This is a joke post on Maybank, the company where my dad worked. Was lurking around Maybank2u.com and saw this Scholarship Programme:

Quoted from here on 29 June 2008:

MAYBANK SCHOLARSHIP

Who Can Apply:
• Malaysian citizen
• Not more than 23 years of age
• Pursuing a full time degree course in any discipline at Malaysian and JPA approved international universities (IPTA & IPTS)
• Minimum CGPA of 3.50 in first year of study (1st or 2nd semester)
• Distinction in Mathematics, English & Bahasa Melayu in SPM or its equivalent
• Active participation in extra-curricular activities
• Good written and spoken English and posses positive personality traits

Value of Award:
• RM7,000 per annum
• Laptop for educational use
• Paid training attachment at Maybank

Servive Bond:
To serve the Maybank Group a minimum of 4 years upon graduation.

—

“Servive Bond”? What is servive? Ahahaha… Spell properly la Maybank. You are a national brand.

And you are only giving RM 7000 per annum and expect the scholarship recipients to be BONDED TO MAYBANK FOR 4 YEARS? Daylight robbery! Help! To begin with, most costs of an overseas education is a 6 digit number.

To put things in perspective, Singapore has scholarships with 4-year bonds but they pay the full fees and costs of studying at an international university. (which amounts to about RM 500000?!!!)  So… RM 7000 a year?????!!!!

*I apologise to those who like such scholarships for the prospect of job security. Nothing against those applying.*

But we all got to agree that this is absurd. They are asking for brains with such stinginess or RM 7K per annum. Now I see why I cannot blame my fellow Malaysian friends for leaving this stingy country.

How I wish my dad worked for CIMB which had a Full Scholarship Scheme for its employees.

Was trying to look for a choir song for this weekend and finally found it! “I belong to You” by the Parachute Band.

Turn on your speakers and dance before the LORD!!!

It wasn’t an intended hiatus, but a hiatus it was indeed. I just happened to run out of blogging juice. Thankfully I am not addicted to blogging

So my church is having an upcoming youth conference and I am participating in some events:

1) IQ test a.k.a. “How Smart Are You?”
2) Preaching Challenge, preach for 5 minutes, culminating in an altar call (o.O)
3) Word Power Challenge (memorize 60 Bible verses, including punctuation, exactly as printed in NKJV)

Not to mention the upcoming outreach drama at Universiti Malaya this mid-July. I’m acting as the “good guy.” Come and watch yeah!

Also trying to plan a weekend getaway at Genting for my family, perhaps in mid-July too. Well, at least there are things to do for a guy who is now not working anymore in “preparation” for Berkeley.

——————–

Now to the intended topic.

So nowadays at this age of about 20 many of my friends and peers are concerned and wondering about the R word. At the back of their minds, at least. Myself included.

Relationships.

Yeah, the boy girl kind.

Well for me, it’s simple. Going overseas, no need to think about it. But oh, really?

Anyway, let’s explore what I think about it from a guy perspective and what advice I can give to guys:

1) Think commitment. Dating is not a sport. Dating should not be a fun and recreational thing. It should basically lead to a single goal: marriage. Yes, sounds odd given the way everyone is behaving these days. I wonder if most guys out there are even acting based on the premise of commitment, or just for fun to hold hands, hug, kiss, etc. Don’t toy with a woman’s heart. Relationships which are not based on commitment are basically doomed to heart-ache and deep scars. The joy of intimacy is the reward of commitment. My pastor said, “Only a strong man can love the same woman over and over again for the rest of his life.”

2) Self-control. These days if I say that you should not kiss your girlfriend or get involved physically before getting married you would think that I am some bozo. But that is my advice, for any romantic act will eventually plunge you into something more serious, which may lead to unwanted consequences. Not to mention that it displeases God as well. And I’ve heard of the “if we don’t try, how would we actually know?” argument. Well, most relationships which are not based on commitment would fail. So if you get involved intimately before getting married, and the relationship fails, wouldn’t you regret that you have given so much of yourself away? We guys are to treat “older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.”- 1 Timothy 5:2 (emphasis mine) Also, “guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.”- Proverbs 4:23

3) Be the right one instead of finding the right one. We all know how birds of a feather flock together. If you work on being Mr Right instead of looking high and low for Ms Right, you would find that later on that all of a sudden Ms Rights are appearing around you admiring your Mr Right qualities. A guy who can cook is quite appealing. A guy who can save and be thrift sounds good. A guy who is healthy and doesn’t give himself to cigarettes is amazing too. So is a guy who is organized, punctual and meticulous. Also watch the attitudes. Perhaps it can start with the way you treat your own mother, since that is likely to be the way you treat your girl when you get used to her being around you all the time. Be Mr Right first. Why give your girl something less than perfect.

4) Look beyond the physical. Well which guy doesn’t want a pretty girlfriend? In every guy talk in the yum-cha sessions I go to, it seems that the only topic guys can talk about is this hot girl and that hot girl. It is important the we are also physically attracted to the girl we love, but the things which are seen are temporary, and God looks not at what man sees, for He looks at the heart. Place importance on the unseen qualities which would eventually affect your happiness together in the long term. How does she treat others? What are her beautiful inner qualities? Of course, no one is free from flaws, including us guys. Learn to accept them and stay committed to the same woman.

5) Independence. Here’s a good one from my pastor (and girls can use this line to deflect persistent guys): “You don’t even earn any money yet, and you are still getting allowances from your parents. How can you support me as a girlfriend?” Come on, guys. If we cannot support ourselves financially, how can we support a girl? And it really shouldn’t come from your parents’ allowance. How uncool. Another thing the pastor said the other day, no one in church is supposed to date before the age of 21. A good rule of thumb to make sure that we guys are actually mature enough to handle a relationship.

6) Direction and goal in life. When you commit yourself to a girl, you should have a path and direction set out ahead of you. Why do you want to lead the girl on aimlessly before you have even explored your own inner dreams? If the girl has a plan charted out for her (for example, to be a successful career woman) but you can’t even hold on to a job or cannot meet grade requirements in school, I think you should reconsider your intentions of getting a girlfriend for the sake of being in a relationship. We need logic in relationships too. Manage our own lives first before trying to get involved in the life of another girl.

7) Guys, take the lead. In relationships, guys lead and make the decisions. That does not mean that girls have no say at all, but it means that guys are accountable for the decisions made, and they make it clear that the girl’s opinions are valued. This has nothing to do with gender equality in these modern times, but rather it is the way men are wired by God. Men are inherently born to lead and they are equipped to do so in many ways. Ephesians 5:22-23 says, “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body.”

8 ) Friendship first. I wonder how many later on can say that they married their best pals. I think many guys today tend to skip this phase of the relationship and jump right straight into the next level, which usually would not last. Friendship is one of the foundations of a relationship, the other being Christ. Now two weeks of friendship is perhaps not a right duration before moving on. You barely even know the person yet! If you did it might be images of her and not the real her! So take your time and observe her before taking the next move. And keep in mind the above points first before acting. But don’t need to rush it.

9) Ask God and trust in His timing! A relationship is ultimately for the glory of God and for His pleasure, not for our own satisfaction and selfish reasons! We need to ask God whether this person is really the one for us, and if not, ask Him to help us cope with the feelings. Pray and ask Him for patience and wisdom. Ask Him to open a path if it is not the season yet. Ask Him to help you plan and prepare your partner. Yes you can pray for her even if you don’t know who she is! Christ must be the center of the relationship, the point of reference, and the foundation of the relationship. Yeah you might have found that someone right now, but if the timing is not right, trust in God’s timing and place your hopes in God, not on yourselves.

10) Men, do the finding. Our sisters are by nature shy most of the time and would prefer it (I think) if the guys take the first move instead. Don’t leave them hanging. If you have done all of the above then why wait and wait? God may have someone in mind for you, but He is not going to tell you and give you a picture of a girl and say, “Hey, she’s the one.” No, guys have to do the finding! “He who finds a wife finds a good thing, And obtains favor from the LORD.”- Proverbs 18:22 (emphasis mine) Well, it might not always go as planned. Rejections may happen. But stay focused on the Lord you will obtain a favor from Him.

11) Are you really ready? I think that many guys overlook the commitment point when getting into a relationship. Are you really ready to be a husband and a father in the near future? Though these questions are early, I suggest that guys think about it before going into a relationship. I am definitely not ready at this point in time. So it is out of the question, given my studies overseas as well. Look. As I said, it isn’t supposed to be fun and carefree. A relationship should be a serious thing. The Bible has this advice for girls, but I think it applies to guys as well: “Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.” (Songs of Solomon 2:7, 3:5, 8:4)

Well for a guy who is rather young in age I have a lot to say off the cuff as seen above! Most of the points were only learnt and imprinted on my mind rather recently, through some mistakes at the same time too. I think there are many points which are left unexplored. But hey, feel free to comment, debate and discuss!!! I am waiting for your comments!

For Christian guys out there reading my blog, I recommend reading the following articles which I think models what the book of Ephesians is trying to tell the guys in the way they treat their girls (4 S):

The Christ-like Love of a Godly Husband (Part 1) : Introduction
The Christ-like Love of a Godly Husband (Part 2) : A Love that is Sacrificial
The Christ-like Love of a Godly Husband (Part 3) : A Love that is Sanctifying
The Christ-like Love of a Godly Husband (Part 4) : A Love that is Sensitive
The Christ-like Love of a Godly Husband (Part 5) : A Love that is Symbolic

Another good resource: Boundless.org

The following poem, “A Woman’s Question” by Lena Lathrop, was published in the book “I Kissed Dating Goodbye” by Josh Harris. It reminds us guys that there are a lot demanded of us by girls.

Do you know you have asked for the costliest thing
Ever made by the hand above?
A woman’s heart, and a woman’s life-
And a woman’s wonderful love.

Do you know you have asked for this priceless thing
As a child might as for a toy?
Demanding what others have died to win,
With the reckless dash of a boy.

You have written my lesson of duty out,
Manlike, you have questioned me.
Now stand at the bars of my woman’s soul
Until I shall question thee.

You require your mutton shall always be hot,
Your socks and your shirt be whole;
I require your heart be as true as God’s stars
And as pure as His heaven your soul.

You require a cook for your mutton and beef,
I require a far greater thing;
A seamstress you’re wanting for socks and shirts-
I look for a man and a king.

A king for the beautiful realm called Home.
And a man that his Maker, God,
Shall look upon as He did on the first
And say: “It is very good.”

I am fair and young, but the rose may fade.
From this soft young cheek one day;
Will you love me then ‘mid the falling leaves.
As you did ‘mong the blossoms of May?

Is your heart an ocean so strong and true,
I may launch my all on its tied?
A loving woman finds heaven or hell
On the day she is made a bride.

I require all things that are grand and true,
All things that a man should be;
If you give this all, I would stake my life
To be all you demand of me.

If you cannot be this, a laundress and cook
You can hire and little to pay;
But a woman’s heart and a woman’s life
Are not to be won that way.

After reading this poem, the effect on me is the same: It’s a daunting task ahead to prove myself to be worthy of someone’s love.

Oh before I begin, I ended my internship today! (wow that word almost read as relationship, not that I am in one anyway) Anywayyy, so I’m gonna be free most of the time

Yes, many of us have been to various interviews and one favorite question being asked is,

“What are your strengths and weaknesses?“

I am no exception. I have been to many interviews and I must say that all the answers which I have given hitherto may not have been so truthful.

Because I really don’t know what they are exactly. Or I have only a vague clue about it. Or I mention some but fail to mention all because I simply can’t dig it out from my mind. Do you know yours?

Yeah let’s be honest. We (at least I do) tend to think that we are good people, making it hard for us to actually spot and wrestle with some weaknesses. But of course, I know that in reality, I have lots of weaknesses. It is rather hard to come to terms with it. Or to actually state it out clearly that so and so are your weaknesses. It makes you vulnerable. It causes you to be less in the eyes of the interviewer. I actually answered the weaknesses part one time saying, “Oh, my weaknesses are the things which I cannot do, that which I have no talent for.” That is not a weakness at all! As if I had no other weaknesses!

And then there is the strengths part. People tell me that you should be thick-skinned here, but sometimes I don’t know whether the answer I give is really my strength, or perhaps I am only mentioning the 10th best strength, while the best strengths wait to be uncovered? I am afraid that I wouldn’t realise my REAL STRENGTH amidst the many little apparent strengths.

But it ain’t about interviews is it? Knowing exactly what your weaknesses and strengths are puts us in a mode of power where we would be able to control our lives and take the bull by the horns. We would know what to avoid and what to magnify. However I feel that I don’t like to think about this in my life. I just want to hurry along and do what I think I am good at. I tend to dismiss this question and just live life as I please, neither fixing the flaws nor enlarging the strengths.

I think that the hardest part of all is to be truthful to yourself. I think that the greatest conqueror would be the one who can answer this question comprehensively and use the answers as an empowering tool in their lives. Once this question is answered, you can live your life in the direction of the Strength (in other words, the main Gift that God has given you) and carve your life in such a way that the weaknesses are either minimized, overcome, or made perfect in God’s strength.

I still don’t know. I need to really look inside again. Oh yes, mirrors found in friends and family would definitely help. Thinking on my own might just lead me to beat about the bush.

“Here in My Home” is a great song done by Malaysian Artistes for Unity! Enjoy!

Frequently heard on the radio, I thought it was very good. I even mistook it for a foreign music production initially. But as it turned out, it was done by our very own Malaysian Artistes! You can even download the song for free here.

Malaysia Boleh!

Support the “Here in My Home” project by embedding this on your blog! Show Malaysia some LOVE.

If you are still using Internet Explorer (IE), well, shame on you.

Presenting the latest version of Firefox, FIREFOX 3.0!!!

Click here to learn why it is so good. Trust me, I’ve been using it. The increase in speed is noticeable. There were 8 million downloads of Firefox 3.0 in 24 hours recently and they are trying to set a Guinness World Record for the most software downloaded in a single day!

(oops sorry; Download Day is already over, forgot to inform earlier =.=, but you can still download it, doesn’t matter.)

This is an example of the power of word of mouth advertising. Of course, I’m not paid.

It’s drawing near… I really want to get it done and over with and return home… and yet I haven’t even begun…

Well I’m talking about studies in Berkeley, of course (2.5 years?). And then Mum urges me to work in the US (2 years?) for a while and even try do Masters. Nothing is certain now, but if it were to happen, it would be so many years there. When I come back, will I find any friends here or would I be so detached from everyone? Would the bonds of friendship disappear and fade?

Oh wait, what if I don’t… what if I change to much that I don’t retur… No, that won’t happen… I’m gonna come back to Malaysia. I want to.

Everything I dream of seems so far, far away. Is it all but a waiting game? Is it even worth dreaming about? Am I even worthy to dream about it?

And what’s really the point with all the striving? I still don’t know what I am supposed to do in life… Everything seems like vanity to me… Big dreams and all… For what? To be praised and talked about? What’s the whole point of being a “high-flyer”? Everyone wants to be “successful” in the famous and rich sense. But it seems to me that it won’t really matter in the end… vanity, all is vanity.

But then a verse says,

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going.
Ecclesiastes 9:10

Everyone says go and embrace God’s will for your life. But what is it? I have no clue. I’m just trudging along finding my way in this lost jungle, waiting to find some path that God might reveal. I really need something to pour my all into, and “die empty”.

And each day I live I find that it is real hard to really be someone patient and slow to anger. I tend to be the exact opposite. It’s a constant challenge and I feel lousy about I because I fail too often.

Anyway here’s a comforting song from Sarah Mclachlan, “In The Arms of An Angel”, which I find rather lovely. Enjoy!

Hmmm so the previous post comments section has been quite… turbulent.
Let’s move on.

Today we shall explore the stages of exercising, or jogging/cross-country running in particular. There are 4 phases (the way I see it, from experience)

1) Stage 1: Torture Phase

Yes this is the phase when we drag ourselves to change into our physical activity outfits, wear our sports shoes and socks. Some might even have to drag themselves out of bed in the wee hours of the morning if they go for morning jogs, or from afternoon naps if they go for evening jogs.

Most people never get past this stage, or they are unable to even embark on this stage. They think about it, but never put their thoughts into action. They end up not running/jogging/swimming etc at all.

2) Stage 2:  Pain Phase

The next stage consists of the warm-ups and the first few rounds of the jog round the park or in the gym. The legs are unwilling to move fluidly, the hands feel heavy, the legs are sore, the stomach cramps due to insufficient warm-up, etc.

Every step is a pain. In this phase, the mind constantly reminds you that the body is in pain and that you should stop running. Most of the time, we give in by reducing our speed or worse, stopping altogether. The eyes stare at the floor while the runner runs. The breathing gets heavy and irregular.

3) Stage 3: Flow Phase

The pain gradually wears off, and then runners would “flow” in their run. The run becomes more fluid, the body responds better, and the runner consciously looks forward far ahead while running instead of looking down. The mind constantly blocks off the pain from the other parts of the body and determines to go ahead with the run. It refocuses the attention from the pain to the right posture of running, the right rhythm and pace, as well as the right stepping of the legs.

Sometimes, the runner finds himself counting to himself indefinitely to help him go on. “1, 2, 3, 4, …, 99.” The breathing gets more regular and becomes more at ease.

4) Stage 4: Ecstasy Phase

This phase takes some practice to attain. After we have “flowed” in the previous stage, the ecstasy phase comes in when everything, from the mind to the body, goes ahead with running in harmony, free of pain and full of good feeling. Perhaps at this point the brain releases some chemical which causes runners to be in such an ecstatic state.

The ecstasy can be attributed to the fact that you are cruising past everyone in the marathon or jogging park, and people simply wonder at how fast you run. You feel encouraged and then continue to overtake every single person you see in the marathon or park.

I experienced Stage 4 briefly in the Singapore Marathon last year, but later slipped back to Stage 2 when the stomach cramps came back in. My secret technique: As I ran and swung my hands, I used them to point forward. You cannot believe how much power such a simple gesture brings. “Forward, forward, forward,” so says the fingers. I was overtaking everyone, for a while at least, at the end of the marathon. Quite cool. But it didn’t really last very long. About 20 minutes or so.

So the moral of the story is that you can actually move from a more advanced stage to a lower stage during the run. It takes a constant state of mind and much training to sustain the ecstatic stage or to move up the rung fast from Stage 1 to 4 quickly.

Oh, the agony!  =)

If you are one of those who have a desire to start running or jogging, bear in mind that Stage 1 and 2 are really all mind power. To think of it, the whole thing is mind power, since the body responds to the mind anyway. If you can’t do it, it’s really perhaps you lack the mental will to do it. Hmmm, that might jolt you a bit.

So yesterday “lulu” (who in the world is lulu?) posted a comment on my Shoutbox: “you are so obsessed with success it scares me.” To which “djian” (at least I know where you were from) responded, “oh yes, lulu he is very obsessed with education so much so that it makes me wonder whether ppl without edu are idiots”

A good response to djian from me would be, “Some people with no formal higher education are so successful in their careers and lives that they put those who have higher education to shame.” Abraham Lincoln only had 18 months of formal education, Micheal Dell never finished freshman year in University of Texas, Steve Jobs never graduated from university, Lim Goh Tong of Genting never finished school, and the list goes on to the tens of thousands. Yes I may seem to be “obsessed” with a formal university education but that does not mean that those without a degree are idiots. But djian used the phrase “people without education are idiots.” First of all, education is not about going to college, university, etc. The degree raises you to a level of competency or a higher platform and it is the only way for medical and law students to become doctors and lawyers. But never equate not having a higher education to being idiots. You will be surprised that there are many “idiots” who are much more well off than the real idiots with a higher education but think that they are so darn good and lofty, and have no need to improve themselves, thus they become contented.

Now, having said that education is about lifelong learning. Not everyone can be a success story like the personalities above. If you wanna do something, but don’t have the right skills or education, then go out there and source for the right people who have the information you want. Or read up on your own and learn from people by working for them first. By doing the above you are giving yourself an education which not many university students can have. You learn networking, people interaction, negotiation, and most importantly you learn from failures and try innovation approaches. You get shot down numerous times but you just stand up again and retry. These are things no formal education can teach you. The only reason you cannot do something is because your mind said so. So djian, never look down on anyone (including yourself) who do not have any or much formal education. Education does not equal formal education. But you must be willing to learn in the first place, because at the end of the day there is no doubt that education is important, and education is definitely more than the mindless memorizing of the many stuff which we cram into our heads for an examination. We live in Asia where people tend to look at such things but one has to realise that education is not about the paper qualifications either.

My response to lulu would be that she is not wrong to say so but perhaps obsession is too strong a word. I am not a heartless and loveless soul moving about everyday thinking about winning and getting higher in this and that and looking for ways to constantly go above the competition, and thinking that life is about nothing but winning. I don’t even know how you came to such a conclusion. Maybe it’s because I think aloud in my blog and what I get really uncertain about anything I’ll just pour it our here. And so recently the subject has been my education. In fact, I am more like a person who gets up in the morning with a lot of doubt in his head, and whispers telling me to just let it go and stop dreaming so big. From your comment what really is the definition of Success? Everyone in the world thinks of money, position, fame, power, adoration, etc as Success. But I think that Success can be defined as attaining our fullest potential and fulfilling the purpose that God has placed in each and every one of us. With that definition I fully accept your comment and take it as a compliment. I am VERY OBSESSED in doing what I am placed here on this earth to do. And why should obsession with Success scare you? Why should you feel intimidated or small by someone else? Are you afraid of Success? Are you afraid of redeeming the time to be fruitful and produce a harvest that can bless others?

As of now I am not sure whether my dream is really God’s will or not but certainly the desire is there. And as Kevin said do what you LOVE doing. I think that is critical to Success, for God will not give you a purpose that you would not love to do.  Having said that things are never easy so train your mind to think of empowering thoughts instead of pulling yourself down with self-doubt which will do no one any good.

When Ern Sheong is highly undecided, he tends to be fickle. He looks into the internet for proof that Industrial Engineering is a really cool major, (and yes he was pretty convinced by what he read and saw, and he pretty much decided to do the IEOR major instead of ECE) only to be shot down by those close to him who figuratively slaps him in the face and says something to the same effect as, “Are you stupid or what? You go to UC Berkeley to do Electrical and Computer Engineering simply because it is one of the best places to do it in this world! You would be so dumb to switch majors to do Industrial Engineering and Operations Research in UC Berkeley.”  (Don’t get me wrong, I am not looking down on the IEOR major btw, it is an excellent major by itself. Just so happen to get admitted to EECS Department in Berkeley which somehow ranks rather highly and is, I quote, “prestigious.”)

Okay okay.

Back to where I started. 3 years. Bachelors of Science in Engineering. Major in Electrical and Computer Engineering (concentration undecided).  Being kiasu, Ern Sheong adds in the Minor in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research which he hopes to complete too. (secretly he wishes he could double major them in 3 years as well, if he doesn’t kill himself first)

So there you go. It’s quite decided. I could imagine God seeing me veer off course and then He sent an army of people to sound me and put me back on track. Right. But at least now I feel more at peace with this decision. Hmmm

By the way, just to tell those who don’t know much about American Education, I think you should consider it as an alternative to UK/Australian/Singapore Education. Just by reading the previous blog post you can see that I am actually able to switch majors even after I have been admitted to a particular major (Unlike in the UK/Singapore/Australia where once you have decided, you are pretty much stuck unless you want to start from scratch again. US allows one to switch majors and still graduate in 4 years. Good for people who are very uncertain like me.) I also have the flexibility to complete my degree in less than the normal 4 years. So, with the Australian Dollar rising to almost the same currency exchange rate as the American Dollar to the Malaysian Ringgit, one might wanna consider US education. It is less rigid, more broad, provides good depth, has excellent faculty, has brilliant students from around the world, opens your mind to things other than your own major, powerhouse in research, etc etc etc. But most importantly you should consider whether you fit in or not, what your and expectations are, and also what you want to do or hope to get out of the experience.

Edit: Went to the US Embassy on Monday to get my visa done, but was careless and forgot to pay some SEVIS fee. So came back to the embassy on Tuesday and met Fardina from DJ! (’07 Dynamitez Cheerleading Captain weih) Asked her why she was going to the US and she told me that she won a scholarship to study at United World College New Mexico (US)!!! Besides Ee-lynn and Enghan, Fardina is the third DJian I know who is going for UWC (sorry if I missed others out)  Congratulations!!!

I wanted to do Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) in UC Berkeley. Or so I thought.

Why did I want to do Electrical and Computer Engineering in the first place? Because I wanted to get into a high tech business. I didn’t give it much thought. I wanted to get a technical background first. And somehow I didn’t even question why ECE. Didn’t even think about it. To think of it now, it doesn’t really make sense spending 3-4 years studying ECE and not using what I studied later on, which would most likely be the case since I am more into business and management.

So lately I have been going through the ECE course list and I was wondering… Do I really like to study all these stuff or do something that I really liked? Question is, what is it that I really like? And I can imagine spending years memorizing and trying to understand ECE in Berkeley and then not using a single bit of the stuff that I studied in later years.

I was trying to plan out my courses for the 3-year duration for the past week. Somehow I was never able to drop the notion of doing Industrial Engineering and Operations Research (IEOR). I wanted to attempt doing a double major in ECE and IEOR in three years, but it would almost kill me I think. But something made me question, what was it that I really like? Do I really like Electrical Engineering or was I taking it just because it offers very broad opportunities? What can I study that would benefit my future intended career path? (which definitely is not electrical engineer or researcher)

I think I want to ditch ECE and take up Industrial Engineering and Operations Research (IEOR) as my sole major due to the above reasons. I think IEOR is more relevant to my intended ambition. Cost is also another factor.  Electrical Engineering can be done as a minor subject instead. And perhaps I can finish all this in 2 years and move on to a graduate program, saving a lot of money.

What do you guys think?

Edit: What is Industrial Engineering and Operations Research?
Quoted from Berkeley website:

Industrial engineering and operations research are closely related fields that deal with the design, analysis, and control of complex systems which include people, machines, material, and information, and the interactions of such systems with their environment. Formal models, often computer-based, are extensively used in systems analysis, while systems design, as in other fields of engineering, requires well-developed integrative skills and creativity. The theoretical foundations of optimization, stochastic systems, reliability, and engineering economics often form the basis for operations research studies. Industrial engineering frequently uses knowledge of production, human/machine systems, incentives, organizational behavior, and automation in the design and improvement of goal-seeking systems. These methods may be applied to a great variety of human activities in both public and private sectors, including manufacturing, banking, health care, communications, waste management, transportation, and logistics.

WOW. I can’t stand myself. A blog break of 9 hours. =.=

Obama won the nomination yay! I guess it’s easy to see a winner when you see one. Have been supporting him since the days when everyone was saying Obama didn’t stand a chance.

Just wanna ask you guys:

YOU CAN VOTE FOR TWO OPTIONS!

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Weird: Hi, I’m Lin.
Weirder: Hi, I’m Ern.
Weirder still: Hi, I’m Sheong.

No warmth la. Ern Sheong sounds so much warmer.

Jonathan? hmmm I tried to not use this name in school ever since primary school. That’s why most call me Ern Sheong. Jonathan sounds… common. But I’m ok with it la.

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I can imagine that if I used “Ern Sheong” I would get the reply: “Let’s call you Thomas instead.”

Yup yup. I would like to hear from anyone who has a Chinese name and managed to use it in the States with minor problems.

Edit: I just found out from a friend in Berkeley. People there don’t have the concept of two names. In the case of “Ern Sheong”, Ern becomes my name and Sheong becomes my middle name. Then it would be Ern S. Lin

Edit2: I think JONATHAN or JON would be it. That way, when people call me ERN SHEONG when I return from the US, I know definitely that I am home… and I can imagine that people won’t bother trying to pronounce Ern Sheong. And Ernie is too… friendly. Jon would be nice. Jon Lin

I thought guys rarely emo, but today I was too free and ended up emo-ing in office. (Since I had nothing to do in office but answer calls since almost everyone else was out on assignment. And don’t ask me I mean by emo. Emo is emo)

Found myself watching “A Walk to Remember” (yes la, I am slow… show released in 2002) and I did not just weep or tear. I cried. My goodness.  So sad…

It was just wonderful to watch how Jamie’s faith in Landon made him a changed and renewed man. And she was both beautiful on the inside and on the outside. It was so touching to see her dreams being fulfilled despite knowing that she only had two more years to live. Very romantic, but the leukemia was the sad part…

“4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” (1 Corinthians 13: 4-7)

Yesterday I watched “The Bucket List.” (You must be thinking, what kind of internship is this, watching movies in the office?) Basically it is a list of things-to-be-done drawn up by two men before they kicked the bucket (both had at most one year to live due to cancer). The song below is “Say” by John Mayer.

Even if your eyes are closing, say it with a heart wide open. It’s better to say too much, than never to say what you need to say…

I realized that the same thing both movies had in common was that they had characters who made life lists which they desired to see accomplished before they die. Maybe I would do the same soon, and make a wish list, and believe God for the wonderful things in life. And cry and laugh and mourn over it…

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I think that I need a relief from non-fiction stuff. All the non-fiction and hard thinking about my life is really frying my brain and causing me to look older. I am currently reading more than 15 non-fiction books (start a bit on one, jump to another, and then back to the one I started). And also all the blogging about stuff that really needs a lot of brain power to churn out. All the bull about staying at peaks and talking about education. Isn’t life more than education and winning? And then to have to debate with people I don’t even know about the deep stuff that I have on my blog… It’s not very fun. I need a short hiatus.

Can someone please recommend/lend me some heart-warming fiction books to dwell into for a while? =P

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I received a padded envelope from Berkeley today. I opened it, and saw a BERKELEY THUMB DRIVE! How cool is that?

It contains some important details for incoming freshmen, especially course registration information. Go Bears! SO COOL, nice thumb drive!

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ERN SHEONG is taking a BLOG BREAK!!! YEAH! Let’s see if he lives up to this self-declared break.

Pastor Dr. Robb Thompson from the United States recently visited City Harvest Church Kuala Lumpur to deliver a message about prosperity and abundance, as well as living excellently. You can read more about the bio of this international motivational speaker, author and church pastor here.

So on Monday night and Tuesday night, I made it a point to attend his sermons in church, and I also bought his books, which I found were really thought-provoking, as it retrains the mind to think differently, but his principles are solely grounded in the Word of God. The church also organized a special dinner session with him on Wednesday night, but there were only 100 places available at the cost of RM 88.00 per ticket.

Well when I first heard of the price I was a bit turned off by it. RM 88 for a dinner and talk? But somehow in some way or another I decided to just come; I really think now that RM 88 was just too small a price to pay for his short speech on Wednesday night. (food was good too btw, rib-eye steak, calamari salad etc.)

I am going to share with you what I paid RM 88 to hear. So the following is what I learnt during the 25 minutes of his short speech and Q & A session (this is not a transcript, just a summary, and what I THOUGHT I heard. So don’t quote me OK?):

He started off by saying that what he was going to tell that night was reserved only for the dinner session and not for the 2 earlier sermons. He notes that people who brave the traffic and are willing to fork out RM 88 for the dinner are really hungry to discover more and thus those who attended the dinner have proven themselves to be different from the others. Thus he would tell them something different.

He goes on to illustrate this POINT: BE DIFFERENT in your life.  Many of us try to emulate our friends whom we think are successful. DO NOT. THE WORLD HAS NO NEED OF DUPLICATES. If we are duplicates we can be thrown away since duplicates are not worth much. Each of us has something special in us. Cultivate that special gift and create your own story. DON’T BE A DUPLICATE.

Key principles of life:

1) YOUR LIFE IS THE PRODUCT OF YOUR OWN CONSTRUCTION (Deu 30: 15-19, Luke 13 on counting the costs) We hold the ability within our hands to shape how our lives become in the future.

2) YOU WILL ONLY POSSESS WHAT YOU ARE WILLING TO PURSUE. This applies to God’s Word, Success, Relationships, etc. You will not be blessed over your fantasies. We cannot expect God to grant miracles on a daily basis. We have to pursue what we want. How you spend your time is of crucial importance. Proverbs 4:7. He also touched on inquisitiveness, and he said that the life that we live will be determined by the quality of the questions asked. So inquisitiveness is important.

3)  HOW A PERSON STARTS THE RACE OF LIFE IS OF NO CONSEQUENCE. Where you finish is everything that matters. Relationships with people are very important. When you establish relationships with people, give all that you can to that relationship, not expecting to receive. Be very generous with your relationships, because you want people who have mixed with you to experience a joy! And ask yourself, are the people you mix with those who want to go to where you want to go? If you are always mixing with people who put you down or make you feel small, go find another group of people to mix with! God did not mean to provide us with companionship of people who do not build us up and always cause us to be put down! Don’t mix with people who don’t want to succeed and will pull you down! (NB: does not mean don’t care about them. This is actually biblical. I don’t have verse reference, but he refers to Jesus telling a man who did not dress up for a wedding to get out of the wedding. Dunno which incident in the bible, can’t recall, will check later)

4)  THE EXCELLENT MAKE DECISIONS FOR THE FUTURE THAT THEY DESIRE. Give up short term gratification in exchange for long term gratification. He adds somewhere that his definition of success carried down from his adopted father was this: The ability to handle the pains in life. He said that once we can overcome the pains and disappointments that life has for us, it is success.

(I know the points don’t sound coherent, but I spent more time listening intently instead of typing down notes into my Nokia.)

Pastor Robb took only 3 questions that night, out of about 20 submitted (estimated).

A) “What is the greatest challenge that you faced in life?”

He answered that it was disappointments that greatly challenged him. Especially that which has to do with people violating his trust. Although this might seem to be a contradiction to point 1 above, it actually isn’t, because we control who we allow into our sphere of our lives. If we do not choose who we mix with wisely, we end up to be greatly disappointed. Hence it is wise to realize that “You are only as strong as your weakest relationship.”

B) I wrote down the following second question earlier and it was one of the 3 selected (the original question was edited a bit I think). It was:

“How do you balance life with the pursuit of excellence day in and day out to perform at your peak?”

(Basically I was asking how do you maintain the peak performance at each point of your life, especially when life inevitably hands you some downs and disappointments along the way. How do you face and conquer the downs such that you remain upbeat and perform excellently all the time and at every point of the day?)

This question made him silent a bit for a while. But his answer to this particular question blew me away. It was what I had come here to hear, this answer for RM 88.

It goes to the tune of this: The secret lies in your attitude in the MAINTENANCE of your life. Your pursuit of excellence is in direct proportion to the ATTITUDE by which you face the GIANT called MAINTENANCE. DO NOT LET THINGS GET OUT OF ORDER.

GOD’S PASSION IS ORDER.

If you want to be a happy and fulfilled person all the time, you MUST HAVE A PASSION FOR ORDER. DO NOT LET YOUR LIFE GET SLOPPY. Excellence is not a destination, it is a journey. Today’s excellence is tomorrow’s mediocrity. Keep on making incremental steps toward that excellence, and build your way up, and never look back, never fall back from that excellence since the order has been ingrained. Improve on that existing order.

I’d like to add this: Have an obsession for order in your life. With that, it is hard or even impossible to feel down. Because once we feel down or disappointed, things are definitely not in order. Having a passion for order will cause one to continue to aspire for excellence and better order the next time round. A profound statement. I paid to hear this, really. Thanks Dr Robb.

(Never before did the word “order” and “maintenance” become a big deal in my life. But in his answer it became quite apparent. You cannot ignore these words.)

C) “What makes you want to come back to City Harvest Church annually to preach?” (Dr Robb only comes to Malaysia, i.e. City Harvest Church KL, once a year)

He says that every time he comes here to City Harvest, he sees a generation of young people constantly trying to improve themselves in growing the church and reaching out to others. He knows that this church is not one that will stay stagnant and rest on their laurels, but will constantly challenge themselves and innovate to be more relevant to the people. That’s why he loves to come back each time, because he is sure that things are not the same compared to the previous year. He sees potential in the church to grow and be abundant blessers to the nation of Malaysia.

He ends by saying that the greatest that you can be called in life is “Servant.” How wonderful.

AMEN. Should I price the entire dinner again, I would value it at RM 888 per person.

(I am a great believer in book investments. The price of books today is nothing compared to the value that they contain. Same goes for such dinner talks. A little money spent can give you returns you might never dream of in the future. As the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 9:6 “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.” The law of sowing and reaping applies to everything in out lives, more than we could ever imagine.)

Time to transform these lessons into actions.

This song was played at the end of The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. So timely. So nice. So beautiful. I was just sitting down in the cinema listening intently to the words and ignoring the screen images.

I’ll come back when it’s over… No need to say good bye…