Sunday, July 26, 2009

I'm back... finally... with a lot of changes...

Phew! It's really been a long time since I posted anything here. Couldn't help it actually, China banned most blogs... sigh...

Anyway, a lot has happened since my last post. System development in China has taken a strong step forward with the implementation of a server running Windows 2003 and MS SQL Server 2008. It was a new thing to me as I've been using purely MS Access for database development thus far, but as the requirements increased to multi-user across the network, I needed a server and SQL Server. Things are looking bright though, and now I'm working on the M'sia side system.

Another update, I'm attached again ;) To a really wonderful gal, Sally. Since the first day we met, we jst somehow clicked. Don't know why, don't really care either :P I just know we share a lot in common. Quite freak at times too... We'd be chatting over the phone (even when I'm in China, she in M'sia), and we'll likely be in the same position as the other... the way we lie or sit, playing with our feet, etc etc... there was a time when we webcamed and suddently noticed we were biting our lips exactly the same way :P
Anyway, things are really great with her around, and I hope and pray that I'm giving her the same feeling she's been gving me. We went to Medan last week, with her coursemates. This yu Armuz planned the whole trip (he's a native of Medan). However, he couldn't get his visa thingy settled! So the host pulak had to cancel his participation. But he was kind enough to get his familay to arrange accomodation n transport for us to travel around Medan, Bras Tagi, Lake Toba and a few other locations. Those 5 days gave me a taste of having Sally beside me 24/7. I'd get off the car to snap a few photos, and suddenly she'd be there! Her presence always manage to bring a smile to my lips. It has never failed, and it never fails. There isn't a word to describe accurately how blissful I felt the entire trip. Every moment with her presence was great. She somehow added salt n spice to each minute of the time spent with her. Sally is one special person to me. And though we've known each other not too long ago (Feb 2009 actually, on Valentine's Day - remember the Valentine's Shoot I organized?), it seems like we've known each other since our childhood days. When we are together, the only thing that can truly end our conversation is one of us dozing off to sleep from extreme fatigue... but we usually try to stay awake as long as possible and often end up talking gibberish and start crapping before physically giving in to sleep :P hehe...

I love Sally very much, and I'm not afraid to show it. I've never been in such a relationship before. I'm really getting a feel of how it's like being loved.. being cared for... not that my parents didn't love me or anything. They did, but that's maternal love. This is defferent. Sally has made life so much sparkier for me. I don't think she knows completely how much of a blessing she is to me. I'm still unable to express just how great I feel inside when she's around me... All I can do is do my best to make her feel the same as I feel and more... She deserves every ounce of love I pour out to her... She deserves every drop of sweat n blood I lose for her sake... She's worth every sacrifice I make... Coz she's been giving me so much that I still don't know if I'd be able to match her giving..

Beautiful, smart, caring, loving, willing to sacrifice, loyal, did I say beautiful n smart? What more can I ever want? Sally's a gift from God. I'm doing all I can to ensure this wonderful gift is taken care off always. Although most of the time we have to be physically apart, I'm always doing whatever I can to care for her. She's been telling me that I've done a lot... more than enough.. but I still don't feel it's enough. I love Sally and I will always love her. Am I smitten? Mesmerized? Caught up in blind love? I don't think so... I've experienced enough to know better about my own emotions :)

Sally's had a rough past. I just want to make her future a total oppposite of that past. All I truly want is for her to be happy always and for her to be doing what she truly enjoys. That'll be enough to make me satisfied. That would be quite enough to justify all my sacrifices and effort. I silently asked God for the ability to love again after getting dumped... God gave me Sally to show me what love is again... to open me up again to once again love without limits. And who else to focus that unconditional love at other than God's gift? I'm in love... with the right person this time... beautiful bliss... Now that I have blissful love in my life, I pray that every one of you out there also have what I have. Have faith, take heart. Keep searching and asking, God will answer you with more than what you ask for. That's what God enjoys doing. Surprising us with overflowing blessings... Amen!

Cheers,
Edward

"Be a blessing to those around you"

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

The world in a different perspective...

I've been here in China for quite a while this time. It's gonna be close to a month. If I need to cross over to Hong Kong for half a day, that'll mark a month of being here. I can only stay in China for 30 days at a time with my Visa. Any longer and I'd be in trouble.

I've been working on things here 7 days a week. It's quite the norm here. Rest once a month. To all you once-a-weekers, it might look real tough and bad. I'm not sure if that's really the case or just that I know how to squeeze in entertaining times into my tight schedule seamlessly. No doubt work is indeed stressful (as least it's supposed to be). I don't exactly have a fixed JD here. I'm now working primarily on a database system for the factory production. My boss runs a clothes business. Some are bought wholesale here and sold retail in M'sia. Some are made here according to her designs, and sold wholesale n retail in M'sia. A small portion are made by the in-house factory. I've met a number of people. Different people, different idealogy. I believe it's quite common knowledge that there are many Muslims here in China. But it's quite unnerving to hear that the common talk is Muslims don't eat pork because they believe pigs are their ancestors!!! Well, at least that's from my colleagues here. Fake Muslims?!?!? Well... not my problem, is it?

The food here is quite good... and real cheap!!! Imagine getting a 'char siew bao' with more meat in it at RMB0.50!!! Yes, it's no typo. That's about RM0.30 each! I couldn't believe it until I got 2 in my hands for RMB1. Coke is about 30% cheaper too. RMB3 for what costs us RM2.20.

It kinda makes me wonder why things have ot be so expensive in M'sia. Here's there no such thing as 5% government tax etc... pay exactly for what's displayed. Also there's no need for biz tax etc.. and you'd think that by NOT having these income the government would be having trouble... wrong. The systems here are so much better than in M'sia and much more techonologically advanced. Internet is at a blazing speed... I'm getting up to 300kb/s download on Limewire which only gets me an average 10kb/s in M'sia. The best I noticed were the speed trap cameras on the highways. Picture this. In M'sia, if you get caught by a camera, you'd probably get the summons sent to your house a year later? Maybe more? I recently receive a notice of unpaid summons, without the actual summons for speeding past a speed trap! Here you get notified about 300m down the road on a huge overhead LED display unit!!! Talk about fast delivery!

Another thing, their GPS is very updated! It even talks to you and tells you locations with radar scanners, cameras etc on the road. It also tells you if you're over the speed limit! That's what I call GPS tracking. When you select your destination, it asks if you want the cheapest route, the fastest route etc. I don't know anyone in M'sia owning a GPS that does all this yet. And a real good unit only costs RMB2k here! Converts to about RM1100?

There's a lot of talk about how China is... all the bad stories, about people peeing at the steps of the bus, toilet which are just holes of cement, dirty streets, beggars, etc. While these are true, and they do exist, it's not the entire truth. I have seen a totally barebacked man walking the streets covering up his shame with this bare hands in the cold wind. Now I was quite tempted to offer him my jacket. But then I thought to myself, what got him in that state? Did he gamble his way there? Was he robbed? Was he always like that? I probably would never be sure but the first thought seemed to be the only logical one. The others seemed quite unlikely... If he was robbed, won't he have gone to the police?

On another note, the traffic here is hell! Or it's supposed to be. The road users are totally senseless most of the time. Yet there are less accidents than M'sia! Remember M'sia ranks top 3? I used to think China is stil populated by bicycles and cars a luxury. NOT!!! Cars are abundant here. More than bicucles or motorbikes! And the only traffic rules obeyed are speed limits and traffic lights! And they stop when answering a call on their mobile (good driver?) IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FREAKING TRAFFIC LIGHT JUNCTION!!!! WTBF!!! And these drivers hardly pay attention to the horns blaring away at them. Horning is the norm here. Blare your horn at everything and anything. Whatever it is, horn away! Gotta get ear muffs soon...

All in all, comparing China and M'sia, I'm quite appalled at the situation my home country is in. If China could become this good in the few years after breaking away from total communism, M'sia should be much better off considering the years we've got since independance. Some say it's the government, others say it's the citizens. I choose to believe it's both. Nothing gets done when only one party works at it. It has to be a cooperation between both the government AND the people. A strong cooperation to achieve a singular ultimate goal for the nation. Yes, we all have our own goals in life. But we need to somehow align them to the betterment of the nation, shouldn't we?

I've been listening to enough people bitching on and on about the leaders, the racial problem, this, that, blah blah blah... If you're bitching too, let me ask you. What have you done to change the situation? Don't say vote. Vote is just putting your burden unto another person's shoulders. What effort are you doing to make a difference in the things you bitch about? If you're not doing anything, don't even have a plan in mind, then would you please shut up? Talking about problems just makes a mountain out of a mole-hill. Some wants justice! Why they get this n that. Why they get protection. Why? Simple... because THEY CAN! You would to if you could. You feel unfair because deep down you want the same too. Not because what they're doin is wrong. But because you're not getting it! If it's sooooo wrong, you won't bother complaining if someone in power says "This case is closed. Period." You'd look at all things in perspective. Stop bitching about how corrupt certain officials are. Stop talking about how the ones you support are the one truly for the nation, and the others are only for themselves. Every supporter claims the same thing. What's so special about you? Everyone in politics have their own agenda. Whether bringing up the nation is in that agenda or not is not of my concern. Politicians talk well, very well in fact, when needed. You want to take whatever they say for truth? Personally I choose not to. But then that's my choice, ain't it? You have yours. But before you go all out supporting, or complain again, think about this. What have you done that directly affects those around you in a better way? Before thinking about doing anything to create a change in the nation, have you done anything in your family? With your circle of friends? With you neighbourhood? How well do you know the people living in your same block? Don't fight someone else's cause. Fight your own. At least when you lay down to die, you can say with no regrets that you've done all you could for yourself. At those last moments, it's our own goals and personal achievements that are mist cherished. It's about those we love. Those who we care about without a doubt.

Be ther person you are meant to be. Free in your own decisions. Only have words of your own thoughts in your mind. Look at things in perspective. Gather facts from all parties. Never limit your sources of information in all situations. You'll see what I see. You'll feel what I feel. You'll come to realize what I realize. Life is too short for petty things. Life is too short to fight for someone else's dream. Life does not wait for any of us. It comes and then goes, leaving us with nothing if we do not take control of every second that life keeps giving us.

Life is like a bank of time. We all have a limited number of seconds in it. We can't deposit anymore. And we cannot stop the withdrawal. It's an automatic withdrawal and an automatic usage of withdrawed second. What we do with each and every of those second determine what and who we are eventually. Time lost is gone forever, never recovered. I can never go back to my school days where I missed a dear opportunity to represent my district. I was offered the place directly, but my mum didn't allow me to participate as I was having a major exam that year. I don't blame my mum coz she acted to the best of her knowledge. I regretted not being able to convince my mum with results that a few months of athletic championships won't affect my grades. Unfortunately, I never was the top student. I had nothing to prove that I'd be getting good grades. That is my true regret. I didn't make full use of my early days.

I'm close to 30 nw. But I feel like God has granted my unspoken prayer. My life is lived as if I was still a fresh grad. My circle of friends are mostly either still in university or graduating. I'm having a real good job, which offers a solid character building opportunity. I'm single and very much available. I mis well not with those my age, but those younger than me. If I could change my birth year in all my official records, I don't think anyone would realize... Most people believe me to be mid-20 only (my China colleagues thought I was 21 btw, haha)... If this is truly a new opportunity given by God, I'm grabbing it with both hands this time. I'm not letting it slip away. This may very well be my only chance to right my life into higher achievements. Pray for me, my friends... I'm going to the top!

Cheers,
Edward

"Be a blessing to those around you"

Friday, April 17, 2009

Things work in wondrous ways....

Ever wonder how things seem to work out some how in the end? We always worry about something, somewhere, somehow. The future seems to be so dark to most people. Things don't always go bad, so why the constant negative perception?

I'm among the few homo sapiens who see more sun than anything else in the days to come. I used to be so baffled by pessimistic people. How can anyone live with constant negative thoughts? The fact is clear. They don't! Pessimistic people don't live at all. They are alive no doubt, but they are not living their lives! They just sort of go with the flow. Dead fishes floating downstream... I'm among the few live ones swimming upstream!

While it is good to be optimistic about the future, a person can get too optimistic. A balance is much needed to steer a person clear of uncalled for danger while still on track for great things. The bigger the risk, the bigger the achievement. But we must always only take calculated risks. Then we'd know wat we are risking and wat we are hoping ot get :) If the risk is too big, then it's not worth it...

But sometimes, things happen because we need to go through it. God has a plan for out lives, and all we need to do is follow it. I've recently stumbled across another of God's guidance...

Yawn... it's late though. Will update you guy in my next entry :P

Zzzzzz.......




Cheers,
Edward

"Be a blessing to those around you"

Friday, March 20, 2009

Holla from China!

Well, it's real now. I'm in China! Touched down this morning at abt 11am after what seemed like a blink of the eye... it took a little less that 4hrs to reach shen zhen from m'sia... bt it costs RM1k for one way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The immigration was clean n pleasant with medical personnel counter to check for SARS thingy I guess. Everyone is supposed to report if there's any flu syptoms etc. Only thing that made me pissed as well as gave a laughing break was the reference to non-China people... we're all refered to aliens! Wat the...!!!!!

Oh yeah, driving is on the opposite side compared to M'sia. It was a little weird sitting at the right side of the car but not driving ;) I have to say, the toll operators are so extremely polite!!! They actually wish you 'good morning' etc, and say 'thank you' politely! And they do it while standing in their booth with no aircon!!! Malaysian have a lot to learn here...

I also learn that Chinese in China are very smart and cunning. It's quite true to say that most of the locals here are quite focused on just making money. Everything else can be secondary... sigh... They can learn a lot from Malaysians in this area. But can't exactly blame them either. Coming from a communist rule, nw free to make as much as they can.

Anyway, to all my friends back in M'sia, just remember, the grass always seem greener on the other side. Coz the grass block all the shit and rocks from view. When you're on the other side, then you realized just how similar the situation might be. Be content with you citizenship. If you can't stay loyal to the country which brought you up, you won't be much different anywer else.

Will write more about my few days here :) till then, chiao!

Missing you greatly.... you know who you are ;)

Cheers,
Edward

"Be a blessing to those around you"

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Forwarded junk mail...

I really don't get this... How many of you have received those forwarded mails that say something like "Forward this mail and the poor little child gets $0.10 for every forwarded mail"? That is total crap. Microsoft, Intel, of the Pentagon for that matter can't possibly track your email as you forwarded it through your email service provider. Only Yahoo can track mails forwarded through YahooMail, Google for mail in Gmail, and so forth. There's no way any sort of code can be used to send whatever information to a certain source without being labeled as a worm or trojan virus... In fact most virus are spread through emails using this little pleading email that plays on your innocent benevolent heart... sigh...

There is another bigger joke about Bill Gates wanting to share his wealth with people who forward a certain email. WTF!!! Get a life! No matter how wealthy Bill Gates is, it's quite logical to believe that he'd not use such a method! Not only will he be unable to track the emails, it will jam up the mail servers! Something Gates will definitely not be wanting.

Please think twice before you forward email. Don't forward 'just in case it is real'. It never really is... I've not forwarded so many chain email that state some kind of bad luck if I do not forward to a certain number of people etc. News flash! No bad luck!!! Wake up and smell the coffee people! Stop getting duped n wasting internet bandwidth forwarding junk emails. However, if there some meaningful words, lessons, poems etc, then I guess you can share with everyone :)

Be smart. Not everyone has a huge empty email account like yours. Not everyone has all the free time in the world to sift through emails to filter out the meaningful ones from the junk... unless you want to be automatically labeled as spam of course...

Ahhh.... just needed to bitch about this for a while. Have been penting it up for far too long. Hope everyone following my blog will wisen up about this.


Cheers,
Edward

"Be a blessing to those around you"