Accounting Junior Core Group Video Presentation

Coconut Chutney

Tollywood Treat

Vanakkam Anaivarukkum! (Namaste)

I have embedded a small selection of my favourite Tamil songs-and one famous Hindi hit--into my blog as a special treat for those who either are unfamiliar with Tollywood/Bollywood or are already passionate about Indian music.

I hope your appreciation for Indian music and culture increases as you enjoy the music!

Please let me know if you have a specific song that you would like me to add to this list.

I am able to sing three of the songs that I just posted:

1. Yetho Seikirai
2. Vaarayo Vaarayo
3. Oru Kal Oru Kannadi

I will be sure to record and post my versions of these songs in the future.

Let me know if you have any suggestions or ideas for this blog.

Thanks!

 

Vamanan - Yetho Seikirai

Vaarayo Vaarayo - Aadhavan

Why This Kolaveri Di

Siva.Manasula.Sakthi - Oru Kal Oru Kannadi

Vizhi Moodi - Ayan

Nenjukkul Peidhidum - Vaaranam Aayiram

Neethane song - Sarvam

Siragugal - Sarvam

Iragai Polae

Madharasapattinam - Pookal Pookum

Thuli Thuli-Mazhai

Thee Illai - Engeyum Kadhal

Hosanna - Vinnaithandi Varuvaya

Stake Fireside Recap (20 May 2012)

My stake presidency held a spiritual AND unique fireside last Sunday evening. President Mullen, Sister Mullen, and President Britton spent an hour discussing "one liners" from latter-day prophets. I have compiled the following list of my favourite one liners:

Don't surprise the banker.

Do it.-President Kimball

Lengthen your stride.-President Kimball

'How you are doing?' is just a greeting.

Dig your fingers into the rocks and don't let go.

The Lord can make more out of you.

Most of the work done is by those who don't feel very good.

Are you past the weird stage?

Stop, look, and listen before you cross the street.-President Monson

Like the great and good in story, if we fail, we fail with glory.

I don't have to, I want to . . .

Would it be convenient?-President Hinckley

Indecision becomes the decision with the passage of time.

It's your handcart experience. 

Google Doc Foreign Language Survey

Ever since I met countless people of different nationalities, ethnicities, and backgrounds while serving in the Singapore Mission, I have debated this question: 

"Throughout the world, which languages are the most taxing to learn for our brain cells?"

The other related question I often think about is "Which languages are the most difficult for a native speaker of any given language?" For example, "Why is English so difficult to learn for native Thai speakers?"

At the following link, you will be able to tell me what you think and how you feel about these questions.

Additionally, I would like to know your view about which languages hold the most value globally and/or in your personal life. Do you value these languages because you use them as secret love languages with your significant other? Are these languages valuable because you wish to use them in your career? Do you rate the languages based on how many speakers know the languages? Or does your valuation hinge on how often you are able to use your talents to serve other people?

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dDdRTm1LWU1QVUE0QmtkcDQ5TWpwMVE6MQ

I also included my view about these matters in the Google Doc.

Enjoy! :)

Recipe Translations from My Tamil Cookbook

Last January and February while in Malaysia, I had the delightful privilege of shopping for some of the best souvenirs. One of the things that I found is an Indian cookbook written in the Tamil language. This book has so many recipes including idly, dhosa, chutney, chapati, vadai, murukku, laddu, and halwa types. I would like to share a classic Southern Indian recipe (translation included below):

தேங்காய் தோசை

தேவையான பொருட்கள்:
பச்சை அரிசி -- 1/2 லிட்டர்
தேங்காய் (பால்) -- ஒரு மூடி
உப்பு -- ஒரு தேக்கரண்டி

செய்முறை:
பச்சை அரிசியை தண்ணீரில் கொட்டி இரண்டு மணி நேரம் ஊறவைத்து உரலில் போட்டு ஆட்டவும். தேங்காய் துருவலையும் அதோடு பிறகு சேர்க்கவும். கடைசியாக உப்பையும் சேர்த்து உடனடியாக தோசை வார்க்கலாம். மாவு புளிக்கத் தேவை இல்லை.

Coconut Dhosa

Desired Ingredients:
Raw rice -- 1/2 liter
Coconut milk -- one can (tin)
Salt -- One tsp

Directions:
Soak the rice in water for up to two hours. Afterwards, churn and mix in the coconut milk. Finally, you may add salt to the dhosa mix. The dough does not need to be fermented. [Then lightly fry on a pan and serve with your favourite varieties of chutney.]

I also included a similar recipe from http://fullmeals.com/rc-coconutdosa-coconut-dosa.aspx in case you are confused by my recipe. :)

• Soak rice for 3-4 hrs.(or about 2 hrs in hot water.) Grind rice and coconut together to a very fine mixture
• Add water while grinding
• Make the batter considerably thin.(twice thinner than normal) Add salt
• Keep it for about 1/2 hour
• Dosa Preparation Heat the pan.Put a spoon of oil
• Using a spoon pour the batter on the pan
• As the batter is thin, don't press the dosa with the spoon, as we usually do. It spreads automatically
• Cover the dosa for a minute or so
• Using a spatula fold the dosa on the pan,and take it out onto the plate
• Serve with chutney
• Tips: The above batter makes 10-12 medium dosas.

Thoughts from the May 2012 CES Fireside

The May 2012 CES Fireside featured Elder Marlin K. Jensen of the 70. As is Church policy, Elder Jensen will become an Emeritus General Authority at his 70th birthday. This speaking opportunity before a worldwide audience was apparently his last. Below is a summary of what Elder Jensen shared:

• Some places are made sacred on earth by the events that happen at these locations.
• Mount Sinai--Moses and the Burning Bush
• The Sacred Grove--the place in New York where God the Father and Jesus Christ first appeared to Joseph Smith.
• Elder Jensen compared four eternal principles with the characteristics of trees. 

1. Trees always grow toward the light. Light is a more important catalyst in the spiritual realm. The more light we have, the less darkness that can be present. Sharon Cox, clinical counsellor from the U.K., has more information about this characteristic on her blog. Click here for access to further clarification
2. Trees require opposition to fill the measure of their creation. Opposition also tempers and enriches our lives.
3. Trees prosper together. People flourish when they work together. We build meeting houses, not hermitages. Charity seeketh not her own.
4. New trees draw strength from the nutrients of old, fallen trees. We should learn from the lives of our ancestors. Good family stories make good history.

Blogger Recommendations

Cam's Favourite Blogs:

Enjoy Indian Food -- This blog is an exceptional resource for Indian recipes. It is frequently updated and contains instructions for some of the most delicious Asian treats.

Whimsical Musical -- The design of Ashley's blog is excellent. She posts many interesting things. She is a very talented artist. Anyone wishing to improve their blog would be wise to ask her questions.
              
The Kesler Clan -- Daniel, my dear childhood friend, and his wife Kait, maintain a high-quality blog. Their blog contains many great pictures and stories.

First Week Back at BYU

My first day with my new ward in Provo was very enjoyable. I am a part of the 241st Young Single Adult Ward in Provo, Utah. My stake president and bishop issued the following five-fold challenge:

• Pray on my knees every morning and night.
• Read the scriptures--especially the Book of Mormon--every day.
• Study, ponder, and follow the updated Strength of Youth pamphlet.--https://www.lds.org/bc/content/shared/content/english/pdf/ForTheStrengthOfYouth-eng.pdf?lang=eng
• Always renew my temple recommend (expiration date Mar 2014).
• Act and not be acted upon. Please see the April 2012 Ensign article by Elder David A. Bednar via this link: http://www.lds.org/liahona/2012/04/the-atonement-and-the-journey-of-mortality?lang=eng&media=audio

I fully believe that any individual who joins me in this challenge will become, as Elder Bednar says, "bad to good" or "good to better."

Another spiritual experience I had over the weekend was discovering an article created by Elder Clayton Christensen of the Seventy. http://www.claytonchristensen.com/pdf/Why_I_Belong_and_Why_I_Believe.pdf

Elder Christensen is not only a leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but he is also the Kim B. Clark Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. He is highly innovative regarding disruptive and sustaining technologies. In fact, he is the authour of the insightful book entitled, The Innovator's Dilemma--When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail. This book enables the reader to understand why companies go from the top of the pile to the bottom of the pile.

Overall, I had an incredible first week back at BYU accompanied by a highly motivational weekend!

Tips for Successful Email Writing

I-The subject line must be:
1-Specific (e.g. meeting time, day, location, deadline date, topic)
2-Eye-catching-The receiver will be led to respond faster than normal

II-The subject line must not be:
1-Mistaken as junk mail and deleted
2-Blank
3-Messy

III-EOM (End of Message) technique alerts the recipient that you only want to use the subject line as your message:
"My mom's surgery is at 9am. We can Skype at that time. Cameron"
or "My mom's surgery is at 9am. We can Skype at that time. [end of message]"

IV-The attached documents should be properly named and often should be sent in multiple formats (e.g. pdf, doc) for the user's easy access to the files and ability to manipulate the documents with less likelihood of having to convert a file to the desired format.

V-Be aware that the memory space of some servers are rather full and large files may be rejected. Possible solutions are to inform the receiver or change the size of the file.

VI-If more than one file is attached, the attachments should be organised by level of importance.

VII-Inform the receiver that there are attachments in the email

VIII-Rather than having many topics lumped into one email, write multiple emails. This helps the counterparty organise his or her inbox, act upon every important task, and makes each email clearer for them AND you.

IX-Make sure you use the proper titles of respect for the addressee.

X-Involve all relevant parties in your email.
1-Think of this as a "gotong-royong" (cooperation) with bolding like this:
*Cameron: with his task
*Shanda: with her task
2-Recognise when communication should be done through a secretary.

XI-Try to estimate the schedule of when the receiver will check his or her inbox.
1-Remember time zones, public holidays, vacations, work schedules, work cultures, and user habits (e.g. Adam checking his personal email when he wakes up to eat breakfast).

XII-Specify desired further action to be completed by the receiver (e.g. phone call or follow-up appt.). Additionally, clarify what actions will be completed by you.

XIII-Copying and pasting chunks of information from other sources a.k.a. "print screen" is valuable for conveying information required in some emails.

XIV-Ensure that any links are hyperlinked for easy clicking functionality.

XV-Close with something like the following examples:
1-Best regards, BR, regards, sincerely, abundant love, much thanks, all the best, yang benar, dengan ikhlas, love, நேர்மையுடன், அன்புடன், etc.

XVI-Use the most attractive, clear, and appropriate fonts in the email (change the default font, if necessary)

XVII-Bullet points or numbering systems are useful

XVIII-Divider lines are a simple way to separate ideas and information for easier reading:
___________________________________________

XIX-Include your standardised contact information below your name at the bottom of the email
1-Specify the best method of contact, if necessary

XX-Reread your email to ensure accurancy in wording and satisfaction of structure.

Finally I am Posting Something to this Blog!

Anyone who has heard even a little bit of information about me knows that I love languages. I apologise to the reader in advance if there are any confusions. Fortunately, Google Translate is available to decode portions of my blog. The majority of the posts will be in English, with an occasional linguistic treat.

In the upcoming weeks, this blog will be full of tasty halo-halo ingredients. I have many notes and experiences to include since I returned to Malaysia on the 21st of April, 2011. They have been preserved in many places. Some of them are on paper. Others come from my mind. And the MOST valuable were taught to my heart by friendly Mr. Adversity.

Traveler's Notice: Malaysia's time zone is 14 (sometimes 15) hours ahead of Mountain Standard Time in the United States.

I am going to sleep soon, but my blog is lacking something. Something spiritually powerful!

Last night I was reading one of the last talks given by Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles that teaches us how to handle the not-so-nice Mr. Adversity. I would like to share a paragraph from the middle of the article:

Because Jesus Christ suffered greatly, He understands our suffering. He understands our grief. We experience hard things so that we too may have increased compassion and understanding for others.

The insight I gained from this article is that we should change our perspective concerning adversity to this:

Trials transform us into better disciples of the Savior because we understand more accurately how He felt and how other people feel. This enables us to serve Him better and better AND experience more and more joy because the pain has passed through us.

For the complete talk, please click the following link: Come What May, and Love It

Take care and good night!

CD Hall