Madness is just a word

That Small Deeds

2011-11-10T20:09:00.010+08:00

Field Trip USA was on the tv last night. It is that tv show where they bring some Malaysian students to the US as exchange students. It is quite good that they offer some kind of different perspective to our local students as they can learn a lot about the culture of the people there. One of the exchange student even said that he likes the teachers there as they are different in their approach compared to Malaysian teachers. His favourite teacher there is a Social Studies teacher because the teacher likes to crack jokes and is like a friend to him. That is not actually surprising as even I, who is teaching right now, would like to have a teacher who understands me, rather than dictating what should and should not be done. Then I also read an article which discusses the impact that a teacher has on the students. The encouraging teachers who always say the right thing at the right time, who do not condescend the students whatever their capabilities might be, who have that little sprinkle of trust dust which would help the students to be confident of themselves, no matter how insignificant they might seem. So I tried to recall those teachers who have shaped me to be who I am today

Primary School : Cikgu Badariah - my Mathematics teacher who was very fierce but actually meant well. Teachers nowadays don't do things like she did back then. You don't do your work, be prepared to be pinched until it leaves a mark. Haha. Though I am not exactly a fan of Mathematics, I somehow realized that I like being calculative and technical even in my language works.

Secondary School : Miss Umi Kelsom - When you only have one English teacher for that 5 years of secondary school, you know that somehow, sooner or later, you would bond with that teacher. And I did, I have always liked being in her class as I would sometime escape some sort of punishments while my friends did not. Haha. She managed to make me love English and trusted me when other teachers did not. You surely can't ask more than that.

University : Madam Sri Hariaty - There was this time when we had a group work and have to write articles. For my article, I wrote something about the elements in water. Once the work was submitted, one of my friend from another class told me that she complimented my work in front of the other class and said that my work was good and I could be a writer for a magazine or something like that. Though I am not exactly a writer now, I feel that that recognition motivated me to write more and not to give up on writing. Though she did not say it directly to me, I will always remember how it affects me in my writing.

To have these teachers who have influenced you and helping you to be who you are right now is really a blessing. So last week when a student of mine gave me a letter, I was not expecting the things that she wrote in it.

Yes, she spelled my name as Sayfiq. Haha. I can't exactly remember when I said this to her but I am almost certain that I was joking. I was not expecting this letter at all as I would just say something without trying to preach or nag them. But I am honoured that at least what I said has some impact on them. At least she likes going to my class and enjoyed it. That is one thing done right by me. Haha. So being an educator is more than just teaching, it is leaving an impact on the students and helping them to improve. It is more than helping them to learn what is in the syllabus but to learn about life as well. That is not exactly an easy ride but that is something that I am willing to do.

Two in One.

2011-09-28T22:09:00.005+08:00

My eldest sister just got married early this month. It has taken her quite some time to get married. Suffice to say, it could not get any sooner.

She had gone through some ups and downs in her relationship, from the best of time, having men 'jostling' to get her hands, to the worst of times, watching her burning her ex's love letters and asking me not to treat my lady badly. Well, that is one advice that I dont have to reminded of, just ask those who have been with me.haha. Jokes aside, she deserves to get married, to be with someone who she loves. After what she had gone through, this is the least that she should get.

As loud as she is, as tough looking she is, she is one fragile lady inside. Just wait for her to be in her occasional breakdowns and you know what I mean. Luckily she has someone as patient as her husband, who could keep up with her tantrums and mood swings. Patience should be his middle name as I dont even think I have his level of patience. If I were him, I would have walked out a long time ago. But no, he was persistent for the past 6 years or so, being her long time boyfriend before finally marrying her. That is one great guy and my sister is lucky to have him as her boyfriend and now as her husband. And no one can deny that.

Have I told you that she is a devious scammer? Maybe I already have but I am still going to say about it here. I was in my primary school years when I was duped into parting with my money, in the context of sharing, so that 'we' could buy a No Doubt's album. Though I could not really understand why I let her dupe me into doing that, I am glad that she did that because, hell, No Doubt is one good band. She influenced me since then into liking many great female singers. Maybe she likes women who are tough and independent and you can really see her in that mould once you know her. And I have no regrets whatsoever liking these great female singers.

To Along, a great sister, hopefully you are happy with the man of your choice because I know that he is happy to have you too. Both of you are great together and that is a No Doubt.

While We Celebrate.

2011-08-30T12:30:00.004+08:00

Today is Raya Aidilfitri. Selamat Hari Raya to everyone. It is also a day to celebrate and do good deeds. But while we have fun and visit our loved ones, just remember that there are those who are not able to indulge in the lavish activities that we are used to. Some people even have to resort to living in toilets.

Early this year, the night before Chinese New Year, I was sipping my teh tarik at the usual mamak stall in front of my house when I saw a Chinese family, a mother with her two daughters, eating roti canai when they should be having their big dinner.The mom just watched her daughters sharing a cup of water with one roti canai. It made me realise that poverty is not restricted to certain people when actually it covers some percentage of people in Malaysia, no matter who they are. There are always some people who need help from us, you just need to watch Bersamamu on TV3.

So for this Raya, help those who are in need. Who knows, maybe someday you would need some help too.

Chances.

2011-08-24T10:46:00.003+08:00

I was involved in a CSR programme that was organised by my workplace. As I am used to being involved with programmes like this when I was studying, I figured that I might as well lend a hand in helping my colleagues. It was a CSR programme that was held at a primary school nearby where we had some language games and book donations. While we were playing the language games with the students, some students, even the weak ones were very participative. Though they can hardly understand English, they tried their best to give the answers. Partly because we offered some prizes to entice them, I guess. But that is not the point. What the students need is motivation. Some of them see English as something that is so alien, so foreign to them that they can't seem to see themselves to be involved with it. What makes matters worse is when teachers label the students as incompetent thus demotivating the students. Some teachers need to know their students better because that is how we can motivate the students. For example, there are students who like to be praised for them to work hard. While some students prefer to be challenged for them to give their best. But when teachers do not even take their time to engage the students, that is when the problem comes. Sure, some teachers are recognised as the best teacher when they are able to help the students to get as many As as possible. But what is untold is that most of these students are already bright students, teachers do not need to do much to help these students. Meanwhile, students from the remedial classes are ignored because they do not have much hope to score as many As as their more intelligent friends. Sadly, that is the situation nowadays, those who seem to have less are ignored.

I was talking to some of my seniors colleagues when the topic of their younger days suddenly cropped out. Those were days, they said, when it was in the 80s up until the early 90s, when people don't really wear hijab, even for some of the ustazah. Both of them have almost the same story. One of them said that she was not wearing any hijab at that time but she wanted to know more about Islam. But the problem was, the Muslim bodies in her university shunned her because she was not wearing hijab at that time. As she did not have anyone to guide her, she did not wear hijab until few years later. The other one said that her friends who wear hijab also shunned her because she did not wear hijab. But one of the now-outlawed Muslim bodies (it was not outlawed at that time) accepted her and helped her to know Islam and others things related to it. They lamented how easy it was to judge people and have negative perception just because they do not conform to the same set of standards that other people have. They said it would be better to help them rather than making them feel like an outcast. Sure, it is easy to give sermons to those who always come to the mosque everyday. But what about those who do not, should they be left out? Maybe this is why some people gave up and went to other bodies in request for help as even some Muslim bodies prefer to wash their hands of difficult things and concentrate to things that are easier.

Chances. It is very easy to be said but not very easy to be given to those who need them.

Nur Kasih The Movie 2011 PPVRip 01 by daniNor15

I like this scene from Nur Kasih The Movie, watch from minute 25 onwards. It is very much related to what I'm writing today.

The Fish That is Fed

2011-07-11T12:14:00.003+08:00

Life is not a bed of roses, no one can deny that. It is a very materialistic world now, that sometimes people are divided between the haves and the havenots.

Funding

I went to Singapore last week, with a hope that I could enjoy myself there. Instead, I had to follow a group for visits to mosque around there. The committee of the mosques explained that they did not get any direct funding from the government. What they got were money from Mosque Building Fund (MBF) and discounts in buying plots of lands for their mosque. MBF is a fund where Muslims in Singapore would have their salary to be deducted and put into the fund. The minimum is 5 Dollar while others can opt for more. This is the fund that is used to buy the lands, build the mosque and for the upkeeps of the mosque. While some mosques received fundings from MBF, there are also those that do not receive them. What these mosques did was they organized programmes, such as selling food and selling items that have been donated to the mosque. What impresses me the most, for them, mosques are more than a place for you to pray five times a day. For them, it is a community centre, where it is not limited to praying only. They have programmes where they engage the community and the youths in liking the mosques. They worked for it as they know that if they do not work for it, then no one else will. In the midst of that monetary hardships, they persevered and did not whine hoping for assistance from the government. Of course, as the minorities, they had to compromise such as they cant use the loudspeakers for azan but they did not see that as a problem as everyone knows that they can still listen to the azan in the radio. These are the examples where you have to persevere and not let the problems to get you down.

Tourist spots.

While the Singaporean Malays persevered, Malaysian Malays prefer to wait for everything to come to them. Very well known for being lazy, all the fundings should come from the government, that is what the Malays have always thought. Thus, they did not actually work for the fundings, they just have to apply, contact some YBs and they will get the fundings. Not only that the mosques are used for praying only, sometimes the main purpose that they are actually built are for tourism. Yes, we can show to the people that we have alot of mosques, but who actually use them? Maybe what should be done is we have something similar like MBF, so that the Muslims here actually feel some sense of entitlement to the mosques because they actually contributed their money to the mosques. Maybe only then, we will work hard with what we have and not being ignorant just because we already have our day jobs and we can put food on our table.

The fault here is when we feel comfortable with our life that we tend to ignore hardships that other people had been through and not to work hard to achieve something that we actually want . Like the saying, "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. "

Privilege

2011-06-25T23:05:00.004+08:00

Walking

I was playing basketball last week when I accidentally hurt myself and had a torn ligament. It was not fun. Really. I could barely walk in the first few days and had to wear leg braces. At that time, I had to get people to drive me to places and buy me food. Feeling hopeless is an understatement. I lost the ability to walk for awhile and it hit me how important a simple act like walking can be.

Water

Klang Valley was hit with a major water cut that led to many grouses for two whole days in certain areas. People were suddenly panic because they could not do their daily chores because of the disturbance. Not many actually realised the importance of water before that. Only when there is a major water cut that people go huha about it.

Scholarship

I heard that there will be some changes to the scholarships for SPM students. I think this is long overdue. Some students thought that scholarships are rightfully theirs when you have to be chosen to obtain them. There are already too many scholarship holders who have not returned to Malaysia even after decades finishing their studies. Why should we have more? Only give scholarships to those who got to top universities then we can control the outflow of taxpayers money. How can we keep on bashing the local universities when we do not even send the top students to our local universities? It is obviously a case of which one comes first, the egg or the chicken. The scholarships should rightly be taken away and be given only to those who deserve them.

People go crazy when they lost something, including their insanity. Hopefully we can be like the Japanese, calm and disciplined, during our adverse times.

My Sungai Lui

2011-05-08T19:39:00.004+08:00

I was listening to the radio and Aizat was on an interview. One of the question was about his song, 'Sungai Lui'. He explained that the song is about a man who is successful but still comes back to his hometown, knowing where his root is.

There are many news highlighting about Malaysians migrating for the greener pastures, some of them due to better job offers, not satisfied with the treatment that they received in Malaysia plus many other setbacks that prompted them to choose leaving rather than staying.

Of course, I would be lying if I say that I'm satisfied with the happenings in Malaysia. It is harder nowadays, especially for young people like me who are burdened with loans and other difficulties, to get a good life. There are people who suggested that I should be leaving to other countries where life is better there. But for me, I can't correct the things I want to if I leave this country. I love this country and I will fight for it by staying here.

Reliability of Emails

2011-04-24T09:17:00.004+08:00

While I don't want to comment about the 1Malaysia email as there have been alot of comments from other people, I just hope that apart from having emails for ordinary Malaysians, they better have a system where the government agencies actually reply the emails that are given to them. Waiting for an email reply since November last year is not a good thing.

At least an MP actually replied my email promptly.

How To Know Whether You Are Ready for Postgraduate Studies

2011-04-22T12:45:00.003+08:00

I was at the Post Graduate Education Fair last week. Sensing that it is time for me to pursue my studies, I went there with a hope that I would learn few things before I enroll myself into the painstaking world of postgraduate studies. I really did learn alot of things when I talked to the university representatives at the fair there. What I want to highlight here is the experience that I had before going there.

Some people, after they are done with their bachelor degrees, would want to pursue their masters degrees naturally, which is fine with me. Learning is a never ending process. The problem is when they have problems in determining or not knowing how to choose appropriate course to pursue their postgraduate studies.

1. Time
There are people who can't really wait to do their postgraduate studies after they have graduated. While this is not an act of fault, there are some who simply rush into things. Doing a postgraduate study would require you to actually know what you are doing. Taking the time to work after degree, having work experience would really help. For example, in TESL, as this is my area, how would you know whether you are interested in linguistics, literature, TESL, ESL, Educational Psychology or even ESP when you are not actually practising them? By working and practising them, you would know whether this is something that you are really interested in or something that is viable to study and do a research on. Unless, you want to do a master degree just for the sake of having a master degree. This is the reason that I would advise people to take their time in getting to know themselves and what they really want to do in life. Once you know that, by all means, please go ahead.

2. Maturity
Usually, postgraduate studies would require you to make some researches. This in turn requires you to have a critical mind. I have seen some PhD students, not all, just some, who can't even identify their mistake in a sentence. Doing a postgraduate study would need you to be analytical, being able to see what is wrong and what is right. This is where maturity comes into place, where the ability to make deductive reasoning is fundamental. Of course, there will be a supervisor who will check your work but you can't expect him to correct your every other sentence. In short, make sure that you are able to judge your work so that it won't be called an utter rubbish.

3. Reason
Last but obviously not the least. This is one of the most important reasons. Why would you want to pursue your postgraduate study? Can it help you to get a better pay? Or because you want to make researches? Or simply because other people are doing it, so you are just following the crowd? You need to ask yourself, why would you want to do a postgraduate study. Make sure that it is a valid reason. I have a friend who continued his study after he had finished his TESL degree. I asked him, why now? Why right after finishing a bachelor degree? I would always remember his answer, even until now,

"I don't want to teach at schools. I want to teach at colleges"

which offends me much. Being trained to teach at schools, a masters degree means nothing compared to the wealth of experience that some of the teachers have. Obviously, he assumes that teaching at schools is degrading for him. I used to teach at a school for a while and I must say school teachers have one of the toughest job around. So if you want to get a masters degree because you do not want to teach at schools, that is a totally skewed reason. In short, have a valid reason before pursuing your postgraduate studies.

I hope this would help especially for someone like me who used to be unsure on what to do about my postgraduate study.

Two Days of Enjoyment.

2011-03-29T10:20:00.008+08:00

Being someone who lives in Seremban, I am already tired of going to Port Dickson as I am used to it. But when Groupsmore had an offer for a buggy ride at PD Buggy Trek I quickly snapped it up and asked my friends to join me. We had alot of fun but it was not raining that day so there was no mud, just dust and dirt. It would surely be more fun being drenched in mud once in a while.LOL.

Then we went to the beach, had some food while watching the sunset.The serenity of it.Ahhh...

On the next day, I used a voucher that I bought from ilovediscounts for a meal at Pie in The Sky at Plaza Damas, Hartamas. No, that is not cheapo, that is smart buying. Haha.

We were given two cold drinks and I chose Ice Lemon Tea.

Two chicken chops.

One moist chocolate cake.

And one apple pie.

Going to a pie restaurant would be incomplete without a pie, right?

The food was very good. I enjoyed the chicken chop, it was tender and crispy. Even the salad was good and I am not someone who enjoys my veggies. The cake was soft and moist which I prefer than the apple pie. It is not that the apple pie was not good, it just I like something sweet better. To top it all, I went with someone special. That made it even better. :)

Picturesque Putrajaya

2011-03-20T14:55:00.007+08:00

Yesterday I went to Putrajaya International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta. The place was at Monumen Alaf Baru, Putrajaya. The last time I went there was back in 2009 so when I reached there, it was certainly different from the last that I remember. Now it has more food stalls and activities lined up for the visitors. The only gripe that I had was the spot where they have the food stalls were all muddy when it rained. They could have made the venue much better for next time. Here are some of the pictures that I took at the event.

We were also entertained by the smoky firework during the night.

I managed to take a picture of the 'Supermoon Phenomenon'. Luckily I didn't turn into a werewolf or I would have to rip my tshirt apart and look good without it.

Or did I?Haha.

Putrajaya has some scenic views and now I can't wait for this year International Fireworks Competition at Putrajaya which will be held around July or August 2011.

For the love of movies.

2011-03-01T10:43:00.006+08:00

I have not been writing a lot these days. One of them is due to work commitment that requires me to be doing something else in front of the computer except blogging. As if I dont have enough work to occupy my time, now I have another blog in place. I will be writing on that blog with my friend Ijan which will discuss about movie reviews, news and once in a while some feature articles that will be written by us.

I love going to the cinemas and Ijan does too, I think. So we figured that maybe we should write about something that we have been discussing all this while. We are by no means experts in this field but we figured that there are not many blogs that talk about movie in English. We will be discussing about international and, not forgetting, the local movies. While my blog here mainly talks about serious things, this movie blog will talk about about something light that we all love. I guess.

Have a look at www.dramaticdurian.com Hope you enjoy it.

Why Malaysia is better.

2011-02-04T20:16:00.003+08:00

As the time of writing, many pro-democracy protesters are on the streets of Cairo and Alexandria, demanding that Hosni Mubarak steps down. You do not have to take a flight to Egypt to actually see the effect of the protests. While they have many reasons for protesting, it is undeniable that there are some side effects such as unruly atmosphere that forces many foreigners to flee the country, including Malaysians. So what should have Mubarak done?

From my point of view, there are two. First, leave the country like what Tunisian ex-President Ben Ali did. Once he stepped down and left the country, the political unrest stopped and they are now looking forward to a new government.

Or, if he does not want to step down, make sure that the protest does not happen from the start. While the top military chief already declared that they "will not use force against protesters calling for the removal of President Hosni Mubarak ahead of a 'million people' march", but I guess it is already too late now. They should have used force from the start, preventing the protest from even happening. Like what Malaysian police usually do, even to a candlelight vigil protest. No protest, no problem.

I love Malaysia.

Misconception.

2011-01-24T15:47:00.005+08:00

I was driving and as I reached a traffic light, the signal turned to red. Minding my own business, I looked at the traffic light while waiting for it to turn to green. It was at night and I was badly lit by the horribly maintained lamp post. Suddenly I looked at my right and I realized that a group of girls were looking at me. I tried to look around, just to be sure that they were looking at me. I was alone at that time, unless they saw something on top of my car and the smiles that they gave me were actually horrified look looking at some ghost with long legs just like in the movie Karak.

So I checked.Yeah, they were looking at me.Haha. They were smiling and grinning and I thought to myself, " Yeah, this feels good. Though it was dark at the time. They might be thinking in the car here looks like Ashraf Muslim though in actual it looks like Shrek."

Yes,this is how I look at night. But with hair.

So now I know why women like to get dressed, put on alot of make ups, get their hair done. It is because they like the attention! Don't tell me that they simply put on those thick make ups just because they like it. I was given a small attention by girls in cars and I already felt flattered. So no wonder that many false advertising like wearing skimpy clothes, being skinny are A-OK as they are already ingrained with the understanding that it is ok to be looked at, to show off what you have. If that is the common thing right now, I just can't imagine what would I do if I have a daughter in the future. Chain her to her bed?

So while women are being looked at by their looks, there are some of my friends who told me that men are judged by what car they drive. The bigger the car is or the louder the sound that it makes, the better men feel in their pants as they are judged by their cars. Talk about being shallow right?

Oh, by the way, I only drove a Kelisa that night, so either the theory about men with cars is false or the girls were just trolling me. I guess it is the latter.

History,books,Salina.

2011-01-12T15:30:00.001+08:00

History is a delicate subject as sometimes it can be rather skewed, depending on who writes it. Those who propose a subject might be the heroes while those who oppose are being portrayed as the villains. Though history is a subject about facts, how it is being presented can actually change how the facts are being portrayed. For example, we know that the past Sultans and the lords are actually the people who gave away our land to the British when they need some support over territorial problems. Here the Sultans and the lords are being portrayed as those who were being cheated while the British were being portrayed as the sneaky opportunists. Well, if no one is fighting over some territorial prowess, no opportunists could even have the chance to fool anyone right?

So the problem of our history textbooks have been debated heavily once it was decided that History would be a compulsory pass subject. While some quarters are opposing the amount of 'biased' info in the text book, the latest uproar related to the BM literature novel for SPM students once again put the limelight on what do we teach our students. So some books have been burned, pictures of the author have been slapped with slippers all in the name of opposing the content of the book. While I have not read the book Interlok yet, I just wonder what was the fuss about. Did the writer write some false information there? Or did the writer incites the races in Malaysia to go against each other? If what have been described by the writer are things that actually happened, then what is wrong with that? Ok so the name calling might not seem so appropriate, but is it something that is false there? We have seen how P.Ramlee's movies have cursing words in it but well, that is just how it was at that time. No one kicked a fuss out of it, People are still watching the movies and no one is complaining. Interlok was published in the 1970s so maybe it was something normal at that time with the name callings. We just accept that it happened at that time. Wanting to change the terms in the book to please some quarters is like the idiot request of some people who wants to change the term of Harimau Malaya, our national football team nickname, to Harimau Malaysia to really represents the true composition of the country. What a load of bullshit when no one even cares when the team was losing but everyone wants a piece when the team is winning. So it goes the same here with the book. It was published in the 1970s and no one cared about the terms. Even if they disagree with the book, there is actually no need to resort to burning the books as books should be appreciated, not to be burned. Engage in an intellectual manner, not in a barbaric form.

Have you read the book Salina by A. Samad Said? I would really suggest you to read that. I read it when I was in school, around 15 or 16 years old. I never really knew about the book at that time but I guess the red cover of the book intrigued me to read it. I can not really recall all the points in the book now as it has been a very long time since the last time that I read it. What I can remember is that the book is a story about Salina, a prostitute who lives in a run down house with a very poor environment. I can still remember the description of the feces being passed in the book. So the book actually refers to Salina as a prostitute, so does that mean that I should be angry because I do not believe that my race should be portrayed as prostitute? What is wrong with us now that we have become too sensitive with everything? We keep on trying to reach for perfectness when in truth we never will be. Just embrace the fact that we are not perfect but we must never give up to improve ourselves. The more we try to find perfectness, the more imperfectness will come creeping out of the closet. By that time we will realise that we are just mere human, not God.

Malaysia Boleh!

2010-12-28T11:00:00.002+08:00

The result of AFF Suzuki Cup 2010 for the first leg at Bukit Jalil Stadium has a positive effect on everyone it seems. Being at the stadium itself to watch the game is beyond description. Watching a football game at the stadium, compared to watching at the comfort of your own house it totally different in terms of the atmosphere. You have to be there to know how it feels.

And a video that I took using Pentax K-5 with Pentax Fisheye 10-17mm.

Malaysia Boleh!

People's First.

2010-12-13T17:32:00.003+08:00

I was caught in a traffic jam the other day. I would not have mind if it is because of accidents, as we are already used to that. The thing that pissed me off was because it was in the middle of the highway and the cars were stopped by some policeman because we were supposed to give way to some VIP in black cars which were being escorted by policemen with at least one patrol car and five motorcycles. It got me thinking while waiting that whole 30 seconds for the VIP cars to pass by.

Why would we need a whole entourage for some VIP cars?

If it is because of protection,you don't need to have the whole IPD to escort some VIPs. This is Malaysia, have you heard about VIPs being hijacked while in a moving car? Maybe it can happen in other countries, but not here. We don't need that.

Why can't the VIPs just drive like normal people? They have to rush to some place else so they need the policemen to escort them so that they would have a smooth journey? Personally, the only situation where we would need police escorts is during life threatening situation like delivering a baby or bringing an injured person to the hospital.

People say that they cannot connect with people in power as they cannot see the similarities between them. While people in power enjoy the privileges, the normal people still have to shove around just to get into a crammed train, have to skip dinner just because they don't have money to buy food while other people eat lavishly. Putting people as the main priority is helping the people to live comfortably without burdening them. Making people's priority first is not merely snapping pictures with some baby or taking a train ride once in a while and publicise it to the whole world. It is making decisions with helping the people in mind.

How To Know That Your Boyfriend Is A Douche

2010-12-01T22:12:00.005+08:00

Getting a prince charming, someone who is 'tall, dark and handsome' is on top of every woman's list. But let's face it, we are not living in some kind of fairy tale. Some women might make mistakes in having some douche as their boyfriend. So how do you know if your boyfriend is a douche?

1. Constantly calling you on the phone.
Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Except, in this case, constantly calling you, texting you, asking your whereabouts is rather annoying. You should not get bogged down from living your life just because you have to text him every 23 seconds and inform him of your whereabouts. Some concern is ok, but too much isn't. So get a life.

2. Making you feel guilty.
Sure, everybody has baggages, things that they hope would be ignored. The problem is when your boyfriend keep on mentioning it just to make you feel guilty so that you keep on nodding your head whenever he gets angry at you. If your boyfriend really loves you, why should he be mentioning about the past? He is with the current you. If he keeps on mentioning about the past, ask him to meet Dr. Emmett Brown, last I heard, DeLorean is still with him.

3. Using exes as an excuse.
This is somewhat related to number two, someone who is still stuck in the past. A guy who narrates a sappy story of him and his ex is just pathetic. The trick is to cry out loud that his ex did bad things when they were together, so he is being overprotective now because he is paranoid and not wanting the same thing to happen again. Remember, this is an old trick that guys use, don't ever fall for it and thinking that it is ok to put up with a guy who treats you as if you are his ex.

4. Has no respect for your family.
Sure, being in a relationship makes you feel like there are only you and your boyfriend in this world. But remember, the world does not revolve around you two. There are other people too, such as your family. Your boyfriend should know how to have a good manner when he is around your family. If he behaves like a total ass with your family, expect the same when he's with you in another 10 years.

5. Hitting you on the pretext of correcting you.
Let's face it, we are no saint. Once in a while, we make mistakes. But if making that mistakes entitle you to be hit by your boyfriend, then you better get out from the relationship. He will say that he wants you to learn not to make the same mistakes but if it leads to bruises and broken bones, that is not teaching, that is abusing. You better get ready with the pepper spray.

No matter what the reason, guys who act like a total douche should be dumped. Women who are still stuck with this type of men are either very loyal or too dumb to see. Though I hate to admit it, I think it is because of the latter. Love makes you blind, eh?

Keeping It Fresh

2010-11-22T23:10:00.005+08:00

Who would have thought that a documentary related to social networking would make a big hit? At least I didn't, not until I watch Catfish. Some people would not really classify it as a documentary, claiming that it is all staged. Well, we are actors and the world is the stage (trying to be philosophical but apparently failed doing so =_= ). While I try not to spoil too much about it, I feel obliged that I must write something. Catfish capitalizes on the craze of social networking and unsurprisingly, they succeeded on doing that. This movie features Facebook, Youtube, Google Map, and gadgets such as Iphone and GPS devices. People can actually relate to that as there are alot of us who are using those tools and devices. This made the movie somewhat viral and highly anticipated by geeks all over the world. For me, the movie is like eating a donut coated with chocolate but filled with bitter vinegar. I know, bad example, who would do that right? But that is how I felt after watching the movie. The relationship started all sweet, just like what we would see in romantic movies. But once truth came creeping out from the closet, they started looking for answers. The woman in the movie had a problem and she felt that she could not do something that she had always wanted all this while and with the main character in the movie, Nev Schulman, she felt that she could do all that. Up to that point, I could really felt the depress and sorrow faced by her. As this is not exactly a review about the movie, maybe I should not divulge too much information about it, for now.

Working with people from different background is really eye-opening once we had a talk with them and listen to whatever that they want to tell us. It is not exactly a heart to heart session but we can learn something from other people by doing that. I have a friend who is in her 30s. She used to be married but she is already divorced and now a single mother. I did not know that she is already divorced until she told me about it herself. I mean, who am I to poke into other people's private life. I was afraid to talk about her divorce as I did not want to upset her. But she was fine about it and told me things that really taught me something about getting married. During her marriage, she felt like she is not herself anymore. She did not do things that she used to enjoy, small things like reading books and spending time to herself. She became a dull, boring woman. While change is inevitable in a marriage, she felt that she is being forced to change into something that she is not. Now divorced, she said that she can now do things that she could not before this. She is back to her old self. Happy and not bitter.

So from these two women, though they live distance apart, they are much like each other, want to be free and not being changed into something that they are not. While change into something better is never a bad thing, there are alot of things to consider in asking someone to be exactly picture perfect like what we have in mind, as if we have some sort of mould that they must come out from. The role of a man is not to dictate what a woman should be but to make the relationship fresh, just like a catfish.

Cerita Piala Dunia

2010-11-17T10:15:00.004+08:00

Early last year, I started blogging again after years of hiatus. I continued writing after reading some blogs that in my opinion are really good in terms of their delivery and choice of words. Being an admirer of good writings, I was hooked on Lucius Maximus' Trankuiliti Tronoh. As I was thinking of a new name for my blog, I chose shrineofserenity (SS) as in resemblance of his tronohtranquility (TT) which I found was catchy enough for me. So when his writings about football and 2010 World Cup on Sokernet are being published, I did not hesitate in buying his book, Cerita Piala Dunia, just to dig into the book. For those who are used to reading his piece either on Trankuiliti Tronoh or Sokernet, they would realise that he would always stay true to his style, being cynical and at the same time preachy yet entertaining. Once I finished reading Cerita Piala Dunia, there are few things that I would like to point out:

1. This book is not exactly a review of the World Cup. If you want a book on statistics about how many goals were scored and whatnot, this is not it. This is a book for football fans who care much more than mere statistics. This is a book that relates football to politics, history and passion. For every game that he wrote about, he would only state the result in mere two or three lines. The rest would be on football and facts that we may never know. I personally like pieces on how he compared how Malaysian football can be improved by implementing steps that have been taken by other successful countries like the declaration done by Japan and the football academy initiated by Germany. Sure, you can say that we can easily google the facts. But for those who are really into writing would know that while looking for information would be easy, organizing them into a fine piece of work is not. And that is what Lucius Maximus has done with his writings.

2. Comparing his writings on Sokernet, the writings in the book are a bit mellowed. This is actually understandable as the book is actually intended for the masses. We do not want any officers confiscating the books right? I can actually see that the books will be snapped up and they will have to do a second printing, hopefully, even with the toned down style.

Reading this book, I can sense that we Malaysians are really passionate about football and would like to see improvements done for a better future. While we, the civillians, would like to see much change is done to our state of football, some people just would not want to let go of their power yet still thinking that change can be done. Well, keep on dreaming while the true, passionate football fans continue writing books like this and actually working on the revolutions of football.

Reliability.

2010-11-12T09:08:00.004+08:00

The good thing about emails is that we can expect to get a prompt reply rather than waiting few days using snail mail. I make it a point to send emails to relevant authorities such as Majlis Perbandaran Seremban, PosMalaysia and even to my MP and ADUN to make suggestions and complaints about certain things. While some did reply and took action, some were not really enthusiastic about the emails that they got and some were not even bothered to reply. So one day I decided to email the MP of Rasah and tell him what I feel about the representatives around my neighborhood, including him. I told him while I know what he has been up to, I could not say the same about the ADUN of Rahang. It's a good thing that he took the time to reply and explain about the whole situation. I dont know about your MP, but my MP took the time to reply my email and at least that shows that he is concerned about any comments that he received, unlike Majlis Perbandaran Seremban who up until now have not replied my email. Go figure.

Merapu.Not Merapi.

2010-11-06T23:05:00.001+08:00

What I did during my free time.

Remember,remember.

2010-11-05T23:57:00.002+08:00

She: You used to crack jokes when you're with me.

He: Yeah, and you used to love me.

Boleh lah.

2010-11-05T12:07:00.003+08:00

Just like my international students,these are among the first few words that they can speak once they are here in Malaysia. "Boleh lah","boleh kurang?" for them to bargain something at the shopping complex, and "cukup, cukup" I assume they use it when they order foods, maybe?

Maybe now if I wear a blue contact lens, colour my hair blonde and upload a video teaching Malay language, I would get alot of hits on Youtube. Having a tanned skin is not a problem, right?

Facility, Mentality, Affordability

2010-10-26T23:51:00.005+08:00

I read a news a couple of days ago about a man and his family living under a bridge. He was detained as he was a suspect for stealing construction equipment. When he was asked what his address was, he wrote there, under a bridge. He could not afford to pay the rent of his previous house, so he was kicked out from the house.

A few days ago I watched a Malay drama on Astro Oasis. It was totally unintentional as I was just browsing through the channels. The title of the drama was “ Rahmat…..Ana Nak Susu” which was about a rich man who was robbed and he had to be a beggar for a whole day before he could go back. He encountered so many people, people who had no money to buy food, people who had to be a prostitute just to buy some food for her daughter, people who had to sell things at the roadside as they cannot afford the plush shops in shopping malls. Only when he experienced all these, he realized that he should be more compassionate about people on the street rather than just concentrating on his business.

I have a friend who volunteers for an NGO, Belamiskin(Pertubuhan Membela Miskin Tegar Malaysia), where they give foods and donations to people who are in need. He sometimes volunteers to teach there where they provide free tuition to school kids. We sometimes discussed about this and he told me how he felt pity for the people who came to the place. Most of them were from nearby area and could not afford to buy food for their family so they had to rely on NGO like this in order for them to survive. They did not have enough food or money but when they got to eat the food there, the smile on their face really lit up the day, he said. Maybe you would want to join their Facebook group.

Today I read a news how money were spent unnecessarily based on the Auditor General Report 2010. While some school kids could not get a decent meal, some buildings were built without following the specifications which led to a ballooning cost. It is good that we have a lot of development such as more constructions. But the problem is when we concentrate more on developments of concretes and stones rather than the developments of human beings. The poor get poorer while the rich get even richer. I mean, why would people be bothered about ethics and what happens around them when they cannot even fill their stomach with some decent food or having a decent shelter from the sun and the rain? So in the end, what we have are first world facilities but people with third world mentalities.

Beliefs

2010-10-21T22:59:00.001+08:00

Some people say that I'm a rebel,which is not entirely true. I just like to provoke. Provoking here does not mean I like to make people annoyed and such. But I like to provoke people's thinking. This is what I have been doing to people who are almost the same age as me, or the Gen Ys, this past week. People have been saying that the Gen Ys do not care about anything other than themselves which is not true. Some really do care, it is just that they are not given the proper channel to speak out or to give their opinions which made them to be perceived as those who like to be confined in their own world. What we need is the ability to discuss and debate things in a mature, civil manner. We should know how to agree to disagree. There is nothing wrong in disagreeing and questioning something. If questioning something is deemed as being insolent, then let it be. Nobody is perfect so there must always be some sort of questioning as to clarify things and not to accept something entirely as it is. This can surely force people to get their brains to do more exercise rather than just letting it rot. I salute my friends who have been able to stand on their ground and can actually give facts in discussing rather than saying something out of emotions. But for those who think that we cannot discuss something just because it is deemed as sensitive, maybe you can do some soul searching and try to find the maturity in thinking and discussing as getting older is a must, getting wiser is optional.

Proton oh Proton

2010-10-14T18:16:00.005+08:00

Malaysians are always fascinated by cars. Though it is widely known that a car is an asset that depreciates, many people are willing to pay huge sum just to be seen in it. So when the new Proton Inspira was launched, there was a huge buzz about it which divided people either those who do not have the money but want a car that has that expensive look and those who already bought the Mitsubishi Lancer and are pissed off as the Proton Inspira is a total rip off from the Lancer. Yes, rip off. Say whatever you want, rebadged, rebranded or anything, it is still a rip off.

Spot the difference?

Why would Proton even have an R&D division when the cars that have been produced by them are mostly rip offs from other cars? Might as well we cease to produce anymore automotive engineers, concentrate on those who know how to get car designs from other companies instead.

After the recall of Proton cars, Proton Satria Neo and Gen2 that were manufactured from 2004 to 2008, it is no wonder that they are not designing their own cars for the time being. It just shows the flaws of our so-called national car company. Sure, other car companies recall their cars too, but the other cars that were recalled in 2010 were not manufactured in 2004. Why did Proton take so long to identify the problem?

Tired of below par cars that have been churned out by Proton? Thinking of buying imported cars? You can surely do that, if you have the money. With the high tax that is imposed on imported cars, it is very difficult for common people to buy imported cars. All in the name of protecting national interest. How about the interest of the people who do not have a lot of money then? Is this what we call People’s First?

Waiting for the AFTA to be fully implemented so that the prices of cars will go down? Not when we have a minister who blurted out that the prices of cars are controlled by the car companies. Well, of course, as the car companies have to put a high price tag on their cars when some cars are even taxed up to 200% and 300%. I guess it is better to get the Malaysians to pay a premium for their own national cars while some people in Saudi Arabia can get cheaper Proton cars right?

Oh well, I don’t get paid that much and cannot afford a Mitsubishi. So I guess a Proton it is for me.

My 100th post.

2010-09-29T21:47:00.004+08:00

Writing, for me, is not something new. I have been writing since eons ago.Ok, so that might be an exaggeration, but you get the idea right? So why do I have this blog? I actually already some few blogs, such as my friendster blog, which I have been writing in since 2005. But suddenly I grew tired of it since not many of my friends even know how to blog at that time. So I left it untouched in 2006. Then, out of nowhere, in 2009, my friend Ijan told me that he has a blog that he had just started at that time. We were trainee teachers at that time and suddenly it struck to me that maybe I should have a new blog and started writing again. I started by writing about my experience being a trainee teacher at that time and as they say, the rest is history.

So here are some of my moments in writing this blog.

The most searched entry - About Juliana Evans in my dream. I blogged about it and alot of people who came into this blog were actually googling about her. Just imagine the traffic that I can get if this is a gossip website.Haha.

The entry that can always make me laugh, even now - It just shows how important it is to learn to spell something correctly.

The entry that was published in NST - I didn't write it with an intention to send it to the paper. Just trying it out of luck. Never thought that it would be published.

The most heartfelt entry, I guess - Apart from writing about current issues, I also wrote alot about the late Yasmin Ahmad. This might be a sad entry as this was the last entry about her.

Obe who? - It was an entry about Papadom movie review. Afdlin asked some of his fans in his facebook to post links of reviews to his wall. Obefiend posted my link on Afdlin's wall though I had no idea who he was at that time. So I guess I should be proud a popular blogger took his time to read my blog eh?

I might have slowed down in writing due to the nature of my work. But that doesn't mean I'm abandoning it altogether. I will still write and hopefully to the 1000th meaningful post.

Independency

2010-08-31T08:00:00.002+08:00

People say that a language defines a society. Well, maybe that is true. Just look how French is used as a romantic language that we quickly associate the French people as people who are romantic. Or how we associate English as a language that is bound to help people in trading around the world. For those who have been reading my blog long enough, you would realise that I rarely write in Malay. It is not that I am not proud of my language, I am proud. It is just that I feel by writing in English, my writings can reach more audience around the world (though I know most of my readers are Malaysians). While I often write in English, it hurts me the most when people seem to be ignorant of the words that are available in Malay. For example, they think that when they introduce words that originate from English into Malay, their sentences or words would be more ‘globalized’, that they would be seen to be more complicated than other people when it is very obvious that there are other Malay words that are more suitable. For example, the word ‘apresiasi’, which comes from the word ‘appreciation’. There is already the word ‘penghargaan’, why can’t they just use that word?

Another example is the word ‘solusi’ which comes from the word ‘solution’, when it is already obvious that we already have the word ‘penyelesaian’ in Malay.

The latest word that cringe me the most is when it is used for this year’s Independence Day’s theme. This year’s theme is ‘ 1Malaysia Menjana Transformasi’. I just want to know who is the brilliant chap who coined this year’s theme. Was he inspired by the Transformers the movie? Why can’t they use the word ‘perubahan’ instead? I don’t mind if they want to use English, but make sure that the whole theme is in English such as 1Malaysia Generating Transformation rather than using some parts and pieces in English and then mix it up with Malay.

If a language defines a society, so what does this define us? A bunch of confused Malaysians? I hope not. I guess some part of us Malaysians is never really independent yet. Happy 53^rdIndependence Day folks.

p/s: I’ve just realized that this is my 99^th post. Maybe you guys can comment on which of my posts that you either like, dislike or can vividly remember ever since you start reading my blog. That would surely give me some ideas on what to write for my 100^th post. Thanks!

It Is Almost Ramadhan.

2010-08-09T23:42:00.002+08:00

“God loves him more, right?” , one of his daughters asked my dad. My dad just agreed with what she said. Me? I just stood there, speechless.

I received a bad news last week that my uncle has passed away due to some health problems. As their house is just nearby here, I followed my parents to pay a visit. As we came into the house, his wife cried, relating what had happened on that fateful day. He was his usual self, without showing any symptoms. They were eating at a rest and relax stall when he had difficulty in breathing and collapsed.

Few days before that, he bought cooking stuffs as it is almost Ramadhan and they are selling cookies as their side income. When I came to their house, I could see the cooking utensils and all the materials were still stacked neatly at the kitchen. Seeing all that would wrench anyone’s heart.

Considering that it is almost Ramadhan and Aidilfitri, I dread to think what their celebration for this year would be like. It would not be the same anymore. Many of his children are still studying, the youngest is 3 years old. The youngest would just answer that his dad is at the hospital when people ask her where her dad is, oblivious to the fact that he is not there anymore.

People always say that you would only learn to appreciate things that you have lost. So I am glad that I still have my family to fast together and hopefully, to celebrate Aidilfitri together. So take care of yourself and happy fasting, love your loved ones.

Perception and Impression

2010-08-01T23:55:00.006+08:00

I was talking to my students as they were doing the exercise that I gave them in class. As I was walking, looking at their work, I struck up a conversation with one of the students. He is from Afghanistan. We talked about his country as he related his experience being here in Malaysian and being in his own country. We also discussed about one of my favourite movie, which is about Afghanistan, The Kite Runner.

He told me many people were surprised when he said he is from Afghanistan. I asked him, why? He answered, " They thought those who are from Afghanistan would wear the turban, has long beard, which I am not." Well, I said, aren't most of them like that? Then he told me something that I never knew.

" Most of those people are not even from Afghanistan. They are outsiders, came into Afghanistan and ruled the country."

I was shocked. Then he continued, " If they know I am here and learning, I would be in big trouble. They would not want us to learn or to improve ourselves because they are afraid that we would be clever and try to get the country back from them." Then I remembered a story about a girl who was tortured just because she wanted to run away from people who abused her. She was featured in the front page of TIME Magazine.

You can read more about her here.

In my other class, I was giving them exercises and in one of the session, I asked them to give me an example of a developed country. I half-expected for most of them to say, US or England or whatever Europe country that you can think of when suddenly one of the student,an Algerian, without blinking an eye, said,

"Malaysia."

I was a bit embarrassed when he said that when I don't even consider my country as a developed country.

How we see other people and how we perceive them is important as sometimes we are being given the wrong information all this while. Some people have a hard time with their country but even with all the obstacles, they still return to their motherland as they cherish whatever is there even though it wont be the most ideal place. So love your country and whatever you have but at the same time try to improve and do not just content with whatever you have now. I love you Malaysia.

a bit patriotic here,it is the month of Independence, right?

To The Core

2010-07-13T23:15:00.004+08:00

Everytime there is a problem with Muslims being opressed, there would be calls for us to boycott whatever that is produced by the Jewish companies or the Americans. Be it milk, toothpaste to electronic items. Sure, we can boycott, then they have less buyers, then their profits would crumble.

Then what?

It is actually about the economic problem and how it is problematic when we associate it with religion without actually knowing how to.

How many of you have been to the markets and people would try to sell you halal toothpaste, with a big halal wording on the toothpaste, giving it the Arabic look, with a hope that you would buy it? Or maybe when they try to sell you an eye-healing device, give it some Arabic wordings, then sell it to the masses. This is what we call, ladies and gentlemen, selling the religion itself. These people are actually selling something by associating it to the religion as they hope gullible buyer would succumb into the tactic as they are supporting something that actually promotes the religion.

As many of you would know, there are many brands that are actually associated with Jewish companies that whenever there is a boycott, these brands are the one targeted first. But let's wait for a while. How did the brands promote themselves? Did they put some Yiddish words on the cover, promoting for the Jewish people to buy it? No, they did not. They promoted it just like what other brands that are not associated with the Jewish companies did in promoting their stuffs. It is on a level playing field. Whereas here in Malaysia, we even put a halal logo on a toothpaste, which is in a way, trying to secure the market in the Muslim segment. I think that is like a cheap shot in a boxing match. If you want to promote your stuffs and they have a good quality, no matter whether you put a halal logo on it or not, they would still sell. So in a way, we are compromising ourselves economically. By playing on a level field, we will motivate and push ourselves to do better instead of just relying on a sure, tapped market.

A Muslim who is a businessman bought a very well known franchise which actually originated from the USA. He is on hold of the franchise business here in Malaysia. Suffice to say, he is like the owner of the franchise here. So one day, he was asked by an audience during a talk, why did he buy a company, which originated from the USA, which all of us know, are allied to the Israel? He just smiled, and answered,

" The problem here is not where the business comes from. Why do you keep on thinking where it came from? The problem here is we must think on how to conquer the business that is started there. This is just a start. Maybe one day, I will own the biggest shares for the worldwide franchise."

I have to rephrase the sentences, but you got the main point there, right? So what he is trying to say here, we should not really think where the business comes from, how long would the boycott lasts and everything. That is not the main concern here. What we should really think of is how we can improve ourselves and be better instead of just boycotting without any real solution to it.

Oh, and maybe not to sell our religion by using the mambo jumbo crap trick.

Gone But Not Forgotten

2010-06-22T15:43:00.001+08:00

What we've got here is (a) failure to communicate - Cool Hand Luke

In one of my class, I asked my students about the Berlin Wall. Majority of them never even heard about it, which stopped me from asking further whether they even know about the East Germany and West Germany that are divided by the wall. History has never been a favourite subject for students as it is not being given the importance and recognition that it should get. I was reading an entry by saifulislam.com. He talked about how Prof. Khoo Kay Kim commented that Geography and History are not being given the preference in the education system. This leads to students studying Science and Maths subjects more so that they can score as many As that they can thus getting to study engineering or medicine. Undoubtedly, the profession that is being craved by the students, such as medicine, is a very noble and important profession. But at the same time, there is no balance between the left brain subjects and the right brain subjects. This leads to what saifulislam said, producing workers, but not thinkers. Arts and history actually help students to look at the aesthetic of life rather than what should be gained in life. Creative minds are being suppressed, I guess.

And now I know why.

I was taken aback when Deputy Finance Minister Awang Adek, said that the Pudu Prison has no significant importance in view of the impending construction of new commercial buildings on the site of the demolished Pudu Prison. Something as historic as the Pudu Prison has no significant importance? Wow, that is surely one way to teach our kids about history then. I went to the start of the demolition of the walls yesterday. There were many people who came and watched as the bulldozer demolished one part of the wall. That shows that there are many others who are still interested in watching the historic building being demolished, as a remembrance for the future. While development is a must and something must be sacrificed to make way for development, there should be something that is left from the historic Pudu Prison for the future generation to look at. At least one part of the wall should be preserved, just like one part of the A Famosa that is still standing as a tourist attraction and serves as a reminder of the past. Just because the land of the Pudu Prison is located at a prime place, commercialisation should not take place at the expense of education and history. There should be a strike of balance between them. But the world is never fair, thus the capitalists have their way and disregarding the opinion of the masses.

And they still dare to say that the youths do not appreciate history when the reason that it happens is because of the people in power prefer money over history. How many historic buildings must be demolished? How many Pudu Prison? How many Bok House until we realise that history plays a part in our life. This might sound like disappointment talking, but it is actually a hope, that one day, there will be people who realise that the development of people is more important than the development of commercialization which only benefits the few.

The Man I Ought To Be.

2010-06-20T00:25:00.004+08:00

I know it is a bit late, but I had a lot to talk about as I was starting to write about my dad. I had to omit a lot of things due to time constraints. But, here goes.

My dad is the type who rarely talks about his work. When I was still in school, whenever people asked me about his job, he just told me to answer, "Ala,pegawai kerajaan je.(Just a government servant.)" Now that I'm in a working environment, I just got to know that his job is one of the highly regarded job that people would compete to get. He never told me how hard it is to get oneself into his profession, which I would say can be rewarding at times. He never bragged about his job, being humble is his choice, I guess. But now that I passed the exam to get myself into his profession, I can see that he is actually proud of me, which I gladly did.

He actually wanted me to become an engineer. I vividly remember the times where he would proudly claim," You're going to be an engineer one day " which I'm not right now. We had our arguments about the choices that I made of what I wanted to do, but I stood with my decision which though he reluctantly accepted at that time, I can see now that with the offers that I'm getting, I hope that I made him proud. We rarely had our bonding time with each other, but I know that he likes something that is related to current issues. So I trained myself to read a lot of newspapers and get myself updated with current issues so that we would have things to talk about. It worked, actually. We always have something to talk about. At the same time, it helped me in a way that I can talk about anything with anyone. I always have a topic to talk to. That actually builds up my rapport which is quite useful when you have to deal with a lot of people.

Not only that, he is actually one of my readers whenever I write something in my blog. At one time, he called me just to say that I made a grammar mistake in one of my postings. After pointing it out, he would proudly claim that his English is better than an English teacher (read: me). Oh, whatever.Haha. It is one thing to read my blog, but it is another when he promotes my blog to his friends. He even promoted my blog to one of his friends who is a chief editor of a news agency. Because of that, I was called for an interview and was offered a job as a journalist. Though I had to reject the job offer, I still owe it to him for promoting my blog, which I myself wont be doing as much as he did.

"It's ok, just make sure that you wont do the same mistake after this," my dad said to me.

You see, I was into trouble for a lot of time. So everytime I was in a deep shit, I would get the dont-do-it-again lecture from my dad which he would end with that sentence. Whenever I did something bad, the first thing that I would think about is him. I was very afraid of what he would say or do if he found out about what I did. I can still remember till now when I was a kid and I didnt want to take a bath, he chased me around the house just to get me to take my bath. He was quite strict when I was small but now that I'm grown up, he only told me to learn from my mistakes and not to repeat it again. In a way, I learned that whatever bad things that people did, try to forgive them and try to encourage them to learn from their mistakes rather than punishing them and condemning them for the rest of their life. It took me some time to realise what he tried to teach me so now when I can see that, I tried to be someone who is more forgiving towards others and to give others another chance to learn from their mistakes. It's not easy but it surely gives you self satisfaction which you can't get from all the riches in this world. That is my dad. My abah. He taught me that. So thank you abah, and happy father's day.

How to Double Your Money

2010-05-27T19:33:00.006+08:00

It makes me cringe everytime I see a picture of people showing their bank accounts,showing off how much they are getting each week by participating in a scheme where they invest a small amount of money and getting a huge return in a short period of time. My take? There is no easy money in this world. If it seems to be that way, then there must be something fishy about it. One of the most notoriously known is 'Login FB dapat RM100' which is utter bullshit. For those who really understand how it works,it is just a scheme where the money just rotate and in order for it to keep on rotating, you have to get downlines. Yes,once you are caught in the web, it would be very difficult for you to get out.

The thing with many of those who are duped, they are too gullible in believing that they can get money without sweating it out. They just have to be shown with an amount of money and can easily be induced with it.

Or they can be shown a picture of someone with a big house or a big car and keep on dreaming that someday they can be the one in the picture when actually, the guy in the picture only borrowed the car and the house for a while.

Ye,saya menang motor.

I have a friend and he is now doing a business of selling things. He already has a stable job and he is doing this part time business as his side income. He told me that this part time job is just that, a part time job. He is not doing it very aggressively as it is not his main source of income. If there is a customer, he would try to sell his things. But if there is none, he would just do his main job without concentrating too much on his part time job. Of course, he did put up some advertisement about his business, but if there is no buyer, he wont be too sad about it. I asked him, why? He told me he has this habit that he felt somehow helped him in one way or another. Everytime he went to the mosque for the Friday prayer, he would try to donate at least RM1 or RM2 to the mosque. It is not a huge amount, but it sure is a good thing to do, he said. He told me that each time he did that, in one or two days, there would be more customers looking for him. He said that maybe it is a gift from God, that for the small amount that he gave to the mosque, God would give something better to him. But he warned me, that we should not be thinking of getting a reward when donating, we must be sincere and not to be thinking too much if there is no return from the small donation that we made. God, he said, already has plans for us. If God wants us to get some money from our dealings, we would. But if it is not meant to be, then it is not meant to be and we just have to work harder.

Money is a sensitive topic to be talked about. People just seem so eager to amass as much as they can without actually knowing the source of the money first. The money from gambling, for example, which would be used for us to buy food for our family, would have a long term effect which we wont be able to see until it is too late. This is one of the problems with Malaysians, some of us just cant get enough of money that they would resort to whatever method that is possible as long as the money reaches them. It is like organic food and non-organic food. You might get bigger and juicier orange which is chemically laden, but you would get a better quality orange from the organic orange. That is how it is with money. The bottom line is, there is no free lunch. Not even free orange.

Your Shoes Are Too Big For Me.

2010-05-09T00:50:00.003+08:00

It is a bit ironic that Mother's Day falls on the same month with Labour Day. A traditional and conservative family would regard being a mother is actually a job per say. So I guess it is not very ironic to some then. Being a mother is a lot of work. Loads of chores have to be done while juggling with the kids and at the same time, preparing things for the husband. For a family where the burden of chores are all on the shoulder of the mother, it certainly won't win the most coveted job of the year.

The place where I'm working right now requires me to deal with nurses, a lot. For those who don't know, my mom used to work as a nurse and she is already retired now. I got my chances to talk with the nurses and asked a little bit about their job, their life experience and everything. I learned a lot from them. But one thing that all of them agreed on is that being a nurse is not a very easy job. It made me think, how did my mom managed to raise her children and at the same time juggling with her demanding job, taking care of the children when we are sick, just like how she took care of the patients when they needed her the most. How was she able to prepare our breakfast before she went to work early in the morning? I am not even married yet, but I already feel the burden of working. I have no idea how hard it could be if I were to be like her.

People say that we won't know someone until we put ourselves into that someone's shoe. But I guess to put myself into my mom's shoe is just impossible as her shoes are too big for me to fill. Happy Mother's Day, ibu.

I Want.

2010-04-26T20:49:00.006+08:00

A few days before my birthday, people keep on asking what I wanted for my birthday. I never really know what I wanted, so I made a list and had a few things things in mind.

I already have a personal computer but I have always wanted a netbook. Maybe a Dell netbook as I have always preferred Dell when it comes to laptops.

I was thinking that maybe I can use it for my photo outings and can easily transfer my pictures into the netbook as a backup.

Or...maybe I would want to have a new DSLR body, the Pentax K-7.

Just imagine the possibilities of what I can do with a new body :D

Oh man....I'm such a gadget freak, aren't I ? But to prove to you that I'm not, I have another thing that I would like to have.

I would like Lisa Surihani to sing to me. Though looking at her acting skills, I dont think I should hope for much if I were to get her to sing for me.

So when I had a look at my list,trying to get the best thing as a present for my birthday, I realized that I dont need these things.

I only need my dearest to be with me.

Needs are more important than wants.

Now I Won't Get Lost Anymore.

2010-04-18T14:02:00.010+08:00

I have never been good in finding places which I am not familiar with. I once took 2 hours from Shah Alam to Ampang just because I got lost and I could not find my way =_=

I am the type who would have to be around that place for a few times before I could remember the roads. So I was so determined that I would get a GPS for my newly-acquired Nokia 5800 ( well that explains the laziness of me remembering new roads =_= ) so that I wont get lost after this. I have been using my Garmin for mobile on my phone for a few weeks now and I must say that it did a good job. Before I give out my opinions, here are the instructions on how to install Garmin on your Symbian phones. These instructions were taken from the blog of Noktahhitam. All the credit goes to the blog owner of Noktahhitam. Im just sharing here. You can visit the blog here.

Before you do anything, Download the file (80 mb ++) and read all the instructions before hand. It’ll help you to visualize the process.

Download file contains

GarminMobileXTforSymbianS603rdEdition_50040.exe
GarminMobileXTFreeBasemap_4xxxx.exe
GarminMobileXTSupportFiles_4xxxx.exe
gmapsupp.img (Malaysian Map, with DUKE highway)
garmin_kgen.exe
5800_manual.pdf
GarminMobile20_GarminMobileXTOwnersManual.pdf

You can skip step 1 if you want. But if you want to do it, just make sure that you do a full back up of your phone.

1. Setting up Apparatus, The Nokia 5800

-Back up all data using PC Suite (go to Nokia website).
-Soft reset by pressing *#7370#. Should take about 2-3 mins and you lose all your data (except on memory card). But don’t worry, you have back up remember?
-On your Nokia 5800, go to Application > Location > Positioning > Positioning Methods. Enable “Assisted GPS” and “Integrated GPS” ONLY. This will ensure you don’t get charge using WAP or 3G network for Internet.
-Go to Application > Location > GPS Data > Position > Options > Satellite status. This will show the satellite signals you’re receiving. Be sure you are outdoor in an open area. Balcony doesn’t work well, believe me I’ve tried. Once you’ve got AT LEAST 4 satellite signal, go back indoor, you don’t want people to think you’re crazy, waving your phone around.
-Now you’re ready for GarminXT.

2. Installing GarminXT on Nokia 5800.

-Once you’ve downloaded, unzip the files to someplace accessible preferably on your desktop. If you haven’t, please download it.
-Connect your phone via USB and select ‘Mass storage mode’.
-From you PC, double click “GarminMobileXTforSymbianS603rdEdition_50040.exe” to install and wait.
-Double click “GarminMobileXTFreeBasemap_4xxxx.exe” to install. Wait..
-Double click “GarminMobileXTSupportFiles_4xxxx.exe” to install.
-Remove USB connection between PC and phone. When prompted ‘Launch GarminXT’ do not click Yes, just Cancel.
-From your phone, go to Menu > Settings > Application Manager > Installation files. There should be GarminXT.sis file. Install it.

3. Cracking GarminXT on Nokia 5800.

-Tell yourself and say “Yes, I’m a cheapskate”.
-Run GarminXT from your phone at Menu > Application > Garmin. It will prompt you with some settings. Choose your preferable.
-Select “Use other device” when it prompts you to buy or trial. You will get a screen, “Where To?” and “View map”
-In GarminXT, go to Tools > Settings > About. Jot down “Card ID”, you will need it. Exit GarminXT
-On your PC, run “garmin_kgen.exe” and enter the “Card ID” from previous steps.
-Generate it and you will get a string of codes. Copy the codes to Notepad and save it as “sw.unl”. *Be sure you don’t save it as sw.unl.txt”*
-Connect your phone to PC and select “Mass storage mode”.
-Copy “sw.unl” to Garmin folder. Usually located at E:/Garmin.
-Copy “gmapsupp.img” from downloaded file to Garmin folder. “gmapsupp.img” is the Malaysian map.
-Disconnect your phone from PC.

4. Restore your Nokia 5800

-Reconnect your phone via PC Suite.
-Restore your settings through back up.

5. Setting up GarminXT on Nokia 5800

-You don’t need your PC anymore. Shut down and conserve energy.
-Run GarminXT on your phone.
-Go to Tools > Settings > System > Remote GPS. Change to “Use Attached GPS” by disabling the “Bluetooth GPS”.
-Go to Tools > Manage My Data > Map Sets > MapSource. Make sure all maps are enabled.

6. Toying GarminXT on Nokia 5800.

-Switch off your fans and lights. Go out.
-Run GarminXT, (duh!).
-Select “View Map” and wait for a while. The satellite will find you. It took me 5 mins or so. Just have patience and faith.
-Now you’ll see where you are.
-Go back and select “Where To?”. If you’re at home and wants GarminXT to store you current location as home, then select “Home”
“Where To?” is rather confusing. I usually use “Where To?” > Point of interest. There’s lots of shopping malls, hospitals, banks, ATM machines etc. from there, you’d know where to go.
-Pat yourself and say “Well done”. The rest is up to you.

These past few weeks that Ive been using the GPS, I can say that the Garmin GPS is better than the Ovi Map that is supplied by Nokia. Alot of features on Ovi Map need me to use my data connection, which is a no-no for a cheapskate like me.Haha.

The route recalculating on the Garmin is very fast too, it took me less than 5 seconds to recalculate another route while Im on the road. Ive tried installing the Garmin on Nokia 5800, Nokia E75 and Nokia N97. It worked just fine on the 5800 and E75 but somehow it couldnt work on N97 as there are buttons that cant be used on N97. So it is not advisable for you to try to install it on the N97.

There are many questions regarding the step 3 and how to crack it such as this :

1. when i start my garmin on 5800 ( pls refer to your point # 3 iii) where it says “Select “Use other device” when it prompts you to buy or trial. You will get a screen, “Where To?” and “View map” – there is no such option. it gives you four options:
a) purchase and go
b) begin free trial
c) enter product key
d) connect to garmin GPS

pls let me know which option to choose here…

From my experience of cracking the software, there is no such thing as 'use other device', that is why people are confused as to which option to choose. Just make sure that you choose the 'connect to garmin GPS' and proceed to instruction number 4 of step 3 which is

In GarminXT, go to Tools > Settings > About. Jot down “Card ID”, you will need it. Exit GarminXT.

Make sure that once you cracked the software, update the map at malfreemaps. From what I am told, it is updated weekly.

There you have it, I hope you enjoy it as much as I am right now! :D

Men are having it easy.

2010-03-12T20:38:00.005+08:00

How many of us know that every 8th of March is the International Women's Day? I guess some of you will be asking, 'Really??'.

What is the purpose of special days like this usually? It is because people want to feel appreciated. It's the same with Teacher's Day where teachers want to feel appreciated and Labour Days where all workers are appreciated. So how about Men's Day? Don't men want to be appreciated too? I guess we are, but there are reasons that there is a Women's Day but not Men's Day.

It's because women are facing a tough time now while men are having it easy.

Let's face it, women nowadays are having a hard time, especially in marriage and education. More women are getting married a bit later compared to 20 to 30 years ago. This situation is also interrelated with the level of education of women nowadays. More women are concentrating on their studies and careers now that they cant simply settle down and put a break on their very fast-paced life. This leads to them getting older and unmarried. When they feel like getting married, most men are too afraid to approach them as their career and education status might be too intimidating. This forces women to 'marry someone who was less educated or with lower qualifications. Some also married men younger than them' like what is reported in this piece of news. Men have egos, alright. Not many men would want to marry someone whose salary is double the amount of what that man gets per month.

I had a look at the list of the 2010 SPM candidates who excelled in their studies. The best student is, yes, you guess it right, a girl,Gladys Tan Yee Kim. While most of the excellent students are girls, I guess there is still a shine of light at the end of the tunnel when SM Sains Seremban is announced as the best school. For those who dont know, it's an all-boys school. You see how competitive it is for the girls to compete now when most of the excellent students are girls too?

Ok, so how is it that I'm saying men are having it easy now? First of all, not many men are really interested to study anymore. That is one of the reason that men are a rare breed in the university and colleges. Some just prefer to work while some prefer to go to the 'college of needles'.

Well, there your future goes, out of the window.

So for those men who are continuing their studies, they can rest assured that the competition in getting a place to universities and getting a job is less compared to the women. Men are in a position to choose now, so for all the men out there, don't worry that there is no Men's Day for us, at least we have something that women dont have, more choices!Haha.

Formal Education: It's More Than That.

2010-02-17T23:06:00.004+08:00

I had a look at my blog, it has been 4 weeks since my last entry. Im already working now and it starts to take a toll out of me. Most of the time is spent on working and when Im at home it is spent relaxing after a hard day's work. Being at a working place really helps me to learn alot of things, especially things that are related to education as Im in the education profession.

Formal education is just a ticket to success.

Being in the education line, Ive encountered so many people eager to pursue their studies that is of interest to them. It's not that getting a degree and such is a bad thing.Its a very commendable thing to do. Well, learning never stops, right? Getting diplomas, degrees, masters or even PhD s can open many opportunities for you. But thats what they are, they give you options, opportunities for you to be successful. It doesnt guarantee you anything. The world doesnt owe you success. In order to be successful, you need more than a scroll and a formal education. You got to have the right attitude. I have seen people who didnt really score in their degree can be successful too. They might not have enough aptitude to compete with other workers but they have the right attitude, the will to learn and not giving up. I guess these are the criteria that we can never get from a classroom. It comes from within you. Dont forget social skills. You might be able to score 3.90 for your CGPA but the knowledge that you have comes to nothing if it cant be properly channeled to other people i.e. co-workers. You need social skills, moreover when your profession demands you to deal with other people day in day out as opposed to being in a lab looking at some chemicals. That is what I normally tell people when they are too concerned about their studies like there's no other thing to think about except for exams, exams and more exams. Its not that exams arent important. It is. But some people dont know how to balance things out. I was in the Dean's List for two semesters in a row during my first year degree. But I felt like I wanted more than just mere degree. So I got myself involved in alot of things after that but at the same time not forgetting my priorities in my studies. My principle was and still is, work hard but play harder, as I dont want to be that dull boy sitting at the corner counting numbers while other people are having fun during the recess time. Im still carrying the same principle even when Im teaching. I let my students to give their opinions rather than listening to me blabbering, and telling them stories that are related to the topic in the class, something from my experience. It gets them to think and not just nodding their head in agreement. Enough of producing students who can only score in exams but nil in their character. Formal education is just a ticket to success. Unless we stop producing students who churn out facts without understanding them, formal education is like a ticket to a success that isnt there.

Until My Last Breath.

2010-01-18T19:32:00.003+08:00

I had colourful memories of my primary school. There were no reason to worry about important things other than finishing the homework given by the teachers. One of my teachers who like to give me alot of homework is Cikgu Badariah, my Maths teacher when I was at Sekolah Kebangsaan Dato Bandar Rasah (SKDBR). She is very notorious for giving hundreds of Maths homework to her students. Don't even think of not finishing the work given by her as it would usually mean that you would get the hairdryer treatment from her and your ear would most likely be detached from your head as she would pull the ear of the students who do not finish the work given by her,very, very hard.Haha. Everytime I think about the ear-pulling, I am so relieved that at least I scored for my Maths in UPSR. She is so dearly loved by her students even when she 'tortures' the students with loads of homeworks. As one of her students, I love her too for being one part that helped me to be where I am right now. So when I got the news that she already passed away yesterday evening, I was so devastated beyond any description.

I went to her house yesterday evening to read Yassin for her. As I reached the door of her house, I stopped for a while as I remembered my experience being there. It is already more than 10 years since I stepped into her house. She is very famous with her tuition classes and I was one of her students for her Math tuition class.Yeah, as if I didnt get enough torturing at school during her Maths subject, I offered myself to be in her tuition class like offering myself to be eaten by a dragon.Hehe. The sole reason that I went to her tuition class is because of a girl that I had a crush on went to the same tuition. I guess I tried to spend more time with the girl though actually more of it was spent doing hundreds of Maths exercises.Haha.Off I went to the tuition class at Cikgu Badariah's house and luckily I didnt disappoint her and got an A in Maths for my UPSR. So yesterday was a sign of respect for her, for all the good deeds and nagging that she did for us. Being a teacher like her is not an easy job. She is very strict as she doesnt want her students to stray from the path to excellence though her strictness would not win her fans. But she didnt mind that, she's teaching because she wants her students to be successful in life, not because she wants to have fans. But I guess her strictness wins her admirers instead, as I'm one of them. As I was reading the Yassin for her, I shed tears of emptiness as one of my favourite teachers has passed away and would never come back. One part of me, one part of my memories has gone with her demise.

After I finished reading Yassin and tahlil, I listened to her husband as her husband told stories about her. The last few weeks before her death, her husband already asked her to stop teaching tuition as they already have enough money from their pension. But she was very persistent and said that she would continue teaching. Her husband asked her again, then when would she stop teaching the students? She answered,

" Until my last breath."

And as I looked around the house, it's very true. The house that I went to more than 10 years ago is still the same house that I went to yesterday. She leads a very modest life, she didnt do the tuition for the sake of the money, but for the benefit of the students instead. On top of the fan switch box, there is still a whiteboard duster that she would usually use during her tuition classes. I guess the whiteboard duster wont be used anymore after this.

It's hard for me to write about her in past tense as it is very hard for me to accept the fact that she's now gone. I already planned to go to her house during Hari Raya Aidilfiti a few years back but it never materialised. I really regret it now that I didnt get the chance to meet her after I left primary school. I just hope that she knows that her students love her very much and she would always be a part of her students, until the very last breath.

What Is There To a Name?

2010-01-08T19:31:00.005+08:00

I studied at a boarding school for 5 years. For those who used to go to a boarding school, it is most likely that you would get a nickname, like I did. I didnt really like my nickname but I never mind about it, it is just a name. I didnt get hurt for whatever name people might want to call me. I am still me, I wont simply transform to something else just because some other people call me differently.

Why am I talking about names now? I guess this is all due to the High Court's decision regarding the use of the word 'Allah' for the Herald magazine for their Bahasa publication. Things, I must admit, have exploded into an unimaginable magnitude. People have been giving their two-sen opinion about this and alot of discussions have been made. Not that I'm trying to preach or anything. I'm just giving my opinion which is absolutely limited and comes from a young man who is yet to experience the world out there.

First of all, let's see this thing from various view here. The word 'Allah', as some people argue, has been used by the Arab Christians for many years and it is used by the Christians in Sarawak and Sabah in the Bahasa translation of their Bible. Why not translate it to Tuhan then, you might ask. They are not publishing it in Arabic, but in Bahasa, you might add. Then why are the Muslims using the word Allah then? It is Arabic, and we are using it in Bahasa too. We can call Allah as Tuhan too, if the argument that is used against the Christians is used against the Muslims. The Muslims are taking the Arabic word and made it as a Bahasa word. So see the similarities here? The problem here is pure semantics. I am yet to see any Christians converting Muslims just because we call our God with the same name. Are we Muslims are so easily duped into converting to other religions? Is our faith that fragile? Ok, so you might want to say, the kids might be confused. Then what about the Christian kids then?Wont they be confused too? Oh,no, you say? Is it because the Christian kids have better faith than the Muslim kids? Are you trying to imply that we dont know how to teach our kids about Islam then? So whose fault is that then? You guess it right. Our fault. If you dare to think that we can simply convert to other religion and that our faith about our religion is so fragile, then it is our fault. Not some kafir.

Now what might be sensitive over here might not be sensitive at all at other places. What might be sensitive for people in Peninsular Malaysia might not be sensitive for the people in Sabah and Sarawak. The level of sensitivities vary according to their places. For example, the KFC advertisement shown at Australia. For the Australians, the advertisement might not be offensive but for the Americans, the advertisement is surely offensive enough for them. So while some people are demonstrating demanding that the use of the word Allah is stopped, some people who could not care less might feel that this is getting out of hand. But what goes out of hand is actually when people started burning churches. Yes, church with -es which denotes plural, more than one. Just in case you dont know, even in wars, Muslims are not allowed to harm people who are taking shelters in churches or any other place of worship, what more actually burning the place of worship. This stupid action actually justifies the fear that people have about Islam like this twisted hater here who keep on damning the Muslims.

My argument is simple, what if we are on their side, our mosque is burned to the ground? Would we retaliate or we simply forgive those who did it? It is not that I'm turning my back on Islam or something like that. I must admit that I'm quite uncomfortable with the court's decision. But we cant act like some medieval savages and do as we like. Jihad, you might say. No Christians are doing any physical harm to the Muslims, at least not in Malaysia, so why must we start burning places of worship? There are better ways to jihad as jihad doesnt mean picking up guns. We can jihad by strengthening our faith, our economy, our education. That is how a modern Muslim should do their jihad. But if there are proofs that the Christians are misusing the word Allah and putting it to some deities, actions should be taken, appropriate actions that are in accordance to law. I just hope that no violence should occur because of this. Come to my house and I can show you a Christian centre in front of my neighbourhood's mosque. No cases of people converting people of other religion as yet here. Like I said before, there is no such thing as a bad religion, only bad followers.

No, It Is Not The End, Yet.

2009-12-24T23:02:00.003+08:00

It is a bit ironic that the movie Muallaf is actually shown after Yasmin Ahmad's death as this movie deals alot on death and religion. As usual, Yasmin incorporated the elements that are abundace in her other movies, such as love and interracial relationship. But no, this is not another sappy love movie.

The characters of the movie, Rohana and Rohani are sisters who are very much into theology. They read and quote not just verses from Quran, but also from holy books of other religions too. Rohani, the older sister, even tried to enroll herself into a theology course but she was told that there is no future in that course by the receptionist. I can assume that this is a critique to our education system where the courses that can help you to get a huge paycheck are very much sought after and overemphasized by the colleges thus marginalizing other self improvement courses. Rohana, the younger sister, likes to quote numbers which are actually verses from Quran. If you want to know what the numbers really mean, try to read this. But I would recommend that you watch the movie beforehand though.

Another character that is prevalent throughout the movie is Brian, a teacher at a Catholic school. He is someone who is not really interested about things associated to religion. But that change though when he meets Rohana and Rohani. I would say that the character Brian is like Mitch Albom in his latest book that I have just finished reading, Have a Little Faith. In that book, Mitch is not really interested into religion, even towards his own religion. But that changes when he meets a rabbi and a pastor. In the book, Mitch, a Jew, meets a pastor who changes his perspective towards religion while in the movie Muallaf, Brian, a Christian, meets Rohani and Rohana who are both Muslims. For me, that shows that change can come from places or people that we least expected. But dont expect any conversion done in the movie as there is no concrete scene which shows any conversion even take place.

It baffles me that this movie is being held by the Censorship Board for more than 1 year. I cant see their justification in holding it from viewing for such a long time. Is it because Rohana quoted verses from holy books of other religions too? I dont see the problem as reading holy books of other religions have been done hundred of years ago. Heck, even people who are not even Muslims read Quran and make researches about the verses. I even read how Muslim scholars read holy books of other religions and it just strengthen their faith about Quran and Islam as they know what they believe in. Or is it because that Rohani works at a pub and uses that money? Or is it because Rohani and Rohana's father drinks beer and goes to nightclubs? I have seen many other movies who are even worst than that. Just watch any movies that feature any motorcycle racing in it and most of them would feature scantily clad women in pubs and nightclubs entertaining the rempits. Dont tell me it is because of Rohani's hair was cut by her father until she is bald? Because that is just plain ridiculous.

There are many scenes that would make you to think of your daily life and what you are actually doing with it. One of the scenes is when they ask us to treat our parents with our utmost respect as we would regret it if we dont and they go away without us having any chance of asking for a forgiveness. Not only that, one of the scenes ask us to forgive anyone who might have hurt our feelings and let bygones be bygones which I assume is easier said than done by some of us. I wont say that this is Yasmin's best movie, but this is certainly one of the most stimulating. Being Yasmin's last movie, though that technically would be Talentime, it is one movie that you can never say no to.

Everything happens for a reason.

2009-12-15T11:44:00.004+08:00

Everything happens for a reason. We hear that alot that it becomes such a cliche.

Yesterday I got a text from a friend about our friends who are already married and already have a baby of few months old. My friend told me that our friends' dear baby has passed away. Devastated is such an understatement based on the magnitude of anticipation from my dear friends who eagerly waited for the birth of their first child. I attended their wedding and I knew back then that they would make such a nice parents. I just cant imagine their grief and suffering right now. All that I can offer now are my condolences and sympathy.

My friend told me that the baby passed away because of choking while drinking her milk. I asked my mom, a retired nurse about this and she gave me few pointers. Of her 30 years working as a nurse, she worked in the pediatric ward for 10 years so I can assure you that she knows what she's talking about. Whenever you are nursing the baby, make sure that the baby is breastfed and not using the bottle,eventhough the milk in the bottle is from the breast milk, especially when the baby is about to sleep. This is because if the baby is drinking the milk from the bottle and sleeping at the same time, the milk will still enter the baby's mouth and to the baby's lungs. This can eventually lead to the baby's inability to breathe as the lung is filled with milk whereas if the baby is breastfeeding and fell asleep, the milk wont enter the baby's mouth because for that to happen, it would require the baby to suck the milk and I dont think the baby can continue sucking while he's asleep, cant he? This is the difference in the case of the bottle as even without sucking, the milk can still get out of the bottle and into the baby's mouth as long as the bottle is in the baby's mouth.

For my dear friends who lost their dear baby, I hope you can be strong and remember that God will only give us tests that He knows we can bear. Losing someone that we love is unbearable at times but everything happens for a reason.

The subtle way of saying it.

2009-11-27T12:35:00.004+08:00

I have always been a fan of satire. Satire, for me, is a way of presenting our idea in a subtle way. We want to give our opinions but at the same time not wanting to look so obvious. It is literature at its highest level. Satire is not something new. Even the folk tale of Sang Kancil dan Sang Harimau is actually a satire which touches on the aspect of people in power who are very arrogant but can be tricked by someone who is smaller but is definitely wiser. It is about brain over brawn.

Today's satire might not be using animals as the subject of satire as much as it used to but satire is definitely still in use in today's literature. For example, the scene from one of P. Ramlee's movie, Bujang Lapok. Some might argue that it was just a coincidence but we might never know, do we?

Ideas and ideologies are things that are commonly being projected through satire. But these few days, it hit me how asserted ideologies are being taught to people all this while. Lately, people have been talking about the notorious Biro Tata Negara (BTN) course. I have never been to one but others who have been to the course are saying that it promotes racism. A lot have been said about it but I rather let you judge it on your own. Here is the lyric of a song that is taught to all participants of the course, Anak Kecil Main Api.

Anak kecil main api,
Terbakar hatinya yang sepi,
Air mata darah bercampur keringat,
Bumi dipijak milik orang.

Nenek moyang kaya raya,
Tergadai seluruh harta benda,
Akibat sengketa sesamalah kita,
Cinta lenyap di arus zaman.

Indahnya bumi kita ini,
Warisan berkurun lamanya,
Hasil mengalir ke tangan yang lain,
Peribumi merintih sendiri.

Kita rumpun bangsa Melayu,
Menganut agama yang suci,
Semangat bangsa berlandaskan Islam,
Teras capai kemerdekaan.

Masa depan sungguh kelam,
Kan lenyap peristiwa semalam,
Tertutuplah hati terkunci mati,
Maruah peribadi dah hilang.

Kini kita cuma tinggal kuasa,
Yang akan menentukan bangsa,
Bersatulah hati, bersama berbakti,
Pulih kembali harga diri.

Kita sudah tiada masa,
Bangunlah dengan gagah perkasa,
Janganlah terlalai teruskan usaha,
Melayu kan gagah di nusantara.

The lyric of the song is obviously promoting something. For me, if you want to promote something, promote something that touches on justice, hope and truth. Not some ideas about how we must not let other races, who are Malaysians too, to take our country away from us. It is their country too, for God's sake. It is not a country for one race, but for all races. As long as they are Malaysians too, they have the same rights to be successful too. What baffles me is that when we go to other countries, we look at each other and identify each other as Malaysians. But when we are here, in our own country, we identify each other according to our race. I dont think we need any WWIII for us to start identifying ourselves as Malaysians in our own country. Touch wood.

Hobin Jang Hobin

2009-11-17T01:34:00.013+08:00

I went to the Piala Malaysia celebration the other day. It was organised by the state government and the state FA, PBNS. I'm too tired to write right now so I'm just going to let my pictures do the talking.hehe.

The cultural group that was present at the celebration night.

The team as they made their way to the stage.

The deer who knew to recite his prayers.

Negeri Sembilan's Menteri Besar.

Halim, one of my friends who is in the team.

Menteri Besar holding the cup.

The entertaining Ebby Yus.

The DJ from Negri FM.

The evergreen Hattan.

The sweet Elyana.

The ever rocking Ramli Sarip.

The cup that is hoped to stay here for years to come.

Lastly, the fireworks.

Either one of them.

2009-11-12T23:37:00.005+08:00

I was eating my dinner with my parents when suddenly my dad asked,

" Syafiq, do you know Ana Raffali?"

I almost choked my pattaya fried rice when he asked me about her. Of course I know her, I even got a thank you note from her. What surprised me was that my dad knows Ana Raffali. Wow, that was really a surprise. I thought he only knows Mana Corazon Espinoda. So I answered,

" Yes, of course I know her. How did you know about her?"

My dad just smiled without answering my question. Then my mom asked,

" Who is she? Yuna ek?"

What??? Now my mom knows Yuna? It's like I'm in the parallel universe. I never thought my parents know them. They are more hip than I thought they were. What more after this? Wani Ardy?

Hmm...On second thought, maybe they want to marry me to either one of them. Maybe it's just a way for them to get to know the bride beforehand.

" Syafiq, pick me, pick me. I can sing and write too."

" No Syafiq, pick me. Not only I can sing and write, I'm also a businesswoman. Ekin got her tudung Ekin, I got mine too. It's a sure hit la, 'Tudung Yuna'. Pick me Syafiq."

Well, maybe not. So anyone wants to sing me lullabies before I go to sleep tonight?

Piece of cake.

2009-11-08T13:03:00.022+08:00

I must admit I havent been to Negeri Sembilan's football games as frequent as I would like to due to studies commitments. But as I have finished my studies this year, I can proudly say that I've been to most of the Malaysia Cup games at Paroi even during the group stages. I must say congratulations to the players and fans for giving their best even when the odds are stacked against them. Just let the unruly fans be them, they are already used to that kind of hooliganism. As Negeri Sembilan has won the Malaysia Cup and I got to be there to witness the historic event, this post is specially dedicated to all my 'waghih'.

English mode off.

"Bukan jauh bonar pun Somban tu...Moh kito naik keto ramai-ramai poie stadium..."

"Bas pun den bawak la poie stadium..Kot drebar tu taknak bawak,den boleh bawakkan jugak"

"Den sajo yo tukar style rambut den camni sobab den peminat hard core Alip Samsudin"

" Kawe nak merusuh...Kawe tak kire...warrggghhhh"

"Ha, kan dah kene mercun.Padan muke penyokong Negri.Kawe memang puas ati.Hahaha"

" Apo ni FRU,takkan biar yo.Dorang baling morcun tu. Pokak tingo den ni ha."

" Eh,ape ni tok. Kawe tak baling mercun. Kawe ni baik-baik belako. Kito kelate bako oghe berani tok. Jangan tuduh-tuduh"

" Den tak kiro. Duduk diam-diam. Den ghembat dengan cota ni kang."

" Defend! Oii defend!!! Takyah wall do.Biar yo dorang sepak.Bukan boleh gol pun.Nenek den tondang pun laie kuek."

" Den sobonar eh orang Negri jugak. Tapi den kono kojo pulak malam ni.Takpo la,domi kojo, berhujan pun den sanggup, asalkan Negri monang."

" Macam Kanye West tak den? Bezo den dongan dio, den ni tak kacau Taylor Swift yo."

"Den ni sanggup kuar dari gua kat Afghanistan semato-mato untuk menyokong team faveret den."

"Mang ai, den yang kepalo botak macam gangster ni pun takut tengok asap banyak-banyak ni."

" Tulah den maleh ni. Apola kojo bakar kerusi stadium plak ni. Tak pornah poie stadium lawa ko apo. Den jugak yang kono padamkan."

" Takpo-takpo. Lopeh game den belanjo teammate den kopi hai-o. Tapi sorang satu goleh yo tau. Den kopak ni."

Ijai ni membor den kat sekolah dulu,duduk sobolah den kat kelas time kat PZ. Dulu selalu gak datang rumah dengan motor honda dio tu. Tapi sekarang takdo laie la datang.Sibuk bonar kot. Takpo la,kang orang cakap den nak tumpang glamer plak kan.

English mode on.

Negri Sembilan jersey colour last night = yellow = the royal's official colour = Yamtuan Besar = Yamtuan Besar's coronation is in 2009 = 09 = 7 + 1 + 1 ( 7th November, date of the final).

Fate already has it that the night belonged to Negeri Sembilan.

Last night was a fantastic game. The players played well. What irritates me the most is the unruly behaviour of Kelantan's fans. They intimidated and provoked the Negri's fans just because we were outnumbered at the stadium. Even when the game had finished, they still provoked us at outside of the stadium. If I had retaliated, I dont think I'll be typing this entry right now. If I had a say in FAM, I would have banned Kelantan from the MSL for next season, without a bit of hesitation. Nevertheless, congratulations to Negeri Sembilan and let's hope that we wont have to wait another 61 years for another trophy.

Disclaimer: If your picture or someone that you know is here and dont wish for it to be published here, just leave a comment and I will take it off promptly. For Negri fans only.

10 Seconds of Fame.

2009-11-01T23:22:00.013+08:00

When I was 6 years old, I was enrolled into a kindergarten near my house. Unfortunately, due to some problems with my friends at that time, I had to quit early, 2 months into my kindergarten year and spend the rest of the year staying at home. So I had no chance of graduating from my kindergarten and wearing a mortarboard. Looking at my friends' pictures when they were just kids and wearing the graduation robe and mortarboard made me promise myself that someday I would be wearing something like that too.

So after 15 years of toiling, finally I got the rights to officially wear the graduation robe and mortarboard during my convocation yesterday.

Imagine me screaming 'yeah!' when this picture was taken.Haha.

When I was in primary school, I was asked by my teacher, what do I want to be when I grow up. I answered traffic policeman. It was because I would pass by the policeman whenever I went to school so that was the first thing that came up in my mind. I guess with this robe and graduation, I wont be a policeman after all. Well, maybe I can be a teacher and holds the signboard in front of the school when the school kids want to cross the street.hehe.

4 years is not a very long time to some but when you are constantly being bogged down by assignments and stuffs, it can be a very long time. But....

when you have friends who can constantly think outside of the box and give their 100% for every assignments and presentations....

when you have friends who are willing to do some charity work just to keep you accompanied for the few days of work

when you have friends who know how to have fun while on holiday

when you have lecturers who wont let you quit so easily and always ask for the best from you

when you have a family who has been supportive of your choices all this while

those 4 years can be a very fun and fulfilling experience. Thanks to my friends and lecturers who have made my days there such a beautiful part of my life. I guess life is a journey and it starts here. So it is now about embracing the future and life while holding on dearly to those who helped you to be where you are right now.

It is not the end, it is just another beginning of a new chapter.

The questions that you can't avoid.

2009-10-24T22:02:00.003+08:00

My friend, Aisyah, got married today. I'm still trying to adapt but it's kinda weird that many of my friends are getting married, the same friends who were childish when I got to know them but are now more mature by the time that I see them when they're married. I guess I just have to get used to it that my friends are getting older and are now settling down. In my 20s, the questions that people usually ask is when am I getting married. That made me thinking, what would be the questions that would be asked in 10 or 20 years time? I guess it would be like this.

In the 30s - how many children do you have now?
In the 40s - where are your children studying?
In the 50s - are your children married yet?
In the 60s - how many grandchildren do you have?
In the 70s - what medicine do you take now?

Whatever it is, I just hope my friends who are already married will be happy with their partners while for those who havent, dont forget to send the invitation cards,ok? :D

Friends who made it complete.

2009-10-20T01:13:00.009+08:00

I was bored and figured that I needed to spend my time with some activities. So I asked my friends for a trip to Penang and because they're oh so obliging, we went for our trip to Penang last weekend.

On the first day, after checking in into the hotel, we went to Batu Feringhi for some Baywatch-esque activity, minus the slow mo actions.

A bad imitation of Titanic.

On the next day, we went for a sightseeing around the town of Georgetown, including the Masjid Melayu Lebuh Acheh Pulau Pinang,

and also Masjid Kapitan Keling.

We also went to the Toy Museum, Gurney Drive, Gurney Plaza, Fort Cornwallis and Queensbay Mall.

From left : Ijan - the most clueless guy during the trip, Haris - the newbie of the trip, guard at the Fort Cornwallis, Taufiq - the driver who likes to SMS while driving, Husin - the Kedah lad who was as clueless about Penang as we were, and last but not least, yours truly who booked the hotel and managed the financial stuffs.

Being unemployed, for the time being, is tiring. But to have friends who will jump and say yes the moment you ask them to join a vacation trip, really makes it all worthwhile.

Men and despair.

2009-10-12T12:15:00.003+08:00

A hopeless romantic.

That's what I can conclude of what I am after watching 500 Days of Summer. But the thing is, the movie is not a love story where boy meets girl and both live happily ever after, just like the trailer had forewarned.

It is a story of heartbroken. Heartbroken in a sense of being unsure of where the relationship is heading and getting the result that you have never wanted. It is a story of a boy getting heartbroken which I assume is not covered too much by other movies. The despair of a boy in love doesnt really appeal to the masses compared to the despair of a girl. When you have been through the phases of being heartbroken and faced it first hand, this movie will surely rob the feeling of sadness that has been kept all along. The Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind and the Science of Sleep are two good examples by the brilliant director Michel Gondry that coincide with the theme of this movie. I guess music video directors like Marc Webb and Michel Gondry can really make good feature film that is true to their style of directing.

You will cringe, you will laugh, you will smile. But most of all, you will feel the despair of a heartbroken boy bouncing from an uncertain love.

Finger licking good.

2009-10-08T21:26:00.006+08:00

When I heard about the death of Yasmin Ahmad, I told myself, there would be no other filmmakers who could make me feel like what Yasmin did.

I must have forgotten about Afdlin Shauki at that time.

After waiting weeks for Papadom, I watched the film today. The film won numerous awards during the 22nd Malaysian Film Festival 2009, including the best film. The film is about Saadom who becomes an overprotective father after the demise of his wife. A character in the movie Juno said that a woman becomes a mother when she is pregnant while a man becomes a father when he holds his newborn child. Well, in this movie, Saadom only becomes a real father after the death of his wife as he was too busy with his work before that. He missed many important events which eventually led to his wife's death. Ever since that, he made sure that he would be involved in every part of his daughter's life. Well, just maybe too much.

This film discusses few aspects of life on whether should one amass wealth to the extend of ignoring one's family eventhough the wealth was intended to ease the burden of the family's financial woes and also how far would a father go to make sure of his child's happiness (or safety). I guess being a father means more than giving you a present during your birthdays when during other times, he would be flying all around the world and not being by your side when you need him the most. A supportive father is what a child needs. Like in the film, Saadom was too afraid that his daughter would make mistakes and only realised later that mistakes are there to teach his daughter about life. The film shows that being a father is more than whipping the children when they did something wrong or reading the newspaper while drinking some tea. A father must have the emotion connection and being supportive of his children. I know, men are not known to be emotionally expressive but trying doesnt hurt, right?

Papadom includes the joy of laughter and the string of emotions that bond a family together and because of that, it is a must watch movie that should not be missed.

Plastic.

2009-10-04T21:54:00.004+08:00

I was listening to the radio when a caller called the radio station and she was asked few questions about Beyonce. I guess it is a competition for the Beyonce's concert later this month. One of the questions was how Beyonce affected her. Without any hesitation, she answered that she has a higher self esteem now and was not afraid of her looks. She told the dj that she has a big backside so she was cautios at first of its size. But then, when she noticed how Beyonce has a big backside too, she was not afraid of her looks anymore. Beyonce embraced her looks and accepted her size.

I have girl friends who keep on complaining of their weights and sizes when actually they are just a little bit thicker than a plywood. This obsession with model-like body makes people to suffer more, actually. You dont need to have a size 0 dress to feel confident of yourselves. It is ok to weight a little bit but not to the extend your weight hampering your effort to go on with your daily lives. I found that women who are confident of theirselves somehow help people to be at ease with them without other people even bother about their sizes. I guess it's true that the real beauty comes from the inside after all.

For betterment.

2009-10-01T11:43:00.006+08:00

From the window of my room, you can actually get to see more greenery than bricks and stones. The huge tree that I tried to climb when I was a kid and the fruit trees that my parents planted add more scenery to it. But now, development came and destroyed most of it. The new flyovers and the smell of newly-tarred road just overwhelmed the greenery scenery.

The road at the back of my house is just one part of the Seremban Outer Ring Road that would connect the whole Seremban. Flyovers are also built to complement the new roads.

The flyovers led to a huge road where the cars are driven faster than before. Better roads=faster cars=more accidents?

The railway track is the path that I took to go home whenever I missed my bus to go home during my primary school years. It is a short cut that people nearby use to get to my neighbourhood. But the track isnt being used anymore now, as the train from Seremban to Port Dickson has ceased its operation.

On one hand, I'm a bit sad that the places that I used to go to are being taken down and cements and tars are replacing them. But on the other hand, development is a must and there are things that have to be sacrificed in order for something else to prosper. Without some sacrifices, I guess most of us would still live in the 50s.

The celebration of remembering.

2009-09-21T23:10:00.003+08:00

To have someone that you love so dearly is wonderful but to have someone who means everything to you is even better. For me, that someone is my grandma who I call Nekwan. Ever since that I could remember, my family would stay at her house for every Raya. The night before Raya would be the night that my sisters and I would try to grab the spot in front of the tv to sleep. We would watch the shows on the tv while waiting to sleep. The next morning, after the raya prayers, all of my relatives nearby would gather at Nekwan's house and share the food brought from home. The colourful clothes, the laughter, the teasing, the bonding. It was a sight to behold.

Nekwan's house is the old kampung house which is built higher than the ground and has the wooden staircase. I would play under the house and chased the chickens and ducks that Nekwan reared which would be cooked for rendang. When it was the time for the sun to shine, I would play with small dots on the floor. The roof of the house is made of zincs, so as time goes by, there would be small holes on the roof. The light from the sun would go through the holes and create the dots that I would diligently try to chase but couldnt get a hold of.

I must say that I was a bit spoiled by her. It must be because I knew how to amuse her. When I was 4 or 5 years old, she would ask me, " Dah besar nanti jadi duktur nek ye?" and I would smile and say yes, not knowing what it was. She would laugh, amused that I would just say yes to whatever she asked though she had a weird way to pronounce the word 'doctor'. She was the one that I would go to whenever I was about to be scolded by my dad for playing truant. I would cry and she would ask my dad not to be so hard on me. Obviously, the crying stopped after that.Hehe.

But everything must come to an end. I was Form 5 at that time. I was so devastated that I asked why couldnt she at least wait before I get to be a doctor. As I dont think I will ever be a medical doctor now, maybe I should try to obtain a PhD. I would still be called a doctor anyway. Ive been thinking to write something about her but I would get all gloomy and sad whenever I think about her. So I said to myself, I wont write something sad about my grandma, I would write the good things that I remember whenever I was with her because I believe someone that you love would always be with you, no matter what.

What I remember most about Ramadhan.

2009-09-18T20:43:00.004+08:00

Most people eagerly wait for the arrival of Ramadhan, the month for fasting. For the religious Muslims, it is the month to get closer to God by doing as many good deeds as possible. For food junkies, it is the time to indulge into the variety of foods at the bazaar. As for me, when I was a child, the only thing that I looked forward to during Ramadhan, apart from it's getting closer to Syawal which means duit raya, was playing with my friends as the grown-ups were performing the terawikh prayers at the mosque.

One of our activities back then was to play with karbait. This is the substance that is used inside the meriam buluh which made the explosion effect. It is actually used to light up lamps, is white colour and shaped like small rocks. I dont know if you can still find it now because I havent played with it for the longest time. As my friends and I find it difficult to get a buluh for our meriam, we stole the stop signboard pole at our neighbourhood and cut it so that it can be used as the meriam. Sorry Tok Penghulu......hehe

It functions the same like the normal meriam buluh but with supposedly added protection as it is less prone to shatter into pieces. But not everyone can play with them. Before you can play with the cannon, you have to graduate from something that is less exciting. For newbies, they have to use the karbait with paint tins first. It can still create the explosion but most of us still prefer to use the signboard pole as it gave better explosion. We had our own roles in creating the best explosion. There are the mixers who will mix the karbait with the correct amount of water so that the explosion wont sound like a false fart.Haha. Then there would be those who would ignite the mixture by using a long stick which is lit up at the far end of it. The rest? Just enjoy the show.

I had a great childhood as I got to play with DIY stuffs like this and learn things such as the virture of cooperating between friends, economics ( which is dividing money to buy the karbait) and even got to experience being chased by the police because someone complained about us.Haha. For me, those are the things that you cant learn in class and can only be learned through experience. Because of that, I wont trade the experience for anything else in this whole wide world.

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri.

A short trip to Melaka.

2009-09-13T16:30:00.012+08:00

My friends, a whole group of people and I went to Melaka yesterday. It was planned to be a simple photo outing but it ballooned into a mass photo outing involving around 50 people. Not an ideal one, but that's what you get when a renown photographer involved in the photo outing. We went to Pantai Klebang, Masjid Tanah and took pictures of the beach there. On the way there, we passed by my alma mater, Melaka Matriculation College, which I havent seen for 4 years. Memories of being there for that one whole year came back to me. But I guess they remain only as that, memories. So here are the pictures from the photo outing.

After that, we went to Eye on Melaka which is a bit smaller than the Eye on Malaysia. It is situated near the Melaka River as you can see in the picture below.

After Eye on Melaka, we went to Eye on Malaysia which is situated at a secluded place so you have to know your way to get there. Not many people were there last night which made it an ideal night to take pictures.

I'm not really satisfied with the pictures as the clouds are a bit flat. Guess I have to make another trip there or just go to Port Dickson which is nearer to my house.hehe.

Not bad. Not bad at all.

2009-09-09T22:38:00.005+08:00

I woke up today, reading an email about my job application as a sub editor. I was informed that my application was unsuccessful. Disappointment is too less of a word to even describe my feelings at that time. I told myself, it's ok, maybe there is a bright side to this. Yes, people always say to look at the bright side when something bad happened. So I tried. But I couldnt find any.

At noon, the postman came and brought a letter addressed to me. That's weird, I said, normally it's either for my mom or dad or even if there's a letter for me, it's the bill that Digi asks me to settle =_=

So I opened the letter and to my surprise, it's my first cheque from Nuffnang! I have been waiting for it that I almost forgot about it. I ripped open the letter and took a closer look to the cheque. There it was, my effort after all this while. I guess there is a bright side to everything after all.

Now, just another gazillion cheque from Nuffnang till I can buy that Honda Accord =_=

Plethora of cultures.

2009-09-06T13:10:00.015+08:00

I went to the KL Crafts Complex yesterday to have a look at an event to promote crafts of Malaysia. It is going to be held until this 14th September 2009.

There are many crafts that are sold there and made by our Malaysians. The price for the crafts are very affordable too considering that they worked very hard to produce their masterpiece.

The one pictured below is actually a lamp which has the shape of a whale. Interesting, isnt it?

Visitors can also buy clothes such as batik and kebaya for this Aidilfitri. So if you are not so fussy about getting a ready made clothes, then you have so many choices here.

Apart from that, during the weekends, there will be performers performing traditional music for the visitors there every alternate hours. The one that performed yesterday was Haqqani Maulid Ensemble.

The lead singer here has one of the sweetest voice that I have ever heard. Dont judge him by how he looks, he can really sing. Even better than Mawi I think.

Moreover, on weekends, they also have traditional foods cooking demonstrations. For example, wajik.

Ketupat.

Dodol and many more.

Apart than that, they have craft-making demonstration for the visitor.

Such as batik colouring.

Bubu that is used to catch fish.

And also the sulaman keringkam. This is an art where you sew gold and silver thread onto a piece of clothe that is usually used as a shawl. It is not cheap though, as the shawl can cost you around RM1200 per piece due to the gold and silver thread sewn onto it.

According to Pn Nik Rahimah, the one in the picture, the art is a dying art as not many in Malaysia are actually practising it anymore. She said that there are only around 10 people in Malaysia who know to sew the gold thread and only 2 who are truly expert in it.

Going there is actually an eye opener for me. Most of them have almost identical grouses. It is either they dont have anyone to continue their art or not enough assistance is given for them to promote their arts. It is disheartening listening to them, actually. Malaysia is focused too much on science and maths that arts is somehow being kept aside and left to rot. I just hope the arts industry in Malaysia can prosper and shine even in the darkest surroundings.

Dear Editor.

2009-09-02T12:16:00.005+08:00

I was so busy yesterday that I didnt have the chance to read any newspaper till I got home around midnight. So before going to sleep, I read the News Strait Times (NST) just to know outdated news as it was already late night =_= While reading through the Letters to Editor section, I found the letter that I sent to the editor a few days back. I was so ecstatic as I sent the letter out of trying and didnt expect it to be published. It was edited here and there but I dont mind, that's normal when we send something to the newspaper.

The link to the website is here. Actually, the letter is an entry from my blog that I wrote a few entries back. It is about the temple issue. I am happy because many people across Malaysia got to read my writing and also because my writings have been published in both NST and The Star. I just hope this lucky streak continues.

A good deed indeed.

2009-09-02T00:02:00.003+08:00

I am so tired after a long day. I just got home, havent changed my clothes yet but I just have to write this.

I was driving home and listening to the radio to escape the boredom of driving alone. Then, a caller called the radio station and told the deejay about her day. Her name is Michelle,if I'm not mistaken, and she was driving when suddenly she had a flat tire near Bukit Tunku. She stopped and tried to change the tire but to no avail, she couldnt change the tire on her own. Suddenly a man on a motorcycle stopped and helped her to change her tire. When the man had done changing the tire, the woman offered to buy him food as it was near the breaking fast and that the man is a Muslim. The man declined the offer and answered,

'It's Ramadhan and I should at least try to do something good. I dont want you to get robbed here and that's why I helped you.'

I dont know who that man is and might never will. I just want to say thanks for giving me something contradictory to what some Muslims did before this. Not many men would do something like that and for a Muslim to help others who are in need is something that is truly commendable. I just hope I would be as kindhearted as this man next time when I see someone in need of help. I guess you would too.

Happy Independence Day.

2009-08-31T00:19:00.006+08:00

It is Malaysia's 52nd Independence Day today. There arent too many celebrations for this year due to H1N1 and the fasting month. Yet, we still celebrate it in our own way. So for this year's Independence Day, I just want to show the pictures that I took two years ago during the 50th Independence Day. It is such a milestone that I just had to take pictures of it. Before that, I never own a DSLR so when I saw some ads about a man taking a video of the independence day and viewing it again 50 years later, I told myself I just had to get a DSLR for myself. Getting to use many digicams and prosumers, I taught myself to use a DSLR. I woke up abit late that day and arrived when the parade already started so these are my noob pictures when I had just started using DSLR.

Last but not least, a picture that I just took minutes ago in front of my house.

I hope I will be able to celebrate Malaysia's 100th Independence Day and grow old just like the man in the ad.

Selamat Hari Merdeka ke 52.

Our blood is red.

2009-08-28T21:50:00.002+08:00

And insult not those whom they (disbelievers) worship besides Allâh, lest they insult Allâh wrongfully without knowledge. Thus We have made fairseeming to each people its own doings; then to their Lord is their return and He shall then inform them of all that they used to do.

Translation of the Holy Quran ( 6 : 108)

I read with disgust the act of so-called Muslims protesting against the relocation of a proposed temple near their neighbourhood.Dont get me wrong,but I believe that they have their rights to protest of something that they do not agree of and in this case the relocation of the temple. But what disgusted me the most is their acts. They took a slaughtered cow's head and paraded it in front of the State Secretariat (SS) building and stepped on the cow's head. For them, that is a symbolic act of denouncing the Hindu's religion as cow is a sacred animal in the Hindu religion. For me, insulting other people's religion is something that is totally inappropriate and just makes people to misunderstand Islam as a religion that condones violence and disrespectful. They could have just make a march towards the SS building and hand over a memorandum just like how a civilized men would do. I dont think they will get the support of other people once they started to resort to something like this. For me, if you want some respect, you have to earn it.

I have many friends who are non-Muslim and I am rather comfortable with it. Yes, we make fun of each other and calling names like 'sepet' and 'itam' but never to a point of degrading other people. It was merely making fun of each other and having few rounds of good laugh. I respect whatever they believe in and in return, they respect the things that I believe in. People, no matter whatever they believe in, believe it or not, are the same like me and you. They feel hurt, happy, sad and joy. So I always make it a point to always treat people of other religions just like the way I want them to treat me.

My friend and I had some discussions on how some Muslims do things that put Islam in a bad spotlight. Things that should have never be done in the first place and are done by people who acted without thinking the consequences. Islam has always taught its followers to do good things and not the opposite. So for me, there is no such thing as bad religions, only bad followers.

The imperfections.

2009-08-27T14:17:00.003+08:00

I was going through some blogs and found a video clip of a song that my friends used to play on their laptops. I wasnt very keen on the song yet they keep on playing it day and night, even when we went to karaoke. But nevertheless, the thing like this song is what makes me remember them rather than anything else. Like the late Yasmin Ahmad said in one of her commercials, this imperfection is what makes us remember the people that we hold on dearly. Or something like that.

The song that they like to play on their laptops and sing along with it. Even when they are in the toilet.

Memories of the past.

2009-08-23T22:11:00.002+08:00

I have just watched The Butterfly Effect. I know, I am very late considering that the movie was released in 2004. This movie is about Evan who has the ability to travel back through time by reading his journals. His travels through time and the changes that he made in the past had affected his future in so many ways. So many, that by changing one event, it affected those around him 360 degree. All in all, the story tells you not to play God and try to change something that has already happened. It can easily be one of my favourite movies of all time.

Watching this movie, made me think. I have done many things that I'm not proud of in the past. Things that dont even deserve to be mentioned. But if I have the chance to travel through time and change it all for the better, would I do it?

Never in my life time.

For me, the shitty things that you did are there to teach you something. You learn something when you made a mistake. For example, if you have never been involved in an accident and keep on driving dangerously, you might never stop your bad driving habits. The bad things that had happened are the things that shaped me into what I am today so I guess I just have to face the future and hope for the best.Ameen.

Up, Up and away.

2009-08-20T20:25:00.005+08:00

Some of my friends prefer to watch movies that usually involve bad-ass fighting scene or horror movies where chopping people is the 'in' thing. These movies that won't require you to think much are easy to understand because, well, they won't need you to. In watching movies, I prefer to watch movies that get you to think of other aspect apart from the usual good versus evil part though I admit I watch that kind of movies once in a while. The underlying theme is usually what gets you to think more, even after you have gone out of the cinema. So, today I watched Up, which is in the latter category.

What is the movie about, actually? It is about an old man, Carl Fredricksen, who worked as a balloon seller going on an adventure with Russell, a boy scout. So what is so exciting about an old man and a boy on an adventure, you might ask.

The theme of the movie.

For me, the theme of the movie is letting go of the past. Carl was married with a woman ,Ellie,who he had known since they were both young. In the early part of the movie, you will see how they fall in love with each other, growing old till to the death of Ellie. Carl continued his life, being a bitter old man. I'm sure many will have teary eyes during this part of the movie. I guess Ellie made an important impact in Carl's life that he couldn't seem to let go of his past with his wife by still holding on to their memories together. He won't even move out of their house even when around it is surrounded by construction site and not even letting the construction worker to touch his mailbox that he and Ellie painted together. The point that I think Carl finally let his past go is during the scene on the airship where there was hesitation of letting go of his house in order to save Russell and the rest yet he still let it go. It was quite symbolic in a sense of letting go of your past. But I guess in the trailer, all that they want to emphasise on is the funny part of the movie rather than the humanity of Carl. Well,who am I to argue, funny stuffs sell a movie, right? Nevertheless, 8/10 for the movie.It's one of the best movie so far.

Watching how loving an old man can be makes me to remember something that I will never forget in my life. It was few years ago at Masjid Tanah where I was waiting for my bus to get to Seremban. While waiting at the bus stop, I watched an old man holding his wife to get into the bus. He was holding her hand so that she wont fall while stepping on the bus stairs. Watching that made me to wonder, how many of us will still be holding our spouse's hands as we get into the golden years? Some would just leave their wife a hundred meter at the back. Another thing that I wish to share also happened few years ago as I was in a train going to KL. A couple in their 40s were arguing in the train though they weren't shouting to each other most probably due to many people watching. Their argument got heated and at one point, the man was holding that woman's head and banging it on the window glass a few times. Nobody dared to go tell him off at that time. So it gives you the idea that you should be loving to your loved ones even towards the end of it. So choose wisely what type of relationship that you want to remember and be remembered for.

Light trails in Seremban.

2009-08-17T00:50:00.005+08:00

I have been writing and putting pictures of other places but rarely Seremban. As few days ago I went with out with my new friends and shot few pictures of Seremban at night, I guess I should put them here so that other people will know how Seremban looks at night. So, enjoy :)

It's nothing much, but at least people will know how Seremban looks at night :)

Why oh why Juliana Evans?

2009-08-15T10:29:00.008+08:00

I woke up extra early today, as I wanted to go to Kuala Lumpur Photography Festival. After checking my emails and stuffs, I read the newspapers while lying on the sofa. Then, I got an SMS from a new friend. Her name is Juliana Evans, the actress. We exchanged texts and told each other about ourselves. She even told me that she was involved in karate when she was in primary school. I changed her name in my phone to 'Julyena Condo' so that people wont know that I'm texting her so that there will be no controversy involved.

"Do you still have the small karate uniform that I gave you?" She asked.

"Yeah. I'm holding it now." I texted her while holding the uniform.

We continued exchanging SMS when suddenly...

TIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A motorcycle came to my house and gave me the parcel that I ordered few days ago. Then, I realized I was sleeping on the sofa and that was all a dream.

Oh well, maybe I should go to the KLPF now and maybe Juliana Evans will be there and I can meet her.

Sometimes, I feel like I'm a big geek.

2009-08-11T20:53:00.003+08:00

Ever since I was a little boy, I have been exposed to so many kinds of English movies. I guess that's where I pick up the language from. Among that many movies, I can proudly acclaim that Tron is one of them.

What? You dont know what Tron is? Well, that just shows the difference between our age. Really.

I wasnt born yet when Tron was first released in 1982. I guess I watched it 10 years after its release. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the movie so much that I can still remember the motorcycle that they ride in the movie until now. At that time, the motorcycles with flashy thingy coming out from their back were so cool that I imagined myself getting on the motorcycles and racing against the bad guys. Somehow I think Power Rangers' motorcycle copied the design from this movie. It was an extraordinary design for sure. So for you who have never watched the Tron movie, this is the trailer.

Then, today, I got to know that there will be a sequel to that movie, titled Tron Legacy.I'm so happy!!! Hahaha. I will get to relive my childhood experience again. I guess the movie makers really cater to my generations' childhood experience and turning them into movies. Just like what they did to Dragon Ball, G.I. Joe, Transformers and so many other CGI-laden movies that originate from around that era. So this is the trailer for the new Tron.

Undeniably, this new Tron is better in terms of graphics based on the trailer but I just hope that this new movie wont lack the soul that can make people remember this movie even after 20 years from now.

Sometimes, being a geek isn't that bad after all.

Of Yasmin Ahmad, life, death and beyond.

2009-08-09T12:16:00.007+08:00

'Farah, Yasmin Ahmad is in hospital right now.'

I texted my friend who I have known since primary school,Farah, who worked with Yasmin Ahmad in the movie Mukhsin.

She replied, ' Yeah, I know. I just hope that she's going to be ok.'

That was weeks ago. Unfortunately, Yasmin didnt get better and succumbed to the illness.

I have always been a fan of Yasmin. If you have read from my earlier entries, you could see that I wrote few things about her. I didnt care that people say that she's actually a man or practises pluralism. She's not perfect. No one is. For me, we learn the good things that we can from someone and not to follow the bad things that people do. Like I said in previous entries, if we keep on looking at the bad things rather than focusing the good things, then we will go nowhere. I intentionally didnt write anything the days after she died. I waited until everything is calm down as I dont want to write something emotionally. But last night's event prompted me to write this now.

Yasmin got the award as the Best Director at the 22nd Festival Filem Malaysia. She deserves to get the award though some may argue that the juries only gave it to her out of sympathy. As her name was called out, her sister came on stage and took the award. I watched as she went on giving her acceptance speech. I could sense that she was very strong to be on stage and not to break down as my teary eyes last night showed that she is even stronger than I was. Before the award, there was a tribute for Yasmin and shows some snippets of her movie. I dont know whether to be happy or sad with the recognitions that she got now. The same industry that bashed her with cruel criticisms are trying to give their sympathy now. How hypocrite could they be? People never appreciate something when they are here but instead choose to adores something when they are never around. Just like the Michael Jackson case who coincidentally was the same age as Yasmin when he died. So I wondered, what would people remember about me when I'm gone? I asked my friends at Facebook and here are their answers.

I just want to say thanks to all my friend there. Yesterday was also the day that I watched The Departures. It is a Japan movie that tells about an encoffineer and how he deals with his job and his life. Actually, I got to know this movie from Yasmin's blog which recommended readers to watch it. I must say that she really had a good recommendation as this story really makes you think about how we deal with life and death, whether we are ready to accept and embrace them as they are. Other people keep on saying that the encoffineer must find a normal job like other people but he keeps on doing what he loves the most as the job is his passion. For him, normality is too overrated that death itself is normal,everyone lives and dies so for him dealing with corpse is something that is actually normal. The character and Yasmin have the same characteristics, eventhough people say that they are doing something that is absurd and abnormal, they keep on believing in themselves and continue doing their job.

So, what is normal actually?

Action figures are not dolls.

2009-08-06T21:52:00.003+08:00

I watched G.I. Joe today. It was quite ok, not the movie of the year, but it's still exciting nevertheless. It doesn't have all the characters in the cartoon series but as this is their first G.I. Joe movie, I guess there will be some improvements after this. The story gives a bit in depth into the history of the major characters which I think is quite useful for people to get to know the characters better. I was smiling at some parts of the movie as I remembered playing with their action figures when I was just a kid.

I'm kinda a sucker for action figures as I always fell for their advertisements and flashy boxes. Once, I cried at a shopping mall because my mom didnt want to buy an action figure for me. It was the Red Power Ranger complete with its motorcycle. Well, I wont say that Im persuasive, but I got to make her to buy it in the end.Hehe. I also had a G.I. Joe action figure too and remember playing it at the stairs and made it jumping up and down as if it was on a mission. I only bought tough action figures at that time as maybe I wanted to show my masculine side. Maybe now I should buy the Baroness.A hot woman wearing a leather suit with dark black hair and wearing spectacles...Oh, Baroness.....

Well,at least,for me, this movie is a whole lot better than Dragon Ball, a movie which destroyed my imagination for one of my favourite comics of all time, but not as good as Star Trek or Transformers. But watching two hot women fighting was worth the watch, anyday, anytime.

The risk that you take.

2009-08-05T22:17:00.003+08:00

I was watching The Soloist the other day. The movie is about a journalist interviewing a cello player who has become a bit crazy. The movie sure makes you to think alot. The effort that the journalist made to get his story and at the same time being the cello player's friend is indescribable. So what does this movie, Coach Carter, The Freedom Writers and Dangerous Minds have in common?

They make extra effort with their work.

From what I observed, to be someone who is remembered for who you are, to be someone who people will look up to you, to be someone great, you need to have the edge that separates you from other people. Once you are in your comfort zone and simply blend in like other people, there wont be anything special about you. Step out of the comfort zone and think outside of the box.

During my first year, I always tried to score the highest mark that I could get. But in second year, this realisation came and I felt that I need something that can give me the satisfaction rather than the marks.When I did my assignments, I always try to take the topic that other people wont take eventhough the topic doesnt have many references. I did that as I feel that I need something that is challenging. So I did what I did, though I didnt get the high marks that I used to get, but I was satisfied with myself being able to do something that other people try to avoid. That is what I told my students, that they dont need to get the highest mark to be good in something, as long as they learned something valuable from it, then that's enough.

Education is what is left after what has been learned is forgotten.

Kuching escapade.

2009-08-02T13:12:00.021+08:00

I got a call from my dad last week.

" Do you want to go to Kuching?"

The last time I was on a plane with my family was when I was still in primary school. Considering that I like to travel, I did not hesitate to say yes.

So here are the snapshots from the so-called holiday there.

We stayed at Grand Margherita Hotel which is quite nice, facing the river with a nice view.

For the food, I only got to taste the breakfast buffet. Other than that, I bought the foods outside of the hotel.

Notice the halal trademark there. Maybe they should have stated that the food is halal but the wine is not. It's rather confusing to some. Halal wine anyone? Horrendous.

In front of the hotel, you can see there's a cats statue, as a symbol of the city.

Outside of the hotel, they have set up many booths offering so many varieties of food.

I got to taste Laksa Sarawak though I prefer the normal laksa. Maybe that's because my taste.

Not only that, I got to eat grilled stingray which tastes really fresh and the price is so cheap, compared to the shops here in Semenanjung. The one you're looking here only costs RM16. If you found any cheaper than that, please tell me.hehe.

When you are in Sarawak, you must taste kolok mee, a specialty food in Sarawak. It's almost the same like fried mee or Maggi mee, but better. Trust me.

The booths setup there are in conjunction with the Sarawak Regatta 2009. I never got to experience watching it live so I consider myself lucky to be at the right place at the right time.

It was Friday so we went to a mosque in the centre of Kuching. It's quite cheerful, with the pink paint. We accidentally met with my dad's MCKK schoolmate. His friend is the Imam at the mosque and my dad recognized him by his voice as he was the one giving the sermon for that day's Friday's prayer. This Imam is someone who has a very good skill in language. He can speak standard BM, Kelantan dialect, Sarawak dialect, Arabic and fluent English. I know someone who can speak good English when I see one. The next day, he brought us to Serikin, Bau. There you can buy many stuffs that are imported from Kalimantan and the price is quite nice too. But be sure you know how to bargain. But if you have the money to go to Bandung or Jakarta to buy stuffs, I guess that's a better option. I didn't buy anything except some belinjau crackers.

Here are something for the ladies.

The baju kebaya here is quite cheap too, the price is almost the same if you buy from Pasar Baru Bandung. The price for this piece right here is around RM50-60. Maybe you can get better price by bargaining.

After all the walking under the hot scorching sun, what better to buy than a cold drink, especially one made by a good looking girl.Hehe.

Then we went to Satok market, which has the famous ikan terubuk masin.

You can also ask them to wrap the fish so that they can be put into the cargo area thus eliminating the need to bring the fish into the cabin area.

Like this.

Not only that, you should have a look at the new DUN Sarawak building which is located near the waterfront. It's so huge and I'm sure the inside interior is even better.

All in all, it was quite an experience. But being in the middle of the town, I couldnt really experience the true local culture there. Maybe if I ever go to Sarawak again, I should go to Bako National Park or the Bario Highlands there. That would be wonderful.

"Sarawak nang best gilak!"

The brothers I never had.

2009-07-27T22:07:00.016+08:00

Ever since my 1st year at the university, my friends and I have been gone to many trips around Malaysia. It is like an annual programme for us. For this year, we went to Kemaman, Terengganu. One of our classmates, Healmie aka Burn lives there so we stayed at his house for 3 nights which really saves alot of money than staying at a hotel.Hehe.

Day One.

We went around Kemaman and ate like mad. First we went to Hutan Rekreasi Paya Bakau, watched the mangrove trees there. Then, we went to Pantai Kemasik and watched the scenery there. The place has many big rocks that you can climb and watch the sea with a spectacular view.

After that, we went to the stalls there and ate keropok lekor with coconut water while facing the beach. Also, lemang and serunding that we bought on our way there. Then, we went to Burn's fruit orchard and ate durians that just fell the night before.

Right after that, we went to a stall nearby and ate sata. Sata, for those who dont know, is made of fish paste and grilled on hot fire. If I'm not mistaken it originates from Terengganu.

Then we went to Pantai Mak Nik or as my friend said, Monica Bay. The scene is just like any other beach. But what impressed me the most was the toilet. The toilet is super clean. It is one of the cleanest toilet that I have ever been to and it doesnt cost a bomb like at KLCC. Maybe all toilets in Kemaman are as clean as that, I assume.

During the night, we went to watch fireflies at Sungai Yakyah. That was my first time watching fireflies though I studied near Kuala Selangor which has the Kg. Kuantan fireflies. The fireflies are abundant and some of them even came to me and I got to watch them on my hands. Like the advertisement on the tv, isnt it?Hehe. Then, we got a call that a turtle just landed at Pantai Mak Nik to lay its eggs. So we went there and watched the turtle laying its eggs. There were many tourists too but we were told by the ranger not to take any picture while it was laying its eggs. So no picture to show here. But it was a very unique experience indeed.

Day two.

Day two is the day that was spent entirely at Kuala Terengganu. Before we went to K.T., we went to Hai Peng kopitiam which has the best coffee in Kemaman and some say Malaysia.

For me, the coffee has something unique that you cant simply get at other high end coffee shop like Starbucks and Coffee Bean. You have to try it and you wont be able to forget the taste.

Then, we went to Taman Tamadun Islam which has the Crystal Mosque.

The place also has miniature mosques from all over the world. There are so many mosques there that we had to rent a bike and took two hours to complete the tour there.

I look like Godzilla, right?Hehe.

Then we went to meet Ikin who lives at K.T. The food at Ikin's house is delicious though she didnt cook the mihun goreng tomyam that we diligently ate.Hehe. After that we went to Masjid Terapung, one of the attraction at Kuala Terengganu.

Going for a trip with my friends is indeed an enjoyable experience. We didnt go to Paris, London or New York yet we still had our share of fun. Maybe it was because of the place, maybe it was because of going there with the guys. I was watching Nur Kasih the other day and the two brothers in the drama are playing football together. Suddenly, it strucked me. How does it feel like to have a brother? To play around with a brother and grow up with him. It is not that I dont love my sisters, I do. Maybe I just want to know how it feels like to have a brother. I thank God that I have my friends here who are like my brothers, that at least I can have a bond of brothers between us.

And I never stop thanking God for the brothers that I never had.

From left: Me, Boo, Burn, Ijan.

What do you see in me?

2009-07-24T01:00:00.003+08:00

I have a friend,lets call my friend here as K. K here has a partner, named L. K said that L always complains about K, calling names and such. They would be arguing about something day in and day out.

My opinion? K here is not an isolated case. People keep on pointing other people's mistake while arguing and though this is not something that is to be proud about, it happens.

When we are in love, we keep on praising and showering our partner with happiness but when we argue, we dig all the skeletons in the closet and throws them right on the face. Why must we point the mistake that was done and act like there were nothing right that happened between the two souls? We open our eyes to the mistakes and simply shut our senses to whatever good deeds that were done before. Learn to forgive and forget.

If you keep on pointing at other people's mistakes and ignore all the good things that were done by them, then that will be your biggest mistake yet.

Peace, no war.

Puppy love

2009-07-20T22:22:00.005+08:00

I was eating out with my family just now. Suddenly, I saw a friend, an old friend. She was eating with her siblings. I never thought to see her again after all these years. We knew each other since we were in primary school. Her name is Suraya and I had a crush on her since then.

She was never my girlfriend but I paraded around the school as if she was. It's just that I was head over heels about her that I told everyone that she's my girlfriend though she never said anything about it. How stupid could I be at that time?Hehe. I was quite possesive too. I was one of the prefects at the school and not a very nice one too. I would bash people and hit them if they ever went against the rule at school. I was never afraid to use my power then. So one day, when I was in Standard 5, I heard that a boy from Standard 4 gave her a love letter. I took the letter from her and I searched for that boy. When I found him, I hit him and we fought. Maybe I thought I was the saviour though I'm not very sure what is there to protect about.Hehe. So eventually, we were sent to the headmistress' room by a teacher. Luckily, as I was a prefect and I made it look like I was doing my job, I was off the hook and that boy got his punishment. I couldnt get any corrupted than that.Hehe.

This crush went on till I was in high school. So one day, I was offered to continue my high school at a residential school. I was happy but I was afraid of not seeing her again. I accepted the offer and on the day that I was supposed to register I was so sad with the thought of leaving her. On the way to the school, I looked outside of the window car and I cried. I cried not because of leaving home but because of her. Few months after that, I got to know that she already had a boyfriend and that boy is my friend. I was so devastated because I thought she betrayed me though I knew she was never my girlfriend.

After high school, she continued her study at England in an engineering course. Just few months ago, I got to know that she was already married to his boyfriend. Which boyfriend, I dont know, but I wish her all the best in her life and that she's happy with her husband.

Maybe some love story is never meant to be pursued.

p/s : Back in the days of mIRC, the craze of that day was having these cool nicknames. Mine was cache237. The number was her birthday number, 23rd July. So I guess maybe I can wish her an early happy birthday. So, happy birthday, Su.

I just went to Old Trafford.

2009-07-19T00:42:00.017+08:00

At first, I have no idea what I should write about as I did not do anything special these couple of days...

Except that I went to watch Manchester United play here in Malaysia!Hahahahaha.

Ok, so I lied, I did not go to Old Trafford to watch MU but I only went to Bukit Jalil. Well, that sure saves alot on the expenses department.Hehe. So here are the pictures from the training day and the match day.

First stop, the great Sir Alex Ferguson.

Here are the pictures from the training day.

Poor Ben Foster here wouldnt have thought that he would let that silly goal in.

Maybe Van der Sar here can give Foster some pointers. Opss, he let in a lobbed ball into the goal.Hehe.

So here are the pictures from the match day.

Nani and Rooney after the second goal.

MU got a corner kick against Malaysia.

The goalkeeper making a save from the corner kick.

Thanking his teammate here for giving him a hand with the corner kick.Hahaha. Hand, goalkeeper? You got it? Oh, what a lame joke.

After all that adrenaline rush, then comes the end.

For me, it was quite an entertaining game. I enjoyed the atmosphere at the stadium though I already went there for numerous times watching so many teams playing at the same stadium. But when it comes to MU, it sure gives you the different vibe that you cant get watching other team playing in front of you. The Malaysia team did not surrender easily and played relentlessly though they knew they were playing against a world class team. For sure, those who came to the stadium went there to watch MU play but they were very supportive and they cheered for both MU and Malaysia. Whenever MU scored a goal, the stadium would be beaming with cheers for them but the same happened when Malaysia scored, so I guess Malaysians are still patriotic though they are wearing MU jerseys.

We are MU fans but nevertheless, we are still Malaysians, and we are proud of it.

Bus and taxi fares are increased and I dont think they deserve it.

2009-07-16T18:48:00.004+08:00

I'm a frequent user of public transportation.Ok,at least I was,for around 10 years or more. I started using bus and taxis as long as I could remember. Even when I was in primary school, I was already taught how to go home by bus on my own. Up until now, it is very hard to say that the service provided by them has significantly improved.

And starting next month, there will be an increase for the bus and taxi fare.

What a joke I would say. There has already been an increment for the fares last year,it's just that they don't call it an increase, instead they call it as surcharge. Surcharge is when there is an increase for the petrol price then you can start charging surcharge. The price for petrol has dropped drastically that there is no need for any surcharge at all. They are still charging the surcharge and now, on top of that, there will be about 30% increase for the fares. That is just absurd.

I admit I like to crack jokes. But I guess, there is a bigger joker than me. Quoting from the news,

"Minister in Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Abd Aziz said public transport companies were also expected to improve the level of their service in line with the raise in fares."

Yes, he expects them to improve. How many times have that word been used? Even after all the increment, there are so many cases of drivers speeding, refusing to take passengers, overcharging and so many other things that makes Malaysia notorious for its public transport service. Try to give them 100% increment, they will still behave like they are used to.

Early this year, I went to Kl from Seremban, by bus. The bus from Seremban will always stop at Central Market. When I wanted to get out from the bus, there was this old Chinese man, around 50-60 years old. He was blind and was trying to get out from the bus too so I helped him. As I was helping him, he said that he wanted to get a taxi. So we walked around and asked the taxi drivers in front of CM to drive him to his destination. But all of them refused. Again, we walked around until the bus station next to the LRT and asked the taxi drivers who were sitting there but all of them gave the same answers, they refuse to drive him. Their reason was that they dont want to go through traffic jam. I felt like yelling to them," If you are afraid of traffic jam, then dont be a taxi driver!" But I didnt. What's their problem anyway? The passenger is paying if they are stucked in a traffic jam anyway. So we returned to CM and asked around again. At one point, I was so pissed off that one Malay driver refused and chased us away like we were dogs. Luckily, after that an Indian driver agreed to take the old man to his destination. I was relieved and a bit pissed off by the Malay driver. So I took his car number and tried to report him to LPKP . As I was taking his number down, his driver friend realised this and came to me.

Rude Driver (RD): Hoi, what are you doing?! Are you taking his car number?

Me: No la, I was texting my friend, the one who you refused to take.(though I have no idea who that Chinese man was. I just lied to this RD)

So I walked away and reported about the driver to LPKP. After that, less than one week, LPKP called me and asked me the details about the incident. Well, at least one of the government agency is doing their job efficiently. I have no idea what happened to the driver who I reported about. I just hope he learns his lesson. This is just one of the reason I feel that even with whatever increase made, the public transport here will always be at the same low level.

Luckily, I have my car to go around anywhere now.

What is there to money and writing?

2009-07-14T10:20:00.006+08:00

I just like to write. For me, writing is another form of expressing yourself. Maybe,this is the reason that I made this blog. I have always been shy to talk to other people so for me writing is a form which I can use to communicate. I am not a sweet talker so I was hoping that I can be a sweet writer. Is there such a thing?Oh well, I hope so.

Why do you like to write? When I write, I like to tell stories, to get people to forget other things and concentrate on my stories instead. There are already too many people writing about politics and bashing other people just to get noticed. That is why I write things other than that. Why would you want to read about politics when you can find it in the newspaper and news web portal? Why would you want to write about theories when people can find it in textbooks? Write about life instead, something that make people at ease and forget about their problems.

When I was in my first year at the university,we were given an assignment to write an article. When my work was submitted, my lecturer told my friends that I should be a writer for magazines or newspapers when she had a look at my article. I guess she was impressed but she never told me this personally. Maybe she doesnt want me to get big headed and I guess she is right on that part.

I treat writing as a hobby, but if get paid for it, it never hurts right? I already got a cheque for writing an article that was published in The Star.

Now, my earnings for Nuffnang ads have reached RM50.

To do something that you love and get paid for it, how wonderful can it be? Maybe I am just plain lucky.

So, where is that cash out button?Hmmm...

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim at UNiSEL

2009-07-10T22:36:00.013+08:00

I was just a 12 year old boy when Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was detained and charged with ISA. I can still remember till now watching some breaking news about it and everybody seemed to be like in a commotion. I vividly remember it was NTV7 who covered the story first before other station networks started to cover about the detention. Some people call him as a liar while some call him as the one who can change it all.

So when he came to UNiSEL, I did not hesitate to come and watch him speak as I wanted to know what makes him so special that he could be the unifier of 3 parties who have different ideologies. The event was organised by UNiSEL SRC and Anwar Ibrahim Club (AIC) and was attended by many bigshots. Among those who came were YB Azmin Ali, YB Yusmadi, Tuan Haji Mustafa Kamil Ayub and YB Nik Nazmi. Not many universities are even allowed to have DSAI to come into the campus, let alone to talk to so many people. So I guess it was a job well done.

So these are the pictures from that night.

He was also accompanied by Datin Seri Azizah.

He knows how to attract people to listen to him, that is not some skill that can be acquired in an overnight.

I guess he is adored and admired by many people.

No matter whether by the men,

or the women.

Not only that, Datin Seri Azizah also spent some time to greet the students.

They were also accompanied by their two ever-smiling daughters.

Before DSAI came to UNiSEL, there are few quarters who opposed to this as they felt that politics should not be brought into universities. Well, I guess they are too caught up with AUKU it seems. There are already many politicians who came into universities and even schools to give talks, so why should this be any different? For me, we should open up our mind and listen to what people got to say. I have met many politicians in person, from Datuk Seri Najib who came to my school and Tun Abdullah who came to UNiSEL few years ago to meeting with YB Halimah and YB Lo'lo and now DSAI. I read News Straits Times but I also read Malaysikini. I watch TV3 but I also watch Al-Jazeera and Youtube. It all boils down to choices. Don't just stick to one medium and believe whatever it got to say. Open up to many choices and analyze on your own. I have always try to remain apolitical.

Maybe not anymore.

Tanjung Tuan Tranquility

2009-07-07T20:11:00.010+08:00

I'm not working right now.And that's a good thing.After 4 tiring years,I should at least get some rest, shouldnt I? So off I went to Port Dickson with my parents as my dad had some course going on there and I just followed them to kill my time ( and because of bored staying at home). We stayed at PNB Ilham Resort which is quite ok la. The price rate for the room is not bad too. When I arrived there, I realized that next to the resort is the Tanjung Tuan Sanctuary where the famous Tanjung Tuan lighthouse is located. What a coincidence, I thought, as I brought my tripod along for that trip.

So the next morning I went up to the hill to get to the lighthouse.

Before you climb the hill, you have to register at the entrance should anything happen and they need to trace you.

Then, the trail. It is quite steep at the beginning but it got better when you are almost at the top. It can be quite tiring, so bring proper shoes before hiking, dont use slippers like I did.huhu

On the way up, you will see a signboard stating that the place is a migrating place for raptors. If you really like birds and want to watch the raptors, head there in March.

When you almost got to the top, dont even think that your climbing has ended. There are stairs there you would still have to climb to get to the lighthouse.

Then, the lighthouse. It's quite big and modern, unlike the one that was built five centuries ago. But visitors are not allowed to go into the lighthouse for security reasons.

Though it was tiring, the view from the top of the hill overlooking the sea is really breath taking. Looking at the endless sea is so amazing.

Staying at the resort : RM300 (though it was paid for by the government)

Toll and gas: RM50 (though it wasnt me who paid)

Drinking water: RM2 (though it was a complimentary drink at the room)

Getting to the top of the hill, drenched in my own sweat and looking at the spectacular view: Priceless.