An Evaluation of Avillion Admiral Cove

I liked to give an evaluation of hotels that I have stayed over. This would allow me to: (i) review my choice (and ascertain that it has been the right one), and (ii) assist travellers in making their choice of accommodation (and yet enable me to be a step closer to being a hotel critic). My evaluation of Avillion Admiral Cove would consist of 3 PLUSes and 3 MINUSes:

Plus: SPACIOUS - The Premium Room I stayed in was spacious. I liked the size of the room, which measured 41 sqm, as it allowed me to be messy, without having the feeling of over-crowdedness.

Minus: DIRTY - The bed sheet and blanket were filled with stains. Whilst the rest of the room seemed clean, there should have been a consistency in the level of cleanliness. I wished that the hotel could carry out an entire change of bedsheets and blanket covers.

Plus: OCCUPIED - The facilities of Avillion Admiral Cove made me feel at home. Several activities, such as swimming, sun tanning and KMX, kept us busy. In addition, there were other activities, such as fish-feeding, boat ride, cycling, etc. Indeed, one can be fully occupied in this hotel, without leaving the resort.

Minus: JACUZZI - Having spent significant time in the pool, it was an embarrassment for such a huge hotel – to have spoilt Jacuzzis. Every of the 20 Jacuzzi Jets was closed and covered. Dirt seemed to have formed there and I wondered if the management is aware of its incomplete water facilities. The staff, when queried about the Jacuzzis, replied that there were no Jacuzzis around. Either the jets have been spoilt for so long that they are inexistent or the staff are so poor in their command of the English language that they gave an inapt answer.

Plus: FRIENDLY – Our hotel stay was a pleasant one as we noted efforts by staff to be friendly towards their guests. There was an instance, where a new staff went beyond her call of duty, to explain how we can explore PD Waterfront. Checkout was fast and smooth too.

Minus: WIFI – There was limited TV channels & no room WiFi. Considering that this is a resort far from other amenities, it has to self-adequate. However, it was sorely lacking channels & programmes. In addition, there was no room WiFi. Hence, whilst there were facilities to keep on entertained in the daylight, the same cannot be said for the night.

A Job or a Career?

I asked myself - why am I getting frustrated at work lately? Why do I become irritated at how people reply me or go about doing their tasks? An Eureka moment striked me and I realised that how people treat their work will affect their outlook and attitude to work. I was simply disturbed at how they treated work as a job, and not a career.

A job is an activity through which an individual can earn money. It is a regular activity in exchange of payment. When colleagues do that, they come to work without passion. I see those lacklustre eyes of my colleagues - often finding excuses not to carry out tasks or merely carrying them out only at their convenience.

A job is carried out without feelings. Recently, I experienced colleagues who followed guidelines without interpretation. Without understanding the context of rules, which are created by humans themselves, they become mere robots - no different from a machine executing these transactions.

A job is “safe”, as stability of work and income is there. With a mentality of 'if it ain't broken, why fix it?', several colleagues are not willing to change their old working ways - when guidelines change, when efficiency calls for it, when gaps are found, etc.

A job or a career - I asked myself... Maybe as I treat this as my career, I should either change their perspective or accept that these are old dogs who will never learn new treats...

Port Dickson - Will there be an airport?

Being an airport analyst, I am studying the prospects of whether Port Dickson will ever build an airport. In a ever-changing world, where airports bring people closer together, I do wish that the answer is a YES. However, my logical mind tells me why this might not be the case. Here are the reasons:

1. Presence of Nearby Main Air Hub - Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL) is Malaysia's main international airport. Being huge in size, it is more than sufficient to perform its role as an air hub and yet allow passenger traffic to & fro Port Dickson. KUL is only 50 km away from Port Dickson, making it approximately an hour drive to get us from the airport to the beach.

2. Current Passenger Profile - A significant number of beach-goers are currently from the main capital of Kuala Lumpur. Trapped by the bustling city's pace of life, Port Dickson provides an outlet for the residents and expatriates who stay there. Separated by 90km, it is only a 1hr 20min drive to get there.

3. Competing Domestic Airports - There are 2 domestic airports - fiercely fighting for its own domestic share of the market, namely Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang being only 95km (1h 25min) away and Melaka International Airport being only 100km (1h 25min) away. With these 2 airports surrounding Port Dickson, it is difficult for this town to crave out a significant market share.

4. Low Local Population Density - Tin ore was plentiful in Port Dickson district during the 1820's, and it attracted Chinese immigrant miners. Over the decades, Port Dickson evolved into a busy trading centre, whilst preserving the beautiful beaches. Trading has since stopped and the town's population is currently

approximately 95,000 people. Compare that with Melaka, which has double the population, and we can estimate the possibility of a new airport.

However, I still wish for the impossible to happen. For that to occur, an internal revival is necessary. The question is whether any one will take on the risk to make that huge investment to plant the seed of a town into a jewel in the air.

非诚勿扰 - Facing the Harsh Reality

I watched 非诚勿扰 and am pretty intrigued by the show. Initially, I was intrigued by the proceedings of the show - such as how the guys introduce themselves and how the girls eliminated the guys one after another. After some time, I got the hang of the show, but continued to watch, because there seemed to be interesting variations, such as how handsome guys walk off empty-handed or the occasional 爆灯 by one of the 24 female contestants. I liked to watch the harsh reality of an online dating game and these are reasons why it is harsh:

1. If all 24 lights go off, the man loses. That means none of the 24 girls liked you and the issue must have been YOU.

2. If you are ugly, this could been easily brushed aside. But guys selected for this show - are generally above average. Then there must have been something really WRONG in you.

3. Short introductions are powerful and yet destructive. Impressions matter, but a wrong step, such as revealing that you are overly INSECURE, might lead you walking down the aisle before you could explain yourself.

4. How the girls manage to stand there for many episodes. Whilst many continue to be picky and wait for

the Mr Right, I asked if they know that they themselves have become RIDICULED by the audience.
5. Speaking off the cuff is not an easy task. If you are not to it, remaining quiet will put you in a better light, rather than sharing your thoughts. Sometimes, SILENCE is GOLDEN.

Interestingly, it always continue to excite me to watch, because of the humorous conversations, the wide range of topics discussed and the surprises that occurs within each show.

The Beaver (film) - is Speaking to Himself

The Beaver is a 2011 film starring Mel Gibson as Walter Black, a depressed CEO of a toy company. Signs of depression were evident as he refused to talk, did not get out of the house, left the company in chaos and later attempted suicide. When all failed, he found comfort in speaking to a beaver hand puppet. In actual fact, he is speaking to his other self. Whilst his 'speaking-to-oneself' syndrome is over exaggerated, I can fully understand why he needs to do that.

Yet the world perceives the art of speaking-to-oneself as an act of insanity, I asked if societal norms are the cause of this. I speak to myself often; in fact, I speak to myself less nowadays as compared to my teenage years. Back then, I was studying. My constant act of explaining concepts to myself aloud - enabled me to clarify endless concepts and achieve excellent grades.

There are countless articles and journals - proving that talking to oneself is not only normal, but might just be the highest form of intelligence. At its core, when you ask someone something you consciously articulate it. You explain it and frame the issue for the person. Most importantly however, you explain it and (re) frame it for yourself. You give direction to your other-than-conscious very clearly. Now you may question why actually articulating something gives any different result to just sitting there unspeakingly struggling with the question.

The art of speaking to oneself is percieved as an act of insanity. Walter Black received a harsh public outlash when he tried to speak to Mr Beaver to bring himself back to normalcy. Maybe the society is too stupid to move up the intellectual ladder. Yet I face a constant struggle - the need to speak to myself. Maybe that is why I have to either learn to mumble to myself or re-channel my occasional loud thoughts into this blog. Otherwise, I might soon have to find a beaver hand puppet...

The Informant - Should You be the Good Guy?

The Informant is a biographical film that depicts Mark Whitacre's involvement as a whistle-blower in the price-fixing conspiracy of lysine. It stars one of my favourite actors, Matt Damon, & I like this type of roles he has (one other similar movie was that of Good Will Hunting).

It started off as Mark decided to cooperate with the FBI on this organised effort during the early 1990s. That was some initial scepticism by both parties, but Mark decided to get on board. In the process of secretly working with the FBI for 2.5 years, he had to discreetly gather hundreds of hours of video and audio. This was definitely not an easy task, but only with efforts, then the FBI were able to expose all the companies and high-level executives who were involved in such a persasive crime. Yet he ended up with 9 years of jail, 3 times as much as the sentence for high-level executives he managed to expose.

Lessons Learnt:

1. It's not worth being the good guy. Good or bad - it's not for one to judge. Justice will have its take on your deeds.

2. When you want to expose others, make sure you clean your backside. How easy it is to say, but we must always be sure that we are totally righteous before picking on others. Maybe it's time to reflect on oneself first before always pointing fingers.

3. If it ain't broken, why fix it? There was no need for exposure; everyone was benefiting from the situation, yet he chose to rock the boat unnecessarily. Was it because of personal greed? But he forgot that fixing something that ain't broken - might make him the sole culprit for touching that issue in the first place.

Iron Man 3 - Tony's Hobby

Iron Man 3 is the recent superhero film that everyone is watching on the big screen. Have they all read the comics before? Have they watched Iron Man and Iron Man 2 before? Or are they here just because there was so much marketing hype about this comic hero?

Tony Spark is Iron Man. For years, he has a hobby which he cultivated. It was his love for building human-like robots as suits for him. He started small and there were mistakes - such as the armor flying fiercely in all directions towards him. But he built a name from what he loved doing. He became famous, as he was able to add sophisticated and superior artificial intelligence into his suits. Twice in the movie, he replied, as a matter-of-fact, that he build Iron Man because he needs a hobby.

What's my hobby? In this fast-paced world, am I so subsumed into my daily chores that I have no hobbies to pursue? What are hobbies? Can I consider blogging and travelling - my hobbies, though I am never a specialist in setting up blogs or giving travel advice? What happened to jogging & badminton? Maybe it's time I start behaving like 'Iron Man'...