My First St Patricks Day Celebrations

Twitter friend, Hoongchai first send an invitation for drinking last Sunday. Well, that's what I thought when he sent me a DM.

Being a lil free (told u that I've been a lil free the past weeks), and it being a Sunday, I agreed. After all, I've once turned down his offer to attend one of his gatherings before, so this is like time to make up for that. Plus, it would be nice to meet up with him, and know more friends.

The clowns... were everywhere.

Far did I know that the invitation was to be with him & his friends, for St Patricks Day! I really thought its just a gathering, drinking quietly at the pub.. but oh, how wrong I was! So guess the (pleasant) surprise I had when I went to the event! (this was at Sid's Pub Bukit Tunku).

Anyway, here are some fun I had that Sunday afternoon on my very 'virgin' St Patricks Day Celebrations.

Hoongchai's friend playing the plate on the stick game. You can sense the excitement around, where everyone is really enjoying themselves and having fun.

Me... well, I was into the food. Hehe. Oh while Guiness at RM5 were great, I must say, I enjoyed the food here too!

Me & buddy who invited me, Hoong Chai

I heard some familiar voice, and then saw a familiar face. Do u recognise this guy? Well, I remember him from the sitcom Kopitiam, though I was told he now is a newscaster with ESPN?

And finally, with the Guinness Girls!

Now, that is one Sunday afternoon well spent! And definitely an event I'd look forward to next year! :)

Lessons From SuperCEO: Azran Osman-Rani, Air Asia X

It was 8pm. Venue - Intercontinental Hotel (previously known as Nikko Hotel).

I thought that the timing was a lil late for a 'corporate' like event. And in some ways, I wasn't too sure whether I should attend. After all, I had 2 hours in between, and we are talking bout heading to downtown Kay El here at the peak hour.

But then again, how often do one get to listen to a SuperCEO? He is after all, Azran Osman-Rani, CEO of Air Asia X. We are talking bout a CEO of a company that is under one group of companies that I believe many Malaysians marvel at.

With this in mind, I made my way to the event..

"He is so plain & simple" I overheard another attendee talking to her cleric. Yes, true indeed, this CEO was  rather casual in his dressing - coming in with a tshirt. While some may be a lil surprised that the did not come in a business suit & all, but this is actually not uncommon for some new day CEOs/ companies.

But what's unique is that this CEO says he reads Calvin & Hobbes for his inspiration. He didn't recommend any big gurus or heavyweight books. The reason he likes it - it gives inspiration on everything being possible (just like the character in the comic).

Now, I know that this CEO is different.. and this is definitely something the younger professionals/ entrepreneurs can relate to..

Anyway, apart from that, here are a few things I learnt from this SuperCEO:
1. Marketing: go out to the market, create that awareness, and make them want.
2. Revenue is important but so is to keeping costs low (low costs is one of the KPIs for them).
3. Information flow in the organisation is important. Break down hierarchies and barriers. Instead make open communication possible to avoid conflicts, and in this case even accidents (he gave the example of how the Pilot & co Pilot can be 'buddies' rather than being 'smarter than thou').
4. Planning is good, but be ready for change - all the time.
5. Everyone makes mistakes. Learn from them, pull through, and move on (he cites the example like how the airplane bought the 'wrong' seats and then made a RM50m decision to take it all away).
6. Always think out of the box. Do things differently (for example, the target they are targeting is different from the other major carriers).

I love the advise he has given. Not all are new, but still, somethings to be learnt from or refreshed.

In addition, he also shared that while he helms a cool company, but life is just like any other professional/ entrepreneurs. There are fast-heartbeat moments too.

He gave example on how he lead an airline working with just 1 airplane at the start (meaning the plane cant go wrong as it has different destinations to fly to), or the time he had to go to Europe to get funding to buy more planes because of the economy crisis back home, getting rejection/ 'scolding' from the Ministry here, etc etc.

In all, I am pleased to have spent that Monday evening listening to this SuperCEO. 2 words if I may sum it up: Inspiring & Insightful! A Monday evening well spent!

*This event was organised by Young Corporate Malaysians under the YCM CEO Series.

*Btw he also 'teaches' that to start a presentation, its best to lighten the mood with some upbeat music! (AirAsia planes do that all the time too aye?) :)

How I've Been Enjoying Life... This Past 2 Weeks

I've been enjoying life very differently the past 2 weeks.

Here are some of the stuffs that I've been doing.

Going to Parliament!

It has been a long time since I wore a full jacket. But I had a destination to go to - the Parliament! Wearing the jacket reminded me of my prefect days in school or when I was the best man for my friend's wedding. And the tie - it reminded me of my salesman days! Haha!

Anyway, after over a decade, I was back in the Parliament. The last time I was there was schooldays (I'd say when I was a school kid.. but some FB friends say that Form 6 is not school kid - yeah rite -.-).

Going into the Parliament was a mix of being anxious, excited and proud. And, it was fun going into the  Parliament - yes, I felt like a tourist of sorts.. and no, I wasn't there for a visit. Haha!

House Searching!

The view from one of the condos I went to see. Can u guess where?

I've also been looking at some houses around Pea Jay to buy. Seen a few, and am learning about the property market. I'm in no super hurry to get one and am taking my time on this.
Cos like most of the things I do - the house has got to be just right, and near perfect, if not perfect.

Sunset Gazing!

I've also been enjoying the views of the sunsets a lil more these past weeks.. the reason most likely cos I could spend a lil more time in the evenings.. I always love the evenings, and am glad I could spend that short magical moment of the day.

Enjoying Some (ok, more than some) Good Food!

While a fair bit of Pea Jay-ers hate going down to Kay El, but I'm okay with that.. and quite enjoy it too, actually. To me, there's somethings in Kay El that is still better than what Pea Jay has to offer, despite me loving Pea Jay much.

For example, take this hokkien mee sold at Petaling Street. Definitely the best I've tried so far! And so, I was back here the other day.

Besides the hokkien mee, I quite enjoy walking along the make shift stalls with their rather unique tees and other fake goods. To me, this is the real Kay El deal. Yeah, call me a tourist.

Tattoo Curious!

Btw on this recent trip, I took notice of the tattoo parlours around the area. It's funny how I don't really remember noticing these before, but this time round, I took extra attention.

Yeah, the temptation of getting a tattoo has been on my mind for a bit now. While it's cheap/ affordable to get one (heck, it's only like RM200?), but the thought that it remains permanently still lingers on my mind. And the right pattern, the size, the colour, and the after effects made me just 'admire' the pictures displayed outside for now. (seriously, if you are to get one, what design will u get, and where will u put it?)


Well, that's roughly some stuffs that I've been doing of late. In fact, there's more - cos I am quite a lepak-er of late! Haha! But well, I'll keep those for another post! (yes, there is really that many!) :)

A Burnt Biscuit Story

This story is forwarded to me, and I thought it's inspiring enough to be shared around. 

When I was a kid, my mom would prepare special meals every now and then. And I remember one night in particular, after a long, hard day at work. On that evening so long ago, my mom placed a plate of eggs, sausage and extremely burned biscuits in front of my dad.


I remember waiting to see if anyone noticed! Yet all my dad did was reach for his biscuit, smile at my mom and ask me how my day was at school. I don't remember what I told him that night, but I do remember watching him smear butter and jelly on that biscuit and eat every bite!



When I got up from the table that evening, I remember hearing my mom apologize to my dad for burning the biscuits. And I'll never forget what he said: 
"Honey, I love burned biscuits."



Later that night, I went to kiss Daddy good night and I asked him if he really liked his biscuits burned. He wrapped me in his arms and said, "Your Momma put in a hard day at work today and she's real tired. And besides - a little burnt biscuit never hurt anyone!" 


You know, life is full of imperfect things.....and imperfect people. I'm not the best at hardly anything, and I forget birthdays and anniversaries just like everyone else.



What I've learned over the years is that learning to accept each other’s faults - and choosing to celebrate each other’s differences - is one of the most important keys to creating a healthy, growing, and lasting relationship.



And that's my prayer for you today. That you will learn to take the good, the bad, and the ugly parts of your life and lay them at the feet of God. Because in the end, He's the only One who will be able to give you a relationship where a burnt biscuit isn't a deal-breaker!



We could extend this to any relationship. In fact, understanding is the base of any relationship, be it a husband-wife or parent-child or friendship!



*So the next time you get a burnt biscuit, think twice before scowling! And I must admit this story do makes me think twice more so of late :)