Feeling Guilty About Work

Hello self.

I feel really guilty today. 

It's the weekend but my other superior has assigned me with a task to do during this weekend. However, part of the task was needed to be done urgently. So knowing how urgent the task is, I decided to outsource it to me colleague since I was caught in an unfavorable situation then. So he did that task for me. But my superior still thinks that I was the one who did it. And now, he's giving me 2 days of paid leave for my help during this weekend. I don't feel like I deserve this. But I really need this because I've been meaning to get some personal errands done. This could be my opportunity to get it done after postponing it for so long.

It's not something that I'm proud of but I guess I'll just accept the days off. Even though it wasn't totally me who did the task assigned.

Sorry friend.

Isolate. Calm. Think.

Hello friend,

Today I want to write down one of my experience as an IT guy just so I could look back and re-read the things that I've learned throughout my career.

Since I think cyber-security plays an important role in the forthcoming Industrial Revolution 4.0, I want to make sure that I do have some knowledge in this area.

So what is cyber-security? Well, if I could give you a one sentence layman answer, it would be: Any effort that involves in protecting your digital asset. What do I mean by digital assets? Well, it's practically everything that is deemed valuable to you that exist in digital form. So things like the photos you've captured, the videos you've curated, the emails you've sent out, you're username and password for any of your online account and etc. Basically, any steps in protecting these digital assets, are what cyber-security is all about.

One of the most memorable experience that I've had was when it comes to finding solution during a broadcast storm. First, let me give an idea about what is a broadcast storm. Essentially, a broadcast storm is when a collection of your computer-network devices went offline due to some disturbance in the network connection. It usually starts with a network congestion and the internet suddenly becomes very slow and laggy. Then, it'll go completely offline. Now, the cause for this broadcast storm could be a lot of things. But in this particular situation, it was due to an outdated software in one of the computer. 

So what did I do in this situation? So with guidance from my superior, we manually checked for the culprit among the computers. We tested the connectivity on the computer one by one until we have finally found the source of it. So it turns out that one of the software in that computer was outdated. As a result, it has allowed some malware that constantly used up the computer's internet resources to the point that it hogs up all the internet connectivity. As a result, all the devices that is connected to the same switch went down. Thankfully, the fix for this was an easy one. We've updated the software and isolate the computer by connecting it to another network switch where it has no other devices dependent on it. 

Now, what have I learned from this experience? I think, the most crucial step in dealing with this situation was isolation. Whenever we've identified any issues pertaining a specific device, the first thing to do was to isolate it so that it doesn't interfere with the other system. By doing so, it gave us more time to calmly assesses the situation deeper and came up with a solution. 

This experience may not be of use to me now, but maybe in the future, when the situation demands for a solution, just remember to isolate the problem first in order to give you more time to calmly think of an appropriate action.

Isolate. Calm. Think.

Fin.

Intentional Living

Hello again my compilation of inner thoughts.

Today I want to rant about intentional living.

For the past one year, I have been on autopilot in terms of going through life. Before I knew it, one whole year has passed. One whole year that I've spent my days and nights in doing this work. To which the question of "Was your time spent on this worth it?", I couldn't really give a positive answer.

So I'm pulling my shit together now and starting to take control of my life. To start doing things  more intentionally and not to just reluctantly do it while my mind flew off on autopilot. I've got this inspiration after watching some YouTube videos on powerful small habits and podcast about designing your life's course. I have realized now that living intentionally, is truly living. If I dictate the actions of what I'm going to do in life, I will feel more in control. And I don't mean it as simple as you deciding to do something with just some rough ideas in mind on when/how to do it. I mean it as incorporating some elements of specific planning prior to doing something. That way, we will intentionally decide and chart the course of our life.

I've recently started this intentional living mindset in my life. And I quickly realize that the general idea is all about balancing the things that you have to do and the things that you want to do. I realize that if I could balance out carrying the actions of these two things, I will achieve a sense of satisfaction because:

• By settling the task that I have to do, I'll enjoy a sense of productivity and accomplishment.
• By doing the things that I want to do, I'll enjoy the satisfaction of joy of broadening the activities in my life. Afterall, I feel like our identity is tied to the things that we do in life. If my life just revolves around work, I'll feel imprisoned as work is, at least for now, something that I have no control over. It's all just for the money. Whereas other elements of life such as health, community, extended knowledge, family and etc are the areas in life that could give a strong support to our pillars of life.

So that's my routine for now. Every morning I will list out the things that I have to do and the things that I want to do. Clearly my job has the higher priority. So my daily goal is always finish of my responsibility and carry out other activities that I find joy in doing. To find the balance between the two is the whole goal of intentional living. 

If I can get it right, I will truly live.

Thank you internet for allowing me to put my thoughts here so it'll forever be floating in the cloud as binary bits.

Planting A Seed To Always Remain Positive

Hi friends.

This is a reminder for myself that when I feel lost and having no sense of purpose, just remember to keep on moving. To at least do something even though it might not look like it's worth doing. Doing something not worth doing is always better than not doing anything at all. At least, the process of doing something not worth doing will eventually find its way to start doing something that is worth it.

A lot of times in life, we don't know how every activity we do could benefit us in the future. But everything that we do in our life, has repercussions one way or another. What have been planted today, can only be seen years from now. So this is me planting a seed in my head. A seed that would always tell me and remind me that some way along life, I will feel inferior. I will feel like I'm not achieving anything in life. I will feel inadequate. I will feel minute compared to my peers. But just remember to not dwell in these negative thoughts and to always move. Move and just do anything. Anything at all. Anything is better than nothing.

Something I've learned from Tony Robbins: Our life is defined by what we feel. If we feel sad most of the time, then our life is sad. If we feel happy all the time, then our life is happy. If we feel content most of the time, then our life is content. And what triggers emotion? Movements. When we move, we will feel something rushing through our veins. If we go for a jog, we will feel fresh. If we work on a passionate project, we will feel motivated. If we move, it triggers emotion. If we move towards a positive goal, positive emotion follows. A positive emotion build-up will define a positive life. So remember: Always make a move towards something positive. And doing anything at all is always more positive than not doing anything at all.

Stay positive friends.

Fin.

Million Dollar Idea: How Much To Compensate Your Friends For A Lift?

Hi friends.

I used to keep notes on ideas that I think could help improve the world. Sadly, I lost that note. 

Today, one of the ideas that I wrote sprung back into my head. And I want to write it here so that it'll be here in a form of digestible words.

Have you ever wondered how much you should compensate your friends for the lift that you get from them? Be it a one-time lift to go on a ride to balik kampung or a regular carpooling activity? I've struggled with this once. I don't know how much is enough and how much is too much.

So here's a million dollar idea. Anyone who could create a go-to app that could give out modest estimates of how much people should pay for rides that they're getting based on specific situational assumptions; Will definitely help solve the problem of compensating your friends. 

Inputs could be:

Price of gas per liter

Gas efficiency (liters per kilometer)

Distance travelled

Journey duration

Number of passengers and etc.

Those are a few things that came to my mind right now. This idea is not perfect. It's just an idea. But as we all know, ideas are contagious. 

Spread the idea my friends. Till next time.

I Want To Be Rich But I Don't Know How

Hi friends,

I've been listening to podcast about how people quit their job after having some money stash and pursue their passion. I admire stories like that greatly. I imagine myself to walk their shoes one day.

However, there's just one problem. I don't know what my passion is. I do have hobbies but I just don't see the prospect of my hobby being monetize. That scares me as being unstable like that, could make lose sleep. 

I've been in the same mental block since a year ago. I still don't know what to do in life. I want to be rich. But I just don't know how.

Might need some more time to think about this.

Cheers friends.

"When You're Free, Could You Please..."

Hi friends,

I really love it when my supervisor would suggest on things to do rather than ordering me what to do. Because of the polite way of asking me to do stuff by suggesting, it gives me less resistance since I don't feel like it's forced. Rather, it's me doing good by helping. This is just a quick rant. I know that as an employee, I should learn to follow orders. But a polite order would go a long way.

"When you're free, could you plese ..... "

Thank you for being polite. You've made my day.

End.

How NOT To Be Horrible

Hi friends,

Today I want to rant about the person who you surround yourself with.

All my life, I've never given much thought about who I spend my time with. I was always the type that just "go with the flow". But as of recent, I've been struggling to be happy because of unnecessary stress at work because of work surroundings. Just like how other people soon realize when they enter the workforce, the person who you report to makes a huge impact in your working life. Considering that you'll be spending a lot of time with your bosses especially if you share the same office floor space.

So as of right now, I don't have the most well-mannered boss in the world. Things might fall out of place really fast if you're the type that take things too personally. And ofcourse, as all bosses in the world would put it, all the confrontation is meant to make you into a better person. 

But throughout my life, I've encountered many horrible bosses. But non is as horrible as my current one. I've been wrapping my head around to find any positive note that I can jot down and take home with but non came to mind. And then it hits me. I've actually learned how not to be horrible. The lesson that I got was not necessarily on how to behave. It's more geared towards how NOT to behave. How not to neglect what your employee feels especially when asked to things that is outside of the job scope. How not to push workloads without a proper incentives. Those are a few things that I could branch out from the main lesson here: How NOT to be horrible like your boss.

At this juncture, I'm trying to build a positive factory within myself. And that process involves trying to look at bad situations from a positive perspective. And if that bad situations are just too gloomy, the next best thing is to create distance from the bearer of bad situation. But now the question that comes to mind is, "What if the bad situation always comes to us?". Well for that I'd say is either be prepared so that the bad situation is at least isn't so severe, or  to plan your exit route. I'm still in the former zone and we'll see how good I've build this positive factory within me.

Thanks friends. Till next time.

Koperasi & AGM Annual Gifts

Hi everyone,

Lately I've been browsing the web about what would I get if I attended the annual general meeting of the company/cooperative that I were to invest in. I'm a sucker for free stuff and I've always had this imagination where I would buy just enough of their shares and contribute the minimum monthly cooperative amount just so I could enjoy the gifts.

The most typical gifts are vouchers. I would normally see vouchers from KFC, McD, AEON and Tesco. Their worth ranges from RM20 - RM100. I could really see myself attending these meetings just for their gifts. Also, something much more amazing from the cooperative side is that they also offer useful items for cheaper more affordable for their members. Things such as motorcycles, home appliances, vacation trips and personal loans. I could understand now why retirees would spend their time in all these. Their benefits are attractive.

This definitely goes inline with my idea of life optimization. I shall seek to join the bandwagon in the future.

Till again, cheers.

I Just Want A Credit Card

Hello friends.

Just a quick observation that I want to note here. I realized that it is relatively harder to get a credit card here in Malaysia compared to when I was studying in Ottawa. This is slightly frustrating me because I'm not getting the points to redeem for other stuff. Back when I was a student, I would gladly pay all the bills and groceries for my housemates because I knew that at the end of the month, I would accumulate $10 worth of redeemable points in participating outlets or get a free movie ticket just about every month. But now, I have to find a lot of workarounds to fully optimize every ringgit I spend. 

I've been using Boost, TNG eWallet, Grab Pay and Shopback whenever I can but having too much bucket to keep track of is kind of a hassle. Plus, since my daily lunch is usually from a hawker stall nearby my office, I can't really make use of my eWallets. And I don't really shop much on Lazada or Shopee. Right now, I just wish that I can open up a credit card as soon as I can so that I'll get cashbacks for gas. Mesra card gives me about RM6 every month. It's not that huge but at least it's something. 

One day, I'll set aside a time to open up a credit card. And also finding other productive stuff to do since it involves a day off from work. 

That's all for today. Cheers guys.

Financial Independence Not Through FOMO

I've been thinking a lot about ways to optimize my life. It first started out with optimizing my life financially. But as I soon discovered that it was a very slow process, I was convinced that there must be more of the applicable areas for this idea. I then extended that optimization idea to my whole mindset, health and general life well-being. 

Some of my steps of improving my mindset was to optimize my social media timeline. I started with Twitter as I often browse my day into a deep void there. I started following a lot of financial gurus out there with hopes to pick and choose brilliant ideas coming from their minds. I would also compare and contrast their ideas with mine and eventually, optimize and refine my idea of a healthy financial well-being. Throughout my observations with following financial gurus out there, there is one thing that I disagree with the most. It's the idea of monetizing their knowledge to people by selling fears of missing out. While there are nothing wrong with making money while teaching, I think that financial literacy should be easily accessible to everyone without that fear of missing out. Chasing financial independence should be based on conscious decision for a better future.

My hope in this journey documentation, is to express my ideas and plan of action in pursuing financial independence. It's not going to be perfect. It might also not work with everyone. But one thing is for sure is it will always thrive towards being optimized for myself. 

That's all the rant I have for now. Later!

PS: My supervisor always laughs and smile when doing his task. He truly finds the fun in his work. He makes work seems so easy. I think I might need to model his approach.

Goal: Financial Independence

Hello my old friend. It's been awhile huh? I've been away for so long that talking to myself as I'm writing seems pretty awkward now. There are plenty of stuff that goes through my head now. If I could, I'd lay it all out into words. Just so I could see what's happening in my head before it all goes away.

It's soon going to be my first year working here. I have to say that I think I've grown more mature over the months. At least I know now how to handle my emotions. Especially when it comes to being told to do the things that you don't want to. Or being told rudely to do the things that you don't want to do. Work has its ups and downs but all in all I'm still grateful. I'm trying to have a psychological shift towards the positive instead of the negative. Slowly building my own positive factory within.

I'm just going to write down what I learn today.

Today I learned that I am thankful for being in my current financial position. As all fresh grads would do, they would all even if not intentionally, compare their salaries with their friends. Me, included. So when I got to know that all of my friends are doing well-off right now, I'm very happy for them. However, I still have this feeling of, "Oh how I wish I was in their (financial) position". But after thinking this through, I am very thankful for my current situation right now. I'm getting just enough to have a decent life to get me through the month. Nothing fancy but just enough. Which inadvertently causes me to find frugal hacks and other potential side hustles to cushion my situation. As such, I think I have greatly increased my investing and personal finance knowledge over this past one year. Which I doubt I would have if I were to be in a position where I'm very comfortable with my financial situation.

My goal right now, after going burrowing through a lot of financial independence podcasts and blogs, is to build my own nest-egg. A perpetual money making machine as they call it. Where the machine will eventually churn a constant flow of income. Right now it's not even dripping but I'll just have to be patient. So here's what the current nest consist of (total is RM2587).

Rakuten (Maybank & YTL REIT)

FSMOne (CIMB Dynamic Income Fund)

StashAway (20% Risk Trust)

HelloGold (Gold)

Savings (Cash)

Soon, I'm hoping to add co-operative firm on to it as well.

I would like to document my journey to reach financial independence. It's going to be a slow process but I hope to become a millionaire by 30 (home equity not included). Till next time!

PS: I re-read some of my old post and I've never cringed so hardddd. I'm still gonna leave it there and lets all just cringe together. Chow peeps.