Saturday, August 29, 2009
Title: When the tuff gets going..
i dont come from a wealthy family.neither do i dont grow up with a lot of luxury items around me...i had my 1st nike sneakers when i 17..dat too i bought it from working as a park attendant during my poly school break..my 1st levis at 17 as well.. (if i get the facts right here) also from working as a part time attendant...and believe me i only had my 1st gucci shoe and mont blanc accessories recently.that too, courtesy of my dear wife.. i never step foot inside a designer store till i met my wife and i never bought anything from a designer store till i was wif her as well..laugh if you want too but it was life that taught me that way...i always have the mindset of "if i cld get the somthing of the same function for a lower price..why not?"
my late dad worked as a police officer and he often had to overtime and work extra hours so he could bring back JUST enuff for us..that too at times, things at times were insufficient.he packed his food everyday from home..back then i always tell him to buy..i didnt understnd how tuff life was for him..
as a child ,too, i always envied children that has bigger houses,a hot shower in their bathroom, lots of toys,who gets $2 to school instead of $0.50 and many more..i remembered those cries as a kid when i wanted a toy soo bad and dad couldnt afford it..toys were more of rewards back then for studying really hard...in primary school days, toys were the only reasons why i studied really hard..ocassionally, my late aunt would get me toy or two..n that was it...as a kid you dont undestand the value of hardship or how tuff life is for your parents to make end meets...
" ayah belikan kalau kau dapat top 5 dalam kelas" ( "dad will buy you if your the top 5 in your class") ....that was my motivation...it was tuff..neither was i a born genius till i was primary 4 where things suddenly got clearer...fractions,multiplication, grammers,nouns and things that were soo tuff b4 got easy..i understood all of it always got the 1st 3 in class..i got my Optimus Prime at primary 4..my fav toy that i eyed for years...it came with the back cargo trailer wif a car and a gun to it..i always cherish that n wished i still have it rite now..
then in secondary, things were different..it was tuffer..$3 a day? what can u buy?its either i eat during recess or save it for lunch remedials later plus there were the class funds,worksheets to pay n all that stuff. tuff to make do wif $3..i often ask for more from my mom which would end up she arguing wif my dad...most of the times..i skipped recess to save up for after school remedials..if im too hungry, i just have bread and coke..which cost about $0.80 which leaves $2.20 for after school remedials or soccer..that was for 4 yrs in sec school..i got several scholarships and bursaries which were used wisely...
poly..was either $4 or $5 a day..barely enuff, as cost materials are much more expensive..still i envied my poly mates who has cash to spare for movies and mcdonalds and many more that were considered "luxury"...i dont wear levis tees or jeans, i dun carry designer bags like my poly mates back then but only wore cheap jeans with no brands,carried a nike bag that i bought from working at Revenue House while waiting for my Os results..it was tuff when you have rich classmates that sits at starbucks, coffee beans each time during breaks...i wanted to work part time after schools but my dad would never allow me to as he kept telling me it was his responsibilities and i am only allowed to do so during term breaks..that was when i bought my 1st few "luxury" items...working as a park attendent or in factories..
while all time, i did learn to save up and as i grew older, understood how tuff earning a living is..
things were smooth when i got my 1st real work as a service engineer.$1.5K..i manage to put aside money for savings, mom, trsport and some entertaintment..till dad got really sick...took too many leave to take him to and fro the hospital that eventually my pay was cut..n i still remember when he told me he had not enuff to pay up for the M.R.I and CT scan which amounted up to certain amount..sis forked out 500 and i forked out the remaining..almost half my savings wiped out in a day..
when he got admitted, things got tighter..it got worse when he past aways..bearing the guitly fof makingthe final decision was already tuff,the unpaid leaves left me only wif $900 to take home...only god knows how tight was it everyday...at work, things were not any better as ppl started to complain about me not being there n eventually situation forced me to resign...that was one of the tightest and down moments in life..i will remember it always..juggling emotional , mental n finance challenges....i got out of it and eventually things improved..
looking back, i do know what he meant when he said "you will only know when you got thru it"..dad grabbed my hand n showed a thumbs up saying "i can do it" before moving on.i managed to talk to him one nite b4 he passed away on what he told me the sacrifies he made..as a child i didnt understand what a husband and a dad has to do......
now,im married now to a lovely woman n i finaly understood what a husband has to sacrifies.i am prepapred to give up my own pleasire for my wife. it was my promise to her..i have my own company n despite the problems i face and mistakes made in this venture, i have learnt dearly and making things right...it gona take some time..a month or two, max 3 to get back things running up...but what life taught me...i should persevere when you believe you gonna make it...n thats what i do..cos at the end of the day...its past experience that made me wiser and stronger...n i will get thru tis even when the goings gets tuff...
to my mom: thank you for your patience and all the hardships you got into in bringin me up..i love you..
to my late dad: its true. only when you are in it, you understand..n im prepare for things to come..i wont give up cos it my promise to u to uphold the name..i love you..
to my wondeful wife: my source of inspiration...her patience will be paid off insyallah..im sorry for any "kekurangan"...it will improve and we will avoid making the mistakes we made in the company..im working what i promised you. i love you..
with love,
me
Rest My CaSe at 12:27 PM
