The Joy of writing
I have to admit that the last couple of days have been rather edifying for me. What started as a desire to return to my writing last week turned out to be more complicated as I found out that my username and password for my blog had somewhat "changed". To be honest, I was quite surprised. I mean who the heck would want to even "hack" my account??
Anyhow, I managed to solve the problem sometime mid-last week but I gotta say that the "additional delay" in my writing splurge got me even more hungry to pen my thoughts down. I guess that's what happens when you have to wait for something you really want a little longer isn't it? In anycase it's great to be writing again.
And this time, I have begun to just develop a more-free flow writing style. In the past I was quite adamant that my writing style be of the highest quality as my goal was to use my blog to improve on my writing eloquence. Well, when you have that sorta pressure breathing down your neck, it's quite obvious the mood to just generally write also diminishes with it, as you start thinking that "nothing I ever write will be of worthy publishing and for people to read".
But the truth of the matter is, when you write from the heart, as the heart is not bounded by rules, so it will also reflect in the craft that is being produced, in this case your writing. And when you write with such joy and passion, those feelings are echoed and shared in the words. And that's what I call "the joy of writing".
The ability to just freely express yourself through words and later share those stories with those around you is something I have found to be quite valuable and its something that I do treasure deeply. It also helps clear the mind as once the thoughts are hard-coded into something tangible, the mind is able to freely "let it go" without much difficulty and begin to process newer thoughts and ideas.
Ahh, to have finally rekindled that joy of writing once again...
What’s in a name?
I am halfway reading through Jefferey Archer's "Kane and Abel" and I just finished reading the part where George Novak proudly tells Wladek that when he goes to America, he is planning to change his name to make it sound more "english sounding" versus his current polish name (Jerzy Novak). It just got me thinking how easily people can just change their names. I have had friends (chinese ones) who could easily change their names and could pick their own english name to suit their whims.
Ever since I was young, I could never understand why my name (my real one) was so long. It's not that it bothered me anyway, but I often would wonder how could I make my name shorter so that people could remember me better? My attempts to make my name shorter didn't happen anyway. In school, I would introduce myself normally, without trying to "style-up" my name or tell people "my name is so-and-so, but just call me <a-much-shorter-name or a nickname> would be fine!"
It never did occur to me that I should even bother to make my name shorter or more easier for others to remember. To me, I always felt, if a friend wants to remember me, he or she would make an effort to remember my name. If he/she can't remember my name, or at least try to make an effort to learn how to say my name properly, then I don't think he/she is serious in being a friend to me. If people found it difficult to pronounce my name, I would obligingly teach them, as to me I was always taken up by people who always took the effort to learn how to say my name. As for the rest, well I just didn't bother!
This cardinal rule of mine worked well in university (which explains the number of "close buddies" I had anyway), but when I reached workinghood, it sorta changed. I didn't still feel the need to shorten my name so that people would remember me better, however this time around I DID feel the need for people to remember me. Not so much because I wanted them, but simply because I know that it would help in building better relationships with them. If a name is too much to remember, people (especially career folks) would have a higher tendency to forget you. And when they have a tendency to forget you, well that's not really good anymore.
Of course, if you rationally think about it who cares what your name is as long as
- Your name is not a bad-sounding word
- You are friendly and are nice to people
- You are good at what you do
However sometimes I feel it doesn't hurt to have a cool sounding name 
But oh well, I guess at the end of the day, a name is just a name, but how you live up to that name (or your name) is far more challenging and more in your control versus changing your name.
Wake up call for our country
July 9th marks a very significant point in our history. A rally to push for the cause of freer elections and other mandates. Offices called it an early day in the city center today as many employers urged their staff to head back home to avoid the roadblocks and traffic jams.
As I was making my way back home it got me thinking about why this whole campaign even came into being. Why was this rally even happening in the first place? I was asking myself thinking, on the way back from work yesterday. For years now, the citizens of this country has been growing restless with the state of affairs with our government. And it's really quite sad. Like most Malaysians, I have been following the rally's progress over the last couple of weeks. More specifically, I have been observing the Government's response to the situation and it has been disappointing by large measures.
First off, I don't see why the Government is so against the rally? Apart from the "security issues" that the rally could pose, what is wrong in having a rally that is focused on promoting freer elections and fairness in the media? Doesn't the country want a fairer and a more just society and isn't it that the duty of the elected government to ensure this happens?
The vary fact that the government has been trying to use all tactics to stop this rally just goes to show that there is something really wrong with our country's leaders today. I mean just this whole week, we have seen the PM proposing for the rally to be held in a statidum so that "they can shout all the want in the stadium and leave peacefully" and also the King reinterating that it would be best to have the demonstations in the stadium.
Both messages have been receieved well by the rally's steering commitee but then why is the government then putting all stops to ensure the rally doesn't happen? Why is the Minister saying that it's still illegal to hold the rally despite the king's approval and consent?What kind of message is the Government sending out to it's people when it does and says things like this? Where is the justice and fairness in this?
And to say that the Government is rejecting the permits for ALL kinds of demonstrations is hardly effective because the rally is not a politcal entity. Other political entities should not simply have a counter-rally movement just to prove a point. The mandate made by the rally calls for freer elections and fair use of media, not to topple the government or anything like that, so what's the big issue? Doesn't the government want to promote justice and fair usage of media?
What saddens me I guess the most, is that the Government COULD have used this opportunity to raise to the occasion by supporting the campaign through letting the organizers schedule their demonstrations in a peaceful manner. The government could have still maintained it's security measures while at the same time allowing the rally to go on smoothly. But alas, this is complicated by the fact that we have other counter-rallies that the political parties want to embark on and thus giving the government "no choice but to be equal to all" and just reject all permits.
So in a way, this rally is good. It sends a message to the government that the rakyat is NOT happy with the way things are going. Perhaps the Government should just take heed and use this rally as a learning platform to improve itself and it's image.
Or maybe perhaps it's time the Government goes..
