And now ... to the next goal

March is the month I started to work. About 9 years ago, in late March, I took on my first job.

So many goals, expectations, hopes and wishes all rolled into my working life.

This month, I unexpectedly received some great news. About work.

When I was a young Moz, mum used to tell me that I should study hard. Once I have finished my studies, I would be able to chase my dreams. Make true what I wanted. What do you want, she always asked.

Being a young and naive Moz, I never knew the true meaning of money. Or how hard it is to earn. I just know that we never had enough. We weren't very well to do at all, you see. So, I always gave her the same answer: I want to make lots of money. I will earn so-and-so amount every month.

Ever the patient and loving mother, she would always smile at that answer. I'm not sure now if she was smiling because she thought I was naive, or whether she thought it was impossible.

Well, mum. I made that dream come true. The great news I told you folks earlier, that's me being informed I'm making so-and-so amount every month now.

I've never told anyone this, so I don't know why I'm telling the whole world now - I've never forgotten that goal, that dream. While I didn't mean it when I blurted it out as a child, I did make it a goal when I came out to work.

There wasn't any timelines. There wasn't any pressure. It was always meant to be a goal just beyond reach so that I'd always be chasing something. It keeps me alive that way. It keeps me hungry for more.

Granted, money doesn't buy happiness, but I'm pretty happy I'm here now. I have been so fortunate. I am so fortunate. I wonder why I even blurted out that it sucks to be me. It doesn't. I'm not the wealthiest person in the world, or even in my neighbourhood, but I'm not the poorest either. And even when if one day, all my material possessions are gone, I'd have my family's love. That means I'll never be poor. The love from my family is all that I need.

One other thing I've been taught when I was just a junior Moz: you never stop setting goals. Every mountain you've conquered just means there's another mountain, another valley, another river or ocean you have to conquer after that. Life is meant to be like that. There are no shortcuts.

I'm now setting myself another goal. I need it to keep myself alive and hungry. I hope somewhere in my lifetime, I'll so to it that I can reach this goal, so that I can set another. And this goal has nothing to do with money. It's all about family.

I love you, mum. I love you, dad. Because of both your unwavering support and understanding, it had been possible for me to get here. Now, sit back and enjoy life, while I get about to my next goal.

Tag: Six Things About Moz On The Move

My tag tormentor pal tagged me, and not for the first time too. Must be the lame post I did. Or is it?

This assignment is considerably easier than the previous, 70 question marathon. Don't give me that. Evar. Now, back to the tag ... I'm supposed to list 6 things about me that most people don't know of. I'm supposed to be good at making lists, and should have no problem completing this tag, says the tagger.

Let's give it a shot and see how this works out ... it's getting harder and harder to reveal things about myself and yet not reveal things about myself.

So, to make it easier for me to make this list, I'm giving it a theme: Moz on the move. I travel a bit for my work, and so, I guess it's easier for me to list things you don't know about me when I'm travelling. Or not.

• I make a very unique drink everyday for myself when I'm in the office in KL. I mix Milo with a strong expresso brew, and then top it with low fat milk. No water added to keep the mix strong and smooth. I call it the Mozzichino. It's good !

• I only sit on window seats for flights longer than 2 hours. Why? Because I like to look out at the sky. I actually go to the extent of making sure my travel agent reserves a window seat. And I always choose the side which is away from the sunshine, so I won't have to close the window, if I can help it.

• I also love to photograph clouds when I'm flying. (see picture above)
  

• Whenever I'm staying in hotels, I sleep without fully drawing the curtain. Time zone differences and long working hours, plus less than reliable wake up calls means it's a lot easier to just let the sun wake you up. Well, except when it rains. And it happened a few times before ... =(

• Because I dislike packing and unpacking, I actually have 2 travel kits (1 for each suitcase) with a full set of toiletteries, over the counter medications and sewing kit, always placed in my travel suitcases. And each suitcase is also packed with a full business suit as well. I hate to pack and unpack mah ...

So ... there you go. Hope you've learnt something about me ...

I'm tagging applegal and infectioner. I want to know 6 things about the both of you that most people don't know of.

Stayed home and worked.

Some days, it just doesn't pay to step out of the door.

I worked from home today. Had a very long night oyesterday, felt a little under the weather this morning. But not bad enough that I can't work. Just bad enough I don't need traffic congestion, bad take away food and wasting 2 hours on the commute.

So, I decided to stay home and do my work.

How hard is it? Or how different is it?

Well ... when there's a lot of work to be done, there's a lot of work to be done. Where you do the work doesn't quite matter.


The plus is there ... dress as casually as you want, sit in whatever posture you wish, save petrol and time, the aroma of incense / joss stick / perfumed wood grain wafting in the air ...



And so are the minuses ... it's your HOME ?? Why are you working there?


But, tomorrow, it's back to the office ... *sigh*

How do you do Sundays?

Sundays. Sien. The last day of your weekend. The day before the blues hit again. That day.

I was really caught in a bind today. Dunno what to do. Caught in the classic Sunday dillema. How lah?

I don't like to shop, so you can scrap retail theraphy. I am very mindful of where my $$$ end up, so you'll find me super budget concious. And no fun to shop with, anyway.

The weather sucked too. Right around 2 pm everyday, or maybe just a little later, heaven would open up. Rain. Every golfer's worst nightmare. Even if it doesn't dump water during your game, you can bet that most courses in Malaysia can't handle all that water, and you end up with very damp, muddy courses. Sien.

Add to that the fact that it usually rained around the same time when I jog, and you get a double whammy.

That sucky weather affects Astro reception. I wonder which brilliant soul thought that all Malaysians should have satellite TV systems, fully aware that we live in a place where rain is common. So much for TV. Triple whammy.

Eat out? Nah, besides my bulging tummy and my hurt wallet, I'm not a great fan of eating out. Not when in town anyways.

So, today, I signed up at Fitness First ... and decided that if I can't do anything else, I should do something for myself. Lately, I have not been feeling as energetic as I could be. And I felt like my stamina could improve a little.

And of course, 2 years off the gym and travelling to all the places in the world with great food meant that I put on the pounds. I'm way off my ideal body weight, and I think I should start working out now, while it's still possible for me to get rid of those excess fat.

30 Things You Don't Know About Moz: #4

Ah ... the irregular 30 Things You Don't Know About Moz posts is about to get a shot in the arm: an entry.

Look folks, please flood me with memes and tags because I'm really running low on ideas for new entries. The politics in this country hasn't been yielding anything really funny to write about. There aren't any big news I can make fun about. *Sigh*


Anyways ... in this new, irrelevant, and disinformative post about Moz, you're about to discover that Moz is an aromatheraphy fan ...

Yup, imagine scented candles and joss sticks burning fragrantly in Moz's room.


And on the subject of joss sticks, daisy commented about one of my pictures in the Green Monster post. Green Monster was me submitting my assignment to angeliuliu - I needed to post 6 mindless but color coordinated pictures to fulfill the assignment.

The first picture was a close up of my joss stick holder. daisy mentioned it was chan yang - that's cruel in cantonese for the unititiated.


Er ... it's a ceramic joss stick holder I got as a present from one of my friends who visited me and tumpanged in my apartment when I was working in Bangkok. It's really harmless ... I can assure daisy that no animals were harmed in the making of the joss stick holder.


See?

Oh, he's called Wibbit. And he's smiling too !!!

Suggestions, Anyone ??

La la la .. la la la la la ... la la la ... la la la la la ...


Suggestions, anyone? Fascinating as it seems, visited Hanoi a few times, but it was always about work. So, what's good in Hanoi?

What difference time makes

Yesterday, while waiting for my turn to be served at the KFC counter near my office, I overheard a little conversation behind me in the queue.

Two college girls and a college guy (I'm making an assumption they're from college based on their appearance, clothing and demenour) were debating which KFC meal deal they should get to maximize their $$$.

Was this the best deal for their $$$?
What if they mixed this meal with that?
What about the drinks?
How much would 1 piece of chicken come up to?
What if they didn't take any meals?
Or could they just get sky juice?

That conversation sounded familiar. About 10 years ago, me and my friends from college would have sounded EXACTLY like that.

Despite what people say about rich college kids and how the younger folks have more $$$, I realise there are many more who just get by with a modest budget. 10 years ago, KFC meal is for ocassions like when you finish your exams, when a friend is dropping out of college, on someone's birthday - you know, the special ocassions.

Today, if I choose to (and I don't) ... I can have KFC meals whenever I want to. What a difference 10 years make.

I'm thankful for all the hard knocks I have taken, and I'm thankful for all the lessons I had to learn. And I look forward to the knocks and the lessons that I will have to go through in the future. Mum always said that if as a baby, we were all afraid to fall when learning to walk, we'd all be a race of crawlers ...

Each one made me that much better, that much smarter, and that much more thankful for my life.

And that's what growing up is all about, isn't it?

One year ago, around this day, I was feeling really bad about myself, and about my life. Read the archives for 2005. You might see a much darker side to me sticking out from time to time.

No more. What difference time makes.

The 3am post

Just a gaze away from my window is the Ayer Hitam forest reserve. Honestly, it's the reason why I bought this house. I wanted to get away from it all. I needed a quite place to retreat to at the end of my work day. I want to be removed from humans as best I can at least for a few hours every night.

I grew up in a squatter house along Jalan Puchong. Old timers would know the place as the '10 Shophouses' area. There used to be, well, 10 shophouses across Jalan Puchong from where I used to stay. That was in the early 80s.

Puchong itself started the transformation into the bustling suburb today when the tin mines stopped being profitable. This was in the mid 80s. Some of you would recall the Black Friday stock crash in New York. I was too young then to understand the full reasons behind the Black Friday crash, and too disinterested now to read up about it. But it affected my life in more ways than I could ever forsee.

My father lost his permanent employment. My mum was forced to work. I had to learn to cook, clean the house, etc. - basically, I became replacement mum. And still had to score decent marks in Add Maths ...

Let's not stray too far from the topic. Even before Black Friday, the tin mining industry, of which my dad was associated with, had been on the slowdown. Black Friday just totally killed whatever life there was in it.

Puchong's tin mines were closed. And filled. And housing estates were built over the former mining land. Kinrara Court really started it all off. Then there was Bandar Kinrara. Then Puchong Jaya. And before you know it, today, there are more housing estates in Puchong than I'd care to remember.

Jalan Puchong was widened 4 times during my stay in the old house. The 10 shops opposite became many more. People started to pour in. Traffic started to stream constantly along Jalan Puchong.

Today, I can't imagine how I could have slept in my old place. The traffic never stops. The noise never ends. You could hear the show offs who were having drinks in the restaurant 4 lanes across Jalan Puchong from my old house speaking loudly into their brick phones just so that the whole restaurant would know they have a brick phone. There was a time when mobile phones were muses of the rich.

When fires break out in the illegal factories in Kg. Michael Chen, also across Jalan Puchong, I could watch from my window and actually feel the heat on my cheeck.

I can't imagine how far removed I was from that world here in my home now. It's still just less than 10 minutes away by car, but it's a million miles removed from here, if you ask me.

It's quite a funny thing - you yearn for what you don't have.

I wanted peace and quiet when I was in my old place. I hated the noise of the old Protons with their half broken engines passing the house. I hate the drunk folks singing hokkien songs in the middle of the night. I hated the fumes of all those sand carrying lorries fueling the construction boom in Puchong.

Now I have peace. I have quiet. But I'm feeling lately that it's too peaceful and too quiet.

I'm not longing for the sounds of a billion cars driving past my house everyday. No, not that kind of thing ... it's just that I feel ... lonely ?

I think I need some help ...

Getting Sentimental ...

I've been feeling sentimental lately. Sometimes, music does that to you. Sometimes, it's meeting an old friend. And sometimes, it's just the weather.

It's been a confluence of all 3 this week.

Last Saturday, while channel surfing, I chanced upon a song that I had long forgotten. It was better forgotten then, something which was much more beneficial to me discarded from my memory. That was because this song reminded me of a time when my heart was shattered and broken. A time when I doubted my own ability to heal.

I obviously got over it, and I'm all fine now. Listening to the song evoked a sense of calm to this week's hectic pace. It didn't hurt anymore. It actually gave me quiet strength, knowing that I, like many, if not all other people, will go through lows.

Hehe ... so I actually put that song in a loop on my iPod and just kept listening to it for hours and hours and hours and hours.

Also met an old friend yesterday night. Reminded me of the lowest point in my career - she was a counterpart in a project I worked at in a previous job. Just a lot of bitter memories from that time. I still can't get that out of my mind - it was probably the biggest waste of time in my working life.

But if nothing at all, it taught me that failure is not the end of the road. I think I've rebounded pretty decently after that. I turned out ok, no?

And finally ... the weather ... the haze is back in Singapore. And I hate the haze. I hate Indons who burn the forests. I hate the officials in Indon who take bribes to close an eye to the burning. I hate the big plantations who get away with a mere slap on the wrist.

But back to the link between weather and my current wave of sentinmentality. The haze brought back memories of 1997 ... the year I left Australia. I have since been lucky - always overseas when the worst of the haze strikes. But not this year - I'm here in the region - with haze and all.

*Sigh*

***

Guess what's I did in Singapore?

Clues: Vivocity, New Asia Bar, Attica, Cufflinks from Tiffany's, neckties and more shirts than I normally buy in a year !!!

30 Things You Don't Know About Moz: #2

The next factoid that you really don't wanna note down about Moz is that I was a stamp collector.

And a pretty serious one too. I had pen pals from all over the world - because I want the stamps. I just to search the garbage near my piano class looking for stamps.

Unfortunately, the explosion of email meant most of my pen pals stopped writing, and there was the small matter of college and university, which was the last time I was really active in collecting stamps.

Why stamps? Don't ask me. But if Maria Sharapova approves, I think I'm not doing too badly. Definately better than collecting debts, which is something I've been getting good at recently.

Some of the ones I'm able to show ...

A mint sheet commemorating the German reunification. I have the First Day Cover and complete set as well.

Chinese folklores retold in Taiwanese stamps.

First Day cover commemorating the Installation of DYMM SPB Yang Di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Azlan Shah in 1989.

Even when I was young, I had a thing for pretty woman. Well, maybe not.

Had a number of German pen pals, which meant I had plenty of German stamps too.

One of the set of 1920 Czechoslovakia stamps. Notice the lack of perforation.

I just wish that I had more time to maybe go through again all the stamps I have, and all the memories of my stamp collecting day. Ms Sharapova, if you're interested in exchanging stamps, please do get in touch with me.

Updated Note: Early stamps did not have perforations - the holes punched into the stamp sheet to ease the separation of individual stamps, thus they had to be cut out.

Just who the heck are you, Moz?

Ever since I started blogging some time back, I realised reading my own blogs that I don't quite know who I am. Maybe its because I wear many hats, and learn to fit into different situation. Maybe it's because I am anyone to everyone. Maybe because I'm confused. Heck, I don't really know.

I can't tell you who I am because, like most people, I am biased towards, and in the same breath, against myself. I have traits I probably don't see and I probably deny certain bad habits attributed to me. You'll have to ask my family and friends just who the heck am I ...

But here's somethings you should know about me ... in an exclusive interview ...

Who are you?
I'm a Malaysian who's been travelling quite a bit the last 5 years of his life. I've been working now for nearly 8 years now. Oh, I'm 29, going on 30. And I'm dreading the big 3-0. I'm normal - I work during the day, refuse to sleep during the night. On weekends, I have nothing to do, on weekdays I fantasize about what I'd do during the weekends.

Why call yourself Moz? Why not give out your actual name?
If you're attentive, you'd probably find my real name somewhere. I previously blogged using my real name, but later, I felt it was probably not such a good idea because I'm actually working, and some of my blogs do touch on subjects that might be a little sensitive to my work. So I've stopped blogging on my first blog, and now I'm full time here.

Ok, so why the nickname Mozilla Monster?
In my previous job, my company was a Netscape implementor/reseller. I was implementing Netscape stuff all over the place. The Mozilla Monster was Netscape's mascot, thus my nick. I'm passionate about Netscape, and I still miss the ol' place - we were all a bunch of young, energetic people who worked off each other's energy and enthusiam. That's why most of my friends today are folks from the old place.

Ok. You sure you have a day job?
I have a house and a car to pay for. Google AdSense don't pay no bills, so yes, I do have a day job. And I intend to keep it. Maybe if I get an earth shattering offer from another company, I'll move. But yes, I'll still work.

Where did that 'what talk you?' come from?
Direct translation of "Lu cakap apa?" or "Kong Meh, lei?" - the Malay and Cantonese equivalent of "What are you saying?", I guess. It's a term some of my colleagues would identify with, since that's where I got it from, at work. People there always poke fun at me for my ang moh accent I can turn on whenever I speak with my counterparts from US. Whenever I speak in ang moh accent to them, they just use "What talk you?" to shut me up.

Surely you can't be just blogging in your free time, right?
Right. I eat, sleep and watch TV too. LOL. Actually, I play a bit of golf, and I also love to take photographs with my trusty Nikon Coolpix 8700. Every once in a while, when the bank account looks healthy and my manager thinks I'm too stressed out, I make the odd trips to destinations I dream off.

No kidding. Where do you go for your holidays?
Believe it or not, while I've been to every continent except Africa (and Antartica if you want to be anal about things like these), I've only had a single overseas trip for my holiday that wasn't an extension of my work assignments. That was Bali last year. I've been to places in Taiwan, China, Japan, Korea, US of A, India, Philippines, Singapore, France and UK. All for work, except Bali. Sheesh.

Back home, I've visited every state except Perlis, Kelantan and Terengganu. I know that's a bit embarassing, which is why I plan to rectify that very soon. I have 40+ days of leave to burn this year, thanks to some new draconian HR policy.

So I heard you spent a lot of time overseas.
Oh yeah. One year into my first job, I was sent to Taipei for almost a whole year. That's when I was caught in the Sept 21 1999 earthquake that devastated much of the country. In 2000, I joined my current company. They told me I am supposed to be looking after Malaysia. Guess what? I've been everywhere but home since. The last time I renewed my passport, the officer asked me in jest if I still want to keep my Malaysian citizenship.

That's sad.
Uh huh. I'd agree.

So, what's the last assignment?
Bangkok. Spent just about 13 months there, doing firstly out largest project ever in this region. Then I got a small project just before I came home. 13 months in Bangkok was a smash in terms of career development and also in terms of the personal fun I've had.

Personal fun? Bangkok? I'm joining the dots here, you know ..
If you're thinking what I'm thinking you're thinking, stop. As a golf fan, Bangkok is godsent. As a photography fan, Bangkok is full of subjects. The people are so nice and lovely, the food is amazing, there is an outstanding club scene, I have a 20 minute, jam free commute to work (via the Bangkok sky train). What's there not to like about Bangkok?

OK. I stand corrected. What about the other places, what's you favorite places?
I've always found something fascinating in even the most depressing places I've ended up in. The fact is that if the place is nice, I tell myself I'm a lucky bastard I'm able to see the sights, and to be thankful. If the place is downright depressing, I tell myself I'm a lucky bastard I'm not actually living there, and to be thankful.

See, it's actually all ok, if you put a positive spin on things.

Surely you must have favorites.
Ok, I absolutely loved Bangkok, the reasons I've stated earlier. I like Singapore because it's mega convenient, but it's a little drab and everyone looks like the other - there's little originality. I absolutely love France despite the people's ability to be so rude they put some Malaysians to shame. It's just a beautiful place. If I take a girl there for a holiday, I tell you, I'm getting serious with her.

Enough with the geography. What are your sources of entertainment?
Plenty. I like to read blogs, I absolutely love David Letterman, where my top ten draws from. I enjoy Whose Line Is It Anyway? And I'm into most sports show, like many full blooded Malaysian males.

What's your goals?
In the long term, I'd like to retire early, probably by 45. Then I can put time into things that I really care about.

In the short term, I'd like to stop procrastinating, and visit Tibet. And get more sleep.

Tibet? Hmm ... you mentioned you wanted to retire early to work on things that matter to you. Like what?
Environmental issues. I'm dead serious about the topic of conservation. Poverty eradication and equal education opportunity. The gap between rich and poor keeps increasing - it's going to take a lot of effort to bridge that. I know it sounds cheesy, you'll just have to take my word for it.

What are you like in real person? How would you describe yourself?
Personally, I think I'm a little shy. I have an air of confidence that sometimes rear its ugly head and make me arrogant, I can really intimidate in conversations, and I take a while to warm up to people. The last part's because I have been duped a bit too much in my younger days, so I treat people I just know as guilty until proven innocent, if you get what I mean. I think that' the traits of a person born in the year of the dragon, like me.

Are you straight? I mean as in straight vs gay.
I thought that's a no brainer. I love women. The problem is they don't find that attraction mutual. Maybe because I'm not very chatty before I really know someone. All my ex were first friends. I can't go into a disco, and pick up a girl. It's just not me, and really, even if it is, I look in the mirror every morning. I don't think I'll pull it off.

Name me 3 things you can't live without.
Oxygen, water and food ... ?

Besides that?
My iPod mini, my car and a very fat bank account. I don't have that very fat bank account part, but I'd really like to.

Seriously, nothing much. I'd lived my existance in places where very little is needed to keep me going. Just the thought that I can maybe see a sunset the next day has been known to keep me going.

Ok. What do you hate most?
Parents who go about shouting and scolding their children in the public. I always thought that's disrepectful at the children, and it's not good for their confidence too.

I dislike politics, but I can play that game when I get sucked into it. I'm working for an MNC, for heaven's sake.

Last thing I dislike are men who treat their woman badly. No kidding - I simply think that's wrong. And the other way too. I'm an equal opportunity fella.

Now, your favorite food.
Look at me and my big belly. I love to eat so many things, maybe I should just let you know what I don't eat. I don't take beef, I normally avoid lamb and I don't eat much fish. I absolutely love my oranges, my durian and raisins. I eat at least 2 oranges daily. While my appearance might suggest otherwise, I actually love veggies.

You drink? What's your favorite?
You should look at my private stash in my wardrobe ... actually, I've stopped drinking. One time in Bangkok, I was so stoned I threw up all the way home, so says my drink buddies. I honestly remember little, just the first throw up. I had a whole bottle of Glenfiddich to myself in 1.5 hours. After that, I just stopped. I still keep a whole lot of vodka in my wardrobe, but at the going rate, I'll need another 4-5 years to finish 'em all.

What about your favorite movies.
I don't watch many movies since I work long hours, and I haven't been up to date on the latest Hollywood shows, so my favorites are older movies. I absolutely loved Forest Gump. And on the Hong Kong side, I like Storm Riders. I don't care if you call me Ah Beng.

Your favorite songs?
I'm probably going to surprise many when I say all my favorite songs are in fact Chinese songs and 2 Thai songs. Most Jacky Cheung songs make it to my faborite list, and I love a few from Julian Cheung Chilam as well. Lately I have been getting into Jay Chou music too. From Thailand, Thongchai McIntyre's "My Love oh La Nor" and Seenahoy's "Aep Ngao" are my favorites. You'd probably find the Thai selections strange - I just love them, no reason why. For Western music, I'm really not into that thing, really.

And finally, what are your plans for the blog?
Nothing specific. Just keep blogging as long as it takes my mind away from work and gives me something to do in the spare times I do find. I hope to make some friends thru blogging and hear comments from readers. One day, I hope to wake up and see 1000 visitors in the same day ... then I can die happy - not. Just to keep blogging as long as I have something to write about.