Friday, March 30, 2007

Dream

I slept and dreamed that life was beauty; i woke, and found that life was an enemy; and i summed it all up as a tragedy - in all matters, must one consider the end? Am i already there?

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Could it be that...

The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man...

I lock myself back in my miserable dungeon, reflecting things that passed by. Why am I thinking about tragedies? There are only two tragedies in life, as far as I am concerned: One is to lose my heart's desire. The other is to gain it. Am I getting back mine..?

Faith

Faith is to see the unseen, to believe in the impossible.

Life is tough enough; we have to be tougher, and stronger. Im sure God never gives us more responsibilites than we can handle. Though its hurt to be left alone, Im sure nothing is more painful than the feeling of being neglected. Life and success, after all, require pains more than brains, or emotions.

Sunday, March 25, 2007

Hurt

I entrusted myself to Him and determined to travel alone...

Its hurt, especially when you have this feeling that you are being neglected, or simply unappreciated, or perhaps unwelcomed. I took to the heart the saying "The misfortune hardest to bear are those which never come" and recalled that "The greatest thing in the world is to know how to be self-sufficient"..

Yes, Im fine. But no doubt, its hurt.

Lesson

I learnt my lesson today.
"Poverty of goods is easily cured; poverty of soul, impossible.
<de Montaigne>
Thus, it therefore, equates this pretty well:
"A man who fears suffering is already suffering from what he fears."

Friday, March 23, 2007

Not counting on luck

I would like to believe my dream is workable. Or is it?

Monday, March 19, 2007

Faith

If you ask me about the secrets of success, I wouldn't like to recommend anything for there is no magical method nor formula to achieve your or our goals in life. Yes, there are indeed many factors that should come together before you can turn 'defeat' into 'victory'.
If there is one single word that can explain it all, I would say that word is faith. Faith in yourself - that everything is indeed fated: you see the unseen; you believe in the impossible; and you concretise the intangible. Do well in whatever you do. Take pride. With God's will, you can succeed in all your endeavours. I bet you remember well "on no soul does Allah place a burden greater than it can bear" (2:286).
A friend of mine (SSF) once reminded me, "True friends help you with your work; 'good-time companions' tempt you to shirk your responsibilities and to waste your life's precious hours."
Till then, good luck, and I pray for your 'success'.

Sunday, March 18, 2007

To leave the world a bit better than we found it...

"To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to endure the betrayal of false friends; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know that even one life has breathed easier because you live, this is to have succeeded." <Emerson>
This is perhaps the concept of worldly success for some people. Can we have that as well, as she had always wished for?

Thursday, March 15, 2007

Work

As pretty as the flowers

I am now in the airport lounge, having early breaksfast - prawn kue tiaw and what not. I was with them last night, until 12am or so; and this morning, at about 5am, they were still at the work station in the faculty finishing their project. Wow!I can't imagine how they could do it, and yet they survived despite all the difficulties that they have gone through all these years. Bye.


Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Food & Poison

Had a fairly long discussion with _______ this morning. What shall I say? What is food to one man is bitter poison to others. Why dont you simply pick the food and let the other party enjoy the poison?

Monday, March 12, 2007

Public Affairs - While having breakfast


Dear Mr. MP, this is what Michel de Montaigne has got to say about public affairs:


"There is, in public affairs, no state so bad, provided it has age and stability on its side, that it is not preferable to change and disturbance."


What is so difficult, then? Can you please furnish us with adequate informations, please?

Friday, March 09, 2007

Four Factors of Transformative Initiative

- Still on change management. Sirkin, Keenan & Jackson (HBR, Oct 2005, 83 (10), pp 96-106) mentioned about the combination of four key factors that create a continuum - from projects that are set up to succeed to those that are set up to fail. These factors ('dice') determine the outcome of any transformation initiative:
d - the duration of time until the change program is completed;
i - integrity; i.e its ability to complete the initiative on time;
c - commitment to change that top management (c1) and employees (c2); and
e - effort over & above the usual work that change initiative demands of employees.

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

Dear EMAS 716 members,
The analysis section of the case study project will consist of asking and answering fundamental questions/issues as has been discussed during our last session. Provide your written analysis mostly in narrative form instead of relying heavily on bulleted items and brief lists. Your discussion should be related to your topic. For example, if your topic is leadership style, at least two of the related theories should deal directly with the organisation or department under observation.
Demonstrate also that you have acquired new knowledge in the course instead of answering based solely on experience and common sense. This assignment should be about 6-7 pages (double space, 10 pt Times Roman).

Communicate with me in-person, by telephone, or via e-mail about any question you have in regard to this assignment. You will also receive ample instruction in class.
Note: Please send in your proposal by end of this week. By the way, I have received Ezu, Redzuan and Noriah's proposal last week. And I am still waiting for others. Thank you. Have a nice day.

Friday, March 02, 2007

A very good morning to you

Salam, Prof Shad.

Have a pleasant morning! Thank you for the materials. Appreciate it.

Thursday, March 01, 2007

Da Vinci

Dihar wanted to know more about The Da Vinci Code, the mystery novel by Dan Brown (2003: published by Doubleday). I dont have much to say about this. But there are a lot of information that we can retrieve from books and the internet.
Basically the novel is based on the controversial premise that there is a conspiracy within the Roman Catolic Church to cover up the true story of Jesus (apostle).

The story (as the author summarises it) goes like this: A renowned Harvard symbologist is summoned to the Louvre Museum to examine a series of cryptic symbols relating to Da Vinci's artwork. In decrypting the code, he uncovers the key to one of the greatest mysteries of all time . . . and he becomes a hunted man.

The novel has helped generate popular interest in speculation concerning the Holy Grail legend and the role of Mary Magdalene in the history of Christianity. According to the premise of the novel, the Vatican knows it is living a lie, but continues to do so to keep itself in power.

It is a thriller story involving secret societies, conspiracies, the Catholic Church, and the fictional "truth" about Jesus Christ.

During the course of the novel it is alleged that the Catholic Church is perpetuating a major, centuries-long conspiracy to hide the "truth" about Jesus Christ from the public, and it or its agents are willing to stop at nothing, including murder, to do so. (http://www.catholic.com/library/cracking_da_vinci_code.asp)

The "fact" page of the book asserts factuality for certain claims regarding the Priory of Sion, Opus Dei (a major focus of the book), and the descriptions found in the book of art, architecture, and rituals.
Although the "fact" page presents the book's most overt claims to accuracy, the novel itself implies that much more is factual than what is stated on this page. The book is written in a way that suggests that its claims regarding the Priory of Sion, the Catholic Church, and Christ are to be taken seriously. The author's own remarks outside of the book suggest the same. On his personal web page, he speaks of the historical "secret" he reveals in The Da Vinci Code and states: The secret I reveal is one that has been whispered for centuries. It is not my own. Admittedly, this may be the first time the secret has been unveiled within the format of a popular thriller, but the information is anything but new.
According to the "fact" page (of the Da Vinci book), the Priory of Sion-a European secret society founded in 1099-is a real organization. In 1975, Paris's Bibliothèque Nationale discovered parchments known as Les Dossiers Secretes, identifying numerous members of the Priory of Sion, including Sir Isaac Newton, Botticelli, Victor Hugo, and Leonardo da Vinci.

The novel goes on to depict the Priory of Sion as a secret society defending the bloodline of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene. Because it allegedly holds the secret of this bloodline, it is persecuted by the Catholic Church. The organization also is devoted to worshiping "the sacred feminine" and holds orgies as a form of ritual worship.
Note: Apostles?
Literally meaning "sent ones." In the Gospel of Luke, the inner circle of Jesus’ 12 helpers were called apostles before his crucifixion. After his resurrection, the criteria to be an apostle is that you had to have been following Jesus before his death, and be an eye-witness after he rose again. The claim to apostleship by Paul of Tarsus was in dispute because his first contact was a vision of Jesus long after his ascension into Heaven.