5 Questions

1. Rambutans. Whats up with that?

I hate Rambutans… they are hideous hairy-testical-like appearance doesn’t appeal to me at all… they attract ants… they’re not tasty and worse of all THEY GET STUCK IN BETWEEN YOUR TEETH *grins* Yucks!!! I don’t eat rambutans… even out of the can… I only take one at most (when I feel really obligated to; like when my aunt or grandma serves them).
Rambutans are seasonal fruit… bla bla bla

2. You're currently running your own business while also pursuing your masters - would you have any advice (based on your experiences, good and bad) for those of us out there who might also be thinking about setting up our own business one day?

Hmm… the first question was easier 
I would say yes. While it may sound glamorous to be a young business owner, running a business is not always smooth sailing. One has to get used to ‘square one’ as business deals, more often than not, will lead you all over the place and leave you standing back where you started before you even realize it. There’s always people just out to get your money and take advantage of you. While people who work for you try to squeeze as much from you by putting the least possible effort, people whom you work for will try to make you work as much as humanly possible for the least amount of payment. It’s always the case… of course the scenario worsens especially because you are young (and hence thought to be inexperienced…) and viewed as the spoilt-snot-nose-know-nothing-brat who is lucky enough to own the company and trying to beat seasoned players at their own game… so it’s always best to try and listen before you react. You’ll be more respected and if you have some advantage over them (e.g. being the son of a bloody rich oil tycoon, being royalty, a member of the Mafia or even being the son of the Prime Minister), don’t be shy to throw your weight around to get your way… hey, even if you don’t do it… everyone will automatically assume that you do, so you might as well gain something from it. Also there’re always risks involved when talking about business… unlike the working life, where you can expect a paycheck safely and nicely credited into your account at the end of every month (whether you are doing your work, or not … as long as you don’t get caught slacking off that is…. and whether the company is running at a loss or not … and whether there are problems that the company has to face…) being the owner of a business means you have to think about your company all the time and there are good times and of course bad times as well… basically you are your own motivation… if you don’t get things done, you don’t get paid… simple. Also, if you are not careful, you’ll end up being conned and getting law suit for ten million dollars… basically, you take care of you own ass!
Actually, being is business owner is not all bad… at the end of the day… when a project is done and accomplished; no matter how little you make; the accomplishment is all yours… the company is all yours… those people walking about outside your office all work for you, and that five digit Director’s allowance plus a Gold Credit Card for Entertainment Expense… all yours… *smiles*
As for studying… well, I graduated as a Chemical Engineer and I feel that even though I am a business owner I haven’t accomplished enough; career wise that is. Since I am my own motivation; I run my own time; pursuing my academics is purely motivated by that desire to accomplish something as an engineer. In my particular case, I want to be able to teach engineering one day… money isn’t everything after all… so… like this, I get the best of both worlds… or at least I am struggling to get the best of both worlds.
Ermm… what was the question again?! Oh okay… I am still within scope… *wink* so to sum it all up…
If you feel the calling to stop doing the things your boss tells you to do and have acquired enough ‘balls’ to start up your own business… DO SO!!! Just make sure you listen to the right people and always consider the consequences before you make a decision. You won’t regret it.

3. You love cooking! What is the best dish that you have EVER tasted (and if you know it – what’s the recipe?)

Ah… this question is more fun… let’s see…
I like to chomp down a lot of things… I don’t know if this qualifies as a dish… but I like to eat Banana Chocolate Muffins. The rich chocolaty taste… hehehe
And it so happens that I know the recipe by heart.
Here it goes:

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
(Makes 12 large muffin)
Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoon double action baking powder
3 eggs
1 ½ cup caster sugar
1 ½ cup corn oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ½ cup milk
2 banana (sliced)
1 cup Chocolate Chips
Pinch salt
Method:
Preheat oven to 240 degrees Celsius. Sieve together flour, cocoa power and baking powder in a bowl. In another bowl mix milk, sugar and corn oil and lightly mix. In another bowl lightly beat eggs. Fold in eggs into the milk-sugar batter and lightly stir. Add vanilla and salt. Pour in the flour mix and Chocolate Chips into the batter and lightly stir just until mixed (DO NOT OVER STIR!!!). The batter should be a little crumbly. You may add some nuts if you want but if you do, you may want to fill the cups to the top because you may have extra batter. Spoon batter (do not pour) into the muffin cups (large) in the muffin tray, half full; put a few slices of banana and top it up until almost full (it doesn’t rise much). If you want your muffins to spill out like Mrs. Field’s Muffins, fill to top. Place 2 – 3 slices of banana on the top of each muffin. Bake in oven for 25 minutes or until stick comes out clean when poked into the muffin. Cool on rack.
Muffins are generally good enough to take as it is with coffee or tea. But if you could spare the calories I have a few suggestions on how to make the dish even tastier. Serve muffin with vanilla ice cream and pour heavy cream or whipped cream. Add chocolate fudge if you really don’t mind the calories. Cherries can be added to.
Gosh I sound like some cookbook. Anyways, try this out okay. And if you have any question, just drop me a message or give me a call.
Ok next question.

4. Egypt and Jordan, amongst other places, are mentioned as places where you've lived before. How does life in each of the places you've been to compare to here in Malaysia?

Oh okay… this is a long one…
We’ll start with Egypt. When we moved to Egypt I was quite young (like 11 years old) thus quite open to the changes in lifestyle. Life there is different in every way so where do I start… Hmmm… well, when I move around, I find myself adapting to the local lifestyle. The first thing I picked up in Egypt is how to ask around. Life started as a tourist at first, not being able to speak Arabic and most people there are not able to speak English. So life is different in the way we communicate. We always become more visual when we live in a country with a foreign language, until you pick up the language at least.
Then there’s the family issue. Life in Egypt was life without family. No cousins and uncles. There weren’t that many Malaysians as well, so we had to adopt the diplomats and people who worked at the embassy as family and friends.
Hang on… this question is getting hard… Hmm…
School was different. We went at 8 and left at 3:30 in the afternoon. The teachers taught in English and most of our friends were Arabs, although my best friend was an English boy named Hasona… we started in school in autumn, so that like late September there, and go to school until late spring (late May). We are off in the summer. It’s too hot in the summer anyways. It never rains (it’s the Sahara. Duhhh) although we get sandstorms more frequently in winter. If it does rain (once every few months or so) it’ll be declared a public holiday. The roads will be too muddy and it’d be very dirty everywhere.
Food was different too… the food in Egypt is more Mediterranean… tomatoes in everything. Everything is so cheap. And everything can be bought. If you had money you are king. You can pay someone to do anything for you. Our apartment was nice. It’s not too big but we had a good view of the three Great Pyramids of Giza. We see them everyday.
This is beginning to sound like some old grandma story… *sigh* I don’t think it’s what Pat had in mind…
Jordan was a nice place… we had a nice villa with a very beautiful garden… we had peaches, roses, figs, grapes, iris and my very own vegetable garden. Jordan is a rich Arab country… basically everyone there is well off… well, mostly. It snowed it winter. Hot in summer.
I’ll try to sum it up…
Egypt is more money oriented. Everyone is conscious about where they stand in the society. Life there is hectic, crowed and dusty… people were everywhere… and everyone is a mr-know-it-all. It’s simple, bottom-line; you have money in Egypt, you are King.
In Jordan, everyone is rich so people don’t really care. They tend to ask about family background because coming from a good family would give someone a high level of credibility. It’s quiet in Jordan, basically everyone know everyone else.
In Istanbul, it’s very quick paced. Istanbul is a fusion of modern Europe and the old arab-like style people. I dunno… you don’t need a car in Istanbul because the public transport is so efficient. It gets really cold in winter but it doesn’t snow there. We lived in a duplex penthouse there with our own rooftop. We saw the sea from there. It’s really quite nice.
Back in Malaysia, I am all grown up. I have to go to the university, and I have to go to work. Life is all work work work… so you see that’s why I have a hard time comparing… *sobs* I want to go back to Jordan….

5. Assume that you could endow yourself with any superhero like ability - what would you take and why?

I guess I’d choose the power to control weather… like Storm in X-Men. Why? World peace…. I’d be able to stop wars with the power of the weather…nahh… actually, I’ve always imagined that it’d be really cool to be able to whip up your very own blizzard and summon ten tornadoes… it’s like all powerful or something like that… *some names of people whom I’d send the tornadoes to runs through my head* ~evil laughter in the background~


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