Taron's Journey - A Journey of Life

A Life's journey of a simple man

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Friday, December 31, 2010

Personal Financing(PART 1)

Posted by Tarun Kumar | Friday, December 31, 2010 | Category: | 0 comments

Hi guys,

First of all, My apologies for updating the Blog. It have been for over 2-3 months since i updated Blog. Guess my schedule and of course my laziness caused me to postpone my blogging commitment. Well, hope you guys accept my apologies. So lets move on and as promised, I'm continue blogging about the first Part of my Personal Financing Tips series (If you guys missed out, refer my Personal Finacing -Intro article written on the 28th September 2010)

As stated in the earlier article, this part mainly focuses on the common money spending mistakes that we use to commit. The first mistake will be lack of spending plans and overspending. its can be ignored the fact the Humans have a "monkey brain". We just can't control ourselves from buying things that only satisfy our emotional needs or useful for short terms only. Only this problem mainly applies for people who have credit cards. Lack of planning will result in credit cards bills becoming fatter and fatter while the balance amount in the credit card becoming thinner and thinner. This proves to be the problem face by a majority of the people.
The second will be Not doing your homework. Basically, very few user will conduct a simple research on which place to get the desired goods that comes with good deals or reasonable price. Due to this, many consumers usually end up buying goods at a higher price or unreasonable price.

The third major problem and this mainly applies for credit cards will be buying products with consumer credits. There are some people who despite of enjoying some good benefits like lower price rates and discount, always prefer to buy things using credit cards. Please keep in mind that credit card might be handy but frequent spending using credit cards usually leads with higher debt repayment and the worst part will be that the debt repayment must be done using most of your future earnings. Lat but not least, it can't be ignored that most people do not have long term planning, especially in terms of retirement plans. Most people wants to retire fast and enjoy the remainder of their lives. But remember that you need good money to enjoy good life. So the problem will be delaying savings for retirement. Old age of 60's and 70's is where the energy to work and the level of your health will be low. So to retire fast, you need a good chunk of money to helps you go through your old age. Therefore the more delays made on you retirement savings plan(s), the more harder for you to accomplish your goals which is to retire early.

Well, there are more problems or mistakes in terms of money spending. But the mistakes stated above are the common and most highly-rated mistakes done by people or consumers. In next part we'll be seeing on how to tackle this problems and improve our spending plans and making our accounts more fatter!!!..Until then, stay tune peepz!!!..;)

Sunday, October 3, 2010

ENDHIRAN - MOVIE REVIEW!!!

Posted by Tarun Kumar | Sunday, October 3, 2010 | Category: | 0 comments


ENDHIRAN - MOVIE REVIEW!!!


Finally, I managed to watch the most highly-anticipated and highly-hyped movie which is Endhiran -The Robot. Well, with all the big guns (SuperStar Rajinikanth, director Shankar, Aishwarya Rai, AR Rahman) involved in the movie and that too with budget around Rs150 Crores, the costliest Indian Movie ever made, it's absolutely justified for the people to have expectations of the movie. Does the movie deliver? Let's check it out

The Story

Dr Vaseegaran (Rajni) is an highly intellectual scientist specializing in robotics, creates highly advanced robot or humanoid known as Chitti (Rajni as well) which is basically a perfect specimen capable of doing almost everything a human can as well as can't do. Vaseegaran see this as his life ambition to an extent that he doesn't even have the time for his lady love Sana (Aiswarya Rai). His goal is to provide the robot's service to the Indian Army so that the humanoids can substitute human in war, reducing casualties and loss of lives. Enter Professor Bora (Danny Dengzompa) who is jealous of Vaseegaran success as he was an ex-student of the professor who have exceeded him in terms of knowledge and success.

Out of Jealousy, the Professor disapproves and rejects the permission of using the Robot in the Indian Army with the reason that the Robot is just that- A Robot, which doesn't think like a human and does not have the emotions and feelings that the human have. Feeling Dejected, Vaseegaran enters (or uploads) all the human emotions and reactions into the Chitti's system, making him almost human. But the decision proves to be a big mistake as Chitti falls in love with none other than Sana, his creator girlfriend and purposely fails the Army test so that he can be with Sana, which angers Vaseegaran and in turn he dismantles Chitti and throws him away.

Broken and dejected, Chitti asks help from Professor Bora to help turn Chitti back to how he used to look like. The Professor not only repairs and restores Chitti but also upgrades him by inserting a red chip called as a "destructive program" which makes things worse as Chitti turns from an innocent child-like humanoid to a demon known as Chitti v2.0 (Rajni again)!!!..With the love he has for Sana, he destroy and kills everything that comes in his path, in order to be with his one and true love Will he succeed? How Vaseegaran stops Chitti v2.0? What is the fate of Chitti in the end? That you've to find out in the big screen.!!

Performance

Rajnikanth shows why he's the undisputed Superstar and he's in perhaps the best form in his life!!! His acting is three types of roles as Vaseegaran, Chitti and Chitti v2.0 is fantastic. My personal favorite is Chitti v2.0 as Rajinikanth is absolutely mind-blowing as the villain and instantly reminds me of the Rajnikanth whp was the villain in the early 70's. He also provides a very cute performance as the Innocent Chitti and a matured performance as Dr Vaseegaran. Overall, this might be one of his all time best movie!!

Aiswarya Rai proves why she's being described as one of the most beautiful women in the world (said by Hollywood actress Julia Roberts) as she is beautiful in every frame of the movie and is lucky to have a role that is one the most important and crucial for the movie's story. Overall, she's one of the major assets in Endhiran.

Others: Danny Dengzompa provides a nice performance as the villainous but calculative professor. Santhanam and Karunas handles the comedy department together with Rajnikanth superbly. All other cast also provide the required performance for the movie

Technical Department

Endhiran is made with budget of Rs 150 crores and this can be seen especially in the technical aspect and visual effects of the movie. All technical aspects are top notch and is made on Hollywood Standards which is a positive sign for Indian Cinema. Songs are superbly made by AR Rahman and were beautifully picturized on screen. My personal favorite is Kilimanjaro and Kadhal Annukal.  Cinematography Rathnavelu is top notch and adds value to the movie. Special effects done by Stan Winston Studios and Industry of Light and Magic is superb, especially in the climax part of movie. Editing is good and dialogue are classy and standard Praises should be given the dialogue team as they managed to convey some technical terms in a more easier and understanding manner to the audience. Overall, The Technical Department is absolutely world class and a round of applause should be given to Shankar for bring out the best from his team.

Highlights (Plus points)

Rajni and Aishwarya
Special effects (The climax is perhaps one of the best in Indian Cinema, watch it and you'll know what i'm talking about!!)
Comedy
Cinematography and Technical Aspects of the movie

 Flaws (Minus points)

A bit Lengthy
Placement of songs (sometimes disrupts the tempo but thankfully the tempo manage to pickup as soon as the song ends.)

Overall Summary

Endhiran is the first sci-fi movie of Indian Cinema and it's definitely one of the best Indian movie ever made. It will definitely be a stepping stone for Indian Cinema to dream and come up with more bigger and creative ventures in the future. A good round of applause for Shankar and his team for providing a classic known as Endhiran-The Robot

 My Verdict

Watch and Experience the "Endhiran" extravaganza!!!



P.S : Note this Bollywood..THIS IS HOW YOU MAKE A BIG BUDGET MOVIE!!!

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Personal Financing (The Intro)

Posted by Tarun Kumar | Sunday, September 26, 2010 | Category: | 0 comments

Hi Guys, Its been a quite a long time since i visited my blog. Sorry for the delayed updates. After all, as a human being i do have certain responsibilities right?? Well, Thank GOD i have some time to spare and now here i'm back with what i love to do - blogging!!

Well, i have discussed about a stuff like job interviews and tips for securing desired jobs and also my view of how we should respect our nation's independence. Now i'm gonna talk about a topic where all existing human beings will come across the moment they start to work and earning monthly incomes - PERSONAL FINANCING.
Basically, what is personal financing?? Well, personal financing is all about managing the money that is coming into our pockets (or more specifically our bank accounts) efficiently and finding the ways to double our money to have a better future for us, and our families. The basic success of Personal Financing is following the mantra known as - "More Saving, Less Spending". Many people always think that saving money is easy. But to be honest, it is easier said than done.

First of all, i'm not a financial guru when it comes to personal financing..Hell, i even had a dilemma to decide whether or not to buy my favorite football club jersey for RM200 ringgit!!!(i finally decided to go for a pasar malam type of jersey which cost me only RM30..lolzz). But then again, as times goes by, i'm starting to learn the art of saving money and as they said - "Knowledge is sharing", I'm gonna share with u guys some basic facts and tips on how to plan and stabilize your financial source. As with the Job Interview series, I'm also gonna divide this topic into three major parts which are as follows:

PART 1 -> This section mainly describes on how to avoid common money-spending decisions
PART 2 -> This section mainly describes on analyzing your spending and how to keep control of it
PART 3 -> This section mainly describes on how to trim your taxes and what Income taxes basically,

Before starting this series, Please note that i'm no financial guru as i'm a novice too. I just felt to share what i know about money spending with you guyz.. For better knowledge, I personally recommended the book "Personal Financing for Dummies" which is a good book for beginners. Even some of the knowledge i have right now is based on this book which i have read during my leisure. Well until next time, see ya guyz!!!..:)

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Video: Declaration of Malaysian Independance

Posted by Tarun Kumar | Tuesday, August 31, 2010 | Category: | 0 comments

Hi Guys, Here' the video of our first Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman declaring of our beloved Nation..MERDEKA!!! MERDEKA!!! MERDEKA!!!

Merdeka: 53 years worth of History

Posted by Tarun Kumar | | Category: | 0 comments

It was 31st of August 1957, where our first prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman shouted MERDEKA!!! 3 times with all his might and passion. My dad was there and he told me that people were celebrating and tears of joy was flowing like a river on that day. People hugging each other and wishing each other regardless your skin color, racial and religious background. On that day, the only thing that they had in mind is "If you wanted merdeka as much as i do, then you are my brother/sister". And on 16th Sept, a country named Malaysia was born.

Now, 53 years since that unforgettable day (for the old timers, i may add) lets look at where Malaysia is heading. On one part Malaysia is slowly but steadily adapting the world standards as a modern country with a stable economy (well, regardless of the price hike and other stuff, majority Malaysians are still ok with their economic lives!!) while the other part, the unity among Malaysians seems to have a crack being displayed.

Now, all of us know that one of the unique thing about Malaysia is that its a multiracial country where three major types of races (Malays, Chinese and Indians) live together in harmony. But now the so-called politicians of country are starting to use one of the most dangerous tactic in politics - racial politics. And the sad part is the main reason of using this racial politics is to gain votes!!!. Why they have to use racial politics? Don't they know that the most easiest way to gain votes is to serve the people and be a good leader? Its even disheartening to see that some unfortunate people is falling into this racial trap.

Malaysia is a country that belongs to all - Malays, Chinese, Indians, Ibans, Kadazans etc.., we're all make up a country called Malaysia. Malaysia is a mother of us all. It doesn't matter who landed on this soil first many centuries ago. The important part is all races fought for the independence of this country. All of our ancestors fought and suffer together regardless of their racial and religious background. All the people want is a country where all of us can live together in harmony and respect each other customs. Its even better if we take the initiative to learn the customs of our "brother and sisters".

Well friends, all i'm requesting is that be friendly with all people regardless of their races, don't make fun of their customs and their way of lives. Please throw way the "I'm Indian, You're Chinese, You're Malay" mentality and adapt the "We're all Malaysians" mentality. Its just a simple request. I hope we can all play our part in creating a "harmonious" Malaysia

For you Malaysia....MERDEKA!!!!!...  MERDEKA!!!!!....MERDEKA!!!!!

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Job Interviews - A nice Video

Posted by Tarun Kumar | Wednesday, August 11, 2010 | Category: | 0 comments

Hey, guys, check out this video where Maggie Crystal, a Life & Career Coach where she explains on how you should present yourself for an interview. This video is very good especially for fresh graduates


Job Interviews - The Obstacle (Part 3)

Posted by Tarun Kumar | | Category: | 0 comments

Hi guys, Been busy with a lot of things (but all ends in a positive note, Thank GOD!!). Anyways, in this third and final part, I'm gonna share with you guys some of the common questions during the interview sessions and also some of the interview processes that the company conducts for suitable candidate selection.
Before beginning, I'm just gonna inform you guys that i'm an IT graduate. Therefore this article is mainly based on the IT interviews that I've attended . So, i'm very much unsure how the non-IT fields such as Business and finance conducts their interview sessions. But don't worry..The initial stages of the interview are all common regardless whether or not you're an IT graduate. So lets get started then..

Some of the interview questions asked by the interviewers (which applies to all candidates regardless of ther education background) are as follows:

1) Tell us about yourself  (this is the most vital part, especially to experienced candidates. the main purpose is to know your previous and current working background. Most of the questions will be asked based on your answers for this questions)

2) What projects have you participated? (this questions is usually asked to know on what type of activities you've done and your role in the projects that you've participated. Therefore the interviewer can decide if your experience matches their requirements)

3) Are you willing to work after working hours when necessary? (Regardless of your job nature, there are certain situations when you have to accomplish a task to meet the deadline. Therefore, the interviewer wants to know if you're willing to work overtime to complete the task. Saying NO will definitely reduce the chances of you landing the job. Therefore always says YES. Just like Jim Carrey in "Yes Man".)

4) Tell us a problem you've encountered in your work/tasks/projects and describe how you solved it?
(This question is mainly to know your problem solving skills and how you deal with the problem. Another objective is to see if you're easily stressed out with the problem encountered. Always remember that, in case you never have encountered a problem, then just tell the truth. Don't "cook" up a story because in case you're selected and the people wanted you to solve the problem. Then you're so dead.)

5) Why should we hire you? (Ahaa!!! This questions is famously know as the tie-breaker question. Even though the questions is to see how confident you're in taking up the position. Your answers will be the most vital in securing you a job. For instance, if the interviewer narrowed down to two candidates and you being one of them, then your answer to this question will serve as a tie-breaker for the interviewer in deciding whether or not you're the right candidate.)

6) Where do you see yourself in the next [any number] years? (This questions is to see whether or not you see yourself as part of the company plans or objective. Also, the interviewer wants to know if you really want to use the position as a platform to achieve you career objective and of course whether you will achieve it by staying WITH them. Therefore plan your future career path nicely).


7) What do you know about our company? (You might be surprised on why i put this as the last commonly asked question. Its because this question can be asked either in the beginning or end of the interview. Basically this is the most easy questions. Just do some background study of the company before going for the interview and all will be fine.) 

Well, thats the most commonly asked questions as mentioned above. Next i'm gonna share with you on the interview process of the company i've attended so far. Here's the details

1) IBM
No matter what position you apply in IBM, you MUST sit for an aptitude test. The test mainly consist of english grammer, mathematical calculations, and some problem solving questions. ONLY if you pass this test you will be going to the next round - which means the interview of the respective positions that you've applied.

2) Experian (Cyberjaya)
Be warned!!!...This applys to all the IT people who wish to apply for the positions in Experian. If you wish to apply any position in Experian, make sure you have VERY VERY good Java experience. No matter what position you apply, you're subjected to sit in the Java Test (including writing codes). Therefore sharpen you java skills first.

3) Panasonic (Cyberjaya)
Panasonic has basically two tests (one is an aptitude test while the other is the test related to the position that you've applied ). The thing is that you've to complete these two tests in 1 1/2 hour time. So plan wisely. After the test, you'll be interviewed by HR and the people in charge for the position you've applied



Well, that's the basically what I've gone through so far in my career. Other than the three above, most of the companies will have one test (usually related to the position) and the interview (if you pass the test) or you will have two interviews (one is with the person in charge of the position, usually a Manager while the other will be with HR)

Before signing off with the final part of the Job Interviews article. I just want you to know that getting a job sometimes is not easy as it depends on your luck. But then again, whenever you're not shortlisted, don't get dejected. Learn from the mistakes and ensure you don't repeat it in your next interview.
Just put your faith on GOD and let HIM take care of it.  Well good luck in your job search and have a successful career!!!.