Thought 31JAN2008

WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND
When I was working as a disc jockey in Columbus, Ohio, I used to go to University Hospital or Grant Hospital on my way home. I would walk down the corridors and just walk into different people's rooms and read Scripture to them or talk to them. It was a way of forgetting about my problems and being thankful to God for my health. It made a difference in the lives of those I visited. One time it literally saved my life. I was very controversial in radio. I had offended someone in an editorial that I had done about a promoter who was bringing entertainers into town who were not the original members of a particular group. The person I exposed literally took a contract out on me!

One night I was coming home at about two o'clock in the morning. I had just finished working at a night club where I was the emcee. As I began to open my door, a man came out from behind the side of my house and said, "Are you Les Brown?" I said, "Yes, sir." He said, "I need to talk to you. I was sent here to carry out a contract on you." "Me? Why?" I asked. He Said, "Well there's a promoter that's very upset about the money you cost him when you said that the group that was coming to town was not the real group"

"Are you going to do something to me?" I asked. He said, "No," And I didn't want to ask him why because I didn't want him to change his mind! I was just glad! He continued, "My mother was in Grant Hospital and she wrote me about how you came in one day and sat down and talked to her and read Scripture to her. She was so impressed that this morning disc jockey, who didn't know her, came in and did that. She wrote to me about you when I was in the Ohio penitentiary. I was impressed with that and I've always wanted to meet you. When I heard the word out on the street that somebody wanted to knock you off," he said, "I accepted the contract and then told them to leave you alone."
Les Brown - extracted from 'A 2nd helping of Chicken Soup for the Soul' Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, Health Communication, Inc., 1995
The ruin of a nation begins in the homes of its people - Ashanti of Ghana

Thought 30JAN2008

THEORY 'X' and THEORY 'Y' - ASSUMPTIONS
Theory X
(1) The average human being has an inherent dislike of work and will avoid it whenever possible.
(2) Most people must be coerced, controlled, directed or even threatened with punishment to get them to put forth adequate effort toward the achievement of organization goals.
(3) The average human being is lazy, prefers to be directed, wishes to avoid responsibility, has relatively little ambition and wants security above all.
Theory Y
(1) The expenditure of physical and mental effort in work is as natural as play or rest.
(2) Commitment to objectives is a function of the rewards associated with their achievement.
(3) Human beings will exercise self-direction and self-control in the service of objectives to which they are committed.
(4) The average individual learns, under proper conditions, not only to accept but to seek responsibility.
(5) The capacity of imagination, ingenuity and creativity in the solution of organizational problems is widely distributed in the population.
(6) Under the conditions of modern industrial life, the intellectual potentialities of the average human being are only partially utilized.
Source : Adapted from Douglas McGregor, The Human Side of Enterprise (New York:McGrawhill, 1960), pp.33-34, 47-48 - Extracted from 'Management' James A F Stoner (Second Edition) Prentice Hall, 1984
A wise man who knows proverbs, reconciles difficulties - Ashanti of Ghana

Thought 29JAN2008

WATCH
Watch your thoughts, they become words.
Watch your words, they become actions.
Watch your actions, they become habits.
Watch your habits, they become character.
Watch your character, it becomes your destiny.
Anon thoughts - received from Zaharmiriah, a long time ago
One falsehood spoils a thousand truths - Ashanti of Ghana

Thought 28JAN2008

HANI
The day I met Hani Irmawati, she was a shy, seventeen-year-old girl standing alone in the parking lot of the international school in Indonesia, where I teach English. The school is expensive and does not permit Indonesian students to enroll. She walked up to me and asked if I could help her improve her English. I could tell it took immense courage for the young Indonesian girl in worn clothing to approach me and ask for my help. "Why do you want to improve your English?" I asked her, fully expecting her to talk about finding a job in a local hotel. "I want to go to an American university," she said with quiet confidence. Her idealistic dream made me want to cry. I agreed to work with her after school each day on a volunteer basis. For the next several months, Hani woke each morning at five and caught the city bus to her public high school. During the one-hour ride, she studied for her regular classes and prepared the English lessons I had given her the day before. At four o'clock in the afternoon, she arrived at my classroom, exhausted but ready to work. With each passing day, as Hani struggled with college-level English, I grew more fond of her. She worked harder than most of my wealthy expatriate students.

Hani lived in a two-room house with her parents and two brothers. Her father was a building custodian and her mother was a maid. When I went to their neighborhood to meet them, I learned that their combined yearly income was 750 U.S. dollars. It wasn't enough to meet the expenses of even one month in an American university. Hani's enthusiasm was increasing with her language ability, but I was becoming more and more discouraged. One morning in December 1998, I received the announcement of a scholarship opportunity for a major American university. I excitedly tore open the envelope and studied the requirements, but it wasn't long before I dropped the form in despair. There was just no way, I thought, for Hani to meet these qualifications. She had never led a club or an organization, because in her school these things simply did not exist. She had no guidance counselor and no impressive standardized test scores, because there were no such tests for her to take. She did, however, have more determination than any student I'd ever seen. When Hani came into the classroom that day, I told her of the scholarship. I also told her that I believed there was no way for her to apply. I encouraged her to be, as I put it, "realistic" about her future and not to plan so strongly on coming to America. Even after my somber lecture, Hani remained steadfast.

"Will you send in my name?" she asked. I didn't have the heart to turn her down. I completed the application, filling in each blank with the painful truth about her academic life, but also with my praise of her courage and her perseverance. I sealed up the envelope and told Hani her chances for acceptance ranged somewhere between slim and none. In the weeks that followed, Hani increased her study of English, and I arranged for her to take the Test of English Fluency in Jakarta. The entire computerized test would be an enormous challenge for someone who had never before touched a computer. For two weeks, we studied computer parts and how they worked. Then, just before Hani went to Jakarta, she received a letter from the scholarship association. What a cruel time for the rejection to arrive, I thought.

Trying to prepare her for disappointment, I opened the letter and began to read it to her. She had been accepted. I leaped about the room ecstatically, shocked. Hani stood by, smiling quietly, but almost certainly bewildered by my surprise. The image of her face in that moment came back to me time and time again in the following week. I finally realized that it was I who had learned something Hani had known from the beginning: It is not intelligence alone that brings success, but also the drive to succeed, the commitment to work hard and the courage to believe in yourself.
By Jamie Winship - from Chicken Soup for the College Soul, Copyright 1999 by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen
All that we are is a result of what we have thought - Buddha (563BC-483BC)

Golf in BOGOR

On Tuesday 22JAN2008 we left for Bogor, Indonesia to play golf. At Klub Golf Bogor Raya we came across 'Maki', the band player from "UNGU" (base guitar player). Took the opportunity - photographed with him.

Zailan, Maki, Aziz Alhaj

On Wednesday 23rd we played at Gunung Guelis Golf Club. Course carved out of the hills and lakes. On the 24th (last day) after a taxi trip to Jagorawi Golf Club; we found out that no visitors or walk-in golfers allowed. Disappointed, we asked for a cab to take us out from there.

First Hole - Gunung Guelis Golf Club

We then went to Emeralda Golf Club and played our last course. As there was not enough time, we only played 13 holes; as we have to catch our plane back to KLIA.


First Hole - Gunung Guelis Golf Club
View from 1st Tee Box - Gunung Guelis

We flew home on Thursday 24JAN2008 evening.

Thought 22JAN2008

ON RELATIONSHIPS
Almost all married people fight, although many are ashamed to admit it. Actually, a marriage in which no quarreling at all takes place may well be one that is dead or dying from emotional undernourishment. If you care, you probably fight.
Flora Davis
Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions - Albert Einstein 1879 - 1955

Thought 21JAN2008

ON MISTAKES
We teach people that mistakes are like skinned knees for little children. They're painful, but they heal quickly and they're learning experiences. My people are covered with the scars of their mistakes. They lived out in the field; they've been shot at; they've been hit in every part of their bodies; and they're real. By the time they get to the top, their noses are pretty well broken. The chances of their getting there with a clean nose are zero.
H Ross Perot - Extracted from 'Speaker's Sourcebook II', Glenn Van Ekeren, Prentice Hall, 1994
An intelligent enemy is better than a stupid friend - Senegal

UiTM DBS/DIB 1980 (BK)

After 27 years, old roomates of UiTM Hostel 4 (now Hostel Perindu) Room 3014 got together for a game of golf at KGPA on Saturday 19th January 2008. Everyone still looks 'the same'

Suhaimee, Adi, Lan, Haji Hisham, Boreh Alhaj

Playing with us was Haji Takruddin of MCM, Lecturer Mazlan Muhammad & Nasaruddin (exBNM). We had an enjoyable morning of superb golf, Raja Hisham (buaya naga handicap 18) won the small wager. If there was more money, we may have to pay 'gaming tax'.

Haji Taka, Haji Hisham, Adi, Boreh Alhaj, Mazlan Lecturer, Lan, Suhaimee, Nasaruddin

Hassan and Syed Omar joined us for lunch after the game. Old stories were told, all over again. Next time, we'll get Pak Itam, Gerk and Jabar to join us.

Haji Taka, Lan, Suhaimee, Hassan, Arab, Nasaruddin

Full of fun, bringing back memories and still with old stories. We'll do this again in 2 months time. When the time comes, we'll decide which course to play.
Arab, Nasaruddin, Adi, Boreh Alhaj, Mazlan Lecturer, Haji Hisham

LONG LIVE BK-BK

Thought 18JAN2008

ON LIVING
Ninety percent of the world's woe comes from people not knowing themselves, their abilities, their frailties, and even their real virtues. Most of us go almost all the way through life as complete strangers to ourselves.
Sydney J. Harris (1917-1986), Syndicated columnist - Cited in BITS & PIECES
Equality is not easy, but superiority is painful - Serere

Thought 17JAN2008

A SOUND PHILOSOPHY
The ServiceMaster Corporation serves as a beautiful example of a company that thoroughly integrates its corporate philosophy and mission into day-to-day affairs. Founded by Marion E Wade, the story of its conception, genesis and growth is told in Wade's book, God is My Counsel. Kenneth T Wessner, Chairman of the Board of ServiceMaster, states :
To honor God in all we do.
To help people develop.
To pursue Excellence.
To Grow Profitably.
For the people of ServiceMaster, their work is not merely the making of a living; it is a way of life. That solid philosophy has helped ServiceMaster become one of the largest cleaning service conglomerates in the world.
Extracted from 'Speaker's Sourcebook II', Glenn Van Ekeren, Prentice Hall, 1994
Life is a shadow and a mist; it passes quickly by and is no more - Madagascar

Thought 16JAN2008

JUST IN TIME
One night at 11.30, an older African-American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rain storm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car. A young white man stopped to help her - generally unheard of in the deep South during those conflict-filled 1960s. The man took her to safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a taxi cab. She seemed to be in a hurry! She wrote down his address, thanked him and rode away. Seven days went by and a knock came on the man's door. To his surprise, a giant combination console color TV and stereo record player were delivered to his home. A special note was attached.

The note read :
Dear Mr. James; Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched my clothes but my spirits. Then you came along. Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband's bedside just before he passed away. God bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving others. Sincerely, Mrs Nat King Cole
Dan Clark - Extracted from "Chicken Soup Series, Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Jennifer Read Hawthorne & Marci Shimoff, Health Communications Inc,1995
If you think back and replay your year, if it doesn't bring you tears, either of joy or sadness, consider the year wasted - John Cage

Thought 15JAN2008

AND JUSTICE HAS BEEN SERVED
When Harry Day's father died just before Harry was to enter Stanford University, Harry was forced to run the family ranch instead. Life was hard. The little adobe house on the New Mexico border had no electricity or running water and was many miles from the nearest city. But life went on and Harry eventually married. Ada Mae. When their first child was born, they traveled the 200 miles to El Paso for the delivery, then brought their baby, Sandra, home to start her life with the limited resources the ranch offered. There wasn't even a school within driving distance. So Ada Mae did what she had to and began home schooling little Sandra at four, reading to her hour after hour every day. But Harry and Ada Mae knew that they wanted their daughter to have a college education - the one Harry had missed - so later they sent Sandra to the best boarding school they could afford. Not only did Sandra go on to college, but in 1952 she graduated from Stanford University Law School near the top of her class and set out confidently to make her mark at a top level law firm. But Sandra still had some hurdles to overcome. The only offers she received were for legal secretary positions. So she started her career instead in San Mateo, California, as an assistant country attorney. Later she and her husband moved to Arizona, where she built a prominence law practice. It was 29 years after Stanford that she received a phone call from Attorney General William French Smith. President Reagan had nominated her - Sandra Day O'Connor - to be the first female justice of the United States Supreme Court.
The Best of Bits & Pieces - extracted from 'Chicken Soup for the Woman's Soul', Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Jennifer Read Hawthorne & Marci Shimoff, Health Communications, Inc., 1996.
Things are beautiful if you love them - Hean Anouilh
I shot "eagle" today, Monday 14JAN2008; KRTU Hole 9 from 154 metres with 7-iron !!!

Thought 14JAN2008

MOVING MOUNTAINS
There were two warring tribes in the Andes, one that lived in the lowlands and the other high in the mountains. The mountain people invaded the lowlanders one day and as part of their plundering of the people, they kidnapped a baby of one of the lowlander families and took the infant with them back up the mountains. The lowlanders didn't know how to climb the mountain. They didn't know any of the trails that the mountain people used and they didn't know where to find the mountain people or how to track them in the steep terrain. Even so, they sent out their best party of fighting men to climb the mountain and bring the baby home. The men tried first one method of climbing and then another. They tried one trail and then another. After several days of effort, however, they had climbed only a couple of hundred feet. Feeling hopeless and helpless, the lowlander men decided that the cause was lost and they prepared to return to their village below. As they were packing their gear for the descent, they saw the baby's mother walking towards them. They realized that she was coming down the mountain that they hadn't figured out how to climb. And then they saw that she had the baby strapped to her back. How could that be? One man greeted her and said, "We couldn't climb this mountain. How did you do this when we, the strongest and most able men in the village, couldn't do it?" She shrugged her shoulders and said, "It wasn't your baby."
Jim Stovall - Bits & Pieces -extracted from 'Chicken Soup for the Mother's Soul', Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Jennifer Read Hawthorne and Marci Shimoff, Health Communications, Inc; 1997
Nothing is impossible to a willing heart - John Heywood

Thought 11JAN2008

ON LEADERSHIP
If people are coming to work excited ... if they're making mistakes freely and fearlessly ... if they're having fun ... if they're concentrating on doing things, rather than preparing reports and going to meetings - then somewhere you have a leader - Robert Townsend - extracted from 'Speaker's Sourcebook II, Glen Van Ekeren, Prentice Hall, 1994
POINTS TO PONDER [by Charles Swindoll]
Attitude is more important that the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company or a home. The remarkable thing is, we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past. We cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have and that is our attitude - Strengthening Your Grip - Extracted from Reader's Digest, July 1995 - Points to Ponder
Live life to the fullest and focus on the positive - Matt Cameron

Thought 09JAN2008

GOLDEN RULES FOR LIVING
If you open it, close it.
If you turn it on, turn it off.
If you unlock it, lock it up.
If you break it, admit it.
If you can't fix it, call in someone who can.
If you borrow it, return it.
If you value it, take care of it.
If you make a mess, clean it up.
If you move it, put it back.
If it belongs to someone else and you want to use it, get permission.
If you don't know how to operate it, leave it alone.
If it's none of your business, don't ask questions.
If it will brighten someone's day, say it.
If it will tarnish someone's reputation, keep it to yourself.
Author Unknown - extracted from 'a 3rd serving of Chicken Soup for the Soul', Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, Health Communications, Inc; 1996
Failure is success if we learn from it - Malcolm Forbes

Thought 08JAN2008

POINTS TO PONDER
No organization can depend on genius; the supply is always scarce and unreliable. It is the test of an organization to make ordinary human beings perform better than they seem capable of, to bring out whatever strength there is in its members and to use each man's strength to help all the others perform. The purpose of an organization is to enable common men to do uncommon things - by Peter F Drucker - extracted from April 1996 edition of Reader's Digest
Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you will get neither - C.S. Lewis

Thought 07JAN2008

ON RELATIONSHIPS
Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get - only what you are expecting to give - which is everything. What you will receive in return varies. But it really has no connection with what you give. You give because you love and cannot help giving. If you are very lucky, you may be loved back. That is delicious but it does not necessarily happen - Katherine Hepburn
The love we give away is the only love we keep - Elbert Hubbard

Proverbs 04JAN2008

He who has the courage to laugh is almost as much a master of the world as he who is ready to die - Italian Proverb
He who lives with hope dies happy - Mexican Proverb
The angry man will defeat himself in battle as well as in life - Samurai

Proverbs 03JAN2008

If the rich could hire someone else to die for them, the poor would make a wonderful living - Yiddish Proverb
Our own life is the instrument with which we experiment with truth - Thich Nhat Nanh
Education is the work of your entire life - Haitian Proverb

Proverbs 02JAN2008

May the New Year 2008 bring more joy, much happiness, much wealth, serenity, good health, good senses, good feelings, good deeds, good food, good body system, calmness and everything good and wonderful!

When we show our respect for other living things, they respond with respect for us - Arapaho Proverb
Children are the reward of life - Congo Proverb
If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough - Meister Eckhart