Family

I received an email this morning. From my lovely wife. My wife wont send an email just for the purpose of saying "hi". Eheh! She's normally will forward articles that she found interesting to be shared with me. Yeah.. things about financial planning, family's life and etc. Not any gossips or politics.

Heres the email content;

F A M I L Y

I ran into a stranger as he passed by,
'Oh excuse me please' was my reply.


He said, 'Please excuse me too;
I wasn't watching for you.'


We were very polite, this stranger and I.
We went on our way and we said goodbye.

But at home a different story is told,
How we treat our loved ones, young and old.


Later that day, cooking the evening meal,
My son stood beside me very still.


When I turned, I nearly knocked him down.
'Move out of the way,' I said with a frown.


He walked away, his little heart broken.
I didn't realize how harshly I'd spoken.


While I lay awake in bed,
God's still small voice came to me and said,


'While dealing with a stranger,
common courtesy you use,
but the family you love, you seem to abuse.


Go and look on the kitchen floor,
You'll find some flowers there by the door.


Those are the flowers he brought for you.
He picked them himself: pink, yellow and blue.


He stood very quietly not to spoil the surprise,
you never saw the tears that filled his little eyes.'


By this time, I felt very small,
And now my tears began to fall.


I quietly went and knelt by his bed;
'Wake up, little one, wake up,' I said.


'Are these the flowers you picked for me?'
He smiled, 'I found 'em, out by the tree.


I picked 'em because they're pretty like you.
I knew you'd like 'em, especially the blue.'


I said, 'Son, I'm very sorry for the way I acted today;
I shouldn't have yelled at you that way.'
He said, 'Oh, Mom, that's okay.
I love you anyway.'

I said, 'Son, I love you too,
and I do like the flowers, especially the blue..'


FAMILY
Are you aware that if we died tomorrow, the company
that we are working for could easily replace us in
a matter of days.
But the family we left behind will feel the loss
for the rest of their lives.


And come to think of it, we pour ourselves more
into work than into our own family,
an unwise investment indeed,
don't you think?
So what is behind the story?


Do you know what the word FAMILY means?
FAMILY = (F)ATHER (A)ND (M)OTHER (I) (L)OVE (Y)OU

Hmmm... I guess my wife is giving me a "gentle reminder". I admit, lately my attention to my kids a bit distracted. I already left the home while they are still on their bed. Except for the eldest, I have to send him to his kindergarten. Back home, its already 8 plus or 9 plus. I had my dinner alone (accompanied by wifey as she already had the dinner with the kids earlier). By 10, all of them already on the bed.

Sigh. I am spending my time more with my laptop then 4 of precious. Weekends? I am detached from my laptop by not my PC. Still its about work. And when the kids came around, looking for their father's attention, I tend to ignore.

Sigh. Sigh. Sigh.

Hobby (Part 2)

Of course, being a teenager my interest at that time incline more towards novel. Err.. don’t ask me the titles, even though I still can remember the names and the authors. Its because the evolution of the hormones, I guess. And at the same time my elder sisters start to buy their own collection of novels. My allowance for my schooling was also permitted me to buy my own. So,I have a lot of books to read.

Until one day, I read Jibam (by Ujang, a famous cartoonist at that time). It changed my perception on readings. Not that it made me stop reading, instead its open my mind to be more selective on my reading. Novels (in Malay) if I can say are almost all about love, greediness, lust and not to forget about jealousy. I am bored to read the same things over and over again. It just like watching Yusof Haslam’s movies. Named me any movies (directed by him), I can assure you there will be big motorbikes, night clubs scenes, his house, police and other easy-to-predict scenes. Err! No offence to Skop Production’s fan, please. :)

Then, I began to find books that satisfy me.

I failed.

Lots of book that I love to read either too expensive or only available in English. English book is like a sacred to me. Not that I never read any English book, it just that I always end up reading the dictionary. And I was (and still) also not a library-friendly.
Then, it’s the end of my first hobby.

Hobby (Part 1)

I believe everyone has her/his own hobby. I am included.

Before that, what is hobby? According to dictionary.com, hobby means “an activity or interest pursued for pleasure or relaxation and not as a main occupation”.

Hmm… but I believe hobby can be made as main occupation.

So what is my hobby? My hobby changed through out the years. I once fell in love with books. To be specific, story books. It started when I was in primary school. There was a competition for book reading, which I cant remember what it is called. You have to jot down in a report book for every single book you’ve read; the lesson learnt, the author, the publisher and etc. I started with the intention to get the numbers, which by end of the year the one with more books will be rewarded. I did read a lot but I have never won. Sigh.

Its (the competition) actually didn’t bother me. It has turned out to become my habit. I love to read regardless whether there’s a competition or not. I never give a damn on the report book then. I still remember, I love to read “Ceritalah Lagi”, it’s a blue covered book with more than 5 stories inside. Its all about legend, myths in yesteryears time. You know, those like “Hikayat Garuda Sakti”, “Puteri Tempayan” etc. Its fun.

English book? I am not sure whether there was any English book in the library. Ahahaha! I mean, of course there were lots of English book in there, but it was not in my list at all.

The hobby continues until I further my study to secondary school. Type of book has changed; no more stories with super duper power which enable the prince to kill a flying giant bird with only a bamboo spear. Ehehe!

(to be continued)

Family Outing

I went to Tasik Metropolitan at Kepong last Saturday, to spend some quality time with my kids and my beloved wife. Planned to come at afternoon, as the park is famous with kites flying activities. But thinking of parking problem, we decided to go at morning.

The kids were happy. We had our breakfast together. And the kids happily enjoy themselves at the playground.

Some pictures were taken to tell the feeling. Have a look.

Fail to deliver

One happy morning, I went for a breakfast at the café which located at the same building of my office. Looking at the menu, it was not tempting enough for me to spend my hardly earned money for the morning meal. So, I just picked up one piece of local donut and walked straight to the counter.

I ordered a drink. It was out clear that I mentioned I want a glass of “Milo Tarik”. The counter girl aka makcik nodded, indication of understanding. I paid and walked to a table, and start to munch my donut.

10 minutes. My “milo tarik” is still not on my table. Lucky I got Shariff and Shaja to talk to. If not, I might leave without having my drink.

Finally, my milo is delivered. And it was “milo panas”, not “milo tarik”. I bet you can tell the dissimilar by looking at the bubbles on the surface. Less and small bubbles definitely shows its not being “tarik”ed at all.

I asked the waiter to pick my drink and send me back the correct one, as ordered. He took, and in a jiffy the glass was already back on my table.

Sigh. No different from the earliest version.

And I start to nag. Not to the waiter, but to Shariff and Shaja. Hahahah! It was so frustrating with the service which they were not able to deliver a simple request. First, it took so long to get the drink ready whilst it was only two tables occupied with customer. Second, they not even understand what their client wants.

I mean, looking at what I requested was simple. I ordered a glass of Milo, which I need it hot, but at the same time I can gulp in without needing to sip them in so many times. If I want it to remain hot until I finish my meal, than I should order for “milo panas” instead. Any "tarik" drinks should be warm, but not that warm that incline to cold. It remains its hot. That’s the reason I request the “milo” to be “tarik”ed. And it is also not about bubbles. Bubbles are actually the value-added. It occurs because of the purpose, not the purpose itself.

So, they fail to understand what is required, therefore they fail tremendously to deliver.

I guess there's a lesson to be learn, at least to myself. :)

My Vacation

I just came back from Langkawi yesterday after my 6 days leave (including Saturday and Sunday), and today I already in the office sitting at the front of my laptop, scanning through all my emails in my inbox. Some reports need to be prepared, some works need to be checked. Back to my routine!

When people asked “hows your vacation?”, I was like wondering myself, was I really having a vacation? I have to say, NO, I am not having a vacation, even though the duration is 6 days. I went to Langkawi, my wife’s hometown, to attend my brother in law’s wedding. Just imagine that travelling back and to the island already took 2 days. So, I just have another 4 days, which I was busy (am I? Eheh!) with the wedding preparation and arrangement. The most tiring even is not on the wedding day or before, but after the big day. To pack up all the tools and keeping the house back to normal, is really exhausting.

Catering? Well, catering is totally not an option as we still prefer the traditional way.

So, there goes my 6 days “vacation”. I am tired, and still recovering from my body aching.

Need to go now.

Bye

Email Oh Email

It’s a culture in SKALI to use email as one way of communication. You can expect lots of email in your inbox folder almost everyday, including weekends. I have been in this culture for almost 5 years, and now (since last December) I am going through all this all over again.

Its nothing new and it doesn’t actually bother me, except that I have to deal with different type of people. My e-mail’s recipients are now differing from previous. Most of them are my bosses, my team members, clients as well as partners. Not to forget, friends.

I guess, all of us tend to forget that there is some etiquette been drawn out for us to follow when writing email. Its not a rule, but more into a guideline. Still, people are likely to ignore. That’s including me. I admit. Sometimes, when I read through some emails sent by me, its sounds immature, impropriate and maybe in times not professional.

I “googled” the net to find some simple email etiquette that I think can be followed as our guideline. However, they are more into western’s culture. So, being a Malaysian which always claimed that we are more polite and humble then the “mat saleh”, I guess we can do more than the list below.

What are the etiquette rules?

There are many etiquette guides and many different etiquette rules. Some rules will differ according to the nature of your business and the corporate culture. Below we list what we consider as the 32 most important email etiquette rules that apply to nearly all companies.

32 most important email etiquette tips:

1. Be concise and to the point
2. Answer all questions, and pre-empt further questions
3. Use proper spelling, grammar & punctuation
4. Make it personal
5. Use templates for frequently used responses
6. Answer swiftly
7. Do not attach unnecessary files
8. Use proper structure & layout
9. Do not overuse the high priority option
10. Do not write in CAPITALS
11. Don't leave out the message thread
12. Add disclaimers to your emails
13. Read the email before you send it
14. Do not overuse Reply to All
15. Mailings > use the bcc: field or do a mail merge
16. Take care with abbreviations and emoticons
17. Be careful with formatting
18. Take care with rich text and HTML messages
19. Do not forward chain letters
20. Do not request delivery and read receipts
21. Do not ask to recall a message.
22. Do not copy a message or attachment without permission
23. Do not use email to discuss confidential information
24. Use a meaningful subject
25. Use active instead of passive
26. Avoid using URGENT and IMPORTANT
27. Avoid long sentences
28. Don't send or forward emails containing libelous, defamatory, offensive, racist or obscene remarks
29. Don't forward virus hoaxes and chain letters
30. Keep your language gender neutral
31. Don't reply to spam
32. Use cc: field sparingly

Full content; http://www.emailreplies.com/