For safekeeping

I wrote this excerpt 3 years ago on Facebook that I want to safe keep on this blog. By the way FB's time line? Yes I love the various designs, but I'm not really feeling it. I like clean simple interfaces, not a clutter of boxes all over my profile.

Slight deviation, but back to this excerpt:

Friends vs. acquaintances
Passion vs. mediocrity
Chemistry vs. commonality
Tenacity vs. irresolution
Consistency vs. irregularity

Always the former, and never the latter


No, there was no plagiarising involved here. I can't remember what spurred the above, but I must have been very inspired that day.

So yes, this is a reminder of how I want to live each day at a time.

On the note of consistency...

September marks the last month of working directly with my former boss, Nico. We will still be working together, though on a less frequent basis. He has been a great mentor over the past year, and I've learnt a lot from him. The one thing I've observed and admire him tremendously for is his consistency with how he perceives himself, and how he communicates the values he stands for to the entire team. All this while providing me with the freedom and independence to develop in my own way. Sounds elementary, but I think it's easier said than done. I've observed quite a few folks in upper management who say one thing, but then it becomes questionable when you see quite the opposite unravel in their day to day interactions. Although we've both moved on to new roles within the company, I know I can always call him out of the blue if I need some advise. This is so important in any company you work with, that you have someone you can trust, be honest with, and know that they'll have your back. Mutual trust and respect. Thank you.

Sicily, reflections on the year, next year

A bunch of us rented a villa in Cefalu, Sicily, and celebrated Courtney's birthday this past weekend. 

The trip was a perfect balance of all sorts. Heat, strong sun and winds on Saturday and Sunday. Torrential downpour on Monday, like the kind of monsoon rain we get in Malaysia, where everything gets knocked over by the winds, perfect for a day in to finish one of Jo Nesbo's novels, while we watched the storm play out like a movie through the glass windows. Strong sun on Tuesday, as if someone up there knew it was mine and Kirstine's last day and wanted to bless us with some last bits of sunshine before heading back to London. Good food, wine, and company.

The beaches were beautiful. Clear, turquoise blue, warm.  

Two years living in London now, and I get it. I get why the British need to escape to a place with lots of sunshine. I never did see it, having been blessed with 28 degree weather in Malaysia for 20 years. But 2 years in London, and yea...

I jumped straight back into work on Thursday morning, and for the first two hours, I hated the world. I got over it...

Today has been a day of reflection. After running 5 miles, I laid horizontally on my favorite park to catch my breath and reflected on the year. This year has been amazing, and Sicily marks the last of my travels in 2011 before I focus on work for the next three months and head back to Malaysia for a month. 

This year was very much about me. Not exactly in a selfish way, but I focused on certain things. Last year, a tumultuous relationship and some career changes threw me off tracks. I'm not religious, but I believe in spirituality. Especially when it comes to bad energy, negativity, and the toll it can take on a person's well being, in many forms. I decided that 2011 was going to be different. And it has been. I remembered all the things I loved, held dear to me, revisited them, and held on to them, ingrained into my everyday life. A bit vague, but then, this IS a public blog.

2012 - I've started thinking about what this year will be about. All I can think about is how I will be 27... Good lord..time to start acting like an adult..hah. No..I've a few things I'd like to do..

I'd like to leave you with a blog I came across today http://www.legalnomads.com/. I discovered Jodi's blog through a recent post by Chris Guillebeau. People like Jodi and Chris Guillebeau inspire me so much. Chris' blog is title The Art of Non Conformity. Kinda sums up how I want my life to be, and the kind of people I want to be surrounded by. 

Challenges

Dad has been in London for a few days now. Whenever he drops by I like quizzing him about his university days in London and when he met mom.

Life could have been very different for me. Mom and Dad lived in London for 6 years, studied, married and worked here. They became permanent residents, and were pretty much set on living here. At the end of the six years they decide to visit Malaysia for a bit. This short visit turned into relocating back to Malaysia for good.

As a Malaysian having been through numerous costly and time consuming visa processes in the US and UK, I sometimes dream about how much easier life would've been had I been born in the UK. 

On Saturday, as dad and I were strolling along the canal by Regents Park, I go "Oh dad why couldn't I have been born here!" 

"Why is that?" dad asks.

"Well I would have one less worry in life."

Dad laughs at me and goes "If that were the case, you would only have had a comfortable life. At least you grew up in Malaysia and experienced a different culture, moved to the States and you're now in London! If you had grown up in the UK, you'd probably have gone to university here and lived here your whole life."

And he's probably right. I don't think I'd have studied in the US, worked there, found my way to London, and have met and experienced the numerous variations of life and personalities along the way.

My cousin, Fernie, wrote a post about how change is good, how it contributes to one's appreciation. Fern was born in the US, and moved about quite a bit: Malaysia, Texas, San Diego, and recently, Hangzhou. Her writing is simply beautiful and those of us who have moved about can certainly relate to. Read it here.

Let me try to tie all the strings together. This blog, although unintentional, is mainly focused on travels that come about due to work and personal interest. I'm a firm believer in traveling as much as possible. Travels tend to throw you out of your comfort zone, and into circumstances that challenge you. She teaches you how to deal with them, and turns you into a stronger, yet versatile person over time. She is invaluable, priceless and teaches you how to persevere in the years ahead of us. 

Thank you Steve..

I first read of Steve Job's departure as CEO this morning, on the way to work.

It was weird. I don't know him, have never known him. But it felt like someone close had departed and i felt more affected than I really should be.

I read further down the New York Times article and it began to make sense. Steve Jobs vision from 30 years ago, now realised, is part of my everyday life. To be honest, the fact is, the results of his vision are ingrained in me. I spend at least 10 hours a day on a Steve Jobs heavily influenced product - iPhone plugged in on the way to work combined with reading the BBC/NYTimes app. At work, I'm on a MacBook all day (which I just moved over from a PC, and it's the best change that's happened - productivity-wise).

This paragraph from the NYTimes article sums it up perfectly:

“Funny how much emotion you can feel about a stranger,” wrote Susan Orlean, the author. “And yet every phone call I make, every time I’m on a computer, he’s part of it.” 

He will always be known for taking risks, not backing down, and realising that in the most innovative yet consumer centric way. Are you kidding? That is an understatement. 

 

Thank you Steve for changing this industry, and challenging the competition.

Overheard today

"We search all our lives for someone to love and then go about for the rest of our life trying to change them and mold them into what we want them to be, trying to contain them. And that's why you lost her..."

Entrepreneurship and friends

Soundtrack (Spotifyit!)

You were born (Cloud Cult)

Armistice (Phoenix)

The last 5 days were spent in Stockholm. Stockholm holds a special place in my heart having spent quite a few weeks there on numerous occasions. Though, the thing is, never in the summer (at this point every Swede I tell this to gasps)!.

Summer here is weird. I use the word weird just because I'm not used to it. The sun sets at 10pm and rises at 2am. It's great, yet it plays tricks on me. Light is an indication that I should be awake.

So yes I work with this company, where colleagues have become friends, not just acquaintances. I started there when we were just 200 employees. Now it's 800. Ever been in a fast paced entrepreneurial setting? Man it's nuts. The amount of roller coaster rides you take is enough to keep you occupied and exhilarated 24/7. Your highs are really high, and the lows are really low. It is here that I've found a close knit of friends. We are no longer in the same office anymore, one is in San Diego, the other in Philly, another in New York, and in Stockholm. Yet, we talk weekly if not daily.  Others have come and gone and it is through the years that you are always drawn back to those you respect and those who have the same core values you have. 

So Stockholm has always been a reminder of this. A lot has happened here which I'll never forget. 

This time around I went to hang out with Sara and Aref. The three of us worked together about 9 months ago. Sara, I've known for 4 years now. Aref and I have known each other since last year. We bonded because we like the same things, and can talk endlessly about them. Now that we're all in different cities, I jumped at the opportunity of this little reunion. And a reunion it was, just like old times.

During the weekday, we worked out of the office where Aref is now, a new start up launched last year by our CEO. I loved it, as it was a nice reminder of the times when our company was at that start up stage back in the US when I was first hired. Plus in those kind of settings, everyone is a multi tasker, and just good in everything! The weekend was spent with Sara's family where it always feels like home, exploring different areas in Stockholm and eating and drinking lots!

I just got into London this evening. Yes I did miss my bed terribly, but sometimes wish I could have my favorite people around me constantly. 


Thank you Aref, Sara, and the Davar family for playing host and for "being". :)

Being efficient in an international company

It is 12.34 AM on Wednesday and I've just shut off my laptop after finishing off some work emails. It hits me that I've been working this routine more often now then I did 4 months ago. I'm at work from 9am-6.30pm, head home, have dinner, chat on the phone and then start working again around 9pm till about midnight. The thing is, I don't mind it.

I kinda have this military style work ethic, which isn't necessarily good. I like to get things done and out of the way immediately. I was telling Sara the other day that I would like to create an efficiency list (someone criticised me for sounding like the antagonist in a George Orwell novel). So in every company, you have people who move at a snails pace, and you have others who get things done within minutes. This efficiency list would contain the names of my "go to people" whenever I need to gather information from different departments.

So going back to this recent work routine I have, I've just been analysing this change and owe it all to my dual role I've just transitioned into.

Firstly, I work with our Mdrive team. My go to tech guy is in Australia, 6 hours ahead of London. I hate long turnaround times, so I make it a point to send emails with questions that have come up during the day by midnight my time. That way I wake up to a nice email back from him and can get on with the day.

Secondly, my Mdrive team consists of members from Sweden and Finland and they start work around 2-3 hours ahead of me. Same concept, I email everything to them the night before and when I get to work at 9, they have already read through my email and have had time to think about it and are prepared to discuss those items with me. Additionally sometimes I work on projects where I need to correspond with other teams in US, so I use the night to get answers from them.

Thirdly, my other role is with the buzz support team. My go to guy is in San Fran, another time zone to work with. :S he starts work around 8am Cali time, 4pm my time. But he's ALWAYS on conference calls for two hours so I can never get hold of him. So I go home and try to catch him online around 10pm my time. The thing is, I've learnt not to send emails to him because he gets hundreds, so I resort to instant messaging him to get an "instant" response. If for some reason I miss him during this time, I have to wait ages before being able to get IM time with him.

So you see, I don't mind this at all because it fits within my personality of getting things done. Nothing more frustrating then being unable to finish off a task just because a piece of information is missing. I also love the international aspect of my job as it demands for interaction with colleagues from all over the globe.

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