seduce me

Danny "Five"

2012-02-08T00:52:00.000-08:00

A tribute to a friend.

Many people's first impression of Danny may be that of a crude and uncaring man. Quick witted and fast to the point, he taught me a lot about work and influenced me on several occasions which has a lifelong impact.

On a time when I was asked to set up the van sales for a new brand in Klang Valley, Danny volunteered to partner me and advise me constantly on how we should approach this market. Although he could not come along with all my journeys during the initial set up stage, it was ok as he was just showing his love for family, bringing both daughters to and from classes.

It was also Danny who encouraged me to try out London since I found out of the opportunity to go and work there. I still refer to him at times as my Robin and myself as Batman, partners in 'crime'...

When I came back from London he was always quick to catch up for some tea and discuss business opportunities. I even remember of the time I got Chee Cheong Fun from his hometown, Anson when he was admitted to hospital. Unfortunately he could not eat it, but I guess he did appreciate me visiting.

I apologise for not being able to send you off the other day. I just thought of you recently and thought I should let you know that I'll miss you.

Till we meet again my friend.

B

Rancangan Tergendala

2010-07-01T06:16:00.000-07:00

I've lost my will to write.

I guess this means that transmission will be suspended until further notice.

When life lost its sense of excitement.

2010-03-23T05:38:00.000-07:00

*something written 3 years ago...

Almost eight years ago, I finished my studies and graduated into the new world, waiting for me to conquer it. looking back, those eight years have flew by very quickly. No doubt there were times when I was sitting in front of the computer with an empty gaze, but then again in terms of the people I have met and things I have learned.

The culture in Malaysia is very much, you are worked for every single penny (or sen) you are being paid for. There is minimal holidays - some as little as 7 days for the first year at work and most Saturdays you are expected to work. Compare this to the 5 days nine to five job I now hold in London, I think that it is good for personal learning over here as I have absorbed so much more compared to the 6 years working in Malaysia.

But then again, in Malaysia, you are not paid to learn. You learn on the job and bear the brunt when the shit hits the ceiling. And you learn to hide under the table in fear that the swinging fan above you may swipe that same shit back at you. Thus comes the blame culture. Of course it happens here in the UK too, but I suspect when there is actually a proper system developed before hand, (or through hundreds of years) the impact is more minimal, unless you really screw things up.

Which coming back to my initial point, life has become mundane.

Knowing that the chances of you actually cocking up is ultimately in your own hands and unless someone has a bone to pick with you, you will not be fucked. This leads to the workplace being very superficial. On the surface once we meet colleagues around 8.45 am we are all in full smiles asking each other, "How ya?" when you actually don't really mean it. You then to go and complain and moan about certain things the company is going through and some of the national news throughout the day. Almost everyday, there will be the usual chat on the weather preferably over a cup of tea. Come 5 pm, we all rush out of the office and either go home or meet up with our own set of friends. Most of the time we wont know where our colleagues stay and they will be the last people we think of calling should anything happen.

How different is the culture in Malaysia?

Colleagues become our second family, all the good vibes and even the usual bickering amongst 'siblings' and some rivalry within the organisation makes it so much more interesting. At times, one just has to love the way the 'Chinaman' style of operations is handled. There is always the 'evil' one within the office that has a seemingly tight relationship with the bosses and which every staff seems to hate. And the whole point of the organisation seeming to run would be the need for money every month end to feed the bills of housing, cars and phones. Not to mention the occasional night out with the mates and everyday food.

So, how come this seems so enticing compared to the 'leisure' life in the UK?

Eight years ago I was raring to go, albeit not knowing really where to go. To end up in a profession that you didnt study for is one thing. To actually think eight years later if you should have made certain moves a few years back is just sad. We don't live in the past, so whatever happened, happened for a reason.

Whatever I learned will one day be put to practice. So, how did life end up so mundane?

Looking to the future, it looks bleak. Minus another year and it would mean I need to effectively work another 25 years before I can think of retirement. And that is the minimum. Current retirement age in the UK is 60 (or 65).

So just chill out and relax. Life has just begun.

To be or not to be?

2010-03-14T14:09:00.002-07:00

So then I was having dim sum with some friends nearby Canary Wharf when the topic of horoscopes and 'sifu's' came about. Now a 'sifu' is directly translated as master - depending on what the master specialises in, but in this case was the type that predicts or gives your a forecast about your future.

Now, I am not one firm believer in all these things as it usually involves the law of averages and quite simply how well read a sifu really is. Example would be if most 'feng-shui' books recommend that a person born in the year X should get married that year, the sifu can simply recite a similar phrase in hope that you have read something similar somewhere, adding credence to what he says.

However, I believe that if I don't hear stuff, it should be fine. But once you get me to sit through a session and if I stubbornly go against all advice, then in the end if ill fate happens upon me - those present would use back the old masters sayings and say, "I told you so!"

So, to avoid such a scenario, I've listed some of the things I should or shouldn't be doing till the next lunar New Year. Please note that the Chinese calendar runs at a different time scale than that of the Gregorian calendar.

2nd month of the year - No investments please.
(16 March to 13 April)

3rd month of the year - Please go and do Ching Ming, if not - please pray pray outside the house you live in to your ancestors.
(14 April to 13 May)

4th month of the year - be careful while driving, potential for my number plate to come out in lottery. (read, 4D - however, which agency? which date? by the time I buy all dates for the whole month, the winning ticket, if I win, would probably be just enough to cover all losses!)
(14 May to 11 June)

5th month of the year – predicted problems with the girlfriend. Or rather they may be another candidate (girl) in your life.
(12 June to 11 July)

6th month of the year - Please do not attend any funerals
(12 July to 9 August)

7th month of the year - try and avoid anything to do with Ghost as it's also the Ghost month.
(10 August to 7 September)

8th month of the year - try not to invest in any friends, or loan any money.
(8 September to 7 October)

9th month of the year - Potential to lose money this month.
(8 October to 5 November)

10th month of the year - Please pray to your ancestors again.
(6 November to 5 December)

11th month of the year - Please don't go fishing or any water sports.
(6 December to 3 January)

12th month of the year - Please don't attend any funerals or baby's full month. Weddings are OK.
(4 January to 2 February)

I hope to do a review of this next Chinese New Year, either criticising or praising these predictions. Somehow, I reckon it would be the former...

Relativity.

2010-03-14T14:00:00.000-07:00

It's funny how things can change in a matter of years. Once the hunter, you can become the hunted and vice versa.

It's also the matter of time.

For a long time it's been known that when you wait for someone, time moves slowly. Very slowly. Where as the person you are waiting for, say for a cup of tea may be in the process of getting there, but due to a mini jam, may have been a bit delayed.

But at the time of getting there, that person would actually be doing something.

So, time moves. Unlike for the person waiting.

Then, after a long wait - comes the tea session that could last hours. Those hours could pass by in a blink of the eye. And all the waiting previously endured would be forgotten.

So, I guess it's best we make ourselves as busy as can be - so as not to fall in the trap of waiting.

Liminality

2010-03-10T06:54:00.000-08:00

"liminality is the ambiguous phase where the initiate is outside of society but preparing to reenter society"

The Next 24 Hours

2010-02-08T13:54:00.000-08:00

About two years ago, I wrote about my 24 hour adventure to Old Trafford with some mates from London.

It's surprising where else 24 hours can get you. As the plane was flying towards Sao Paulo, my eyes caught a glimpse of a huge river. So huge was the river, it could possibly fit two planes.

It was not the Amazon though, that's further north. I started to imagine how huge THAT would be. Prior to landing, I saw many houses with swimming pools. It must be the Kenny Hills of Sao Paulo.

Then, not far away from these houses were smaller houses with no proper roads. It's true what FW said, development in certain places must be 10 years behind tanah air.

On the bus from the international airport (not very impressive for such a huge city) to the domestic airport, all the screens were blurred (why?). Do they not want us to see the sins of men as we luxuriously fly intercontinent?

The rain really reminds me of tanah air though. Not heavy, but just steady bordering torrential...

Footnote: Back to the airport, there didn't seem to be a system. It reminded me a bit about the old Subang airport when I was leaving tanah air to study in Sydney... 12 years ago!

There was impatience everywhere.

Oh and what of the X Factor finals? Along with me were a couple of hundred Brits who were equally unperturbed by the happenings back in the UK.

My own version of Foot in Mouth.

2010-01-01T14:04:00.000-08:00

It's funny how sometimes we can be so certain of somethings. But it's funnier when the certainty we were sure of turns the opposite.

I thought that there would never come a day when I returned to the arms of the woman I'd loved before and released.

But today I realise. It is possible. Nothing is impossible in this world and there are a lot of things that are unpredictable, making living so interesting.

I guess, when I realised the depth of the situation, I knew that I could finally find it in my heart to love freely again.

A new dawn?

The year in Review

2009-12-30T10:12:00.000-08:00

What can I say?

After witnessing the magical powers of the Iguazu falls on Christmas Day, it pretty much sums up my whole 2009.

You just end up not only having a great year, but you forget all the pains that happened along the way. At the end, we ended up shouting all our frustrations away only to be drowned by the powerful sound of the Iguazu.

Let's just hope 2010 has much better things coming up!

Axiomatic Lavatory Readings

2009-11-13T14:12:00.000-08:00

The call of nature usually gives an opportunity to read up more on my housemates never ending supply of Glamour magazines.

It's not that I'm turning into a big softy, but rather I'd like to think in the mind of the audience reading its material - since most magazines know their target market. Yes, I'd like to know more about women and how they view themselves.

Recently though I read this article that was rather disturbing. It was about this 'gold digger' whose sole purpose in life is to, well literrally, dig for gold - meeting rich men and becoming their trophy 'girl friend'.

Although she made her motive quite clear, I couldn't see the difference between her and a high class escort.

Worse was in such a high profile magazine - to promote her 'business model' encouraging wannabes to be a gold digger like her, I just found it disturbing.

Seasons

2009-10-09T13:40:00.000-07:00

When the weather suddenly turns cold.

When you are on a bicycle, you feel a gradual drop in tempreature as the seasons move from summer to autumn. But how rapidly do we actually feel the change?

Just two weekends ago, we enjoyed a hot sunshine in Guildford. Last weekend, the sun was out sparringly, never really reaching the highs of the previous week. Even the stops were shorter as it got cold quicker.

For once since April, my toes started to feel numb from the cold. A couple of days ago, even my fingers started to get a bit chilled.

But the ultimate tell tale sign of the worse to come is the morning cycle to work. When you actually realise you don't have any use for the body wipes as there isn't any sweat for you to clean. And the sudden rush of blood through your fingers as the warm water brings them back to normal body tempreature.

Gosh, it'll be winter soon.

Tour of Britain

2009-09-23T14:06:00.000-07:00

This was one race that was not as feverishly followed as the Tour de France, I was onsite from 7.30am to make sure that everything was in place on my part.

After the Prostate Cancer ride at 10am, I had some time off to take my lunch and walk about Trafalgar Square.

I arrived back at my position just in time to receive the various teams arrival. When Team Katusha arrived I clapped my hands up high, applauding the previous days victory by Ben Swift. It was only appropriate

Met team Agritubel's Christophe Laurent before the race - he went to take a photo with the Horses Guard - WITH HIS BIKE!

My prized possession for the day - one bottle from Team Katusha, as one of the team members was standing beside me giving out bidon's to Ben Swift and Filippo Pozzato, so he decided to give me one of the extra bidon's as they left. *smile*

Organisation was quite a mess, as organisers were giving out orders in too many directions (too many parties involved) e.g. Army told me not to open up barriers for anyone, but then ambulance tells me that if an emergency occurs, then i would have to open the barriers for them. Then the people collecting all the steel barriers told me that immediately after the event, they would have to go onsite to dismantle things... who was I supposed to listen to?

One of the highlights was watching the horses guard, all throughout the day. had 'little ben' chiming away every hours, couple of seconds before big ben chimed!

*image courtesy of the Glasgow Ivy Cycling Club

Sony Ericsson W995

2009-09-08T22:26:00.000-07:00

Recently, I got an upgrade from the K850i to the W995. Initially I was looking to get the C905, but after hearing that this version comes with 8GB memory, I was sold. So far after two weeks of use, I've found it to be one of the better ones I've used in a long time. Being a fan of Sony Ericsson since the K700i a couple of years ago, I got used to the phone's interface very easily. I found it easier to get use to this version more than when I upgraded from the K800i to the K850i a year ago.

Of course, even though I love this version, it does come with its drawbacks.

PROS:

1) Games - my phone came with loads of games courtesy from Orange and I've already spent many hours having a crack at some of the games.

2) Memory - The phone comes with a tiny 126MB memory, but it also comes with an external 8GB card which I've literally filled with music files. It still leaves me with enough space to enjoy my photos and videos.

3) Camera functions - there is a quick modifications function to 'correct' photos that appear too dark called photo fix which I found quite handy.

- There is also a comic strip function which I've dabbled with to give loads of laughs.

4) Music - The phone came with a Speaker + Headphones that provide very good sound quality, which is understandable as the W995 is one of the walkman versions from Sony Ericsson.

5) Video - The video quality was exceptionally good compared to the previous models and even when enlarged on a computer screen it looked very clear.

6) Keypad - This was a joy to use compared to the maze the K850i had with the semi touch screen function which was many a laugh to people who tried using my old phone.

7) Flash - The LED flash was downgraded from Xenon, but is acceptable. At least this time, they managed to put the flash in a sensible position unlike the previous model.

8) Applications - They have some really zany applications on this phone, which is bound to keep me entertained for hours!

CONS:

1) Slide - I'm not a big fan of slide phones. I always expect it to falter sometime sooner than the old phone and you need to slide it open for better quality sound (talking and listening) while on the phone.

2) Battery - I'm delighted with the functions of the phone, but I just don't seem to get the mileage I used to get with my old K850i. Previously I had to charge my phone once every 2 or 3 days, while now the battery is almost down in 1 day - although this is attributed to the amount of time I've spent playing around the games, music and applications.

3) Service - Compared to the K850i, this phone has a lower range of service. Where I stay, I usually get full bars of service, but with this new phone, that range has been halved. Also, in my office, I'm facing times when my phone has no service at all! The seeking of service possibly contributes to the lost of battery throughout the day too.

4) Earphones - Right. SE has provided the phone with a 2 part earphone. No doubt, the quality of the music is very good, but when detached and hooked into the jack for 'walkman' mode, the earphone line is just too short. So, unless we have a spare pocket on our shoulders, it would be very difficult to place while using it this way.

5) Camera - a minor qualm, there is no cover for the lens.

6) Music list - I've just loaded a bulk of music (1400+ files) onto the phone, but navigating through the songs is a bit cumbersome. Probably I'm used the ipod so I'm still having trouble looking for certain songs.

Some other needless facts of the phone:

1) Size and weight: 97x49x15mm and 113g

2) 3.5mm headphone jack (see earphones in CONS)

3) LED flash instead of Xenon flash

4) A small metal flip stand

5) LCD screen with 240x320-pixel and 262,000 colours

6) Connectivity

7) GPS

Verdict:

As I said before I really like this phone, so ignoring all its cons, I'll just say yes please, thank you very much!

Pre-Season Predictions.... again, something from football365.com

2009-08-18T02:01:00.000-07:00

12/08/09

After a couple of weeks without football, most of my time was spent following the Tour de France. Well, the time has come around again and I'll be doing my predictions for this year.

I'll be reviewing my predictions at the end of the season in May and have a laugh at how badly I've failed.

Obvious one to start - who will win the title?

I've got it in my heart that Arsenal will win the title, just to be the surprise package of the season, BUT my head tells me that it would be Chelsea, even though I can't imagine the proud faces of Fat Frank and JT doing when they accomplish it.

Name the rest of the top four.

I've got to admit that I believe the top four won't be the usual top four with Manchester City breaking the mould. Something has got to give and I'm sorry to say this but Liverpool just do not have the quality back ups as the other teams. They should be hit by injuries in key positions (READ: Torres / Gerrard) and suffer a rough ride to the end of the season. Manure just have too much back up to fail, so I expect them to finish second behind Chelsea.

I'll have to state that Citeh are not in Europe this season and if they focus just on the league and FA Cup, they have more than enough players to fight for trophies.

Will Mickey Owen make a significant impact at Manchester United?

I've spoke to Ah Kah about this, so yes I expect him to have a significant impact. Most people rate players by their contributions and usually the easiest qualification of contribution would be goals scored. Mickey still looks like he's got 15 - 20 goals for the season, albeit not from starting positions, more like super sub roles. He won't really contribute much to the team though other than being the fox in the box target man.

Will Liverpool cope without Xabi Alonso?

No. This is the main reason I've rated them below Manure, the Arse, Chelsea and Citeh. Also, they do not have much reliable cover for Gerrard and Torres, how will they cope when either or both of them are out injured. We probably won't see the effects early into the season, but after Christmas, the strains of several cups will start to show.

Which of Man City's players will be the first to throw a wobbler (annoyed/upset)?

I would say definitely Adebayor - Even when Arsenal were performing he seemed to be unhappy about something or the other. I don't see much difference here especially when you have the competition of Santa Cruz, Tevez and Bellamy... Oh not to mention Robinho!

Who will go down?

This is a tough one. Especially after the debacle last year in the form of Newcastle and Middlesborough. Looking at the newly promoted teams, I would say Burnley definitely do not have the quality to stay in the Premier League. Of the teams remaining from last season, we can predict Portsmouth doing a Newcastle and self destructing. I would love to see Bolton go down as usual, but I would have to say Hull.

So teams to be relegated - Burnley, Hull and Portsmouth.

Which of the promoted three - if any - will surprise us, a la Stoke?

I have a hunch that Birmingham will go a long way. Alex McLeish has been in the Premier League before and he's suffered relegation. He won't be repeating the same mistake again. Also, Joe Hart is a good addition to the team, so hopefully with a sound defence, the will be able to surprise us ala Fulham last season.

First manager to go?

I've got a feeling that Paul Hart may just get sick and tired of running a body of skeleton bones. So, he'll probably do a runner and be replaced by the beginning of September.

Best and worst signings of the summer?

I guess best signings will be ones who prove their worth by scoring goals. There is not much choice of skilled strikers proving their worth in the top four, as they have stable partnerships already, so may I say Adebayor for Manchester Citeh? If you ask me in terms of actual form, I'll put my money on Joe Hart. He's got something to prove to Citeh - and since I said Birmingham would do good, he would be the best signing of the season.

The worst would again be another striker since it's always funny to state price of a striker in comparison to their game per goal ratio. So I would have to go for Kevin Doyle as I don't see him scoring a large number of goals the way he scored for Reading in their first appearence in the Premier League some years back. Also, I think Mick Mc Carthy sucks as a manager, so his head will be on the chopping board by Christmas.

Plainly on form, I would say Glen Johnson for Liverpool. He's more an attacking winger than a right back. He'll probably shine against smaller sides, but against the top 6, he'll probably be rubbish.

Which youngster will make a breakthrough?

I think Fabian Delph as I'm a supporter of Leeds United. Although there are some exciting young names in Zola's West Ham and they are always the people's 'second team'.

How far into the season will Harry Redknapp first use the phrase 'bare bones'?

He he... Does he always use bare bones? I suppose he'll use it coming into December when the season heats up and Spurs start cocking up.

Will the bonkers circus at Real Madrid succeed, or will it fall hilariously flat on its arse?

I don't like Madrid and I don't really like the buying of success. Call me traditional, but I really enjoy what Zola is doing at West Ham, nurturing the young ones through a strong academy.

So yes. Madrid to fall flat on their faces. Potential 2nd round packing from the Champions League.

Tour de France ala Malaysia - Travellers Tips

2009-08-03T12:35:00.000-07:00

Sometime in mid June an idea to catch Le Tour de France during the last 3 days of the Tour was hatched and within days plans were proposed and a week later most accommodation and travel was booked accordingly.

Sometime two weeks ago, the plan was put in place and Le Tour de France ala Malaysia was on its way.
Some advice for potential cycling travellers:-

1. If you plan to get the Eurostar to Paris (or where ever), get a rough idea how you are getting to King's Cross/St. Pancras.

- for me, I had to get there by 10am (train due to depart at 10.25am) so I got a bit worried as it meant I would probably have to jostle on the tube for space during the tail end of rush hour at 9am. Eventually, it took me around 40 minutes to get from North Greenwich station to KC/SP without much fuss except some curious eyes on the huge bike bag.
- Oh and another thing, London Eurostar departure halls are heaven compared to their French counterparts. As I usually take the Eurostar to Brussels, which is quite a respectable station, Paris Nord felt like it was part of a ghetto and it took me at least 30 minutes to get through the queue to get to the terminal, luckily I arrived 1 hour early! Over in London, I remember arriving 25 minutes before departure and still made it to the train in 15 minutes.

2. I used my mates X Planet bike bag which was sufficient for its purpose and it met all the standard travel requirements for trains 120cm X 90cm. Now this works relatively well as it fit perfectly in the top section of the Eurostar luggage storage area. When I got on the second stage of my journey to Avignon, I couldn't bring it into the storage area, but managed to place it out of passengers near the exit. My only qualm about the bag though was the lack of wheels which could have made the fight from the Jubilee line to the Northern line easier. Also, the walk from Avignon train station to the hotel was a short but taxing one.

3. As I stated before, I was worried about getting on the trains with bicycles as I was getting various signals from different people about their views on trains and bikes. Well, to be safe, travel like how I did - with your bike bag. The bike bag holds quite a bit of stuff, so there would be more areas to keep extra materials (e.g. lock, spanner, tools, shoes, helmet, extra attire, etc.)

4. Check your shoes, see if any of the screws are missing or if you have spares - What happened to me was on the way to Mont Ventoux, I realised my shoes were a bit loose on the pedals. After unclipping in Carpentras, I realised I was missing a couple of screws. A visit to the local bike shop after lunch - the owner kept stating that he didn't have any TIME (my clip and pedal brand) products, so he could not help me. In the end I had to buy a whole new set of Look pedals for Euro50.

5. When riding, always avoid man hole covers. I know this sounds like one the basic rules to cycling, but I happened to literally stumble upon a man hole cover as we were cycling pass a round a bout. I was more concerned with a car approaching on the right exit that I lost concentration and hit the middle of the man hole cover (there was a hole just big enough to suck in both my wheels) at 40km/h. Initially I thought that I busted BOTH tyres, but upon initial inspection it was merely an optical illusion created by some chewing / bubble gums across the tyre. I probably still am the first and for a long time the only person my cycling mate will know to blow BOTH tubes in a single incident. On the bright side, at least I didn't tumble flat on my face as some may have done.

6. Always do tests run on the GPS before you travel. I didn't do a long session with my GPS on my first trip out before going to France, so I failed to see potential problems I would face as I hit the French soils. After about 2 hours of pretending to be professional cyclist, the GPS advised me to turn right into an unpaved road. Further inspection at Carpentras later, we realised that I had wrongly set it to avoid major streets and go on unpaved roads and not vice versa. After correcting the initial mistake, trips from Bedoin to Avignon took a bit over 2 hours.

7. This is a mini mistake, but when I ordered my Michelin Pro 3 Race tyres, I thought they come in pairs. Now I know, they come as one, so you always need to buy two!

8. Getting a cab with a bike bag - if you plan to do so, expect a feeling of discontentment from the driver. The nature of the bag is that it usually fits an MPV-like taxi and not a normal saloon car. Thus, choose the taxi wisely. Next tip, if there are TWO of you, you'll probably do better with a van like taxi. It will cost more, but it's better than getting into petty arguments and avoiding the possibility of damaging your bike by forcing into a small space.

9. Lodging - We stayed in the Holiday Express in Avignon. Now, it's not a bad place when you consider the price and distance to the train station (15-20 minute walk) and it suits our purpose of getting the train back to Paris as soon as possible (8pm train) after rushing back to Avignon after the tour passed us at the entrance to Bedoin. However, it's worth a little more investigation into alternate options, e.g. leaving for Paris on the earliest train possible the next day, thus enabling us to enjoy an easy stroll from Bedoin to Avignon OR the possibility of viewing the Tour from the top of Mont Ventoux. Another option would be to try and stay closer to Ventoux, say either Carpentras or another small town nearby so that conquering Ventoux wouldn't be so taxing (or any other future climbs!)

10. Climate - This is totally out of human control, but its best be prepared for the worse case scenarios. For Ventoux, I brought along a gilet and some arm warmers just in case it got extremely cold on top of Mont Ventoux. However, battling the cycling under an extremely sunny day (no clouds AT ALL) and temperatures of 35 degree Celsius, planning for pit stops at towns nearby is a wise idea. This is to avoid the possibility of dehydration and some really fowl mood swings (trust me when it's hot and you're dehydrated, getting lost doesn't help with the mood!)

11. A colleague of mine claims that whenever he rides (his mountain bike) he makes sure he brings along an extra derailleur hanger. One of these probably cost about GBP10, but it definitely can save a trip! What happened to me was that as I was weaving through the hundreds of thousand people along the road to the top of Ventoux, I came across a (possibly) Spanish couple who chose to suddenly brake and enjoy the view. As there were other cyclist coming down the hill from the opposite direction and lots of other people walking along the road, I had no option but to brake as well. Unluckily for me (AGAIN) some Brit (the irony) girl rammed her front wheel into the back of my bike. Not suspecting the damaged done, I thought my chain had been dislodged from the crank. Upon closer inspection by the side of the road, I noticed my derailleur hanger had been bent 90 degrees. According to my colleague, this is to prevent damage to the frame. After about 30 minutes to an hour of messing about trying to straighten it, I conceded defeat and took a Frenchman's advice to slowly make my way back to Bedoin and get it repaired at one of the bike shops.

12. Bike shops - from my experience this trip, it would be always good to know WHERE the bike shops are and if possible their hours of operation. For me, I was quite lucky to meet a very helpful and genuine bike shop at the foot of Ventoux. Even though they didn't carry Specialized bike products, he managed to make a bespoke derailleur hanger after I pleaded for some help (bear in mind I had to make it back to Avignon to catch a train that night and with the Tour happening, taxi's were a rarity!)

13. Contingency - not just for cycling trips, but probably applies to all trips around the world, always have extra cash in case you face any of the above problems I had throughout my trip. Always bear in mind not all stores accept credit cards and when some of them do, they charge over the Mont for the use. Extra cash in hand does no harm.

Overall the verdict for this Tour was 6 out of ten. This was because we probably achieved 60% of what we set out to do and bar some major disappointments; there will always be NEXT time. Some of the tips above may sound really like common sense, but as it is, shit happens along the way and even the simplest of issues may become major problems without proper planning.

I dream of Jeannie

2009-06-09T05:15:00.000-07:00

The Genie's caught up with life and is hanging out more with other Genies, leaving the astronauts to ponder if they'll ever hear from her again.

Qui procul ab oculis, procul a limite cordis?

Gender reversals

2009-06-08T05:43:00.000-07:00

A recent study has shown more women excelling in University than men. The question was raised if the switch in the education system in the UK from O Levels to GCSE’s has led us to this rise.

Although there was wide spread criticism that the GCSE's were a dumbing down of the O Levels, it does not really mean that women were suddenly given the advantage.

I think throughout the years, women were traditionally always seen as second to men and most high level positions and high paying salaries were landed by men. This has created a will for women to prove men wrong. Women usually have to work twice as hard to prove successful and still women are sometimes deemed a liability due to their ability to get pregnant.

However I do believe that this rise of power and influence in women has impacted negatively on some men. Now it is not uncommon to read about men who are more in touch with themselves, so much so as they seem insecure about themselves. All this while women prayed hard that men will eventually come to terms and understand women better, but now when men have finally become more 'metropolitan', women just wish that they could have the old fashioned man back.

But why of course, the old fashioned traditional man was so much easier to control, weren't they?

Assessing the initial Assessment...

2009-05-27T02:16:00.001-07:00

LINK to initial Assessment HERE

As the season draws to a close, I’m left to reflect on another season of disappointment. Well, I did have a disclaimer about the predictions that it was done early days, so let’s just see how I fared.

Simple one to start - who will win the league?
I predicted Liverpool – they came close, but the worse bit of this prediction was that for Robbie Keane to make up an ultimate partnership with Torres. That role became Steven Gerrard’s and Robbie went back to Spurs without a whimper. Tough. Full marks to Liverpool though for taking the title challenge right down to the second last week of the season.

Which team will go down with Hull and Stoke?
How wrong was this? BOTH Hull and Stoke didn’t go down. The bottom three teams were just too poor to be in the Premier League for another year. Imagine, all the bottom teams needed a win on the last day but NONE of them got a win. The really bad news is that another team of Bolton’s mould has remained in the Premier League, in the form of Stoke City. It’s just another testament to Tony Pulis’s ability as manager – keeping the belief in the team and its fans. I heard somewhere that they have the noisiest fans in the country.

And will either of those two beat Derby's 'total'?
Surprisingly, the margin between the bottom and the seventh place team is much less that the margin between the champions and seventh place. For much of the season any teams below seventh were in danger of the possibility of relegation. This was true in the case of Hull. One of my predictions that were correct for this section was that Newcastle is NOT a big team anymore.

How many points will Liverpool finish behind the champions?
As with the first question, I assumed Liverpool would be the champions, so I didn’t really predict the points they would trail by. But its still watch to see them fight to the final 3 weeks of the season. Still 4 points behind Manure is not a bad achievement. It’s just the minor blips against smaller teams that became draws was their downfall. Now, if only Torres and Gerrard will be fit for the whole of next season.

First manager to go?
Paul Ince did get the boot eventually. But who would have guessed the number of managers to go? The debacle at Newcastle claimed 3 ‘managers’. The margins of winning and losing have become so huge that every manager (less Arsenal, Liverpool and Manure) was in danger of being the first to go. As much as it’s like playing Russian roulette.

Will Cristiano Ronaldo be that good again?
Well, 50/50 I would say for this prediction. True, he didn’t perform that well in the beginning of the season, he had a bit of a spoiled brat tantrum, but then again, how do you ever top last season’s performance? At the end of the day, he still finished top scorer. He’s been part of the team in dominated in all fronts for most of the season, so it’s not a BAD season at all.

Will Mark Hughes do a better job than Sven?
I was right on this one. Sven worked with a tighter budget (compared to the one that Mark Hughes has NOW) and yet managed to motivate his players to do the double over Manure and get into Europe. Mark just whinged about everything else. However, I reckon the Citeh board will stick with him for another season.

Which newcomer will have the biggest impact?
Well, wrong again here. However, if you look to Arsenals victory over the champions, it was Samir Nasri who shone brighter than the rest of the Arsenal team. Another Arsenal player deserves a mention here Arshavin – four goals. Nuff said.

And which one will flop horribly?
I supposed I was right here again… Jo did flop terribly in Man City, but he did turn up and do well for Everton when it mattered most. Shall we just come to the conclusion and agree that he did flop? (Originally)Who has the best chance of cracking the top four?Again, I was spot on for this prediction until back in April. Aston Villa have crumbled without the now retired Martin Laursen and they just ran out of steam after MON decided that fighting for a place in the top four was more important than Europe. Doesn’t look very sensible now does it?

Which transfer saga will be boring us all this time next year?
Surprise surprise, the fake Ronaldo is still with Manure and Didier Diver is still with Chelsea. A far more boring saga would be the never ending links of top players to a certain Man Citeh. Even if they don’t play in the Champions League. It’s all about the money.

What goes around comes around

2009-05-21T15:25:00.000-07:00

The great British economy is slowly being brought to its knees by various commitments locally and internationally. From pensions to job seekers allowance, from asylum seekers to single parents, everyday the list becomes longer and the British government becomes poorer.

Not forgetting about the already widely known disease the 'recession' and its various military commitments in several war ravaged countries.

How did it all come to this?

Many Britons have come to hate the idea of foreigners taking up space and resources in the country, but wasn't it the powers behind the government showing its strength through its then unlimited resources once earned through imperialism, making other countries problems its own business?

Is this one big example of karma? A long time ago, British imperialism plundered many a country, raping it of its most exotic and precious resources. Are people from these various countries returning the favour in kind?

heart

2009-05-18T08:35:00.000-07:00

When you love someone, you don’t have to see them all the time or have them by your side, only have them in your heart

The Art of Muses

2009-05-13T15:05:00.000-07:00

Music plays a big part in our lives. Certain music brings back the nostalgic feelings of years gone by and defines the character during the times of growing up. It acts as inspiration, brings sense to dramas, tragedy, comedy, romance and just lifts us when we are down.

Growing up as a teenager in the 1990s, here is a list of some of the memorable acts/songs that have left a deep mark in my memories.

2 Live Crew – As Nasty as they want to be (1989)

As a budding teenager, this is the first group that have really made used of sexually explicit lyrics to make music. One of their popular singles - The F*ck Shop, left a deep impact in my mind. Of course, being a teenager at that time, it was cool to be able to rap the lyrics to impressed mates around school.

EMF – Unbelievable (1990)

Unbelievably good, this song became one of the anthems of the 1990s. With all the mystery in the initials and the lack of information now found through the World Wide Web, speculation on what E.M.F. really meant was one of the hot topics.

Guns and Roses – Use your Illusions (1991)

Metallica – Black Album (1991)

Nirvana - Smell's like Teen Spirit (1991)

1991 was a good year for music, producing legendary performances by Metallica, Nirvana and Guns and Roses. All three of the above mentioned albums have been so widely played that I can almost hum to any one their songs with ease. Funnily it was more to the mid 90s when I started listening to some of the more popular tunes like Enter Sandman, Smells like Teen Spirit and Estranged. It’s been almost 20 years since the emergence of these albums and the mid 90s has seen a duplication of many similar sounding bands, the alternative rock movement for example. Some of these successes will not be replicated and after such a long time, it may be better to let has beens remain as has beens, so please do us a favour Axl, don’t come back…

Beyond – 繼續革命 (1992)

This was before the unfortunate incident which left this quartet as a trio. Ever since Wong Ka Kui passed on, the band has never been the same. True, some remember one or two songs after Ka Kui’s passing, but you imagine most of the records sold were more of a sympathy purchase. Most of Beyond’s old songs are still largely popular with the Cantonese speaking world with Paul still lending a hand to the underground movements in Hong Kong. Legendary band, legendary songs and I still remember singing their undisputed most renown song during one of my friends wedding back in 2005. Stuff made for legends, ‘nuff said.

Radiohead – Creep (1993)

The lead singer still insist to date that he doesn’t particularly enjoy the success this song has garnered throughout the years, but it will stick to me as the song that opened my eyes to the Brit pop and alternative movement (again in the mid 90s). Of course, it also reminded me on the dreadfulness of piracy as for years I assumed that the name of the band singing this song was Pablo Honey. I got a recap of this song in Sydney while watching a Vietnamese movie starring HKs Tony Leung, Cyclo and it’s moved on to become of my favourite karaoke songs that I try to belt out (rather pathetically) after a couple of Johnnie’s.

Green Day – Dookie (1994)

One of the albums of my high school years, this dog shit was rather good shit. I used to think that Billy Joel started an extra band just to expand his already wide musical credentials.

Oasis - What's the Story Morning Glory (1995)

I’d like to think of Oasis as the band that reconfirmed my belief in Brit pop. Although one or two of Blur’s songs are still rated highly in my book, Oasis stands up there next to the Beatles. Much of my college years were spent singing about Sally and how we should not put our life in the hands of a rock and roll band. Liam and Noel looked smug on the wall in my bedroom poster for a good couple of years.

Suede – Beautiful Ones (1996)

One of the songs that used to get the party going back in Sydney in the year 1999, its amazing how everyone used to thing they were beautiful. Yes, even us guys.

Ben Folds Five – Brick (1997)

This song brings back memories about time spent in a room during the Sydney years in Unilodge. Although the days spent in there were never as dark as the song, some of the experiences were. Still, I’ve got a copy of this single stuck somewhere back ‘home’. Thanks to the baughty noy.

Smashing Pumpkins – Adore (1998)

People still don’t believe it when I say I saw them in Sydney back in 98. Well, I did. And it was really good. Although not as good as I expected as they were touring to promote their new album Adore, so they didn’t get around singing more of that Mellon Collie stuff. Still, to see Billy in action with the rest of the crew was a once in the lifetime experience I’ll never forget.

Smash Mouth - All Star (1999)

One of the funny bands, Smash Mouth has never been one of my favourite bands, but the All Star song has always got a special place in my mind. For some reason memories of the Beach Club resurface – times when you’re young, dumb and time just stands still.

Effects of alcohol and the ensuing embarrassments

2009-05-12T15:03:00.000-07:00

One day at the pub by New Cross, I was having a pint of Guinness with my mate CP when the topic of mutants came about.

We were talking about the latest Wolverine movie and how the mutant genre in movies evolved from the early 80s till now.

"Hey do you remember that series done in the 80s about a group of people with mutant like powers?

I remember vaguely one of the members having the ability to run really fast, with a name not dissimilar with Johnny Blaze.

And the girls name was Gloria.

Do you remember the name of that show?" I asked.

CP had a huge frown, either from the weight of the alcohol or the searching for an answer in his brain.

"Not really. When you mentioned Gloria, I keep thinking of Estefan.

Any further clues?"

Just as we were about to proceed with this intense discussion, this beautiful lady pops over and taps my shoulder.

"Hi B! It's been a long time, how have you been?"

I've been quite known to remember a ridiculous amount of useless information from my past, but for the love of god, I just could not remember the name of this young lass.

She looked eagerly towards CP waiting to be introduced, as I blurted out some nonsense about the South of Spain, hoping to get some recollection about her and where I've met her.

Then CP introduced himself, sensing the uncomfortable environment I've turned this in because of my memory lapse.

Ah, Anita... She must have been a friend from my time in Kuala Lumpur.

We proceeded to head off home after paying the tab when Anita mentioned, smiling "By the way B, it was nice meeting you after our last trip to Greece together, you never did call"

To which I grabbed CP, "Misfits of Science!"

"What?"

"That's the name of that series!"

"Lame B, just lame...”

Barbecue Pork Rice

2009-04-30T06:27:00.000-07:00

Thirty six years of age later this year, I first saw her appearing alongside Eddie Kwan and one of my all time favourite actresses Gigi Lai in 'The Link' back in 1993.

I remember cursing her character as she was so evil and manipulative. She was also rather wooden in her role and I remember hating her for a long time after. Of course this was during a very young age and I didn't appreciate the fact that it was just her second series and that she was only 20 back then.

I saw her again in 'At the Threshold of an Era' which was done from 1999 to 2000, but she didn't leave much of an impression then as there were some other spectacular performances from Gallen Lo, Roger Kwok and Flora Chan (Oh Flora...)

Recently I caught up with TVB's blockbuster production which spanned 80 episodes over 2008 and 2009 - 'The Gem of Life' where she teamed up with Gigi and Eddie again, along with a whole long list of superstars. It was not one of the better productions, but it allowed her to develop more of her character from a seemingly evil and manipulative person (sound familiar?) to someone the viewers sympathised with her predicaments. Sort of shows how much she has improved in acting, commanding most of the scenes she is in.

Then I watched 'Secret of the Heart’ after which was done back in 1998 - again one of the bigger productions, her character was allowed to develop from being very money minded (sound familiar) and simple to a kind hearted and determined woman. Her on-screen chemistry with Sunny Chan was genuinely moving and viewers were left gutted for Sunny at the end of the series.

I've just finished 'To Catch the Uncatchable' in which she stars alongside Dayo Wong. Produced back in 2004, this comedy series is very different from the routine TVB comedy due to the comical presence of Dayo, but once again the on screen chemistry between her and Dayo is amazing. Her character, an insurance agent, acts like a 38 (sam pat) tai-tai and her the way she bosses Dayo around is so funny.

Aiming to catch the 'Armed Reaction' series soon to see more her in a different role, but I think we can safely say she has progressed well since the times of 1991 when she set alight the stage during the Miss HK Finals into the mould of a superstar.

Hard to imagine her lasting to where she is through all her well publicised personal troubles, but I guess no pain no gain, what a wonderful superstar, the lovely Ada Choi Siu Fun.

impossible

2009-03-30T22:11:00.000-07:00

People keep saying that through fate we can eventually find the one we love.

In actual fact, they are lying to themselves, reasoning that their love is fate.

Because it is impossible to find a person who loves you as much as you love them.

As fate would have it, we always seem to be chasing the impossible.

It’s just human nature.

"I want to smurf Smurfette."

2009-03-18T03:48:00.000-07:00

The Only Smurfette in the Village.

Years ago, Yang was telling me this argument that Smurfs are asexual creatures. What it is, if you watched the Smurfs when you were growing up is that the whole village with the exception of Smurfette (until they added Sassette) were males. He argued that they reproduce ala Gremlins by coming into contact with water - which is why each time it rains (at the start of the programme) they run under mushrooms for cover.

Well, in actual fact, Papa Smurf didn't create Smurfette. Gargamel did. She was sent in as Gargamel's evil spy with the intention of destroying the Smurf village.

Then there was Nanny smurf. Being an old flame of Grandpa Smurf's, Nanny enters the cartoon series after being trapped inside a cursed castle for centuries. It is unclear if she is a naturally occurring female smurf or if she was somehow created via sorcery like Smurfette and Sassette.

This itself provides an argument that as Smurfs may be asexual, its just the fact that a Smurf could have been more feminine than the rest, earned enough money and went to Bangkok to get a 'sex' change.

Thus, Tranny Smurf became Smurfette. And then it became socially acceptable that tranvestites could co-exist with the rest of the smurfs, it paved way for more tranny smurfs to come out of the closet.

Banks and Insurance

2009-03-02T02:52:00.000-08:00

It is now harder to get a loan to buy a new house.

People are complaining how difficult it is to set up anything new with banks is.

Well, serve's them all right!

Several months back, I moaned about the vultures in the guise of banks and insurance agents, leeching off others. Every single deal had only one thing behind it - more money.

Money has grown to such importance that the greed of men ensured a swift downfall into what we now call a recession.

For all the singular dollars the banks have made over late payments or overdrafts or missed repayments, karma has had a strange way of working back against them.

As we speak, several banks face several billions (some trillions) of dollars wiped off their portfolio. Same goes for some of the insurance companies like AIG.

Maybe we'll all learn to be a bit more prudent now.

What of the Louis Vuitton's when you have kids at home to feed?

People Change

2009-02-24T09:48:00.000-08:00

It's funny how we always have the best memories where they should be, in our minds.

Usually we remember people the way we want to remember them, but sometimes after some time, we find that that same person has changed.

I guess it's the same for myself.

I seem to be more tolerant towards certain issues that I would not have compromised in the past and opened up to enjoy life more.

The past is always a memory, but we still have a long way to go. I hope we can make it in the end.

Sic vis pacem, para bellum

2009-01-09T20:36:00.000-08:00

JD commented that people have been comparing the current economic crisis to the Great Depression. The only thing missing is a World War to churn the economy by setting up weapon plants and giving people jobs in the manufacturing side.

Will Israel and Gaza be the new World War?

Sic vis pacem, para bellum

Foot in mouth

2009-01-07T01:45:00.000-08:00

Ian Rush had a successful season at Juventus but returned to Anfield in 1988 claiming:

"I couldn't settle in Italy - it was like living in a foreign country."

Another examples of footballers putting their foot in their mouth.

Rich

2009-01-01T11:01:00.000-08:00

Many people consider themselves rich in monetary terms.

From the recent credit crisis of 2008, many of these monetarily rich people may not have maintained their level of 'rich-ness'.

Of course there are others like myself who view rich = experience.

Be it bad or good, we continuously experience life. A friend recently asked what the meaning of life is and what our role in life is.

I used to think that I am the variable in a set of equations, e.g. X + 1 = Y, where Y and 1 will remain constant - thus being able to predict my 'future' or path in which I will be moving towards.

Years later I found out the hard way that I wasn't the only variable, but Y and 1 were also variables and I could not possibly predict what the future would be. Which also means that I can say for sure what our roles in life are.

So, what I could say was that we are all variables in life, so why be so fussed about our role? Why not just enjoy the ride and experience and become rich in this way?

Reflections of my life, the 08 edition

2009-01-01T10:46:00.000-08:00

It's come to that point of time when the year is about to come to a close and I'm excited of getting off for a little boogie in Berlin (ok, so I just got back from Berlin...)

Looking back at 2008, I think the feng-shui master has failed quite miserably in some of his/her predictions.

It was meant to be a bad year for me - but thus far, I've come to conclusions that we make our own destiny. Feng-shuis masters reassure us what we already know, just like psychiatrist, only try to go one up by predicting the future. Take everything with a pinch of salt and take in consideration the magnitude in which we look at it all.

For example, who could have predicted the credit crunch? And how has the credit crunch affected me? The answers to these questions will only be known when the Chinese year has officially come to end (25th January 2008), so I better not curse it. Not just yet.

Taking the format of last years reflections, here they come:

The Good
- Making lots of new friends at work. It's given me a new perspective towards life in London
- Having lived with my landlord for almost two years, we've become more than the usual landlord and tenant.
- My marketing qualifications! Fingers crossed, by February next year I will get some good news about my results
- Cycling, it's the latest fad, the British Olympic Cycling team has led the way in promoting the 'sport' and the only irritating thing is that I have to share the road with some newbie’s; who are usually quite impatient
- Amsterdam is the new Paris. It feels more romantic in the autumn than France in spring.
- Cooking! Except for some normal injuries obtained while cooking, it's the best thing since I've discovered (or rather re-discovered) TVB serials
- TVB Serials... Love it or loathe it, they usually have ongoing family based themes, promoting different values and touching sensitive topics like divorce, single parents, etc. Most of the time, the stories have happy endings, but once in a while we get the solemn endings.

The Bad
- The Credit crunch. How can it not be? As defiant and indifferent as I can be towards this normal economical cycle, it affects the lives of those close to me and the world that revolves around me. The silver lining is that I am not in debt, so I am free from all the knee jerk reactions that banks have to all their debtors.
- The Pound. When I first returned to the UK, it was RM7.5 to a pound! Look at where it is now? This just means that for every £10,000 I convert, I have officially lost about RM20,000. Look at it in this light and it is very scary, as some people in Malaysia struggle to save RM20K just for their first down payment for a house or car...
- Leeds United. They just failed to get back into the Championship at the last hurdle. A long frustrating season follows as we fail to replicate the (almost) perfect start to the 2007/08 season.

The Ugly
- Eduardo.
Not him, but that ugly tackle by Martin Taylor back in February in Birmingham. I've always said the people over there were rough. Did anyone see it on TV? ewwww.
- Bombay.
Why do people find it necessary to terrorise others this way? Why can't we all live in peace? God bless the poor souls who lost their lives recently.
- Britney Spears.
I know a good friend of mine who loves Britney, but please... did anyone see some of her 'live' performances recently? It reminds me of Milli Vanilli back in the early 90s. Some say she has rebounded from her worst days, but once a Britney, always a Britney. Will someone please ask her to do the world a favour and retire?

Happy New Year everybody!

On having a foul mouth

2008-12-18T00:08:00.000-08:00

1. Excessive swearing.

2. Smells like an ashtray.

3. Uncanny ability of words that instantly link to the future.

I believe that for a long time, I would be guilty of all three counts. Till I corrected #2 a couple of years ago.

However, its #3 which sometimes worries me. Thus far my ability has been highlighted for football matches - although once I actually gamble, I uncannily lose this uncanny ability; links to the sex of an unborn child, before the first trimester; links to economical futures and unfortunately deaths.

I remember writing about doing a review of the year 2007 and mentioning how I didn't think another Dark Knight movie was a good idea and how good Heath Ledger looked. Not long after he passed on.

Well, so much for having a foul mouth - who could have done it better? Why so serious? Let's put a smile on that face.

Merry Christmas everybody.

Joys of Cooking

2008-12-01T00:05:00.000-08:00

For years people snigger at the thought of me cooking.

Maybe its due to my appearance, many family or friends cannot envisage me doing actual work - do I really look THAT fat?

Or, if I really am that fat, wouldn't it make sense that I would know how to keep myself of a certain size?

To some cooking is a chore, but to me, it is therapeutic - especially when done alone. The preparation is most enjoyable and the end result is an inexplicable feeling of joy and content, especially when others are well fed.

Obviously in the current economic climate, someone exclaimed that it made more 'cents' to eat in than to eat out!

The definition of shooting yourself in the foot...

2008-11-01T05:23:00.000-07:00

"Robbo's the best keeper in the Premier League"

There's loyalty to your own players and then there's Paul Ince making an idiot of himself.

It's starting to get cold again...

2008-10-29T10:12:00.000-07:00

Daylight savings has just kicked in and the first sight of a really chilly winter has emerged.

Well, technically it should still be Autumn, but the snow has set and it's become really cold coming to work on the bicycle this morning.

Which shoes are we in?

2008-10-29T10:03:00.000-07:00

Everyone wants to be 'somebody'. But what exactly is the meaning of 'somebody'? Is it determined by the shoes we wear?

People argue about classifications, but then again, who sets the class? Who set all these laws?

Law is the same as History. What really matters is who your audiences are and how you are able to influence their perception. I've always said that there are two sides to a story (sometimes more!) and different people react differently to similar scenarios. In the matter of Law, if you are guilty but you have hired your lawyer to prove that you are innocence, your lawyer will then start building a case to prove your innocence.

So, in terms of a business sense, accountants are experts with monetary laws and when you hire an accountant to help you save costs or 'manage your accounts' they will let you know ways in which you could escape being taxed on certain things, as long as you meet certain criteria. Technically, you could say it is an official or legal way of laundering money.

But then again, it depends which side of the fence you are on. Or which shoes you are in...

Borders

2008-10-28T09:58:00.000-07:00

One of the things that fascinates me till now are borders. Within the South East Asian region, there are a couple of countries with almost entirely different languages - Thai, Filipino, Malay, Vietnamese, etc.

Over in Europe, there are even more languages with a lot of history to each of their own form of languages - The Scandinavians share some old Norse which is quite similar to Old German, which is in turn similar to Olde English. Then we have the Latin based languages like Italian, French, Spanish, Portugese, etc. Furthermore there are the a couple of languages in Eastern Europe that share similarities to some Russian.

What is really unique about all these different countries is how patriotic they can be at times. An example is that all these so called regions would love to benefit economically from each other creating free trade zones amongst neighbouring countries. However, like everything with human nature, nobody wants to lose out, so typically during the current banking crisis and economic environment, these independent governments cannot stop bickering to agree on ways to solve the problem.

Looking at it from a micro point of view, it's just like having house mates - when everyone is doing well, earning money and contributing to the leisure time of one another everyone is happy. However, if either one drops out from work for a couple of weeks, will any of the other house mates feel obliged to help out?

Stabbed

2008-10-20T22:38:00.000-07:00

One night I sensed it, so I asked her - about her seeing her ex boyfriend again. Yet somehow, she managed to make it as if it was not her fault.

"You knew what you were getting into from the start!" she shouted. I felt awful at how it seemed that I was in the wrong knowing that she hadn't had a clean break from her past in the first. Like a detective going through a crime scene investigation, I demanded to know all the finest details.

She tried to avoid eye contact. I could imagine being part of The Killers latest single, "Mr. Brightside". Images of him with her flashed through my mind. I wished the world would just open a hole and suck me from my misery.

"We used a condom," she tried to reduce the irrepairable damage with a hint of honesty. It was as if everybody did this everyday like they use the toothbrush. "It didn't mean anything," she continued, as if our relationship did mean anything at that point of time.

I tried to see if there was a way to work things out, but ultimately - the questioned needed to be answered. "You have to choose, I give you till the end of today to sort things out". But deep down inside I knew. This was the end.

Cheating on someone does not make things better, it makes things worse. To me it's like a knife that cuts through our chest. The wound would heal someday, but the scar will forever remain. And everytime you see a knife - the same fear will strike again.

There were so many questions I wanted answered, but it just didn't come out. After being together for the time we had, I knew I could not go back with her again. For every relationship there needs to be trust. From that moment, I knew I could trust her as much as I could trust the love of a whore in Amsterdam.

Lesson of the day was that, if you rush into infidelity you have to be prepared for the damage. It was because of that I knew I could never, ever cheat on the woman I loved.

from the novel "Understanding Keith King" 2005

"Good Night, don't let the bed bugs bite"...

2008-10-19T22:34:00.000-07:00

... I used to think this saying was so cute. In my mind there were images of cuddly cartoony images of insects known as bed bugs. That was until I was almost eaten alive by a bunch* of bed bugs.

From my experience, here are some words of advice:

1. Throw away the quilt
2. Throw away the pillows
3. Throw away the bed sheets and pillow covers
4. Throw away the mattress (if you are feeling rich)
5. Buy a new set of everything above.
6. Use repellant on all possible places in your room to ensure the bed bugs are stunned or die.
7. Vacuum the whole room to make sure you get every possibility of a reproduction out of the way.

If these seven steps don't work, I guess we would have to call in the professionals to make sure there is no repeat of being eaten alive.

In the meantime, I will continue my daily ritual of applying sudocream on all my bites to sooth the itch and the pain.

Oh, and some piriton to make sure I don't scratch the itch in the middle of the night.

"Good night, don't let the bed bugs bite!"

*Bunch = based on the 50+ bites I had on my hands, legs, feet, ears and neck respectively

Death of the DVD Salesman

2008-10-15T07:01:00.000-07:00

There was a time when I used to think that DVD salesmen were so cool. As a matter of fact, there was a time when I actually strive to look like a DVD salesman. I had the funky haircuts with the bright dyed hair. I had the designer pouch to match along with the attitude as well. Oh not to mention the name too!

Then when I came to the UK, I realised being recognised as a DVD salesman was a derogatory term used to describe Chinese people. It was weird as I am proud to be Chinese yet I despised being termed in such a manner.

I guess in some ways, overseas Chinese usually suffer from this confusion which is to be seen as Chinese or to be seen as more western? Some examples would be most if not all Chinese around the world are most definitely proud of the Olympics in Beijing recently.

However some resent the fact to being termed or viewed as the backward type usually made fun of.

It ends up such a dilemma - who are we really?

Children

2008-09-17T07:52:00.000-07:00

Sometimes you forget how peaceful things can get during the Summer holidays.

No traffic jams to work.

No hassle in the changing rooms.

A general peaceful atmosphere.

For six weeks, the tranquility will be maintained. Just goes to show what an impact children have on our daily lives.

However, in another week, two kids I have grown close to will depart and return home.

I shall miss them...

:(

about credit cards...

2008-08-29T13:34:00.000-07:00

During the times of the 1980s when Credit Cards first came into fashion, it seemed that only the rich and glamourous seemed to be able to use them on a frequent basis.

I remember one of my best friends getting her first platinum card from American Express back in 98 and it still seemed like such a luxury.

How times have changed. My dad wrote some harsh words several months ago about financial institutions - banks, and how their image has change dramatically over the years in his eyes.

An example of this would be when I canceled my Citibank card two and a half years ago. It all seemed fine and dandy till about six months ago when I was in the UK and my dad received a statement about paying my membership fees.

Being Mr. Worry, dad called me up instantly informing me off this, worried that if I don't solve this problem ASAP, I will soon be charged excess monthly.

To avoid such a scenario, I quickly resurfaced previous faxes to the bank - scanned it for emailing purposes, wrote a new letter of complaint to fax, email and POST (to be sure) to TWO different addresses and fax numbers. Such was the hassle that my father has since lost so much confidence in the banking institutions that fear strikes him as he receives any letters from them.

The second example was when I canceled my HSBC credit card a year ago. Again, because of the complexity of the system (I used to repay my mortgage through HSBC - and I have a savings account with them) I had to return to the branch office to cancel the cards.

Thinking that it has all been sorted I was shocked to receive a new statement as my second address stating I still owed them an outstanding amount of RM0.15

Knowing that if I didn't fulfill this payment and straightened out the problem I may actually owe them a total of RM60 across the period of one year - I stormed straight to my hometown branch and gave their staff a rightful bullocking.

It turned out that when I closed my account - by some default I had owed them that measly amount. It started to give me the impression that banks WERE really baying for our blood. That their function of existence was really to suck us dry off our money...

"With Great Power comes great responsibilities..."

2008-08-26T13:27:00.000-07:00

... as Peter Parker once said. This saying has never weighed more on my mind than ever before.

With more education and more real life experience, expectations of life start to slowly creep into my schedules.

I must admit that I have led a colourful life so far, almost achieving most of the things I had never dreamt of before, but as one cyclist put it to me, " What goes down, must come up" - implying that whatever downhill exhilaration that we encounter, there is bound to be a taxing uphill task sooner or later.

Sometimes when you have reached a certain achievement, there is much more to lose in life and this makes you wish that you never exceeded expectations so far and that life could have been much more simpler had we stayed status quo.

But then again as I always state, what is the point of living if we don't strive to improve.

Like our Andersonian motto - I think life should be "Usaha Hingga Jaya"...

Football Predictions

2008-08-13T08:21:00.000-07:00

OK, since this request has been put in since my Euro 2008 predictions, here are the predictions for the 2008/09 season*

Simple one to start - who will win the league?
Not really a simple task to predict, as the top four teams look juicy. But, I'll have to choose Liverpool. Reason is because they have got a rated striker in Robbie Keane to partner Torres - which would possibly mean all those draws last season could be turned into wins.

Which team will go down with Hull and Stoke?
I would say West Brom as all three teams promoted last season don't really give me the confidence of lasting the distance. Also, if the league was of 17 teams, the bottom three may be Sunderland, Wigan and Bolton and they look to me to have too much experience amongst them to fail over the three promoted teams. Having said this, I actually hope Bolton go down as I can't stand them.

And will either of those two beat Derby's 'total'?
Sadly, because of the class of the top four and the next six after them - Everton, Villa, West Ham, Spurs, Blackburn and Citeh (notice I have not included Newcastle in this group) the league seems to be split in two sizes: the big teams and the average teams. Thus YES it is very possible that the bottom three would not be able to gather enough points amongst each other to beat Derby's dismal record.

How many points will Liverpool finish behind the champions?
As I said in the first question - I predict Liverpool would win this year, but I expect it to go right down to the last 3 matches with all the top four actively involved.

First manager to go?
I don't think the predicted bottom three would fare any better with new managers - they probably need new budgets, so it would have to be one from the other 17. Looking up the ladder where the pressure is bound to be greatest - i predict one of the newbies, Paul Ince.

Will Cristiano Ronaldo be that good again?
No.
1. Because he will miss the first part of the season,
2. Because after last years glory, there won't be much motivation,
3. After the summer speculations, his heart would clearly be not into the job as before and
4. I just can't bear another 'C. Ronaldo' season.

Will Mark Hughes do a better job than Sven?
No. I see Mark Hughes as a great manager, but then again if you are not in the top four, the foundations are not strong enough and with the turmoil surrounding Citeh, I don't see him succeeding where Sven has not really failed.

Which newcomer will have the biggest impact?
Samir Nasri. A lot of people forget that Arsenal have purchased a potential gem in Nasri. Didn't impact Euro2008 much, but then again which of the French team did?

And which one will flop horribly?
There is not much choice here as the transfer market has been relatively silent this season compared to the previous one. So, I probably have to choose a striker - since they are usually judged harshly by the goals scored, so it's Jo for Man Citeh.

Who has the best chance of cracking the top four?
Looking at the squads, I would actually say Aston Villa - they have a great English 'backbone' and players have been in the Premiership for sometime (except in defense) compared to the teams around them. I hate to say this, but they could quite possibly slip pass Arsenal for fourth spot.

Which transfer saga will be boring us all this time next year?
Hopefully for the last time - Christiano Ronaldo finally shipped to Real Madrid. And Didier Drogba to Italy.

*bear in mind this was typed out on 13th August 2008 - there may be additional changes in three weeks time!
Note: Questions taken from the Football365 website

Wilderness

2008-08-13T08:12:00.000-07:00

There comes a time when we need to reassess our targets and the path in which we are heading there.

For many years, I have been lost in the wilderness wondering where my future was.

Funnily by taking a step back, I seem to have taken two steps forward.

Of course this view may very well be temporary - things always looking different in hindsight. Sometimes, we benefit from this view, but we mustn’t live too far back on past glories.

I figured that over the last two years, I have frequently assessed and reassessed my position. There were times that I wondered where I would be and what I could have done better.

So, it's like what one of my friends told me, if we seem to be stuck in a rut, why not make the most of it and learn from being in this rut.

This is why I have taken the opportunities to add further value to myself as I enjoy my time over here in London - travel lots, study whenever I can and build up my experiences as I go along.

Now that sounds like a great plan!*

*that is until I decide to re-assess and change my targets again.

Grumpy

2008-08-07T20:08:00.000-07:00

As we grow old, we tend to get grumpier.

We tend to get more critical in our analysis and sound out inefficiencies in society.

One school of thought is that the world is becoming more dangerous, with all this reporting of rape, murder, robbing, etc.

Another school of thought is that the world has always been this way - just with the benefits of modern media, people have become more aware of their surroundings.

It could also be the possibility that before we achieved a level of optimum efficiency, we were more engrossed in attaining that level - and once we do, we start pointing out the previously lesser negatives. Humans also tend to be more attentive to the happenings from the 'supastar' culture.

Example - there have been quite a number of stabbings occurring in London the last couple of months or so. Then suddenly, a relative of an actress gets murdered and all the press are out on their feet screaming for reform. Sorry to the relatives but I hope to be excused for being cynical with the press attempts to sensationalise.

So then as I was speaking to this colleague the other day, he was telling me of his grandmother's saying, "What the young people really need today is another world war to whip some sense in them!"

Now, I won't be one to advocate a world war, but what she says does make sense - in times of peace, people tend to start picking up on other races, religions and political associations. But once we get involved in a war - all types come together as ONE to defend the country.

This does not only apply to England, but probably Malaysia as well...

... how can we make everyone be more selfless and look at the bigger picture?

Play

2008-07-21T11:59:00.000-07:00

I went for a short play in the local theatre the other day and was quite surprised with the style of delivery. It was unique as the play lasted around 40 minutes, but dragged on for another 40 minutes as the actors engaged with the audience about the topic of the rise of gangs and knife related crimes in London.

What I found particularly interesting was the maturity these actors had knowing that all 6 of these girls who engaged with the audience in this mini forum were around the age of 16 to 20 only.

At some point, one of the audience (a parent, I assume) actually had a potentially difficult question for the actors. However, one of them actually stood up and reminded the audience that all of their views are theirs alone (and is not the absolute and each case should be viewed differently) and being a parent asking these questions - they really should be the ones who know how their children are.

One of the very good analogies that is stuck in my head was how a parent should be more like a football supporter rather than a football fan. Her definition of 'fan' was what the British supporters see as the Asian fans - that we do not go to each match every week like a true 'supporter'; travelling with the team as they play and sing the songs - spurring the teams on.

And this is what they see parents role should really be more similar to that of a supporter, staying with their teams (children) through thick or thin, rain or shine; rather than that of a fan - following the team (children) only when the time and day is convenient, more often than not - especially ONLY when the team is winning.

This is a very good example which really got me thinking - "damn, we should all attend more plays!"

Experience

2008-07-17T11:00:00.000-07:00

Because of experience, we tend to know more than other people who have been through fewer changes in their lives than us. And this does not necessarily mean that it goes with age.

However, a very good example of this would be when I was very much still a teenager doing an apprenticeship off Old Klang road in this audit firm. I stayed in my grandfather's old 'abandoned' house during that period which was in the capital of Malaysia - Kuala Lumpur. After less than a month, my father would start talking about being in Kuala Lumpur back in his days. Much of what he was talking about did not make sense to me at all (why of course!).

In Malaysia, some of the road names have been changed throughout the times, with Batu Road becoming Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman. Being an ignorant teenager, how was I supposed to know this? I could almost feel the disappointment in my dad's voice as he tried to explain different areas around where he lived.

But this is a mistake we all seem to make. We speak about things expecting people to know.

How will people know if they have not experienced it themselves?

Further into that, each person goes through a unique process, so although the time and place may be the same, two different people may end up having differing reflections on that period.

To put into a simple scenario, imagine Jack and Jill walking up the hill. Jack is holding a bucket, which is quite heavy and his attention is focused on the well above the hill. Jill on the other hand is looking around the hill at the beautiful flowers and butterflies as they walk up.

Ten years later, we ask both Jack and Jill about this experience, I'm sure Jack wouldn't really be aware that there were beautiful flowers along the way. And Jill doesn't really remember the bucket being that heavy.

So it is good harping on about our experiences, but then the audience would need to be receptive. As one of my staff put it the other day, “We have ONE mouth and TWO ears."

So, maybe we need to listen more than we talk?

X

2008-07-16T14:02:00.000-07:00

X

What the Arsenal XI were generally reduced to during the Patrick Vieira era.

The Marlboro Man

2008-07-04T21:42:00.000-07:00

There was once upon a time when smoking was viewed as the equivalent of being cool. I suspect Tony Leung continues to appear in Wong Kar Wai movies for two reasons:

1) to appear cool
2) to be able to continue smoking on set.

Watching one of the old TVB Cantonese serials - Looking back in Anger to be specific, I realised the influence smoking had on people just 20 years ago. Everybody smoked. And they smoked everywhere. It didn't matter if it was in a restaurant or in the hospital, all the actors and actresses smoked consistently. It came to a point I actually dream of smoking only to subconsciously feel sick imagining the poison being sucked slowly down my lungs.

So how did it all come to an end?

At the moment, Malaysia has not fully enforced an all round smoking ban which includes bars and cafes. Although legally it is prohibited to smoke in air conditioned restaurants, enforcement tends to be an issue.

Awareness amongst society tends to play a part in this as well. In the UK, people tend to be more aware of their surroundings and what people may or may not like, where as a fair amount of Malaysians tend to adopt the "don't care what you think" attitude. Enforcement plays an important role of policing society. When I first arrived the shores of the UK, I was amazed by the amount of sirens I hear daily, wondering if it's safe to go around and about. Then I realise that their police actually work very hard to ensure that there is a certain amount of law and order around.

So what makes smoking such a thrilling activity? Why do people succumb to peer pressure and eventually become a smoker themselves?

Maybe it's all the Marlboro Man's fault...

Magicians and Politicians

2008-07-03T08:41:00.000-07:00

The magician holds his wand in his right hand and the eyes of the crowd follow with full attention while the trick is executed with his left hand.

The politician holds papers of economic and social evidence in his right hand as he speaks with great intent on reform and the crowd are moved by his execution while his left hand is behind his back with fingers crossed.

Not much difference is there between politicians and magicians? The similarities do not just end there. If we are watching the same trick over and over again, it ends up feeling a bit tedious. And we all smarten up towards the execution.

To some certain extent, bloggers wield a potentially dangerous weapon in their hands without even knowing it. The problem lies that they probably write about current affairs without realising with their magic wand (the keyboard) without realising they've successfully executed the 'trick'. If they repeat their 'trick' too often, people soon smarten towards their actual intent. But the damage is done.

There are always two sides of the story in life - my version vs. your version.

We're probably both right to our beliefs, but we're probably both wrong to a third party.

What do you believe?

2008-06-02T05:06:00.000-07:00

I believe in beginning things that would last.

I believe in the good old fashioned way of of doing things.

I believe in health.

I enjoy having fun.

I believe that life needs more than a few friends.

I believe in people.

I believe that we need positive.

I believe that by believing, people will believe.

And I believe cycling is better than getting on the bus.

But then again, that's just what I believe.

What do you believe?

Lost in Translation

2008-05-30T02:19:00.000-07:00

Some time back when I was still residing in Malaysia, something struck me - If I am supposed to be Hokkien by name, but diluted with a Hakka upbringing, why do I speak in Cantonese most of the time?

Coming to London, this distinction has caused a further form of headache especially in the research on segmentation. Looking at the Joshua project list (www.joshuaproject.net) the Malaysian Chinese populations seems to be split in the following:

Hokkien 1,848,211

Hakka 1,679,027

Cantonese 1,355,541

Teochew 974,573

Mandarin 958,467

Hainanese 380,781

Min Bei 373,337

Foochow 249,413

I'm not sure how accurate these figures are, but then again, they seem to reflect the balance of spread between the different types of Chinese in Malaysia. Yet, the thing that bothers me most is that if the Hokkien and Hakka almost dominate half of that total amount, how come we rarely see movies in Hakka or Hokkien?

From a young age, the media seems to be dominated by the Mandarin and Cantonese dialects - making me speak Cantonese to both my Hakka and my Hokkien relatives. Why is this so? Well, my love for TVB series from Hong Kong can partially explain my bias. It’s been an acquired taste developed since I was young.

I can imagine a further dilution of the languages on future generations, just look at the local British Born Chinese, born and bred in the UK - most of them only know Cantonese and English (although I must admit there is a push towards Mandarin due to the rise in China as an economic powerhouse). But is it for good or bad? At least I can say that I do have my own ‘identity’ and that I am able to adapt to situational changes.

This reminds me, I must make an effort to learn some of those delicious Hakka dishes my maternal grandmother used to cook ever so often... mmm.

Before it all gets lost in time.

Lesson 16: Bubub's Concept on Cars

2008-05-28T06:36:00.000-07:00

"... Brooom Brooom Broooooom... Psst!"

"Ehm, why the Psst behind the Brooom Bubub?"

"Turbo-mah"

Sleepy...

2008-05-12T01:35:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I felt this way. Maybe life is too monotonous over here in blighty. Because of this, the smallest of events seem to jolt me into a bolt of blue.

Also with my first actual examinations in 8 years looming over my head, the bright sunshine of summer is giving me headaches. Probably it’s also due to the lack of sleep.

Warm afternoon sun makes me feel sleepy and a million and one scenario seem to be running around in my head on the possibilities of problems that may happen this Thursday. Is there anything else that I have not done? Has any minor details slipped my mind? Have I read enough to answer my test paper tonight? Do I need to get some rest first before attempting the paper?

"It’s no problem of mine but it’s a problem I find"

Hopefully June will have a better summer install for me. I wonder if Berlin is waiting for me yet.

My first time.

2008-05-11T08:43:00.000-07:00

I was watching this British movie about things people do before they turn 30.

Reminds me of my clique over in Ipoh. Oh and the uncle and aunties in KL too.

This month was the first time I was affected by a strike directly with my work. And it was the first time I voted.

Funny how things are, I'm not allowed to select the government that rules the country my future generations will grow up in. But after almost two years in London I have instant access to vote for my mayor and the London Assembly. They still took my vote in even though I registered with less than a month left before election day.

It got me thinking. Where will I be in 5 years?

What do you think?

2008-05-04T00:31:00.000-07:00

Has the buzz of the internet died? Has the use of mobile phones passed its commercial use?

Last night I was sitting at home playing with my phone and then I realised something. There are probably 5 numbers that I actually call from my phone book from time to time in the week. Other than that, its all just memories of another life, of another time. It got me thinking - Is it the same with the rest of my friends? Has technology taken its toll?

Last time, we used to be so excited receiving and writing emails, even short ones. But how many emails do we get daily? I know I get a lot from work - but from your friends? I guess snail mail had its advantages. It was not so quick, so efficient. Until the novelty of hearing from your friend wore off. Now, we enjoy our times meeting up probably once a year. We have several cliques of people - i.e. the UK clan, the Singapore Gang, The KL Lords and the Ipoh Boyz. The rest are scattered all around where ever their profession is required.

Of course we all meet and make new friends, but our bond is still there. Its kind of like the elections. Pre election, all the hype builds our mind for that one finale - that one date where all is settled. Then what?

Most of the people were very vocal and patriotic and nationalistic. But where are they now? The answer my friend - living their lives as usual. Let the politicians do the fighting from here on. That's their job. So, similarly the initial fads of Friendster, Multiply, Facebook, etc was so successful as it brought a new scope to keeping in touch. But do people REALLY want to keep in touch? Obviously they do, but not in a persistant manner. More of keeping updated through a more passive way, by reading blogs - knowing what is happening in the minds of their dear friends. Or reading the lastest comments or wall posts to know who they have been hanging out with.

Or has everyone grown old and tired of it all? Leave it to the young ones - its their niche anyway.

Dreams, Truth and Reality

2008-04-27T04:01:00.000-07:00

“Dreams do not turn into nightmares. Nightmares haunt us with visions that are possible. Or improbable. But what is scary are not the nightmares, it is the reality of the world in which we live in that only goes forward and not back.”

“People wish lives to be made of dreams, but in truth – we all live in a cruel world. And truth hurts more than words.”

Inspiration from Jean-Luc Godard’s Alphaville, une étrange aventure de Lemmy Caution.

Marketing

2008-04-22T05:16:00.001-07:00

Chris Jones is Managing Director of SS, a medium sized supermarket chain faced with intense competition from larger competitors (T1) in their core food and drinks markets (s1). They are also finding it hard to respond to these competitors moving into the sale of clothing and household goods (O1). SS has a reputation for friendly customer care (s2) and is looking at the feasibility of introducing an online shopping service (O2), from which customers can order goods from the comfort of their home and have them delivered, for a small charge to their home.

Chris recognises that the move to develop an online shopping service would require significant investment in new technology and support systems. He hopes a significant proportion of existing and most importantly, new customers will be attracted to the new service.

a) What bases for segmenting this new market would you recommend and what criteria will help determine whether this segment is sufficiently attractive to commit to the necessary investment?

b) Assess the likely strategic impact of the new customer delivery system on SS's activities and its ability to differentiate itself from its competitors.

Sensitive times

2008-03-27T07:42:00.000-07:00

Recently, there has been a march in March over here in London to Free Tibet. Much has been made of it in the Western media about the sorry state of affairs happening over there.

Now, a lot of people have joined in the bandwagon and openly criticised China over this incident. There seems, however, to be a low understanding of the whole issue in hand.

Again, being neither from China (except for my ancestors) or Tibet, I prefer to take a more independent route to analysing the situation. People say that the Tibetan language has been in the process of being wiped out by these oppressive Chinese forces, yet many of the Tibetans know or only know how to speak Tibetan.

Take a few steps back and look at Wales. Although the Welsh speak a TOTALLY different language than the English, for generations, they have been in danger of losing their identity. Compare them to the Cornish people in South West England. I think less than 10% of these people still understand Cornish, except from pasties and cream over tea.

Take another example of those Basque or Catalans in Spain. Don't they also claim that they are not exactly Spanish? The Basque even speak a totally different language from Spanish. But they are viewed as terrorist in their 'own' country.

Then take another close look at Malaysia. If you have an eye and look what is happening over in the 'East' side. Culturally and by language, the original people of the lands speak differently and operate in a different manner from those in the 'West'. Has Malaysia been oppressing these people too?

So, before we open our mouths and criticise other countries policies or social economic welfares, take a look at our own backyard.

I remember hearing of a wise saying by a wise man - Stephen Bong, "If you don't know what you're talking about but you keep quiet, people may assume you're stupid. But If you open your mouth without knowing what you're talking about, it confirms you're Stupid"

The Guv'nor

2008-03-25T09:24:00.000-07:00

Ince, Paul

Former midfield battler famous for short fuse, posing in Man United shirt while still a West Ham player, being disliked by all his former clubs, wanting to be known as the Guv'nor and being drummed out of ManYoo for being 'a big time Charlie'. Second only to Terry Butcher in bloody-but-unbowed national pride stakes, specifically after 0-0 draw in Rome with Italy. Now surprisingly competent lower-league manager.

I'm dreaming of a white Easter...

2008-03-24T00:22:00.000-07:00

It feels weird.

Its an early Easter this year - This recent weekend, compared to being in April most other years. And the snow seems to have coincided with it at the exact moment. We've been having showers of hail and sleet throughout Saturday till Monday and this morning I wake up to snow flakes. Its really quite beautiful as I stood there admiring it for half an hour...

Well, global warming or natural change in weather patterns?

Scottish?

2008-03-17T12:22:00.000-07:00

Hendry, Colin (pop: 'Braveheart')

The most Scottish-looking man ever.

If you don't sit down properly, the Boogeyman will come and get you!

2008-03-14T18:47:00.000-07:00

One common term I've been hearing quite a bit is the nanny in my house saying to the 3 year old kid that if he doesn't comply to whatever she has just asked him to do, I would be coming in to rattle him. Me? Good old and fatty B? And what army?

Now, it got me thinking, what would the psychological impact be on the kid? No doubt I'm on pretty good terms with him (as I think I am with most), but then would this sayings get ingrained into that small mind that whenever he hears my name, fear strikes him first...

Well, I guess all parents or people bringing kids up don't want to be the bad person, so they always take a third party as an example to scare their kids. I remember as a kid my aunts used to either use the threat of policemen patrolling the area, or the drunken man down the road as example of people who would rattle me if I didn't listen to them.

Whatever it is, I hope Luke Yi won't remember me as the bad drunken man or strict policeman living downstairs... Ah, the bliss in seeing small ones grow up

2 good 2 bad

2008-03-12T23:36:00.000-07:00

I was just wondering if people thought the same as I did...

VS

Do you think Berbatov (currently the striker for Tottenham Hotspurs) looks like Andy Garcia?

On the other hand, do you think Avram Grant (the current Chelsea manager) looks like a toad?

And it was said that it could not be done...

2008-03-11T18:17:00.000-07:00

While all the furore dies down. While all the planning and positioning is taking place in Silver State of Malaysia, I was just thinking what some of the people were telling me earlier on.

Things like:
"Aiyah, nothing will change lah, why waste time and vote?"

"No difference one lah"

"How can the Chinese shake the elections?"

Well, here's to all you doubters. We have a few in our group, some prominently vocal when we urged the rest to exercise their roles to vote. See what us 'minority' can do?

Defeat will stare you in the face if you think you are defeated even before you are. The defeatist attitudes that you hold is easily rubbed on to others as losing is always easier than winning. But it is the desire to win that brings so much pleasure in seeing these doubters shut up.

On other aspects, many corners of the country lament on the deficiencies of a certain government, complaining about the inadequacies they face in their daily lives (like us). Now, power has shifted, but is it for the better?

To manage a state, one needs to understand the dynamics of the everyday lives based on demography and geography. Of course the state would have to also depend on the more macro factors, say the amount the federal government would be willing to 'share', especially when we are looking at 'management teams' with different goals.

One of the main gripes I have heard so far with this handing over of power to the opposition is that the development sector has come to a stand still. Why is this you may ask?

Well, as it is well known with the previous regime, hand outs are common practice to get approvals for certain projects. The problem they have now is that hand outs were offered, but the project has yet to be completed, and the receiving party has left. Will there be any implications? Will the current state government do a radical analysis on some of these projects?

With so many questions, many projects have been stalled. The effects may be great, as each development project has its sub contractors. And each subcontractor may have their own hired labour. Everyday is money.

I guess when we look for change, certain sections of people would have to suffer the drawbacks. I hope the current state government would come into effect pretty soon, so as life can go on (NOT as usual).

Just as I hope that Malaysia will see brighter days, I hope the Silver State will once again rise to prominence as 'the place to be'.

A New Wave of Nationalism

2008-03-09T20:04:00.000-07:00

The recent elections in Malaysia seems to have given birth to a 'new wave of nationalism'. No longer can the coalition government rely on the usual media to influence voters, with the new age media - the internet and mobile phones making the oppositions views available to more people. Congratulations to them on giving the people a more balanced parliament.

Now what?

Looking at the scenario, its not as simple as just lumping the 3 opposition parties into one 'Barisan Rakyat' as marketed throughout the build up to election day. I hold my doubts as each political party has its own agenda. I won't go as far to say that everyone can be corrupted at a variable level, but time and time again, it has shown party members or even party leaders selling out their original ideals.

I asked two of my consultants (unofficial) of the opposition would have actually planned for this eventuality? I am waiting for their response to this. The reason being, its very easy to get carried away by a new wave of nationalism, but when it comes to the dirty work, who will stay back and do it? One saying I found always useful in the Malaysian society is "hangat-hangat tahi ayam", which is always the case when we look at the previous, "Be Cool, Car Pool" campaign, the "Tak Nak!" campaign, the "Rakan Muda" scheme and to a certain extent the "National Service" scheme.

It's always very easy to come out with a creative idea that blows people's mind away, but then what about the logistics? Has anything been thought through?

I've heard several speeches by Anwar Ibrahim speaking about the time when he was in power, the petrol price did not go up at all. They tried, but after opposition from the people, they reduced it back to the original rate. Now, it is not that I doubt his sincerity on this topic matter, but then when I first worked in the Oil and Gas industry, the price of crude oil per barrel was below USD30. Eight years later, the price per barrel has shot above the USD100 mark.

If I were a politician, can't I say that crude oil prices have gone up a bit more than triple the price. Taking that into account the fact that our petrol price has not shot up to RM3.30 per litre since then hasn't the government 'really' been subsiding rising costs? Of course being an economist student, there are more variables that we can put into that raw equation of mine to influence my argument. But so can politicians.

I really hope that given 3 months, we can see a difference in the governing of MY country. But like I said, the hard work starts here and before I can dream on, the three parties need to sit down in agreement and decide how they are going to run the respective states of Selangor, Perak, Penang, Kedah and Kelantan.

Turbulent times, but exciting times...

... one really hopes this country will be brought into further prominence with this new wave of nationalism.

Italy's Ugliest man?

2008-03-09T17:42:00.000-07:00

Gattuso, Gennaro

Possibly the only ugly person in Italy, almost as if they took enough ugliness for an entire country and shoved it all into one body.

I read this in the morning and I almost choked on my coffee... Ah, the joy seeing Shaun weep as his beloved Maldini says his last "Hurrah!"

*taken from Football365 website

Players and Victims

2008-03-06T08:07:00.000-08:00

Player
noun [C]
someone who takes part in a game or sport

Victim
noun [C]
someone or something which has been hurt, damaged or killed or has suffered, either because of the actions of someone or something else, or because of illness or chance

I was talking to Seng earlier on and he was giving me part of his worldly advice, "Do you know what a player is? A Player is actually a victim. But he can do what other victims can't"

"because once you have been played (you become a victim), you know the dynamics of the game to be a player..."

"... and sometimes although you feel you are the player, but every game has its loser - thus you become the victim"

*context taken from a similar theme in Initial D, Chapman To's take on God.

Disparity in Incomes

2008-03-04T13:10:00.000-08:00

From a recent trip to Bangkok, we were in discussion on how cheap fashion is over in London and Europe once the season has passed. Already as it is, street brands in Asia are relatively cheap, but when it comes to middle class brands like Camel or Renoma, it just does not make sense.

Confused? Well hear me out, During the sales in London, I can find certain shoes for as low as £9 per pair (assuming the exchange rate is RM7 = £1 for easy calculations) means RM63 for a pair of shoes with leather soles! The simplest of shoes with Bonia or Renoma brands in Malaysia already sell for a minimum of RM250 (£35.70) which is four times the price!

Then I was looking for a pair of shorts to play football with during a session with the chaps. For a pair of Camel shorts, it cost RM70 which would be around £10! I remember going through the sales and finding pants selling for less than £5... I had to go to the Reject shop and buy a pair for RM20 (roughly around £3). Then for working shirts, only the ones on sale would be the sale prices in London which was £10 per shirt.

What really is mind numbing is that most of the stuff sold in the UK is from Asia! So why is there such a difference in price? This brings me back to the topic of purchasing power. Imagine earning £2000 a month and paying for the shirt, shorts and shoes as per price quoted above.

Now imagine earning RM2000 per month and buying similar 'inferior brand' products for the prices stated above. I just heard that a friend bought a polo shirt for RM400+ (around £60). For god sake, after one or two seasons, the same shirt may be thrown out over here and sold for £10...

Since I am cycling over here, I decided to go into some of the bicycle shops down in KL. Shop looked like any other bicycle shop, only that the prices of bicycles could really kill. RM20,000 for a bike! Almost a whole years salary. The same bike can be bought for around £3000. Almost two months salary, but you catch my drift. If this doesn't show the disparity in incomes over in Malaysia, I really don't know what can.

Bushi and the return of Overseas Capital

2008-03-03T18:07:00.000-08:00

People from the capital of Silver State in Malaysia who may be familiar with this restaurant that used to be there. Quite notorious for its hiring of hot chicks, or preference of hot chicks seeking employment in Bushi, there was a certain co-relation between beauty and business and it was something which had long enticed me. I think before it closed down, I've probably been a patron of the place once. Like all good things, this place came to an end.

Does an F&B outlet need to constantly have a change in themes or name? Back in the capital of the silver state, names like Public Restaurant, Overseas and Foh San are still popular choices after so many years.

There has also been another interesting co-relation of F&B outlets and people who have just returned from overseas (i.e. the UK, US or Australia). Every time someone comes 'back for good' they will most likely:

a) buy a house
b) invest in an F&B outlet

Currently with the British government packing migrants from Malaysia back by the bus loads, there is a huge possibility that we will be seeing much more F&B outlets springing up like mushrooms after the rain. How many will survive? We shall see...

Sleeping with you means...

2008-03-01T11:41:00.000-08:00

In the recent furore on the Edison Chen scandal with a few top HK superstars, I found this portion of an article from Keith King pretty interesting:

I have monitored women for some number of years now and noticed that there are several classifications for those who sleep with you.

The Hopeless Romantics
Obviously there are those prominent ones who genuinely sleep with you for the sake of love. These are not hard to disguise as they say love is blind and they are almost willing to do anything to satisfy their partners.

The Leeches
Then there are those who sleep with you with an objective at the back of their minds. Be it for money or power, these species are extremely dangerous and seem to be able to control men to their whim and fancies.

Spider-webs
You have those who just haven't done it for a long time and want to feel the pleasures of it. Results are usually of opposite spectrums, either their wildly great or just a drop in the pond. Don't hope for too much though as these are usually passing moments of time. Unless both suddenly hit it off fantastically, there usually isn't much hope for a long term development.

Salty Fish
Then there are those who seem to feel that they owe you something. Maybe you hope for a relationship with them, but then at the back of your mind there is this mind numbing possibility that she just slept with you to return a favour.

Anybody share the same sentiments?

from the novel "Understanding Keith King"

Wail!

2008-02-27T13:13:00.000-08:00

She makes it sound so easy... Just talk to her, let her know how you feel. Share your dreams. Come to a compromise. But then again what if she doesn't want to talk about it? Just carry on as it is?

Every time we sit down and I begin the topic, she runs. And I let her know it bleeds. But she says I think too much. Do I?

And so I finally sat her down. Turns out there are more uncertainties that we anticipated. She says let it be, but for how long? How long can we numb our hearts from the pain? How long before the blood drips dry from this bottle of 'feeling'

*excerpts from the Longest Minute on the Cutty Sark

Does Anybody hear me?

2008-01-24T06:52:00.000-08:00

Trouble with people in current times is that we are all narcissistic in our own ways. So much so, almost all of us can relate to Carly Simon's rendition of "You're so vain".

Through the age of the internet, we always deem ourselves more up to date than we ever were, with information just being at a click of the finger. But how much knowledge do we really have? How much can we consume through our eyes?

So much so, we actually tend to get very arrogant after a while and only see what we want to see. Or what we perceive is correct. So, in similar themes to love and work, we always think that we know what is best for ourselves, deciding first then asking around for similar view points. And we all hate criticism. So, we blank out all the negative criticism and compile a list of the positive ones, ultimately 'pre-deciding' the outcome. Then we go on to bitch about the choices we make six months down the line and yearn for the lost opportunities we gave up because we 'felt' it was right.

How do I know this?

Because I can imagine myself in Carly Simon's song...

which way?

2008-01-22T18:07:00.000-08:00

You reach an intersection in the pathway called life. You evaluate the choices in front of you.

The straight forward path shows you working on your current '9 - 5' (if there is any such thing anymore), slowly taking you up the corporate ladder, but seemingly stuck in a vicious cycle like a clockwork man. Vicious because, the more you remain at the company, the more dependant or secure you get, and it makes you less effective to change.

The other path seems more rocky and unstable evidently more risky. It may see you going through a variety of jobs, some not paying you enough to make ends meet, but you adapt to change pretty effectively. Then there is the possibility for this path to lead to two outcomes:

a) You gain from your initial risk and manage to build a respective portfolio over time

b) You just wither along quietly job after job, strengthening the notion that a rolling stone gathers no moss.

How do we know we are at a certain junction? Some people argue that after being in a company for 3 years, you would have relatively known all you need to know in the company to move on effectively to a new challenge, keeping your mind up to date. But, how many 3 years should a person go through?

Choices. So varied, so much excitement in prospect, yet so much potential for disaster.

Prelude

2008-01-16T09:14:00.000-08:00

10 January 2008

Michael and Beng have a drink down at the pub in Covent Garden...

Michael: "So what are you doing this weekend?"

Beng: "Nothing much, why?"

Michael: "I'm planning to go and watch Man Utd before I fly back for good... blah blah blah... interested to join us?"

Beng:"OK"

... and so the Manchester edition of 24 commenced two days later.

24 - The Manchester Edition

2008-01-16T09:10:00.000-08:00

12 January 2008

5.40am - wake up

6.15am - got to bus stop

6.25am - head towards north Greenwich for the jubilee line to Green Park

6.40am - switch to the Victoria line to Victoria station

7am - arrive Victoria station, call Michael to see if he will be on time to arrive at 7.30am

Get a cup of coffee and relax in the station till 7.40am

7.40am - head to the coach station about 5 minutes from the main station.

7.55am - start to panic as Michael and David have yet to arrive.

8am - wait with the rest of the passengers at the mega bus company gate 20 as Michael and David are seemingly rushing to the bus.

8.10am - depart from London

12.30pm - arrive in Manchester city centre near Piccadilly area.

Walk around looking for china town

1pm - decide to "try Thai" in Chinatown.

2.15pm - depart to Salford quays to look for the Copthorne Manchester to get the tickets. Some hardcore supporter leads us to the hotel. I predict to him that Manure would win 4 - 0 with Christiano Ronaldo and Tevez scoring (although I cleverly failed to answer his question of which team I support...)

3pm - get tickets and take the walk to old Trafford down Trafford road

3.30pm take photos and enter the merchandise shop to look around. With thousands of supporters around, there was hardly any of the Barcode army.

4pm - walk towards the south end and hear the boom of supporters singing in the stadium. The excitement is building up. I guess this is what they call pitch fever

4.30pm - enter entrance S20, Block STH122, Row EE, seat number 194

The Goalkeepers are warming up.

4.40pm - the Manchester team come out to the roar of Stretford end.

Ten minutes later, Newcastle emerges sheepishly to the rings of boos around the stadium.

By 5.10pm, the players are making their way back to the locker as the announcer reads out the team sheet for the day. Alan Smith and Nicky Butt get a special round of applause as returning former players. As 'England's' Michael Owen is introduced, there is some banter about Scouse Bastards ringing around our seats.

5.30pm - when the players return for the start of the match.

6.20pm - the first half was totally boring without much incident. no wonder Sir Alex has been lamenting the lack of noise as Old Trafford seemed to have reminiscence of the former 'Library' down in North London (for those who are not familiar, Arsenal's former ground was Highbury, also known for England’s best behaved supporters - they just watch approvingly every match, without much cheers)

Kudos to the Toon Army, being probably 10 percent of the stadium (75,000 + attendance for the day) they sang their hearts out - we also realised that the initial singing we heard from outside the grounds was actually coming from the lands 'best supporters'.

6.30pm - the players come out for the second half. Being close to Stretford end and having the opponents, Michael cursed my earlier predictions, asking me how it would be possible to achieve that score line. I reassured him that it is possible, and we are in the Theater of Dreams. Furthermore the support from Stretford end is so ferocious that it will definitely stifle the Geordies resistance.

Within minutes of the second half the floodgates have been opened. By the time the final whistle had been blown, the following songs had been sung and the Toon Army was finally shut up.

My blood boiled when the hardcore Manure supporters taunted Smudger, Milner and Viduka as 'we all hate Leeds Scum'... One day we shall rise from the ashes of relegation and send the bloody devils straight down to where they belong - Hell.

7.30pm - we make our way back to Salford Quays to get the tram back to the City centre. Along the way some poor Geordies were taunted pretty badly by some Manure fans all the way back... All of this is the light hearted banter which epitomises the crux of English football - The True fans.

By 8pm, we had ordered our burgers at Burger King and enjoyed a slow meal still finding it hard to believe that the Toons were stuffed 6 - 0...

At 9.15pm, we headed to the Coach station near Canal Street to catch our coach home to London

9.40pm - Depart to Birmingham

12.10am - after several stops along the way at Stoke-Upon-Trent and Wolverhampton, we arrive Brum.

12.45am - depart to Heathrow Terminal 3

3.10am - we reach Heathrow Airport and switch to the night bus to Trafalgar Square at 3.30am

4.50am - get the bus back to Charlton

5.30am - reach home, take a shower and crash to bed.

Crazy? More like "This is Football"... Hope my next adventure would involve the team close to my heart, Leeds United. Till then, this is the Manchester edition of 24

Same shit different day

2008-01-10T22:59:00.000-08:00

It was a new year just a week or so ago, but God it does seem like an old day now. Would it be due to the simple equation of same shit, different day?

Or at least during the Christmas break, if I could have remembered the days. Over a two week period, I must say that I have completely lost track of time and referring as December as last year makes it all seem an eternity ago.

Must be the build up to Chinese New Year though, there seems to be a huge sense of optimism and a spring in my step everywhere I go.

Another new year coming up?

Where has the passion gone?

2008-01-10T01:48:00.000-08:00

Malaysian football has slowly fallen out of the radar of interest of their local population. With more people owning Manchester united jerseys compared to Selangor jerseys, you know where the money is going.

Just when did the rot start? Was it the bribery that went on during the 90s? Was it when most of the local teams started parading almost fully Malay football units? in the 60s and 70s, we used to have multi racial teams, just look at a list of past great footballers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysia_national_football_team) of the nation - out of a group 22, there are 8 Malays, 8 Chinese, 5 Indians and 1 Samah. Compare that to the team selected to represent the team for the 2010 qualifiers. Only one Indian representative compared to the all Malay team.

Although I tend to support the Perak team, I detest some irresponsible supporters who smash opposition fans car windows or vandalise their transportation based on the number plates. Are these patterns on hooliganism brought from watching too much English football?

I remember back in the late nineties I actually followed a couple of games in Penang, when their stadium was still around Dato' Keramat Road. I particularly enjoyed the multi racial element of support that brought the fans together. Several things that we had to remember -

1) Always curse the opposition, (even the visiting Perak team)

2) Never drive to a match, get on your bikes and go, and

3) When you need to pee during halftime, join the rest of the people at the 'longest' public toilet in Penang.

With the mega marketing product called the English Premier League, I fear that our state and national teams support will slowly wither in time.

The Dawn of a New Era

2008-01-01T01:00:00.000-08:00

It doesn't really matter who we spend New Year's Eve with or where we spend it. What matters is the for 5 seconds, I have taken up your thoughts and this is a fact that has happened and it cannot be changed.*

Happy New Year everybody...

*concept from Ah Fei

Reflections of my life, the 07 edition

2007-12-27T13:22:00.000-08:00

Many people review the year and tend to place the most recent memories as the 'highlights' of that period. Who can blame them? January and February seems a lifetime ago, so here is my low down of the year that has went by.

The Good

- The Friends that have been visiting me throughout the year in London has made it quite a good year in general. It has made me realise how central London is in Europe and how much I cherish the friendships of long ago.
- The Bike that has helped me feel much healthier than I've ever felt over the past 10 years.
- The Teaching course which I did that has given me hope that I will be able to complete my professional marketing papers with similar conviction
- The relatives visiting, again is similar to the visiting friends, only that its a time to heal old wounds and make new pathways into the evergrowing relationships.
- The Trips back to Malaysia, around the UK and to Europe which has made me wiser and appreciate the finer things in life. Like alcohol and cheese.

The Bad

- The Women, haven’t found what I’m looking for = BAD
- The comebacks: This is the year that brought back a lot of memories, simply because there has been the production of that Transformers movie. Not only that though, as it can also be remembered as the year that trilogies (I hate these = UGLY) ruled the cinemas. Musically, it can be coined the comeback year with so many groups coming back for 'one final encore'. At times the musicians on stage probably looked more like ancient relics being displayed in a museum. Why oh why do they allow themselves to be humilated in such a way? In this age, 'milking the consumers' seems to have taken a totally different approach with most producers identifying most 30 year olds as sentimental geeks, thus selling them items from their past = money.

While we’re speaking of comebacks, what about those two grandfathers that opened Planet Hollywood years ago. Coming back as the characters that brought them fame, please welcome Sylvester Stallone and Bruce Willis. Admittedly they did do quite well in the box office. They also seem to be doing pretty well in the boxed dvd's section, raking up good sales this Christmas.

- Facebook vs. Friendster vs. Multiply
Will also be remembered as the year when Facebook conquered all in networking sites. Anybody share the same sentiments as me: getting really boring with registering for newer sites just on the pretense on keeping in touch?

With me locking multiply from the world, the only problem is that unless people actually use multiply, who would know about my stories from a far? The dilemmas in life...

The Ugly

- The alcohol. Ok, I know this has a small place in the good, but 2007 has reminded me of one thing: don't mix Guinness with white wine.
- The trilogies, it just doesn’t work lor for me…
- The Marketers of the world: In a way it does make sense, but then again, its the commercialisation of our childhoods that make the idea sickening (or is it just me?). Picture this: meeting your well respected Form One teacher getting drunk and sweary in the pub down the road. It totally dismisses the myth of teachers being total angels. In the same vein seeing our childhood heroes being manipulated in such a way to make a quick buck from the consumers just takes the glitter off the whole idea. In a way it puts me off all of it. Then again, which item isn't part of the commercial world? Unless we all dress in leaves. Or all ride early 40s bicycles. But those are also on the list of highly priced items nowadays!

It seems that marketers seem to have really run out of ideas with talks of reproducing other reproduced movies. Case in mind - Batman. I do like Heath Ledger's new look as the lunatic Joker, BUT I just feel its a bit too much. Doesn't anyone remember how much a joker old Clooney became when he was the Batman?

First done in 1966, then rehashed with the Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson in 1989 to the Dark Knight with Christian Bale and Heath Ledger. Now we're seeing the Joker re-born again! (Though he's kinda hot though...)

What will 2008 have install? I don't know, I seem to have contracted Arsene Wenger's disease of myopia... But I sure do hope its one hell of a good year!

Just how are we supposed to know?

2007-12-20T20:21:00.000-08:00

And when we finally know, is it an end all solution to the question?

The answer, my friend... I think you very well know. It is no. No, we are not supposed to know and no, it is not the ultimate solution to life's problems.

So many questions, such simple answers. But it is like food isn't it?

The main reason we eat is to fill up our stomachs. Be it plucking some fruits or fishing some fish. Or paying for the best foods. The end result is the same.

But why do we choose to enjoy the cultured environment and eat for 3 hours when we could have done it in 5 minutes?

It is all in the mind. And it is also the devil in our souls. We cannot change it, we just carry on assuming that there is a reason to our existance...

What do you want from this?

2007-12-18T19:54:00.000-08:00

"In the constant rat race of life, don't forget to unwind..." *

* excerpt from Swimming with Sharks

how much do you love me?

2007-12-16T23:41:00.000-08:00

How much do you love me?

This much?

For just RM20* per day, you can save up for a return trip to London to visit a cute little person like me!

*estimation based on duration of 6 months savings.

The Past

2007-12-14T18:25:00.000-08:00

Essentially reflections are recollections.

And recollections mislead. The giggling. The way she waved her hand. Talked.

The past is the past. It's gone. What's there to say that it ever happened at all? Nothing much.

And so a new dawn.

iced...

2007-12-14T01:36:00.000-08:00

Just yesterday the splendor of sunshine from the frozen greens brought warmth to my heart.

So much for that beautiful image.

This morning as I was racing downhill in the cold and misty park, my bicycle lost control as I was making a turn. *Reminder to self and to all cyclist: Slow down when making turns during times of icy roads.*

Prelude the ultimate sack of potatoes crashing to ground.

Like the professional stunt master that I am, I was fortunate to escape unharmed, though my rear light popped and I couldn't find the missing bits.

Still giggling at the image of me sliding through the pavement and catching up with my bicycle moments later...

Ahhh... the beauty of being born with big backsides.

Essence of the morning

2007-12-12T20:07:00.000-08:00

sunrise...

...dew on the grass surface transformed into a white sheild across the whole park as the weather went sub zero, creating a glitter and a flutter to my heart

winter is here.

Why do I feel like, somebody's watching me?

2007-12-09T10:09:00.000-08:00

It’s amazing how the internet makes the world seem so small. I have tried very hard to disguise my internet identity with various pseudo names and have little mention about the college on my personal website. That is until my recent carting event in which we won the 2nd place. Now generally speaking it’s not really a huge achievement, but coupled with meeting Les Ferdinand, I made the first mistake by putting my college's name in the description section. Because of this, I have been forced to revoke the transparency of this site.

First I get told that my superiors now have full view of my website. Secondly, another colleague suggest that some of the kids that went for the carting event may also search for news, to see if they appeared in any newspapers website. Lastly, but then the more worrying aspect was that some other 'not-so-close' colleagues would have similar access to view all and sundry about my personal life.

In a positive/negative aspect, it does show how efficient advertising with Google really is as they informed the college in real time the moment I put my article up. It also shows how easy it would be to collect information about someone from the net.

Not that it really matters, but it really curbs my freedom of speech. So over lunch the other day, I made the decision to limit my site to friends and family (and their networks) which would be cause of inconvenience as they would now have to sign up in order to view the photos I have collected throughout the years. But I suppose it is for the better as I won’t have to worry about snoops going around thinking about calling me or mailing me…

ah... C'est La Vie!

Dreams

2007-12-07T21:03:00.000-08:00

There is one term that stuck in my mind came from Sam. Talking about being fit for the job and trying to build up enthusiasm, he cracked up a term always coined by the boss, "Wake up, still dreaming ah?"

This then led to our response that everyman should have dreams and that most you see today are stuff that is made from dreams.

His retort was to say that if we continue to dream on like dreamers we are no different from dead men walking. that we are still day dreaming and there is a whole lot of work that is waiting to be done.

In some ways there is some truth in what he says. When we dream, don't just continue dreaming of it, do it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HlvwkesRbo

Back to this song, "... Dream, dream, dream, dream Dream, dream, dream, dream

When I want you in my arms, When I want you and all your charms, Whenever I want you, all I have to do is Dream, dream, dream, dream

When I feel blue in the night, And I need you to hold me tight, Whenever I want you, all I have to do is Dream

I can make you mine, taste your lips of wine, Anytime night or day, Only trouble is, gee whiz

I’m dreamin’ my life away

I need you so that I could die, I love you so and that is why

Whenever I want you, all I have to do is, Dream, dream, dream, dream

Dream

I can make you mine, taste your lips of wine, Anytime night or day, Only trouble is, gee whiz

I’m dreamin’ my life away ..."

dreaming = dead man walking

Supply and demand

2007-12-06T11:24:00.000-08:00

Propelled by a subtle query from a friend, an old saying comes to mind – “good things no cheap and cheap things no good” (my friend Sujit used to quote his belated dad)

However a similar saying was quoted by a visiting Korean before his trip to India and he was describing his first experience in one of the rivers near Mumbai – “beautiful from far, but far from beautiful”

Using this as the basis for my argument, for a ‘civilised’ Korean city to the poverty stricken area near Mumbai, it is really hard to see the beauty of something totally foreign. Which would also be similar the other way round when one of the spotlights for the 2002 world cup in Seoul was the fact that these ‘barbarians’ actually eat dog meat!

But sometimes, although there seems to be obvious reasons why something, or someone may not appeal to another person, given time perception can change. Another example would be my initial dislike for the preserved Korean cabbage – Kimchi. However after working for them for a bit more than 3 years, I did manage to pick up a liking for it.

All of this then breaks the belief of the two ‘wise’ sayings above. Still unconvinced? Well think towards the manufacturing giant that is called China. Most people will try and relate that all the cheap stuff that comes out of the country is ‘not good’, but then again if we take a step back and think about it, if it was really of no good, then why are they still in operations?

With the world becoming more globalised, it is only natural that some things that certain cultures look upon as cheap and not up to standard may actually come of everyday use in another culture. That is how the world of supply and demand works. If there is no demand for something, why would people bother making a market for it? The only drawback to this argument is that due to the world demands being so diversified, almost anything sells.

As they say, “one person’s meat may be another person’s poison”.

Take a break

2007-12-01T19:53:00.001-08:00

for one second before we continue inhaling.

for ten seconds to catch our breaths.

for one minute to have a look at the scenery.

for four minutes for the water to boil.

for twelve minutes to get focused.

for half an hour to call and make sure everything is alright.

for forty five minutes for a good breakfast.

for 3 hours to read about the latest in football.

for a day to catch some trains.

for a weekend to get out of the city.

for three weeks to rediscover life.

for 3 months to take a new short course.

for half a year to become a bum again.

for a year to travel the world.

forever to find out the meaning of life.

or just for 7 minutes to just laze around doing nothing...

just doing nothing, just hang around - saturday night

Thoughts

2007-11-30T21:42:00.000-08:00

"Certain people appear in our lives in the most unexpected situations..."

"It brings to question that if we are waiting to see sunlight that promises dawn, would it not be more important to find shelter from the rain?"

"Will our world smile again?"

*excerpts from a sunshine factory

The day we caught the train

2007-11-26T19:32:00.000-08:00

Knowing that the first train to Waterloo East was at 5.13am from Lewisham Station, I got out of bed at 4am to get ready and waited for the bus around 4.30am... One hour later, I was still waiting for the delayed train, and with 13 minutes to arrive Waterloo East, 5 minutes to walk over to the Eurostar check in counter and given 30 minutes check in time, there really was not much time. It sums up the inefficiencies of the British Rails and when I finally checked in (just) and got on the Eurostar, it was five minutes to take off, I mean chug off.

So then it was such a relief to reach Brussels Zuid and get in the Belgian train thinking whether it’s the spirit of nationalism that actually serves the european countires better compared to the British National Rail companies... However, I was pretty confused to be honest upon arrival in Brussels, as I was told on my train ticket that I would be arriving at Bruxxelles Midi and checking the Dutch rail itinerary, I was supposed to get on the Brussels Zuid train station to get to Maastricht. Little did I know that Brussels Zuid = Bruxxulles Midi. The reason behind this was seeing Midi I was thinking Middle, right? And god knows what Zuid meant! According to my sister, Zuid actually means South since 'ui' in Dutch is pronounced 'ou' thus, Zuid = Z'ou'd.

Complaining about the inefficiencies of the trains in the UK, throughout the trip I was given an insight to the relative comparisons as the Dutch national rail service does not really fare as well too! There was this one trip as I was going back to Maastricht from Eindhoven when I reached the last stop (Sittard) before Maastricht. An announcement was made in Dutch and the next thing you know, I was off course and going to an entirely different destination. Then of course there were the rail strikes in France and Germany that almost crippled the entire economy. There is nothing like coming out of your country of residence to appreciate what we have eh?

Just a food for thought about transportation prices, the Eurostar to Brussels and back cost me £60 (e 84) which is a 2 hour train ride. For the train to Eindhoven and back to Maastricht, which is about 1 hour and 15 minutes, it cost me e 30 (£21). Then the train ride to Roermond from Maastricht which is about 40 minutes cost about e 15 return (£10.5). Now this may not be the most enticing way of travel, but in Europe it really is essential as it brings us around through different borders. Comparatively a 25 minute train ride from Lewisham to Dartford used to cost me £4.10 which when you think about it, really isn’t that expensive. And my sister was telling me that rail travel in Holland was cheap.

However in Milan, a 30 minute train ride from Bergamo to Milan central for a day would cost around e 3 (£2.10). Now that is what I call a bargain!

Octane

2007-11-24T22:59:00.000-08:00

Love is the warmest place to be when it's cold outside...

Translated from the Sun

2007-11-22T13:02:00.000-08:00

Apakah perbezaan Lewis Hamilton dengan pasukan bola sepak antarabangsa England?

Jawapan: Pagi ini, Lewis Hamilton masih ada Mc Laren

Is

2007-10-24T20:00:00.000-07:00

Is anal sex legal?

Is legal sex anal?