Saturday 28 April 2012

The fact that I feel sad about the fact that I feel happy about working half day on Saturday makes me sad.

The fact that I feel sad about the fact that I feel happy about working half day on Saturday makes me sad.

I feel happy that I only have to work half day this Saturday.
But the fact that I feel happy to get half a Saturday off makes me feel sad, given that it's flanked by two 15-16 hour working days. And also the fact that "half day " actually means a normal 8-9 hour working day.
But the fact that I feel sad for myself makes me even more sad given that there are people working much longer hours in worse conditions than me. And there are people who would be happy just to have a job.

Perhaps I should rejoice that I get free meals when I work in the weekend
But the fact that I am rejoicing hospital food makes me sad.


Thursday 26 April 2012

The Thinker








Yesterday one of my good friends asked me to do a personality test. The Jung/ Briggs Myer personality test. I had done this before but didn't think much of it . But this time I read the interpretation of it.

My personality type is INTP

Introverted, iNtuitive, Thinking, Perceiving

Surprise surprise, the description fits me pretty well. Even the part about paying bills and dressing. Lol.


The Thinker


As an INTP, your primary mode of living is focused internally, where you deal with things rationally and logically. Your secondary mode is external, where you take things in primarily via your intuition.
INTPs live in the world of theoretical possibilities. They see everything in terms of how it could be improved, or what it could be turned into. They live primarily inside their own minds, having the ability to analyze difficult problems, identify patterns, and come up with logical explanations. They seek clarity in everything, and are therefore driven to build knowledge. They are the "absent-minded professors", who highly value intelligence and the ability to apply logic to theories to find solutions. They typically are so strongly driven to turn problems into logical explanations, that they live much of their lives within their own heads, and may not place as much importance or value on the external world. Their natural drive to turn theories into concrete understanding may turn into a feeling of personal responsibility to solve theoretical problems, and help society move towards a higher understanding.
INTPs value knowledge above all else. Their minds are constantly working to generate new theories, or to prove or disprove existing theories. They approach problems and theories with enthusiasm and skepticism, ignoring existing rules and opinions and defining their own approach to the resolution. They seek patterns and logical explanations for anything that interests them. They're usually extremely bright, and able to be objectively critical in their analysis. They love new ideas, and become very excited over abstractions and theories. They love to discuss these concepts with others. They may seem "dreamy" and distant to others, because they spend a lot of time inside their minds musing over theories. They hate to work on routine things - they would much prefer to build complex theoretical solutions, and leave the implementation of the system to others. They are intensely interested in theory, and will put forth tremendous amounts of time and energy into finding a solution to a problem with has piqued their interest.
INTPs do not like to lead or control people. They're very tolerant and flexible in most situations, unless one of their firmly held beliefs has been violated or challenged, in which case they may take a very rigid stance. The INTP is likely to be very shy when it comes to meeting new people. On the other hand, the INTP is very self-confident and gregarious around people they know well, or when discussing theories which they fully understand.
The INTP has no understanding or value for decisions made on the basis of personal subjectivity or feelings. They strive constantly to achieve logical conclusions to problems, and don't understand the importance or relevance of applying subjective emotional considerations to decisions. For this reason, INTPs are usually not in-tune with how people are feeling, and are not naturally well-equiped to meet the emotional needs of others.
The INTP may have a problem with self-aggrandizement and social rebellion, which will interfere with their creative potential. Since their Feeling side is their least developed trait, the INTP may have difficulty giving the warmth and support that is sometimes necessary in intimate relationships. If the INTP doesn't realize the value of attending to other people's feelings, he or she may become overly critical and sarcastic with others. If the INTP is not able to find a place for themself which supports the use of their strongest abilities, they may become generally negative and cynical. If the INTP has not developed their Sensing side sufficiently, they may become unaware of their environment, and exhibit weakness in performing maintenance-type tasks, such as bill-paying and dressing appropriately.
For the INTP, it is extremely important that ideas and facts are expressed correctly and succinctly. They are likely to express themselves in what they believe to be absolute truths. Sometimes, their well thought-out understanding of an idea is not easily understandable by others, but the INTP is not naturally likely to tailor the truth so as to explain it in an understandable way to others. The INTP may be prone to abandoning a project once they have figured it out, moving on to the next thing. It's important that the INTP place importance on expressing their developed theories in understandable ways. In the end, an amazing discovery means nothing if you are the only person who understands it.
The INTP is usually very independent, unconventional, and original. They are not likely to place much value on traditional goals such as popularity and security. They usually have complex characters, and may tend to be restless and temperamental. They are strongly ingenious, and have unconventional thought patterns which allows them to analyze ideas in new ways. Consequently, a lot of scientific breakthroughs in the world have been made by the INTP.
The INTP is at his best when he can work on his theories independently. When given an environment which supports his creative genius and possible eccentricity, the INTP can accomplish truly remarkable things. These are the pioneers of new thoughts in our society.






But looks like "Doctor" is not one of the INTP career paths..



Possible Career Paths for the INTP:
   Scientists - especially Physics, Chemistry
   Photographers
   Strategic Planners
   Mathematicians
   University Professors
   Computer Programmers or Systems Analysts
   Technical Writers
   Engineers
   Lawyers / Attorneys
   Judges
   Forensic Research
   Forestry and Park Rangers



But at least I am in good company...including Carl Jung the psychiatrist himself..


Famous INTPs







You can try this test here


http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/jtypes2.asp

You can interpret you result here

http://www.personalitypage.com/high-level.html

Let me know what you get!

Wednesday 4 April 2012

Guiness Book of Records Kampua! - Delta Cafe

The last trip I had back to Sibu, I went to Delta Cafe for kampua. If you don't know what kampua is.. ask me, maybe I will write an article on it. Anyway.. back to Delta Cafe...
Some say this is the best kampua in Sibu. This subject is always controversial, there are a few nominated candidates. Malaysians can be quite serious when discussing about which food is the best. ( Siburians are deadly serious about their kampua, no joke!). There is something special about this cafe though, the chef is a Guiness Book of Records holder!
But not for his food!
For being a Best Man!!




Wowsies, Mr Ting sure is a popular guy. Not just for his cooking skills but also for his best man skills.
I'm been a best man a few times but this man really takes the cake. 1445 wedding in 33 years, that about 44 weddings/year! Almost one a week! Nuts!
If you are wondering why he is the "best" man for so many weddings, I will explain a little. 
Being a best man in a chinese wedding is slightly different from a western wedding. The best man, is not always the grooms best mate, although nowadays it commonly is. The best man is responsible for a lot of the wedding proceedings. A bit like a marriage celebrant . He holds a very important role in conducting the "Tea Ceremony" and doing official speeches. Not speeches about the most embarrassing moments of the groom's childhood but the boring formal type, like " Mr HotShot the 3rd son of Mr and Mrs Bigshot, graduate from University of the Rich, professional Doctor/Lawyer is marrying beautiful and elegant Princess Fiona from the magical land of Far far away... that kind  "

Ok, back to the kampua

So I went with my family and we made our orders. I took a few pics of the man himself. ( the Best Man)



You will notice he wears a proper chef's hat and so does his assistant. This is real rarity in Sibu (and Malaysia) 
This shows his professionalism.


Our food gets served. I decided to go for a standard Kampua.  And a bowl of "bien nuk" soup. In other dialects I suppose this is "wonton soup".

How do u grade a kampua? This is really hard.. as you can see , not much goes into the noodles apart from bbq, pork and onions. The true flavours itself I suppose is the chef's secret, but typical ones contain lard.

Firstly, the wonton soup. The bien nuk is good and standard size. With a decent amount of meat. But what struck me the most was I could taste some chinese cooking wine in it. This is quite impressive given that wine in soup is usually reserved for special occasions like birthdays, CNY and such. But definitely I could taste it , confirmed by my family.

Now for the kampua itself. It did not disappoint. Definitely I would rate it among the best in Sibu, if not the best. How do I describe a kampus? It's tasty, very tasty,,.. the japanese might say Umami. The BBQ pork is quite standard compared with other kampua dishes in  Sibu. 
The kampua tasted even better with the chili sauce, yum yum..

Anyway, conclusion, Mr Ting is awesome, for 2 reasons. He has been the most popular best man in the world, and his kampua cooking skills are superb. He even wears a chef hat! Win!