Mmmm… This hot dog looks delicious, you can have it! Want some coffee? ROTFLMAO!

If you’ve got a significant other half, I believe you will always think of the way keeping the spark of your relationship alive. As a matter of fact, you will try to find ways to show you appreciate each other, every week and every day, every minute and every second if possible. That’s something what I call romantic! And for me, I will look for little, inexpensive ways to be romantic and wish it will pay off for my relationship in innumerable ways. Being a romantic person, I asked Donkey out for candle dinner last night. I rode motorcycle instead of using car. You might think that we had a sweet romantic ride in the moon light all the way to restaurant. Well, that’s what I hoped actually. However, thing never worked out according to my will! We ‘enjoyed’ a heavy downpour half way… Perhaps snuggling together on a rainy night is also a romantic moment…

My mood is not really good recently… The weather is horrible, never ending works… I have been drained of my passion, positive attitude and creativity… Irritable and stressed, I feel like wanting to kill the next person who says my name! I know I have been affected by workplace negativity! I know I shouldn’t listen to others too much… But I just can’t stop myself…

Negativity occurs in the attitude, outlook, and talk of one department member, or in a crescendo of voices responding to a workplace decision or event.

Workplace negativity may seem like an intangible problem, but it has very tangible consequences… It’s like a seemingly dormant volcano. It will boil beneath the surface, and bubble up and overflow to cause serious damage one day.

Hmmm… How to kick this “negativity virus” away?

…I make a mistake!

Life it seems is a struggle between what we think and what we see or hear.

Too often in life we are facing the following situation:

Pig vs Bitch

A man is driving down a road. A woman is driving down the same road from the opposite direction. As they pass each other…
The woman leans out the window and yells ‘PIG!’
The man immediately leans out his window and yells, ‘BITCH!!’

They each continue on their way and as the man rounds the next bend he crashes into a huge pig in the middle of the road.

I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I’m not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.

Sometime what you hear or see is not what you think! Isn’t it?

As we all know, help is one of the most difficult things to get in the present day and age. All too often, people get stuck because they feel they do not know how to ask for help in their workplace. Inevitably, if you want to succeed in your career you will need the help of others. Getting help may have less to do with your authority and formal position. It is more to do with your strategy and approach, which can range from a simple favor to convincing others to accept a priority of yours as if it were their own. Read on to discover some of the most amazing facts on how to get anyone to help you.

To enlist the help of others, you need to ask for help. Most people are more than willing to give you a hand provided you must ask for their help at the very first place. However, you must define what needs to be done before asking for help. The more you can identify specifically the help you need and the tasks to be done, the better. Remember, fuzzy goals lead to fuzzy results. By defining all the tasks required, you increase the likelihood of success. So, swallow your pride, and just ask!

When you make a general request for volunteers perhaps during a meeting, never ever make it sounds like “Whoever doesn’t have much of anything to do can work on this.” Your chances of getting someone to volunteer thus tend to be slim. However, if you think about who might best be able to help with a task and then specifically ask that person for help, your odds of getting him or her to accept the task increase dramatically. For instance, “Max, I’m putting together a team to design a new product. Your expertise in marketing analysis for sure can help us to make the right decision. Can we count on you to join us?”

The important thing to remember is to always say Thank You for their assistance. Thank and acknowledge others for their help. You may send a personal note of thanks or perhaps a nice personal e-mail thank you is certainly a great choice in this information age. The person will feel that his or her time and energy were appreciated. In addition, you will likely be able to call on the person again in the future for assistance. People are glad to help those who appreciate their efforts.

Think about what your life would be like if nobody helps you at certain stage of your life when you need them? Your achievement will be limited if you limit yourself to only the things you can do without help from others. So, if you have a good idea in an area where you lack the necessary skills, knowledge or experiences, think it through and show others how they can help achieve the desired result. Ask, and you shall receive, the help you need to make your life a success!

Day 1: Travelling to Mulu, Lang’s Cave, Deer Cave & Bats Exodus

Travelling to Mulu

The location of Gunung Mulu National Park.

Flying from Miri to Mulu.

Arriving

My first impression of Mulu.

Feel cool and refreshing!

Here come the Gunung Mulu National Park.

Lang’s Cave

On my way to Lang Cave.

We reached Lang’s Cave.

Entrance of Lang’s Cave

Welcome to wonderland! LOL!

I couldn’t believe what I saw… Limestone.

Stalactites & Stalagmite…

Beautiful… Coral???

I started to think about ice cream…

Jellyfishes?? LOL!

Deer Cave

OMG! I was inside the world’s largest cave passage (Deer Cave).

Can’t you recognize that? It’s Monkey King’s Profile… Oops, I mean Abraham Lincoln’s profile.

How big is the cave?

Now, you know?

Just a glimpse of the Garden of Eden… No time to go, sigh!

The 60 metres high “shower” continuously pouring from the roof near the Garden of Eden, speechless!

Bats Exodus

Waiting at the bats exodus observatory.

Deer Cave, view from the bats exodus observatory.

The bats exodus, streaming from Deer Cave every evening.

The Dark Knights!

Close-up view. No batman, pretty disappointed! LOL!

Day 2: Penan Settlement, Wind Cave & Clear Water Cave

Penan Settlement

Heading to Penan Settlement by motorized-longboat.

Beautiful scenery.

Another one.

Penan Settlement - Market Place.

Shopping time.

Handmade craft items.

Wind Cave

Boardwalk to Wind Cave.

Entrance of Wind Cave.

Natural light from the top of the cave.

What were they doing?

Clearwater Cave

Stairs up to Clearwater Cave.

Main entrance of Clearwater Cave.

Seeing no angel. LOL!

It looks like a…

Fair lady stalagmite.

Amazing piece of natural art.

Relaxing…

Long boats.

Crystal clear water.

Swim like a fish…

Relaxing moment…

Day 3: Home Sweet Home

Totally exhausted… Going home…

I find it’s very annoying to call XXX Banks or any agencies that always push me to their machines to do business with. I don’t know how you feel every time you hear about:

“Welcome to blah blah blah… Press 1 for English, 2 for Chinese… … …”

After you key in all the information required, you got this:

“All our agents are still busy due to over-whelming responses…We will tend to you shortly” followed by annoying advertisements!

After you listen to the above message for several times, you find out your call is being cut off after being put on hold for such a long time!

Well, I know we’re in so called Information Technology age. For me, I still prefer to talk to human than machine. Anyway, no matter how I know I have to deal and live with it, isn’t it? Perhaps, they could make it more interesting by changing the option to:

“Honey, thanks for calling … Press 1 for Handsome…, 2 for Beauty…”

Sounds more interesting and attractive, right? More like a XXX kinda call! LOL!

There is a new virus: Code name is ‘work’.

If you receive ‘work’, from your colleagues, your boss, via email or anywhere else, do not open it under any circumstances!!

This virus wipes out your private life completely. If you should came into contact with this virus, put on your jacket and take two friends and go straight to the nearest pub. Order three beers and after repeating 14 times, you will find that ‘work’ has been completely deleted from your brain.

Forward this warning immediately to at least five friends. Should you realise that you do not have five friends, this means that you are already infected by this virus and ‘work’ already controls your whole life.

This virus is deadly. Please make every effort to stop it and prevent it spreading.

I’m going out for some beers before this deadly virus damages my system completely.

You wanna join me?

Iban people are the original inhabitants of Borneo Island. For centuries, they have lived in communities known as longhouses, Rumah Panjang in Malay, Rumah Panjai in Iban. Iban people were notorious headhunters as recent as 50 years ago, but now they only express their heroism and spiritualism through dance. If not, I won’t be able to locate my head and share my experience to you here. LOL!

The longhouse I visited is called ‘Rumah Tuan’. It’s about 45minits drive from Mukah. The longhouse looks exactly like its name implies. It is a long (several hundred meters long), one-story wooden dwelling where the various family groups all live under one roof.

The longhouses share one common design feature - they are built raised off the ground on stilts.

Being raised, cooling air could circulate as well as have the living area above ground where any breeze is more likely.

Following the stair up, a wide open corridor stretches the length of the building was waiting for me. Iban calls it ruai and it serves as a communal space for social interaction.

Each family in the longhouse has its own private unit, bilik.

This is the room for both living and sleeping (all in one room).

Interesting finding - Skylight brings in the natural sun light.

The kitchen, dapor, is attached to the back of the bilik.

Further out there is a utility area.

Water tank – collecting rain water.

Real portion of the longhouse.

Some of the things I saw in ruai.

Family photos.

The longhouse folks.

Iban ladies.

Many of the Iban folk are now Christians.

Kids with cat.

More Iban kids.

Kungfu Kids?!

Looking out through window.

Although I didn’t spend long time in this longhouse, I was really impressed by the harmony and generosity of the residents here. Looking at their simple living style and how smoothly its residents get along, deep in my heart I start to feel a bit of restored faith in humanity…