Reproaching as an adult

Posted in All in a days work, Everyday Life, Ponderings & Personal Development by Minci 先生

One of the most difficult things in adulting is to reproach a family member, a friend or a colleague. It is not even scolding. Far from criticising. All this was done out of the public eye. Apparently, it is also a difficult matter among adults to accept advice and criticism in an open manner.

I reproached an individual I consider a friend a few days ago through a trusted third party. Also a friend. I made a decision to do so because I felt she did something wrong, which consequently stirred uneasy feelings among other colleagues at our workplace. Like any other occasion, these ill feelings are not conveyed to her at point-blank. Instead, they are discussed and circulated among a few people. To me, this is unhealthy. Because that was how this wrongdoing reached my knowledge in the first place.

Knowing that the workplace walls have ears, I thought I was right in my approach to make this poorly thought-out behaviour known to the person of interest. Through a middle person, the best friend. For reasons that these actions could be reflected upon and avoided. It is because I feel that in the future, if the same behaviour is carried out, it will bring negative consequences to this individual.

I expressed my points clearly in the WhatsApp message with the hope that the receiving end would understand my point of view and respond appropriately to the message.

Unfortunately, I was wrong. I don’t really know how it played out between them, but suddenly, I am the bad guy. The body language was so obvious that tension filled the air whenever the person of interest and I were in the same room.

This incident made me question my approach. What I thought was an act to ‘save this friend’ backfired instead. I did ponder it for a few days.

I mean, I had this person’s best interest in mind, as she is up for evaluation any time. The supervisor’s input might be influenced by certain people, and that’s quite dangerous if it is motivated by ill-harboured feelings.

I wanted to solve the problem. I thought I went to the correct person for assistance to cushion the aftermath of my advice. Despite the thoughtful measures (or so I thought), it did not turn out well. Consequently, we are just not on speaking terms at the moment. I could sense it. Ha ha.

As an empath, this is quite a hurtful experience. However, this is a learning curve for me. I should have known that I could not help everybody. Or more of, not everybody wants to be helped. And that maybe in certain situations, the best way would just be to turn a blind eye and let the person learn their own lesson.

14Feb2026

Not knowing the difference between what is real and AI anymore

Posted in Ponderings & Personal Development by Minci 先生

We are living in a world where, for the untrained eye, everything looks real. Social media has become a place where it is possible to create AI influencers earning a living by selling lifestyle or products to human consumers. Inevitably, it has resulted in extremes of people. At one extreme end are the people who believe and entrust ChatGPT in every single aspect of their lives. ChatGPT, not Google. At least the latter still requires some critical thinking on the person’s part. With the wide use of AI in a reckless manner, you end up with social media users who trust blindly in the name of technological and modern advancement. They would follow every single thing ChatGPT tells them to. Leaving not many people who would take the trouble to ponder on the information set in front of them and weigh out the facts and bluffs surrounding an issue.

Then there is the other extreme end, where they just refuse to believe anything online. Eventhough it is reputable knowledge.

I suppose it will go back to a time when people look for bloggers again. Maybe. At least in search for a blogger who is relatable to themselves in reality. Someone who still has an ounce of authenticity or genuine traits left in them. I am glad that there are still a few who blog. Dianaishak, for example. It’s nice to read about something else in life beyond mukbang, makan2 and so-called misconceptions about conducting social experiments online.

It may also go back to the time when people preferred to have physical presence instead of online meetings. To see if the person they are meeting is truly flesh and bones. But then, there is always a threat of clones. American social media is hot on these controversies lately, which is interesting to read. I mean, did you see the snippets they have on Joe Biden and Selena Gomez? It was wild! The thought lingers at the back of my mind because I know for sure that science without ethics can thrive with biased support and financial aid. People who want to live forever do exist, you know.

AI is helpful, but it shouldn’t run our lives. I’m just saying.

5Feb2026

Trying NotebookLM

Posted in Adult Learning, All in a days work, Ponderings & Personal Development by Minci 先生

The convenience is out there. All I had to do was take that one step to try it. On my Facebook feed, teachers and PTD officers were the first group of people who used it. They were conveying serious information through infographics generated with NotebookLM.

I had to check it out.

I wanted to see if it was possible to use it to make my PowerPoint slides for an upcoming event at the clinic. It was easy. I uploaded the pdf file,>> click slide deck >> choose language Melayu >> wrote a few prompts, and in less than 10 minutes, a series of slides were produced.

It is important to double-check the information. After downloading the file, I uploaded it to Canva to edit. Since my Canva account is not the PRO version, I had to use the shape and text type of editing instead of the AI services. The slides still came out great on PPT. I am going to learn how to use multiple resources after this and perhaps try to generate audio or video from them.

25May2025