Selamat Hari Raya 2012!!

It's coming to the end of the fasting month in 2012 now. Highlights of the fasting month this year would be:

- First time fasting with the kid this year.

- Have not gone for a buffet buka puasa this year yet.

- Although I've had Japanese for buka, which was good.

- Ooh, actually company event was a buffet buka puasa. But that buffet wasn't great though.

- Olympics, where the highlights of the olympics this year has been:

1) The Dato Lee Chong Wei final. He tried his best. We are proud of you.
2) Didn't watch Pandelela get her bronze, but proud of you too.
3) Awesome Usain Bolt in the 100m, 200m and definitely how the Jamaican's destroyed the 4 by 100m's
4) How Brazil lost the football finals to the Mexicans. I just love it when an underdog wins.

Anyway, the end of the fasting month tonight coincides with the start of the Premier League again.

Watched Gomel game and it was a good performance (2nd leg) where we destroyed them. I know, I know, it's just Gomel, but you can only play against the team in front of you. Looking forward to the start of the Rodgers revolution tonight.

But been reading some of the blogs and forums lately and I have to say some sections of the Liverpool supporters are just a bunch of delusional fools. It's like their not thankful of what they have but are more interested in what they don't have.

Almost 2 years back, we were on the brink of bankruptcy. It does happen. To even the most historically inclined and large teams. Just ask Rangers. In comes FSG, paid their cash to wipe out our debt. Took out Hodgson, and put in the fans choice, King Kenny in charge, gave him and Commolli > 100m to spend (although most of that came from the Torres sales). And it all blew up in their faces. I mean, looking at it from their point of view, I myself would be a wee bit peeved and pissed off by how it all ended up.

So they are now doing it their way. They have appointed their choice of manager now. A young and upcoming manager with his own ideas on how to play football. We aren't gonna be spending outside of our means. Seems we are spending wisely with Borini, Allen and Assaidi. And it seems we are going for the cheaper, less risky refurbishing Anfield option for the stadium issue (oh I just hope we sort that one out soon!). Things seem to be looking relatively positive.

Yes, I am upset Kenny got sacked, but he blew it himself. Ideally, I would have given him until Christmas, but then again, looking from FSG's perspective, do you really want to give him even more money to spend? Really? We just need a fresh start.

But yeah. It is FSG's man in place now. We are planning to run the club FSG's way now. Let's see whether it works now. FSG and Rodgers, and all the LFC players. You will always have my support a long as you are Liverpool. I will question and criticize if I don't agree with anything. But support you always.

You will never walk alone.

Selamat Hari Raya.Eid Mubarak. Maaf Zahir dan Batin to all.

Are you Bersih today?

Just a little shout out to the people bersihing today in Kuala Lumpur. What ever cause you are fighting for, just make sure you guys behave your selves. Stay safe. Always.

Kuala Lumpur Rain

Why does it have to rain in the morning?

I get wet just getting into my car.

I get stuck in a traffic jam to work.

I get in late to work.

Such a great start to the day.

But at least it's nice and cool.

Somehow I feel like sleeping now.

So what does being Malaysian mean to you?

It's a belated Malaysia day post for me here. Mainly since I couldn't be arsed to log on and surf the net yesterday as, if I remember correctly, it was such a beautiful day yesterday. Sun was out shining. Birds chirping. It was such a good day to just, go out there and do something. Celebrate Malaysia day. Out side. In the sun. Malaysian weather at it's best.

Which was why I ended up waking at 12. In the afternoon. Missing out the whole morning.

But basically it was such an eventful, activity packed day yesterday. Woke up, and immediately went out for brunch with a friend of mine at a mamak store nearby. Some roti canais and teh tarik kurang manis to go with it is the perfect way to start your day. Either that, or some nasi lemak would have been good too. But roti canai is great anyway.

Went to visit a couple who just received a newborn. They decided to have lunch at their place and invite a few close friend over. They cooked some good briyani rice with some chicken and lamb, and added to that with some excellent dessert thing which I really do not know what it is, but was good nonetheless, and ended the whole meal with some Kopi Luwak from Indonesia. Yes, I am the type of person that does enjoy a good cup of coffee, and the Luwak coffee really does taste good. Would I pay that amount of money for a cup of coffee everyday? Probably not. A simple cup of nescafe is all i need every morning to get me up and running. But for those special moments, a cup of Luwak would definitely be an excellent choice.

Then after a quick photo session with the newborn, I quickly ran off to another friend's house for a Hari Raya open house for more food. Briyani, Laksa, satay, ketupat, lemang, rendang, ayam, kambing, daging, itik. You name it. You got it. Actually I really enjoy going to open houses like this. You actually get to bump into a lot of friends here, and I ended up hanging out and chit chatting, catching up with friends from primary school and secondary school who I have probably not really been keeping in touch with. Really good to know that they are all doing well in their lives. Before I new it, I probably ended up staying there for more than a couple of hours.

Which then lead me to meeting up with another group of mates at the SS2 hawker stalls. Again, catching up with friends (OK I am lying here. These friends I probably see them more than once a week, so I would not really call it catching up). Just plain talking crap and nonsense over some char kuay teow, some o-chien (is that how you spell it? the fried egg with oysters in them) and topping it off with a ramly burger daging special. The works.

At the end of the day, I was just too completely exhausted that I just completely crashed into bed and missed the Liverpool Steau Beaucharest match which was played at 3am here. (We won 4-1 by the way. Woo hoo!)


So. What does it mean to be Malaysian to me?

Exactly how I spent my Malaysia Day. Spending time with my close friends and family who are all Malaysians irregardless of race, doing what all Malaysian love to do. Being Malaysian.

Picture of the day

And a happy Malaysia day to you too!

Petrol Prices Going Up.... Again

Bloody hell. Rumours are it might go up anywhere between 5 sen to 15 sen per liter. I just got a call that it might even go up tomorrow. Last time this happened i didnt even know it was going up until I was passing by my friendly neighbourhood petrol station and saw the "mile-long" queue and thought to myself, what the fuck do these people know that i dont know? Luckily my tank was already full, or else, it would have been another one of those "monkey see, monkey do" actions happening there. Later.

UPDATE: Nope, prices DIDN'T go up, did they?

Sothinathan suspended

THIS I just don't understand. Just because you are under the party doesn't give you the right to question any of the parties actions? What the FUCK is that? So the party just wants non-thinking "Yes"-men among their ranks? I mean, just because you question something doesn't make it wrong. Anyone should be able to question anything! Then, you should "justify" your actions. What is happening to this world?

Malaysia Hall London closes it's doors

I just read that they have officially closed down Malaysia Hall in London sometime early this week, (It was Tuesday if i am not mistaken) and Malaysia Hall has been moved to somewhere in Bayswater, to a more "economically viable" location. I read this news with mixed feelings since a lot of my memories of my five years in London and UK at one point of time or another does include Malaysia Hall. Like celebrating Hari Raya every year, by gathering in the freezing cold outside Malaysia Hall after the raya prayers there. The roads would be filled with Malaysians from all around UK, who travel all the way just to meet up with friends (and sometimes family). Or waking up on a Sunday morning and going all the way there to have your (overpriced, but what did we care) teh tarik and nasi lemak. Or, me and my friends going to pray Terawikh prayers there during fasting month so that we could have good Malaysian food cooked by the Malaysians who are staying and working in London which was served after the prayers. Malaysia Hall was the first place that i went to when i first reached London. It sad to see it's closing down it's doors now, but i guess they are moving to a better place with better facilities. Things will definitely be different in London the next time i go there, but what stays the same forever anyway.

128 more medical students

I was reading with great interest these past few days about the saga of the 128 "top scorers" that didn't get admittance into the local universities to read medicine, and also didn't even receive one of their top 6 (or was it nine) choices of courses to study. Actually i have a several points that i read that i feel are very very interesting points to ponder about.

Firstly, why on earth did it have to go all the way up to the Prime Minister to make the decision on whether to take them all in or not. I mean we already have a Higher Education (and Lower Education mind you) ministry already to handle all of this. Can't these people handle it themselves? Also, what steps are being taken to prevent this from happening next year? Will the PM have to step in again next year and do this all over again? This situation has happened so many times before and still i do not see any change in the situation, and from the way i see it, it will be happening time and time again until someone just bites the bullet and makes some changes.

Secondly, there obviously is a very valid reason why the universities have what they call "quotas" on the number of students that they are going to admit in a year and I am pretty sure, before the 128 students are being admitted, they have already filled up their quota of the year. So the "soalan cepu emas" here is, where on earth are the 128 slots to cater for these additional students are going to appear from? Are building and labs going to miracilously appear out of nowhere? Will there suddenly be huge increase of medical lecturers that will just drop from the sky? In reality, what will eventually happen is, classrooms in the universities will have to cater for more students and the lecturer / tutor to student ration will decrease, and hence universities *might not* be able to produce the quality of education that might be required to nurture these young medical students into future doctors. Universities have a right to decline additional students, top scorer or not, as the number of places allocated in the universities have been filled up. It happens everywhere else in the world.

Thirdly, what about the other top students that wanted to do subjects like engineering, or business and were not given a place in a university under the same circumstances? I am sure there are MORE of these students out there and what will happen if suddenly all of them decide to go to the papers with some other politician. Will the government bow again and make the classes in universities even more cramped and tutors and lecturers even more stretched out?

I am extremely happy for the 128 students do eventually get to study the course of their choices, and i am pretty sure that they are top students in their field and all. However, I am a bit alarmed at the way that some of them have reacted throughout the whole saga. I mean, everyone has disappointments (and i am sure the possibility of not getting to read medicine IS a HUGE one for them), but what makes a person is the way that one would act in the face of adversity. Sometimes you just need to accept the fact that you wont always get what you want to do, no matter how hard you try. That's a fact of life. There are other career paths out there that are just as honorable as being an MD, it's just the way you see it. You can only play with the cards that you are dealt with. It does't mean, though, that if you come across the first hurdle, just accept defeat and get on with life, but only after trying your best, and you still don't succeed, it's not the end of the world, and life does go on.

These 128 students can consider themselves extremely lucky that the government did them a major favour by re-opening the doors for them and i hope that they do eventually end up being good ethical Malaysian medical professionals that contribute to the country and society. In another country, like in UK for example, they will have been so lucky. I know a LOT of people, some of them my friends, some are not, who were top scorers as well, who didn't get admitted to medical school there since the universities there are extremely strict when it comes to admitting a student for medicine and are also very strict when it comes to their quota, since they do not want to compromise the quality of the education that they offer. When someone comes into an interview and says "Hey, i am a top scholar with straight A's", they will come back and answer "Whoopeedo... So what? We have thousands of other straight A applicants. What makes you stand out from them? What makes you think you will become a good doctor just by getting straight A's?"

That, after a few years out of studying, I myself have come to realize. Living life is not just about getting your straight A's and your top marks, but it is also about how you react to adversity and failure that is the true judge of one's character. Do you go home and cry to your mummy complaining that the world has some grudge on you, or you stand up and face it all like a man and move on. It's these times that seperate the weak from the strong.

Gas prices up

Darn, gas prices go up 2 sens per litre today. I would have been my normal kiasu self and filled up yesterday but alas, i didnt have a chance to since i had to rush back home from office to rush off to play futsal at summit. Man, i usually put in around 30 liters everytime i visit the gas station. That means an extra...erm... 2X30.. erm 60 sens per week, that means around 2.40 extra expenditure per month. Hmm, the joys of inflation.

Elections - (Backdated)

It seems that every blog that i visit nowadays, there just HAS to be some talk about the elections that just happened. I guess it is, definitely, a hot topic for conversation nowadays. Sunday night, i was complaining that the TV channels were non-stop showing the election results as they come out, and I just couldn't imagine how some Malaysian people can just spend / waste their time in front of the television waiting for result after result being announced. The moment I reached home, what do i find in front of the televsion? Two elderly Malaysian people (my parents) in front of the TV anxiously awaiting the results one by one as they were coming out, mum on the floor with one of those scorecards in one of the newspapers keeping track of the DUN results, and my dad sitting on the chair, with another scorecard, keeping track of the Parliment results. Before i knew it, it was 3 in the morning, my parents were asleep a few hours already, and i was there, on the floor, in front of the television, keeping track of the results on the score cards, when Pak Lah was cutting the cake, after securing the 2/3 majority and the crowd was chanting "CUTI!CUTI!CUTI!". Sadly, the next day, it wasn't a holiday.

Should I or shouldn't I?

Am currently wondering whether i should or just should not be bothered to vote this Sunday. The thing is I actually wanted to go and hear some of the talks that are / were to be done by the respective party reps, especially the Keadilan fella who is running for the parliamentary position for my area. However, been rather too darn busy lately, what with going back at 10pm on average and all, and also if i did in fact go home early, I wouldnt know where on earth they actually have any of these talks. I mean, you want me to vote fro you, at least tell me lah where you are having the "ceramahs" or whatever. All i have received from any of them are just a piece of paper from BN with my name and IC and the place where i should be voting. Come to think of it, where on EARTH do BN actually GET my details from?!!

Parliment to be dissolved!!

According the the reports on thestar online, the parliment will be dissolved tomorrow. So, election times are here! Who will i vote for? That IS the question. Actually the other day, there were people from one of the political parties, going from door to door, who came over to my house in PJ and tried to persuade us to vote for them. Well, funny how when election time start, only then would we see these people. Hmm, which is good i guess, since some of the roads around my housing area does need to be re-tarred pretty badly.

Random blabbering allowed here...

Its been an absolutely long day. Meetings in the morning. Meetings in the afternoon. No time to do my work during the day, so i have to end up doing all my work after hours. Oh well. Actually there's a few absolutely random rants and blabbering that i feel i should just put here.

Najib as DPM. Yes. Pak Lah finally made up his mind and elected Najib as his deputy, and hence puts all the pieces into place for the "RAHMAN" rule to be completed. And now there is going to be a major reshuffle in the cabinet. It would be interesting to see who goes where and all the movement of all the ministers, if indeed there is any. The way i see it, Pak Lah had little choice of who he should take as his second man. My personal feeling is, that none of the candidates are outstanding, and by choosing Najib, as some people would say, it is more of he had no better choice rather than Najib being the best. Does that make sense? Probably not.

Mini iPod [apple.com] . I have always wanted an iPod. Imagine having 40GBs of space to store your entire music collection in a gizmo that would nicely fit the size of your pocket. The minipod only comes with 4GB of space but at a much more compact size. However, it isnt priced too cheap so i am not sure whether people would actually go out and buy one of these mini-ipods. One interesting thing is that one of the accessories that they sell is a arm band which you could use to strap it onto your arm, for the sportsmen wanabies out there. But the thing is, since it is still a hard drive based player, and not one of those solid state ones, it might not be too practical to bring the mini-pod with you for those early morning jogs around the houseing area (which i do intend to start doing before the end of this particular year, yes i do) since it might start to skip like nobodies business. Britney might start to sound like .. "opps i oops i did it oops oops" and maybe you can start skipping around as well.

I've finally finished the Hornby book, How to be Good [amazon.com] that i have been reading these past few weeks. It is a really really good read and probably one of the best books i've read last year (and this year too, so far). I enjoyed Fever Pitch more, but like what a friend of mine said that it was a tad bit too dry for her, but How to be Good is definitely much easier to read although there weren't any "laugh out loud while almost crying" parts. Anyhow, i must say that the ending was, if i do have to be very very picky, a tad bit of a dissappointment. But still, the journey to the end was still makes up for it. Anyway, the next book i have on my plate is one from my dad's collection of "bought it but haven't had the time to read it" collection, Clash of Civilisations and Remaking of the World Order [amazon.com] by Samuel P. Huntington. Don't know why but i've read a few pages in it and it does seem an intriguing read. Also i do fancy have a go at a non-fiction book for once, considering the fact that the last non-fiction piece or writing i have read would probably be my Advanced Digital Signal Processing textbook from my final years from university, which was probably around 4 years ago. Anyway, if i do get bored of it (which i think i would probably will), another book that has caught my eye on my last trip to my friendly neighbourhood "Kinokuniya" outlet in KLCC would be Vernon God Little [amazon.com] by DBC Pierre. Was flipping through it the other day and it does seem like an interesting read as well, not considering the fucken this and fucken that written all over the book.

Anyhow, back to work. Need to start soon if i ever think of going back today. Later.