Today I got my project management certificate! I’m planning to start my Harvard Business School Leadership Program this week as well.
Because this December period can be a little quiet on the M&A front (deal makers, bankers and lawyers go on their Christmas breaks) it’s a great time to sharpen the axe a little and grind up a sharp edge. Because a professional who graduated yesterday but stops learning today will soon find himself irrelevant tomorrow.
Today I was asked “Who is your Best Friend + Why?“. So here’s a response of sorts!
Well, in life you’re likely to meet these 5 people:
1. The first crush. They leave an indelible memory.
2. The best friend. They’ve got your back no matter what.
3. The soul mate. You share everything with them.
4. Crazy in love. Like a moth to the flame, burned by the fire.
5. The life partner. The one you’d grow old with,
Some people are lucky to meet all 5. Some people find one person is 2/5 or 3/5.
@ummiabdullah you’re my 5 out of 5.
Every once in a while in a man’s life, he finds himself at a crossroads. Where one choice leads him down one path, and another choice leads him down a different. Two diametrically opposite choices, these two paths are as different to one another as yin is to yang, as East is to West, as internal is to external.
And so the drama that has unfolded over the last 4 months came to a head yesterday in a surprise development. I know that having options is good, but this was ironic. (more after the break)
To dance like nobody’s watching; love like you’ve never been hurt. Sing like nobody’s listening; live like it’s heaven on earth.
One of my friends in Brunei (`sup Fawwaz!) asked this very astute question on his Facebook profile.
Recently, D&L Partners, were engaged by AITI to conduct a study on the Networked Readiness Index of Brunei. D&L was founded by the two Directors of the INSEAD Elab faculty, and they have great credentials in this space.
So the question is … is Brunei ICT Ready?
My response was:
What do you guys reckon? Are we ICT ready?
D&L reckon that a change in the environment (market, political or regulatory) and the levels of public awareness and enthusiasm could improve our “Networked Readiness Index”.
This morning I spotted a forum thread talking about street photography in Brunei. The 1st post was about:
More discussion after the break:
Mark Whitacre: When polar bears hunt, they crouch down by a hole in the ice and wait for a seal to pop up. They keep one paw over their nose so that they blend in, because they’ve got those black noses. They’d blend in perfectly if not for the nose. So the question is, how do they know their noses are black? From looking at other polar bears? Do they see their reflections in the water and think, “I’d be invisible if not for that”. That seems like a lot of thinking for a bear.
The above quotation is copyright IMDB.
BruneiTweet launched his website and has an e-Interview of his first Follower on Twitter, which happens to be Yours Truly!
Grats on the launch of the new site, looking forward to some fresh modern content authored by one of Brunei’s up-and-coming stars in the social media space.
I think one of the best features of the site is the real-time mining of the Twitter stream for #Brunei topics. This is a great way for non-Twitter users to get a flavour of the current happenings in Brunei.
Eerie exchange overheard today in a podcast. Listen to 58:00
This harks back to the whole – Plato’s cave allegory in the Matrix.
Him: All right! Yes, machines are tools. They’re made to be used. It’s their nature…
Her: …To be slaves?
Him: That is why we show them a better world, why they convert!
Her: But that world we show them isn’t real …
Him: It doesn’t matter.
Her: I’m afraid they’ll figure out that we’ve made up everything in our heads.
Him: How do they know that the real world isn’t just another simulation? How do you?
Her: I know I’m not dreaming now because I know what it’s like being in a dream
Him: So dreaming lets you know that reality exists …
Unsaid: No … just that my mind exists. I don’t know about the rest!
image courtesy of 智熏 licensed under CC-by-nc-nd
On the way back from Parkway Parade to the condo, the cab driver loaded up the address of our destination in his GPS device.
“Which way do we go?”, he asked, jabbing a finger at the screen. “We follow Haig Road, which the GPS suggests, or we go down Tanjong Katong Road?”. The former is the more direct route, but is along a smaller road. The latter is a little bit of a detour, but is along a wider road.
“Lets just take Haig Road this time – we normally go down Tanjong Katong Road.” I reply to the driver, eager to soak up more of the local geography.
“But the GPS doesn’t suggest Tanjong Katong, hrm?” I wonder out loud.
“Life is a highway.” the Taxi man intones, radiating an aura of Zen and wisdom.
“We all start the same, and end up the same.” Meaning, we are all born into this world, confused, naked, screaming and covered in blood. And we all enter the after life the same – confused, sometimes naked, often screaming and quite likely covered in blood.
“It is the journey that is different.” Because although we all start the same and end up the same – one man’s path is vastly different to another’s.
Pure. Zen.
