When our sportsmen and sportswomen do badly, we...
A] say "Biasalah... Tak boleh harap... Jaguh Kampung.."
B] tell our kids to practice their piano/violin/electone/ballet cause athletes don't make money
C] get frustrated and start doing some damage
D] read Manchester United vs Chelsea scores as lead story on Sports news
When our sportsmen and sportswomen do well, we...
A] quickly tell our peers that we have been a football/badminton/tracks fan for years
B] take our kids to the nearby park to have a bit of football/badminton/tracks activities
C] feel all jubilant and talk-jock even with the people we hate at the office
D] read how the use of laser has affected the performance of the team that our sportsmen beat
Let's hope our boys do well in the next 90-odd minutes!
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Boy oh boy!
Why is it so cold today...? I wish the weather is much warmer outside so that I can play.
Monday, November 15, 2010
How to ease traffic jam in Malaysia
Just chatted with a friend a few minutes ago, and with great despair I made a mental note right after finishing the chat which says, "I think I've lost P."
P is my friend, Pooh.
He's a Javanese/Malay chap who will be migrating to UK in a week. Like me he's an X-Genner, but unlike me he went to a high-profile boarding school, sponsored by the government to get higher education, went to work in a local MNC, married a girl who 'doesn't fancy Malaysian food'...
I asked him, "Will you be one of those folks who goes, 'All that is Malaysian is bad, and it is so much better in UK?'"
He replied, "Are there many people like that?"
I said, "Quite a number, yes, those 'More Mat Salleh than Mat Sallehs'."
"But if there are so many of those people than don't you think it's true?"
I inwardly gasped. Sorry. That's me, the Malaysian me. The one who will love my country no matter what bad things goes on on its soil, tis still my mother earth.
He continued, "I'm Muslim, I'm not a Mat Salleh."
"Are you saying, you're a proud Muslim but a not-so-proud Malaysian then? Or worse, a not-so-proud Malay?"
He said I sounded racists, and he's a proud Muslim, he loves every other Muslim regardless if they're Chinese, Indian or Mat Salleh.
Oh what a heartbreak? That wasn't my intention at all (to be/sound racists). Told him that if my 'Malay comment' is me trying to preach to him that I should be proud of Ketuanan Melayu and about being superior than other races, sorry, that's not where I was heading. (In fact if that's what you're implying, then you're more racist than I am, if I am at all.)
I was more heading towards being able (as a Malay) to appreciate that somewhere inside my genetic makeup I have talent to do joget (though I can't right now, not that my macarena is so hot either), and knowing that my love for petai and tapai are inherited from my gran's grans.
It's about being proud, associated, connected to my genes and heritage. Forget all that Perlembagaan stuff. I'm not qualified to talk about it. I never read it. And there wasn't a film made to chronicle it. I wish there was one.
But I've watch Yasmin Ahmad movies. I remember her going, "I want the Malays to be Malays, the Chinese to be Chinese, the Indians to be Indians, the Ibans being Ibans..."
I knew exactly what she meant. I identified exactly what her vision was. She just wanted all of us to be happy with the way each one of us are. There's no need to be serving mooncakes during Raya Haji just to demonstrate your 1Malaysia spirit. I bet Yasmin would give me a hi-five if only she could hear me saying this right now.
Back to P.
I wished him well anyway. Told him he'll enjoy making UK his new home. Having 12 children there. Sending Salam Perantau photo to Harian Metro to let his parents and their friends see what his offsprings look like having fun playing with the snow man.
I'm still shaking my head right now. I can't believe he succumbed to being predictible. Wonder if it is a set thing for the boarding school boys and babes to go "When I was in UK... " and "My dream house is a piece of property in Notting Hill..."
Tis already an accepted thing to have them go, "I want to be married by the time I'm 26, have 1.5 children by the time I'm 30 and own a UK property by the time I'm 33, get Datukship by the time I'm 35..." It's like they all leave their respective hostels with the same Gantt chart to put up on the wall.
I remember one 'Who wants to be a millionaire' contestant who answered Jalaluddin Hassan's question to what she'll do if she wins a million ringgit... and she goes, "Well, a million ringgit is not enough for me to buy a house in UK to settle in.." and sounding as if that question just managed to pull her mood down. Like "Boo hoo..."
I get a feeling more and more educated Malays who are of my age do not have faith in Malaysia anymore. They have no sense of belonging to their home country, no sense of pride of their origin, no feeling of I-O-U to the government (though flawed) that gave them the scholarship that eventually led them to the UK/US/AU whatever other country that they feel so strongly about simply by having stayed there for a coupla years.
I've met some people and have friends who did go overseas to study - not even on gov grant, note that - and they have more love for their home country. Sure they do appreciate Subway sandwiches, Starbucks coffee and the public transportation model in Washington or Tokyo more, but they think our own Putra LRT and health ministry are quite cool though the education system could do with a full-blown reshuffle. Thank God for these fellas. I see them as folks who love their country but hey, they're (and I am) not blind either.
I wonder if this is worth feeling sad about? For a milisecond, yes, I guess. Malaysia could use more folks with skills, brains, experience who could contribute towards making this country better. This country is not perfect, I doubt it will ever be, but I still love it!
I guess to those folks who are like P, who think other countries (Singapore/UK/US/Australia /whatever) are so much better than Malaysia (which I'm sure by certain standards and measures they are, and there's nothing wrong about admitting that they are either) by all means, follow your American dreams. I'm sure those countries will welcome you with open arms.
Leave my Malaysia to me.
I ranted this much to my friend who quipped, "If those folks love it there so much, migrate lah. Less traffic jam for us!"
But hey, Good Luck P! Selamat Hari Raya Aidiladha and Maaf Zahir Batin!
P is my friend, Pooh.
He's a Javanese/Malay chap who will be migrating to UK in a week. Like me he's an X-Genner, but unlike me he went to a high-profile boarding school, sponsored by the government to get higher education, went to work in a local MNC, married a girl who 'doesn't fancy Malaysian food'...
I asked him, "Will you be one of those folks who goes, 'All that is Malaysian is bad, and it is so much better in UK?'"
He replied, "Are there many people like that?"
I said, "Quite a number, yes, those 'More Mat Salleh than Mat Sallehs'."
"But if there are so many of those people than don't you think it's true?"
I inwardly gasped. Sorry. That's me, the Malaysian me. The one who will love my country no matter what bad things goes on on its soil, tis still my mother earth.
He continued, "I'm Muslim, I'm not a Mat Salleh."
"Are you saying, you're a proud Muslim but a not-so-proud Malaysian then? Or worse, a not-so-proud Malay?"
He said I sounded racists, and he's a proud Muslim, he loves every other Muslim regardless if they're Chinese, Indian or Mat Salleh.
Oh what a heartbreak? That wasn't my intention at all (to be/sound racists). Told him that if my 'Malay comment' is me trying to preach to him that I should be proud of Ketuanan Melayu and about being superior than other races, sorry, that's not where I was heading. (In fact if that's what you're implying, then you're more racist than I am, if I am at all.)
I was more heading towards being able (as a Malay) to appreciate that somewhere inside my genetic makeup I have talent to do joget (though I can't right now, not that my macarena is so hot either), and knowing that my love for petai and tapai are inherited from my gran's grans.
It's about being proud, associated, connected to my genes and heritage. Forget all that Perlembagaan stuff. I'm not qualified to talk about it. I never read it. And there wasn't a film made to chronicle it. I wish there was one.
But I've watch Yasmin Ahmad movies. I remember her going, "I want the Malays to be Malays, the Chinese to be Chinese, the Indians to be Indians, the Ibans being Ibans..."
I knew exactly what she meant. I identified exactly what her vision was. She just wanted all of us to be happy with the way each one of us are. There's no need to be serving mooncakes during Raya Haji just to demonstrate your 1Malaysia spirit. I bet Yasmin would give me a hi-five if only she could hear me saying this right now.
Back to P.
I wished him well anyway. Told him he'll enjoy making UK his new home. Having 12 children there. Sending Salam Perantau photo to Harian Metro to let his parents and their friends see what his offsprings look like having fun playing with the snow man.
I'm still shaking my head right now. I can't believe he succumbed to being predictible. Wonder if it is a set thing for the boarding school boys and babes to go "When I was in UK... " and "My dream house is a piece of property in Notting Hill..."
Tis already an accepted thing to have them go, "I want to be married by the time I'm 26, have 1.5 children by the time I'm 30 and own a UK property by the time I'm 33, get Datukship by the time I'm 35..." It's like they all leave their respective hostels with the same Gantt chart to put up on the wall.
I remember one 'Who wants to be a millionaire' contestant who answered Jalaluddin Hassan's question to what she'll do if she wins a million ringgit... and she goes, "Well, a million ringgit is not enough for me to buy a house in UK to settle in.." and sounding as if that question just managed to pull her mood down. Like "Boo hoo..."
I get a feeling more and more educated Malays who are of my age do not have faith in Malaysia anymore. They have no sense of belonging to their home country, no sense of pride of their origin, no feeling of I-O-U to the government (though flawed) that gave them the scholarship that eventually led them to the UK/US/AU whatever other country that they feel so strongly about simply by having stayed there for a coupla years.
I've met some people and have friends who did go overseas to study - not even on gov grant, note that - and they have more love for their home country. Sure they do appreciate Subway sandwiches, Starbucks coffee and the public transportation model in Washington or Tokyo more, but they think our own Putra LRT and health ministry are quite cool though the education system could do with a full-blown reshuffle. Thank God for these fellas. I see them as folks who love their country but hey, they're (and I am) not blind either.
I wonder if this is worth feeling sad about? For a milisecond, yes, I guess. Malaysia could use more folks with skills, brains, experience who could contribute towards making this country better. This country is not perfect, I doubt it will ever be, but I still love it!
I guess to those folks who are like P, who think other countries (Singapore/UK/US/Australia /whatever) are so much better than Malaysia (which I'm sure by certain standards and measures they are, and there's nothing wrong about admitting that they are either) by all means, follow your American dreams. I'm sure those countries will welcome you with open arms.
Leave my Malaysia to me.
I ranted this much to my friend who quipped, "If those folks love it there so much, migrate lah. Less traffic jam for us!"
But hey, Good Luck P! Selamat Hari Raya Aidiladha and Maaf Zahir Batin!
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Not that cool: flying, mind-reading or super strength
^ Silver Scorpian, the first cross-cultural superhero with disabilities created by bringing together Syrian and American youth with disabilities in Damascus, Syria as part of the Open Hands Initiative’s inaugural Youth Ability Summit. Silver Scorpian is a Muslim, who loses his legs in a tragic landmine accident and must learn to come to terms with the reality of his disability while learning to use his newfound power to fight for social inclusion, equity and justice. Artwork by LLC, story by AP.
When I was a kid I thought flying is one of the most wonderful thing, next to invisibility. But here's a bunch of Syrian and American kids (well they're kids of today, not a yesteryear batch like me) who believes other super powers are way much more cool than flying, mind-reading or the capability to lift an airplane.
Check out this Yahoo! entry:
New Muslim comic book superhero on the way
Friday, September 24, 2010
Raya lessons
I remember kutuking a couple of tudung mamas who sit by at a corner with their toddler, taking the opportunity to rest instead of getting busy and helping out at family gatherings, raya open houses and so on.
Now that I have a family of my own, I learnt that, yep, the those mamas were lazy. But I'd like to apologize anyway for my badmouthing, as I now know that taking care of a toddler can be quite a tiring task anyway. But that said, I still think there are tasks that you can do while taking care of a toddler, for example putting the hooks on french-lace curtains, filling up the cookie canisters, folding laundry, shouting at other toddlers who are trying to watch blue films on DVDs...
Anyway.
My raya wasn't much different from before, except now it's so much fun to receive duit raya envelopes once again. And counting the money everytime before we sleep. And making beeline to relatives' houses that we didn't get to visit previous year.
What's different is that I have a house to clean. Clothes to wash and dry and fold and bring. Shopping to do in Ramadhan (tiring!).
And more people to wish Selamat Hari Raya, Maaf Zahir Batin to. Which includes you.
Now that I have a family of my own, I learnt that, yep, the those mamas were lazy. But I'd like to apologize anyway for my badmouthing, as I now know that taking care of a toddler can be quite a tiring task anyway. But that said, I still think there are tasks that you can do while taking care of a toddler, for example putting the hooks on french-lace curtains, filling up the cookie canisters, folding laundry, shouting at other toddlers who are trying to watch blue films on DVDs...
Anyway.
My raya wasn't much different from before, except now it's so much fun to receive duit raya envelopes once again. And counting the money everytime before we sleep. And making beeline to relatives' houses that we didn't get to visit previous year.
What's different is that I have a house to clean. Clothes to wash and dry and fold and bring. Shopping to do in Ramadhan (tiring!).
And more people to wish Selamat Hari Raya, Maaf Zahir Batin to. Which includes you.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
So I had a bad day...
Today could possibly one of the days that started bad, and it might likely go worse (after all tis only 11AM right now). And I'm betting I'm not the only one thinking like this.
For anyone sane enough to feel nice, unhappy, cool, upset, energised or deflated, it is quite a normal thing to have a bad day. Take me for example. I just saw one of the stupidest mistakes a human can make, and the a**hole is not even sorry about it. The baddest part of this all is that it is a costly mistake. One that can't, or rather shouldn't happen to anyone who have just gone through a rough patch - scratch that - it shouldn't happen to anyone period.
So what do I do? Take my Sony Walkman out. Blare Alanis Morissette's You Oughta Know. Leave the premise. Head to where I'm needed.
She started slow and steady, within 5 seconds my mind began to focus on the song. It got me thinking, "Man, she sounds steely mad. Perhaps madder than I am right now."
As I crank up the volume I heard Flea's basslines and I could imagine his fingers plucking and slapping as furiously as Alanis' vocal going "And everytime I scratch my nails down someone else's back I hope you feel it.. Well can you feel it?"
Inevitably I began singing, "It's not fair! To deny me of the cross I bear that you gave to me! Ya! Ya! Yah!" Perhaps a bit too loudly that the gal sitting next to me on the Rapid KL bus is beginning to scoot a few inch away. Ah she doesn't know that I'm just sharing my pain with Alanis.
I feel like handing her my left earpiece so that she can share too. I'm sure she must have had a bad day or two, even if today started well for her.
And that's what music can do for you.
For anyone sane enough to feel nice, unhappy, cool, upset, energised or deflated, it is quite a normal thing to have a bad day. Take me for example. I just saw one of the stupidest mistakes a human can make, and the a**hole is not even sorry about it. The baddest part of this all is that it is a costly mistake. One that can't, or rather shouldn't happen to anyone who have just gone through a rough patch - scratch that - it shouldn't happen to anyone period.
So what do I do? Take my Sony Walkman out. Blare Alanis Morissette's You Oughta Know. Leave the premise. Head to where I'm needed.
She started slow and steady, within 5 seconds my mind began to focus on the song. It got me thinking, "Man, she sounds steely mad. Perhaps madder than I am right now."
As I crank up the volume I heard Flea's basslines and I could imagine his fingers plucking and slapping as furiously as Alanis' vocal going "And everytime I scratch my nails down someone else's back I hope you feel it.. Well can you feel it?"
Inevitably I began singing, "It's not fair! To deny me of the cross I bear that you gave to me! Ya! Ya! Yah!" Perhaps a bit too loudly that the gal sitting next to me on the Rapid KL bus is beginning to scoot a few inch away. Ah she doesn't know that I'm just sharing my pain with Alanis.
I feel like handing her my left earpiece so that she can share too. I'm sure she must have had a bad day or two, even if today started well for her.
And that's what music can do for you.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Panas, panas, panas...
I thought things are bad when you don't get good grades.
I thought people are mean when they make you wait.
I thought life sucks when you get low pay.
Turns out ultra sad equals to babies being thrown away.
Gile ke ape buang2 bayi ni? Or kes abuse budak. I don't know what is wrong with these people...
I thought people are mean when they make you wait.
I thought life sucks when you get low pay.
Turns out ultra sad equals to babies being thrown away.
Gile ke ape buang2 bayi ni? Or kes abuse budak. I don't know what is wrong with these people...
Monday, March 01, 2010
Thinking makes me happy
If you're unhappy, try think of happy thoughts. If that gets you nowhere, just get naked!Thursday, February 25, 2010
Chicken ponders the meaning of egg
Ever wondered what's the meaning of life? Surely tis more worthwhile than pondering the meaning of egg.
What is the meaning of an egg? For This Chicken, an egg is, and forever will be, just an egg.
One with the white part and the yellow yolk. Cholesterol high and protein rich. Easy to digest and fulfilling to a certain degree.
Yet the Big Farmers are asking, "Yo you Chicken you, c'mon add some more meaning into yer eggs."
So This Chicken ponders, just what exactly, is the meaning of an egg, and what ever can you add on to add more to it?
Can an egg be more than just an egg?
What is the meaning of an egg? For This Chicken, an egg is, and forever will be, just an egg.
One with the white part and the yellow yolk. Cholesterol high and protein rich. Easy to digest and fulfilling to a certain degree.
Yet the Big Farmers are asking, "Yo you Chicken you, c'mon add some more meaning into yer eggs."
So This Chicken ponders, just what exactly, is the meaning of an egg, and what ever can you add on to add more to it?
Can an egg be more than just an egg?
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Krocet Karat
If I have a band, I'd be the tambourine player and the name of the band would be Krocet Karat. I don't do other instruments that well. OK I've studied electone a bit but now I'm so rusty I can only play a couple of Mozart's pieces as well as the highly dramatic tune from The Godfathers. Only it won't sound so dramatic once I'm done with it.
Anyway, like my electone playing skills, I've found out today that I'm highly rusty at writing as well. I mean, c'mon, I'm not even sure whether it should be "rusty at writing" or "rusty in writing" in the first place. But hey, if my band Krocet Karat had to disband for some odd reason, I'd pick the name Rusty in Writing for the second band that I'm gonna form. But let's get my first band organised first.
But I've got no time to set a band - I've got a million things to write about: several gadgets to review, several people to interview, several events to report and bla bla bla.
SO CAN SOMEBODY TELL ME HOW TO WRITE A GUDDANG PUBLISHABLE STORY?!
The point of this entry: Thank God for blogs. My fingers so malas already ohh...
Anyway, like my electone playing skills, I've found out today that I'm highly rusty at writing as well. I mean, c'mon, I'm not even sure whether it should be "rusty at writing" or "rusty in writing" in the first place. But hey, if my band Krocet Karat had to disband for some odd reason, I'd pick the name Rusty in Writing for the second band that I'm gonna form. But let's get my first band organised first.
But I've got no time to set a band - I've got a million things to write about: several gadgets to review, several people to interview, several events to report and bla bla bla.
SO CAN SOMEBODY TELL ME HOW TO WRITE A GUDDANG PUBLISHABLE STORY?!
The point of this entry: Thank God for blogs. My fingers so malas already ohh...
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
Chicken & coffee
Today This Chicken enters The Coop armed with a GJ Choco Loco, sans Donkey though Farmer is still around, giving out minimal vibes all around, thank God.
Not much has happened. Though Donkey on shift is actually a great big cause to celebrate, This Chicken is being cautious - anything can happen in This Coop.
Feels OK lah actually, to be back at egging.
Not much has happened. Though Donkey on shift is actually a great big cause to celebrate, This Chicken is being cautious - anything can happen in This Coop.
Feels OK lah actually, to be back at egging.
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