Free Hugs

Recently some UNITEN students carried out the Free Hugs Campaign as one of their moral studies project (Projek Khidmat Siswa). Our office often receives various facilities requests for these Moral Studies project and this is one the unique ones.

I didn’t think much of the project until the day I had to accompany the QE assessors around campus. At the College of Engineering (COE) I saw the booth setup for this campaign. Then I recognized one of young learner friends that I knew. Instantly I knew I was heading for one of those hugs….no way to avoid it at all! True enough once he saw me, he came and gave me a hug.

I found out from Wikipedia that this Free Hugs Campaign is a social movement involving individuals who offer hugs to strangers in public places. The campaign in its present form was started in 2004 by an Australian man known only by the pseudonym "Juan Mann". The campaign became famous internationally in 2006 as the result of a music video on YouTube by the Australian band Sick Puppies.

A hug is defined as to clasp or hold closely, especially in the arms, as in affection; embrace. The hugs are meant to be random acts of kindness - purportedly selfless acts performed by a person for the sole reason of making others feel better.

In UNITEN last year, the staff started addressing each other as sahabat (friend). At all our team building programs, it has always ended with a round of hugs…(of course, guys and guys or gals and gals). In some ways it has broken the bonds between colleagues and has enriched the team spirit. I believe it is a good work culture but we must be careful not to take advantage of the sahabat spririt.

A Girl With An Apple

(This is a true story and you can find out more by Googling Herman Rosenblat. He was Bar Mitzvahed at age 75) http://www.atlanticoverseaspictures.com/index.htm

August 1942. Piotrkow, Poland.
The sky was gloomy that morning as we waited anxiously. All the men, women and children of
Piotrkow's Jewish ghetto had been herded into a square. Word had gotten around that we were being moved.

My father had only recently died from typhus, which had run rampant through the crowded ghetto. My greatest fear was that our family would be separated.

'Whatever you do,' Isidore, my eldest brother, whispered to me, 'don't tell them your age. Say you're sixteen. 'I was tall for a boy of 11, so I could pull it off. That way I might be deemed valuable as a worker.

An SS man approached me, boots clicking against the cobblestones. He looked me up and down, and then asked my age. 'Sixteen,' I said. He directed me to the left, where my three brothers and other healthy young men already stood.

My mother was motioned to the right with the other women, children, sick and elderly people. I whispered to Isidore, 'Why?' He didn't answer. I ran to Mama's side and said I wanted to stay with her. 'No, 'she said sternly. 'Get away. Don't be a nuisance. Go with your brothers.' She had never spoken so harshly before. But I understood: She was protecting me. She loved me so much that, just this once, she pretended not to. It was the last I ever saw of her.

My brothers and I were transported in a cattle car to Germany. We arrived at the Buchenwald concentration camp one night weeks later and were led into a crowded barrack. The next day, we were issued uniforms and identification numbers. 'Don't call me Herman anymore.' I said to my brothers. 'Call me 94983.'

I was put to work in the camp's crematorium, loading the dead into a hand-cranked elevator.
I, too, felt dead. Hardened, I had become a number. Soon, my brothers and I were sent to Schlieben, one of Buchenwald's sub-camps near Berlin.

One morning I thought I heard my mother's voice.
'Son,' she said softly but clearly, I am going to send you an angel.'
Then I woke up. Just a dream. A beautiful dream.
But in this place there could be no angels. There was only work. And hunger. And fear.

A couple of days later, I was walking around the camp, around the barracks, near the barbed-wire fence where the guards could not easily see. I was alone. On the other side of the fence, I spotted someone: a little girl with light, almost luminous curls. She was half-hidden behind a birch tree.

I glanced around to make sure no one saw me. I called to her softly in German. 'Do you have something to eat?' She didn't understand. I inched closer to the fence and repeated the question in Polish. She stepped forward. I was thin and gaunt, with rags wrapped around my feet, but the girl looked unafraid. In her eyes, I saw life.

She pulled an apple from her woolen jacket and threw it over the fence.
I grabbed the fruit and, as I started to run away, I heard her say faintly, 'I'll see you tomorrow.' I returned to the same spot by the fence at the same time every day. She was always there with something for me to eat - a hunk of bread or, better yet, an apple.

We didn't dare speak or linger. To be caught would mean death for us both.
I didn't know anything about her, just a kind farm girl, except that she understood Polish. What was her name? Why was she risking her life for me?

Hope was in such short supply, and this girl on the other side of the fence gave me some, as nourishing in its way as the bread and apples. Nearly seven months later, my brothers and I were crammed into a coal car and shipped to Theresienstadt camp in Czechoslovakia.
'Don't return,' I told the girl that day. 'We're leaving.'

I turned toward the barracks and didn't look back, didn't even say good-bye to the little girl whose name I'd never learned, the girl with the apples.

We were in Theresienstadt for three months. The war was winding down and Allied forces were closing in, yet my fate seemed sealed.

On May 10, 1945, I was scheduled to die in the gas chamber at 10:00 AM.
In the quiet of dawn, I tried to prepare myself. So many times death seemed ready to claim me, but somehow I'd survived. Now, it was over. I thought of my parents. At least, I thought, we will be reunited.

But at 8 A.M. there was a commotion. I heard shouts, and saw people running every which way through camp. I caught up with my brothers. Russian troops had liberated the camp! The gates swung open. Everyone was running, so I did too. Amazingly, all of my brothers had survived; I'm not sure how. But I knew that the girl with the apples had been the key to my survival. In a place where evil seemed triumphant, one person's goodness had saved my life, had given me hope in a place where there was none.

My mother had promised to send me an angel, and the angel had come.
Eventually I made my way to England where I was sponsored by a Jewish charity, put up in a hostel with other boys who had survived the Holocaust and trained in electronics. Then I came to America, where my brother Sam had already moved.

I served in the U. S. Army during the Korean War, and returned to New York City after two years. By August 1957 I'd opened my own electronics repair shop. I was starting to settle in.
One day, my friend Sid who I knew from England called me.
'I've got a date. She's got a Polish friend. Let's double date.'
A blind date? Nah, that wasn't for me.

But Sid kept pestering me, and a few days later we headed up to the Bronx to pick up his date and her friend Roma. I had to admit, for a blind date this wasn't so bad. Roma was a nurse at a Bronx hospital. She was kind and smart. Beautiful, too, with swirling brown curls and green, almond-shaped eyes that sparkled with life.

The four of us drove out to Coney Island. Roma was easy to talk to, easy to be with.
Turned out she was wary of blind dates too!
We were both just doing our friends a favor. We took a stroll on the boardwalk, enjoying the salty Atlantic breeze, and then had dinner by the shore. I couldn't remember having a better time.

We piled back into Sid's car, Roma and I sharing the backseat. As European Jews who had survived the war, we were aware that much had been left unsaid between us.

She broached the subject, 'Where were you,' she asked softly, 'during the war?'
'The camps,' I said. The terrible memories still vivid, the irreparable loss. I had tried to forget. But you can never forget.
She nodded. 'My family was hiding on a farm in Germany, not far from Berlin,' she told me.
'My father knew a priest, and he got us Aryan papers.'
I imagined how she must have suffered too, fear, a constant companion. And yet here we were both survivors, in a new world.
'There was a camp next to the farm.' Roma continued. 'I saw a boy there and I would throw him apples every day.'

What an amazing coincidence that she had helped some other boy. 'What did he look like? I asked. 'He was tall, skinny, and hungry. I must have seen him every day for six months.'
My heart was racing. I couldn't believe it.
This couldn't be.
'Did he tell you one day not to come back because he was leaving Schlieben?'Roma looked at me in amazement. 'Yes!'
'That was me!'

I was ready to burst with joy and awe, flooded with emotions. I couldn't believe it! My angel.
'I'm not letting you go.' I said to Roma. And in the back of the car on that blind date, I proposed to her.
I didn't want to wait. 'You're crazy!' she said. But she invited me to meet her parents for Shabbat dinner the following week.

There was so much I looked forward to learning about Roma, but the most important things I always knew: her steadfastness, her goodness. For many months, in the worst of circumstances, she had come to the fence and given me hope. Now that I'd found her again, I could never let her go. That day, she said yes. And I kept my word.

After nearly 50 years of marriage, two children and three grandchildren, I have never let her go.

Herman Rosenblat of Miami Beach, Florida

This story is being made into a movie called The Fence.

Hari Raya

Hari Raya Aidilfitri (also Hari Raya Puasa, literally "Celebration Day of Fasting") is the Malay term for the Muslim festival of Eid ul-Fitr. Muslims in my office celebrate Eid like other Muslims throughout the world. The term "Hari Raya" literally means "Day of Celebration" — it is also occasionally used to refer to Eid ul-Adha in the form of "Hari Raya Aidiladha".

The main greeting used by Muslims in Malaysia and Singapore is "Selamat Hari Raya" which means "Happy Eid" in Malay. Another greeting is "maaf zahir dan batin" which translates loosely to "I seek forgiveness (from you) physically and spiritually", for Hari Raya is a time to reconcile and renew relationships with others.

- From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia online

This year my office decided to come with a more elaborate E-Raya greetings. It was great time to spur everyone into the celebration mood. As one of my bosses commented, "nice video, good teamwork and sahabat spirit.….semua nampak segak dan bergaya (everyone looks smart and elegant)", I hope this will give you a glimpse of the Hari Raya in Malaysia.

Ways to know you are Chinese

Was helping with the dishes today and the sight of the plastics containers (no.12) left to drip dry near our dish rack in our kitchen reminded me of this old email I received. In fact there are 88 of them (you probably know why!) but i will only share the ones i like and can "relate" to.

1. You unwrap Christmas gifts very carefully, so you can save and reuse the wrapping (and especially those bows) next year.
2. When there is a sale on toilet paper, you buy 100 rolls and store them in your closet or in the bedroom of an adult child who has moved out.
3. You keep a Thermos of hot water available at all times.
4. You boil water and put it in the refrigerator.
5. You eat all meals in the kitchen.
6. You save grocery bags, tin foil, and tin containers.
7. You use grocery bags to hold garbage.
8. You always leave your shoes at the door.
9. You have a piano in your living room.
10. You pick your teeth at the dinner table (but you cover your mouth).
11. You twirl your pen around your fingers.
12. You don't own any real Tupperware-only a cupboard full of used but carefully rinsed margarine tubs, take out containers, and jam jars.
13. You have a collection of minature shampoo bottles that you take every time you stay in a hotel.
14. You wipe your plate and utensils before you eat every time you go to a restaurant.
15. You own a rice cooker.
16. You wash your rice at least 2-3 times before cooking it.
17. You fight (literally) over who pays the dinner bill.
18. Your dad thinks he can fix everything himself.
19. You majored in something practical like engineering, medicine or law.
20. You live with your parents and you are 30 years old (and they prefer it that way). Or if you're married and 30 years old, you live in the apartment next door to your parents, or at least in the same neighborhood.
21. You beat eggs with chopsticks.
22. You have a teacup with a cover on it.
23. You reuse teabags.
24. You have a drawer full of old pens, most of which don't write anymore.
25. You're a wok user.
26. You like congee with thousand year old eggs.
27. You prefer your shrimp with the heads and legs still attached-it means they're fresh.
28. You never call your parents just to say hi.
29. You always cook too much.
30. If you don't live at home, when your parents call, they ask if you've eaten, even if it's midnight.
31. Also, if you don't live at home, your parents always want you to come home.
32. When you're sick, they also tell you not to eat fried foolds or baked foods because they produce hot air (Yee-Hay in Cantonese).
33. Your parents never go to the movies.
34. You eat every last grain of rice in your bowl, but don't eat the last piece of food on the table. 35. You starve yourself before going to all you can eat buffet.
36. You never discuss your love life with your parents.
37. Your parents are never happy with your grades
38. You save your old Coke bottle glasses even though you're never going to use them again.
39. You own your own meat cleaver and sharpen it.
40. Your toothpaste tubes are all squeezed paper-thin.
41. You say "whie" when anwsering your cell phone.
42. You are familiar with the term "aiee yah.....".
43. You enclose your remote controls in plastic to keep greasy fingerprints off them.

A Trip to FRIM

When I first I heard that my young learned friends (YLF) wanted to plan for a nature walk at Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM) I expected it to be in the day, so I thought that should not be a problem. After agreeing to be the official escort for them, it turned out to be a night walk!

The last time I went in the day walk at FRIM, I came back with leeches bite…I couldn’t imagine what it would be like in the night! More ever it has been raining lately!

I was contemplating of waiting in the bus for them but then it would be a 3 hr wait!
So I decided to joined them on the walk…of course being the oldest in the group. I guess the guide knew that as he kept shining his torch light on the path way for me. We were not allowed to bring any torches with us but with technology these days most hand phones were bright enough to light the way!

It was an interesting walk. We started off with the Keruing Nature Trail followed by the Salleh Nature Trail and lastly the Rover Trail which took us through the Waterfall and finally ending up at the Picnic Area.

My YLF either had their hands tied up or were blindedfolded for the first 100m of the walk. All 48 of them were tied to each other at the waist. You could imagine the amount of commotion that went along the way!

The walk provided a ‘window' for us urban people to see a simplified rain forest ecosystem. On one of the trails, we could smell the offensive odour that came from the fruits of a Kulim (Garlic Tree) scattered on the ground. The guides also pointed out to us the glowing fungus in the forest, spiders and butterflies…though it took us a while to figure out where he was pointing to.On the way we saw roots of trees that took dramatic and artistic forms. We were told that this was so that they could function effectively as anchors for the tree.

The guide showed us a tree (can't remember its name) which we could use to shelter ourselves if we were lost in the forest and how by hitting the tree it produces sound to alert the search party.

The highlight of the nature walk was when we were told to look up! We could see "puzzle-like" pattern of the individual tree crowns separated by gaps and outlined against the sky. This phenomenon is called crown shyness. Like a magnet, the leaf tips of kapur, Dryobalanops aromatica , appear to be shy towards their own kind, hence forming the gap.

Many step into this world expecting venomous snakes at every turn, leeches at every step but with 40 odd energetic YLF, the animal world would have been wise to stay away!

Even the leeches also stayed away… I received this sms on my way home at 1.55 am
“No leeches Mr Mike! Hehe…nite nite!”

Visit http://info.frim.gov.my/cfdocs/ecotour/index.html for more info and don’t miss on the canopy walkway, a walkway system and the platforms at vantage points from which one experiences a panoramic view of the forest. FRIM has one such walkway that has proved to be extremely popular with visitors.

Child With Umbrella

One day the villagers decided 2 pray 4 rain. On the day of prayer everyone gathered - only 1 child came with an umbrella. That's CONFIDENCE.

When u throw a 1 year old baby in the air, he laughs bcoz he knows u will catch him. That's TRUST!

Every nite we go 2 bed, we're not sure that we'll get up tmrw, but we still hv many plans for the coming day. That's HOPE

Hv confidence in prayers, trust in God & never lose hope. These are boosters of FAITH

T care!

-from my learned frens.

Moon Cakes

The Moon festival (also called the Mooncake or Mid-Autumn festival) falls on September 14th in the year 2008.

Did you know the most famous legend surrounding the Moon festival? It concerns the possible role in Chinese history. Overrun by the Mongols in the thirteenth century, the Chinese threw off their oppressors in 1368 AD. It is said that mooncakes - which the Mongols did not eat - were the perfect vehicle for hiding and passing along plans for the rebellion. Families were instructed not to eat the mooncakes until the day of the moon festival, which is when the rebellion took place.

Anyway, for me it's time to look forward to eating mooncakes.
One type of traditional mooncake is filled with lotus seed paste. Roughly the size of a human palm, these mooncakes are quite filling, meant to be cut diagonally in quarters and passed around. But the price is rather steep...Gets more expensive yearly.

But the beauty of staying in Malaysia is that it's gets cheaper as the day approaches. We found that in Leisure Mall recently...
We brought some and guess where my other half would be in the next couple of days...

An interesting thing about Leisure Mall is that every year it would have a display of various Lanterns. Saw this interesting one which look like two turkeys, a durian and bananas.

This year, they had some display and some booths from China. We saw a man blowing into a hot candy and shaping the candy with each blow....wonder whether we can eat it after that? Never mind won't be a good idea since he would have blown into it!

A weekend with my learned friends

" A university education is all about discovering or rediscovering one's self so that you can be the best version of yourself. A university's goal should be to help a young person become a good, happy person who is able to interact with others and be a global in his/her outlook"
- A president of a private university

During the merdeka weekend, I joined a group of my learned friends for their annual camp. It was a good break for me to get away from work.

They had a great time...so did I by just watching them and taking photos of all the activities.

Besides learning spiritual things,
doing things you probably will never to do outside camp
never dressing up like that again..

but admist all the happy and crazy times, I saw them making new friends...
and learning the spirit of team work..

Well, it if want to see more of the collection of photos, please visit my album at http://photobucket.com/TechflowCamp08

What's In The Box?

Listen carefully to that still, small voice, and then do some honest soul searching. What's in your box? is it money? Career? Family? Freedom?

I have been browsing through this book which I read some time ago, "Half Time - Changing Your Game Plan from Success to Significance". I came across this question abt "What's in the box?"

Recent events in my life has really made me stop to think about regaining control of my life. A friend of mine at age of 36 suffered AVM (a vein in his brain ruptured) and is now recovering in the hospital. Then there was a sudden death followed by another colleague who landed himself in hospital supposing due to stress at work.

It's been said that "Unless a person takes charge of them, both work and free time are likely to be disappointing". Been in my second half, "it should be about regaining control of my life....about calling your own shots. I suppose getting back to the center requires us to downshift, to slow down. And once we have return to the core - once we know who we are and what's in the box - we can accept the fact that some of the things on the perimeter will not receive as much attention as they once did. Some things will be more important than others; some may need to be ignored altogether. But regardless of what stays and what gets tossed aside, the point is that we no longer let someone else decide that for us. We create capacity for the things that matter."

Well here are some practical ways I hope to practice:-

1. Delegate - at work, play and home
2. Do what yo do best; drop the rest.
3. Know when to say no.
4. Set limits
5. Work with people you like
6.Take the phone off the hook...learn to hide gracefully.

Well wish me all the best in all these practical ways