Envision

Having a mini garage-sale right here. Well, there is, of course, no garage; so it should be a web-sale!

Selling these second-hand stuff for a relatively LOW PRICE! Get it before others do! I've already got buyers queuing up for these stuff. SO, GRAB THEM!

Contact me for more details. You should know me, if you're reading this blog, so... haha

Best Tech Buy #1...

BENQ Wireless Keyboard and Mouse

Original price: RM 69  RM 35

Best Tech Buy #2...

Samsung Bluetooth Headset

Original price: RM 139 RM 59

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My father once told us a story. This story, on the surface is nothing much, but it symbolises a deep meaning within. Here it goes...

Bill Gates, the richest man in the world, invited China's president Hu Jintao for a dinner. In this meal, Bill provided the president with a fine-dining western-style dinner with three courses: appetizer, main course and dessert. A simple meal, albeit from the richest man in the world. 

Bill asked Hu: "Are you full?" and Hu nodded, adding that for Western food, just enough will do.

In return, the president then invited Bill to a dinner when Bill went to China. Instead of the classy, subtle Western style, Hu ordered a table full of Chinese delicacies. Abalone, shark fin's soup, and plenty of meat filled up the entire table. Bill asked the president, "how can we finish all this?" Hu said, "if you can't finish all, nevermind. It's important we try every Chinese delicacy when you are here."

"Isn't just three or four dishes enough? Like you said, enough will do?" Bill bombarded Hu. He just realised, the richest man in the world treated him to such a simple dinner, but he called on a payload of dishes, ready to stuff the Microsoft boss with food. Who does he think he is? It was in his blood, in his culture to feast that way. Hu was caught speechless.

Ever since the 90's, China's economy soared after they opened up to the world, cancelling out the communist enclosed rule. Investments worldwide poured in. Before this, China was a relatively poor country with little cash flow due to the overwhelming population. Due to this economic boom, Chinese businessmen suddenly got rich, and they don't know where to splash their cash.

One way of doing this was to imitate the emperor's meal we often see in TV series. The all-powerful emperor would order a table full of rare and expensive delicacies to feast upon. Chinese businessmen probably want to do the same, savouring all types of food. For over a decade, this had become a culture.

When I was there not long ago, I asked the tour guide, why do they order so much food, and leave so much unfinished food. She explained, "If you order a portion just enough to fill your stomach, it is peer pressure that brands you not rich, and suppreses your social status. If  you wipe the table clean of remaining food, it is again, peer pressure that makes you seem like a hooligan who hasn't eaten any food for the past three days."

Such a waste of food should not occur anymore in this world!

But of course, the Chinese got rich all of a sudden, and splash their cash in this. This shows that their mentality are still third-world. Look at Europe. They are rich, but they do not spend their money on wastage of food. It is a bad investment which causes more people living in poverty to die of hunger. By the time the next generation of Chinese take over, hopefully their status as rich and high social calibre would cool down, and begin the first-world mentality shown mainly by the British and the French.

The wastage of food shows how barbaric they really are, as citizens of their very own civilizations.

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One thing in this world that intrigues me the most is the Japanese.

Not because of their obsession for their emperor, not because of their rich cultural heritage, it's their spirit in them that led to great success worldwide in terms of economy, technology and military.

Little was known about the Japanese before World War II. All the world knew was that it was a relatively small nation with big population, with an all-powerful and influential emperor and rich cultures. Soon, their nation became so powerful in economic and military prowess they began waging warfare against the powerhouses of the West.

No, they weren't strong enough to defeat the West. They were blown into dust by two atomic bombs. It might have levelled the infrastructure and shattered their morale right to the core, but it didn't nullify their spirits.

This is something I like calling the samurai spirit. The samurai have so much honour in their duty they are willing to die for their own honour and most of all, the emperor.

Rebuilding their nation wasn't an easy task at all. It was the mentality in the Japanese, the willpower to regain their lost pride. Within thiry-odd years of rebuilding the infrastructure and economy, Japan became the second-largest economy in the world.

After World War II, the Americans' economy flourished the most. It was an advantage to them after defeating Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. Investments poured into Wall Street. But on the other side of the world, Japan had to start from scratch.

For now, Japan are superior in technology and economy. They have learnt a fine lesson through the war and now, alongside the engineering/automobile superpower Germany, they have gunned their way through the ranks of economic growth. The fact that among three of the world's largest economic powers, Japan and Germany lie second and third respectively, and both nations had to begin from scratch after the war.

Former premier Mahathir Mohamad once told Malaysians about looking to the East (Dasar Pandang ke Timur), looking at the Rising Sun. Look at the spirit of Japan.

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