Wednesday 31 August 2016

nothing easy

In this writing, I'm trying to explain my understanding of the concept of "heart-work".

And in understanding these, I hope to explain some few things in life:-

1. MLM(yes, multilevel marketing)/pyramid scheme/ponzi
2. why Engineers, lawyers, doctors or those who are considered as "professionals" are usually paid high salary.
3. the concept of honesty in working life.

First, as a Muslim, I believe in the Islamic way, but I think just preaching and hammering this view to others, might not be accepted or viewed wrongly, as people are diverse in their religion, background, etc.

Once, a junior engineer asked me the question in point 2, rather than telling him about Islamic view, I told him to read Adam Smith's view.

He's from  UTP and so I thought my idea suits him. It turns out it bores him to death, so in the end I just kept quiet and let him think and study for himself, for his own understanding. I'm not paid being his lecturer.

So, let us refer to Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations, where the views are academic and could be accepted whatever religion you are.

http://www.econlib.org/library/Smith/smWN3.html#B.I,%20Ch.8,%20Of%20the%20Wages%20of%20Labour 

http://www.econlib.org/library/Smith/smWN4.html#B.I,%20Ch.10,%20Of%20Wages%20and%20Profit%20in%20the%20Different%20Employments%20of%20Labour%20and%20Stock

I'll take excerpts here to simplify the reading :-

1. "The five following are the principal circumstances which, so far as I have been able to observe, make up for a small pecuniary gain in some employments, and counter-balance a great one in others: 

first, the agreeableness or disagreeableness of the employments themselves; 

 secondly, the easiness and cheapness, or the difficulty and expense of learning them; 

thirdly, the constancy or inconstancy of employment in them; 

fourthly, the small or great trust which must be reposed in those who exercise them; and

fifthly, the probability or improbability of success in them. "


2. Honour makes a great part of the reward of all honourable professions. In point of pecuniary gain, all things considered, they are generally under-recompensed, as I shall endeavour to show by and by.......

And the most important point :-

3. We trust our health to the physician; our fortune and sometimes our life and reputation to the lawyer and attorney. Such confidence could not safely be reposed in people of a very mean or low condition.
  
Their reward must be such, therefore, as may give them that rank in the society which so important a trust requires. 

The long time and the great expense which must be laid out in their education, when combined with this circumstance, necessarily enhance still further the price of their labour. 


 Point No. 3 is the answer to Question No. 2.
 
 Not only the Professional provide product or services, the most important thing that makes it "Professional" is the confidence of trust on the Professional's skills.

The higher pay reflects the trust on the ability of the Professional.

Hence, it is vital for Professional to maintain this trust, that's why we have Board Of Engineers, Board of Architects, (I don't know for exact for Lawyers, doctors, and other professionals)

I believe in this.

That's why economic collapse mostly starts at US Wall Streets where lots of execs got paid highly without actually offering any value added product or services.

Just words, twisting around the facts, beating around the bushes.

In economy, the driving force for labour should be the product or service.

If you acquire profit, not by offering service by product, but by recruitment, then it is wrong, no matter what you say.

MLM'ers try to mix things by offering both service/product, and profit by recruitment.

It will fail.

It is because Profit by recruitment cannot be counter back by the cost of products, unless you sell the goddam product at a higher cost.

Never ever involve yourself in an arrangement where the profit by recruitment is included.

It is not only dishonest in any religion-istic view, it will crumble too.


One MLM try to deceive me by promoting me skincare products.

Their explaination of things are never straight forward, not suitable for people like me who earn a living by reading construction drawings, tender specifications, technicals specs, etc.

But I'll be surprised should any engineers got cheated by MLM, or even join one.

Please respect engineering, please.



(video above just reminiscing my childhood..people will use this video to shoot my idea above but hell I don't care)

Note : One of the reason for me to continue writing this blog in English because English is not my mother-tongue, and it takes effort for me to write and think in English. A practice that should be helpful in my line of work.
You'll see grammatic errors.

Tuesday 30 August 2016

some stories




Here are just some stories I want to record down, so I can remember the wisdom or idea with it.

1. MOST ONG PEOPLE ARE SHIT, BUT THERE'S A LOT THAT'S SUPER-NICE

https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/4042267

When I came back from Dubai on 2009, the world back then was in a economic crunch due to US housing bubble.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_housing_bubble

I was back after 3 years stint in Dubai. and Unemployed for few months.

Somehow I was bloody lucky, when a friend offered me a job.

I was Mechanical-based, the job offer was Electrical QC. I just took it though.
The best thing was this job was in Bintulu, the MLNG 2 Bottlenecking Project.

You can read it here.
http://www.ivt.ntnu.no/ept/fag/tep4215/innhold/LNG%20Conferences/2007/fscommand/PS4_4_Shukri_s.pdf

I learnt lots of things there, high voltages power installation works.

But I was totally shocked with the attitudes of most Oil&Gas guys there.

Most are rudely proud and arrogant.

People who just embarass people, labelling people incompetent and shit.

That friend of mine who offered me the job, well he is humble, and even today he is still his old humble self even though his experience in Electrical-based ONG's job is older than most people I knew.

I had some brush-off with those proud guys, I don't want to tell into details of shit stories. But let me assure you :-

Build your skill. And avoid negative assholes.

The money you'll get will somehow gives you peace of mind in your home and your families.

And,

There's no need to tell technical things just to show off you know.
Engineers are paid to solve.

So just build skills so you can solve. There's no need to talk much.

And be humble.

At least people will still hold relationships with you dearly. You might need people sometime, somewhere, as much as I needed when I came back from Dubai broken in 2009.


2. NOBILITY

A story at my current project with the Koreans.

By the way, for info, I'm no longer Project Manager of the job anymore, I've been demoted to Project Engineer again but hell, I feel relieved.

Because the salary is still the same whether i'm PM or PE. (PE = project engineer). It's just a title to make things convenient for the company and the job.

Anyhow, the story here is about a Chinese guy who is younger than me, but which I adore and respect.

This guy, a Project Engineer, but went thru some shit like me, when he became acting Project Manager for his company.

And hell, he got screwed, pissed, humiliated, battered and bruised by the Korean Main-Con.
Daily.
In meetings, Whatsapp groups, sitewalk.

But hell, this guy persevere.

I watched him with adoration because I knew, if I'm at his shoes, I\ll just leave the bloody job.
(well, I did resign a few times but was persuaded again)

The most amazing thing, was few weeks ago.

His company was not up to par with the installation job at a certain area in the job-site. Ceiling tee was closing but his installation job was quite far behind.

I understand and sympathised, because I knew there's nothing much he can do.

What happen was, during the meeting,

he tried to answer professionally, but the grilling by the Main-Con and Architect was too great,

that,

The Architect (SO) kick him out of the meeting.

You know what this guy did?

He just stayed there. Keeping quiet trying to control his emotion. But stayed and kept silent.

The silence in the room was around 3-4 minutes. And yet he did not leave.

Somehow the meeting went on. But the Architect stopped referring to him and told him to shut up whenever he tried explaining.

And in the next two hours or so, he just stayed there in silence.

After two hours, The Architect wanted an answer to a site-problem, but nobody could answer.

This guy did not bother to answer as he was told to shut up earlier.

 The most fascinating thing was,

The Architect asked the guy how to solve the problem.

He stood up, sketch some detailed installation sketch and showed it to the Architect.

And he explained, the Architect listened and accepted his solution.

If I was that guy, I probably :-
1. Leave the room and gave the boss a resignation notice.
2. Or just say "don't know" when the Architect asked.

I knew then, this guy is somebody. He's not the average guy. He will one day do great things.

I knew of Three Kingdoms stories, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romance_of_the_Three_Kingdoms
and I likened this guy to Liu Bei.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liu_Bei

When I think of this guy, I remembered the story of how Liu Bei pretended to grow vegetables and avoid praises about himself.

http://www.blc.org.cn/EN/Pages/Ebook/EbookShow.aspx?ebookUniqueId=Ba201500112&currentChapter=6&ebookName=Romance+of+the+Three+Kingdoms&chapterCount=38&dbcode=EBOOKENGLISH&sysid=2&categoryCode=DZTS01&categoryName= 
(You can read the story above)

And so, as curious as a cat, I checked his background.

Even though he's young, the Company gave him also the responsibility of distributing salaries to some low-skilled workers who are paid daily.

Even my own Company did not gave me petty cash for this job.

After asking the supervisors and friends,

I learned that he is the son of one of the bosses owning his Company.

Sometimes, in life, you just meet with this kind of people who are bred in nobility.

I'm thankful to meet this guy.

He's different, like mountain and the sky, with another Chinese engineer which is working for the Korean Main Con.

His whatsapp is full of sarcastic and humiliation of people. He once snap a photo of his middle finger to some sub-contractor Company logo just because the job not up to par.

I don't respect this shit guy, even though he drove a Ducatti bike to work.

I guess the earlier guy will one day manage a Company, while the shit guy will probably just retire with his EPF savings.


The reading below is good.

https://alizul2.blogspot.my/2016/08/infographic-why-oil-prices-fluctuate.html

http://www.mr-stingy.com/3-people-i-dont-listen/

And two good things I found in Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/Elec.Eng.World/photos/a.120896594758536.19713.112282008953328/629635060551351/?type=3&theater 



https://www.facebook.com/suhaib.webb/?fref=nf



I don't bother commenting what happen in Malaysia lately, the small minor issues, about actress commenting about hijab/tudung, some abuse that happened at tahfiz, etc.

Because I believe,

Lose small minds, you'll free your life.

Life is a waterfall
we're one in the river,  and one again after the fall 

Swimming through the void
we hear the word
we lose ourselves
but we find it all.... 

'Cause we are the ones that want to play
always want to go
but you never want to stay 

and we are the ones that want to choose
always want to play
but you never want to lose 

Aerials, in the sky
when you lose small mind
you free your life 

Life is a waterfall
we drink from the river then we turn around and put up our walls 

Swimming through the void
we hear the word
we lose ourselves
but we find it all... 

'Cause we are the ones that want to play
always want to go
but you never want to stay

and we are the ones that want to choose
always want to play
but you never want to lose 

Aerials, in the sky
when you lose small mind
you free your life 

Aerials, so up high
when you free your eyes eternal prize

(Photo : Cover of Depeche Mode album "Some Great Reward" from http://dmuniverse.com/en/audio-cd/depeche-mode-some-great-reward-cd-dvd-59.html)