The Agenda

The term "Agenda" has been spoken a lot of lately in my place of employment. In previous times, it held little importance but since the turn of the decade, it's value has shot up exponentially. The term surfaced in December and has since been immensely debated. What exactly does the word mean? What does it signify?

Agenda, in some circles, can be used at the start of meetings, at other times can be used at the beginning of proposals or presentations. However in this case, it is used in the human context. It is used in the political context. As in parliament. As in the struggle and manipulation of power to advance one's career.

In the proverbial White Tower, as can be seen along a highway of some importance, people within have long struggled with career advancement, strategically moving and placing pawns within the virtual battlefield which is the White Tower. The pinnacle of which was the brutal slaying of the white knight. It was about as public as Anwar's reversal entry.

Now that the knight has relocated to a faraway land, he is once again rethinking his strategy, rebuilding his armies, appointing advisors and looking for his new Merlin....trusted friend and right hand man. Whispers in the ether updates that the search continues.

Camelot remains. A new leader was knighted and now the battle of good versus evil begins once again; although at times one has to question where evil actually lies. The ether did provide fair news of turmoil in the evil land, where year on year profit has dropped albeit revenue and subscribers increased by a huge margin.

Pawns are again being moved. Armies being trained. Swords sharpened. Armours polished. Horses fed and watered. The battle for the Holy Grail continues. Leaders come and go. Armies fight; some live and some die. Some live with honour. Others die honorably. And yet others are sacrificed as the strategy of war is morphed from plans to reality. This vicious cycle continue as it has done over the centuries from the times of Genghis to George (Bush not The Jungle although the similarities are quite glaring) and Margaret to Mahathir.

A lot can be learned by observing at a distance the battles, strategies, struggles, agony of defeat and sweet, oh so sweet, taste of victory, which takes place in the boardroom located in Camelot or any other such lands.

A very wise man once said "Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat" but what is ironic is that the same wise man also said that "All war is based on deception". For those of you who are not sure who this wise man was, his strategy for war has been translated and adopted to corporate strategy in companies the world over.

Perhaps all is not in vain...for the same wise man, again, also said "It is essential to seek out enemy agents who have come to conduct espionage against you and to bribe them to serve you. Give them instructions and care for them. Thus doubled agents are recruited and used."

I take my leave....

A Triumphant Return

Yes, a triumphant return indeed. It has been that long since i last pen my thoughts following the demise of the beloved Gloved-one. Where have i been and what have i been doing? Tough one to answer....Whatever it is, i am back. Whether it is with a vengeance or not remains to be seen.

It is now 2010. A new year. And the word NEW couldn't be more appropriate for me and my comrades went through major changes at work. Not major by sheer volume but major by the sheer impact of the change....although it involved but a single individual. What was indeed unusual was not the fact that change occurred but circumstances surrounding it and what seems like a total lack of communication about it. Que sera sera. Nuff said.

So, what am i looking forward to in 2010? A whole lot. I turn 40 this year and as the proverbial wise man says, "Life Begins at 40". Therefore i am looking forward to "Life" this year. Nothing can be more true than the wise Abe himself when he said "And in the end it is not the years in your life that count. It is the life in your years"

I was on the phone with a chap at work yesterday. Tried calling several times and could not get through. Finally he returned my call and apologised as he was out jogging. And where was i during this episode? Behind my desk. What is wrong with this picture? Don't get me started. I vaguely recall the term "Jogging". I believe it has something to do with moving one's feet in quick succession while experiencing the feeling of motion. Though you should not take my word for it as i have only vague memories of this picture. But what I will do is perform some research on it tonight. Once the research is concluded, i shall attempt to convert the research to a practical experiment. For i am an expert in theory (Refer to my fishing escapades which i shall promise to write on tomorrow).

I shall provide an update on my research tomorrow. I shall attempt to provide an update on my research tomorrow. For it is a known fact that research takes time, and it has been known to transcend days, weeks, months even.

We shall see...

Farewell Michael

And so it seems everyone and their neighbour is writing something about Michael Jackson in some blog site or on facebook. I, too, am going to write something about the Gloved One. Why? Well...honestly, why not? MJ touched so many of us is so many ways that it would be a travesty not to write about an experience, or a memory, linked to MJ or one of his songs.

This all started a few days ago when my youngest daughter asked me, "Papa, who is Michael Jackson". For those of you who don't know, my youngest will be turning 6 in October later this year. So it is excusable that she doesn't know who MJ is....or, more appropriately, was. A simple question by a 5 year old got me all excited. I whipped out my trusty laptop and punched in youtube.com and started my youngest daughter on MJ videos. My darling wife helped out also. One particular song really got her attention. Thriller. Why that of all songs still baffles me till today. Whatever the reason, i must admit it is one of my all time favorite songs too. Actually, maybe it's not one of my all time favourite songs but rather the video made it what it is. So here we are, sitting with eyes glued to the sight of MJ walking her girlfriend back home, through the dark misty cemetery. Bare in mind that when this song/video was first released, i wasn't even married, let alone have 2 kids. In fact i wasn't even dating yet.

So, then comes time for the Rap. Yes rap. Back in 1983 when Thriller was released, before there was Eminem; or 50 cent; there was Vincent Price. Thriller featured the Vincent Price Rap. My daughter heard the rap and there was i, rapping in the background. For some reason my daughter got such a kick over this. So now every 5 hours or so, she will ask to watch Thriller with Papa rapping in the background. See what effect MJ has on people? Even a 5 year old.

Which brings me to another fond memory. I had this very close friend...still have. To ensure his identity remains secret, i shall name him Hank.....until such time i obtain permission from him to use his real name. Hank, like I, was totally emersed by MJ, his songs and especially his dance moves. Now granted, Hank was just a teeny bit more gifted when it came to putting some moves together. I was good (yeah right) but he was better.

Hank could do an MJ like no one else i knew. The leg kick, the spin and yes....the Moonwalk. Now the moonwalk was a whole other phenomenon. I vividly remember my standing before the TV, preparing to learn the seemingly gravity defying walk. There i was...moonwalk....run to the VCR to rewind....moonwalk....run to the VCR. For you young-uns out there, there was such an invention called the VCR. You could think of it as the grandfather of the recordable DVD of today. So, back to the story. He was so good that now a natural progression would be the wardrobe. Yes, Hank went out abd bought a bright red-ish orange-ish jacket with black stripes, just like the one MJ wore in the video. Now that Hank's image was complete, we went and got ourselves into a band competition and performed, on stage, billie jean (because Thriller was too difficult for the band members to learn).

There we were, in the hall of Bukit Bintang Boys Secondary School, playing away with Hank leading us to glory. Everyone waited for the moment. It was not Motown 25th but it was a moment. Hank spun and prepared for the Moonwalk. I forget if he tossed the hat like MJ but he moonwalked on stage in front of hundreds of screaming fans !! we had arrived. Not sure where were supposed to be going but we had arrived.

I sometimes wonder if Hank still does MJ as it's been a while since we last caught up.

So, Hank, if you ever get the chance to read this, do pen some comments down.

To MJ, you may never know how much you have touched our lives. Even the ones in a small town like Petaling Jaya.....not unlike Gary, Indiana, where you grew up. Where kids used to emulate your moonwalk and your spins.

I was going to end by quoting Al Sharpton's speech at the MJ Memorial but seems more appropriate to quote one of MJ's long forgotten songs...

"People say i'm not okay
Cause i love such elementary things
It's been my fate to compensate
For the childhood i've never known" - Michael Jackson, from his song "Childhood"

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all !! What a joyous celebration indeed...for those who remember. I find it quite ironic that Mother's Day is a hugely celebrated day accross the globe, akin to New Years Day while Fathers Day is also hugely celebrated, akin to Independence Day in Papua New Guinea.



Some useless facts: did you know that the idea for Fathers Day was mooted back in 1909 but was only made an official celebration by President Nixon in 1972? In stark contrast, the roots for Mothers Day may be traced back to the spring celebrations of ancient Greece in honour of Rhea, the mother of the gods. But more recently, another US President, Woodrow Wilson, made it official on 9 May 1914.

(Note: i have absolutely no idea as to the accuracy of the historical facts presented here since these were like the top search results from Google, like you know?)



Don't get me wrong, i will be first in line to echo the sacrifices that mothers all over the world have made over the millenia. Hence the saying "syurga terletak dibawah tapak kaki ibu" or roughly translated "the path to heaven lies beneath mothers feet". This is a metaphor as opposed to a literal translation. So don't go digging beneath your mom's feet as she stands whipping up her secret recipe in the kitchen.

For me, both Father's Day and Mother's Day are extremely special. Let me start with Mother's Day. That falls in May, which is oh so close to my wife's birthday. Double celebration in May !! Now, on to Father's Day which falls in June, which is oh so close to my birthday. Double celebration in June !! I'm sure Ripley would find that rather intriguing. And the creme de la creme: Our wedding anniversary is on 26th May !!! Smack in between Mother's Day, my wife's birthday, my birthday and Father's Day. Now isn't that something.....

It is around this time of the year that love penetrates every nook and corner of our house. Not to say it is any different any other day of the year....oh man, i never learn. Men in general never learn. There are somethings that you just should not bring up. Like trying to be all sweet and romantic by saying this like ".....love penetrates every nook and corner of our house". Yes, you men know what i am talking about. And we all have played Russian Roulette with the wife. Lots of times. "Honey, do you like the dress i am wearing?" "Dear, does this dress make me look fat?" When you hear these questions or ones similar to them, head south !

But seriously, i love my wife tremendously and although i joke with her lot, i believe laughter can bring us closer together then many other traits. Life would be boring if laughter was left in the closet a lot. Speaking of laughter, remind me to tell you about my two lovely daughters first attempt at telling jokes....

TGIF

Yes, thank God it's Friday. To those of us who belong to the sad group who actually have to work for a living, it means the end of a work week and the beginning of two days of rest. In case you may be wondering, there are two other groups.

One is the equally sad group who does not have to work because they do not have a job. Ideally you should not want to find yourself having a membership to this group. Although there could be many reasons why you find yourself belonging to this group: downsized, retrenched, made redundant, etc etc. The final group is, conceptually, similar to the second group; but with a twist. This is the group who does not have to work because they just have so much money they don't know what to do with it. There are literally fields of trees in their backyard. In the morning when they wake up from their slumber, they head out to these fields to pick up money that fell off the branches during the night. But hey don't get me wrong, it would be nice to be part of this group. Though not permanently, but perhaps an extended membership.

Yes, an extended membership would be ideal. First thing i would do is head over to the neighbourhood Aston Martin dealership and pick me up a DB9 Volante. Then it's back home to pick up the wife after a quick drive round the block...yes on the NKVE for a quick 300km/h cruise to KLIA and back. Why? Well....because the DB9 is practically begging you to floor it. Yes, why? why the hell not? Oh yes, back home to pick up the wife.

The wife also need a set of hot wheels. In this case a sleek and sexy BMW 3 Series Convertible complete with an i Phone docking station and leather upholstry by Tods. Once done we need to make one more stop....your friendly Bentley Outlet to pick up the Bentley Arnage Final Series. This is a must have car to be drive around by Alfred, the british chauffeur.

With both cars safely deposited in the air conditioned, humidity controlled garage, it's off to the boatyard, driven by Alfred the british chauffeur no less. A 240ft Nobiskrug Mega Yacht to be parked at the Port Dickson Yacht Club.

These are the tools of the trade for the rich and famous. Ah...brings back memories of the classic tv series "Lifestyle of the Rich and Famous" with Robin Leach toasting "champagne wishes and caviar dreams."

And as always, it is at this point that the kids wake you up just as Robin Leach is about to toast you !!!!

But did you know that as of 11 March 2009, Bill Gates is still the world's richest person albeit with a declining fortune according to Forbes. Yes can you imagine that Bill Gates' fortunes are declining !!! and after the massive decline, he is still worth $40BILLION

Anyway, the point is that it's Friday and i am going to enjoy the weekend with my lovely family. After all, a rich man is nothing more than a poor man with money; according to W. C. Fields

Blast from the past

I must apologise to the thousands who follow my writings religiously for not writing more often....oh, ok, i know, fine. I must apologise to the 17 people who follow my writings religiously (thanks Honey, I love you too). I didn't realise over a year had passed from my last entry. This is clearly unacceptable. I therefore have to make it up and write lots more. You can now expect about 2 articles a year :)

But seriously, lots have changed since i last wrote. It is sometimes fun to look back at change over the past 12 months. For instance, i was in a different industry all together !! Yes, it has happened. I took a leap of faith and transported myself away from the world of Information Technology, or IT for those abbreviation-spewing techies. I am now in the world of telecomunications, mobile telecommunications to be exact. Yup, i went and joined a celco.....apologise for the abbreviation. Some things never change. After well over a decade in IT, old habits die hard. But now, there is a whole new world of abbreviations to learn and start spewing....3G, HSDPA, ADSL, AP, ARPU, CDR, and on and on and on. And not to mention the new internal abbreviations that were created by this celco which i am professionally prohibited to pen for fear of identification.

Which brings back fond memories of my previous place of employment, IBM, where there were lots of abbreviations...there were really lots of it. There were so many of it, a special department was created to supervise it's creation and usage (DoACU) which stands for Department of Abbreviation Creation and Utilization. This also brought about plenty of standard responses from people upon official introductions (gazoontite was quite common). But seriously, IBM (note that even the official name is an abbreviation), was quite a fun but complex place to work in. It was so complex, scientists found an extinct species labouring away in front of a computer in a back office in basement 17 of the Almaden Research Centre. Peers called it a Manager.

In fact IBM was so big and powerful in its hey days that it announced at one point that it would outsourse 200% of its workforce to India and China. They have devised a strategy to reduce costs and provide IBM with a backup of every person in the company. Every job in IBM will be duplicated in India and China.

But seriously, my time in IBM was fun and most educational. A lot of people say others who leave IBM for other jobs become very successful. Now when did i leave IBM....

So, where was I......oh yes, i left the comfort of IT and took a leap of faith. Joined a celco. Didn't know what to expect (yes yes, everyone who moves to a new industry says that but scientists recently have proven that it is indeed a blatant lie).

Now it has been 6 months since i came on board and i feel very at home. I hope my other colleagues feel the same. However i do miss my IT abbreviation-spewing days. Now, i spend many hours trying to master celco specific abbreviations. Here is where i am at moment:

"we have ALU equipment as proposed by Jim Bates before (SDP by ALU). As such we need to remove ALU NODE B inside the COW"

haha, eat your heart out Dilbert !!

Away for the past 2 months

Alas work has gotten the best of me and i have not been able to sit and pen my thoughts. And with all things, one has to prioritise. So i am back. With a vengeance? maybe not, but at least i am making time to write.

My old mates from KPP days organized a get together last month. Consisted of dorm mates from 51C, also known as Darul Jimbet (don't ask). It was great to catch up with all the old friends, most of which i have not met for quite some time. It is also good to know that some things will never change. Practically all are now professionals in some vertical or another. One even published 3 books. I am envious for that is one goal i have had for a long time. To say i have writers block is not quite true for i have not even begun to write. Why haven't i? I'm really not sure. Perhaps with time spent at work, the hours i have at home are more valuable than petrol, personally.

But i digress. Friends are like diamonds. Though external forces will try to shape it, on the inside nothing much changes. Thank God. Friends are also like a time portal. Not meeting many for a long time gives one a peak into the past; when times were less complicated. I do often wish for complications to not play a part in life but then again, life would be boring without it.

What else is new? nothing much. Our political landscape is about as predictable as episodes of Heroes. Maybe behind a desk in a deep dark basement of Putrajaya, a script writer sits by a candlelight pondering the next twisted plot....influenced by past episodes of General Hospital. But then again, politicians and government in most countries are not that different after all. Though personally, i would pay a large sum of money to get inside their heads. Hell, what am i saying, i would pay money to get into the head of Munirah Bahari. What in God's great earth would possess a person to say that girls' school uniforms are too sexy? Will wonders never cease. Could this be another ploy to divert the public's attention from the current political turmoil? Funny how there always seems to be some mind boggling statement coinciding with interesting political times. Perhaps Munirah wants us to adopt the ways of the Pashtun where women are encouraged to stay home, toiling in the kitchen and managing the corporation known as home sweet home.

Whatever the reasons, i strongly believe one should think carefully of the implications before making such statements. One i believe is pointless, short sighted and leads people to wonder about her ability to lead such a group.

I end this ranting with this "Syurga di bawah tapak kaki ibu".

I take my leave