Patriotism Comes Within

It's pretty hard to be a minister in Malaysia nowadays. Not only have to endure and address the angst from the opposition and the people but also have to cope up with sadness. Sad because the people not flying our national flag, Jalur Gemilang in conjunction with August 31 National Day.

Well, if the rakyat is not patriotic enough and reluctant to display the flag for merdeka day celebration, it means that the government has failed to instill the patriotic spirit and the love for country throughout these years. Patriotic spirit doesn't fall on specific date like merdeka day or Malaysia day but throughout the lifetime. If the government has done a good job, the people will fly Jalur Gemilang with great pride and sincerity for merdeka celebration.

The love for the country can be quantified with the number of flags you display? I don't think so. The love for the country comes from within and not through a pompous display of Jalur Gemilang or enforcing some rules. I don't rule out in the future, we might be enforced to display the national flag at our residential  premises.

Talking about enforcement, all the cinemas nationwide are ought to air the national anthem Negaraku before the movie. Hmm, does that move really help to instill the spirit of patriotism? You be the judge.

Before I end my entry, since it's Merdeka eve, I wish all of you Selamat Hari Merdeka!

A Note for Interviewee

For the first timers who are going for job interview, I bet that you will Google search those job interview dos and don'ts. Well, it may useful for you but if you have years of experience, do you still that tips?

Really, if you have the experience, trust me, there are only three things you need to explain to your interviewee, your experience,  your job scope and your expected salary. That's it.

I'm not bragging but praise The Lord that I was given so many opportunities throughout the job hunting period. Some I applied myself and some through head hunters. And I'm really humble that big names in IT industry (Apple's arch rival)and media industry approached me. 

There are load of interview tips for candidates out there but have you read any single tip from the candidates for the interviewees? I think i had been enduring more than 10 interviews, let me share what interviewees should take notes so the interview will proceed smoothly.

READ and RE-READ the resume 

So I was invited to this interview, the brand is very popular with its laptops and performed poorly in its smartphone segment (it starts with A and second and last letter in four letters word is the same). 

I did an IQ test during the interview, I think I did fairly good. Then proceed to the interview, suddenly, the interviewee dropped the bombshell "you know we are looking someone who knows how to write and read Chinese- even the people here speak in mandarin". WTF, I felt like she was wasting my time and I wanted to give my knuckle to her face. Bitch, in my résumé I explicitly stated "write Chinese 0 and read Chinese 0". 

Sad right, Chinese looking down on Chinese. I'm not sure it was just coincidence or this A brand is a plain racist company. Few months back, I accompanied my friend, who is not my race, to get a laptop at its dealer in mid valley. So my friend paid with his Big debit card, and apparently, the dealer didn't want to swipe his card and requested cash instead as something wrong with the system. Strange, few hours ago can swipe through and suddenly system down. Was it due to my friend  from different race and didn't trust him that he was the cardholder?

Bring Your HR along

I admire some of my interviewees brought their HR counterpart along as the staff benefits and even salary will be under HR judiciary so the interview won't be left hanging with void of info. Unless, the person is all rounded on the policy of the company.Maybe lack of collaboration between HR, I heard this phrase several times " you can check with HR but HR person is not here".

Prepare a list of questions 

Come on, people applied leave for an interview,don't waste time to think what to ask next. Really, there was an interview with two interviewees and they didn't have a strong structure or approach on what to ask. So there were uncomfortable cricket moments until I had to break the ice and ask questions.

We have work to do 

"Mr Alvin, I just received your résumé. Can you come for an interview with us tomorrow" . 

We can't simply take emergency leave the next day and abandon our work just to attend interview. Why not give us a week or two to arrange?

 

Before I end this entry, I would like to congratulate for those who decided to venture for a new job and quitting the current one. Quitting your job doesn't mean that you are loser (in the context you have been working with same company more than a year) but you have realized that there are platforms out there for you to achieve your career goal. And of course, you have realized what you want to do in life and what you love to do. Sacrifices are inevitable but for the sake of your career goal, why not?

From Meow To Roar

Three years ago, few days before Christmas to be precise, I stepped into the public relations industry.

Totally with zero experience in this industry, it was really a struggle for me at the beginning of my career. I didn't even have the experience to draft a press release that not only catered for my clients but for the media as well.

But time flies, I have been in this industry for three years plus now, so it's safe to say I have the fundamental of pr skills and thank god that I have built a good rapport relationship both with my clients and the media. 

For those who want to venture in this industry, let me tell you this, it ain't easy. There will be no 9-6 pm and though you may have your weekend but most of my weekend I spend with my work at home so the next working week won't be loaded. Multitasking skills are tested, stress level is sky high and expectation is high. 

I know I scare you off from the paragraph above but if you have the passion for public relations, I'm sure you will enjoy it . Trust me, whenever you see the coverage, you will love the satisfaction.

If you didn't know, 23 of August was my last day at my workplace. If you follow my blog religiously, you know that I quit without a offer. I know it was a risky decision so kids please really think twice if you really wanna quit without any offer.

So aimlessly and without any sense of direction, I was lost in my career path. This little kitten was straying in the corporate street looking for a decent job. Only equipped with experience and faith,one by one, this little kitten did its interview across different companies and

agencies but there was no feedback. 

However ,this little kitten is set to change from meow to loud roar! 

Yes, I have an offer. So let me take two weeks break. I shall return in PR industry very soon with a roar!

Those Sei Gay Lou

Whenever I see those gay people at a dining place, I'll ask myself "Do I look like them, am I a sei gay lou too?".

Sei Gay lou is a derogatory term in Chinese to be labeled upon the gay people or English we call it "faggot". I always distinguish myself as "gay lou" ( gay man) and not a sei gay lou. I always joke with my straight friends with my favourite line "i hate those sei gay lou" -  but to be honest, i don't really hate them but they irk me sometimes. 

Well, they have the right to express themselves but i also have the right to express my thoughts in my blog too. So what constitutes a sei gay lou? If you think you posses one or few or all of traits below, then you are "jing jung sei gay lou" (original faggot) lol. Please don't shoot me if you see me on the street.

Here is my top list to illustrate some of the traits of super gay people.

Revealing clothing

Do you remember the lame guideline that gay men like to wear deep V-Neck? V-Neck is a thing of the past now. Ladies and gentlemen, i present you tits-friendly-singlet aka wrestling singlet - its strap is just few millimetre in length and it's just adequate to cover the tits. I came across few gay wearing those clothes, my gosh, it's like tetek terlondeh (over-expose tits). Maybe i'm an old school person when it comes to fashion, but really, showing your tits at the public places at shopping mall is really disgusting. To make matter worse, if you have a pair of big black tits, please don't wear singlet. It's like you never wash your tits for your whole life. 

If you have hot body like them and attractive groin, please wear it more often...(pix : me-me-me.tv)

Human Rebounding Ball

Please, get your mind out of gutter, i'm not referring those balls. My acquaintance was super duper emo coz he broke up with his boyfriend. It was like end of the world for him. A week after, he was attached with someone else. then, broke up again, then hook up with someone else. Well, i don't think all the gay people are like that right? I thought we share the same chorus with Kelly Clarkson - "It doesn't kill you to make you stronger"? I'm very sorry for this acquaintance of mine for being such a loser/love whore. I believe most of the sei gay lou are love deprived and couldn't live being single. Why don't they love themselves more? I believe when you start to love yourself more people will pay attention to you coz the amount of love you shower upon yourself will denote the amount of love you show to your lover.


Being An Attention Seeker Gym Rat

I have to be careful with this as many of my gay friends hit the gym but trust me they are fine decent gay men, sophisticated gay men i would say. I'm referring to those gay people who always need to shout to the world that they hitting to the gym. I don't get it - too excited or looking forward for luscious fun in the shower room? If one fine day, i hit the gym, i wonder i will make a big shout-out too - "Hey diva is going to gym now, please be ready in your respective cubicles" - anyway, let's go the the next point.

Bare Semi-naked

Actually, i shouldn't be too harsh on those sei gay lou but since this is my blog, i don't really care. Those sei gay lou must be very poor until couldn't afford a shirt to cover their body. Well, it is pleasant experience for me to see them shirtless, well, some of them are really hot but maybe i'm too conservative, but the more you showing off your skin, the cheaper you are. It's like hookers on sales - not on sales, more like free intangible sex services through the eyes of the beholder.Talking about shirtless men, have you checked out this month issue of New Icon's Hottest Hunk 2013/2014?

Can you spot the straight men?

Well, they look good and hot with their luscious body. I attended the final before and my gosh, it was like Hottest Dumb Blonde. It was such a waste to have such a fine hot body without any brain. Precisely, it was like a bunch of shrimps on the stage (Shrimps = you eat the shrimp's body but not its head right?). On the other hand, i attended CLEO's The Most Eligible Bachelor before for several times. And Oh Dear Lord! They were so fine, sophisticated, smart, humorous and they turned me on to say the least. Weird right, not interested to a parade of shirtless hunks on the stage but turned on by fully-clothed men. Maybe i like smart men more over th
e hot body or maybe i like men who speak English eloquently - i don't know.


Topic: Men

Have you been in a situation which your gay friend who always talk about men 24/7? Yes, i have. I know it's fun to bitch about men but don't over do it. It's like you are whoring for men all the time. You know i have a friend whose topic revolves around men only that encompasses, what he does for living, where he hit the gym, where he lives and he knows all the gay men in Malaysia. If he isn't talk about men with me, he will start conversation with men in those gay app, you know Jack D/ Grinder. Why can't we talk about life or politics or work?


I know i have offended many gay out there after this entry. I'm sorry, no harm alright? I just elucidate my view on current gay trend =)

P/S: I wanted to write sei gay lou likes to go to Bangkok but better don't or else i will be punished vehemently by my close friends - i wanna go there too!

Attached is passé

I think I should take a breather from my job hunting. Really, it does consume me a lot and  im very tired. Yes, I don't have any offer yet but as my last day approaching with my current company,surprisingly, I'm not afraid at all. I think I know what i want next.

Anyway, job sick thing aside, when I was in Ipoh over the weekend, my gay friend asked me whether when I wanna settle down. It seems that he is very worried about my singlehood. And I'm not young anymore and it's time to settle down, that's what he said.

Well, he is happily attached and I don't deny that having a lover is a blissful thing. But seriously, my poor friend of mine is getting out of touch on the current me.

Look, I'm fine to have a status as single and im happy with it. You know why? I have so much privacy and I could do whatever I want without reporting to anyone. Being said that do whatever I want, it does include of fling around -decently and safely of course.

Really, I'm still young and I want to play some more. Getting attached and settle down is really passé for me. 

Reminisce of those college days, gosh, I was such a desperado looking for a partner but as I grow older, I can handle things on my own and I'm one helluva independent diva. 

Unless, there is someone out there that catches my attention and he has all the love in the world, who can make me open up and who can make me change my mind and switch my principal from being the Taylor  Swift of PJ, I mean the boy who knows how to have fun around to a decent, homey and loving boyfriend. 

Though I'm currently busy looking for  job  but to be honest with you, I think I still can't let go of someone. I'm such a loser until he becomes the benchmark or a dipstick for me to compare with others. Sadly, no one can compare with him.

I'm wondering what he is doing now. For me, I'm just surrounded with four lonely corners of the wall writing this lonely entry and thinking of him.

The Mural Paintings of Ipoh

Whenever my friends asked me what to do in Ipoh, my spontaneous answer would be definitely "nothing much - just eat. Or you can have some fun at Sunway Lost World of Tambun".

I think it's about time to change my usual answer from now on as Ipoh has been bustling lately. Look, my used-to-be sleepy hometown has transformed itself much lately , in terms of tourist attractions - look, Ipoh has been listed as one of the Top 10 Travel Cities in Asia by Agoda.com, sharing the title among the cities in South Korea and Japan. And recently, Tambun Inn of Ipoh has been listed as one of the top 10 most haunted hotels in Asia - well, though it is bit infamous title but it does attract those ghost hunters.

Plan B @ Ipoh

Eatery outlets are growing like mushrooms in ipoh and we even have Plan B in oldtown! Maybe it's still new, the service is rather poor coz i need to wait 15 minutes for my bill but the ambiance wise, top notch indeed - it's rather posh per se but at reasonable price.

Anyway, Ipoh has a lot to offer beside food, Lost World, temples, shopping (yes, Ipoh has Charles and Keith and Pedro and excitement on the extension of Ipoh Parade) Michelle Yeoh and me...Well, not me coz I'm living in PJ.

Anyway, Penang has its famous mural paintings by Ernest Zacharevic, Ipoh also has its own mural paintings by Eric Lai from Artgene Studio. I been to the murals in Penang, honestly, Penang's ones are more catchier and cuter as  Zacharevic complemented his paintings with 3D effects like motorcycle, bicycle and etc but hey, Lai's paintings are not bad when it comes to Malaysia culture as he highlighted the wonderful scenes of life in the bygone eras.

Where to find it? It is located at between Jalan Sultan Iskandar (Hugh Low Street) and Jalan Masjid.

You can check out the little pets nearby after the visit...this cat is so cute!

Captain, Fly Me Away

Before anything else, i would like to take this opportunity to wish my Muslim friends - Selamat Hari Raya, maaf zahir dan batin.

Since it was a long Raya break, i went back to my hometown. Lonely and despair, i found out that my Ipoh friends had gone to KL! They abandoned me in Ipoh literally. Yes, this is an ominous message for leaving me alone in Ipoh!

I should have gone for holidays- a self traveling per se coz i really need time and space for soul searching after i made a risky decision to tender my resignation. But alas, I could not simply spend for now coz for time being, i don't have any offer yet.

So i switched on Astro On Demand and catch the TVB hit drama Triumph In The Skies II. Do you like the show?

For me, it's just somewhat. Don't you think it's rather draggy and boring?

But no doubt, i love the London and Paris scenes in the drama. It's so melodrama - laden with heritage buildings filled with the essence of excitement and mystery that associated with romance. It is so captivating that it is calling me to get over there immediately. Well, fingers crossed - someday soon.

Okay, forget about decency here and you can expect hell lot of indecency in blog - let me ask you this - do the pilots/cadets in Triumph In The Skies II turn you on? If yes, which pilot that you wish to fly you to the moon and play among the stars with you?

I'm sure most of you would want to on board the plane flown by Captain Cool (Chi Lam). Yeah, no doubt he's good looking but if you pay more attention, other co-pilots are also fair equally. No, i'm not talking about Kenneth Mah nor Ron Ng.

Personally, if i ever had the chance to date any co-pilots from Scarlet Airline, it will be Tucker (William Chak) and Coco's boyfriend Nick (Hugo Wong). No idea who they are? Let me ring your bell.

Tucker, co-pilot. Apparently, he is the Mr Hong Kong 2007. With the Mr Hong Kong title, you will have the idea how hot his body is (pix credit from triumphintheskiessequesls.blogspot)

Coco's boyfriend Nick played by Hugo Wong

They are cute right, aren't they?

I know it sounds bimbo and naive but wouldn't be nice if you have a pilot boyfriend. With his uniform on and fly you around. Every places that you want to go will be his destination. Travelling every corner of the Earth. Even picking him up after work will be such an honour - look, i'm driving my boyfriend home who flew a plane moment ago...awww..

Sweet as it sounds but back to the harsh reality, the fairy tale doesn't exist. If you ever think that you could date a hot pilot or captain, you fantasize too much, actually I fantasize too much.


Nevertheless, it's getting late now, i think i should hit the sack. Perhaps, the theme song from Triumph In The Skies I by Eason Chan will be my lullaby tonight. And perhaps, i will meet my future partner at airport ..in my dream..lolz. I love airport a lot as it is the place where we bid farewell at the departure hall and welcoming to a new beginning at the arrival hall. Like life, sometimes, we have to let go and say goodbye and welcome the new journey of life.

What's next? Heartbreak kid?

I wanted to sleep early actually coz tomorrow it is really huge day for me. But the excitement keeps me awake.

Tomorrow (Monday) will be my last media event with my company. And guess who will be attending my event? Yes, my idol and one of the greatest musicians in Chinese entertainment industry, yes, i'm talking about Jay Chou.

Now you know why i didn't buy any ticket for the concert coz i will meet him tomorrow, why would i waste money right?

I'm very delighted that my idol Jay Chou will be concluding my last media event with my current company. So what's the plan next for me?

Well, few days after that i'll be having Raya break and few weeks after that i'll be jobless. Sad right? Until now i still don't have any offer though the interview appointments are aplenty.

Aside from aiming to get a job by September, i don't have any plan installed for me after i end my one month notice period. Thought of travelling but i don't dare to do so coz I'm not sure until when i'll be jobless, so it's good to save up more.

What a daredevil right? Resign without an offered job.

My BFF asked me whether I'm scared or worried that i'll be jobless.

To be honest, i'm really worried. Though i have the faith but what if the faith doesn't favour me?

Well, worry will be useless in times like this. So live life to the fullest. I know nobody says that life is easy but life is short, we don't know what will happen next. Who knows i'll be shot dead when i step out from the house. 

So here i am, at the crossroad again and ask myself what i really want in life.

One thing for sure, i will never quit the media industry because i'm so passionate about it and it is so vibrant. I know media industry will never work 9 to 6 but if you love the career so much, time is not an issue.

Okay, Alvin, aside from career, what you want in your life?

I know i can't have family and kids coz i'm living in an alternative lifestyle. I guess my life will be pretty lonely ahead as my girl friends will eventually get married someday and my gay friends will settle down with their partners.

Material aside, i want 'home' , 'love' and 'family'. Maybe you share the desire with me coz ultimately - these three things are the ones who will accompany you until you die. 

Okay, i'm being too decent here. I'm not quite a believer in true love in gay relationship. If true love doesn't happen sooner or later - why not I succeed in my career undertaking and achieve five figures every month, or close to it. With all the materials in the world and the figures in my account, then eureka, i could be a heart break kid and a player.

I'm not joking, you see, we always be the heart broken ones, why not we rise up and say no more to heart breaks and tears and transform ourselves to be a jerk and fling around like Taylor Swift does. Accumulate all the cuties or the people like to flash off in Facebook, and have a helluva good time in dating and on the bed of course. And yeah, the gay guys who like to show their tetek (tits) in the public. Im not joking, nowadays I see a lot of fit guys wearing revealing singlets until can see their tits.

 Like what the hell? Tits are so sexually sacred and they reveal their tetek in the public. I bet 10 years soon, they will reveal their dick head.

I'm so sorry for my indecency. But that's my little disturbing fantasy and desire.

I don't know what life ahead will bring me but I know there is God above who always guide me and never forsake me like the song below 'I surrender all of me to You so my soul will be peaceful with Your guidance"

One of my favourite song from one of my favourite female local singers - Ku Mohon, Sheila Majid