The Perks of being a Jerk

What classifies as being a jerk ? Let's break it down ..

University Parking 

At the university campus that I attend , parking is very limited. As a student that drives to school , this is frustrating. I basically have 2 choices . To park at the hourly rate parking facilities across the road which can come up with paying more than RM100 a month or park illegally which might make you end up with a summon. . 

My university  has this parking sticker system that you can apply for but you can't hold your breath because your turn to get the sticker might not even come after you graduate.

For people that want to save and do not want to get a summon , here are 2 ways you can do it  :- 

 1) Drive into the compound casually and park somewhere out of sight ( normally behind the block) and walk to class casually like you don't own a car . 

2) Forge the parking sticker .

If you succeed , that is RM 100 saved a month , RM 1.2k a year . Good luck ! 

Driving in the jam 

Here are few things to know when driving on the Federal & LDP highway during the the peakest hours ( 4pm-7pm) . 

1) It is faster on the left lanes than right . 

      ( People have the mind set that right lanes are the fastest therefore, being most  jam ) 

2) It is fine to drive in the emergency lane at this time ( police won't pull you over) .

At the end of the day, the time you saved on the road means more time to do other more productive things or just make it in time for that important date/meeting/appointment . 

In relationships 

Be a jerk in relationships if you are not planning to get married at this point so that you won't get your heart broken . That means, be selfish . Actually take more and give less in the relationship. 

That way , when the right one comes , you can love like you've never been hurt before , not holding back ( Lucky for your future partner ) . 

Keep good things to yourself 

1) If you have a brilliant idea of an innovation, do not be too excited to share it with your friends . Instead , develop the idea and when ready , patent it and start selling the idea! If you don't , others will . Ka Ching , Ka Ching .  

2) Found an eatery that you think is real good and not many people know about? 

Keep it to yourself . Why ? 

When the place is over commercialized , 3 things might happen . 

a. Food quality affected ( It turns into quantity over quality) .

b. Price increase 

c. Waiting time increase 

Well , at least you can enjoy your food at this eatery in peace before it goes out of business . 

Cheers ! 

From Hero to Zero

 What if you were to lose everything you have ever known and owned ? The thing that you had spent half of your life pursuing.

Well , that's what bankruptcy meant. Losing the company or empire that you have built. I've seen people close to me undergo this ordeal . It is what all businessmen fear . This is a scary phase because everything in your life seems to change so abruptly .

First , those associates that you used to call friends will treat you differently once they know you are of no value to them anymore . They won't call you out  , no more golf , no more holiday trips. They will try to distance themselves away from you because they would not want you to start borrowing money from them or anything like that . It is a selfish world. Well, I am not saying it is the same for everyone but who I see that would probably lend a hand at the end of the day are family members .

Next , you might have to sell your house , cars and your belongings . A total change of lifestyle is unavoidable . However, the hardest thing for people to do after this experience is actually to start all over again from zero . Some people get through this faster than the rest and some might not even recover and they spend the rest of their lives hating themselves and still wondering what had hit them .

                                              

It is harder to start from the bottom all over again is mostly due to the "ego" that some have built along the years with being successful in business . It is the change from being someone that orders people around to the one that is being ordered or from a project that is worth millions to a project that is worth only a few thousands.

That being said , I think all businessmen or anyone for that matter that is partaking a project however small it is ,should never forget their humble beginning because sometimes you just have to turn back to where you took your first step but a little wiser with every step from then on. I see failure as an opportunity to do things differently compared to the norm !

On a separate note, I think the only difference when we make more money is that the "toys" that we can get are bigger and more expensive to fit into our social circle . In other words, need to chip out more to actually satisfy ourselves. Bigger house ,bigger cars , a RM4000 bag and the list goes on.

A poor man getting his first car is as excited as a rich getting his first yacht.

How can we ever retain that euphoria? Maybe we should have 2 groups of friends . A group of people that is less well off than us and another that is of the same social circle. That way , when we feel less of ourselves we can always refer to the first group and feel better because we are the best among them and when we feel  like we need improvement , we can always go back to the people of the same social circle that gives us some sort of competition drive to push us forward.

As a result, we can do things at our own pace and not burn ourselves out while having fun along the way!

Cheat, Steal and Rob

To all the crooks out there , screw you guys .Don't even start blaming the society or government that it is the reason you got no job opportunities and thus , forced into this lifestyle . We all fight for what we want , it is not handed to us easily . The only difference is, we did not give up and choose the fast way out like you did . Yes ! It is all your choice for the life you are having now .

People's lives are at risk because of the lifestyles of crooks or for some , career  . Every so often I hear cases of houses being robbed , bags of pedestrians being snatched , and cars being stolen. Most victim that got confronted got hurt in the process. I feel so helpless to have to walk the streets fearing for my own safety and always looking over my shoulder . It is just the matter of when it will happen . My right to feel safe has been robbed.

Crooks are getting braver and more creative each day . I once witnessed a lady stealing from a clothing retail store like an 'all you can eat buffet'.Guess what? She looked and was dressed like a supermodel or someone  you just would'nt expect stealing or far from it.

This picture is mainly for graphic purpose .

 She had this elegant long dress on ,carrying a big shoulder bag and just seemed to be browsing and shopping .The next thing I know , she was shoving clothes inside her bag ! I was the only one that noticed it . I was baffled and intrigued at the same time by how casual she was ! It took me a few seconds to process that she was actually stealing . Just as quickly as she shoved the clothes down her bag , she walked out of the shop undetected . She might be doing it out of the rush of it or she is involved in a syndicate I don't know. But what I know is, never ever judge someone by their looks. That's the first thing I learnt about crooks.

 Second is , crime can happen at the most unexpected time and place. Yes, It is not just at night or when you are alone that you are in danger. Nowadays , people get robbed even in broad day light and in crowded places like cyber cafe or restaurants ! They come in nice cars armed with " parangs". What can you do other than surrendering your valuables like sitting ducks ? Well, of course you can choose to fight back if you don't mind getting slashed .

 There are so many crime awareness campaigns and groups like 'Petaling Crime Alert' on Facebook . It is a group created for people to share crime cases to create awareness . What ticks me is, instead of us reporting to make others more alert , what is being done to decrease or prevent crimes instead of us being all defensive ? Nowadays ,just a mention of snatch theft  to anyone on the streets and you will get tons of ideas to "protect" yourselves like walking on the other side of the road , don't carry sling bags , don't wear blings , don't hold your hand phone while walking, carry pepper spray and the list goes on .From what I observed, I personally suggest just stay home, don't step out of the house because if they want to rob you ,they will .

Obviously, the enforcement against criminals have loopholes . Why do we get all this awareness campaigns ? Is it a sign that we are now solely responsible for our safety on the streets ? What is the police force doing? Seems like the crooks are fearless and we are just living in their turf . I feel like a gladiator being thrown into an arena with lions without weapons .  This is not the way I wanna live , fearing for my own safety .

To combat crime , the areas that must be addressed by the respective party should be :-

 1.Corruption/ Bribery - If this is not addressed, criminals can buy their way out of anything  .

 2.Stricter punishment - Imagine if the punishment for robbing is getting your hands chopped off and 20 years in prison . Would'nt that make you think twice before committing a crime?

3. Education - Lastly, of course with education, there is a chance that you can compete in the rat race for a better salary or a better respect for the law and the people . ( Some criminals are very smart people )

That said , I think if the respective party focus more on enforcing these areas, there might actually be a chance to reduce the escalating crime rate in our country.

First Read

I had never considered myself as a reader as I can never stick to finishing a book . The only book that I enjoyed reading during my earlier years was the Doraemon series in BM . Later on, I received  the famous Harry Potter book collection as a gift from my relatives during my teens. Sure I was excited about it but not excited enough to flip through more than 10 pages of it. Secretly, I wished reading wasn't such a task . I wanted to be the person that seem to be able to burn through a book in a week . I never gave up on the vision of myself being immersed in a book . I started to keep an eye out for titles  that interest me genuinely . As I was browsing  through Facebook one day , I stumbled upon a post that is of recommendation of a book by a friend . It was 'The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari ' by Robin S. Sharman. 

                                                                    

 

This is officially the first book that I finished and enjoyed. Here is my brief summary attempt of this book . It tells a story of a high profile lawyer who has all the materialistic things in life.Mansions, luxury cars, and girlfriends are his priced possessions.Being successful and wealthy was all he thought about until he experienced a downfall in health that forced him to search for a new meaning in life where he decided to quit his practice,sold his possessions , packed his bag and headed east to India where he eventually became a monk.His journey was not easy but he was determined to change his life.He resided in a monastery high up on the Himalaya where his lessons begin. These are the most memorable lessons and principles that I adopted from the book :

1. Appreciate the littlest things in life, for example a blooming flower or a flowing river ,the beauty of nature. We won't know how important is someone or something until it is gone ,be it health or having a roof above your head.

2. Be a master of your mind. Fill your mind with positive thoughts and energy because what you think is what will happen. I learned that the mind is a powerful tool that we can control , when we know how to control  it , we are able to control our lives in some aspects.This involves personal reflection and visualization. Visualizing who and what you want to become is the first step to unlock your full potential .It is a concept that when you have a clear vision in your mind , the actions and decisions that you make will tend to pull you towards that goal or vision unconsciously. Sounds simple doesn't it? It is in fact that simple. 

3. Live in the present . Do not worry about the future or the past because you can't change the past and the future hasn't arrive yet. Focus on the present . I have a phrase that I tell myself when I'm overwhelmed . I tell myself to " take one step at a time" , that is to only focus on one task at a time. It helps me focus on completing the task more efficiently and yielded better results.

4. Time is precious. We should live everyday to the fullest . Once the time has passed we cannot turn back time . Therefore, I motivate myself to be more productive by telling myself to do something that my future self would be thankful for .

This very book is the catalyst of many other books that I picked up since then. For anyone that needs a little inspiration, interested in self-enhancement or light reading , this will be a good book to start.

Reference

Sharman R.S.(2004).The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari . Retrieved from http://www.amazon.co.uk/Monk-Who-Sold-his-Ferrari/dp/0007179731

Wahid.(2013).Nature Sunflower HD Wallpaper. Retrieved from http://wallnen.com/wallpaper/nature-sunflowers-hd-wallpaper.html