Wednesday 29 August 2007

Is he wrong?

I've been meaning to blog but have been pretty preoccupied of late. Actually the main reason why i haven't had the time to blog is because of late, I've started getting interested in politics. It all started with that 'negarakuku' fiasco. It sad the the powers that be in this country are blind and stupid.

A few weeks ago, I had an interesting debate with my friends on the topic of patriotism. I kept on insisting that I'm proud to be Malaysian which is somewhat still very true. However of late, I've been questioning my reason for being proud.

Taking alot of things into consideration, i've enjoyed my time here. Proud of how we 'fought' for independence, etc, etc, etc. But now, ever since i read May 13... i've taken an interest on how Malaysia got to where it is today and now I ask myself this question - do i have a reason to be proud?

In my eyes - after 50 years... we are no better than from the day the Tunku yelled Merdeka! So what if we have the tallest twin towers and the biggest murtabak..... the Malaysian mentality has taken many steps back. Malaysians today are still as territorial and racist as the day OUR ancestors came to this land to seek fortune.

Isnt it sad? So what if we have been independent for 50 years, what have we achieved? Perhaps its better that the British ruled this land. Perhaps then we would have a brand of educated young professionals instead of mat rempits.... perhaps we would have ended poverty and upgraded the kampongs. Perhaps it'll be safe to walk the streets at night. Perhaps we could rely on public transport.

think about it... what have we achieved? Malaysian politics really suck. u know why? coz:

1. some dude said - 'i will soak the keris with Chinese blood' - 12 years on, this dude becomes the DPM. WTF?

2. some dude said - 'we should make the mat rempits into mat cemerlang, for their skills can help the police'... - WTF? this dude mite become the PM one day u know...

3. some dude said 'this is an islamic state, you dont like it, get lost' - WTF?

what happened to our constitutional rights? or is it that ONE ARTICLE overrides ALL?

Sigh... reading more and more about our 'legacy' proves that malaysia sucks. In fact - its starting to dawn on me that perhaps Malaysia is on the road to self destruction. Sigh. Nevertheless, I am Malaysian and am sort of still proud to be one. Do you know who is a true patriot? Namewee - his song showed how much he felt for Malaysia. Was he being racist? was he condemning the country? I THINK NOT.... he just said - this is where i come from and that he is sad that the powers that be are a bunch of lazy corrupted bastards... Is he wrong?

Tuesday 21 August 2007

Miracle

Dudes - i passed my exams! i thought it wasnt going to be possible coz

A: i didnt study
B: i didnt take study leave
C: i don't have notes
D: i wrote poetry on the bloody exam paper
E: i didnt complete the paper
F : in fact, i only complete 2.5/4 questions
G : i had so much spare time (about 40minutes to draw pictures and more poerty)

and guess what... the SLACKER dude, yours truly has done it once again... he passed with little effort.. remember what happened during the previous sitting? how I studied and what were the results??

now i have finally completed ACCA and I'm qualified... woo hoo!!! SHOW ME THE MONEY!

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on a more sombre note... today was my godma's funeral. Gosh i miss her so much. I was actually planning on meeting up with her later this year to make cookies together. She made the best cookies ever! Sigh... i miss her...

Sunday 19 August 2007

Big boys do cry

I remember my most recent ex told me that she couldn't cry. No matter how sad she becomes, she just wont cry.

I remember telling her that since Kek Yee and I broke up more than 3 years ago, I've never cried. Which is kind weird because i used to be the type that cries easily as I was extremely sensitive. Anyhow, I'm not like that anymore.

My recent ex told me that its weak for a guy to cry. To a certain extent, i do agree. However, i could not hold back my tears over the weekend.

On Friday nite i had a blast at the Mount Kiara Jazz Festival. It was a pretty good nite coz i won a lucky draw prize and won some egg eating contest. What was incredible was I met alot of people that night. It was great to meet alot of friends such as colleagues, the rainforest kakis, bree, marion, ian, swee lyn, matthew, nizam, ace, etc, etc.... I trully had a great time that night. The drinks and company couldn't have been a better match!

What i didnt realise was while i was out having fun, something sad was happening miles from where i was.

My beloved godmother passed away peacefully that Friday nite. I only got the news on Saturday whilst I was out with Pauline, Serena and a few others for lunch. My dad smsed me and it didn't kick in until we returned back to the basketball courts where we were supporting the PwC's basketball campaign in this year's edition of the Inter Accounting Firms Games.

Anyhow, whilst I was seated on the floor watching the match, with the crowd roaring behind me and the game going on in front of me, I zoned out for a moment, reading the short sms over and over again.

Then it happened.

A tear trickled from my right eye. Suddenly an avalanche of memories of countless times spent with my godmother came flooding in. Priceless childhood memories of going to the market, walking to the neighbour's house, listening to redifusion, helping her cook (such as helping her slaughter the chicken, soaking it in hot wather, plucking the feathers, then cooking it), etc, etc....

I prevented myself from cying out, but i was choking and couldn't concentrate on the match. So i just sat there, stoning. I rushed home after the match and sat in my room. I stared at the wall for a long time in total disbelief.

My parents and I only attended the wake yesterday and I'll go for the funeral tomorrow. Since the little episode at the basketball court till the moment we went over to the house last nite, I didnt cry. I wanted to, but didnt. However, the moment i put my arms around to embrace my godfather i couldnt hold back the tears. I gently hugged each of my godbrothers and sisters and left tears on their shoulders.

I finally composed myself and led myself in to pay my final respects. My fingers trembled as I lit up the josstick and the tears kept pouring as I prayed. My heart sank when i saw her lying there in her casket. She looked so peaceful and beautiful. Why did God have to take her away? She was so young.

I wished I had visited her more often. I wished she would be around to attend my wedding. I wished she could care for my kids like she did for me. I wish...

I composed myself quickly and sat in utter silence all night. I wasnt too interested in watching the liverpool v chelsea game when i got home. All i wanted to do was sit in my room and cry for a bit. Which is exactly what i did.

Humans take things for granted, including life. I think I should ponder on that a little longer and assess ME. Particularly - my lifestyle. My godmother was a healthly lady. She took care of my godfather. She goes for tai-chi every morning. She still goes to the market and cooks, etc, etc, etc... Sigh.

Reality bites. Life sucks. Its time to wake up and change. Must start now.

I miss you Godma. May you rest in peace.

"In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return."

Thursday 16 August 2007

Radio your ga ga and random quickies

I've finally found a radio station to listen to in the mornings. As u guys know, I hate listening to the radio. For some time now i've never been able to get into the groove of current music. Though admittedly, a song or 2 does grow onto me (eventually).

However, since the Volvo is still in the workshop, i've been driving my dad's wira. His CD player is out, so I had to rely on the radio. There were only 2 stations locked in, i.e. Lite fm and traxx. As much as I like Lite fm, 'memories' (barbara streissand) was playing whilst i was stuck in a jam just after the connaught toll. So i changed to traxx fm.

I was surprised that my dad had some funky new radio station registered to his player. Then i realised, it used to be Radio 4. Gosh how i hated radio 4 so much. When i was growing up, it was probably the only English radio station around. Hitz.fm and the likes came about when i was 17 or 18.. (i remember the backtoback 7 hits marathons).... I actually used to like Hitz.fm then coz i actually like current music i.e. i dig the bands during the 90s such as Pearl Jam, blind melon, crash test dummies, soul asylum, alice in chains, etc, etc,.... today, hitz.fm play crap music from crap musicians (mind my lack of taste). i hated Radio 4 coz the predictable deejays... i.e. Yasmin with her 'good morningmorningmorningmorninig' and Patrick Teoh's sarcasm.

anyhow, traxx plays awesome music in the mornings. I've alwiz been a big fan of oldschool rock, i.e. 70s and 80s. After all i grew up listening to the likes of bonjovi (when he had big purple hair), david bowie, roxy music, alice cooper, guns n roses, antrax, slaugther, skid row, styx, boston, dio, etc, etc.. (yes i was a pretentious headbanging 9 year old)....

traxx plays retro slow rock music in the mornings! i mean, they play alot of glam stuff like Journey, Yes, Van Halen, Queen, etc, etc...and now, i'm in love with the radio again! seriously man... finally, driving to work is a joy once again!!!

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on another note, i'm trying to cut down smoking. coz since i've been back from the Malaysian Salsa Festival, i haven't been smoking much. i've been smoking about 3-5 sticks aday when i believe i averaged 2 + packs during the festival! i think i have enough willpower to not smoke during the day and have a few after dinner or with drinks.

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did you know that England doesnt have a national anthem? God Save the Queen' is for the United Kingdom and you'll never walk alone is for Liverpool.

now obviously the English started the English language right. The English are afterall from England. So people in England speak english. WHY THE FUCK DOES ENGLAND's MOTTO read 'Dieu et mon droit'? err.. that's French by the way!

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people say that i'm a sell-out cause i support the italian football team and not England. For fucks sake, i've been supporting Italy since Italia 1990. I didnt support any other national team prior to that though i was a huge fan or maradona and i love watching brazil play. however, my friends call me a sell-out as i'm a huge liverpool fan but am anti England. Gimme a break, just because Liverpool plays in the English Premier League, i'm suppose to be an England fan? don't forget the very first Liverpool was made up of 12 Scots men... So am I a sell out?

and i've alwiz be proud to be a Liverpool fan... afterall... i have the Liverbird tattooed on my arm

btw - Footie season is back!!! Can't wait for this weekend man.. clash of the titans.. Liverpool vs Chelsea... this time... Drogba and Chelski aint gonna get lucky!

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talking about tattooes... i'm thinking of getting a third tattoo. Any ideas? i was actually thinking of inking the whole left upper arm (to the elbow) with a mauri motif to further compliment the exisiting 'Ankh'... hmmm...

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aiya.. nevermind me la... am just taking a break from reality... the car's in the workshop... work's a bitch... i'm sleepy.. what's new eh?

lastly 2 things...

1. the mout kiara jazz festival is back... i think i'll check out tonite's gig... c'mon mr gambus! join me if u're free.

2. am gonna organise another water rafting adventure on the 15th of September. if you're interested, contact me before the end of next week.

Wednesday 15 August 2007

Racism and Discrimination

Would you consider me a racist? Would you consider me a person who discriminates? Just because i've a photograph of a plate of delightful roast pork on my desk - would that make me a fooking ROMPER STOMPER??? Someone who is insensitive to the moslem race?

Wouldn't it be the same kind of insensitivity when the slaugther of cows are shown on national television every year? wouldn't that be insensitive towards religious hindus?

I've seen many people get offended when they read about a pork reviews in my friends' food blogs... and many get offended when I talk about pork openly in office... what's the big freakin deal? for fucks sake... its the same as someone telling a hardcore hindu how wonderful beef rendang is? on a similar note, wouldn't the tag line 'KFC fried chicken is finger licking good' insult buddist vegetarians? (don't forget - i am Hindu on paper - but i do eat beef... *whoops!*)

For fucks sake.. its not like i'm forcing anyone to eat something they dont want to eat rite? I mean... if u eat things i dont like infront of me... or tease me about how good it taste... i wouldn't give a rat's ass.... whether its due to religious practices or personal preference, what goes on around us, should not affect us.. RITE?????

take nature lovers and animal lovers... some are vegetarian by choice.... they cant stop me from eating meat rite?

i mean i love animals... don't get me wrong... but i love my food too!!! (and its not my fault that animals are full of meat) i remember when i was young... i was so angry with my God mother for killing the chicken i used to play with (since it was a chick)... i remember her asking me to hold the bird down by the drain in the air-well... then she took out a knife and MURDERED IT! i cried and cried until she laid the feast on the table... and then i went.. 'AMEN'... (the bird was delicious - may he rest in peace)

since then, i told myself... dont be a hypocrite.... if u like to eat it... dont pretend to be such an animal lover! I've boiled live prawns before (steamboat)... couldnt be any fresher!

ok... back to my blog's topic for the day. Like any other corporate slave, i have lunch everyday. Everyone's aware of my fondness of pork. However, everyone knows i LOVE MALAY FOOD too. In fact, the people i grew up with, we all enjoy Malay Food. Thinking back, whenever I'm with David or Soon Hoe (since we were young till now), we alwiz end up having Malay food. Guys.. please understand, MAMAK FOOD - IS NOT MALAY FOOD. Need u people to understand that there's a difference between Malay mix rice, with Mamak mix rice and Indian mix rice. VERY DIFFERENT... in fact.. there's a huge difference between northern indian and southern indian food... but that's for another post!

I mean... malay food is awesome... i can tell the origin of certain malay dishes... mainly.. its either north east, north west, east or south malaysia... (though south malaysia's malay food very similar to east)

As I was saying, whenever we decide for lunch and if it has to be halal... these people will choose a place that i dont like to frequent... for instance... i LOATHE FAST FOOD... i'll only have FAST FOOD.. when i need the food FAST... like TO GO... D'OH! These morons will want to go for fast food no matter what. If its not fast food... then its starbucks or some coffeehouse. C'mon.... coffeehouse for lunch? we're asians... can't we have rice or noodles?

Not wanting to create a scene or whatever, i normally decline their offer and join others for lunch. So these morons label me 'DIFFICULT'... 'ANTI-SOCIAL', etc....

to be honest, name calling dont really get to me...(i do have a pretty thick hide) until recently, as a result of a similar lunch incident... i was labelled a practitioner of RACISM AND DISCRIMINATION..... WTF????

who is discriminative now? can't we eat at the malay stalls behind the office? must the options for lunch venue be places i LOATHE? there are so many mamaks and good indian eateries around... must it be KFC?????? damn it! on days when they want to eat with other people... they can calmly go to those stalls as i have just mentioned... WTF?????????

anyhow... i had originally planned to blogged about me and my patriotism...u see.. i'm PROUD TO BE MALAYSIAN... no 2 ways about it... but by putting alot of things into perspective.. what's there to be proud about?

I recently read the book May 13 by the SUARAM president... and with the recent hu ha over 'NEGARAKUKU'... etc etc... i wonder... do Malaysians live in multi-racial harmony?

I'm just not a car person

Most dudes are really into cars. I honestly know jack shit. All i know is how to drive em cars and I dare say i'm pretty good at parking. I've driven (on a regular basis) a Proton(my first car), an Atos (my 2nd car), a Wira(dad's and angeline's), an Iswara (mum's), a Perdana (ex gf), Vios (ex gf) and recently, i've been driving a GL 240 old school Volvo (angie's). Apart from those, i've also driven my brother in law's Mazda Fighter and his MX5 and numerous other cars during nights of drunken stupor.

Anyhow... i think i'm a decent driver with a reasonable road sense, one who's not a speed demon and has a nick of being able to park any vehicle in tight spots. I remember one nite when i was on a date with my recent ex, she said that it was impossible for me to fit my dad's wira between 2 cars and one of em narrow streets in desa sri hartamas. Well i proved her wrong. Lol.
However, i really know jack shit about cars. I'll probably be able to distinguish and identify main parts like 'Door', 'Window', 'Battery', etc... but once u people start talking french like 'alternator', 'water pump', 'distributor', etc, etc, i just blank out!
Today the GL240 Volvo died whilst in motion. Here I was, driving 2 hot babes, Shuk Yee and Serena to desa sri hartamas for some jap lunch, and my car died in motion. Gosh, it was super malu-fying. Firstly, i had to calm the 2 hot babes down coz everyone was warm, restless and hungry. Then i needed to calm myself down before i blow my top and start breaking everything in sight.
Anyhow, as alwiz, i called my Dad. This is what transpired.

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Me : Pa, the volvo brokedown in bukit tunku.

Dad : What's wrong with the car?

Me : It just died whislt driving and now i can't start the car.

Dad : What sound does it make when u try to start the car?

Me : erm... kakakkaakakakakaakaka (something like dat)... then i pandai pandai said 'maybe its a problem with the starter' (like hell i know what a starter is, or if there's such a thing as a starter in a car)

Dad : Probably. Do u here a spark sound at the end as u try to start the car?

Me : (wtf?)... errr... 'No' (guessing)

Dad : could be the plugs are out

Me : err.. i guess.. (what is he talking about.. what plugs)??? maybe you're right Pa,.. its a problem with the plugs... i think so too

Dad : hmmm... are u sure the battery is working fine?

Me : (confidently).. yes... the lights are all on! (1 point for me)

Dad : hmmm.. (deep thought)... perhaps it could be an alternator problem.. its not charging up right or at all...

Me : hmmm... i didnt think of that Pa, (what the hell is an alternator?) that could be the reason eh.... (so that Dad wont go on in French)... Pa, tell u what, i'll leave the car here first, i've got my friend to fetch me... i'll go have lunch... then try to look for a foreman to check the car....

Dad : good idea... no point asking Afro (our family mechanic based in Cheras).. to go all the way there...

end...


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Sigh... after the conversation, i felt so like a blonde.... what the hell was my Dad talking about? How does he know so much bout cars? and how come i know jackshit?

Anyhow... the car's starting to be a liability. Finally got a foreman to check it out (got one from the net).. he told me its something to do with the distributor / distribution... i went... WATEVER DUDE.. can u fix it like now... he said... HELL NO... need to find the part... well.. .watever la..

So now... i'll wait patiently for the tow truck to collect my car and tow it to Cheras - back to the reliable hands of Afro. Damn it... my Atos is still in the workshop. I havent collected Sarah's Kancil. Wtf am I gonna do for transport tomorrow? sigh... this sucks...

Anyhow.. to Shuk Yee and Serena... sorry bout the trouble.... thankfully Joe came and rescued us and we managed to have a decent good Jap lunch... I'm gonna do Jap dinner tonite (hopefully)... join me if u can... to Joe... (thanks for all the trouble) 1 - for rescuing the 3 of us to lunch... and 2 for leading the foreman to check the car and then ferrying me back to office...

To Dad... THANKS! YOU're THE MAN!!!!!


That's me and the damn car, with me trying to start the car whilst the foreman (from the net) investigates!

That's what's wrong with the car. U see that square thing, connected to the round thing, with the black thing, and the 6 cable thingy, and the fully rusted thingy, with the oxidised thingy and the white cap on the blue shit... oh whatever... who am i to kid?

Tuesday 14 August 2007

Born again Simpson!

Hey all, i'm finally back from Lumut. Gosh i never realised how much i truly enjoy salsa dancing. i really can't wait for the next salsa event... i.e. the 14 hours of salsa - a charity event on the 7th of September. If any of you would like to accompany me to the event... do let me know...

Anyhow.. back to why i'm here blogging. I remember watching simpsons when i was in primary school during the 'Tracy Ulmann Show'. It was one of the few skits that I had to watch religiously. I remember when Simpsons' pilot which was aired on primetime TV. Something totally unheard of - given the fact that its a cartoon.

I guessed, many people from my generation grew up on Simpsons. After all, its been playing for 18 seasons and STILL going strong. If i'm not mistaken, its the longest running American cartoon with more than 400 episodes! (way more than the Flintstones - yabadabbabyebyedo) Did you know that Matt Groening named the charaters after members of his own family substituting Bart for his own name?

Simpsons is truly fantastic. They presented awards at the Oscars and also won a spot on the Hollywood walk of fame. And now.. after 20 years..., 3 seasons on the Tracy Ulman Show, 18 seasons on prime time television and 400 episodes! Finally a MOVIE!
I must admit that i stopped watching the Simpsons sometime ago. However, I am after all a movie fanatic and I had to watch the movie (infact, i had watched 4 movies back to back that day). After the movie - i became a Born Again Simpson. I haven't had so much laughs during a movie in years!
The scene above was probably used in so many Simpsons' episodes (including the one where Homer used a hammer to knock on a drill to open Marge's camera).. you knew what was going to happen the moment u saw Homer with the hammer and YET I STILL LAUGHED MY BRAINS out when Homer stuck the damn hammer into his eye!

Simpsons is famous for paying homage to numerous cliche scenes from big movies / shows/ plays/ musicals/ songs, etc. Their parody of the ending scene in Austin Powers was stolen in this particular action sequence. I laughed so much from the moment he got onto his skateboard till he crashed landed infront of Flanders.

They were so many amazing scenes of note. I think the 2 President Schwarzenegger scenes were awesome - particularly the line "i'm here to lead, not to read!". Apart from that, I loved the "should i be in, or out" sequence as the Dome came crashing down on him. Howabout the one at Moe's where people looted him clean. Or the punchline at the church where the signboard read "We told you so".. when Armageddon was beckoning.

But my favourite scene is and still is SPIDERPIG... gosh I laughed so much that it hurts just thinking about it... In fact, during the Salsa festival, we joked / acted out scenes from the show. Most notably was us singing the Spiderpig Song.


SPIDERPIG, SPIDERPIG,

he can do, what a spiderpig does,

can he swing, from a web,

No he can't cause he's a pig.

Look out, here comes the Spiderpig!

Gosh, I'm still laughing man. If you guys havent watched the movie yet, PLEASE DO SO NOW!


Monday 13 August 2007

I'm still new to blogger

hey... i actually posted a new post... but due to my lack of common sense... u'll find it dated 4th of July... dont ask me why....

go check it out if you have the time. till then.. spiderpig,spiderpig!

Wednesday 8 August 2007

Lack of business sense

hey all. Boy has it been a busy couple of weeks. There's just way too much work and too little time. Anyhow, right now its about 7.30am and i'm sipping coffee @ McDonalds in KL Sentral. I got home rather late last nite, say 3am and was asleep by 4am, only to have my Dad wake me up at 5.30am!!

Against my will, I dragged myself to shower and finish up my last minute packing, for today marks the start of the 2nd Malaysian Salsa Festival. As expected, Daddy didnt believe in Malaysian timing nor does he believe in just-in-time timing. He doesnt even believe in 'being on time'. Since i had to rely on Daddy to send me to KL Sentral (rendezvous point for those going by coach), I'm now here at Sentral - 2 hours before the coach arrives! You see, Daddy alwiz believes that 1 must never be late, but 2 hours????? gosh i'm so sleepy. Just called Cindy and she said she'll only be here by 8.30..... that also i forced her out of bed to accompany me. LOL

Thank God for free Wifi. If not i'll probably go Mad in this place.

Anyhow.... as u guys probably know, everytime i go on a trip or even for a weekend escape somewhere like Singapore or what not... i'll normally buy a carton of cigarettes from the warehouse near my office. Unfortunately, I've been way too busy to go these past few days. Anyhow, as a back-up plan, i normally buy like 10 loose packs from 7-11 or something. I mean, i rather have the security that i have sufficient nicotine fix then to worry about losing money through the premium paid.

When i got here, the first thing i did was to have a smoke break. Thereafter, I walked right in towards 7-11 to purchase 10 boxes or a carton of Dunhill Lights. Anyhow the dude there didnt have any stock. Not a big deal. He only had like 2 loose packs. So after that, i decided to check out the 'Kiosk' which is just around the corner. When I got there, I asked the staff if they sell Dunhill Lights by the carton. His manager immediately said 'no' 'its against our policy. No big deal. I then told her, I would like to purchase 10 loose packets then. She said looking at her inventory (which had like easily 30 packets as there were 4 full rows of my favourite fix) and said to me... hmmm... i can only sell you 5 at a time. I was kinda flabbergasted and stunned by her remarks, but remained calm. So i said, fine, i'll take 5 packs now. Paid the dues and placed them in my bag. Took my bag and walked one circle round the Kiosk and proceeded back to the counter and told the manager 'May i have 5 packets of Dunhill Lights please'. She said 'no i can only sell you 5 at a time'. Well i told her - this is round 2 you know? Obviously the moron had no choice but to sell them to me. Sigh - morons will be morons.

I mean... if it was a product that i could resell for a profit - fair enough, i understand why she wants to maintain economies of scale. However, we're talking about cigarettes! WTF???? No 2 - As a consumer - and as a customer - wouldnt you be happy if i could empty your entire inventory within 1 sale? I mean - you would've made a bundle and you can close shop for the rest of the day - or at least till the next shipment comes in. Think about it - you could close shop at 7.20am without even breaking sweat while making double your normal daily revenue. Sigh.. MORONS WILL BE MORONS!