The Best and the Worst

My first update in 6 months! Whoopie!To start the ball rolling... I'll share with you the newspaper cutting I had since Form 5. It's pasted on my desktop monitor. =)

P.S: This is to test the time it takes for FB to import this into my notes. LoL

Chinese Dinners...

Checklist for Chinese dinners.

• Brandy, beer, whiskey and more recently, cheap wine
• Guests who shouts instead of conversing within the tolerable decible range
• Late guests who were supposed to arrive at 1900 but arrives at 2000. This results in the late serving of food that has been prepared since 1830. (Cold lotus leaf rice/roasted pork anyone? Oh, you'll gulp it down anyway cause you were starving!)
• Karaoke sessions by seniors who belts oldies which no one born before 1970's knows of. Plus, their singing encourages people to speak even louder! (refer to previous point)
• Relatives who are more interested in your marriage/relationship with your other half. They will take turns in interrogating your parents and yourself on the person you are dating as if they are going to spend the rest of their lives with your other half. Your life will be even more miserable if you are a female above 25 years old and not seeing anyone at the moment.
  
• Gossips on relatives who are not seated at your table
• Gossips on relatives who are absent (even if he/she just left for the washroom)
  
• Self-appointed director for the night. He/she will volunteer themselves to dictate how the toast and cake cutting ceremony should be. How to spot these individuals? They are usually the ones who instruct others on top of their lungs on how the camera angle should be, who should be toasting first, how to cut the cake... etc. Erm... i think you get the picture.
• Purpose of the dinner! Well... erm... not really. Who cares about reason for the dinner? Chinese dinners are avenues for old uncles and aunties to gather and get drunk. Heck, even funeral wakes are avenues for these old folks to gamble and do the things listed here. LoL.

Conclusion? Chinese dinners = another weak excuse for seniors to get drunk.

Resurrection...

Oh God... it's been forever since I last wrote in here. It's 0145 in the morning as I sit in front of my laptop pondering on what happened to my blog! I love writing down my thoughts and ever since I have started working, this has taken a back seat! Hmmm... If I were to say that I was too busy to update my blog, that is simply not true. I had ample time to do so due to the flexibility of my job. I have forsaken so many simple pleasures in life (such as blogging!) since I left MMU in June 2006. It's time I take some time to reflect on 2008 and start my 2009 with new resolutions and goals! Restarting my blog is definitely one of my 2009 resolutions! LOL.

I bid you adieu 2008... 2009~ Here I come!

It's Been Awhile...

Please be advised that this entry has expletives.

I used to be very temperamental person and my fuse was very short. At a moment's notice, I can transform from a mild mannered Uncle Chan to "You-don't-want-to-fuck-with-me" person. Hence, I was labeled as the PMS guy back in my early undergraduate days. Like they say, a person mellows with age but despite toning down considerably in my temper, I still had days when I blew up. My good friend Eugene Cheng can give testament to that. My temper even created discomfort amongst my close good of friends. All of that changed when my mum passed away in 3 March 2006. As I watched my mum drew her last breath, I knew life was too short... too short for me to be having so much anger and grudge against others. Soon after my mum's passing, I made it a point to apologize to all my friends. The first whom I seek apology from was Eugene. Thank God he forgave me and though we are not best of friends now, we are at least friends. From this experience, I have never blew my top nor did I hold any grudges against another person. It is also due to this experience, I have manage to handled rejections better. In fact, I have come to a point where rejections are not taken personally and it is only part and parcel of my line of work.

I have held steadfast to my belief that it is not worth getting angry or let anger control me until last Saturday... A series of events had happened for the past few years and I brushed them all aside because I knew this particular individual's behaviour. I didn't mind that he never liked the fact that I am not a hokkien-lang (hokkien clan). I couldn't care less with the knowledge that he disliked me because of my Christian faith (Oh, he did try to pass on some "bullet-proof" Buddhist charms to me which he claims can make me invulnerable to gun fire! Woohoo!). Unfortunately for me, I am not the type who will suck up to him or sweet talk my way through so that I can get into his good books. The treatment he gave me all these years... I took it in my stride. However, what transpired last week awaken my long sleeping demons; anger and grudge. When I found out on Thursday what his thoughts on me were, I was totally taken aback but I still manage to keep my cool. Such revelations can really hurt a person especially when it came from a person whom will be kin in the near future. The straw which broke the camel's back happened last Saturday noon. I went to his place to meet this individual who is very dear to me (who unfortunately stays with this asshole... for now). I was early and I didn't know the person whom I seek wasn't at home. So, I rang the bell a couple of times and out comes the asshole.

Me: Good afternoon uncle!
Asshole : ******* is not in! She's not in!
Me: I know, she's on the way back and she's almost here already...
Asshole : Ok ok...

And the asshole happily walked back into the house before I could utter another word. Leaving me standing under the 4pm hot sun for the next 15 minutes while I waited the return of my good friend. That really made my blood boil...

Now, here's a checklist;

He dislikes me for not being Hokkien ...
I can take it
He dislikes me for being a Catholic ...
I can still take it
He treats me like dirt most of the time while I am at his place ...
I can manage it.
He views me with disdain because of my profession ...
I can barely take it in... but still ok
He thinks I am a gold digger going after his assets...
This shook me a bit. I never thought he would view me as such even though I have known him for 7 fucking years and the fact that my family is much better off than his. However,I kept a lid on it and took it all in.
He can't even extend common courtesy to me and made me wait in the sun...
It may seem trivial, but that was really the fucking last straw.

If he was a friend of mine, I would have ended our friendship. If he was a client of mine, I will just cancel his policy and ask him to fuck himself. Unfortunately, circumstances made it as such I have to see his fucking face for the rest of my fucking life. Thanks asshole for this shit. If I have the opportunity, I would have said this to him;

Dear asshole, I wish you well and hope you change for the better soon. As far as I know, people like you tend to die a lonely death... since you would have pissed off your family and friends before you move on... Eh wait, what friends? I almost forgot that your definition of "friend" is "gold digger". Oh... my bad. Well, good luck to you and thanks for reawakening my friends "Anger" and "Grudge". The next time I beat them back into submission, I would have definitely become a better person. As for you, I can only look forward to see you die a slow, lonely and agonizing death. Cheers!

P.S: Pardon me for putting up such an entry this time. I really had to get it out of my system before I let Mr.Anger and Ms.Grudge overwhelm me.

Now I Finally Understood...

The last update I had was in September 2007 when I celebrated my first year in the Life Insurance business. A lot has happened since then which left footprints in my life; for better or worse. However, I can only share some of the more significant instances here...

When I started off in this industry, I never truly believed what my seniors and immediate officer Ah Hoon said that this is a noble and meaningful industry as well as it can only get easier. Back when I was still a newbie, all these statements seem very foreign to me. Nonetheless, I served all my clients and friends with utmost integrity and most importantly, sincerity. (Till a point my dear Adel complained that I did more for my clients that for her! Yikes! LoL. Dearie... I'm sorry for that!). After reading so many motivational books and attending a RM 4,000 seminar on the Power of Change back in January, I have learn to serve unconditionally and with utmost sincerity. In many instances, I personally experienced the joy of helping another (friends or strangers alike) with the explicit knowledge that this particular person has no means whatsoever to return the favour (I label it as unconditional giving). The joy I derived from this cannot be bought by monetary means nor can it be faked. Many thanks to Zig Ziglar for teaching me this very important lesson. Thanks to this concept that was hardwired to my work ethics, I've even received a Christmas card from a good friend cum client of mine all the way from Colorado Springs, U.S.A! I have pinned up this card in my room as a reminder that I must continue to apply the principle of unconditional giving.

The life insurance industry also thought me another invaluable lesson; job satisfaction. Of course, we all work to gain enough money to purchase material items in order to sustain ourselves. However, the events that occurred in the past 21 months opened my eyes that monetary returns is not the most important thing after all. Since I began serving, I have total conviction in what I do because I believe in adding value to people's life as well as the product I represent since it has helped my family during my mum's failed battle against cancer. Probably my conviction was translated in my work ethics and the positive response I gain from my friends and clients alike makes all my hardship melt away. The first incident that gave me immense job satisfaction came from a good friend of mine, Ms.R. She was the third person to start a life insurance policy with me back then. We met up at for lunch couple of weeks ago and I advised her to start saving for her retirement. I proposed her a suitable savings scheme and gave her time to think about it. A week or so has passed, she text me stating she wants to get it from her other half's cousin sister, whom is an established and reputable agent with Great Eastern as well. Due to the fact that she is a family relation to her boyfriend, she dare not say "no" to her. Understanding her predicament, we had a brief conversation and I politely asked her to think about it again. When I followed up on her decision, she text me with this ,

"Hi Nick! Been meaning to contact you but the past few days have been really hectic for me... about that conclusion, I already told A's cousin I'll be buying from you. So don't worry. I think it's the only right to do so. Plus you know my finances better..."

Reading this SMS gave me immense satisfaction. The way I interpreted this is she is willing to continue placing her trust in me to be her servicing agent despite being approached by a more established and related family member. The trust given to me... meant so much more to me than anything else.

The second incident happened last Wednesday during my visit to one of my clients in Midvalley Boulevard office. All along, there has been this Mr.T who is also one of my clients in that office. However, he signed up his policy with me because it was paid for by the company but he never really liked me. Each time I drop by this office, this senior manager will make sarcastic remarks at me such as,"Why are you here? I don't like seeing you here..." and each time he says such remarks, I'll just smile and try to make small chat with him. During my last visit to the office to help my client to make alterations to her payment mode, Mr.T walked into the conference room and again sarcastically said,"You're here again! We have no money to buy insurance from you la...". Again, I just smiled and chatted with him. Later, he came into the conference room we had this conversation;

Mr.T : Eh Nick, do you have any education plans that does not require payment?
Me : I sure do Mr.T. You'll have to start saving yourself and start paying yourself interest la.
*Mr.T gives me the weird look*
Mr.T : How about with RM 2 per month?
Me : Mr.T, be reasonable... do you expect there are free or cheap plans in this world?
*Mr.T laughs*
Mr.T : Alright... can you make me a plan for my two boys?
Me : Sure... how old are they?
Mr.T : Six and eight years old.
Me : What's your budget Mr.T?
Mr.T : What budget? Never thought of that before... do I really need one?
Me : Ok ok. Do you want to send them to University of London or just a local university?
Mr.T : Eh, their father also went to local uni... they won't need to go overseas la.
Me : Fair enough... but you want to enroll them in private or public university?
Mr.T : What difference does it make? Private Uni is better... it is in English
Me : Erm... I graduated two years ago from a private local uni and it cost me RM 60,000 on tuition fees. I expect it to grow beyond RM 100,000 when your children enrolls.
Mr.T : Wah... so expensive ah! Ok... You go prepare a plan for me la...
Me : Not a problem... do you have any existing insurance policies?
Mr.T : I think I have... but no idea where I placed the policies...
Me : To be fair to you, I can't just go make a proposal without knowing what you have. Why don't you pass me your children's policies so I can make a review. Only after that, I can prepare a plan that really suit your needs.
Mr.T : So much hassle? Ok-lah. Then the policy you sold me last time, what does it lack? Do I need to top up?
Me : Similarly, I still need to look at your existing policies before I make any recommendations.
Mr.T : Ok-lah. I will be away for a business trip in Bangkok the whole of next week... when I come back on the 19th, I will pass you my whole family's policies... you take a look at it.
Me : Alright... I'll give you a buzz when you're back.

(The conversation continued on with other topics. He then asked me to go to his room and we had a good half an hour chat after that)

I felt really great when I left the office. In my mind, I earnestly believe I have finally proven myself to Mr.T that I am a capable agent and he is now willing to place his trust in me to service his family. Though it was never easy taking in his sarcastic remarks... I'm glad I was able to prove to him that I'm not just another agent but someone who can truly add value to his life.

The third and most memorable incident came from a mother of a friend of mine. She rang me up the same Wednesday morning to ask me on home and commercial property fire insurance. Due to my preset appointments, I was only able to meet her at 11pm in the evening. We went through the documentations and once that was done, we had a brief chit-chat. After chatting a while, she started to share her worries about her children. Since I knew both her children, she told me to keep it to myself what she said that night. Imagine the surprise I had! I could never have imagined a 55 year old lady sharing her family worries with me (someone who can be her son! LoL). We continued chatting until 0030 before I took my leave. Again, the trust she had in me for her to confide in me meant so much to me...

It is little feedbacks like this that made me truly understand what my I/O said last time. Many thanks to Ah Hoon for bringing me into this beautiful industry. Many many thanks to all my friends and clients who placed their faith and trust in me throughout this 21 months. I vow to continue serving you to the best of my abilities. Cheers!

One Year...

Exactly a year ago, I resigned from my previous company and joined the insurance industry. It was on this same date, I stepped into my SG PJ Agency as a full time insurance agent and attend my very first morning meeting. In a blink of an eye, I am now "one-year-young" in this job and in the past few days, I have been asking myself over and over again, "It has been one year already? It sure feels as though I have just started work! Where did all my time go?". Man... time sure flies!! In this one year, I have learned so much more from the "public-university" (a university where society as a whole is your tutor/lecturer) that I would have never have learned while I was in Multimedia University. Despite the many ups and downs as well as the many challenges that were thrown at me, never once have I ever regretted choosing this as my career path. No doubt that I am still struggling (to a lesser degree now) with the fluctuating income, the experience that I have gained in this one year makes it all worthwhile because I know for a fact, money can never buy the experience I have gained.

Of course, I have made it this far in my career not by my efforts alone but through the many friends whom have extended assistance and support when I needed them the most. With this in mind, I thank God for this whole year that I have gone through as it has made me a better person and opened my eyes to the limitless possibility of the human capabilities. To my dad and beloved Adeline, many thanks for supporting my career decision and constantly giving me moral support whenever I was not on top of my game. Not forgetting my Immediate Officer (a.k.a supervisor), Ang Gaik Hoon, for your patience and guidance throughout this one year. To be honest, I didn't quite like the way she handled me initially because she was as blunt and straight-to-the-point as myself! It didn't go well at first as I was very uncomfortable with her style. However, as the months go by, I have seen the truth and wisdom in her guidance and it has changed the way I perceive her. Ah Hoon, many thanks again for your tutelage and I apologize for all the mistakes I have committed this year. I look forward to continue working with you in this industry!

To all my fellow friends whom have made the leap of faith and placed their trust in a rookie agent, I am deeply indebted to them. It is general knowledge that the first year is the "make-it-or-break-it" year which means an agent would either survive this year or quit the industry. In spite of this, these kind souls got their very first policy from me and thanks to them, I managed to sail through my first year in this industry!

Naturally, I can't forget to thank my university course mate and colleague, Allen Ong, for introducing me to this industry as well as my Groups Sales Manager (GSM), Kwek Chee Lee, whom have constantly motivated me with your pep talks. Till date, I enjoyed every single conversation I ever had with Chee Lee as he is one of the most positive individuals I have ever met (Whenever I had a conversation with him, he was always able to transfer his "positivity" to me!). To all my colleagues in SG PJ Agency, thank you so much for the knowledge and support you guys (and girls) have given me! The "thank-you-list" can go on indefinitely because I have so many people to thank! However, I am about to head to the airport to catch a flight to China and I have to cut it short for this entry (I will be away from 4th till 15th September). To end this entry, once again I would like to thank every individual out there whom have helped me throughout this short first-year in this industry. God bless you all!

P.S : In my previous post, 20 Ways To Impress Your Interviewer, I mentioned that I attended an interview with Financial Planning Association Malaysia (FPAM) for a scholarship in Certified Financial Planner (CFP) course. As if it was a gift to commemorate my first anniversary, I was told by Patricia from FPAM that I have been awarded the scholarship! Woohoo! My classes will start next month and in two years time, I will be a Certified Financial Planner! Wheee!!!

My Cyst...

About a month ago, my elder sister went for her regular pap smear test at a local hospital. As fate would have it, the hospital she went to was having some health check with the pap smear (it's in a package) and my sister took up the offer. To her surprise, the check up indicated that she had a cyst on her right ovary which has the dimension of 7cm by 4cm. The gynecologist then told my sister to return for a subsequent check up after her period. Few days ago, she went back to her gynecologist and was told that she need to have the cyst removed. By then, the cyst was already 8cm by 4cm.

On Friday 9am, she was admitted to Gleneagles Ampang Hospital and at 1130am, she had her surgery which took about one and half hours. I visited her at about 2pm but she was in no condition to speak to me since the drug has not worn off yet. Her beloved, Tom, who was with her the whole day had to return to my sister's apartment to grab some stuff and I stayed with my sister until the doctor who performed the surgery on my sister came at about 515pm. By then, my dad had arrived and Tom had returned and we followed the doctor to another room to have a look at the cyst. Initially, there was a bucket on the table (which is roughly the size of a KFC bucket) and two smaller bottles on top of it with some flesh in it. For a moment, I thought the doctor was going to take one of the smaller bottles and show us the cyst (it didn't register in my mind that the bottle could not have contained a cyst that is 8cm by 4cm). The doctor then put aside the bottles and opened the bucket. Lo and behold! He took out the cyst which shocked everyone in the room. It was the size of a freaking grape fruit! (Take a look at the pictures below!) The kind doctor went on to tell us that he had to perform something like a c-section incision to remove the cyst and from the initial observation, the cyst was not malignant. Of course, he also added that the cyst will be sent to lab for further tests and he can't be sure until the results are out.

The cyst which was the size of a grape fruit

As of this moment, my sister is currently recuperating in the hospital and she is expected to be discharged this coming Monday. The amazing thing about this is that my sister didn't even feel any pain or discomfort while she was having this huge cyst. Thank God that she went for her regular pap smear and check up else she wouldn't have known about it. This surgery cost her a whopping RM 10,000 and this does not include the room and board as well as other miscellaneous hospital charges. So to my dear readers, please... please (I can't emphasize this enough!) go for regular medical check ups as it might save your life!