The Last Lecture

Received from Lick Huck--Thanks Bro..

Would like to share it.....

"This is amazing, (Randy Pausch) died of pancreatic cancer in 2008, but wrote a book ‘The last lecture” before then, one of the bestsellers in 2007. What a legacy to leave behind…
In a letter to his wife Jai and his children, Dylan, Logan, and Chloe, he wrote this beautiful "guide to a better life" for his wife and children to follow.
May you be blessed by his insight.


POINTS ON HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR LIFE

Personality:
1. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
2. Don't have negative thoughts of things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
3. Don't over do; keep your limits.
4. Don't take yourself so seriously; no one else does.
5. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.
6. Dream more while you are awake.
7. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need...
8. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner of his/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
9. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.
10. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
11. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
12. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn.
Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
13. Smile and laugh more.
14. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

Community:
15. Call your family often.
16. Each day give something good to others.
17. Forgive everyone for everything.
18. Spend time with people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
19. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
20. What other people think of you is none of your business.
21. Your job will not take care of you when you are sick. Your family and friends will. Stay in touch.

Life:
22. Put GOD first in anything and everything that you think, say and do.
23. GOD heals everything.
24. Do the right things.
25. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
26. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
27. The best is yet to come.
28. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
29. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
30. If you know GOD you will always be happy. So, be happy.

While you practice all of the above, share this knowledge with the people you love, people you school with,
people you play with, people you work with and people you live with.
Not only will it enrich YOUR life, but also that of those around you."
http://www.thelastlecture.com/(end of email)

An MSc It Is!

On 1 Oct 2010, after a short Q&A session, the Board of Examiners for Higher Degree, Faculty of Built Environment, University Malaya awarded me the Master of Science (Architecture).

Excerpts from the examiners' reports....

"...this is the first time that a research of this kind (has been) conducted in Malaysia. Its findings constitute a significant contribution towards a knowledge gap in the history and theory of architecture in the country." (Prof. Ezrin Arbi)

"...the candidate has produced an original work with the purpose of establishing a relationship between architects' design preoccupations and architectural excellence. ...the dissertation should be able to stand alone with the qualitative evidence and argument that had been produced for examination." (Dr. Khairul Anwar)

It was a nice birthday present! I am humbled and elated, grateful to God for sustaining me, and most of all thankful to my lovely wife for starting me on it and pushing me on right to the end.

Thanks to everyone who encouraged me in their own special way!

The acknowledgment page in the dissertation reads as follows.

Foremost, I’d like to thank my supervisor, Dr. Naziaty Mohd. Yaacub, for her guidance and encouragement throughout the research, writing and presentation of this dissertation. It was a witty meeting of minds!

I am grateful to my friends and fellow practitioners, Ar Dr Lim Teng Ngiom and Ar Anthony Too for agreeing immediately to my request for pilot survey respondents and for furnishing this research with their thorough and meticulous answers.

My six sample architects deserve my sincere thanks for sharing their time, thoughts, drawings, and, in fact, their life experiences as architects to help illuminate the theoretical path of this investigation. They are, alphabetically: Ar Chester Chen, Ar Hau Woon San, Ar Datuk Kamil Merican, Ar Patrick Ngan, Ar Serrina Hijjas, and Ar Zafar Rozaly.

I am indebted to Professor Ch’ng Chwee Lye (Professor of Public Health, University of Texas) and Dr Veronica Ng (Associate Dean, Taylor’s University) for their insightful comments and leads.

I am also indebted to my research assistants who backed up their hard work with enthusiasm: Billy Chua, Goh Kai Kheng, Zoe Huang, Richard Lee, Ong Meng Jin, and Tang Li Qun.

And most especially, I thank my wife, Jane, and our children, Zoe, Matthew and Mark, for their grace to permit me the space and time to make this possible.