Money and Friend

A friend rang up and need some money urgently. There were a few things which running my in my mind. Should I or shouldn't I? After a few stint of bad loan in the past, I came to a conclusions as below.

First, how well do you know your friend;
Second, what is the money used for;
Third, does he go for holiday later when he can afford to pay you some, but refused?;
Fourth; can he pay back the money with the agreement set before you loan;
Fifth, do you have a contract?
Lastly and most importantly, can you afford to lose that money once you loan it out?

At the end of it, yes we need to help our friend, but we also need to know our limit.

The respect to the king

Every time when I go for a movie in Bangkok, it reminded me of respect. Just before the movie begins, the national song will be played with the king's images on. At this time, we are expected to stand up and give our respect. I don't remember anywhere in other Asian countries that we do that to our leader. The token just reminded me how faithful the people are to their beloved king. After the national songs ended, instead of rushing to seat, you may see some even bow their head and then seat. If only other countries can gain such a respect, it's really tell me something how to gain respect and be respected.

An Iranian tale of "Separation" is brilliant!

I heard so much about the Iranian movie 'Separation' since last year. I was urged to watch it as it was a brilliant human drama. Also, this year, the movie won best foreign movie. I wonder why and with my little curiosity, I finally watched it in Bangkok, when I found it's showing in an Arthouse cinema.

The movie started with a simple scene of a couple in a lawyer office seeking a separation. However, that was just the beginning. The simple conflict then manifested into a deeper layer of conflicts. Conflicts within conflicts, and how it impacts the people around us.

What amazed me, when the difficult situations pushed everyone to their corner and one would give up their integrity or their beliefs in god. Lies after lies, and lead to an unresolved situation. When I thought I could sit down and try to think of a resolution, I felt it was too overwhelmed to stay on top of it.

I would highly recommend this movie if you like human drama. I love every confrontational scenes, it makes me thinks hard, how did we get here and for what reasons? Is it worth it?

My birthday last year ...

I could hardly recalled most of things which has happened last year. This was because last year was rather a turbulent year for me. I joined a department which expecting a lot of things from me. On top of that, I did not agree with how the management dictating us and in the end, I ended up with a lot of self conflicts. This in turn me into being very negative. I tried to convince myself I am right and trying to explain why the person I dealt with behaves unreasonably.

Anyway, what I can recall very well was my birthday. I was as usual wasn't in a good mood, I was indeed very sad I ended up with a situation I didn't feel motivated at all to work. However, my sister and my mom rang me up out of the blue. They told me they would take me out for a birthday dinner. My sister's bf will buy us a dinner. Somehow I wasn't moved that day, I just agreed to turn up. We dine but I kept very quiet, I think they may think I wasn't happy with the dinner. I did not tell them I was actually very disturbed that day, after getting a lot of screaming.

I tried very hard to smile and appreciate the food I had, but I just remembered I didn't enjoy it. That was my birthday last year. However, today when I looked back, my job will not change, it will still continue to be toxic. But I learned that, the negativity prevent me from appreciating what my family has done for me. I feel sorry for my own action. They made an effort to celebrate, but I made an effort to remain negative.

Anyway, from now on, it's a lesson learned. There will be continuously toxic bosses and toxic jobs out there, however, I must learn to detach my emotions from the job especially when the situation is toxic. I will not let the job ruined me and the people around me. I just need to deal with it. There is nothing more important than the people which surrounding us. The job is important when you are useful to them, but to your family, you are important to them in our lifetime.

For the love of your child ..

Today after lunch, Bahija, Ringgit, Dragon and myself was sitting at Starbucks. Then we bumped into a colleague who recently has a 8 months old baby boy that suffered from intestine inflammation. This requires medical surgery as the baby boy at that time was in a rather serious condition. The father explained to us on the procedures and surgery the baby has to go through.

Everything seems normal, until the father told us that before the surgery, the doctor told him to kiss the baby. It sounded like the doctor is telling him that he needs to be prepared for the surgery outcome. Dragon immediately said 'Don't tell me this it would make me cry'. However, the father actually has tears in his eyes when he relates the stories to us. I do not actually how much pain he has to go through, but I could tell his tears revealed the very pain which was put in front of him. Thank god, the baby is recovering well right now.

I wasn't sure if Bahija, Ringgit or Dragon noticed that, but like what I learned from my Applied Psychology course. The children is an extension of the parent's arm. The love of the parents cannot be replaced.

If I am a manager ....

If I am a manager :

I must know how to listen to my team;

I must know how to emphatize my team's challenges;

I must able to brainstorm together so we see a solution together;

I must able to take responsibility if my team did not perform up to standard;

I must able to defend my team, if there are unreasonable demand even from my own boss;

I must not lose my coolness and must set a good example to my team;

I must be patience;

I must think of my family's future but also understand other has their own family's too.

I must be more than a manager, I must be a leader;

Lastly, I must not be selfish;

If only I am a manager.