at last, after more than 2 months, i went back home in Sungai Buloh last Friday.
well, i am the type of person who rarely goes back home.
i reached home Friday night, and my aunt's family was there. (in fact they are the one who fetched me from the Komuter Station). My cousin had a good news, she is pregnant! My mom was very happy too. and she looked at me and my brother with "mata bersinar-sinar". Haha. well, we knew the meaning of that look... huhu... with my cousin pregnant, this means all my mom's siblings are having grandchild except her. and that's why she looked at us like that. Haha. then she said there are some of her friends offering their daughter for us, and asked us whether we are interested or not. huhu... but she said its ok after my brother and me showed 10cent face at her. haha. i said let me finish my studies first and let me establish myself first. hehe.

Saturday was a peaceful day where i got up late with lunch prepared for me. haha... (Bahagianya takyah fikir pasal makan minum). after my lunch (or breakfast actually, haha), i went to the hospital area where our nursery was once located, our old house was there too. but, it's too sad to see all those place are gone by now. The UiTM Medical campus building is reaching it's fifth floor construction where my house was once stood. The stream i used to catch fishes and small prawns are no more there...The beautiful place where i grow up is now under massive development of the University campus. All left are just memories of the place i grew up...

i ate a lot that day since my mom cooked one of my favorite -- Kari Ikan Masin. Haha, i don't know how many times i ate actually. well, mom's cooking is the best!

Since i went back loaded with 2 months salary of my RA, mom suggested we all go out on Sunday. huhu... there gone my $$$... hahaha. we went to Kuala Selangor with our aunt's family for sea foods. Then we stop by Bukit Melawati; and old fort of Selangor which was built in the 18 century. there was nothing much at the hill, but with a lot of tame monkeys! i would rather say those monkeys are too tame and "friendly" with all the tourists there. Those monkeys just sat there waiting for food! Haha... Some of then even come to the tourists and show them "muka kesian" to get food. My mom ended up feeding one of them with a pack of groundnuts. "These monkeys are quite good,not like those at Batu Cave temple which will rompak what ever u bring", she said.
we went home exhausted. and there comes the pasar malam at our place, my mom brought not a few but a lot of durians for us, huhu... makan sampai takleh nak jalan...

This morning i went back Melaka. Actually i planned to go the campus af 2pm since i budgeted i'll arrive here by 1pm. But..... a lorry terbalik in front of our bus before the Ayer Keroh Toll, which blocked the road for almost 1 hour. huhu, i reached my house at almost 3pm... Still going to campus? No way! And i got some sms from students asking whether the Infosys Foundation Program Ceremony is on tomorrow as stated in the faculty website. TOMORROW??!! OMG!, i was in big shock! I am the MC for the ceremony and i had prepared nothing! I don't even know the full name of the deputy minister coming! After i called the faculty, they said it was typo error and the ceremony is actually on next week. Huh... what a tiring day, so i went out to buy my lunch, after that......

sleeeeeeeeep until 7pm, then woke up and wrote this entry.

Exactly what is 'Thinking Outside the Box'?
when we say some one is thinking 'outside the box'? why do we need this 'think out of box thing?'

lets consider this scenario:
There was a company hiring new staff and 200 candidates were short listed and called for interview.
They were given a situation where they have to make a choice and justify why they made that choice.
It goes like this:

One day, you are driving home and passed a bus stop where 3 persons were waiting for bus. The first person is a very sick old lady who need to go to the hospital a.s.a.p. The second person is a friend of you who once saved you life, you owe him 1 and now he/she need your help desperately. And the third person happened to be the dream person of yours, she/he can be your ideal partner! But unfortunately, your car can only accommodate one single person. You wanted to help them, yet there is only 1 person can be helped. Who will you choose? and why?

All the candidates tried hard to answer this question and they had given their justification who will they choose. It was a very hard situation, if you decided to help the old lady, what might your life saver think about you? He/she needs your help too! And if you help the old lady or your friend, you might loose the once in a life time chance to get you dream partner!
While all the candidates made their choice and justified about their choice, there was one person who answered differently from the rest, and he was hired to the position offered.
His answer was like this:

"I will give my car to my life saver and request him/her to send the sick old lady to the hospital on the way, and i'll stay at the bus stop with my dream person so i can spend some time with her"

While everyone was thinking how to make the choice, this guy had the most innovative idea on how to solve the problem. While everyone's mind was restricted with the rule "i can only help one person and i need to choose one", this guy had thought out of that restriction and context. Well, we can say he was the person who "think out of box".

Inside The Box
Thinking inside the box means accepting the status quo.
The in-the-box thinkers also believe that every problem needs only one solution; therefore, finding more than one possible solution is a waste of time. They often say, "There is no time for creative solutions. We just need THE solution." But, they never realize that there are other different ways of solving the problem.

Outside the Box
Thinking outside the box requires different attributes that include:

• Willingness to take new perspectives to day-to-day work.
• Openness to do different things and to do things differently.
• Focusing on the value of finding new ideas and acting on them.
• Striving to create value in new ways.
• Listening to others.
• Supporting and respecting others when they come up with new ideas.

Out-of-the box thinking requires an openness to new ways of seeing the world and a willingness to explore. Out-of-the box thinkers know that new ideas need nurturing and support. They also know that having an idea is good but acting on it is more important. Results are what count. ^[1]

"Thinking out of box" means think out of the context of the situation we are facing. Don't be restricted by the situation when searching for a solution. Normally when it comes to decision making and making choices, instead of thinking which one to pick, why don't we think another way so that we will not be bonded by the choices we have?

There's once my friends and i were discussing about fairy tales, and someone asked:
"If a fairy appear in front of you and agree to grant you 3 wishes, what will you wish for?"
Everyone told what they will wish for. Well, its hard to think only 3 wishes that are most important for us! When it was my turn, I said:" I doesn't need 3 wishes from the fairy, but just one will be enough. I wish i will have endless wishes!....."

References:
[1] - Exactly what is 'Thinking Outside the Box'? By Ed Bernacki

Finally! Its Done!
After 4 days working on my website, i had finally completed it!
Although the content is still empty, but felt so relaxed when the site is completed and up.
you can visit my site here.
The site basically is to share some Java articles and also tips which i found and discovered during my experience developing Java applications.(The site is developed using Java -->JSP too).
I'll try to update the site soon!
Wait for it!

Received this email few days ago, quite interesting to share...

A group of children were playing near two railway tracks, one still in use while the other disused. Only one child played on the disused track, the rest on the operational track.

The train is coming, and you are just beside the track interchange. You can make the train change its course to the disused track and save most of the kids. However, that would also mean the lone child playing by the disused track would be sacrificed. Or would you rather let the train go its way?
Let's take a pause to think what kind of decision we could make................

Most people might choose to divert the course of the train, and sacrifice only one child. You might think the same way, I guess. Exactly, to save most of the children at the expense of only one child was rational decision most people would make, morally and emotionally. But, have you ever
thought that the child choosing to play on the disused track had in fact made the right decision to play at a safe place?

Nevertheless, he had to be sacrificed because of his ignorant friends who chose to play where the danger was. This kind of dilemma happens around us everyday. In the office, community, in politics and especially in a democratic society, the minority is often sacrificed for the interest of the majority, no matter how foolish or ignorant the majority are, and how farsighted and knowledgeable the minority are. The child who chose not to play with the rest on the operational track was sidelined. And in the case he was sacrificed, no one would shed a tear for him.

The great critic Leo Velski Julian who told the story said he would not try to change the course of the train because he believed that the kids playing on the operational track should have known very well that track was still in use, and that they should have run away if they heard the train's sirens. If the train was diverted, that lone child would definitely die because he never thought the train could come over to that track!

Moreover, that track was not in use probably because it was not safe. If the train was diverted to the track, we could put the lives of all passengers on board at stake! And in your attempt to save a few kids by sacrificing one child, you might end up sacrificing hundreds of people to save these few kids.

While we are all aware that life is full of tough decisions that need to be made, we may not realize that hasty decisions may not always be the right one.

"Remember that what's right isn't always popular... and what's popular isn't always right."

Everybody makes mistakes; that's why they put erasers on pencils.

I have some juniors in my University who approached me and ask for my suggestion for their workshop II title. Basically they have to develop some systems according to their major of studies. And all the third year students are learning Object Oriented Programming using Java. When speak of "PROGRAMMING", its like a disaster for them. They set their mind that: "It must be very difficult!"

I am quite sad to see these trends among our students. They easily give up even before trying or taking the first step!
Instead of thinking :"I think i can do it", their first thought is always:"I think i can't do it"
Why think so negatively?

lets consider this:

It is quite common to hear people say: "Think positive!", to someone who feels down and worried. Most people do not take these words seriously, as they do not know what they really mean, or do not consider them as useful and effective. How many people do you know, who stop to think what the power of positive thinking means?

The following story illustrates how this power works.
Allan applied for a new job, but as his self-esteem was low, and he considered himself as a failure and unworthy of success, he was sure that he was not going to get the job. He had a negative attitude towards himself, and believed that the other applicants were better and more qualified than him. Allan manifested this attitude, due to his negative past experiences with job interviews.

His mind was filled with negative thoughts and fears concerning the job for the whole week before the job interview. He was sure he would be rejected. On the day of the interview he got up late, and to his horror he discovered that the shirt he had planned to wear was dirty, and the other one needed ironing. As it was already too late, he went out wearing a shirt full of wrinkles.

During the interview he was tense, displayed a negative attitude, worried about his shirt, and felt hungry because he did not have enough time to eat breakfast. All this distracted his mind and made it difficult for him to focus on the interview. His overall behavior made a bad impression, and consequently he materialized his fear and did not get the job.

Jim applied for the same job too, but approached the matter in a different way. He was sure that he was going to get the job. During the week preceding the interview he often visualized himself making a good impression and getting the job.

In the evening before the interview he prepared the clothes he was going to wear, and went to sleep a little earlier. On day of the interview he woke up earlier than usual, and had ample time to eat breakfast, and then to arrive to the interview before the scheduled time.

He got the job because he made a good impression. He had also of course, the proper qualifications for the job, but so had Allan.

What do we learn from these two stories? Is there any magic employed here? No, it is all natural. When the attitude is positive we entertain pleasant feelings and constructive images, and see in our mind's eye what we really want to happen. This brings brightness to the eyes, more energy and happiness. The whole being broadcasts good will, happiness and success. Even the health is affected in a beneficial way. We walk tall and the voice is more powerful. Our body language shows the way you feel inside.

Positive and negative thinking are both contagious. All of us affect, in one way or another, the people we meet. This happens instinctively and on a subconscious level, through thoughts and feelings transference and through body language. People sense our aura and are affected by our thoughts. Is it any wonder that we want to be around positive persons and shun negative ones? People are more disposed to help us if we are positive. They dislike and avoid anyone broadcasting negativity.

Negative thoughts, words and attitude bring up negative and unhappy moods and actions. When the mind is negative, poisons are released into the blood, which cause more unhappiness and negativity. This is the way to failure, frustration and disappointment.
Taken from:The Power of Positive Thinking by Remez Sasson

so, from the story, Allan failed because he himself blocked his opportunities and courages to be successful. No body is responsible for his failure but he himself!
if you can't break through your own shield, then no body can help you. We need self confidence in ourself first!

Why some people are too afraid to start anything, u can imagine that many problems will occur if you start to do the thing, but, as long as u never started, u will never know that your thought might be wrong! Remember: NO MAN IS AN ISLAND! you can always seek for help and guidance whenever you are stuck and cant proceed. never think you are the only person face the problem, there are so many other people who faced the same or similar situations; and they might even have proper solution for it!

and here is some tips to share:
Suggestions for Building Positive Attitudes
* In every class, look for positive people to associate with.
* In every lecture, look for one more interesting idea.
* In every chapter, find one more concept important to you.
* With every friend, explain a new idea you've just learned.
* With every teacher, ask a question.
* With yourself, keep a list of your goals, positive thoughts and actions.
* Remember, you are what you think, you feel what you want.

what makes the future is the present.
if you feel in your heart that you are happy now, that thought will surely create a happy future for you! So, lets think positive!