The World Is Flat?

I thought I should blog while i wait for my meeting later.

so i woke up really early today but got out of my bed really late. hehe...but i still made it to marketing class on time. I could have just skip it, but since im a SELF- proclaimed model student** erhem**.. i will walk through the winds and snow just to sit in his-slides-reading-non-beneficial-ultimately-'interesting' class.

whats worth all my effort walking from home to Gerdin was this video he showed us at the end of his class. it was one of the National Governors Association Meeting where they invite Thomas L. Friedman to be the speaker.

He. is amazing :)

I bought his best selling book: The World Is Flat.. but had never gotten enough motivation to read it. Its sitting nicely in a bookshelf which is not even in my room or my house. But today! i will snatch it back from my beloved boyfriend. Since he read it already, i can take it :P

now now, back to the short clip,
it was about 20 minutes long, and it was talking about the first 2 chapters of the book. He mentioned that Globalization is not just within companies or countries, its now the globalization that occurring around individuals. Is the fact that one has to compete with another, 'another' from a different part of the world, of different culture and diversity.

And one of the things that he mentioned, was the 10 things that made the world flat.

The 10 Flatteners:-
1. Fall of Berlin Wall, rise of "windows": Microsoft windows :)

2. Netscape:- Fiber optic cable linked the Tom in US and Tom is China together.

3. work flow software:- machine talks to machine

4. open sourcing:- Self organized collaboration, communities

5. Outsourcing:- process component more efficient

6. off shoring:- China as an opportunity

7. Supply chaining:- Walmart :)

8. In sourcing:- 'funny looking brown pants' people -> UPS's broader role in services

9. informing:- Google, yahoo

10. The 'Steroid':- Digital, Mobile, Personal, Virtual.

The best part of the video/ the part I love the most about the video is when he said this,

" when I was young, my parents said to me:' Finish up your dinner Thomas, the kids in China and India are starving and hungry' but now I tell my kids, 'finish up your HOMEWORK, the people in China and India are starving and hungry FOR YOUR JOB~ "

I guess now, its not just the China and the India, everyone is Hungry.

i am very hungry, i hope they serve pizza at the meeting later~

我的盘，满了吗？

晚上， 吃晚餐。。。

桌子上来了特别多菜，

上的样样都是好吃的，梦昧以求的经典小菜。

我不客气了，马上行动，筷子一拿起来，夹夹夹！！

这时的我，高兴得不得了！ 因为好吃的我都有。

人家说，

千载难逢的好机会，千万不要错过，心里想，有好吃的，我得快点儿吃掉！

于是，我狼吞虎咽，吃着，吃着。。

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不行了！我太饱了， 还没吃掉盘里一半的菜，我已经饱得喘不过气来了。。。

肚子咕噜咕噜， 消化不良，人变得不舒服。

肚子撑着。。。撑着。。。

好辛苦。

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我明白了，机会来了，并不代表一定能胜任。

盘子虽然不小， 可是不代表胃的容量够大， 就算吃完了所有的菜， 也并不代表一定吃得开心，幸福。

我的盘，其实并还没有满，

可是，我还是适可而止吧！

虽然比较少，可是我知道，我吃得开心，吃的快乐，

那已经很足够了。

朋友们，

请问你的盘，满了吗？

listen

listen...

listen before you speak

listen attentively

listen, digest and understand

listen and be skeptical

listen until you choose not to listen

listen, but do not eavesdrop

listen even though you know its not right

but do not let it change your mind

listen when all said is against you

do not hassle, but listen...

listen attentively

listen, digest and understand

listen and be skeptical

listen...........................................

I would like to thank Martin Luther King,
Because he had a dream...
I have holiday on MONDAY~~!!

Joy , JOy, JOY!

After 3 weeks of holidays in Malaysia, US seems strange to me. I feel like I have to re-adapt to the environment. I was just too comfortable in my own comfort zone but I know I still have to return to reality. Classes seem harder and I can foresee a bunch of work piling up high waiting for accomplish. It was apparently harder to leave my family this time as compare to the first time when I left for the states. Besides, knowing the fact that your only sister, who was in US, has also return home is not helping very much either. Oh well, no one said it was easy to begin with. But I’m sure with good friends around, it will be much fun :)

So,

Today in Human Development class, there was this question where we were suppose to answer and then share with the others, the question said, ‘What is the best thing you experience in Iowa State?’
It caught me there thinking for awhile when all my friends were busy scribbling on their notepad.
(and while Sheau Ting was busy whispering to me Teng Foong’s name) I though the best thing will be the priceless experience of studying abroad, so I told QQLor, who was sitting next to me that the difficulties I had to face to adapt to the new environment were the best! She looked at me, “you crazy ar? That’s should be the worst thing!!”
But really, I think if I know to think of the hardest thing as the best challenge, then I would never feel bad about it. In fact, I would probably be happy that I know I’ve been through it.
So it is true, a lot of times if people are willing to change their perception about things, what’s horrible might not be that bad anyways…

Oh well, it’s always easier said than done. If everyone could think like this, then there will be less conflicts, less fights, and less people feeling depress then..

Anyways, that was just a little thought of mine.

I went to marketing class today and saw the latest product from pepsi, its call pepsi optimisms or maybe something like it. Apparently, the colors used on pepsi logos are the same as the colors on US democratic logo. They even change the pepsi logo a little to make it looks like the US democratic logo. I guess they are trying to say, “Drink Pepsi, be optimist, Experience the Change~~” hm.. i wonder..