So, I am just an O-level guy ...

I would like to use the now famous “listen, listen, listen …(11 times)” incident to stress a point. I was quite disappointed especially when the president of a local NGO said (to a participant) … “the difference between you and me is a degree and an O-level”. Now, in my lowly “O-level” opinion … these insulting words coming from the president just shows that how shallow she (the president) can be. So what if she got a degree … does that makes her more superior or intelligent as she is implying? Well, to me … the years she spent getting that degree are all wasted when she said those words.

Many people are very proud of their high academic achievements. They should be … I am sure they worked very hard to get it. But then there is a bunch of those with Degrees, Masters or PhDs strapped to their chests, walking with an air of arrogance … who thinks that having tertiary education means that they are a better person than those lower qualified. These bullies may think that they are highly qualified … well, high is what they want to believe but shallow is really how they behave.

Really, I am not a clever person … I struggled academically. Just managed to squeeze through my MCE exams and did not even complete all the subjects … skipped the Add Math papers. So, I am just an O-level guy … now, does that make me any less of a person?

I am especially upset when I see people being bullied for lack of paper qualifications. I know how it feels to be demeaned … many times in my working years, I was belittled by those with higher paper qualifications ... they told me I won’t last in the corporate world.

Like me, there are many in the working sector who are being looked down upon, insulted and bullied by their peers, denied the chance of advancement by the company and suffered from favoritism simply because they don’t possess high paper qualifications. YES, they did not have tertiary education … that is why they work harder, try harder … many times harder than anyone. They deserve equal treatment, chances and opportunities. YES, they lack the paper qualifications … that does not mean they deserve any less respect.

Not everyone gets the opportunity to go to college or university … there are many people who simply cannot afford higher education or maybe they are just not the academically inclined type. They may not be a supervisor, a manager or a director in a company or they may not be an engineer, a doctor, a lawyer in the professional field … maybe they are just an executive, a clerk, salesman, a baker, a tailor, a cook or a mechanic … ARE THEY ANY LESS RESPECTED?

More "RUBBISH" on the way

Since I started this blog several years ago, I received a couple of hundreds comments … some friends share their thoughts directly with me, other readers published their views in the blog and a few sent their opinions via email … telling me how they feel about the various articles I wrote.

Let me tell you about one comment I received by email quite recently … the comment has just one word in capital ... “RUBBISH”.

WOW!!! This person (identity unknown) must have been infuriated by what I wrote … not sure which particular article (no reference given) got to his or her nerves … or maybe he or she don’t like any of the articles at all.

I have this to say … to a lot of people, what I wrote may not be what they believe, may not be what they are practicing, may not be how they are living, may not be what they are seeing, may not be what they are doing and may not be what they are teaching ... so some (if not all) of the articles I wrote may not apply to them.

I am not some hot shot writer … I write uncomplicatedly using simple words to tell my stories. Whatever I wrote comes from the many influences of how I was taught, what I believed in, what I have experienced, what I have proven, what I have done and what I have seen. Call it coincidence or call it strange … what I wrote is pretty similar to the many articles written by many people all over the world … some very famous, some not so famous and others are just simple people like me. Though we did not write in the same words or language but we definitely wrote in the same context. So, all these people wrote RUBBISH too?

A lot of people know that I don’t always do the norm … maybe I stirred the hornet’s nest every now and then. To me … that’s the spice of life! Well, some may like it, others don’t … like they say, it is hard to please everyone.

Now, I won’t say my logic is rational nor will I say my beliefs are common. As a matter of fact, I have done many odd things, my logic has got me into many awkward situations and some of my beliefs are quite strange. Probably that is why many people find it a bit difficult to see things from my point of view.

I must admit that there are some articles I wrote that could have rubbed salt into a few sore spots … maybe because some people did not read with an open mind and maybe they did not realize that in many instances, there is no right or wrong.

When I wrote “The first rule …” I made reference to the first rule of photography (photographers will know this) … “Never shoot a photo at eye level” because everyone sees things at eye level. Step out of your comfort zone and see it from another level … you will definitely see a different (if not better) picture. I hope that people can apply this discipline when reading some of my articles … look at what I wrote from a different point … then maybe one can accept my way of thinking and understands it better.

Anyway, for a start of a new year, I would like to thank those who have spent time on my blog and shared their comments and views … I hope you continue to do so. I will be writing and sharing more of my thoughts and opinions. So, more “RUBBISH” on the way.

I DON'T PRAY

(Many may not like what is written in this article especially those whose faith and belief encourages praying … so, please read at your own discretion and approach with an open mind)

While talking to a family friend, she asked me did I go pray to my late father (at the temple where his ashes are kept) on the recent anniversary of his passing … my father passed away 4 years ago last month.  I said … “No, I did not”. She was surprised by my reply and she then asked … “Do you remember the date he passed away?” I said … “YES, of course”.

“Then why you didn’t go pray to your father?” … she asked again. And before I could reply, she teasingly said to me in Cantonese … “Lei tou ng how soon yau ng chuin chung lei low tou” … loosely translated, it means that I don’t have a sense of filial piety and respect for my father. Then she went on to say I should have at least go pray to my father on the anniversary of his passing.

I did not say anything then but let me say this now … I DISAGREE.

I totally disagree with the opinion that to show I am a good filial son and to show respect to my father, I will have to go pray to him on the anniversary of his passing … as well as on other traditionally observed days and events too.

I don’t believe that praying to my father will show anything … he is dead. What can I show him? What can I tell him? Maybe you will say I have no respect for him … oh no, I respect my dad, I just don’t think that respect is to be shown by praying in front of his ashes at a temple.

If it was solely my decision, I would have had my father’s ashes washed away by the waves of the ocean. … I don’t need any ashes to remember or respect anyone. OK, I did not go pray to my father … so, I am a bad unfilial son? So be it … my father is not here anymore … do you think it makes any difference?

Hey, you want to show you are a filial son? Show it when your old folks are alive. You want to show that you respect them when they are gone? You do whatever they taught you and you do it well … that is the greatest respect you can show.

I have done whatever I need to do for my father … maybe not a lot but I have done whatever that is in my capacity as a son for his father. I have done it for him when he was alive. Now that he is no longer with us … I don’t think whatever I do now can show anything good for him … least of all, pray.

I DON’T PRAY … I don't believe in praying. To me, praying is just a way of doing absolutely NOTHING but still think you have helped.

Life's too f**king short?

In the last “boy’s night out” with my good friends … as usual, plenty of beers, jokes and laughter but amidst all that, we also talked casually about the many challenges of life. And (what I think is) the most common question people asked about life … “what is life?” became a point of discussion. Though we made a few attempts to discuss it seriously but in a state of alcohol induced mind, we never really get to anything serious … instead, we got carried away with a variety of whimsical views and opinions about life.

The next day (and very much sober) I thought of it again, this time seriously … what is life? Let me share my thoughts here.

I have heard people ask this question too many times … from listening to many people and reading from so many sources, I have not come across anything close enough that can offer a fitting answer on what is life. Many have tried to provide their views … some made a bit of sense but most just gave a few sentences of generalized opinions.

Do you ask … “what is life?” Are you hoping that the answer can be found in an expressive sentence or in a few meaningful words? Have you found the answer you are looking for? Don’t look for it … I don’t think you will find anything searching the internet nor do you get any answers from inspirational books and you definitely won’t get it from what I am writing here. Yes, there are many meaningful life quotes written or said by famous people but don’t take their words for it … go live it yourself.

What is life? Don’t ask … if you are asking then you are not living life. Why? Life is not meant to be asked … it is meant to be lived, it demands to be lived. It can be good, can be bad … some days it is easy, other days it can be very painful. But live it … bit by bit, moment by moment and day by day … THAT, is life.

Very often life passes by unknowingly and too quickly … then it is too late to start searching for what you have missed knowing very well that you cannot replace lost time. Maybe you can seek solace in some life quotes. Maybe that few words can provide a bit of consolation but more likely in frustration and desperation, you curse in anguish … life’s too f**king short!

No … life is not short, you just waited too f**king long to start living it. 

What happened?

When I left my full time job a few years ago, I occasionally do freelance jobs (of all sorts) ...  to earn me some extra pocket money. One of the many ‘odd’ jobs that I do is providing transport ...  some call it “private taxi” but I still like to call it “providing transport”. I send people everywhere ... to airports, train stations and sometimes I drive people outstation. I do it every now and then catering to a handful of regular customers.

On one occasion ... more than a year ago, I got a call from a lady for a trip to the airport. When I picked her at her house, I immediately recognized her and she too recognized me ... I worked with her once on a marketing event some years ago. She was surprised to see me now working freelance providing transport. On the way to the airport we chatted and I found out that she is now a top executive of a well known international cosmetic company ... told me she is going overseas for a conference.

We chatted casually for a long while and then she asked me (I cannot remember the exact words but something to this effect) ... “Shiek, you were a well paid senior manager in a big MNC ... now you are just making a couple of hundred bucks driving and carrying luggage for people ... what happened?”

At first, I thought I detected a note of mockery in the question ... well, maybe not, maybe I am just a bit sensitive ... anyway, told her I simply had enough of the corporate world and one day I just decided to give it all up ... that’s it, nothing happened!

And disbelievingly she said ... REALLY? Now, the tone and manner she replied told me I was right in the first place, she did intend to inject a bit of sarcasm in the question. Not sure why but I guessed in her opinion, one just don’t walk away from a well paid job in the corporate world to do odd jobs ... something must have happened. 

Then the conversation shifted back to her career and she told me how she worked her way up the corporate ladder over the last several years, how busy she is now with the travelling and meetings and the corporate jargons lasted all the way to the airport. On the way back, I thought to myself ... good for her, she is now a high flying corporate hotshot, enjoying a great career ... she is very likely to go far.

After that, I forgot all about this lady ... until recently ... when I saw her again. This time she was in the waiting area of a private hospital. This time, I saw a very different person. When I greeted her, I could hardly hear her voice ... from what I see, she was quite sick. I spoke to her friend who was accompanying her and though we did not say much of what is actually happening to her ... the baldness, the pale face and the skeletal frame suggested the side effects from chemotherapy treatment of a terminal illness. I felt sorry for her and I am sure those who know her felt the same but that is all one can offer.

As I drove away from the hospital ... I recalled the conversation that I had with her (when I was sending her to the airport) ... she was a top executive of a large company, a high flying corporate hotshot who was doing so well, a great career and so much to look forward to ... all that doesn’t matter anymore. Ironically I thought to myself ... what happened?

(Later I was told that she passed away due to cancer)

Too many times I have heard of similar stories ... life throws a hard curve and strike without warning. Almost in all of these situations, it is always too fast, too late. By the time one realizes it ... nothing matters anymore and by then there is no point asking ... "what happened?"

If someone ask me again ... “what happened?” ... let me say this ... what happened to me is my choice ... I chose to leave the fast lane for a simpler life. For the last several years, I chose the way I want to live ... I like it this way. I like to choose “what happened” to my life ... for as long as I can. 

I will go to heaven ...

I believe in a lot of things … all sorts of things. Many people don’t agree with what I believe in … it is perfectly OK … I am not going to lose sleep if people don't share my beliefs.

Then again I don’t believe in a lot of things. I always tell people … please don’t be upset when I tell you that I don’t share your beliefs and I am not at all concerned about what your beliefs are.

I think we can all get along well based on who we are not what we believe in. I have a lot of friends, everyone with their own beliefs. I accept my friends for what they are, not for what they believe in even though I may think what some of my friends believed in is an outdated dogma. And on the same notion, these same friends may think that what I believe in (aliens) is a big joke and they too accept me for what I am.

But recently a couple of very stubborn people (one is my ex-college mate) got a bit disappointed when I refuse to acknowledge what they are trying advocate … they tried very hard to convince me to accept their views and beliefs.

My logic is quite simple … if you want me to believe in something, you have to answer some of my questions. But I was told that I don’t have to ask questions … just believe and I will have the answers. Errrrr … sorry, I just cannot accept that,

I believe in asking questions that need to be answered … not just be given answers that cannot be questioned at all. I believe that there is no certainty of anything so it needs proof of everything … I just cannot accept a belief that is certain of everything and don’t need proof of anything.

I choose to live my life free from religious indoctrination since I was in my early teens … I am very comfortable with it … please let it be.

So I told my stubborn ex-college mate (and his friend) this … I won’t bore them to tears with my theories of little gray beings with large protruding eyes, so please don’t come tell me those “you will not go to heaven” stories if I don’t accept their belief. Hey, I don’t believe there is a heaven (or hell), so it doesn’t apply to me. But they still insist that I am wrong and they say I will know when I die.

OK, OK ... even if I am wrong, when I die and found out that there is a heaven (so very likely I will be in hell, right?) but let me tell you this … I will go to heaven … ILLEGALLY!