My Blog

Secret Recipe of Success:
Submitted by Mike.T

INGREDIENTS:
2.5   gallons       of    sweats
1.5   cups          of    determination
0.5  teaspoon     of    inspiration
1     tablespoon  of    creativity   
2     spoons        of    courage
1     bar             of    confidence
1     package      of    knowledge
2     cans            of    passion

DIRECTIONS:

1. Put all the ingredients into the big bowl of life.
2. Blend it well with hard work.
3. Add a little prayer as spice.
4. Wait with patience and there you go, a sweet and

    rewarding success!             

Roasting chestnuts,

Frosty air,

A snow-covered world,

Christmas is here.

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Sleigh bells ringing,

Carolers singing,

Christmas trees alight,

Candles wink.

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Logs in the fire,

Guests at the door,

Turkeys for all,

Presents galore.

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Greetings my friends,

I miss you all,

Enjoy this day,

Merry Christmas to all.

            B and M’s birthday was just a couple of days away. Being their cousins, Tommy, Yvonne, Alexander, Orange and I had decided to pull a surprise birthday on them.

            A lot of preparation was being done and the hardest thing was to keep the sibling from knowing our plan.

            On the day of their birthday, we pretended that nothing happened and chatted idly in their room. When they walked in, we had the lights off, brought out the cake and sang the song for them.

            Mouth paralyzed, their eyes began to water. For a very long time, their hard lives had made their birthday hadn’t been celebrated. They never expected anyone would have remembered.

            "Happy Birthday B and M."

            Tears drenched their faces. It was a mixture of thankfulness and joy.

            Every time, upon thinking of the “Things I Love To Do” list, going to a family reunion is usually the last thing on my mind. It is, nevertheless, on the list for the only reason that if it weren’t, my parents would assure that I’d learn to appreciate the meaning of it for the whole day.

            "What could be better than spending a day or two with your closest family members, with nothing to do except relax and reminisce??" That’s my Mom’s favourite. 

           We have the family reunion because of my grandmother (maternal). About the same time every year, I’ll hear the same ole words, which are almost dreadful, from Grandma over the phone, “Oh my, wouldn’t it be fun to have another reunion?”

            There’s no way you can come up with a good excuse to elude Grandma, no matter how bad last year’s gathering was.

            "We come from all walks of life and many different places, but it is important for family to set aside time to spend with one another." That’s her secret weapon. One shot. No escape.

            Everyone shows up at the family gathering every year. You’ll expect to see many new faces. There’ll be cousins of second or third kinships whose names unknown, newly wedded couples having or will be having a baby, and some passionate elders who just will not stop hugging and kissing you.

            One thing good about the gathering is the food. Nothing fancy, to be sure. But because of the food everyone agrees the gathering should be an annual event. The food is just too much to the extent that I think it’s enough for the entire group of army.

            It is when eating everyone talks about lives, politics, memories of old times and current affairs. Usually we coax everyone to settle down before the stories are good enough to drive anyone to the point of leaving.

            When it’s time for the toast, Grandma will step up and deliver the same speech every year. I don’t know if she realizes that or not.

            "A reunion provides a very specific opportunity to celebrate our family heritage, and to reconnect with family members. I don’t want it to be just when somebody died or got married."

            We all know that everything she says is right. Like it or not, next year we will all end up together again when the phone rings and says:

            “Oh my, wouldn’t it be fun to have another reunion?”

            In the midst of my morning jog today I took a moment to look at the place around me. The fantastic sight that met my eyes was breathtakingly beautiful. It was a wonderful, joyful moment. 

            The rising sun, having chased away yesterday’s darkness, pierced its light through the purple clouds and splashed the sky with magnificent magenta, blood-red scarlet and flaming orange. The crimson sky subsiding slowly into the coolest of aquamarine blues made me feel as if I was watching God paint the morning.

            Not far from where I stood, a flock of flying birds was happily singing away. The palms, rustling in the gentle morning breeze, rejoiced and clapped their hands. It sounded like a sweet mellifluous tune to me, cheering and lighting up my day.

            Blossoming flowers and growing plants in the garden were blessed with the diamond kiss of dew. As the sun rose higher, its gentle glow highlighted their beautiful faces, making them alive with extreme beauty. I have always loved the smell of the beautiful flowers and shining grass–fresh, clean, and sweet.

            The beautiful sight filled me with the joy of being alive. I suddenly thought of my grandmother and the things she used to say. She said life is full of good moments and bad moments. The best moments are the ones that bring great joys and live in our memories forever. It was a moment just like this.

            I stood there a little longer, drinking in the beauty of the nature.  Breathing the sweet odours of the brand new day, I rubbed my feet and made my way home.

  You will one day go for a job interview. Besides preparing for the questions that might be asked, you must also know what your boss will like to see in you.

            Donald Trump says in his book How to Get Rich that he expects to see four qualities in his apprentice, which they are an outstanding personality, brains and street smarts, creativity and last but not least, loyalty and trust.

            My point of view, if you have what he asks for, you are hired. Someone with outstanding personality is easy to talk to, not too aggressive, and not annoying. His presence makes people feel comfortable. He’s able to communicate well with everyone–his team members, his boss and his customers. People will like being around him.

            Donald Trump divided his apprentices into two categories, the Book Smarts and the Street Smarts, in the hit reality TV show The Apprentice 3. To be able to compete with so many other contenders nowadays, one must be a book smart as well as a street smart. We often heard the question “What do you think is more important, knowledge or experience?" in beauty pageant competitions. The answer is they are both equally important. Without knowledge, you can never gain experience; without experience, your knowledge will never grow.

            Creativity is another criterion every employer wants to see in his employees today. If you are not creative, you will not be able to compete with others who are more imaginative than you. A creative person to Donald Trump is a person who is able to think of something beyond the obvious, something that others might not envision.

            Everyone likes loyalty. A loyal person is always trusted and credited. Among the qualities, perhaps this is the easiest to possess.

            So, do you have what it takes to be the apprentice?

I came across a funny Nike shoe advertisement on Maxim Magazine.

The advertisement consists of a four-paged spread. The first set of two pages has a hot dog on the left page and the Nike Air Flightposite on the next. The words “Made of many hard to define things” are sprawled across in bold white letters. (Laughter)

The next two pages are even more hilarious. This time it has a deflated blow-up doll on the left and the Nike air tuned max on the right. The letters across both of them read, “Air is what makes it good”. (More laughter)

My point of view, the advertisement is funny, enticing, manipulating and form ideals of desire. It is indeed a very effective way of reaching and targeting its audience.

click for larger view

         It was early of year 1993 when the miracle happened. A decade after giving birth to her first child, my mother one day told me she was pregnant. At that time, she was 35, and I was 10.

         "You are going to be a sister again. Only this time older." I told my only sister who was a year younger than me. We were both so excited as we would soon have a new family member.

         My mother told her doctor that she did not want to know about the gender of the baby until the baby is born. She loved boys as much as girls.I had always wanted a little brother so that we could do "brother stuff" together–play video games, talk about girls in school, and hang out together. My sister would like a baby girl so that she could share her Barbies with her.

         The due date grew closer and closer with my excitement only increasing. One night while I was sleeping, my mother went to the hospital with my uncle because she was about to give birth to the baby. My grandmother called to inform my father who worked outstation, and she decided to let my sister and I sleep since we had school the next day.

         The next day after school, I rushed to the hospital with my aunt. My grandmother told me that my father was on his way and that the baby was a girl. We were all elated with joy. I thanked God that both my mother and my baby sister were healhty and safe.

         We then went into the hospital room to see my mother. On the bed, there lay my mother with a baby in her arms. My mother looked tired, but her face relaxed into smiles of happiness upon seeing us. My sister and I constantly fought over who was going to hold the baby next and who was going to rock her to sleep. It was the first time that we did not want to leave the hospital.

         That day was a miraculous day that will never be extinguished from my memories. It was the day that a new love was born.

Book           :    Rich Dad, Poor Dad
Author        :    Robert T. Kiyosaki
Type           :    Self improvement
Comment    :     A recommended reading on financial education

         What is the difference between the rich and the poor? If your answer is the rich have a lot of money, the poor have little or no money, then you are qualified as a librarian, and you are never going to be rich.

         Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T.Kiyosaki is a self-improvement book touching on the subject everybody wants to learn and find out, which is "how to get rich". Regarding the question just now about the difference between the rich and the poor, the author puts it this way,

         "The poor are working for money, the rich have money working for them."

         The author points out that most people never study about financial education (tax, cash flow, etc). They go to work, get their paycheck, balance their checkbooks, and that’s it. In the end, they end up paying more and more taxes. He says the poor or the middle class might simply pay more tax than the rich, because they earn, get taxed and then spend what is left. Somehow, the rich (with a corporation) earn, spend everything they can, and get taxed on anything that is left.

         As you read along, you’ll discover that most probably you’ll end up to be the type that "go to work, get taxed and spend what’s left", which is the poor or the middle class.

         Now, what’s the difference between an asset and a liability? Don’t know? You should read the book then because according to the author, the most important rule to get rich is to know the difference between them. After knowing the difference, one must buy income-generating assets, and let the money find more money for you. That’s the way to have money working for you. That’s the way to get rich.

         Rich Dad, Poor Dad provides a good financial education which is never been taught in school. Read the book if you want to get started on the path of becoming rich.

        Third of August. While graduation was still a couple of months away for the class of 2002, the students from form upper six in Port Dickson High School, including me, were feeling nervous and anxious. It was a big day. It was the day where everyone was going to dress up and dance their night away at the senior prom.

         It was no easy feat for us to prepare for this popular and remarkable rite of passage. We boys were busy with tux rentals and transport arrangement, while the girls were having a hard time finding the perfect dress and meeting beauty appointments all in one day.

         The prom took place in a local luxurious hotel. The girls looked like elegance ladies in their evening gowns, and the boys turned out to be perfect gentlemen in their tuxedos. However, some of the prom-goers chose to stand out in the crowd with unique variations on the norm. For example, we had one wearing a kimono, a few in Qi-pao, and some with gypsy’s clothing.

         The ladies made themselves looked more attractive with hair adornments, glitter and tattoos. Nevertheless, some of them seemed to put up too much make-up, and some looked like they were having a bad hair day. Most of the boys wore black tuxedos, and had their hair gelled so hard that even tornado couldn’t mess it up.
 
         The night went on traditionally just like every other prom: dinner, picture-taking, crowning and dancing. When it came to dancing, the boys invited their dates to the dancing floor and started their romantic night under the slow music. There were girls, finally plucking up their courage to ask their dream guys to dance with them. Me, not wanting to be left out, asked the newly crowned queen to share a dance with me. Moreover, it was a tradition for the king to dance with the queen. (Yeah, I got the king.)

        When the slow music changed to the fast one, everybody started to get out of control. We were shaking as if we got an electric shock, and there were shouts and cheers everywhere. The deafen music raised our blood temperature to the boiling point. In the middle of the dance, we pulled those watching wallflowers onto the floor and started to dance in a circle. Everybody was having fun that night.

         That night was the night for the class of 2002. It created lasting memories among ourselves. It would be a night to remember for each and everyone of us for the rest of our lives.