Heart Space #5 : What A Busy Weekend

It was really a busy weekend for me. After several long days of work, last weekend boasted no rest. On Saturday, I have a nephew's 1st birthday, followed by a wedding on Sunday. This wedding, I had to be a "Brother" and a part time photographer for him, and of course being a Brother, means more driving around, waking early and running around.

Somehow I managed to survive the weekend, only to my dismay that a function is turned off on my camera, and well, the birthday bash pictures are heavily compromised. :( Luckily the wedding photos are not that bad, just a wee bit too dark. I borrowed a flash, and well, there was no way I can make it work harder... *time to get some more gadgets*.

I am posting some of the more decent photos I really liked after editing. "All the best in your marriage life, and may we see little Francis running around in a year's time."

Heart Space #4 : Level 5 Manager

I was confiding in my colleague, K, about my Old School thoughts:"If you are the project manager (or team lead), if your members come back on a weekend to do work, you should be present, regardless if you can help them or not."

His belief is that, "What's the point of the PM coming back when he is not contributing to the work that they are doing. Furthermore, isn't it wasting the PM's time to do so?, coming for the sake of coming. Everyone should be measured by their deliverables, and not whether they come back on weekends or not."

I do agree to certain extent with what he says. However, I believe this would work only in a very self driven environment, where all the employees are self motivated and committed to the deadlines. More often than not, the employees will grumble about the PM asking them to come back while he himself stays at home. No doubt there could really be no meaning, or purpose for the PM to be there, but I sincerely believe in leading by examples. If you are unwilling to come back, how could you expect that from your team members? In addition, by being there, guidance or clarification can be obtained immediately. Team members can also feel the commitment that the PM has for the project but most importantly, it fortifies the team spirit and bond, which the entire team is willing to go through it together.

Of course, I figured the higher you go, you can't expect yourself to be everywhere, every time. If you are so committed to every level of your reporting line, you will end up with no social life. (especially in IT line).

I wonder how many of you would agree with what I have said. My wife agrees with me, and I figured maybe because we came from a consulting background, and we know both sides of the coin; the PM who dictates the deadline and only questions "Is it done?", and the PM who is part of the phase, and asks "How is it going?"

Heart Space #3 : I Miss My Mum

I have wanted to pen this topic a while back, but just didn't find the time to do so. I thought I better get to it before work or some other thing got the better out of me.

I brought my mum to the movies on 7th September 2007 for a locally produced movie titled, '881'. The title is a loose translation into a dialect language for "Papaya" which evolves around the "Papaya Sisters" whom aspire to be 'Ge-Tai' singers.

This is not going to be a movie critic blog, and no doubt there were way too many "tried too hard" scenes, the movie did have its glorious moments. It was a wonderfully well-paced, scripted and heart warming story. It has been a while since I was really touched by a movie, let alone a locally produced movie!

It was also a first for me that I brought my mum alone for a movie date (my wife was there though). I did the same thing with my Dad on another occasion (Constantine, I think), in which he fell asleep halfway through. My mum is the very typical mum, works hard and takes excellent care for the family, not willing to go out and spend money on such stuff, so I was so surprised that she said “Yes” to my impromptu suggestion of the movie. However, my dad weren't too keen, and I could see the disappointment in my mum's eyes. Luckily, she is willing to forsake my Dad, and proceeded on with the movie.

During the show, my mum didn't eat the popcorn, nor had much to drink. She was completely engrossed in the movie, and I swear that I saw her cried. I was happy.. really.. that my mum is enjoying the drama in a big screen, for it has been more than a decade since she has gone into a cinema. She could really connect with the characters in the movie; singing along all the dialect songs; taking pity of the girls etc. Even after the shows, we could engage in a way that we hardly do... It was a feeling I haven't felt for a very long time.. and I feel that I miss my mum so much.

I really hope that there are more I could do than just this, for I believe that there are no better times for parents to enjoy life... than now.
Treasure what you have now...

Heart Space #2

Someone's status message reads "The greatest distance is the distance between 2 hearts"

I feel so hurt... for numerous reasons surrounding the same issue.
I am really really hurt... (lack of a better word) because ...

- You promised me... (not once, but many)
- I can do it... why not you?
- It has been like 5 months.
- You said you have tried... is it?
- I believe it's really a basic attribute...
- Talking about it to you, yields the same conclusion but only to be quickly forgotten.

I wonder how much of this I can take. Sometimes I just wanted to do it back at you... but I have never successfully done it, because it's just in me to do it... maybe because I am willing to. Does that mean that you are unwilling to? If so, that would be a larger problem...

I am so perplexed at this... guess love will have to be put to the test...