Saddest book. Ever

Here's what a reviewer wrote in Amazon.com:

Only purchase and read this book if you are a sad, lonely, and depressed person or want to become one. I can think of no other book in the history of the English language that can so quickly melt the spirits of even the most jovial care-free soul. This book is nothing but a downer. Just look at the cover. Doesn't it make you want to weep or perhaps it makes you feel a bit cold and sad inside? Sad, sad, sad. Oh the humanity!

By the way, the front cover appears to show a milkshake and pudding. How do you make that with a microwave?

Everyone wants to be a nice guy

It seems that whenever someone has to get his hands dirty, it has to be me. That's the role I'm expected to play nowadays while everyone else plays the role of the "nice guy".

Nuts!

Well, that's exactly what my friends expect me to do: get my hands dirty and end up with a bad reputation while they stay safe.

Not anymore. If I'm going down, they're coming with me.

Tough week

My family and I went through one of the toughest times of our lives last week. Hopefully it's really behind us now.

NAG has come and gone and the results are out. Not quite what I had expected as I was expecting better results. The kids are now away for the MSSM. I wonder how that will turn out.

NAG 2010

The 46th Malaysia Age Group Swimming Championship 2010 (also known as the National Juniors 2010) will commence tomorrow. Good luck to all Penang swimmers for this very important championship.

What goes around ...

I met one of my arrogant sh*thead friends yesterday. This guy had always pretended that I didn't exist. He comes from a rich family, and he thinks that everyone else is scum or inferior. I remember driving him around in my ancient Honda Civic without getting a word of thanks from him. Well, here's how our recent conversation turned out:

Me: Hi XX, how are you doing?
XX: I'm doing fine. Are you still in the same dead-end job as you were before?
Me: Errr ... What do you mean? I'm coaching PISA Swimming Team.
XX: I see. So you're still in the same dead-end job. *laughs*

I grit my teeth at this point, knowing that he was still the same assh*le that I had known many years ago.

Me: So, what are you doing at the moment?
XX: I'm a supplier for the top GPs and hospitals in Penang. I provide them with all essential medicines and pharmaceutical aids.

At this point, I realize that his reply has been well-rehearsed. Perhaps too well-rehearsed. I decide to probe further.

Me: Oh ... so, you're a pharmacist?
XX: No, but I cater for the GPs', pharmacists' and hospitals' individual and respective needs, I provide them with the essential drugs and equipment in order for them to fulfill their duties.

Ok, I know bullsh*t when I hear it. This was very good bullsh*t.

Me: So you're a salesman?
XX: My job is more than just sales. I promote goods and recommend drugs and medicines which are better than that proposed by my competitors.

There was a long pause here. So I pressed on with my previous question.

Me: So you're a salesman.
XX: Yes.

Bingo.

Just a friendly reminder to all those reading this: today, you could be at the top, but tomorrow, you could be skimming the bottom. So be humble. It doesn't hurt to be so.

Imported goods vs local products

"I'd rather spend my money on two Volkswagen than one Perdana".

That's what a friend of mine said when comparing foreign cars and local cars. (A Volkswagen costs more than RM200k while a Perdana costs less than RM100k.)

This is a classic misconception that foreign goods and services are better than their local alternatives. Personally, I prefer local goods and services compared to their foreign alternatives.

I drive a 2001 Proton Waja 16A and despite its problems, I'm quite happy with it. I wouldn't change my Waja for a Toyota Vios or any other continental car.

Reason? Proton parts are cheap, readily available and easy to maintain compared to foreign car parts.

I guess the same goes for local labour versus foreign labour.

In the case of foreign labour, the employer needs to provide: 1) accommodation (a home), 2) transport (the means to travel to and fro the work area), and 3) salary.

On the other hand, local labour is readily available at lower cost and requires less maintenance, with no accommodation or transport costs required.

Bottom line is, local labour and expertise is cheaper and not necessarily inferior to their foreign counterparts.

So why are we relying so much on foreign labour and expertise? Why are we so keen to spend that extra Ringgit on foreign methods and technique which may be untested, unproven and even questionable?

Wouldn't it be more beneficial to us as a State or Nation to educate and develop our current expertise and at the same time, improve and increase our spectrum of services without relying on foreign sources?

It seems to me that we spend too much to be "mouth-fed" and invest too little on feeding ourselves for the future. Our aims and goals all seem to be short-termed.

 

Thankfully, PST does not embrace any short-term or foreign ideals, nor do we accept any questionable methods or techniques, whether foreign or domestic.

Perhaps its time people realize that "all that glitters is not gold".

Reality

I had lunch at Manila Place at Gurney Plaza today.

Seated to my left was a family with 3 kids, one of whom was autistic. On my right was a family with a healthy single child.

Both families treated their kids well and often pampered them.

So I wondered: if I had any kids of my own, how would I treat my kids?

In my opinion, I would be a lousy parent. I would be hyper-protective and hyper-sensitive where it comes to my kids. That's how I am with my swimmers today.

I guess some people, like myself, were never meant to be parents.

Centralized training

It's 1+ AM as I'm writing this post. It's raining heavily at my home where I'm writing this - a welcome change to the extreme hot weather we've been experiencing so far nationwide.

In about 4 hours' time, five of PST swimmers will be attending centralized training at PISA Aquatic Center. I would like to wish these five PST swimmers all the best for their centralized training, and hope that they excel during the NAG and Sukma, and ultimately return as stronger swimmers.

I would like to end this post with a quote from my swimmers: "Gambateh!"