thought. Here are some possible answers...</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
First, it is a bargain, after all. Twelve months' complimentary membership, valued at RM200 per month, means the gym is giving you RM2,400 worth of gym entry.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Second, it is something that we can do together in the future. We can encourage each other to exercise more and become more fit.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Third, I would (or should) benefit in terms of health: My job gives me a lot of pressure. Sweating it out might reduce high blood pressure.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Fourth, we might look better at the end of 12 months. We might be able to wear our old clothes instead of donating them away.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Fifth, the complimentary membership is worth at least half of the 50 personal training sessions. So if I close one eye, it's like paying for another VIP membership and 25 personal training sessions. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Sixth, having a personal trainer will teach her how to train properly. Maybe with proper form and proper explanations, she will feel confident enough to go to the gym herself after the personal training sessions are over. Hopefully she will continue on her own.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Seventh, if she likes it, she might be able to train others. Who knows?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Eighth, she might find a new social circle from the gym classes. Les Mills Body Pump classes, full of Le Milfs getting pumped.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Ninth, she has promised me: No more Ju-Ju-Be bags. That means no more obsessing over designer baby diaper bags which cost a bomb. After all, she has more JJB bags than she could use on a daily basis. (Sometimes, I wish that she would sell some and help clear my debts.)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So I wished her success in three things for the coming year: Success in fitness, success in business, and success in getting to know God better.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJvCX48GOGb9UCmqXMXlwKHiYk1FfKeS_P_n_bRG7gjRabWe6Mjet65B4Q0vyvnKjI8jOS4ELTniLLxfqjPluIkSDXUFfthCYZ_N62UyYgUTE8xzROOFiZSHpqjhMaDk3JRXG5/s1600/start-where-ur.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJvCX48GOGb9UCmqXMXlwKHiYk1FfKeS_P_n_bRG7gjRabWe6Mjet65B4Q0vyvnKjI8jOS4ELTniLLxfqjPluIkSDXUFfthCYZ_N62UyYgUTE8xzROOFiZSHpqjhMaDk3JRXG5/s640/start-where-ur.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I think that I might have succeeded in thinking positively about things. Let's see what happens. Life is too short to worry about imaginary dangers, yet not short enough that we can escape the consequences of our foolishness. I hope that she becomes wiser in the years to come.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
How to become wiser</h3>
<div>
A wise man once said, to become knowledgeable, add things to what you already know. But to become wiser, subtract things from what you know.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Wisdom has to begin with regret. The problem is, some people will never learn to regret when the pain is borne by others. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
To understand the suffering of others is to become enlightened to the suffering of the world. It means that the person has learned to see beyond himself as the lens of the world. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
To feel, acutely and deeply, for the yearnings and pangs of others, even though they are not closely connected to you, is to step into their shoes and see through their eyes. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We need empathy. Empathy can be cultivated in all human beings, even those with high education and those without education. For what is education, but the formalized learning of things along tracks which have been set by other men? We see the paper qualifications but fail to see the learning that each man should acquire through reflection and deep thought. It is that self-learning that will shape men to become better men.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I wish her wisdom, as I wish you wisdom. With wisdom comes much understanding and the ability to appreciate life. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Yes, we can say that even the buffoon who swigs a bottle of beer at 2am in the morning, is also appreciating life. But is he appreciating the life of others? True wisdom appreciates the lives of all. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi-HbaZeDl9uFrmmNpHfHqAfTy-QOLrvLIN__C0-WmAkZ8WTA14zugk3fHsxzsgBJjrCOSPiarOlMPWc-rbo3zWwCCFP389Uwt9bjS9QTwam7ZpJkGv1k8anczzCGILtsxJS3h/s1600/bridgesiburn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi-HbaZeDl9uFrmmNpHfHqAfTy-QOLrvLIN__C0-WmAkZ8WTA14zugk3fHsxzsgBJjrCOSPiarOlMPWc-rbo3zWwCCFP389Uwt9bjS9QTwam7ZpJkGv1k8anczzCGILtsxJS3h/s640/bridgesiburn.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Learn to burn bridges. Burn the bridges to the past. Burn the bridges to people who are harmful and dangerous. Burn the bridges to temptation and evil. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And learn to walk ahead, holding your head up high, with a view to the heavens. Walk forward with a smile and expect things to go well. </div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Koo Chin Nam & Co., Advocates & Solicitors based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Also: Patent, Trade Marks, and Industrial Designs Agents
Suite 2A & 2C, 2nd Floor, P.O. Box No. 9, Wisma Pahlawan, Jalan Sultan Sulaiman, 50000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Tel: (+603) 22730688 / 22732033 / 22736033
Fax: (+603) 22739033
URL: www.koo-law.com</div>Kevin Koohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05664189151852400791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7158208.post-48916325657281409662016-09-13T04:42:00.001+08:002016-09-13T05:05:21.577+08:00Pergi Bala, or How I Misheard A Song<h3>
Recently I was attending an official function.</h3>
<div>
We wanted to celebrate our athletes who had done well in Rio. And so we invited them to come for a special dinner. All the athletes who had gone to Rio came, including the silver medalists.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Their names were called one by one, and they marched in to jubilant cheers. Even the ones that weren't so famous got the cheers. But not many people were clapping, because many people were taking photos.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBnWlKXXw3_D1OttcxPhrXJS6oCfxH8jfI6O8BD343kwmhi66EtaKn6TY4glNn3TTML-ofULlZtYmzUOfy02WNN8cOzvSeh7JeHe0kM4iStdEGsVsTJ4EfP3_tSEflljIxUc-6/s1600/glossyrobot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBnWlKXXw3_D1OttcxPhrXJS6oCfxH8jfI6O8BD343kwmhi66EtaKn6TY4glNn3TTML-ofULlZtYmzUOfy02WNN8cOzvSeh7JeHe0kM4iStdEGsVsTJ4EfP3_tSEflljIxUc-6/s640/glossyrobot.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We need to learn how to hear the important messages in life.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div>
We stood close to the red carpet, and one of my friends asked us to turn our backs to the carpet so that he could take a group selfie with the athletes walking in the background. But once the athletes started walking in, lots of people started crowding behind us, and blocked the view of the athletes. So we stopped trying to do that.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<a name='more'></a><br /></div>
<h3>
Then I heard it.</h3>
<div>
First I heard Jalur Gemilang, one of the national anthems. And then I thought it was over. And then I thought I heard the people on stage singing a weird song....</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"Pergi Bala .... Pergi Bala .... Pergi Bala ... Jalur Gemilang!"</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<i>Pergi Bala?!</i></div>
<div>
<i><br /></i></div>
<div>
That means "Go, Bala!" in the Malay language.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
A few seconds later I realised that they were singing, "Berkibarlah!"</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"Berkibar" is a word used to describe a flying flag. And "Berkibarlah" is like saying, "Let it fly!"</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
But for a few seconds there I was wondering why Bala became so popular, and which Bala it was. "Bala tentera" maybe. "Bala" is usually an Indian boys' name. But "bala tentera" means "army".</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Sheesh.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
I have a friend who sometimes "mishears" intentionally.</h3>
<div>
The other day he came to my office and someone mentioned that she uses Maybank, not Hong Leong Bank. He suddenly had this crooked smile and perked up at the mention of the word "Maybank". </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
He said, "You mean that you like Maybank because it indicates something?"</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The poor lady was clueless about his meaning. "I don't know what you mean?"</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"Maybank sounds like, may bang... you know?"</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I told him that the lady couldn't understand his joke, it was too advanced. He winked at me and pointed his index finger like he was shooting a gun. Neither one of us explained the joke to the poor lady.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
But he's a real firecracker, that friend. He likes to challenge people to a debate once in a while. Sometimes they run away from him. Even the well-intentioned people sometimes can't take the way he talks. But that's just him.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
He's a brilliant guy with a Form 5 education. He always likes to point at his education. "It's one of my unique strengths." He's proud that he can out-reason and out-debate the higher educated fools in society.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I think that he's still finding his way in society. I think that he's got a special purpose in life, maybe he hasn't seen it just yet.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I see so much potential in him, and yet he seems to wilfully mishear things. And that causes him to go about life in a certain way.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Maybe he's hearing "Pergi Bala" when he should be hearing "Berkibarlah". And as a result his internal programming has gone wonky.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And if someone could tell him that his purpose in life was to "Berkibarlah", perhaps he might finally find the one true purpose that he has been looking for all this time.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2o4F0t8YhB6ye_o7EjebOLb5GlR5qDm7uugzs3fPzpOYUOD-Z5Z4rgtr8UAEZzrxhy8h-qqcaIEcNslfK2Mov0_SAZVdNsnlanmgXsYYNgNbMy01MIfD7IOKF0vxvg7uSO2pp/s1600/the-secret-to-success-is-constancy-to-purpose.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2o4F0t8YhB6ye_o7EjebOLb5GlR5qDm7uugzs3fPzpOYUOD-Z5Z4rgtr8UAEZzrxhy8h-qqcaIEcNslfK2Mov0_SAZVdNsnlanmgXsYYNgNbMy01MIfD7IOKF0vxvg7uSO2pp/s640/the-secret-to-success-is-constancy-to-purpose.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The secret of success is constancy to purpose - Benjamin Disraeli.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Are you mishearing the important messages in your life?</h3>
<div>
Maybe you have been too busy. Every day you're inundated with e-mail messages and telephone calls and countless other memos. So much so that you sometimes miss your lunch because you just forgot.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Maybe you are always reading and listening to stuff in your free time. But you never take the time to quieten down and meditate, to just regroup and recenter yourself. So much so that you know a lot about what other people are saying, but you never know what you think.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Maybe you just feel too tired to think about what people say to you. You take it at face value, and whatever they say, you treat it literally. So much so that you never think about why they said it. And what they could be implying.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Maybe you're mishearing the important messages in your life. Maybe you're hearing the words just fine, but in your mind you're registering something else. Just like when I heard "Pergi Bala" when I should have heard "Berkibarlah".</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
When I went for a rally recently, I was impressed by the speaker who came from Bandung, Indonesia. So impressed that I went online and watched one of his recent sermons. I was excited to see that he had an art show in town, and he would be giving an artist's talk. Two days, two times each day. That makes four talks. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I screenshot the YouTube video and saved the picture of his art show. I shared it in the WhatsApp group. I thought I was telling my friends something they didn't know. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"Who is that?" said one.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"Not the same guy!" said another.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"It is the same guy," I said. "It's from his YouTube channel."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And then someone said, "Yes it's him, he mentioned it during his opening speech."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
That one guy had been listening. He had been paying attention. And he had heard the speaker's message.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The rest of us were there physically. We were listening. But we didn't hear the message. We just heard what we wanted to hear. "Oh, this part isn't important, let's chit chat first. We'll pay attention later." </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
That's not right. When somebody flies all the way from Bandung to come and speak to you, you should realise that he's made a bit more sacrifice than you have. He's taken a real risk.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-fXiJK21iOgJFWqmKWYk0O03Be-T1zXKtAX_zU2kHzrjmf6n1SftZd-cutMFz1bt4cBwZZ34g4oKgcHNu4qziI6MFhda4ZYWT5aDaJLMUcaqDCOeUEyRdvMuINB2RWNZGmckJ/s1600/QZ8501-AirAsia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-fXiJK21iOgJFWqmKWYk0O03Be-T1zXKtAX_zU2kHzrjmf6n1SftZd-cutMFz1bt4cBwZZ34g4oKgcHNu4qziI6MFhda4ZYWT5aDaJLMUcaqDCOeUEyRdvMuINB2RWNZGmckJ/s640/QZ8501-AirAsia.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">QZ8501, the AirAsia flight from Surabaya to Singapore, never made it to its destination.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
In 2014 there was an AirAsia flight QZ8501 from Surabaya to Singapore. It was only a short flight. But 40 minutes into the flight, all contact with the plane was lost. The plane had crashed and all passengers had died.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
That's the kind of risk that the speaker is taking when he boards a plane. The risk of never reaching the destination.<br />
<br />
I pray that he reaches home safely. He gave a great talk about renewing our faith. And a part of his talk really touched my heart. He said, "Those who have followed Him and then unfollowed Him, now is your time to refollow Him." </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I'm following Him from afar. Tailing Him like a secret agent. Can't get too close otherwise He'll know what I'm up to.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
In the meantime, I'm keeping my ears open. And listening for big words like "Berkibarlah". So that I can tell others the message when they ask about "Pergi Bala".</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimXYaTSi8DNFJ5Q-7H9H9YDY5hRmkQxvl6gIviQ0BEJ7KvxofoYwuJhoJFcvaqpl6QwOYjixvtLZ-57Q31HI81oFL-O42ckF_7fSn1RoInN0M79bG_scV2BdvB57_pQCwAnQS4/s1600/listen-listen-listen-listen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimXYaTSi8DNFJ5Q-7H9H9YDY5hRmkQxvl6gIviQ0BEJ7KvxofoYwuJhoJFcvaqpl6QwOYjixvtLZ-57Q31HI81oFL-O42ckF_7fSn1RoInN0M79bG_scV2BdvB57_pQCwAnQS4/s640/listen-listen-listen-listen.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Be sure to listen out for the important messages in life. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Thanks for reading.</h3>
<div>
Read some other pieces from me:</div>
<div>
<ol>
<li><a href="http://kevinkoo.blogspot.my/2016/09/how-to-show-up.html">How to show up</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://kevinkoo.blogspot.my/2016/09/the-man-who-betrayed-his-city.html">The man who betrayed his city</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://kevinkoo.blogspot.my/2016/09/do-not-impose-your-religion-on-others.html">Do not impose your religion on others</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://kevinkoo.blogspot.my/2016/08/three-lessons-from-absaloms-life-and.html">Three lessons from Absalom's life and death</a>.</li>
</ol>
</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Koo Chin Nam & Co., Advocates & Solicitors based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Also: Patent, Trade Marks, and Industrial Designs Agents
Suite 2A & 2C, 2nd Floor, P.O. Box No. 9, Wisma Pahlawan, Jalan Sultan Sulaiman, 50000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Tel: (+603) 22730688 / 22732033 / 22736033
Fax: (+603) 22739033
URL: www.koo-law.com</div>Kevin Koohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05664189151852400791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7158208.post-69667089333417660482016-09-05T03:03:00.003+08:002016-09-05T13:14:13.508+08:00How to show up<h3>
Some success gurus like to say that 50% of success is just showing up.</h3>
<div>
And I agree with that. We should all show up, because 50% of success is just showing up. Woody Allen puts it at 80%.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
But how the hell should you show up? That's the part they never tell us. "Show up", they say. "You're already better off than those who don't show up. You're winning!"</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So how should you show up? </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyq5_nGKorP8CbNh2Ohb7R2oX8ZU3XjV0q_SRXDayqZbBDD2qTUGqAw4_NkyrPQ9rrcfJanoQMBQfgbhPNTmm5n2PKTkEh9go-7EKnUiC8sTQ7IR2_cpKpDQCDvLJimCrnVcJC/s1600/80pctsuccess-show-up.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyq5_nGKorP8CbNh2Ohb7R2oX8ZU3XjV0q_SRXDayqZbBDD2qTUGqAw4_NkyrPQ9rrcfJanoQMBQfgbhPNTmm5n2PKTkEh9go-7EKnUiC8sTQ7IR2_cpKpDQCDvLJimCrnVcJC/s640/80pctsuccess-show-up.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eighty percent of success is just showing up - Woody Allen.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div>
<a name='more'></a><br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
In terms of what to wear and do: Show up with a bouquet of flowers? Show up with a dictionary? Show up in a suit and tie?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
In terms of timing: Show up ten minutes before it starts? Or 10 minutes after it starts?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
In terms of consistency: Show up once, and then disappear?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
In terms of who you show up with: Show up with your gang? Or just show up alone?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
That's the part they never mention. So I thought that I'd like to record a few thoughts of how to show up.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
First, show up on time. Early if possible.</h3>
<div>
You don't have to be extra early, just early will do. Late will not do, but if it's a choice between late and absent, choose late. If it's a choice between late and early, choose early.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Some time back I joined a networking organization called BNI. Meetings were at 7.00am in the morning. Members had to show up 15 minutes before the meeting started. But in my chapter, there was a florist named Jeffrey. He would show up as early as 6.00am just to arrange the furniture. He was able to make it a consistent thing.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
He got a lot of business from the chapter. And I found out from one of the other members that he didn't do any other marketing. All he did was show up, early. One hour before the meeting. When he was that early, there was a lot of things he could do. He could help arrange the furniture, set up the projector, and even have decent conversations with the other members. If anyone brought a guest, he could have a chat with them, too.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So that's why you should turn up on time. But I am always reminded of Dato Ameer Mydin, when he gave a talk to some MBA students. I was there. He said, he used to tell people that they have to be present ten minutes before an event starts. But times have changed, he said, and so if you're ten minutes early, you're late. You need to show up twenty minutes before the event.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
If you're a lawyer, you need to be in court on time. If the case is called and the lawyer isn't present, it could be struck off or a judgment in default taken against the client.</div>
<h3>
Second, show up consistently.</h3>
<div>
You need to show up every time you need to show up. So show up. Be present. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
A few years ago I received a phone call. I was asked to attend a public speaking training that would require a few days' commitment. Venue: Somewhere in Janda Baik. Could I attend? I decided that I would make the time. And I am glad that I went. I made some friends there. I am still in touch with them.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
In some societies there is a rule that if you're absent three times in a row, the committee can remove you from your position. So you need to know that, and be present at least one meeting out of three.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
If it is a choice between not attending at all, and occasional attendance, choose occasional attendance. If it's a choice between consistent attendance and occasional attendance, choose consistent attendance. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Because people will notice you if you're there, every time. When others are sick and absent, you're there. When others are not able to make it, you're there. Soon they'll think that you're dependable. Rock solid.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I read a book called "The Slight Edge" recently. The author said that his daughter had gotten into a top-ranked college. All her classmates were top students. She was terrified of the competition. He told her two things: (1) Show up, for every class. (2) Make an effort, to revise everyday. Soon she found that her clever classmates were skipping class, because most of them thought they were clever. They were clever, but lazy cleverness cannot outperform earnest consistency. And so the girl emerged at the top of her class. When others were sleeping in their dorms, she was there. When others missed the explanations of the professor, she was there. When they failed to deliver, she was there.<br />
<br />
And when the top honours were called, she was there, too.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The power of consistency. Apply it to showing up and you're already ahead of the competition.</div>
<div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglZw0x5L82dF6r8yX_6yMXtI9Ba0DcnSqojYyMpTEuFbq9a8VT9kJ7JF2fJ3F-J-yNKi1ltuHNCkfHOnWtrhNmDt8CV94Fd12XEWQs0bwo2eO_xUj6Afs21T0M7AKbm_DojdS7/s1600/graduation-day.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglZw0x5L82dF6r8yX_6yMXtI9Ba0DcnSqojYyMpTEuFbq9a8VT9kJ7JF2fJ3F-J-yNKi1ltuHNCkfHOnWtrhNmDt8CV94Fd12XEWQs0bwo2eO_xUj6Afs21T0M7AKbm_DojdS7/s640/graduation-day.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Are you a student? Be sure to show up for class consistently. Every class, if possible.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Third, dress for the occasion.</h3>
<div>
A friend once invited me for a conversation with a minister. He had invited only a few of us. I went in a shirt and tie. Everybody else had a coat. Even the minister had a coat. I felt embarassed. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
After the meeting, my friend turned to me and asked, "I thought that you were always well dressed. What happened today?" I explained that I was rushing and I had left my coat in the car.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
They never invited me for any meetings with ministers after that. Today my friend is a minister himself. I make sure to wear a coat when I see him.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It might sound logical, but some people fail to remember it at times. I know this uncle who wears shorts and t-shirt when he goes to government department. "Uncle, what!" is his explanation. The people at the counter treat him accordingly. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Fourth, sometimes you can show up through a florist.</h3>
<div>
When someone has success or a special occasion, you can send a bunch of flowers with a congratulatory message. When someone has recently suffered the passing of a loved one, you can send a wreath of flowers with a message of condolence.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The trick to this is that you have to be timely. Try to send it as soon as possible after the event has taken place. If you heard it in the morning, get it sent over in the afternoon. If you send it after the funeral is over, you're wasting money.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Sometimes they appreciate your gesture. It's really your call. Of course it costs money, but if it's the type of message that you want to send -- "I care enough for you to send you this bunch of flowers" -- then do it. These are the sort of things that people will remember, later on in life. "He sent over a bunch of flowers when my daughter was born." Something like that.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Of course a card is cheaper, but nothing says "I really care!" like a bunch of flowers. At least, that's what my florist friend told me once.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsMrmJC6_uLbUQyCr94_Bx7kNMYbpLj2fr6inRNeTSKUQ7CY212p0PPREMaazMJNfrceiQTpdIHDKbUvtaSZxYguAdYaCSnHUfZ3mO4JOyrM-Jc8yps0dHBQxemdyC8WJ1uU5z/s1600/Classic-Wreath.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsMrmJC6_uLbUQyCr94_Bx7kNMYbpLj2fr6inRNeTSKUQ7CY212p0PPREMaazMJNfrceiQTpdIHDKbUvtaSZxYguAdYaCSnHUfZ3mO4JOyrM-Jc8yps0dHBQxemdyC8WJ1uU5z/s400/Classic-Wreath.jpg" width="370" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A wreath can convey your concern and care.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Be sure to show up.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Thanks for reading.</h3>
<div>
Here are some other pieces from me.</div>
<div>
<ol>
<li><a href="http://kevinkoo.blogspot.my/2016/09/the-man-who-betrayed-his-city.html">The man who betrayed his city</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://kevinkoo.blogspot.my/2016/09/do-not-impose-your-religion-on-others.html">Do not impose your religion on others</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://kevinkoo.blogspot.my/2016/08/three-lessons-from-absaloms-life-and.html">Three lessons from Absalom's life and death</a>.</li>
</ol>
</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Koo Chin Nam & Co., Advocates & Solicitors based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Also: Patent, Trade Marks, and Industrial Designs Agents
Suite 2A & 2C, 2nd Floor, P.O. Box No. 9, Wisma Pahlawan, Jalan Sultan Sulaiman, 50000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Tel: (+603) 22730688 / 22732033 / 22736033
Fax: (+603) 22739033
URL: www.koo-law.com</div>Kevin Koohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05664189151852400791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7158208.post-56377839189420994802016-09-04T04:17:00.000+08:002016-09-05T02:19:25.306+08:00The Man Who Betrayed His City<h3>
It was a hot afternoon in ancient Bethel.</h3>
<div>
A man came running from the city of Bethel, a small speck on the horizon. He ran towards a group of men hidden in the bushes. They looked at him anxiously. "Quick! What news have you got?"</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The man was sweating. He was still catching his breath. He took a seat and asked for some water. Then he briefly reported his findings. "The city is well fortified. I observed it from within, and it was peaceful. There was no garrison, but still ... the walls are without weakness."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The men of ancient Judah had been despatched to attack a city called Bethel. Their scout had gone ahead to gather intelligence. But the news did not sound good. The city seemed invulnerable to attacks. It would be difficult trying to attack Bethel.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The commander of the small army of Judah was not intimidated. God would help him.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"Keep watching," he said. "Something may crop up."<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh09y2zJMhoB-aaaJhtv7eCJCF-rtf8mB8fkmDOYskpjtYDtLWoFwhRs7fR4wPtTOC0vQFxN5Nh9ioBr60zAFFVsG_iA4k3eXMoITymmkF087bZo4q40ph0WCvOpHWIHBGnB0mU/s1600/spies-against-city-bible.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh09y2zJMhoB-aaaJhtv7eCJCF-rtf8mB8fkmDOYskpjtYDtLWoFwhRs7fR4wPtTOC0vQFxN5Nh9ioBr60zAFFVsG_iA4k3eXMoITymmkF087bZo4q40ph0WCvOpHWIHBGnB0mU/s640/spies-against-city-bible.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The city was fortified and well guarded. The men were looking for a way in.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Then evening fell, and something happened.</h3>
<div>
The men had watched the city of Bethel all afternoon. Traders, occupants, and travellers all went to the city, and through the city. At the gates, the guards asked for proof of identity. Entry was tightly guarded. It would not be possible for the small army of Judah to attack the city through the front gates.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
As the men kept watching the city from their hidden place, they saw a man walking from the direction of the city. He had not exited the city from its front gates. This man obviously had come from somewhere inside the city of Bethel. If he was going towards Bethel, they would have seen him coming up the road!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Luck was on their side. The man from Bethel walked alone. He was nearby their hiding place. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
They surrounded him. Knives and spears were pointed at his face and chest by fierce-looking soldiers. The Betheline was shaking with fear. He could only assume the worst.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
A voice suddenly called out. "Easy, boys!" The commander walked towards the Betheline. "We need some information from you."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The man from Bethel looked at the commander with distrust. Who was this soldier? What were these soldiers doing here? They looked like a fierce army, small but lethal.... </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Eventually, a deal was struck.</h3>
<div>
The man would show them how to enter the city. And they would spare him and his family.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
That night, the small army of Judah sneaked into the strongly-fortified city of Bethel. They killed everyone except for the man and his family.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Everybody he knew had died. All his friends, dead. All his neighbours, dead. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And he knew why. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
They told him that he could stay on, in the new city. Become their first mayor, or something like that.</div>
<div>
<br />
But he couldn't do it.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
He moved away, to Hittite territory. There, he started life again. A little shop in the middle of nowhere. He called the joint Luz.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Why I wrote this piece.</h3>
<div>
This piece was inspired by Judges 1: 22-26 in the Bible. I've been reading the Bible more and more of late. <a href="http://kevinkoo.blogspot.my/2016/08/three-lessons-from-absaloms-life-and.html">You might have read my piece on Absalom</a>.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Something attracted my attention when I read the passage in Judges 1. It's just five verses, packing all the action into a short and punchy summary. And at the end of it, the inhabitants of the city are all killed. All except that man and his family.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It was World War II. The Americans were keenly aware of the dangers when people spoke too freely. They knew that the enemy had spies embedded within the community. Spies who looked like them, sounded like them, but had sympathies their enemies. These spies would divulge their most sensitive secrets to the enemy, for a fee, or some vague sense of patriotism. In anticipation, the Americans launched a campaign: "Loose Lips Sink Ships."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqcnval8VrU4PLlBlvdBGfTZe5SN6CnQBvoI4KlaPB75UCs4lRnwUsxcVG-0edYip_PJ4oA3mx2ey9_ImMcj6wQoFTH32EL9uBRP3DHhTicF-k9IdskarenjAyfAb_9o3_v1d-/s1600/Loose_lips_might_sink_ships.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqcnval8VrU4PLlBlvdBGfTZe5SN6CnQBvoI4KlaPB75UCs4lRnwUsxcVG-0edYip_PJ4oA3mx2ey9_ImMcj6wQoFTH32EL9uBRP3DHhTicF-k9IdskarenjAyfAb_9o3_v1d-/s640/Loose_lips_might_sink_ships.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Think back, about that guy from Bethel. The Bible says he went to Hittite territory and started a city called Luz. A city. Do you think it's that easy to start a city -- from scratch? He might have had a little bit of "help".</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Or maybe he was already rich to begin with. Maybe he was filthy rich and he wanted to be left alone, because he was weak and selfish. Maybe? Who knows?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
But I couldn't do what he did. I couldn't betray my city. I couldn't bear the thought of my friends dying, while I lived. Heck, I couldn't bear the thought of <i>strangers</i> dying while I live, because of me.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
What kind of man does that, anyway?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Loose lips sink ships, remember that. Here are a bunch of other posters from World War 2 to remind you of that.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiela8HJnpl9xRvLcI-1NGI08ay4XzdL8R_WoX6hCJJZcDfEeihQd35rJWlTpy5dyLb1JRza9pMlmOIx2P3K0CM1Y5xs6XnepktRN07kFyCWSbcKHGxIjjXjlbKYiy9rsFB_WoC/s1600/401px-INF3-232_Anti-rumour_and_careless_talk_You_never_know_who%2527s_on_the_wires_%2528Hitler_figure_sitting_on_telephone_wires%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiela8HJnpl9xRvLcI-1NGI08ay4XzdL8R_WoX6hCJJZcDfEeihQd35rJWlTpy5dyLb1JRza9pMlmOIx2P3K0CM1Y5xs6XnepktRN07kFyCWSbcKHGxIjjXjlbKYiy9rsFB_WoC/s640/401px-INF3-232_Anti-rumour_and_careless_talk_You_never_know_who%2527s_on_the_wires_%2528Hitler_figure_sitting_on_telephone_wires%2529.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Americans liked to fantasize that Hitler was hanging on to their every word. Exaggeration, true, but effective exaggeration.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt8kYLGQggZ3uJpVRNM4D4cMUlVlZZ8HG9qaZzOh9DZ9hHmfejjpUG7EBcJiVDhvvewr3CpoIq2iYTleCxfrilBaLqEQJvr1MLlJlZBvu_DDhQCFxDCSo1AAiMtyzb4HGYsqVz/s1600/dont-snitch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt8kYLGQggZ3uJpVRNM4D4cMUlVlZZ8HG9qaZzOh9DZ9hHmfejjpUG7EBcJiVDhvvewr3CpoIq2iYTleCxfrilBaLqEQJvr1MLlJlZBvu_DDhQCFxDCSo1AAiMtyzb4HGYsqVz/s640/dont-snitch.jpg" width="440" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Don't snitch!" -- a phrase that we hardly hear these days. Except maybe, in a prison, where convicts know what to do with those who snitch. (Hint: After they're done with a snitch, the snitch would think twice, maybe thrice, before snitching again. If he's still alive.)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT86OFB7a-tzSPPv9BF_DoIQ-p74KgmfP8qIlWywAg_rIhWdRAXi1mIqVp8y7BYAsdk58hyphenhyphenYfpP-23yC0u6mY_VwXjc4-W8yGk2b76NgVVNOEzY_aLhKF-kkuHtYloK4GkhULq/s1600/four-words-for-you.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT86OFB7a-tzSPPv9BF_DoIQ-p74KgmfP8qIlWywAg_rIhWdRAXi1mIqVp8y7BYAsdk58hyphenhyphenYfpP-23yC0u6mY_VwXjc4-W8yGk2b76NgVVNOEzY_aLhKF-kkuHtYloK4GkhULq/s640/four-words-for-you.jpg" width="454" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Four words for you, two of which are four-letter words.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-X5Ytgj5cQ0OEFB8QrMbEk7FTiTLD5Z1xSDUaDQkvH6BA4Zd0qL-aLXokfbdVBPdKQ82TkxgF7XOy59MOT1KHtU-YQhplsOZRf-zSEaF3SJoapBSU_7mCMwR1cXbSNC-pJADX/s1600/if-you-tell-loose-lips-sink-ships.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-X5Ytgj5cQ0OEFB8QrMbEk7FTiTLD5Z1xSDUaDQkvH6BA4Zd0qL-aLXokfbdVBPdKQ82TkxgF7XOy59MOT1KHtU-YQhplsOZRf-zSEaF3SJoapBSU_7mCMwR1cXbSNC-pJADX/s640/if-you-tell-loose-lips-sink-ships.jpg" width="458" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This poster probably worked on the public perception that naval seamen were heroes of the country. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigFRDyLaJNpqDSQ_6ACJPrcqSOR3neVhWxY8nA_DMLXHlEM7Ni7rno_TEc7kgprK4QQ-fXZRKx-PrV2tMOjKdVIiQ-J-I9j9tPdpnUFD-m6iIQWIAzXWceuydXp3cwm9D9UnGP/s1600/somebody-talked-1949-108-10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigFRDyLaJNpqDSQ_6ACJPrcqSOR3neVhWxY8nA_DMLXHlEM7Ni7rno_TEc7kgprK4QQ-fXZRKx-PrV2tMOjKdVIiQ-J-I9j9tPdpnUFD-m6iIQWIAzXWceuydXp3cwm9D9UnGP/s640/somebody-talked-1949-108-10.jpg" width="446" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Even if nobody knew what hit them, the guy from Bethel probably had nightmares like this for years. Waking up screaming in the middle of the night. A fate worse than death.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<h3>
Thanks for reading.</h3>
<div>
By the way, I changed the name of this blog. It used to be "An Ordinary Guy's Jottings". I'm still ordinary, but I think I wouldn't read a blog with a name like that. I wouldn't even click. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Some other pieces from me:</div>
<div>
<ol>
<li><a href="http://kevinkoo.blogspot.my/2016/09/do-not-impose-your-religion-on-others.html">Do not impose your religion on others</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://kevinkoo.blogspot.my/2016/08/three-lessons-from-absaloms-life-and.html">Three lessons from Absalom's life and death</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://kevinkoo.blogspot.my/2016/08/people-get-angry-when-they-dont.html">People get angry when they don't understand you</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://kevinkoo.blogspot.my/2016/08/imagining-and-pretending-yourself-into.html">Imagining and pretending yourself into action</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://kevinkoo.blogspot.my/2016/08/4-lessons-from-my-grandfathers-life.html">Four lessons from my grandfather's life</a>.</li>
</ol>
</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Koo Chin Nam & Co., Advocates & Solicitors based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Also: Patent, Trade Marks, and Industrial Designs Agents
Suite 2A & 2C, 2nd Floor, P.O. Box No. 9, Wisma Pahlawan, Jalan Sultan Sulaiman, 50000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Tel: (+603) 22730688 / 22732033 / 22736033
Fax: (+603) 22739033
URL: www.koo-law.com</div>Kevin Koohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05664189151852400791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7158208.post-41974839015819530832016-09-03T04:18:00.000+08:002016-09-04T04:37:13.177+08:00Do not impose your religion on others.<h3>
Once upon a time, there was a headmaster in Sarawak.</h3>
<br />
The headmaster was a Muslim. He was overzealous, and he converted a non-Muslim student to Islam. The parents made a big fuss over it, and he was transferred to a new school.<br />
<br />
Then, at the new school, he was just as overzealous. He decreed that all crosses and crucifixes were to be removed. Even the ones kept below the students' blouses. The ones that hung around their necks and nestled easily next to the students' hearts.<br />
<br />
Yes, even those.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2016/09/02/non-swakian-principal-bars-christian-symbols-in-school/">Here is a link to the original article</a>.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNYYSHXorgVEmIl_vI75PJu-holmK2e7_2lKByF4LjtZGZaa3qy-mq_-vatEOiCtZJYTmDXZra8mvwSOflKZj9SjvW2AsVxlh5lcoHjcgxDUZ9rOeA95ARr02JKIntibrNrwK4/s1600/sarawak-flag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNYYSHXorgVEmIl_vI75PJu-holmK2e7_2lKByF4LjtZGZaa3qy-mq_-vatEOiCtZJYTmDXZra8mvwSOflKZj9SjvW2AsVxlh5lcoHjcgxDUZ9rOeA95ARr02JKIntibrNrwK4/s640/sarawak-flag.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The flag of Sarawak.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<h3>
He should have been transferred back to Semenanjung Malaysia.</h3>
He seems to be unhappy in Sarawak. He's forgotten that Sarawak isn't Semenanjung, and there's a whole different community there. An entirely different culture. It's not Semenanjung. So why did he take issue with the culture there in Sarawak?<br />
<br />
One possible explanation is that he's missing home. So he decided to make his new place of residence a little more like home. But the Sarawakian students, and their parents, aren't happy at all.<br />
<br />
It's a strange situation. He's unhappy with the students, and the parents are unhappy with him. If he were sent back to Semenanjung, he might be happier, and the parents might be happier, too. And the students will be happier as a result.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h3>
Kementerian Pendidikan should take note.</h3>
When students are unhappy, their studies suffer. They cannot focus on exams and studying because they become preoccupied with things like these: Crucifixes, and other things that need fixes.<br />
<br />
When parents are unhappy, students suffer. They might ask the students to avoid school altogether. The students become uneducated, simply because of that headmaster's meddling.<br />
<br />
When teachers meddle by imposing their religion on others, it creates tension and the wrong perception among right-thinking members of society. "Is this headmaster for me, or against me?" That's the idea that comes to mind naturally.<br />
<br />
When mutual trust breaks down, society begins to break down as well. Many young students look upon their teachers as their role models. If they can't even look up to their headmaster, it would be difficult for them to trust other people. And it might take a long time to regain their trust.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h3>
The Headmaster should remember Surah Al-Kafirun.</h3>
In the Qur'an, there is a surah called Surah Al-Kafirun. It was a Meccan surah, meaning to say that it was revealed in the early days of Islam. The empire of Islam had not yet been built. In those early days, the Prophet Muhammad was an envoy of peace and harmony.<br />
<br />
The words of the surah are as follows:<br />
<br />
Say, "O disbelievers, I do not worship what you worship. Nor are you worshippers of what I worship. Nor will I be a worshipper of what you worship. Nor will you be worshippers of what I worship. For you is your religion, and for me is my religion."<br />
<br />
It's a simple and straightforward surah. But it is powerful.<br />
<br />
It tells us that in the early days of Islam, the fledgling community was diplomatic when dealing with new communities. They asked to be left alone, unmolested, dignified, and without external interference. They said, "Lakum deenukum, wa li deeni." In English: "For you, your religion, and for me, mine."<br />
<br />
So why can't this same philosophy be applied in Sarawakian schools? Why can't teachers from Semenanjung understand that Sarawakian students have their own religion?<br />
<br />
For you, your religion, and for them, theirs.<br />
<br />
Please don't try to change that.<br />
<br />
That's not what Malaysia is about.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Koo Chin Nam & Co., Advocates & Solicitors based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Also: Patent, Trade Marks, and Industrial Designs Agents
Suite 2A & 2C, 2nd Floor, P.O. Box No. 9, Wisma Pahlawan, Jalan Sultan Sulaiman, 50000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Tel: (+603) 22730688 / 22732033 / 22736033
Fax: (+603) 22739033
URL: www.koo-law.com</div>Kevin Koohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05664189151852400791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7158208.post-84052415798722615812016-08-30T03:51:00.000+08:002016-08-30T13:56:19.292+08:00Three Lessons from Absalom's Life and Death<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b>Quick Note:</b></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Absalom was a son of King David. This piece was based on his life as portrayed in the Bible.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<hr style="text-align: center;" />
<br />
<h3>
Absalom was David's favourite son.</h3>
<div>
Absalom was charming, handsome, and King David's favourite son. Some said, Absalom was the most handsome man in King David's kingdom.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
But he was the third child born to King David. That meant that he wouldn't become king, not when his eldest brother was still alive.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
King David's eldest son was called Amnon, a brother from another mother. Amnon had the same father as Absalom: King David. They all lived in King David's house, one big happy family.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCDstbdsUkteThaHgx9gqmxCDcfvAMzpTz8pkcIywRSKpLJClqTWOkRFgmqWHhNLTbaDs5UjxfjXLU_fAeoPS_CuOqD9HuaaUlX6eU3yvHHcuBKzLbhHmB5q3DqVss66dKY8s7/s1600/absalom-crowns-himself.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCDstbdsUkteThaHgx9gqmxCDcfvAMzpTz8pkcIywRSKpLJClqTWOkRFgmqWHhNLTbaDs5UjxfjXLU_fAeoPS_CuOqD9HuaaUlX6eU3yvHHcuBKzLbhHmB5q3DqVss66dKY8s7/s400/absalom-crowns-himself.jpg" width="327" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Absalom was handsome and his father's favourite son. He would rebel against his father and declare himself king.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<a name='more'></a><br /></div>
<h3>
But disaster struck.</h3>
<div>
Absalom's sister, Tamar, was a beautiful virgin. She had never been touched by any man. She was pure. Innocent. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Amnon was in love with Tamar. One day, Amnon pretended to be sick, and asked Tamar to serve him food. When he was alone with her, he raped her.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Absalom was devastated. He was angry. He thought the murderous thoughts that the families of rape victims think: Kill that rapist! Cut off his ....! </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
But Absalom was smart. Absalom knew he could not attack Amnon openly. After all, Amnon was the first in line for the throne. Amnon, the eldest son. Amnon, heir apparent. Amnon, King David's successor!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
King David was angry as well. But he didn't do anything about it. And that only fuelled Absalom's anger. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
He waited. Bided his time. He waited for the chance for revenge against Amnon. </div>
<h3>
Two years later, Absalom got his chance.</h3>
<div>
Absalom threw a party. He said to his father, "We're having a grand party. Let's have all our family come enjoy!"</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"It looks like too much trouble, son," King David said. "Next time?"</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"Awww Dad. I know you're busy, but how about all my brothers? It's going to be a blast of a party! Could they come? "</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
King David thought about it. "OK son, you have my blessings. Go ahead."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
That night, Absalom had his party in the palace. It was happening. There was a band on stage singing the greatest hits from King David's time. All the ancient celebrities were there too. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Then King David's sons started arriving. Absalom, cup in hand, watched lazily from a corner. One by one, they arrived and came into the hall ... and then, he saw the man he had been waiting for.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Amnon the rapist. The one who must die.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKLR-cejbj_ohOz5gRcvf2HPrhKgOLlTmh8qWyW8lpe9UVVwERU6UOlQiM0cL_jaKMlfQHQZkoYXz2iynFTD3gGJDg3U0NYID_3yhvdwXQRuE-AtSpTcxs8L0zNe6qJLaQToed/s1600/amnon-and-tamar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKLR-cejbj_ohOz5gRcvf2HPrhKgOLlTmh8qWyW8lpe9UVVwERU6UOlQiM0cL_jaKMlfQHQZkoYXz2iynFTD3gGJDg3U0NYID_3yhvdwXQRuE-AtSpTcxs8L0zNe6qJLaQToed/s640/amnon-and-tamar.jpg" width="363" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amnon was King David's eldest son. He raped Absalom's sister, Tamar.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Absalom had his men take Amnon to the back. There, he swung his warrior's sword upwards like a golf club. Amnon's head detached from his shoulders, and sailed into the sky. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
That night, Absalom ran away to his grandfather's house, in the land of Geshur. His grandfather was also a king.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
King David was devastated, and cried over his eldest son's death a long, long time.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
After three years, King David forgave Absalom.</h3>
<div>
A letter arrived in Geshur. On it was written: "TO MR. ABSALOM".</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Absalom opened the envelope and pulled out the brown parchment. A letter from his father! All was forgiven. Would he return home to his father's side?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Absalom whooped in delight. He was finally going home.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhstZcpOHwXJ96gXqlYK5D0ocWk_r10CJnHSBfXgw1ssN6EQAnVWEyDBXukRxzSPexSUCeNmAYOyW1DUJqflXz_jkKFDiGue7Iv0K1f62jkV8f2igkZkt6yp_tiKZmWne6oIrKp/s1600/prodigal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="538" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhstZcpOHwXJ96gXqlYK5D0ocWk_r10CJnHSBfXgw1ssN6EQAnVWEyDBXukRxzSPexSUCeNmAYOyW1DUJqflXz_jkKFDiGue7Iv0K1f62jkV8f2igkZkt6yp_tiKZmWne6oIrKp/s640/prodigal.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Absalom, the prodigal son, finally returned to his father's house.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Absalom was back in the kingdom.</h3>
<div>
At first, Absalom was harmless. He was his usual self. Witty, handsome, ladies man.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Then he started currying favour with the public. Some of them would come to the palace, complaining of injustice. He won them over, saying that he should have been their judge. "My father's been too busy. If only I could help you get justice...!"</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And then the people would look at him, in his handsome form. What a good looking man. "If only!" they would mutter to themselves. "One day!"</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
After four years, Absalom rebelled against his father. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Absalom declared himself King. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju0WttQfeNw77IZY3o3aL1pSA0EHLdQJXsiznmCBe0xleoAACcks3E7h8zr4hdujMghUT5jIB77l9vZf1niMyot5lEGSdG41GiF9Onc1CHmLMAQhK4aIt91DoJJRffXhKlyv-9/s1600/006-david-absalom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju0WttQfeNw77IZY3o3aL1pSA0EHLdQJXsiznmCBe0xleoAACcks3E7h8zr4hdujMghUT5jIB77l9vZf1niMyot5lEGSdG41GiF9Onc1CHmLMAQhK4aIt91DoJJRffXhKlyv-9/s640/006-david-absalom.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bit by bit, person by person, Absalom won over the people to his side. When he thought he had their support, he declared himself King.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
King David ran away and hid.</h3>
<div>
On his way out, he met an old friend called Hushai. "Don't follow me, old friend. Follow my son and contradict his advisor Ahithopel."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And so Hushai joined Absalom. Absalom was suspicious, but vanity got the better of him. He thought that King David's buddy becoming his follower was a sign of his personal success.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Ahithopel asked Absalom to sleep with King David's concubines. A handsome man like Absalom didn't need to worry about pretty ladies throwing themselves at him, but he did it anyway. Just to show the old man who's boss.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Absalom liked what he saw. He thought that he could really be king.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidbm72U8N41r7_pcr_IrSrWgO5lGt6wZKnga1YJ45tvjKNJ14JNERQ-4GUYIKFHZIJzkqCLhdGVG2A4zqGz54K62ig4qomI2HfYyTom3Ib-wLtWzYhs2DZO0NUC_Ex2Iat4iqJ/s1600/tissot-david-in-the-wilderness-700x480x72.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidbm72U8N41r7_pcr_IrSrWgO5lGt6wZKnga1YJ45tvjKNJ14JNERQ-4GUYIKFHZIJzkqCLhdGVG2A4zqGz54K62ig4qomI2HfYyTom3Ib-wLtWzYhs2DZO0NUC_Ex2Iat4iqJ/s640/tissot-david-in-the-wilderness-700x480x72.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">David hid in the wilderness.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Most of the country supported Absalom.</h3>
<div>
Maybe they were waiting for somebody new to take over as king. Maybe King David wasn't as good looking as Absalom. Maybe King David had been king for too long. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Whatever the reason, King David only had a handful of men with him. But they were brave and good and loyal men. Men who would die for their King at a single word. Men who would charge at a roaring bear.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Ahithopel told Absalom to kill King David. </h3>
<div>
"Strike while the iron is hot," Ahithopel said. "Strike now! Kill the old codger."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
But Hushai told Absalom to gather more support. He said, "Absalom, you can <i>try </i>to attack your Dad, but you won't make it. He is a beast! Trust me. Grow your army first. Then you whack."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Absalom decided to follow Hushai's advice. This bought time for King David.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Ahithopel found out and he was devastated. He went back to his hometown and there, among the dignified, quiet hills, he committed suicide.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Then came the battle in the Wood of Ephraim.</h3>
<div>
King David's men fought against Absalom's men. King David's men, though few, were winning. They killed twenty thousand of Absalom's men. They were winning!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Suddenly there was a shout. Joab, King David's general, received news from a soldier. Absalom's head had gotten caught in the branches of an oak tree!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Joab told the soldier, "Kill him, and I will pay you."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The soldier refused. King David had told all his men to take Absalom alive.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Joab cursed. He took three knives and stuck them in Absalom's heart. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The tyrant twitched. Then he was gone.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTUd89IYxEusjf5HH9OcsvCri6liVHSzv6NQh4JgaZvVehNvJQgc0BF8Ndc_dbPD7i3isA1P_QrQQTnR7gSi8ZyZJJsWUMPaY0E2TiydwIvtYxZ7MSeycieBJTVCklthyphenhyphen4e4ZH/s1600/absalom_hanging.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTUd89IYxEusjf5HH9OcsvCri6liVHSzv6NQh4JgaZvVehNvJQgc0BF8Ndc_dbPD7i3isA1P_QrQQTnR7gSi8ZyZJJsWUMPaY0E2TiydwIvtYxZ7MSeycieBJTVCklthyphenhyphen4e4ZH/s640/absalom_hanging.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Absalom's head was caught in the branches of the oak tree. He was killed by Joab, who had some personal grudges against him.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
King David cried when he heard that his Absalom was dead.</h3>
<div>
Absalom was his favourite son. Never mind the concubines. They were dispensable. Never mind the kingdom. He was content to lead the simple life. Never mind that Absalom wanted to kill him. He loved Absalom dearly.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Joab was angry with his king. When nobody was around, he looked his king in the face and said, as one old friend to another:</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Now you’ve done it—knocked the wind out of your loyal servants who have just saved your life, to say nothing of the lives of your sons and daughters, wives and concubines. What is this—loving those who hate you and hating those who love you? Your actions give a clear message: officers and soldiers mean nothing to you. You know that if Absalom were alive right now, we’d all be dead—would that make you happy? Get hold of yourself; get out there and put some heart into your servants! I swear to God that if you don’t go to them they’ll desert; not a soldier will be left here by nightfall. And that will be the worst thing that has happened yet.<br />
<br />
(Source: The Message Bible.)</blockquote>
<div>
King David heard Joab's words and knew them to be true. He dried his tears and came to his senses. That evening he sat at the gates of his kingdom. And his men came before him and declared him as king.</div>
<div>
<br />
<br /></div>
<h3>
The First Lesson</h3>
<div>
Absalom was too greedy. King David was too soft-hearted and too trusting. He thought that Absalom had reformed after three years away. He forgot, Absalom was a plotter and a schemer. Absalom could simmer in anger for two years while plotting the death of his brother Amnon. So what made King David think that Absalom had been reformed?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
But Absalom was his favourite son. And the most good looking one among all his children. Just like the rest of the people, King David was taken in by his son's good looks and charming ways.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The first lesson is: <b>Good looks and charming ways sometimes conceal murderous thoughts!</b></div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<h3>
<b>The Second Lesson</b></h3>
<div>
Absalom was a vain bastard. He was conceited and he relished the thought that he had won the allegiance of his father's old friend, Hushai. He chucked aside his own advisor, Ahithopel, who was loyal to him. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Ahithopel was an idiot. He committed suicide after finding out that Absalom had followed Hushai's advice. He should have tried to fix things. But then it would have been his word against Hushai's. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Absalom probably didn't know that Ahithopel had died. He was too busy going around, trying to get support. He was following Hushai's advice. He didn't know that Hushai had misled him to buy time for his father.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
If he had only listened to Ahithopel, life might have been different for Absalom. <i>Death</i> might have been different for him! </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The second lesson is: <b>Do not discard your old advisors too quickly for new advisors.</b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
The Third Lesson</h3>
<div>
King David forgot who were the ones who stuck it out with him. He forgot who were the ones who risked life and limb when he lost power, to protect him and defend his honour. And he cried for his enemy!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
King David forgot that his men were human, too. They were people with feelings and thoughts. They were his faithful followers.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Luckily for King David, Joab spoke some sense into him before it was too late. Because if he had lost his army, he would have lost everything. "Go to your men, my king. If you don't, they will be gone by this evening."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And so he did. Lucky he had Joab by his side.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The third lesson is: <b>Never forget those who have fought hardest by your side. </b></div>
<div>
<b><br /></b>
<b><br /></b>
<br />
<h3>
<b>The Fourth Lesson</b></h3>
</div>
<div>
Wait, hang on. There's a fourth lesson. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Joab was a man loyal to his king. And he spoke up when he needed to. He also did what he had to do. He knew that there was a difference between acting in the best interests of his king (which he did) and blind loyalty (which he did not).</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
He spoke up, rebuked his king. But he knew how to do it: in the quiet privacy of the king's chambers, when no one else was around to hear. He said what he knew needed to be said. Then he gave the king time to digest his words. No pressure. Just the truth. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It wasn't what King David <i>wanted</i> to hear, but it was what he <i>needed</i> to hear.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The fourth lesson is: <b>Loyalty also means speaking the truth. Even if it may be unpleasant.</b></div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<h3>
Thanks for Reading.</h3>
<div>
Here are some other pieces from me.<br />
<ol>
<li><a href="http://kevinkoo.blogspot.com/2016/08/learning-to-toot-my-own-horn.html">Learning to toot my own horn</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://kevinkoo.blogspot.com/2016/08/4-lessons-from-my-grandfathers-life.html">Four lessons from my grandfather's life.</a></li>
<li><a href="http://kevinkoo.blogspot.com/2016/08/people-get-angry-when-they-dont.html">People get angry when they don't understand you</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://kevinkoo.blogspot.com/2016/08/imagining-and-pretending-yourself-into.html">Imagining and pretending yourself into action.</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Koo Chin Nam & Co., Advocates & Solicitors based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Also: Patent, Trade Marks, and Industrial Designs Agents
Suite 2A & 2C, 2nd Floor, P.O. Box No. 9, Wisma Pahlawan, Jalan Sultan Sulaiman, 50000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Tel: (+603) 22730688 / 22732033 / 22736033
Fax: (+603) 22739033
URL: www.koo-law.com</div>Kevin Koohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05664189151852400791noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7158208.post-59455471185197976662016-08-29T19:45:00.000+08:002016-08-29T19:47:59.523+08:00Moving On. Life After the Petrol Blog.<h3>
I'm giving up on PetrolMalaysia.com.</h3>
<div>
<a href="http://www.petrolmalaysia.com/">So you may have visited PetrolMalaysia.com.</a> It's been my place to ponder and pontificate about the petrol industry. I have written more than 100 posts on that blog, and it's had more than 200,000 views. 29 followers. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
In contrast, this blog has 400 posts and less than 3,000 views. I can only surmise that my personal writings were never interesting. It does not matter. I write for myself. One day I will compile all my writings and compile it into an EPUB book. And then I'll give it away for free.</div>
<div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I'm willing to give away the PetrolMalaysia blog. Just let me know if you're interested. And show me some samples of your writing. If you've been writing consistently about energy and petrol, you'll be very welcome to take over the blog. Domain name included.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRAviEAmfWjK24Q7d65BHBIRvAcQcXjPQMtpGR7GAcpuChTP9ZO0CIs8z-bWHUhLjezsp9FylUCYLh1G_s7R0suXxRq0PmQGKYTKfU5pWcoq7xlFS0Hvp8T_LfDifTHE0dUvU9/s1600/IMG20160807_223224_-1329649125.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="545" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRAviEAmfWjK24Q7d65BHBIRvAcQcXjPQMtpGR7GAcpuChTP9ZO0CIs8z-bWHUhLjezsp9FylUCYLh1G_s7R0suXxRq0PmQGKYTKfU5pWcoq7xlFS0Hvp8T_LfDifTHE0dUvU9/s640/IMG20160807_223224_-1329649125.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm grateful for the chance to have run my blog, Petrol Malaysia, for a good number of years. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<a name='more'></a><h3>
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Why I decided to start it in the first place.</h3>
<div>
It was because of the oil price. I couldn't find any blog on the topic. But oil prices are down nowadays. It's all doom and gloom now.<br />
<br />
In my line of work, we need to maintain a positive frame of mind. Stay away from the negative mindset. It's infectious. You've probably heard about positive psychology?</div>
</div>
<h3>
Thanks for reading.</h3>
</div>
<div>
Here are some posts from PetrolMalaysia.com to give you an idea of what I've written about.</div>
<div>
<ol>
<li><a href="http://www.petrolmalaysia.com/2016/08/how-to-survive-lay-off-in-oil-and-gas.html">How to survive a lay-off in the oil and gas industry</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.petrolmalaysia.com/2016/07/the-origin-of-burning-platform-metaphor.html">The Origin of the Burning Platform Metaphor</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.petrolmalaysia.com/2016/06/hondas-takata-airbag-related-recalls.html">Honda's Takata Airbag-Related Recalls</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.petrolmalaysia.com/2016/05/malaysian-petroleum-resources.html">Malaysian Petroleum Resources Corporation (MPRC)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.petrolmalaysia.com/2016/04/petrol-stations-must-have-sufficient.html">Petrol Stations Must Have Sufficient Fuel</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.petrolmalaysia.com/2015/01/should-petrol-pumps-hang-from-ceiling.html">Should petrol pumps hang from the ceiling?</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Koo Chin Nam & Co., Advocates & Solicitors based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Also: Patent, Trade Marks, and Industrial Designs Agents
Suite 2A & 2C, 2nd Floor, P.O. Box No. 9, Wisma Pahlawan, Jalan Sultan Sulaiman, 50000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Tel: (+603) 22730688 / 22732033 / 22736033
Fax: (+603) 22739033
URL: www.koo-law.com</div>Kevin Koohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05664189151852400791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7158208.post-43187424773529962392016-08-26T03:22:00.000+08:002016-08-26T19:33:38.854+08:00People Get Angry When They Don't Understand You.<h2>
We went to a faraway court today.</h2>
<div>
Today's session was to seek clarification on the consent order. It was in another state down South.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
On the last date, there was a mediation. My client and his wife had negotiated, and they had reached an agreement. The court applauded them because they had settled the matter amicably. The lawyers shook hands. Everyone was smiling. The court announced a consent order.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilye_5UCcCnU12kYI4yZyTVnMPkaHIRTr6JX3vIIjTBWGzDHZf6fOisHtrJY1T_rECWHhZNFcdc4065dc8gTrCqR4PEf_5u4QKnSm7F37ExCMWD_K0dwbv-sIe9SbFPOuFfEPY/s1600/sometimes-maxwell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilye_5UCcCnU12kYI4yZyTVnMPkaHIRTr6JX3vIIjTBWGzDHZf6fOisHtrJY1T_rECWHhZNFcdc4065dc8gTrCqR4PEf_5u4QKnSm7F37ExCMWD_K0dwbv-sIe9SbFPOuFfEPY/s640/sometimes-maxwell.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We win and lose in life. That's normal. But we have to learn something from the experience.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<a name='more'></a><br /></div>
<div>
Then we took the long drive back. The sky was darkening. It was nearly night. I congratulated my client. He smiled and mentioned that he was happy to have locked in "three times a month". His visitation rights.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I didn't know what he was talking about. Was it part of the order?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
He insisted that it was. I said that we would check. I hadn't heard it. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The next day was a Friday. We received the draft order. There was no mention of "three times a month". It was a Friday, and the court was closed. We could not check with the court. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So, we amended the draft order to include the words "three times a month". </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We wrote letters to the court and to the other side to ask whether there was "three times a month".</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Finally the court suggested clarification.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Then the day came. Today.</h3>
<div>
We went to court. We met the other side's lawyer. She seemed a little distant. And she didn't take well to my joke about Lee Chong Wei not getting the gold.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
She said that we would go with whatever the court's record showed.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The court had no record of "three times a month". The court explained that it had been part of the discussions, but it wasn't part of the order. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I explained that I, too, had not heard "three times a month". But I was obliged to raise the matter because my client insisted that he had heard it.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The record was set straight. The consent order was rectified. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqz99zjhNtzYTWOWVwRt81YsDzcwzt2pf0KB-c4FiNzWtLge0Ohm2FOmJhUkppiTHBVxQTB59zL1tTpeXyguXj9HB6YyRQltFhSMeOg4IBbreicN0c7lg8-IwmV0fHEuDqDj_X/s1600/youintentions.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqz99zjhNtzYTWOWVwRt81YsDzcwzt2pf0KB-c4FiNzWtLge0Ohm2FOmJhUkppiTHBVxQTB59zL1tTpeXyguXj9HB6YyRQltFhSMeOg4IBbreicN0c7lg8-IwmV0fHEuDqDj_X/s640/youintentions.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It doesn't matter whether other people understand us, as long as they EVENTUALLY understand us. What are you doing to make other people understand you?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h2>
The lady for the other side told me that she was angry when she saw me.</h2>
<div>
But she wasn't angry anymore. Not after she had heard our explanation.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
She was angry before, because she did not understand what we were doing.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
She was angry before, because she thought that the clients had settled and we were causing trouble.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
She was angry before, because we did not explain to her that our client insisted that he had heard "three times a month".</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
She smiled as she walked us to the court entrance. Then she remembered that she had another client waiting for her in the court canteen, and she went her way.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h2>
What I learned from the experience</h2>
<div>
I was wondering why the lady seemed distant and unwilling to make eye contact when she first arrived. She was very business-like at first. She thawed after we settled the matter. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Then I realised that she hadn't understood our actions. She probably thought that we were causing problems for her. Unnecessary problems. She must have thought that we had a deal and we agreed on its terms, so why change it?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
She was right to feel that way. I forgot to tell her what my client told me. I should have called her. It might have helped. Who knows.<br />
<br />
I thought we made it clear in the letters, but experts say that communication is only 35% based on verbal cues. The other 65% is non-verbal. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The first lesson for today is: <b><i>Help others to understand your actions so that they don't misunderstand and get angry with you.</i></b></div>
<div>
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNU0_w43jBIdBhlyWiu1da5LGd774T_Rs_I5DuYACvA5IuLb0aRTSO46JDIcB6c4BeCb9dMAOpnaTTMo0yczAeYsR7zCwYFY1-ue7O9ITITUUxgWDZ4um0Gq3Azk0Ydyb5MkDR/s1600/nonverbal.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNU0_w43jBIdBhlyWiu1da5LGd774T_Rs_I5DuYACvA5IuLb0aRTSO46JDIcB6c4BeCb9dMAOpnaTTMo0yczAeYsR7zCwYFY1-ue7O9ITITUUxgWDZ4um0Gq3Azk0Ydyb5MkDR/s400/nonverbal.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Non-verbal communication comprises 65% of our communications. That means you should talk to people. Don't just send an e-mail.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<br />
<h4>
I thought a bit about that lady. </h4>
<br />
She was brave to tell me that she was angry. That helped to explain some of her behaviour.<br />
<br />
Ever had an ex-girlfriend who said, "You pissed me off today!" And when you ask what it is, she says, "You should know!" Ever had that experience?<br />
<br />
Sometimes people genuinely do not know what they have done wrong. They didn't mean to piss you off.<br />
<br />
Explaining why you are angry will help the other person to understand why you got angry. And then the other guy can start to address the real problem.<br />
<br />
Sometimes when others ask you why you are angry, don't say "I'm not angry." Not if you want to prevent the problem from recurring. Imagine how frustrating it is for the asker: "Are you angry with me?" "No, I'm not angry." (Face turns red.) "But you look like you're angry with me. Is everything OK?" "I'm not angry with you." (Face getting redder.)<br />
<br />
How is anyone going to deal with the real problem if you deny it, yet you're fuming beneath the surface? It's going to be difficult unless you're a good guesser.<br />
<br />
So, the second lesson is: <b><i>You need to explain why you are angry so that others can understand you.</i></b></div>
<div>
<b><i><br /></i></b></div>
<h2>
<b>Thanks for reading.</b></h2>
<div>
Here are some other pieces from me.</div>
<div>
<ol>
<li><a href="http://kevinkoo.blogspot.my/2016/08/learning-to-toot-my-own-horn.html">Learning to toot my own horn</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://kevinkoo.blogspot.my/2016/08/imagining-and-pretending-yourself-into.html">Imagining and pretending yourself into action</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://kevinkoo.blogspot.my/2016/08/4-lessons-from-my-grandfathers-life.html">Four lessons from my grandfather's life</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.petrolmalaysia.com/2016/08/how-to-survive-lay-off-in-oil-and-gas.html">How to survive a lay-off in the oil and gas industry</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.patentsmalaysia.com/2016/08/four-lessons-that-lousy-clients-can.html">Four lessons that lousy clients can teach us</a>.</li>
</ol>
</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Koo Chin Nam & Co., Advocates & Solicitors based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Also: Patent, Trade Marks, and Industrial Designs Agents
Suite 2A & 2C, 2nd Floor, P.O. Box No. 9, Wisma Pahlawan, Jalan Sultan Sulaiman, 50000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Tel: (+603) 22730688 / 22732033 / 22736033
Fax: (+603) 22739033
URL: www.koo-law.com</div>Kevin Koohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05664189151852400791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7158208.post-46977477776938567112016-08-21T15:42:00.002+08:002016-08-21T15:42:55.553+08:00Learning to Toot My Own Horn<h2>
I was fresh out of university.</h2>
<div>
Then I got a job at the family firm. I had a million ideas, when I was back in university, about how I would spend my first salary. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
When I was a teenager I thought that I would buy music albums from my favourite bands, books from my favourite authors, and musical instruments so that I could play music in the comfort of my home. I made plans to get a laptop. A mobile phone. All those things that teenagers want.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
But a friend made a remark about my man boobs. I was young. And foolish. And easily devastated. So, I signed up for a gym.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5cJaXqR_QOKuoJ_hkd8MGvfqg3Wb1zFezQ5thT1crRYISsQrPG1juaadmg55gN_3jjTifUWYw058H59Wx7ObBY1qpQJ77grQEgMs8YawFQ9EUchHUUgsdxLrFgUIfUo7nD5IF/s1600/1309602053025_9500069.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5cJaXqR_QOKuoJ_hkd8MGvfqg3Wb1zFezQ5thT1crRYISsQrPG1juaadmg55gN_3jjTifUWYw058H59Wx7ObBY1qpQJ77grQEgMs8YawFQ9EUchHUUgsdxLrFgUIfUo7nD5IF/s1600/1309602053025_9500069.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beep beep. Probably the modern day version of the horn.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
Upon signing up I was assigned a free personal training session. The guy was a Chinese, tall and good looking. He looked like a model.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
As he was going through the routines, he kept mentioning that he had just graduated, and he was looking to get into this and that. That he had a vision of something greater. I thought that he was trying to get me to sign up for the PT session, which was out of my budget. So I kept quiet.<br />
<br />
The years went by, and I kind of remembered him. Then one day I saw him on TV. He had become a local celebrity.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"Amazing what tooting your own horn can do for you", I thought as I saw him talking with his co-host.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJzSgcLR7L3YgPTCN-Xf-1CJhaS6ooVG11azFC2NZisz3I3A6-_IEgZOQ0_eIoodVf5hPt4i3EoM86-A59d7O0LKtxAYJPUlLNuq2Mbc_MVBQJC4up5aUq3RMKaDhRKJRCDsNW/s1600/Trumpet+Player.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJzSgcLR7L3YgPTCN-Xf-1CJhaS6ooVG11azFC2NZisz3I3A6-_IEgZOQ0_eIoodVf5hPt4i3EoM86-A59d7O0LKtxAYJPUlLNuq2Mbc_MVBQJC4up5aUq3RMKaDhRKJRCDsNW/s640/Trumpet+Player.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jazz music is my idea of good music. Sometimes jazz pieces feature a good horn player.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<h2>
Recently I was invited to a party.</h2>
</div>
<div>
It was the open house of one of the foreign embassies. They were having a dinner at the Shangri-la. Standing room only.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I sent my RSVP in, stating that I would attend with a guest.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And so I went with my 58 year old friend, who has a great way of getting around. He would just look at someone with a naughty smile and one of his eyebrows would arch upward. His silver suit made him look like a stage magician. Then he would say something like, "The crowd here is just too packed. Wonderful food. But terrible crowd." And then he would talk about himself. He would say outrageous things, interesting things. People were fascinated. Ten minutes later he was still talking. Sometimes twenty minutes later, he was still talking. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I saw how he made so many friends that I lost count. I just followed him around and said hi. I exchanged cards with some of them. They said hi to me. But all their eyes were on him.</div>
<div>
<br />
Some of them opened up their phones and stored his number.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
Then I thought to myself, "Amazing how tooting your own horn can get you around."<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNqeUJNRKzis7Yed0M6ReguH24Q-n-QQVItjuGnqWsHb6UzWJbj0rromr1urrFr6qQQu1a25PXZlFkjZBdY4JPib9Z9_kE5XKApOfHgRbrk9pwG4qQ3h2QUX199JxS_1NJtaPU/s1600/day11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNqeUJNRKzis7Yed0M6ReguH24Q-n-QQVItjuGnqWsHb6UzWJbj0rromr1urrFr6qQQu1a25PXZlFkjZBdY4JPib9Z9_kE5XKApOfHgRbrk9pwG4qQ3h2QUX199JxS_1NJtaPU/s640/day11.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If you don't toot your own horn, don't complain that there's no music.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<h2>
Recently a friend of mine held a street protest.</h2>
</div>
<div>
The next day, some newspapers had covered his street protest. It was a big thing.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
But we had some friends in a WhatsApp group chat who didn't say anything about it. It was as though they didn't know. Or maybe they didn't care. Or maybe it was both.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
My friend asked me for a favour. Could I share his news in the WhatsApp group? </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"Congratulations ____!" I wrote in the group. "Good job." Everyone else congratulated him too.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"Ah. So that's how you toot your own horn," I thought to myself.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEC7o9Ge0E3CRYx1KkwVumbyGz2W6ylWt3Ax6tujFtGHbA7b_rl2MhuGKITJ21A7KCZIh8GvFLVoYAEI-27L4vGP4Ls_krIZeaEyzH6vmEBPlKFzLF00G3LLTDgE_jlllp8Lyq/s1600/MjAxNC1hYjU4YzYyYjc1OTQ2ZDFm1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="448" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEC7o9Ge0E3CRYx1KkwVumbyGz2W6ylWt3Ax6tujFtGHbA7b_rl2MhuGKITJ21A7KCZIh8GvFLVoYAEI-27L4vGP4Ls_krIZeaEyzH6vmEBPlKFzLF00G3LLTDgE_jlllp8Lyq/s640/MjAxNC1hYjU4YzYyYjc1OTQ2ZDFm1.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h2>
Why should you toot your own horn?</h2>
<h4>
<b>Because if you don't do it, nobody else will do it for you.</b> </h4>
<div>
They're too busy scrolling through Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking apps. Maybe they're not interested. Or, maybe they didn't even know of what you have done. How can they toot their horn for you if they didn't know?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
<b>Because it's free.</b> </h4>
<div>
If you need to spend twenty minutes talking to the CEO of a big company at a party, it's 20 minutes of precious time that you couldn't get even elsewhere. A friend of mine told me recently that it costs RM10,000 to print a full page of black and white advertisement in the local newspapers. It costs even more if it's colour. And the CEO who sees it might just turn the page, because he's in too much of a hurry to bother.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
<b>Because people expect you to.</b></h4>
<div>
A few weeks ago a religious leader made an outrageous statement. It was prejudicial to minorities, so I went to the nearby police station and I made a police report. I shared it with some friends. My 58 year old friend heard about it and he said, "Aiyah! You should have told me. I could have helped you to organize a press conference. It would have come out in the newspapers." </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I hadn't planned on doing that, but a few other people expressed the same idea. It's as though they expect you to blow your own horn.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3pgdi17VlMrScqaiq3JVfk56ai5876XsFRixHiZ4yk_SIwFukEA3oZhq6Y6ALEG6RXr4WNRO8OOA9am6XN41XWk61a3NGFUFEjG5piyVCqE6s3KWp41_yntMIzScFTF90_1a-/s1600/toot-500x339.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3pgdi17VlMrScqaiq3JVfk56ai5876XsFRixHiZ4yk_SIwFukEA3oZhq6Y6ALEG6RXr4WNRO8OOA9am6XN41XWk61a3NGFUFEjG5piyVCqE6s3KWp41_yntMIzScFTF90_1a-/s640/toot-500x339.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sometimes you just have to toot your own horn.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h2>
Thanks for reading.</h2>
<div>
Here are some other pieces from me.</div>
<div>
<ol>
<li><a href="http://kevinkoo.blogspot.my/2016/08/imagining-and-pretending-yourself-into.html">Imagining and Pretending yourself into Action</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://kevinkoo.blogspot.my/2016/08/4-lessons-from-my-grandfathers-life.html">Four lessons from my grandfather's life</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://kevinkoo.blogspot.my/2016/08/my-response-to-1mdb-scandal.html">My response to the 1MDB scandal</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.frugalmag.com/2016/08/so-what-if-you-go-bankrupt.html">So what if you go bankrupt?</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.makakami.com/post/14-court-cases">Fourteen reported cases which mention the Rukun Negara</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.frugalmag.com/2016/08/donate-your-body-to-science-to-save.html">Donate your body to science to save on funeral costs</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.frugalmag.com/2016/05/comparing-cloud-storage-google-drive-vs.html">Comparing Cloud Storage: Google Drive vs Microsoft OneDrive</a></li>
<li><a href="http://kevinkoo.blogspot.my/2007/01/living-up-to-expectations.html">Living up to expectations.</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Koo Chin Nam & Co., Advocates & Solicitors based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Also: Patent, Trade Marks, and Industrial Designs Agents
Suite 2A & 2C, 2nd Floor, P.O. Box No. 9, Wisma Pahlawan, Jalan Sultan Sulaiman, 50000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Tel: (+603) 22730688 / 22732033 / 22736033
Fax: (+603) 22739033
URL: www.koo-law.com</div>Kevin Koohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05664189151852400791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7158208.post-72284591423517273252016-08-19T19:40:00.000+08:002016-08-19T19:40:04.601+08:00Imagining and Pretending Yourself into Action<h2>
Some days I feel lazy. I don't even want to get out of bed.</h2>
But then I have to work. I have to earn a living. And I have to take care of three other individuals.<br />
<br />
I need to do things. Walk here, go there, take this, do that. We all do.<br />
<br />
During my school days I learned about inertia. It's why things don't move and they need a kick in the butt to get them moving. And once they start moving they keep moving : It's also inertia. But in reality, there's also friction, and energy loss. Resistance. This causes loss of speed.<br />
<br />
We need to get things done. But it's easier to make believe and pretend than to take action. If you don't believe me, just go to a coffee shop with your friends and start talking about how we could improve the world. You'll get lots of ideas. And then you should ask, "Who's interested in putting what we discussed into action?" Don't be surprised if they all keep quiet.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnk6aT3yeHGxKLV89JiyionfaR-JfMpkGf98InVnPAainOmTKtaUvnnLy7DjVteuG3LYbUdCnRift2JMYIUUSxvkvcGOMNqLCVcACSLqcvX0SxYPEsbFd940zOcr075g9I9oyN/s1600/work-like-number-two.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnk6aT3yeHGxKLV89JiyionfaR-JfMpkGf98InVnPAainOmTKtaUvnnLy7DjVteuG3LYbUdCnRift2JMYIUUSxvkvcGOMNqLCVcACSLqcvX0SxYPEsbFd940zOcr075g9I9oyN/s640/work-like-number-two.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pretend that you are number two. Work hard. Get to number one. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
<br />
<h2>
Here are some ways to make yourself take action: Through pretending and imagining.</h2>
<br />
<h3>
Pretending.</h3>
When I feel too lazy to walk, I pretend that I'm a boy again. I hear the voice of my troop leader, telling us to start marching. And so I relive my childhood and I start marching. And after a few minutes I've already walked the walk that I needed to walk.<br />
<br />
When I feel too tired to take the groceries from the car to the apartment, I pretend that I'm in my early twenties again. The time when I loved going to the gym. I pretend that I'm doing an exercise, lifting weights. It makes lifting the groceries that much more fun. I hear my personal trainer Jason Collar (he was at Fitness First) telling me that form is more important than weight.<br />
<br />
It's easier to pretend when you've had fun experiences that are similar to what you need to do. But it's not easy to make the connection.<br />
<br />
So I think that you need to learn how to pretend.<br />
<br />
When you think the task at hand is too big, you need to break it down into more manageable chunks.<br />
<br />
Each chunk is potentially something you can turn into a game. When you turn it into a game, you forget that it's work. And work is drudgery. Think of it in terms of something that you enjoy, and pretend that you're doing that. And you'll enjoy it.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJQjSbZADja9_uEaXSbE-zWCSwGbQgmf7DCwjHo2i59e_sQpi0ccrSpn-MMf6JCgflj5btnFwg1lSB2xO22bpdMx7eDyLc7gudak8Q0x7Z69TJpMz5L9otgY1juF_RuX54aTdb/s1600/get-started.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJQjSbZADja9_uEaXSbE-zWCSwGbQgmf7DCwjHo2i59e_sQpi0ccrSpn-MMf6JCgflj5btnFwg1lSB2xO22bpdMx7eDyLc7gudak8Q0x7Z69TJpMz5L9otgY1juF_RuX54aTdb/s640/get-started.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The secret of getting ahead is getting started.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<h3>
Imagining.</h3>
<div>
When you feel lost, you can close your eyes and do it in your mind. Go through every step. Again. Again. Again. And then you're ready to do it.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Sometimes things overwhelm us when we see how big they are. You might feel scared that you'll screw up. And maybe you're right, because you've never done something as big as that before.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
But you need to break it down into small parts. And that you imagine each step in your mind. How does step one link to step two? And step two link to step three? There is a flow. It's a series of steps. It's a journey. Episode after episode. A trilogy. Or more. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Sometimes you'll feel overwhelmed when you remember that what you're doing is dead serious shit. It's easier to imagine that someone else is doing the thing, and you're merely advising him. Imagine that that guy is stressed out and he wants your advice. And so you give him the advice that you think he could use. And then imagine that he asks you, could you help me take the first step that you've outlined?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And then you do it.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h2>
Thanks for reading.</h2>
<div>
Here are some other pieces from me.</div>
<div>
<ol>
<li><a href="http://www.frugalmag.com/2016/08/donate-your-body-to-science-to-save.html">Donate your body to science to save funeral costs</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.frugalmag.com/2016/08/so-what-if-you-go-bankrupt.html">So what if you go bankrupt?</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.frugalmag.com/2016/08/we-cannot-be-happy-247.html">We cannot be happy 24/7</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.patentsmalaysia.com/2016/08/how-to-make-money-from-open-source.html">How to make money from Open Source</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.patentsmalaysia.com/2016/07/how-to-invent-musical-group.html">How to invent a musical group</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.makakami.com/post/14-court-cases">Fourteen reported cases which mention Rukun Negara</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.makakami.com/post/kafirharbi">Non-Muslims are not kafir harbi</a>.</li>
</ol>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Koo Chin Nam & Co., Advocates & Solicitors based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Also: Patent, Trade Marks, and Industrial Designs Agents
Suite 2A & 2C, 2nd Floor, P.O. Box No. 9, Wisma Pahlawan, Jalan Sultan Sulaiman, 50000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Tel: (+603) 22730688 / 22732033 / 22736033
Fax: (+603) 22739033
URL: www.koo-law.com</div>Kevin Koohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05664189151852400791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7158208.post-73528946181765423542016-08-17T03:15:00.001+08:002016-08-18T00:29:55.590+08:00My Last Will and Testament<h2>
Why Now?</h2>
<div>
Because life is too short, and we don't know what's going to happen.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And because it might not be the final one. Every will is going to have that phrase "the last will and testament", but who knows when you'll make another one.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
But if I were to die tomorrow, I would want my family to honour my wishes.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
These wishes.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZPlNIAj1UTbuhlzF3GXcSbeWP73zxBUdNS4gY0v44nT-zqDZd9NHgL5DCD5rYEu4LbpjbiwWP__bvz6OUwT4c9s4Bh1-RXoJIfHIiCcCI7FgdW62Ht61MeQllxyXrqTIP-Q2s/s1600/we-are-stars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZPlNIAj1UTbuhlzF3GXcSbeWP73zxBUdNS4gY0v44nT-zqDZd9NHgL5DCD5rYEu4LbpjbiwWP__bvz6OUwT4c9s4Bh1-RXoJIfHIiCcCI7FgdW62Ht61MeQllxyXrqTIP-Q2s/s1600/we-are-stars.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Remember, we are stars wrapped in skin.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /></div>
<h2>
So this is my will.</h2>
<h3>
First, the preliminaries.</h3>
<div>
I am sane. I am a consenting adult. I make this of my own free will.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Then, my messages to my family.</h3>
<div>
To my parents, thank you for raising me. You showered me with love and generosity and you taught me how to be a man. I hope that I've improved over the years. Maturing like fine wine. Or maybe ageing like vinegar.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
To my brother, thank you for sibling rivalry and thanks for making the effort to connect in the past few years. You turned out to be a fine man. I hope you make it big sometime.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
To my wife, thank you for choosing me. Thank you for bearing our children. I'm sorry that I never made it big or struck it rich, but I tried.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
To my children, I'm sorry that I couldn't leave you a large inheritance. What I lacked in financials, I hope I made up for in love. I hope that I've been an example for you.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Third, my trustee and executor.</h3>
<div>
I direct my brother to be my trustee and executor. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
But if he's dead, my wife should be my trustee and executrix. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Unless she's married to someone else. Then I want one of my parents to be my trustee and executor.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Fourth, my assets.</h3>
<div>
My apartment I give to my children, with the condition that if money is tight, it should be sold. Out of the profits, repay my mother what she paid for this apartment. (When my mother retired a few years ago, she dumped her retirement gratuity into this home.)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
My office I direct to be sold. My parents should be repaid what they paid on my behalf. Any proceeds left after that should be divided between my parents and my wife.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The little photo studio which I bought with my wife, I direct to be sold off. No need to service the loan. But first, return the deposit to my parents. Modus operandi as above.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Any other real estate, hold it in trust for the children. When the youngest one reaches 24, transfer it to all of them in equal shares. (You never know, I might get more real estate in the future.)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I have no cash to speak of. Most of it has gone to Ju-Ju-Be bags and family holidays. I hope that I've traded my cash for fond memories. Perhaps think of me when you use the bags.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
My books should be donated to a rural library somewhere in East Malaysia. They need more reading materials.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Harvest my organs wherever possible and donate them to people who need them. At least a part of me will continue to live on in some other bodies.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Give me a funeral according to Christian rites.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXYzDDakdONrvz6mfIIJ4u5F5KXvZsYPP0jz7LAd5EgPOSL2vHfXlyr3CrZqhos_127skkntqJUzUyAuO4DMG7spikOdBMPc_3Hxba_33nUvcwNHko_Gg1rdOEr_v4nk_bhlDE/s1600/designit.jobs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXYzDDakdONrvz6mfIIJ4u5F5KXvZsYPP0jz7LAd5EgPOSL2vHfXlyr3CrZqhos_127skkntqJUzUyAuO4DMG7spikOdBMPc_3Hxba_33nUvcwNHko_Gg1rdOEr_v4nk_bhlDE/s640/designit.jobs.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Message from the Grave.</h3>
<div>
To my parents, I want you to know that I tried my best. I'm sorry if I didn't live up to your expectations. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
To my wife, I know the temptation to compare with your brothers-in-law. Some of them were wildly successful and owned houses that were large and spacious. Some of them could spend money on holidays and travels. I only bought diaper bags for you. I'm sorry.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
But you should know that I was trying my best. I was trying to earn a living for the kids. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And at the same time I was pursuing my doctorate. I was offered the MyPhD scholarship this year. But I postponed my studies because of our second kid. I could hardly read or write anything.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
To my kids, I've done my part for society. I stood up whenever I had to. I helped people that you'll probably never hear from, because people just don't know how to say thanks. And because some people feel so ashamed for asking for help that when they get whatever they asked for, they slink away into the night and never come back with so much as thanks.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Never mind that some of them were quite rich and well-to-do.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
You should know that I helped your great-grandmother turn her red I/C into a blue one. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
To my brother, you should find a nice girl and get married. Of course you should choose your wife carefully. But there comes a time when you need to stop choosing, because the ladies have a shelf life. No opportunity waits forever.<br />
<br />
<h2>
Thanks for reading.</h2>
</div>
<div>
Here are some other pieces from me.</div>
<div>
<ol>
<li><a href="http://kevinkoo.blogspot.my/2016/08/4-lessons-from-my-grandfathers-life.html">Four lessons from my grandfather's life</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://kevinkoo.blogspot.my/2009/07/on-entrepreneurship-and-lawyers-and.html">On entrepreneurship and lawyers -- and contractors</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.makakami.com/post/kafirharbi">Non-muslims are not kafir harbi</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.frugalmag.com/2016/08/we-cannot-be-happy-247.html">We cannot be happy 24/7</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.frugalmag.com/2016/08/so-what-if-you-go-bankrupt.html">So what if you go bankrupt?</a></li>
<li><a href="http://kevinkoo.blogspot.my/2016/08/think-of-baby-before-babe.html">Think of the baby before the babe</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://kevinkoo.blogspot.my/2007/01/living-up-to-expectations.html">Living up to expectations</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.makakami.com/post/religious-extremism-against-rukunegara">Religious extremism is against the Rukunegara</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://kevinkoo.blogspot.my/2008/07/renovation-inspiration.html">Renovation inspiration (inspired by flipping)</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.frugalmag.com/2010/04/curt-degerman-millionaire-tin-can.html">Curt Degerman - millionaire tin can collector</a>.</li>
</ol>
</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Koo Chin Nam & Co., Advocates & Solicitors based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Also: Patent, Trade Marks, and Industrial Designs Agents
Suite 2A & 2C, 2nd Floor, P.O. Box No. 9, Wisma Pahlawan, Jalan Sultan Sulaiman, 50000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Tel: (+603) 22730688 / 22732033 / 22736033
Fax: (+603) 22739033
URL: www.koo-law.com</div>Kevin Koohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05664189151852400791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7158208.post-27317509136890841062016-08-14T01:00:00.001+08:002016-08-14T01:14:34.899+08:004 Lessons from My Grandfather's Life<h2>
He was the third child in the family.</h2>
<div>
I think there were more than ten of them.<br />
<br />
It was the 1920's. Times were hard at the turn of the last century. His father had just died. There wasn't enough to pay for the coffin of my great-grandfather, and so some of the family members had to sacrifice.</div>
<div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkrHSB3t3LaFAtz4aCnvdhyphenhyphenhpEKsXz2bCRv9g34MDmmRFvMvgyxHsYMOFhNk06awlK1VlYpxI_ooZz0o4xjlcSmXkUMlGKzE9rCMOy2vtnIscjdgLxqYH7j6w1WY9F_hNXVR2g/s1600/IMG20160807_225409_-1900407282.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkrHSB3t3LaFAtz4aCnvdhyphenhyphenhpEKsXz2bCRv9g34MDmmRFvMvgyxHsYMOFhNk06awlK1VlYpxI_ooZz0o4xjlcSmXkUMlGKzE9rCMOy2vtnIscjdgLxqYH7j6w1WY9F_hNXVR2g/s640/IMG20160807_225409_-1900407282.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My grandfather's life was not a smooth one. He had moments of gloom and yet he had moments of radiant joy. In this post I try to draw some lessons from his life history.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /></div>
<div>
As the third eldest child he knew he had a responsibility. His father was the son of a rich man. But his father had demanded his inheritance early on. His father got his share of the inheritance and spent it on wine and women. Then his father passed away. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So my grandfather took a passage to Malaya. He found a merchant who was rich enough to need a servant. He became a bonded servant. Even though he was just a young boy, he hopped aboard a ship and followed his new master to Malaya. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Eventually he served out his bond. He went back to China. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The sacrifice he made had helped to tide his family over. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<i>The first lesson is: responsibility requires sacrifice.</i><br />
<br />
When the situation demands it, you sacrifice for the family. </div>
<h2>
He went back with some success.</h2>
<div>
It was the late 1930s.<br />
<br />
He found a woman in China. He married her and settled down. He built a house about 4 storeys high, facing the main road. There was a paddy field nearby. (I know, I visited the house last year.)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Then the sky darkened. He read the news. He heard rumours. The West was in depression. A Great Depression. China's economy was affected.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I heard that his wife was beautiful. He must have been madly in love with her. But he wasn't rich, and the economy was slowing down.</div>
<div>
<br />
<div>
He decided to go to Malaya to seek his fortune. Again.</div>
<br />
In his doubt, he fell back on what he knew. In his mind, he was certain that he would make his fortune in Malaya.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
But he didn't know the future, so he didn't bring his pretty wife along. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
<div>
<i>The second lesson is: In uncertainty, do what you are most certain of.</i></div>
<h2>
War broke out suddenly.</h2>
<div>
It was the early 1940s.<br />
<br />
He was caught unawares when the war broke out. The Japanese had invaded Malaya! The news spread quickly. What was he to do? He knew as a Chinese national he was at grave danger.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Maybe he thought that it was the end of his journey. Maybe he thought that he would not make it out of the war alive.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And so he married a second lady. My grandmother. It was the war and everybody didn't know what would happen tomorrow. Except the Japanese invaders, who knew that they wanted to rape and slaughter all the ethnic Chinese.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
My grandmother was older than my grandfather by a few years. She had run away from home. To cover up her running away her family arranged for her to marry him. That was how it started.<br />
<br />
Their little family started during war. Grandmother hid in a little town down South to avoid the Japanese soldiers.<br />
<br />
He lived life as it came to him. One day at a time.<br />
<br />
He burned his bridges. He raised a small family.<br />
<br />
<i>The third lesson is: Take chances.</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc89JZ6UMKJK0tnGtSYzwdpSTW-et72xeoe3MjaK_eoFxEbgXickXPhXsKhkWAsBtnTkPTQo_CoRJmfzBOr1n_dR3BQPps4F7W-TmbdcdQ1yMFvhoYxnr_w5ZuWkgp4VBMfKjT/s1600/badthings-goodthings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc89JZ6UMKJK0tnGtSYzwdpSTW-et72xeoe3MjaK_eoFxEbgXickXPhXsKhkWAsBtnTkPTQo_CoRJmfzBOr1n_dR3BQPps4F7W-TmbdcdQ1yMFvhoYxnr_w5ZuWkgp4VBMfKjT/s640/badthings-goodthings.jpg" width="512" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Because of the war, my grandmother met my grandfather. If not for it, I might not even exist today.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<h2>
And then the war was over.</h2>
</div>
<div>
It was the late 1940s.<br />
<br />
He went back to China. There, my grandmother gave birth to another child. And then the first grandmother, who was younger and prettier than my grandmother, gave birth to her one and only child.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
They lived there for a few years.<br />
<br />
Eventually, my grandfather thought of returning to Malaya. Again. He had two wives and five kids. More wives and more kids than me. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I heard he wanted to come back to Malaya with the first wife. The pretty wife.<br />
<br />
But my grandmother heard about it and she made a deal with the first wife. Since she was born and bred here, my grandmother would return to Malaya first, with her kids. When things had settled down, the other grandmother could come down.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
My grandfather had no say in the matter. He had been outmaneuvered. He had to come to Malaya with my grandmother and her children. Their children. His children.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
My grandfather and my grandmother and their kids came to Malaya before Merdeka. They restarted their life, the one that had begun in the war.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
For some reason, the other grandmother never came to Malaya. My father and his siblings never met her again. They met their half-sibling many, many years later, after China opened up.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<i>The fourth lesson is: you have to know how to keep a secret.</i><br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<br />
<h3>
Wait, there's a fifth lesson.</h3>
<br /></div>
<div>
<i>The fifth lesson is: a man can be outmanoeuvred by a woman!</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<br />
<i><br /></i>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfVU_DcSmo72una7n5vGdCetN66NdEznbSH3bZ8HzpiUzXZESTPBRzEtDPEdYNPrcgDegX53d-g7enZb2otwHeAI140YKevTYBjkFzGOf4kRxeOMN7PBLUCdOD5heuPUCL2A6K/s1600/IMG20160807_213228_132127218.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfVU_DcSmo72una7n5vGdCetN66NdEznbSH3bZ8HzpiUzXZESTPBRzEtDPEdYNPrcgDegX53d-g7enZb2otwHeAI140YKevTYBjkFzGOf4kRxeOMN7PBLUCdOD5heuPUCL2A6K/s400/IMG20160807_213228_132127218.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We have a happy home, even though our house is small. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<i><br /></i>
<h2>
Thanks for reading.</h2>
</div>
<div>
You can read some other posts from me:</div>
<div>
<ol>
<li><a href="http://www.frugalmag.com/2015/04/spending-on-experiences-rather-than.html">Spending on Experiences, Rather than Things, Makes You Happier</a></li>
<li><a href="http://kevinkoo.blogspot.my/2005/11/touting-in-case-of-mcquade-v-barnes.html">Touting in the case of McQuade v Barnes</a></li>
<li><a href="http://kevinkoo.blogspot.my/2006/03/in-search-of-bachan-singh-v-mahinder_16.html">In search of Bachan Singh v Mahinder Kaur [1956] 1 MLJ 97</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.frugalmag.com/2011/11/oil-sugar-and-salt.html">Oil, Sugar and Salt</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.frugalmag.com/2014/03/anger-and-shouting.html">Anger and Shouting</a></li>
<li><a href="http://kevinkoo.blogspot.my/2009/05/limited-success-and-limited-failure.html">Limited success and limited failure</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Koo Chin Nam & Co., Advocates & Solicitors based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Also: Patent, Trade Marks, and Industrial Designs Agents
Suite 2A & 2C, 2nd Floor, P.O. Box No. 9, Wisma Pahlawan, Jalan Sultan Sulaiman, 50000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Tel: (+603) 22730688 / 22732033 / 22736033
Fax: (+603) 22739033
URL: www.koo-law.com</div>Kevin Koohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05664189151852400791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7158208.post-7656745473147485452016-08-12T02:00:00.003+08:002016-08-17T06:16:31.132+08:00Think of the Baby Before the Babe<h2>
If you go to an event and meet a babe...</h2>
<div>
And she connects with you, smiles at you, and says that she'll be in touch.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Remind yourself that you have a wife and kids at home.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8DWeXBfO7IdGqjHJxlZYM2FFD-4nwFKnZ0Fuw7h9eLC7hWy-pqmSBg_UjMg3-7l87bDyTrshgfMeF37SxSPGwZO99-vejvi_6g9G-VjwIR5B_7iX6ijLuKQz6fhCDNmKgp4tJ/s1600/IMG20160807_225326_490085698.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="327" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8DWeXBfO7IdGqjHJxlZYM2FFD-4nwFKnZ0Fuw7h9eLC7hWy-pqmSBg_UjMg3-7l87bDyTrshgfMeF37SxSPGwZO99-vejvi_6g9G-VjwIR5B_7iX6ijLuKQz6fhCDNmKgp4tJ/s640/IMG20160807_225326_490085698.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What you invest your time in defines who you are. Who you invest yourself in determines who you will be.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<a name='more'></a><br /></div>
<h3>
The wife.</h3>
<div>
A wife who cooks and cleans and washes the clothes.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
A wife who gave birth to two children, who keep us up late at night.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
A wife who wakes up in the middle of the night and breastfeeds the baby.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
The kid.</h3>
<div>
And think about the kid that sings Happy Birthday to You in his own special way.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The way he sings "ABCD" and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and expects everyone to clap for him at the end of it. And then he takes a bow and says "Thank you, thank you."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The way he tries to argue with adults in his kid logic.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
His mischievous and cheeky smile as you tell him a joke.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
The baby.</h3>
<div>
And think about the little baby who cries every time she wants a drink of milk.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The little baby who gets excited about drinking out of a baby bottle, and flaps her hands in the air while her whole baby face curves into a smile.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The little baby who props herself up on her hands as she tries to stand up, and uses a little stool as her crutch.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h2>
Life is full of choices.</h2>
<div>
Sticking it out and sticking with the program is a choice.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Living with someone who is demanding and unreasonable and wants to be held and fed and coddled at all hours of the day is a choice.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Living with someone who dirties herself without being able to clean herself up, and looks at you and cries as though it's your fault that she's soiled her pants, is a choice.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Loving someone even though she looks different from what she used to is a choice.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Working hard through the night and into the wee hours of the morning just to make the money is a choice.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Entertaining someone else's shopaholic urges and putting up the money with a polite smile and knowing that it comes at great cost to yourself is a choice.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Toughing it out with the hope that one day your kids will grow up into beautiful adults and your spouse will become wiser and self-sufficient with time, even though it seems uncertain, is a choice.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Going for days or even weeks without physical intimacy yet choosing never to make an issue out of it is a choice.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Loving your family enough to want to do what's best for them, is a choice.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It's the choices we make today that shape our lives tomorrow. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ6R6gRvLj6F_zposnYeiLNYazSNlUk8Rw73oWpxjkNeKfH43XajP8u8w2UoBI_LsngrroDyJDS-gWJn1DGYZbQodEUtF0jGv65rTUl07wQ70ywh3W8YTgXlgdWaDzJ9IyTYk2/s1600/IMG20160807_225145_-851692676.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ6R6gRvLj6F_zposnYeiLNYazSNlUk8Rw73oWpxjkNeKfH43XajP8u8w2UoBI_LsngrroDyJDS-gWJn1DGYZbQodEUtF0jGv65rTUl07wQ70ywh3W8YTgXlgdWaDzJ9IyTYk2/s640/IMG20160807_225145_-851692676.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We make our own silver linings. They don't appear by magic.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h2>
On Being Professional.</h2>
Babes are people too. They deserve to be treated with respect. And so you should treat them with respect.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
There is more than one way to connect with people. The relationships that we choose to build with others need not be stereotyped. And a man and a woman can be friends. It doesn't have to be "that way" or only about "that thing".</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I choose to be professional in my dealings. We can work together, and network with each other. Friendships can lead to business.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We all need business, so why not turn every babe that we've ever met into a business associate. Others might find them attractive and fascinating. You'll get invited more often when you bring your friend along.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The funny guys, the strange guys, and the famous guys all really want to connect with you because they want to be friends. Just be a friend. Be real. Be genuine. They know when you're faking it.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Over time you'll build a business network that's profitable for you and your friends. It might be that some of the people in your network just happen to be babes. Or celebrities. Or famous people. And that's okay, because they are people just like you and me.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Just be yourself and don't think about how hot they look. After you've met them a few times you probably won't notice it. You'll probably appreciate their intelligence and determination and integrity even more. Those are the things that remain valuable when people get old.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Of course, you should also cultivate in yourself the very same things that you admire in others. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
So think of baby before you think about the babe.</h3>
<div>
And then you'll know how to set your limits. It's not about personal attraction. It should be about professionalism.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Because one day, your baby will grow up into a babe. And then someone else will meet her. And he'll think about her. And then he will read this post. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And that someone else will know that he has to be professional when dealing with your baby.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Thanks for reading.</h3>
</div>
<div>
Here are some other pieces from me:</div>
<div>
<ol>
<li><a href="http://kevinkoo.blogspot.com/2016/08/my-response-to-1mdb-scandal.html">My response to the 1MDB scandal</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://kevinkoo.blogspot.my/2013/04/remembrance-of-scrabble-king.html">Remembrance of a Scrabble King</a> (ode to my old teacher, Leonard Wong).</li>
<li><a href="http://kevinkoo.blogspot.my/2013/04/youth-are-spending-with-abandon.html">Youth are spending with abandon</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.frugalmag.com/2016/08/so-what-if-you-go-bankrupt.html">So what if you go bankrupt?</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.frugalmag.com/2016/07/you-dont-have-to-be-gigolo-to-make-ends.html">You don't have to be a gigolo to make ends meet.</a></li>
<li><a href="http://kevinkoo.blogspot.my/2008/03/interesting-day-at-court.html">An interesting day at court</a>.</li>
</ol>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
<div>
You can reach out to me on Twitter at <a href="https://twitter.com/kevinkoosk">@kevinkoosk</a>.</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Koo Chin Nam & Co., Advocates & Solicitors based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Also: Patent, Trade Marks, and Industrial Designs Agents
Suite 2A & 2C, 2nd Floor, P.O. Box No. 9, Wisma Pahlawan, Jalan Sultan Sulaiman, 50000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Tel: (+603) 22730688 / 22732033 / 22736033
Fax: (+603) 22739033
URL: www.koo-law.com</div>Kevin Koohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05664189151852400791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7158208.post-75599888481072134182016-08-07T01:46:00.000+08:002016-08-17T06:14:28.414+08:00For the Mrs<h2>
Here goes nothing.</h2>
<div>
Since this is a blog, it's not meant to be taken seriously. So here goes nothing.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Note: This post is meant for no one in particular. But it might resonate with you, in which case it's highly likely that you're a henpecked husband who is in terrible need for directions to the exit.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
First up, is a poem for the pecking hen.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzIUwGLco5ZjlmwVlEZcH-potLTdxBES0ABT2Vj43hKkeUW3N9h6tngVbk5CsOkK0GixZNu3sT28xsy9uS0jQMGEB5bugcmnjK4YlLJPPI5qeoMNsmNJ3gG02xSlcYYJ9JtEkF/s1600/control.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzIUwGLco5ZjlmwVlEZcH-potLTdxBES0ABT2Vj43hKkeUW3N9h6tngVbk5CsOkK0GixZNu3sT28xsy9uS0jQMGEB5bugcmnjK4YlLJPPI5qeoMNsmNJ3gG02xSlcYYJ9JtEkF/s1600/control.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Have you ever felt that you've been a victim of mind-control? It could be an invading species of aliens has infiltrated your mind and made you a mindless slave to a mindless slave driver. With the rising popularity of mindfulness, it might be in your best interests to be a mindful slave to a mindful slave driver.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<a name='more'></a><br /></div>
<h3>
A nonsense poem for the pecking hen.</h3>
<div>
Spend and spend and spend!</div>
<div>
And scold me as you will.</div>
<div>
Make all your demands!</div>
<div>
Our s*x is next to nil.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
One day I'll be gone</div>
<div>
And your world will stand still.</div>
<div>
Then you'll know I was the one</div>
<div>
Who helped to pay the bills!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I know that I'm no fun.</div>
<div>
I'm boring as they come!</div>
<div>
But at least I'm trying very hard,</div>
<div>
Not to be a jobless bum!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h2>
Consider rewording your words.</h2>
<div>
There are some words and phrases that you could phrase differently. They are, after all, only words, and it costs you nothing to say something in a different way.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Phrase: "You always ... !"</h4>
<div>
Comment: </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"Always" is a very strong word. It implies that it always happens. It implies that things never happen differently. Whenever you say that, you reinforce the idea that there is no alternative. To you, things can only happen one way: The way you think that it will always, always happen. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Instead of saying, "You always...." say instead: "Sometimes, you...." And you need to explain to us blur, dense, befuddled men why it makes you upset.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Bad: "You always forget to take the trash out!"</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Good: "Sometimes you forget to take the trash out. That makes me upset."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Show the causation. Make it logical. We men try to be logical. You women are in touch with your feelings, and nobody is denying it. But try to be in touch with logic as well.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Phrase: "You always have a lot of excuses!"</h4>
<div>
Comment:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
An excuse implies that something is being avoided. If there is nothing being avoided, it's wrong to say that someone is putting up excuses. And please note the comment about "always", in the portion above.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Instead of pointing to "always having a lot of excuses", say instead: "Is (something I am doing) an excuse to (something you think I want to do)?"</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Bad: "You said you want to go to the toilet. You should have gone just now! You always have a lot of excuses!"</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Good: "You had a chance to go to the toilet just now. Is going to the toilet now simply an excuse for you to check your WhatsApp and your Facebook while I sit in the car and breastfeed the baby?"</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Just be honest. Tell me what you're thinking. Sometimes you have a suspicious mind, even if you won't admit it. We are willing to come clean (at least, I am) if you phrase your objection in a way that I can reply to. How am I going to reply to your accusation that I have a lot of excuses? It'd be an argument spanning a timeline of god knows how many years. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Be specific, and point to the specific thing that you dislike. I can deal with one thing. I can't deal with amorphous, blob-like statements which do not have any specific act or item but seek to thrash me nevertheless. But if you insist, just go right ahead and thrash me with your rolling pin. It'd be much clearer to me that you are unhappy and you just want to thrash me.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Phrase: "You never ....!"</h4>
<div>
Comment: </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"Never" is as strong a word as "always". Never implies that something never, ever happens. On a scale of one to ten, it's zero. You're saying that it's an impossibility with me. But I've been told never to say "impossible", and to say instead, "I'm possible." </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
When you say that I never, ever do something, you reinforce your perception that I am good for nothing. On the off-chance that I do that thing you say I never do, you might have the sneaking suspicion that it's a one-off. Hence, when I finally get something right, you might still want to thrash me, instead of applauding me.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Say instead: "Sometimes you fail to ....." Then name the omission that you think should have been a commission. Name the event that you wish would happen, but has yet to materialize. And then tell us how happy it would make you if it happened. Say it like a wish, because if you really want it to happen, and if making it happen will make you happy, then most men will make it happen for you.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Bad: "You never bring me for vacations in Europe!"</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Good: "I wish you could bring me for vacation in Europe, because it would make me really happy. It's my childhood dream to stand at the top of the Eiffel Tower."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Men have feelings too. We know how it is. But your wishes might be a bit out of our budget. If it takes some time to make your wish come true, we want you to know that it's happening, sometime in the future, just not as soon as you wish it could happen. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
But we'll try, if it makes you happy.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Phrase: "You can't blame me for .....!"</h4>
<div>
Comment:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
If you know that something you do makes your man unhappy, try to do less of it. Do more of what makes your man happy. You have to show effort. It's not fair to say, "I know that you don't like this thing that I do, but you can't blame me for doing it, because ....!" If you've tried your very best to not do it, and it still happens, we might forgive you. Because we will know that you've put in your effort to avert it from happening. And because we are human too. And because we don't like to judge others, lest we be judged.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Say instead: "I've tried not to (the action that your man detests), but I was unable to resist and in the end I (say what you did). I am very sorry." </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
That last bit about being sorry is very important. You have no idea how important it is to us.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Bad: "You're never at home, so you can't blame me for going on an online shopping binge! I have nothing else to entertain me, except spending your money!"</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Good: "I tried my best not to buy yet another Ju-Ju-Be Bag, but I felt the peer pressure to conform to appearances, so I eventually ordered another three of them Ju-Ju-Be bags. I'm sorry for spending your money, but they were too lovely to resist. I'll try to resist harder next time."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And of course, just saying that doesn't mean anything unless you really try not to get another bunch of stuff in that way. We are living in the new Millenium. You can't seriously be telling me that you're one of the weak-willed women from Victorian novels, who fall for vicious villains and vilify your own husbands.....<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqz99zjhNtzYTWOWVwRt81YsDzcwzt2pf0KB-c4FiNzWtLge0Ohm2FOmJhUkppiTHBVxQTB59zL1tTpeXyguXj9HB6YyRQltFhSMeOg4IBbreicN0c7lg8-IwmV0fHEuDqDj_X/s1600/youintentions.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqz99zjhNtzYTWOWVwRt81YsDzcwzt2pf0KB-c4FiNzWtLge0Ohm2FOmJhUkppiTHBVxQTB59zL1tTpeXyguXj9HB6YyRQltFhSMeOg4IBbreicN0c7lg8-IwmV0fHEuDqDj_X/s1600/youintentions.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You have to know why you do certain things. Other people .... they don't matter so much.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
In The End?</h3>
<div>
Like the song from the 80's goes: Words don't come easy to me. But saying these words to you, Mr Nobody-in-Particular, makes it easier. If these words resonate with you, you have my sympathies. If you think this post has been a bunch of bollocks, I'm glad for you. (You probably are the alpha male in your household.)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
If these words above have resonated with you, you have two options. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Option number one is to tell your spouse that you're unhappy with certain words and phrases that she is using. You can then gently suggest to her alternative phrases and words. If you're the particularly creative type, why not share with me your words in the comments. They could be useful to other men.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Option number two is to get ready to walk away from it all. You bear as far as you can bear, and then you tell her that you've had enough of her bull. (Get it? Bull and bear.) And then you pack your bags and run away as fast as your little legs can carry you. If she's as bad as I think she is, she'll be running after you with a shotgun or a cleaver.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Oh wait, there's actually an option number three. You can pretend to be a flowerpot, a rock, or a lamp post. Remain inert and quiet while she lashes you with her tongue. A little silence doesn't cost a lot, and you can reply when she has calmed down. If she wonders about your silence, you can either tell her that she's beautiful when she's angry (stole that from the movies) or you're too stunned to reply (since your XT processor is being outpaced by her iPhone). Wait for the slap. A kiss might follow.<br />
<br />
<h2>
Thanks for reading.</h2>
</div>
<div>
Read my other pieces.</div>
<div>
<ol>
<li><a href="http://kevinkoo.blogspot.com/2016/08/my-last-will-and-testament.html">My last will and testament</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://kevinkoo.blogspot.com/2013/04/a-shorter-term-for-parliament.html">A shorter term for Parliament</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://kevinkoo.blogspot.com/2009/08/special-month-of-ramadhan.html">The special month of Ramadhan</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://kevinkoo.blogspot.com/2009/05/berlusconi-divorce.html">The Berlusconi divorce</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://kevinkoo.blogspot.my/2009/05/maintenance-payments-under-divorce.html">Maintenance payments under divorce orders</a>.</li>
</ol>
</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Koo Chin Nam & Co., Advocates & Solicitors based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Also: Patent, Trade Marks, and Industrial Designs Agents
Suite 2A & 2C, 2nd Floor, P.O. Box No. 9, Wisma Pahlawan, Jalan Sultan Sulaiman, 50000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Tel: (+603) 22730688 / 22732033 / 22736033
Fax: (+603) 22739033
URL: www.koo-law.com</div>Kevin Koohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05664189151852400791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7158208.post-8229018316182536292016-08-05T02:36:00.003+08:002016-08-07T01:51:51.057+08:00My Response to the 1MDB Scandal<h2>
It's Famous...</h2>
<div>
Yes, it is. It's everywhere in the international news at the moment. But it doesn't mean that it's true. People always ask me what I think about 1MDB. I say that it's a company owned by MOF. Then they ask me about the man on top. I say that every person is innocent until proven guilty. People tend to stifle a laugh when they hear that. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDQXkcAQ1kDMsQefTWTyQ13OV7WZzPwrcm4bGjpyVaEuM-SvI6P8JanF7ttm2Id9xsXlMOESExS5jMSFkzIqCFrNFGExlYD2aUvFOvDNRLGM8paO4HyjLtSAmteG3YTMmtAZsn/s1600/gancelfitz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDQXkcAQ1kDMsQefTWTyQ13OV7WZzPwrcm4bGjpyVaEuM-SvI6P8JanF7ttm2Id9xsXlMOESExS5jMSFkzIqCFrNFGExlYD2aUvFOvDNRLGM8paO4HyjLtSAmteG3YTMmtAZsn/s400/gancelfitz.jpg" width="363" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1MDB has been in the international news recently. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div>
<br />
<a name='more'></a>Recently I went to a lunch. Some old gentlemen of ages past were tucking into their meal while laughing about the issue. One of the old fellows said that he had gone overseas on a tour. When people got to know that he's from Malaysia, they told him that they admired our PM. Why, the old man asked. The reply: "He has very thick skin."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
1MDB is being vilified in the foreign press. A number of banks have gone under because of it. A major accounting firm has decided to preserve its good name by ceasing to act for it. And so, it seems that things have become serious. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Some Jokes I Heard</h3>
<div>
Yet, there are people who laugh at it. That is good, because life without laughter is dull. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
At a recent Hari Raya open house, a woman told me about a man who walked into a bar. The man sat at the counter and called out: "1.... M.... D.... B!" A hush fell over the partygoers and the patrons of the bar. The bartender cleared his throat and said, "Excuse me sir, can you repeat your order?" The man looked at him and said, "One .... More .... Draft ... Beer!" </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I guess that joke can only be told to people who drink beer. With a population of more than 50% Muslim, that would be an offensive joke.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Then somebody asked me what 1MDB stands for. I didn't want to criticize the company, and so I said: "1MDB is what you get after walking from the first floor, to the mezzanine floor, to downstairs, and then to basement. 1 .... M .... D .... B!" </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h2>
The Finance Minister Post</h2>
<div>
In this country, the Prime Minister holds the position of the Finance Minister as well. It was a practice started by Tun Dr Mahathir, and carried on by his successor, the present Prime Minister.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The post of Finance Minister is quite powerful as the said minister helms the Ministry of Finance. In turn, the MOF controls MOF Incorporated, which owns 1MDB. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Here is <a href="http://bit.ly/ssm1mdb">the SSM search report for 1MDB</a>. It's a little outdated, but the contents speak for itself.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
When this whole scandal broke out, I felt that the Finance Minister should resign. And then I realised that the Prime Minister is the Finance Minister.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It would be great for our country if the Prime Minister can relinquish his post as Finance Minister, and appoint someone else to take over the ministry. He should have done that from day one, so that in case of any shortcomings, he could have fired the Finance Minister and replace him.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
But that cannot happen now, when we are caught in the thick of things.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h2>
Maximum Terms for Prime Minister</h2>
<div>
There is a tendency for people in positions of power (and sometimes, leadership) to want to hold on to their position, long after they should have arranged for a successor. Tun Dr Mahathir famously ruled Malaysia for 20-odd years, and is a good example of that, although technically speaking Tun Dr Mahathir merely led the country's government and it was the Yang DiPertuan Agong who ruled the country.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So when someone asked me about the Prime Minister being the Finance Minister, I said that there should be a maximum term for our Prime Minister. Maybe two or three Parliamentary terms should be sufficient for him; after all, the Presidents of the United States of America only sit for two terms of four years each.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And if it is implemented, then our Prime Minister will one day reach the end of his term and he will step down. And then he can be the Finance Minister while someone else plays the part of Prime Minister.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So how about a maximum of two (or three) consecutive terms in Parliament before a man has to give way to others? (In actual fact, the YDPA chooses a person who, in his estimation, is likely to command the confidence of the members of Parliament.)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
A Shorter Term for Parliament?</h3>
<div>
I once wrote a poem appealing for a shorter term for Parliament. Five years is just too long. The machinery gets tired. It'd be great if we could cut down Parliamentary terms to only four years.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Want to read the poem? <a href="https://medium.com/@kevinkoosk/a-shorter-term-for-parliament-fea28035cc57#.xnkq4k2g3">Here it is, on Medium.</a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMmuImRZIL8eTKbefJe586PbvptyIMfY_GhL8W80Bi5VHp7y9wHdoihi-Ug8dZ1F-m-t1NFvHr0_P3bPoBAgbCVjmSDhwwBIt6zSwjs1Jhv0GLuSn2JKrEo_O-FWJiYjTpCzOp/s1600/youintentions.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMmuImRZIL8eTKbefJe586PbvptyIMfY_GhL8W80Bi5VHp7y9wHdoihi-Ug8dZ1F-m-t1NFvHr0_P3bPoBAgbCVjmSDhwwBIt6zSwjs1Jhv0GLuSn2JKrEo_O-FWJiYjTpCzOp/s400/youintentions.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My intentions for writing this article are irrelevant.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h2>
We Don't Have An Impeachment Procedure</h2>
<div>
It's true. There doesn't seem to be any procedure to impeach a Prime Minister in our Federal Constitution. I'm just grateful that <b>all our Prime Ministers to date</b> have been such wonderful gentlemen of high integrity, but if the day comes that an opposition leader becomes Prime Minister, there will be a serious need for an impeachment procedure: So that we can get the lousy Prime Ministers out.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
But that can only happen if the present Prime Minister allows for an impeachment procedure to be put in place. I hope that the present Prime Minister does the needful.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h2>
We need to come to terms with reality</h2>
<div>
When the Hague recently ruled on the South China Sea dispute between China and Philippines, one of the Chinese ministers said on TV that they hoped the ruling was only a piece of paper and that the problem would go away by itself. (I saw it on TV.)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
To me, that China minister was not accepting reality. They should appeal, or they should obey it. Pretending that it doesn't exist does not solve the problem. Worse yet, China's relations with ASEAN members is jeopardized.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And so it is with the 1MDB situation. We need to come to terms with reality. It's out there, and the governments of other countries are out to fix the Prime Minister. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Maybe there won't be any big repercussion. One of the articles I read about the 1MDB in the local press said, under KARI, confiscated monies and riches are repatriated to the governments from which they are stolen. If I read that right, the money will be coming back to Malaysia, land of the Golden Khersonese. If that is the case, then I hope that the money gets repatriated quickly, back to the coffers of MOF.</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Koo Chin Nam & Co., Advocates & Solicitors based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Also: Patent, Trade Marks, and Industrial Designs Agents
Suite 2A & 2C, 2nd Floor, P.O. Box No. 9, Wisma Pahlawan, Jalan Sultan Sulaiman, 50000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Tel: (+603) 22730688 / 22732033 / 22736033
Fax: (+603) 22739033
URL: www.koo-law.com</div>Kevin Koohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05664189151852400791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7158208.post-26474490637587166612016-07-09T14:40:00.002+08:002016-08-17T06:18:54.221+08:00A Mid Life Reflection<h2>
I'm Getting To 40</h2>
<div>
I'm not there yet. But I'm getting there in a couple of years. How have I fared? I haven't become the roaring success that I'd hoped I would become, in my teenage years. Those were the years when my acne was a rash and I was abashed. Those were the years when suicide was often on my mind; it hasn't crossed my mind ever since I had kids. Nowadays I live for them, to try and see them to adulthood. But those were the years when the future was full of potential, yet my options seemed cut off. I did well in school, yet I knew that I would not be given the opportunity to pursue any career other than the one my parents had set for me.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx5zbLSGwK3l8jdsPvW5bZYeG0Hp9JMGKVgQdgzOVWtMK2tA8lW2KkzvgqEZQQrPM9mFDbipK7oXlv3k5P2GvUotFcmXwuwogpsEzXl_Ck03N1xaL-dW0bcNRfdhTpZ7EY9fuv/s1600/badthings-goodthings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx5zbLSGwK3l8jdsPvW5bZYeG0Hp9JMGKVgQdgzOVWtMK2tA8lW2KkzvgqEZQQrPM9mFDbipK7oXlv3k5P2GvUotFcmXwuwogpsEzXl_Ck03N1xaL-dW0bcNRfdhTpZ7EY9fuv/s1600/badthings-goodthings.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Don't fret the bad things in life. Just get over them, conquer them, and smack them down. That's how you get stronger.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br /></div>
<div>
And so it has been, since finishing secondary school.... one degree after another. Participating in social organizations, and serving society, without thanks or recognition. Getting into a relationship, only to drop her because she wasn't "like me", and yet, we spoke on the same wavelength. And then I got into another relationship, and it's stuck with me ever since. A relationship gives birth to new relationship, as my girlfriend became my wife, and my wife became the mother of my children. Thanks to this latest relationship, I now have new relatives, and I am a father.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I have a friend who is due to drop by my office in about 15 minutes. He got married after 40, because, as he told me, the fortune teller said that "If you get married before 40, you'll die a poor man!" And so his wife married a Dato who was rather successful and well-to-do. But I would wonder, whether it was the right advice for him... he could have married earlier? He strung his wife along for almost a decade? But who am I to say what's right for him, and what's right for her? If it's right for them, it's all right!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h2>
If 40 is the halfway mark...</h2>
<div>
Then I hope that there are 40 more years for me to make a difference in the world. The world is huge, with more than 7 billion people. I am also only a single voice. Degrees and academic accomplishment does not change the world. I have two masters degrees and I am halfway through a doctorate programme, and I have not yet changed the world. It's what we do with what we have that really makes the difference.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I had a big setback. I had hoped to practice Shariah law, in my father's footsteps, as one of the few non-Muslims who specialize in that area. But in recent years, the issue of non-Muslim shariah lawyers became politicized. And so the laws were changed, and my application was first failed, and on re-application, rejected. My father's licence too was not renewed. Under constitutional law, it would have been a "deprivation of livelihood" and a "deprivation of genuine expectation". But this is Bolehland, and anything can happen.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Blogging</h3>
<div>
I've blogged over the years, on and off. This particular blog, I dedicated for my poetry and whimsical writings. My pieces have never made much sense to anyone else but me, because the context was never elaborated. Shall I maintain this blog? Perhaps as a private place for my thoughts, because I have a very small readership.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Over the years, I've also started up a few other blogs. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I have a site called <a href="http://frugalmag.com/">Frugalism</a> which I originally hoped to turn into a portal. But it was on frugality, and you can hardly make a portal out of thoughts on frugality. It's become my place where I write what I think about things, especially from a monetary / cost perspective. But it might include other types of advice in the future. I find it easier to write what I think, rather than to write what I think others expect me to write. If I have to type a four letter word for my pieces in that blog, I will. The readership is still small, but it is increasing.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Another site about <a href="http://www.petrolmalaysia.com/">Petrol</a> was originally a response to the surge in oil pricing. But I am neither an industry insider, nor do I have background in oil and gas. It's become my place to learn more about that industry, and to understand the issues that they face. Perhaps one day I'll have the opportunity to serve clients from that industry -- who knows? In any case, it was started when there were very few blogs dedicated to the petrol industry. Older pieces might be of interest to members of the public.</div>
<div>
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<div>
Another site was about <a href="http://www.patentsmalaysia.com/">Patents</a>. I had studied intellectual property during my undergraduate and masters degrees. I had also qualified as a patent, trademarks, and industrial designs agent. I was excited about patents, and wrote about one patent after the other. But today, I realise that my pieces were mostly for myself. I wrote about what I found fascinating, but neglected to add in pieces that would help make the blog useful for others. And so, I am changing the focus of that site.</div>
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<div>
There are two recent additions to my blog lists. </div>
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One is my firm's website, which needs a blog, simply because. Many leading firms have a blog about relevant issues, especially regarding work that they do. It serves as a conversation starter, and a way of letting people know that "We handle this, so look for us if you need help." I've always thought that it was counter-intuitive to give away advice for free, because advice is what we offer. But in my very crowded industry, somebody is going to do it anyway, so let's "Kill our darlings" before they kill us.</div>
<div>
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<div>
The other is a website called <a href="http://www.makakami.com/">Maka Kami</a>. It's focused on the Rukunegara. It's sprung out of an observation that virtually nobody cites the principles of the Rukunegara anymore. Nowadays, it's religion and other harsh laws. We tend to forget that the Rukunegara was promulgated in the aftermath of the May 13th 1969 racial riots. It is, therefore, a relatively important piece of <i>something</i>, which unfortunately has no legal status in Malaysia. My vision is that eventually the Rukunegara will be adopted as the preamble of the Federal Constitution, where it can finally mean something. </div>
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I was influenced by my LLM studies at Universiti Malaya, where Prof Khoo Boo Teong, in his Comparative Constitutional Law class, introduced us to the Pancasila. Even though Indonesia is just next door, not many Malaysians know about the Pancasila. It's the preamble of the Indonesian constitution, and the guiding principles of the Indonesian nation. We could position our Rukunegara as something like that. The important question is whether our national leaders want it?</div>
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<h2>
Moving Forward</h2>
<div>
I hope to finish off my doctorate. If it's not working out, perhaps I will have to consider shelving it. But it would be a pity after completing all the coursework. All that's left to be done is the dissertation.</div>
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I hope to expand my business. Perhaps it won't be more of the same, but something else entirely. I could start lecturing part-time, if the opportunity arises. As the saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention, and rising household expenses creates many necessities.</div>
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I hope to collect some of my better blog posts into an outline for a bigger book, and edit the whole thing into a useful thing. But these will depend on what are in the articles themselves. </div>
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I am not entirely happy with what I have, but then again, who is 100% contented with whatever they have? The trick is to accept the limitations and work within them, and work also to expand our boundaries so that our outlook in life is broadened. Reduce costs, reduce wastes. Help others. Make life worth living, not by how much we spend but by how much happiness we have helped to create.<br />
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<h2>
Thank for reading.</h2>
</div>
<div>
Here are some other posts by me.</div>
<div>
<ol>
<li><a href="http://kevinkoo.blogspot.my/2008/03/interesting-day-at-court.html">An interesting day at court</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://kevinkoo.blogspot.my/2008/03/elections-song.html">Elections song</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://kevinkoo.blogspot.my/2008/04/who-is-geert-wilders.html">Who is Geert Wilders?</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Koo Chin Nam & Co., Advocates & Solicitors based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Also: Patent, Trade Marks, and Industrial Designs Agents
Suite 2A & 2C, 2nd Floor, P.O. Box No. 9, Wisma Pahlawan, Jalan Sultan Sulaiman, 50000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Tel: (+603) 22730688 / 22732033 / 22736033
Fax: (+603) 22739033
URL: www.koo-law.com</div>Kevin Koohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05664189151852400791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7158208.post-59097208446715379342016-06-19T19:53:00.001+08:002016-08-17T02:31:03.994+08:00Life Advice from a 90+ old lady<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7_mSbzDJLIVGyNpJbwXLQsMHHL9YMa-g_ATVhAu8AkSph-UF2iIGT2DkvcXERL18MMF2_1_qi3RQ7ayYSCHCMFKy8syBlvnfzN_W_J3x6ukyVBcAAJVy7hFGsDwpmLYIi7B9s/s1600/IMG20160616_213716_-304264899.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7_mSbzDJLIVGyNpJbwXLQsMHHL9YMa-g_ATVhAu8AkSph-UF2iIGT2DkvcXERL18MMF2_1_qi3RQ7ayYSCHCMFKy8syBlvnfzN_W_J3x6ukyVBcAAJVy7hFGsDwpmLYIi7B9s/s640/IMG20160616_213716_-304264899.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Life is beautiful, but not perfect. Learn to live with it.</td></tr>
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<i><b><u>This is a repost of a message I received from a friend on Whatsapp.</u></b></i></h2>
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This is something we should all read at least once a week! Make sure you read to the end!</div>
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Written by <b>Regina Brett</b>, 90 years old, of the Plain b Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio</div>
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<i>"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote few lessons life taught me. It is the most requested column I've ever written."</i></h3>
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1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.</div>
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2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.</div>
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3. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and family will.</div>
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4. You don't have to win every argument. Stay true to yourself.</div>
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5. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.</div>
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6. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.</div>
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7. Make peace with your past so it won't mess up the present.</div>
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8. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.</div>
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9. Take a deep breath every now and then. It calms the mind.</div>
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10. Get rid of anything that isn't useful. Clutter weighs you down in many ways.</div>
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11. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.</div>
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12. It's never too late to be happy. But it’s all up to you and no one else.</div>
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13. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.</div>
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14. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy clothes. Don't save it for a special occasion. </div>
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Today is special.</div>
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15. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.</div>
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16. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'</div>
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17. Always choose life.</div>
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18. Forgive others and yourself.</div>
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19. What other people think of you is none of your business.</div>
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20. Time heals almost everything. Give time a little time.</div>
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21. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.</div>
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22. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.</div>
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23. Believe in miracles.</div>
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24. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.</div>
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25. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.</div>
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26. Growing old beats the alternative of dying young.</div>
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27. Your children get only one childhood.</div>
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28. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.</div>
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29. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.</div>
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30. Envy is waste of time. Accept what you already have, not what you need.</div>
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31. The best is yet to come...</div>
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32. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.</div>
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33. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.</div>
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<i><b>Its worth reading again & again, as & when you can!</b></i></div>
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</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Koo Chin Nam & Co., Advocates & Solicitors based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Also: Patent, Trade Marks, and Industrial Designs Agents
Suite 2A & 2C, 2nd Floor, P.O. Box No. 9, Wisma Pahlawan, Jalan Sultan Sulaiman, 50000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Tel: (+603) 22730688 / 22732033 / 22736033
Fax: (+603) 22739033
URL: www.koo-law.com</div>Kevin Koohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05664189151852400791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7158208.post-76638426471441789262016-05-27T01:49:00.000+08:002016-06-27T03:00:47.709+08:00Before I format my openSUSE 12.3 installation...<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPFuU9u_7xoDTaBn_WSDNLyKhE8VLp44yqVn_3pYnJPA5bFGRUXJJMY0LeJB5OwT0pAQpB6yid2SFtwMMDs-VyuNj4xsURzAiucVbKDujAtqonhUv29UNovtRAaYpkzYWmlzojRQ/s1600/gerwinski-gnu-head.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPFuU9u_7xoDTaBn_WSDNLyKhE8VLp44yqVn_3pYnJPA5bFGRUXJJMY0LeJB5OwT0pAQpB6yid2SFtwMMDs-VyuNj4xsURzAiucVbKDujAtqonhUv29UNovtRAaYpkzYWmlzojRQ/s320/gerwinski-gnu-head.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The face of the GNU movement. GNU is affiliated with Linux software.</td></tr>
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<h2>
</h2>
<h2>
It was bound to happen...</h2>
<div>
This was reality for me, for the past few years: Error notifications popping up, with the system letting me know that it could not connect to a software repository. Suddenly, even uninstalling existing software became impossible, because I could not connect to the existing repository. </div>
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My faithful old laptop was on its last legs, having gotten a booster shot from openSUSE 12.3 some time back. But upgrading openSUSE to 13.1, and then to 13.2, seemed difficult, and unnecessary at the time. So I soldiered on, using 12.3, not knowing what would happen... </div>
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But I did know what would happen. Software would stop updating. Google Chrome would tell me that the browser is outdated and that I have to upgrade to a newer version.</div>
<h2>
Enter the rolling release</h2>
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Over the past few days, I've been looking at various distributions. Yes, it's window shopping time again. Which Linux distribution will it be for me this time? </div>
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So I started with openSUSE and I read a little bit more about Tumbleweed, the rolling release. For those unfamiliar with <b>"rolling release"</b>, it is a Linux distribution that gets upgraded to the latest packages automatically. It will never get out of date, because the latest packages will be on your system. </div>
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The only foreseeable problems are these:</div>
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<ol>
<li><b>The upgrades somehow break the system.</b> Possibility: Not that high, considering that the packages are supposed to work with each other. Stick with a semi-commercialized vendor like SUSE and you should be safe, right?</li>
<li><b>The upgrades are not supported by the ageing hardware specifications. </b>Possibility: Not high right now, but increasing in the future. Who am I kidding, my computer is old. It's more than seven years old. Many people throw in the towel at 3 years and get a new one. </li>
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So I've narrowed it down to a few "rolling release" distributions. Here are the contenders:</div>
</div>
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<ol>
<li><b>openSUSE Tumbleweed.</b> Why: I'll be on familiar ground. At the same time, the openSUSE website has stated that an "offline upgrade" to Tumbleweed is possible, simply by inserting the Tumbleweed DVD into the DVD drive. The DVD will detect the settings and upgrade the system automatically. So, no need to format? That sounds workable.</li>
<li><b>Manjaro Linux:</b> Why: It's based on Arch Linux, which was built from the ground up as a "rolling release" distribution. But where Arch Linux presents new users with a black terminal, effectively saying, "Hey, you can do whatever you like with it", Manjaro comes reasonably themed and customized, so that you can hit the ground running. Think of it as the Mint Linux (which is a customized Ubuntu distribution) of Arch Linux distributions. Similar to Mint Linux, it has a large user base and community editions have popped up to support various desktop environments, including Gnome, Deepin, and Budgie.</li>
<li><b>Antergos:</b> Why: Another Arch Linux distribution. It came highly recommended as a "soft landing" for newbies to Arch Linux, as an alternative to Manjaro Linux. So either Manjaro or Antergos. However, Manjaro seems to have (for now) a larger community base.</li>
<li><b>Elementary OS:</b> Why: Because it looks nice. But actually, it's <b>not a rolling release distribution</b>. I've just included it because it looks nice. And because, if I were to go back to Ubuntu-based distributions, I'd like to try something other than Mint Linux, which makes getting into root so difficult. </li>
</ol>
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Now that I think of it, there's one more possible problem with rolling release distributions. So here is problem #3: I use Brother printers in my office, because they offer printer drivers in RPM and DEB formats. With Manjaro, Antergos, or any other Arch-based distribution, I'd have to convert the printer driver packages into AUR format. </div>
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There's nothing like getting your hands dirty to learn the nuts and bolts of something. That's what I always tell people. You can buy a book on swimming, but you're going to have to jump into a pool to learn it. It seems to apply to making Brother printers work on Arch-based distributions, too.</div>
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<br /></div>
<h2>
A list of programs currently installed</h2>
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Here are some programs currently installed on my openSUSE 12.3 installation. I won't need all of them, but it's nice to keep tabs. Just in case. You never know.</div>
<div>
<ol>
<li>XMind 2013, Portable (paid)</li>
<li>VueScan (paid)</li>
<li>LibreOffice</li>
<li>Ardour (paid)</li>
<li>Atlantis (Windows-based, running on Wine)</li>
<li>Abiword (word processor)</li>
<li>Gnumeric (spreadsheet)</li>
<li>Calligra Suite (office)</li>
<li>Google Web Designer</li>
<li>R Studio</li>
<li>Weka (machine learning)</li>
<li>Gephi </li>
<li>R</li>
<li>yEd</li>
<li>GIMP</li>
<li>Pinta</li>
<li>Hugin Batch Processor</li>
<li>Synfig Studio</li>
<li>Pencil 2D</li>
<li>Kolourpaint</li>
<li>Darktable</li>
<li>digiKam</li>
<li>DNG Converter</li>
<li>Expoblending</li>
<li>Luminance HDR</li>
<li>Panorama</li>
<li>Photo Layouts Editor</li>
<li>showFoto</li>
<li>XSane</li>
<li>Blender (3D)</li>
<li>Filezilla</li>
<li>VLC</li>
<li>Audacity</li>
<li>Cinelerra</li>
<li>Kdenlive</li>
<li>Kwave sound editor</li>
<li>Openshot</li>
<li>K3B (CD burning)</li>
<li>Calibre</li>
<li>FoxitReader</li>
<li>Okular</li>
<li>ProjectLibre</li>
<li>LyX</li>
<li>Scribus</li>
<li>iBus (input)</li>
<li>ReText (Markdown / reStructured Text editor)</li>
<li>Leafpad</li>
<li>Scrivener beta (Linux)</li>
<li>Gliffy (Chrome app)</li>
<li>Mendeley Desktop (research paper manager)</li>
<li>PSPP (statistics analysis)</li>
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I hope that I can reinstall some of these after I reformat this laptop.</div>
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Wish me luck!<br />
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<h2>
Update</h2>
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So, here I am, typing this from my old laptop. It runs Elementary OS now. Here's what happened:</div>
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<ol>
<li>openSUSE Tumbleweed booted into the KDE Live environment without problem, and it was very nice. However, there was no "install" button. I tried rebooting from the Live DVD, and at the menu, I choose "Installation". Instead, it booted into the KDE Live Environment again. After several attempts, it seemed that it could not install on my laptop. My fault for downloading the KDE Live DVD, instead of the large installation DVD.</li>
<li>Manjaro Linux couldn't even boot into the live environment. I tried changing the boot parameters, even including safe settings (for kernel), but nothing seemed to work. I gave up.</li>
<li>Antergos Linux booted into a rather sparse desktop, with only the installer available. As noted, the installer is experimental and I opted not to take any chances. At the same time, the installer recommended that I connect to the Internet for a better installation. I clicked on my network's SSID, but it could not connect. The WiFi password could not be entered, and Antergos failed on that account.</li>
<li>I finally popped Elementary OS into the DVD drive. I booted it up. It offered a live environment for testing or installation. I chose installation. </li>
</ol>
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<div>
What I learned: You can have root in Ubuntu easily. Type in "sudo passwd root" and enter a password for root. Next time you're at the Terminal, just invoke it with "su" and you can proceed from there.</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Koo Chin Nam & Co., Advocates & Solicitors based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Also: Patent, Trade Marks, and Industrial Designs Agents
Suite 2A & 2C, 2nd Floor, P.O. Box No. 9, Wisma Pahlawan, Jalan Sultan Sulaiman, 50000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Tel: (+603) 22730688 / 22732033 / 22736033
Fax: (+603) 22739033
URL: www.koo-law.com</div>Kevin Koohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05664189151852400791noreply@blogger.com0