My Haiku:I wrote this haiku
with the hope that just maybe.
It blows you away.
Introduction:The name is irrelevant.
The person is male.
The age is older.
The stories are true.
This blog is mine.
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DVD Clubs
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Why?
I'll give you a sample. I won't quote any 100 million ringgit research that was done in 3 days weeks. I won't refer to any smart-ass publication written by some pakar something. I give you...myself.
I was brought up in the national school system during my primary years. I went to St. Paul primary in Seremban up till I was twelve before being shipped out to Ipoh in Form One.
Let me tell you about St. Paul.
St. Paul primary isn't a popular choice among Malay parents in Seremban as opposed to KGV or Seri Kelana. My parents sent me there because my cousins went there too. Talk about cronyism.
Anyways, Malays are not the dominant race in St. Paul. With a name like that, you would have forgiven the Malay parents for being a bit worried. I think the majority was Indians. Or Chinese. I'm not sure. But it wasn't Malay, that I'm sure of.
But it had a good mix of all the races. And it never felt awkward to me. During primary, I had a good number of non-Malay friends. We played Pepsi-cola together. We played football together. It was fun. We were all friends. I think of Ah Bengs and Muthus as friends and not what their race were. I remembered Lim Kah Wee with his big bottle of water (he used the F&N cordial bottle). I remembered Satesh with his awesome pace in the 200 meters (I ran the relay race back then). I remembered Kenneth with his geeky face but he had a great collection of the Three Investigators. Oh, how we loved the Three Investigators! We would sometimes pretend that we were the super-sleuths with namecard and all. Hahaha...what a riot.
But as my primary days drew to a close, so did my relationship with these people. I was sent to a fully residential school in Ipoh. I always think of residential schools being Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan (Melayu). Why? Because of the lack of non-Bumis in them. So how are they any different from the vernacular schools? Same goes with the MRSMs.
Five years spent with the same people with the same ethnic background certainly had its effects on me. The result? I tend to stick to the people of my race in my varsity days. Good thing there were a few college projects in which I participated in that involved other races. And good thing my Faculty had a good mix of people as well. There were a few exceptions such as Kin Seng and Yew Fei who I can have a glass of teh tarik with anytime. Other than that, it was merely professional. If I didn't have any business with you, I don't want to know you.
Up till today. I don't have that many non-Malay friends. And if you mean friend as in people you know outside of work, then the list dwindles even more.
Which is scary in this multi-ethnic society of ours. I'm just one example. What about the people who go to Chinese schools and study abroad? What about the Malay kid who went to sekolah pondok and took up Pengajian Islam in university? When do these people actually even have contact with other races?
Does the Chinese guy only have contact with a Malay when he's buying nasi lemak? Or when he's applying for a MyKad? And the only Chinese guy the Malay kid knows is the local towkay kedai runcit? Or the nyonya who delivers the papers?
This dangerous scenario is a perfect brew for disaster. Our kids don't even know each other. We just wish Gong Xi Fa Chai without knowing what's it all about. People just say 'Selamat Hari Raya' because the Petronas ad says so.
And can we really blame them? I for one, blame the school system which systematically segregates us. What are we to become as a nation? Are we just a bunch of pretenders who grins on TV saying muhibbah and waves the flag? Are we really proud that we're a multi-racial community yang hidup aman makmur? Is Malaysia truly Asia?
The first step in bridging the gap between the races is through our schools. And like Aisehman said, the faster we do it the better.
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
This was my first experience on this type of situation. FYI, our office becomes the control center whenever disaster strikes. Read your Arahan 20. You're not in the Gomen? Fuhgedaboutit.
Anyways, I was lucky to have a first-hand look at the machinery involved whenever a disaster occurs. Not machinery as in your Caterpillars. The process and people involved. Sorry if I insulted your intelligence. It was intentional.
It's great to know how people take up responsibility in this type of situation. It involves a lot of hands and sheer commitment to handle disasters. In all honesty, I had the easy job of being at the nerve center. The people on the ground are the true heroes. Braving the high water and pouring rain to help out these people. Everyone plays a part. From the driver who brings in the supplies to the relief workers from Kebajikan who prepares piping hot tea for the victims, everyone has a role to play.
So maybe the Seremban floods wasn't that critical compared to other situations. Which is what it's supposed to be. I'm thankful no lives were lost. And that it wasn't any worse than it is. Only homes were destroyed. Homes can be fixed. Not lives.
In the end, everything was under control by 6 am. The water resided. It wasn't as bad as it started out to be. It was quite an experience. I know this will not be my last encounter of such a situation. And I will be ready when it comes around again.
I'm lucky to have some good people and a great boss to work with. When it's 3 in the morning and you're dead tired, you better have good people to hang around with. All in a day's work I guess.
Whatever.
I just wanted to end with something smart to say :P
Thursday, November 16, 2006
I don't know how many times I've said this, but I'll say it again.
I love Oprah.
Her show has got to be the most feel-good thing you can get on television nowadays. Better than P. Ramlee re-runs. Even better than the feel-good channel that feeds me Extreme Makeover (What the hell were these people thinking??)
So okay, Oprah is one of my heroes. Even Michael Moore agrees with me on this. And what can be more heroic than featuring everyday heroes on your own bloody TV show?
Oh, by the way I just learned that it's actually quite un-manly to proclaim that you watch Oprah. Ahh, screw those junkies. I know how manly I can get and watching Oprah doesn't screw it up one bit. Unless you're not even sure of your own manliness, you stupid fag.
Anyway, today's episode (they show re-runs on Astro) featured this guy who's a huge Chicago White Sox fan who sacrificed a lot (his World Series tickets) just to help out victims of the Katrina hurricane. Quote from the Chicago White Sox:
"He took up a collection in his neighborhood for supplies - water, food, clothing, toys - and rented a van to drive the supplies to New Orleans himself. When he returned, he realized the trip put him over budget. To pay for his costs, the lifelong Sox fan gave up his chance to witness history by selling his World Series tickets. After seeing the devastation and shattered lives, Devlin realized that baseball was important, but not nearly as important as helping others in need."
Source: White Sox present 'Roland Hemond Award' to Ryan Devlin
To get a clearer picture of the situation, the White Sox won the 2005 World Series. The World Series is the ultimate prize in pro-baseball, played out in a best-of-seven game series. It was their first win since 1917. That's a bloody 88 years man!
Only a true sports fan would know the meaning of the sacrifice made by this man. It's like me sacrificing my Wembley ticket to watch Newcastle win the FA Cup Final. Like Liverpool fans sacrificing their Istanbul ticket to help out others. Goodness! I can't even imagine myself doing it for the sake of charity.
So even though things have been dried and dusted, Ryan Devlin, you just made my bloody, jamban-visiting day! My hats off to you!
And oh, thanks Oprah for the pointer ;)
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
I got a bad case of the diarrhoea and the level of mucus in my throat can't be any higher. My bowels are killing me and I cringe every time I wanna fart. Too bad if you're eating while you're reading this, but I would love to have a decent meal anytime soon.
Without it ending up in the toilet 10 minutes later.
It would be easy for me to blame the flurry of open houses over the weekend (and the past few days as well), but who am I kidding here? Nobody forced anything down my throat last I remembered. So gluttony being part of the seven deadly sins has got some merit to it. Ugh.
My body feels drained. Like in 'Ultraman when he's fighting for dear life and that red button on his chest goes crazy'-kinda drained. You get? You won't if you're born later than 1992. Hurrah if I even have one reader from that age group. Not that I'm saying you're old.
Okay, you're old.
I'm high on Chi Kit Teck Aun pills. You know them pills right? Those black pills where you swallow a gajillion of 'em in one go. Imagine my horror when I went to the chinese medicine shop in Jusco only to be greeted by blank faces when I request for it. I don't know why, but I was so disgusted I said, "Eh, you orang Cina pun tak tau pil Chi Kit Teck Aun kah?" and stormed away into the crowd. Three cheers for muhibbah there.
In the end, I got nothing but a nasty stomach rumbling away like crazy. Good thing they have stock loads of them at Kedai Lian Yik. Three cheers for the local sundry shop!
Hmph. Globalization my ass. Pil Chi Kit Teck Aun pun takde.
Pills and globalization aside, I still have a nasty stomach to deal with. I'm going to the doctor this afternoon. With the hope that all my pain and misery will go away. Isn't that a lyric from a song?
Ah, whatever.
I'm bored.
And drained.
And my stomach feels like s***.
Full of s***, that is.
Monday, November 06, 2006
It's sad how much we're so engrossed in all things Hollywood, that sometimes some of the best stories on screen aren't from Tinseltown. Had I known such a smart plot and storyline existed, I would've waited in line with Jinjang Joe when it played a couple of years ago. But who am I kidding here? Andy Lau isn't exactly DiCaprio, is he?
Remakes and retakes aside, this film marks the return to familiar turf for Martin Scorsese to his specialty, which is gangsters and mobs. Even without De Niro, Scorsese's found a new starlet in Leonardo DiCaprio, now much more well-built and less boy-band looking than his Titanic days. This is the 3rd time they've worked together on a project and looks like DiCaprio is Scorsese's new 'number one'.
Watching The Departed is a return to earlier Scorsese classics that makes him a favourite of mine. It's probably his best since Goodfellas, which proves he excels in getting people whacked. And even though Gangs of New York touched on the same grounds of gangsterhood, it looked more like an old western rather than a mob story. The Aviator a couple of years back wasn't bad either but it's no Goodfellas, is it?
Which brings me back to the movie. With a cast of A-list Hollywood men, you would've been forgiven for drooling in your seats whilst marvelling at their work. And of course, there's 'ol Jack Nicholson. Some people in this world are just born with it. Jack is one of those people. He ignites the scene everytime he's in it and he just oozes himself in this role.
Leo and Matt Damon are no slouchers either and with such a fine supporting cast, makes the movie more enjoyable. The cat and mouse game of the mole trying to find the mole will keep you on the edge of your seats for the whole 2+ hours. Quite a feat, really.
This film is definitely a watch for fans of gangsters and mobs. It's a roller-coaster ride of sorts with a lot of suspense. I would also advise getting the DVD version, which I will also do myself as our sensors had a kenduri getting all the good stuff nipped. As I didn't watch Internal Affairs, I wouldn't have an idea if it wasn't in the same spirit. There was a small tribute to the original by getting Chinese gangsters to be invoulved in the story. Other than that, it seemed like a great effort by Scorsese and his henchmen. All in all, a great movie with great acting and directing.
Not bad for just 10 bucks really.
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
CM for me, is the most addictive game in the world ever. It's every football fanatics' wet dream. How many times have you thought, "Hey, I can do better than this bloke." or "If I was in charge of (insert favourite football team here), I would (insert whatevadahell you want to do)" It's so bloody addictive I just can't comprehend it to those who don't understand.
You just can't help but always wanting to press that 'Continue' button. And just when you feel like stopping, your team goes into this great form and your strikers are firing on all cylinders. This is football crazy, literally.
CM always brings back memories of my student days. Even though I won't blame it for my grades, I'd be lying if I said it didn't affect it in some way. The staying up till early dawn even though you have class at 8. The sleepless nights struggling to make Manchester City a Premiership contender (yes, Man City). The long and winding road up the football divisions with Leyton Orient (Leyton what??). Managing the unstoppable Barcelona side (pre-Ronaldinho days) that won 3 Champions League titles in a row.
Sigh. I miss the good 'ol days. It was an addiction but it was great fun. With Football Manager 2006 on my hard drive, those days don't seem so far away.
I know I'm making a big mistake.