Yes, yes, yes... it's been a long while since i've been writing here. Shoot me for being absolutely busy these past few days / weeks. You could probably be able to gauge how busy i am by the frequency of my entries here, i.e. the less frequent i write, the more busy i am, and the more frequent i write, the more time i have to waste and surf the net and do all sorts of other time wasting stuff. Actually today, i *should* have not been able to spend time writing, but since someone decided to FFK me for dinner (luckily she told me *before* i left and also *before* i arrived and have waited for 1/2 an hour twiddling my thumbs and all), so suddenly i have a while to gather my thoughts at the end of the day and also some time to write.
Was reading this particular review of the Fiat Panda by none other that Jeremy Clarkson the other day in the Cars Bikes and Trucks, (actually i think it was like 2 weeks ago, yeah yeah yeah... i am a little behind the times), and he kinda gave out a remark that i particularly find a tad bit annoying, to quote him..
"..Perodua Kelisa, a car built in a jungle clearing by people who go to work in shoes made from leaves.."
.. i mean, i don't mind him dissing the car since it's his views on the car and all, but dissing the people that actually make it, i mean, come on! Dear Mr Clakson, we in Malaysia do NOT go to work in shoes made from leaves or any other part of the tree, thank you very much. I guess this statement of his just shows how ignorant some people can be of all the third world nations, and it did make me lose a wee bit of my respect of him and his writings. However, as i have been reading his writings and watching his shows all along before this, i somewhat am not surprised that he actually came out with some remark like this. He probably meant it as a joke (albeit a bad one), but still, i do find it a bit insensitive.
And yes, we have been dumped out of the FA Cup by a team playing with 14 of their first team players out injured. I actually didn't watch the game as i was actually working on Sunday night (*gasp*). At first i felt a bit pissed off because of that, but after knowing the results the next morning, i thought that working that night was a blessing in disguise, since if i did work, i would have watched the match, and would have felt shitty the whole of the next day after spending 90 minutes of my time watching even more passion-less attempts at playing football.
I still fail to comprehend how on earth they let Owen take the penalty that night. I mean, Houllier was quoted as saying something in the line of "You miss one or two, that happens", or some shite like that. Yes, i agree, but that saying does NOT apply when someone's successful penalty-scoring ratio is somewhere in the range of 1 conversion out of 10. I mean, it does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that Micheal Owen CANNOT, i repeat CANNOT take penalties, right?! ... RIGHT? Ever since the loss, there has been a lot of talk around about the board and all sacking Houllier soon. I mean, come on. You know as well as I do that will not in a million years happen, and the board will at least wait until the end of the season to give him the CHOP.
Actually the state of the team doesn't really seem that encouraging. Houllier seems to have lost the plot (since TWO years ago, some people seem to say) and has lost control, belief, respect of his players, our main goal scoring threat looks set to leave this summer (although sometimes i feel like i might be glad he leaves) and the person who is supposedly coming in during the summer seems be hoping to unsettle the opposition defenders with laughter by dying his beard blonde, or some other dodgy color, Kewell looks like he has lost his touch and seems uninterested, leTallec and Ponggolle seems to be suffering from burn out of too heavy expectations been put on their shoulders, all the other players (with the exception of le Kapitan and Carragher) seems so goddamn de-motivated and just can't be arsed to be playing. I mean, what else can happen that can make it worse? I mean, it's not as if the Prime Minister of Thailand might be buying us over right? Right? .... RIGHT?!!
Later.
Tuesday, February 24, 2004
Thursday, February 19, 2004
Speech Therapy
Here i am. It's bleeding 20 minutes past midnight. Haven't had some decent sleep in bloody ages since, well probably early last week, considering the amount of work that i have to do now, which also explains the fact that i have not been updating this blog as often as i would have wanted to. Seriously, yes, it's not that i have nothing to talk (or actually write) about ,considering the fact that the past few weeks have been one of the most eventful weeks in my life, but i have just been THAT busy. I mean in the past week or two, there has been 2 deaths in the family, (well actually one of them was a pet cat, but since he was like almost 9 years old, i would consider him as a part of the "family"), there was Valentine's day, which incidentally wasn't too eventful for me and would forever be remembered as the day when the traffic in KL suddenly just got TOO horrible, i went trekking, yes, outdoors (*gasp*), had a serious rethink in the way i do some of the stuff which i do, and also the my running nose is *STILL* running.
Actually I am working now. Not that there's like so much work to do, but the thing is, when you are working in the IT line, and *especially* when you are working on a 24 hour production server, the only time you can actually do your stuff on production would be the oh so early hours of the morning. "You wanna do something on production? Will it affect any of our users? Yes? Do it at midnight!" Thank you very much. Excellent. The thing is, what i am running now will take several hours, and actually kicking it off does not take much effort, it's just the tedious part of monitoring the darn thing during the wee hours of the morning.
I have just been reading some football news and i have decided that i HATE Gary Neville. I mean, how difficult is it to hate someone who, while playing in a local derby, didn't get a decision his way (a dive attempt i hear), then goes and head butts an opposition player, get sent off for it and then after the game writes in his column in a national newspaper that he doesn't regret head butting and he isn't worried about it since it was supposedly "out of character" (yeah right!!), and then has the audacity to say that his ONLY regret from that whole incident is that he would miss some matches after that! I mean, what on EARTH is he on?!! I know that i am sometimes... well.. ok.. most of the times biased against those Manc scums, but WHAT DO YOU SAY TO THAT? Gary Neville. You are an idiot. There is ABSOLUTELY no way that you can justify yourself headbutting an opponent, claiming it was bleeding out of character. My God! I mean, even the Manchester United board is against him on this one. I hope you enjoy your 100,00o pound fine.
People have been complaining sometimes that it is actually quite difficult to talk to me in real life, and i somewhat am a bit difficult to warm up to in a conversation. I've actually analyzed the way i interact with people for the past few weeks, and i have come to realize that whenever i talk to anyone, i always give them a straight, short answer, which is sometimes insufficient. Therefore, as my better half has pointed out to me, sometimes, people would need to ask me like several questions until they get the exact answer that they need. A typical conversation would be something like.
Person A: "Wow dude, cool tshirt. Where did you buy it?"
Me: "Erm.. Mid Valley"
Person A: "Where in Mid Valley?"
Me: "Uh.. At a shop on the ground floor"
Person A: "What's the name of the shop?"
Me: "Err.. British India (or whatever)"
You see, the problem with this situation is, by the time person A get's his answer, he would have lost his patience in talking to me already and would probably have given up on any attempt of communication. Me on the other hand would have probably also felt pretty annoyed with Person A already by that time since i would probably be thinking in the line's of "What the hell?! Why the hell is this fella so darn interested in my friggin tshirt?!!". So a better answer would probably be something like..
"Ah, i bought it at the British India in Mid Valley. You know.. the one at the ground floor"
.. or something like that. Anyway, the point is, what i have been trying to do conciously now, and from now on is, to always give as much information as possible whenever people ask me questions, especially when trying to make conversation, but not overdoing it by just splurting out an hour's worth of speech (people would be running away screaming "Psycho!Psycho!" if i did this!), but merely just a 2 or 3 liner instead of the usual one-worders / one-phrases like "OK" or "YES" or "Mid Valley". I know, this is probably something pretty basis and probably no one else has this sort of, well i wouldn't actually call it a problem-lah, but yeah. I have actually tried it out on someone i met during the weekend, and from what i see, it does seem to make a difference when you are striking up a conversation with someone else.
Anyway, gotta go back to my stuff. Later.
Actually I am working now. Not that there's like so much work to do, but the thing is, when you are working in the IT line, and *especially* when you are working on a 24 hour production server, the only time you can actually do your stuff on production would be the oh so early hours of the morning. "You wanna do something on production? Will it affect any of our users? Yes? Do it at midnight!" Thank you very much. Excellent. The thing is, what i am running now will take several hours, and actually kicking it off does not take much effort, it's just the tedious part of monitoring the darn thing during the wee hours of the morning.
I have just been reading some football news and i have decided that i HATE Gary Neville. I mean, how difficult is it to hate someone who, while playing in a local derby, didn't get a decision his way (a dive attempt i hear), then goes and head butts an opposition player, get sent off for it and then after the game writes in his column in a national newspaper that he doesn't regret head butting and he isn't worried about it since it was supposedly "out of character" (yeah right!!), and then has the audacity to say that his ONLY regret from that whole incident is that he would miss some matches after that! I mean, what on EARTH is he on?!! I know that i am sometimes... well.. ok.. most of the times biased against those Manc scums, but WHAT DO YOU SAY TO THAT? Gary Neville. You are an idiot. There is ABSOLUTELY no way that you can justify yourself headbutting an opponent, claiming it was bleeding out of character. My God! I mean, even the Manchester United board is against him on this one. I hope you enjoy your 100,00o pound fine.
People have been complaining sometimes that it is actually quite difficult to talk to me in real life, and i somewhat am a bit difficult to warm up to in a conversation. I've actually analyzed the way i interact with people for the past few weeks, and i have come to realize that whenever i talk to anyone, i always give them a straight, short answer, which is sometimes insufficient. Therefore, as my better half has pointed out to me, sometimes, people would need to ask me like several questions until they get the exact answer that they need. A typical conversation would be something like.
Person A: "Wow dude, cool tshirt. Where did you buy it?"
Me: "Erm.. Mid Valley"
Person A: "Where in Mid Valley?"
Me: "Uh.. At a shop on the ground floor"
Person A: "What's the name of the shop?"
Me: "Err.. British India (or whatever)"
You see, the problem with this situation is, by the time person A get's his answer, he would have lost his patience in talking to me already and would probably have given up on any attempt of communication. Me on the other hand would have probably also felt pretty annoyed with Person A already by that time since i would probably be thinking in the line's of "What the hell?! Why the hell is this fella so darn interested in my friggin tshirt?!!". So a better answer would probably be something like..
"Ah, i bought it at the British India in Mid Valley. You know.. the one at the ground floor"
.. or something like that. Anyway, the point is, what i have been trying to do conciously now, and from now on is, to always give as much information as possible whenever people ask me questions, especially when trying to make conversation, but not overdoing it by just splurting out an hour's worth of speech (people would be running away screaming "Psycho!Psycho!" if i did this!), but merely just a 2 or 3 liner instead of the usual one-worders / one-phrases like "OK" or "YES" or "Mid Valley". I know, this is probably something pretty basis and probably no one else has this sort of, well i wouldn't actually call it a problem-lah, but yeah. I have actually tried it out on someone i met during the weekend, and from what i see, it does seem to make a difference when you are striking up a conversation with someone else.
Anyway, gotta go back to my stuff. Later.
Monday, February 09, 2004
Running Noses Suck Big Time
Oh yes they do. It's that time again when apparently there's a flu bug going around town. Not that bird flu thingy that has been going around in the news, well at least i would hope not, but just your normal runny nose, countless tissues gone into the dustbin right next to you sort of flu. I ESPECIALLY hate the feeling when you know you are about to sneeze, and then prepare yourself to sneeze, only for your body to decide not to sneeze at the very last second. Now THAT is an anti-climax.
Footie
Oh yes. Liverpool managed to not win again during the weekend eventhough they were totally dominating the game. I can't be arsed to give a player by player rating for the game as i would normally do, but i would like to voice out some points that i got from the match. It seems that el Kapitan is finally showing us what he is made of. I mean, my god, what would we have done without him. The determination, drive and passion that he showed against the Wanderers just HAS to be an example that just needs to be followed by the rest of the players. I mean, just imagine if the rest of them played with just half, if not as much, of passion that our captain shows. We would be invincible. Absolutely. The same though, can't be said about our other prodigal son, Micheal Owen. I just have this feeling that it's just time that we sold him off (although i would gladly be proven wrong, mind you) as he just seems so out of form and just a bit distracted and disinterested, and it just doesn't help things that he STILL hasn't signed a new contract, or even mildly indicated that he would. Show us the commitment. Show us the signature. Or just tell us what you intend to do, what's on your mind. I would be absolutely happy if he were just to come out and say something like..
"I love the club! I want to stay here forever! Gimme the contract... *scribble* *scribble* *scribble* (signing the contract).. there you go.. now lets go score some of 'em GOALS! Especially against those Manc scums!!".
OK, maybe a bit far fetched, but even if he were to come out and say something like..
"I will only sign the contract if can i see us playing Champions League football next season"
..then fair game. At least he has the balls to come out and put us all out of our misery and also clear the air on to his future and i also won't blame him *if* he wanted to leave as i have finally accepted that not everyone would stay on in the club forever, not even Gerrard. Anyway, was thinking about who i would like to see come in the summer if Owen does eventually leave. Cisse supposedly is already coming, but still, i just do not rate him just yet until i've seen him play a least a few games and also score a hattrick against Manchester United. I would really like to see Robbie Keane come. He is a young, proven talent (Ok, arguable proven) in the Premiership and would also offer a LOT to our team which we currently don't have. He is a player that can pass, has vision, create goals, has an OK-ish scoring record in the premiership, and also has excellent movement off the ball. I also wouldn't mind Simon Davies of Spurs as well to come, although he didn't have an excellent year this time due to injuries, but at the peak of his form, he can be a smashing player. Seriously, in the summer, i would be content with Keane and Davies coming in, and any one, if not all of the group of Heskey (for obvious reasons), Biscan (again, obvious), Diao (duh...), Cheryou (yes, he scores goals, and when he doesn't?), Diouf( Ok, i would keep him, but if a decent offer comes in, i won't shed a tear if he goes), Riise (has been too inconsistent of late, and never regained the form of 2 years ago) and even Murphy ( Again, i woould keep him as a squad player, but if a decent offer comes in... ).
Coffee
Was at McDonalds Bandar Utama over the weekend having a late supper and was thinking of getting some coffee with the burgers and all, but decided against it. It's not that i have anything against the coffee they have at your McD's (refillable during breakfasts!! and tastes GREAT with an Egg McMuffin at 9am on a Saturday morning, when you don't have to go to work), but i wanted to taste some of that gourmet coffee that you can get arond town. So, i decided to try out that Coffee Hut place that i've been meaning to try, situated right next to Rasta in Taman Tun as it seems this place serves uncountable varieties of local and imported coffee all.
I like to go to Rasta for the very reason that the parking is good, the place is adequately lit, food is good and the service is, well, prompt, considering the guys and gals that take the orders swarm around and attack each new customer like a group of vultures the SECOND your buttocks touch the face of the chair. Coffee Hut on the other hand, is so dimly lit that i was worried that the place might be offering some of those *dodgy* perishables, and the service, well, i had waited there for a total of 15 minutes, and i ended up walking towards the counter and ordering there.
Anyway, when you are at the counter, i noticed that they put in all the various coffee powders in jars across the table, and they were probably around 15 different coffee types. I decided to go for something local and tried a serving of the famous Kluang coffee and also later on some of their Ipoh coffee offering. All in all, it was a pretty good drink, and i realised that after a while i ended up actually liking the overall environment of the place. The coffee were priced at RM3 each, which i guess can be considered a bit steep since you would probably be getting your local coffee at the mamak stalls, although probably not the same Kluang or Ipoh variety, at much much cheaper. Will probably visit that place again and try some of their other local coffee varieties, or even some of their imported ones.
Now all this writing about coffee has started my cravings for a cuppa. Freshly brewed. Ahh... the smell of it.
Later.
Footie
Oh yes. Liverpool managed to not win again during the weekend eventhough they were totally dominating the game. I can't be arsed to give a player by player rating for the game as i would normally do, but i would like to voice out some points that i got from the match. It seems that el Kapitan is finally showing us what he is made of. I mean, my god, what would we have done without him. The determination, drive and passion that he showed against the Wanderers just HAS to be an example that just needs to be followed by the rest of the players. I mean, just imagine if the rest of them played with just half, if not as much, of passion that our captain shows. We would be invincible. Absolutely. The same though, can't be said about our other prodigal son, Micheal Owen. I just have this feeling that it's just time that we sold him off (although i would gladly be proven wrong, mind you) as he just seems so out of form and just a bit distracted and disinterested, and it just doesn't help things that he STILL hasn't signed a new contract, or even mildly indicated that he would. Show us the commitment. Show us the signature. Or just tell us what you intend to do, what's on your mind. I would be absolutely happy if he were just to come out and say something like..
"I love the club! I want to stay here forever! Gimme the contract... *scribble* *scribble* *scribble* (signing the contract).. there you go.. now lets go score some of 'em GOALS! Especially against those Manc scums!!".
OK, maybe a bit far fetched, but even if he were to come out and say something like..
"I will only sign the contract if can i see us playing Champions League football next season"
..then fair game. At least he has the balls to come out and put us all out of our misery and also clear the air on to his future and i also won't blame him *if* he wanted to leave as i have finally accepted that not everyone would stay on in the club forever, not even Gerrard. Anyway, was thinking about who i would like to see come in the summer if Owen does eventually leave. Cisse supposedly is already coming, but still, i just do not rate him just yet until i've seen him play a least a few games and also score a hattrick against Manchester United. I would really like to see Robbie Keane come. He is a young, proven talent (Ok, arguable proven) in the Premiership and would also offer a LOT to our team which we currently don't have. He is a player that can pass, has vision, create goals, has an OK-ish scoring record in the premiership, and also has excellent movement off the ball. I also wouldn't mind Simon Davies of Spurs as well to come, although he didn't have an excellent year this time due to injuries, but at the peak of his form, he can be a smashing player. Seriously, in the summer, i would be content with Keane and Davies coming in, and any one, if not all of the group of Heskey (for obvious reasons), Biscan (again, obvious), Diao (duh...), Cheryou (yes, he scores goals, and when he doesn't?), Diouf( Ok, i would keep him, but if a decent offer comes in, i won't shed a tear if he goes), Riise (has been too inconsistent of late, and never regained the form of 2 years ago) and even Murphy ( Again, i woould keep him as a squad player, but if a decent offer comes in... ).
Coffee
Was at McDonalds Bandar Utama over the weekend having a late supper and was thinking of getting some coffee with the burgers and all, but decided against it. It's not that i have anything against the coffee they have at your McD's (refillable during breakfasts!! and tastes GREAT with an Egg McMuffin at 9am on a Saturday morning, when you don't have to go to work), but i wanted to taste some of that gourmet coffee that you can get arond town. So, i decided to try out that Coffee Hut place that i've been meaning to try, situated right next to Rasta in Taman Tun as it seems this place serves uncountable varieties of local and imported coffee all.
I like to go to Rasta for the very reason that the parking is good, the place is adequately lit, food is good and the service is, well, prompt, considering the guys and gals that take the orders swarm around and attack each new customer like a group of vultures the SECOND your buttocks touch the face of the chair. Coffee Hut on the other hand, is so dimly lit that i was worried that the place might be offering some of those *dodgy* perishables, and the service, well, i had waited there for a total of 15 minutes, and i ended up walking towards the counter and ordering there.
Anyway, when you are at the counter, i noticed that they put in all the various coffee powders in jars across the table, and they were probably around 15 different coffee types. I decided to go for something local and tried a serving of the famous Kluang coffee and also later on some of their Ipoh coffee offering. All in all, it was a pretty good drink, and i realised that after a while i ended up actually liking the overall environment of the place. The coffee were priced at RM3 each, which i guess can be considered a bit steep since you would probably be getting your local coffee at the mamak stalls, although probably not the same Kluang or Ipoh variety, at much much cheaper. Will probably visit that place again and try some of their other local coffee varieties, or even some of their imported ones.
Now all this writing about coffee has started my cravings for a cuppa. Freshly brewed. Ahh... the smell of it.
Later.
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