Captain's Log - Chapter 55
Weather - Cold........
Mood - Ok Lah!
Now Reading
1. The Eye of the World - Robert Jordan
1. LOTR (The Return of the King) - J.R.R. Tolkien
2. Getting Rid of Gout
3. The Intelligent Investor - Benjamin Graham
How a molehill becomes a mountain - Office Politics 101
One of my staff recently finished a project. It is one of those projects which my unit produces, more or less, on a regular basis. But it soon turned out to be a powder keg of contention.
This product has generated a flurry of feedback and comments. Comments like why was certain party was not consulted in developing the project. Why the the interests of units likely to be affected not factored in the product. the list goes on and on like a abroken record.
I do see the validity behind some of the comments. But in the end, what struck me most of the selfish interest behind all of them. Yes, I agree that bosses/supervisors should protect their units/staff - it is a must in their jobscope. But to take it to this extreme is, to me, ridiculous.
For me, I see all the units in my organisation as working towards a common vision. But all this bickering does not help. Guess this is a lesson for the idealistic me. The lesson for me is not to indulge in such activities in the future.
Captain's Log - Chapter 54
Weather - Cool
Mood - Sleepy
Now Reading
1. The Eye of the World - Robert Jordan
1. LOTR (The Return of the King) - J.R.R. Tolkien
2. Getting Rid of Gout
3. The Intelligent Investor - Benjamin Graham
A Tribute
Life in Singapore is hectic, if not, stressful. Since a young tender age, the idea that a fulfilling life consists of: a house, car, card, cash and club, has been drilled into my brain The venerable 5Cs of the Singaporean Dream. Pardon the pun, the title of my blog could subsconsciously be linked to this.
Guess I have spent a better part of my life pursuing the Cs. Am in a reflective mood today as I just celebrated my mum's birthday. Born into a traditional Chinese family in Malaysia, my mum was brought up in a highly feudalistic family system, at least that how I undertstand it. Her family have the Chinese bias towards grooming the boys, while letting the girls do the doestic household chores. Thus, my mum never had any formal education beyond the primary level.
To her, a fulfilling life is one which she ensures that everyone in the family in well taken care off. Laundry, cooking, cleaning, coaching etc. are but basic chores that my mum oversees in the household. Despite doing these in the past three decades, she still insisting on carrying on with the hectic pace. Admiration fills my heart whenever I think about the sacrifice my mum made for my family. Despite our pleas to take time from household chores and enjoy life, she has yet to fly on a plane or visit any place beyond Malaysia.
Deep inside me, I believe my mum has already done everything she could in bringing up 2 wonderful kids, myself included. Our house is always spick and span. It's time for her to take a good and well deserved rest.
As for her birthday, we (myself and my hunnie) bought her a handbag which we saw in Robinson's. My mum was really happy with the gift as she saw it previously, but did not purchase it as she's a thrifty lady. Am glad that I bought for her something that she really like.
Here's a tribute to my mum and all the wonderful mums around the world.
"Ma, thanks for everything. I love you."
Captain's Log - Chapter 53
Weather - Cool but humid
Mood - Normal
Now Reading
1. The Eye of the World - Robert Jordan
1. LOTR (The Return of the King) - J.R.R. Tolkien
2. Getting Rid of Gout
3. The Intelligent Investor - Benjamin Graham
Matrix Revolutions
Corny dialogue, cool CGI action, undignified death, unanswered questions are ingredients generously peppered throughout the Matrix Revolutions. Went to the movies hoping that the Wachoski Bros will attempt to give us the TRUTH! Yeah, am I in front of my PC typing something in the blog or am I just a brain electrical wave emanating in a machine world? But what the Revolutions did was to leave these unanswered. It was wanting in this respect. This has led both myself and my better half wondering out loud if the Matrix should have just stay as a stand-a-lone movie.
Redeeming elements of the movie were the breathtaking battle scene between the way outnumbered humans and the machines. A thought occured to me. If one of the EMP weapon on the humans' ship can take out a whole army of sentinels. Why didn't the humans just placed such weapons in Zion. Just wait for the 'octopus' (sentinels) to attack Zion and just trigger the EMP trap? Well, if that's the story, we couldn't be treated the classic battle scene then.
Since the first movie that I remembered watching, I don't think any main characters died in an undignified manner as our dear Trinity. To die in a 'car' accident is one thing. But to die from being impaled with multiple iron rods is hilarious. I can only say that the Wachoski Bros were having fun in the Revolutions.
They must be saying to themselve "Let's have FUN for this movie!!!" Well, guess their sense of having fun overode their sense of achievements. The Matrix trilogy could have been GREAT! It's a pity that Revolutions took off some of the shine from the first two installments. But hell, I will still be first in the line when the Revolutions DVD is released.
Guess I am a diehard Matrix fan. :P
