Just Being Me, John Paul G

2010-02-21T15:22:00.010+08:00

Memories

They are sometimes sweet, sometimes bitter and everything else in between those two, memories. Memories are meant to last a lifetime, which is why we experience life by doing many things in hope that in our old age, we’d just reminiscence our past. If you spoke to an elderly person, she\he would share so many stories that are so colorful, yet many lessons to be learnt. There’s an undeniable truth that they have lived life ranging from bringing joy to those around them; to mistakes on impulse; to gambling on the hardest decisions in life. These golden age citizens are the most often neglected and unsung heroes of our time. But they rarely hesitate to share their most precious gift; stories from their memories.

Super Grandparents, The Unsung Heroes

We can learn a lot from them, and one of it is creating memorable happenings in our younger time. Most elders would just seat by themselves, and not do anything. And suddenly they would just smile, or cry, or talk to themselves. Some would think they’re going senile, but in actuality, something beautiful and magical is taking place. You may be surprised that they would forget to turn off the iron, but they remember clearly the day you were born and how stubborn you were when you wanted candy despite daddy not buying you one. Yes, memories do fail them at times, but they remember the most precious and cherished moments in their lives.

Growing old is a privilege

Older people will tell u that you need memories to appreciate life when you’re older. Do the things you want without much hesitation as life is too short. There are some who would pass on items precious to their heart like an old watch or ring in an act of passing down a legacy. They’d teach you about family cooking recipes to future generations would appreciate flavors of old. They’d teach you a skill like carpentry so that you’d carve and create a beautiful rocking chair. And some would even teach about courtship and how to be the perfect gentleman. Elders really are amazing teachers and when they pass on their wisdom, it’s always priceless.

Need I Say more??

For most of us, we’re not even halfway there. Memories collected thus far aren’t merely as chaptered and colored as our grandparents. So what exactly are our elders trying to tell us? Is it the same old advice of “Do what you want when you want”, “Travel, Eat, Date, And Party!”, “Pray always, and help those in need to reserve a place in Heaven”, “Always be yourself and know how special you are”? Or is it more than that? Is it their way of telling, there’s not enough time anyway to do everything you always wanted?

Talk slowly or repeat patiently to them as they're in nostalgia mode

Memories can guide us through obstacles towards the end of our lives. As we get old, there will be times we would feel companion-less and all we would have is just memories to accompany us. I mean, how can you forget the feeling when you first held your lover’s hand, hearing your son’s first words, how you cried on your daughter’s wedding day…etc.

Memories are beautiful in its purest form, so live life collecting them :-)

2010-02-20T13:21:00.011+08:00

To like and be liked

Do you remember the first time you had a crush on someone? And have you experienced anyone mustering up the courage to come up to you and tell you how much they like you? How about hearing a story from a friend or relative about someone trying to sweep them off their feet?

Crush-ed

At some point of our lives, we have fallen for someone we met either through a friend or event or by chance. It rarely takes a lot to attract your attention and interest as it’s usually, well, magical. And you can’t help but think about them night and day; wishing that they’d magically show up everywhere you go and have your heart beat so fast that you felt like just passing out. His\her smile would light up your day and their voice lingers in your ears hours\days after they left their lips. Food becomes tasteless, sleep is often restless and you find yourself somehow occupying hours just thinking of them and ways to make yourself liked by them. You try finding out what they like, showing concern, pleasantly surprising them with the little things that matter like sms-ing them. Yes, the feeling of liking someone and wanting to be with them is hard work! You then find yourself behaving differently (noticed by others close to you), sacrificing more of your time, effort and money to just impress them or just seat in frustration on not knowing what to do. And yes, we all have been through rejections, so we know that if it’s not mutual, it’s not gonna happen. And you wouldn’t have it any other way as well as you can’t do the Tango alone.

Guys, women love courtship...and continuous practice of it!

Not so long ago, a friend told me that she’s really into this English guy so much, that she’s willing to travel to UK just to tell him how much she felt and cared about him. And it was just before Christmas and she was almost broke. But I guess when you’re love struck; even the sky isn’t the limit. They met not long ago while on a scuba diving holiday in Thailand. And not long after, he came back to see her in Malaysia and they kicked it off. But due to some misunderstanding, they separated abruptly, thus urging the need for her to head to UK during the busiest and most expensive period to travel just to show how sincere and important he is to her. How romantically insane is that? How often do you come across women going out of there way and sacrificing so much just to win back their man?

Who says only men should court the women? If you’re a girl and you like a guy, there’s nothing wrong in being honest and just to say it. Of course, there are ways you can construct your words and sentences to not scare them away. Always remember, to the very least, you’d like to be friends with them, even though it never worked out. Sometimes, to care and love someone is to let them be themselves and let them be with whoever they want to be with. Friendships are better than no relationship at all.

Nothing wrong with wooing a guy... with apples!

Some women would say that chivalry is dead amongst men, and it’s hard to accept a guy if he’s not courteous, thoughtful, sweet and full of pleasant surprises. And some men would say women killed chivalry! They play hard to get, have high expectations and in their minds, it’s all suppose to be exactly like how they read in romantic novels. Probably the longest debate in mankind’s existence, “Why do men and women think so differently? And why they can’t live with them, yet can’t live without them?” Guess it’s true what God always reminds us, Love is miraculous, unpredictable, yet powerful.

Man Courting a woman, only works near a river I guess.

How do you create conversation with someone you like (provided you both already know each other)? To objective here is to have an interesting enough conversation and the intended end result is that you would hope he/she would like to have more of such conversations and want to spend more time with you. The next hope is that he\she will want to see you more often and for you to see their smile and hear their voices more. And so on so forth lar….

Common conversational questions:

How are things at (insert his\her company name)? To take keen interest in their career. You gotta mean it though! After all, if you both are gonna be together, wouldn’t you wanna know their career path, and working conditions?

How’s your (insert his\her hobby or special interest) coming along? Something you can either do together or you can be supportive with.

How’s parents\family\friends (who are suffering from a health problem)? Showing concern and thoughtfulness goes a long way.

What’s your greatest fear? This is where you become more sensitive to their needs and when the need arises, be their hero.

Followed by more intriguing questions:

What’s the craziest thing you’ve done? Very important, crazy level needs to be monitored for your own sanity sake! :-P

Ever done any criminal act? In case you need to bail them out of jail next time they repeat it.

How many boyfriends\girlfriends before this? Well, needless to say, experiences count. If they never had any, you’re in trouble! Someone who’s gone through happy times and heartaches of relationships appreciate relationships more and make better partners.

Do you like spending time with me? This is when you’re tired of trying, and don’t want to try any harder to seem like a desperate and just plain silly. More like frustration, but I guess you’d be doing yourself and them a favor by setting the record straight. No one wants to waste time on a hopeless cause, they just want to get over it over time, and move on.

Recently, I watched the movie Valentine’s Day and I found it rather a worthwhile watch. The movie with its many star studded casts discusses commitment, sacrifices, falling in love, responsibility, fidelity, doing the right thing in a relationship, putting a stop when necessary, second chances and giving chances.

A funny line in the movie when Kara Monahan is frustrated with love and men:

My closest relationship is with my Blackberry, Thank God it vibrates!

2010-02-18T17:13:00.003+08:00

Ironic Questions

Isn't it scary to know what doctors do for a living is called "practice"?

If one synchronized swimmer drowns, do they all have to drown?

Why do they report power outages on TV?

If they say TV's so bad for you then why do they have one in every hospital?

If a quiz is quizzical. Then what's a test?

If God sneezed, what would you say?

If Hooters delivered would they be called knockers?

If the dictionary spells a word wrong how are we suppose to know?

How do people grow seedless grapes if there’s no seed to grow them?

If 7 - 11 is open 24 hours, why are there locks on the doors?

2010-02-06T12:45:00.006+08:00

Passing the Torch of Gossip or Rumors Responsibly

Not so long ago, I had a lengthy chat with a friend about how people form opinions about others and spread the news as supposedly rumor but make it sound likes its true to the core. And rumors don’t just get passed around without dramatic facial expressions or Quentin Tarantino movie like added exaggerations and theatrics. Rumors often get distorted along the way that when it reaches the 10^th person, the “Rumored” (the person the gossip is about) would be categorically accused numerously on what he or she may or may not have done. It’s like that game we all played before during team building, pass the message. By the time it arrives to the person who’s suppose to tell out what he/she last heard, it sounds totally distorted, and even the main character may have changed to someone else!

A classic example is that you sense some people are distancing themselves from you but you’re unsure what you did or said to deserve it. When you try asking around, you sometimes get just pieces of the rumor. With luck, you would manage to find the person who started it all. And to compare with the person you got initial rumor from, would sometimes sound so different. You’d feel hurt and disappointed with the way people form options about you. And this happens to us all the time. Some would like to deny it and think they’re all perfect and everyone’s flawlessly good friend, but it’s not always the case.

As much as I believe that everyone deserves the right to have an opinion but if it’s influenced by paranoia and spitefulness, nothing good really comes out of it. To be opinionated, along with it comes responsibility and common sense. The consequence of such actions irresponsibly usually causes distrust and strain among family, friends and colleagues. So in other words, before we start a gossip or rumor, its best to state proven facts first, and then continue with “In my opinion, what I think is....” so that people know it’s just your opinion. So at this point, you would be careful with your words as you’re taking responsibility of your action to begin a potentially damaging rumor. And people would then quote you and proceed to form their own opinion the same way you did when sharing with others.

"Yes, Men Gossip too! And they are worse than us"

Now, let’s look at the people we call the Rumored. There may be some basis to start spreading a news flash because you witnessed or read something pertaining to the Rumored. Perhaps the past is coming back to haunt the Rumored because of the reoccurrence of similar events. And people form opinion because they can’t relate or understand them. Trivial stuff to some may be a big thing for others. So what if you have a tattoo? So what if you smoke? So what if you enjoy alcoholic beverages? So what if you like clubbing? So what if you missed Sunday mass? So what if you cheated in your exams? So what if you lie? So what hurt someone’s feelings before? We are different people with different preferences, feelings and thoughts. If we are all are the same, then the world would just be so dull. There would be no creativity, no news, no special talents, no identity thefts…etc. Everyone is special and perfect in their own way.

Many times we make mistakes. It becomes too costly at times that we learn from them and not repeat them. Sometimes we repeat them and half-heartedly promise not to do it again, but somehow being human, we give in to our need to satisfy our appetite for it. But when rumors about you, some of which are not true at all, and some get too distorted that it paints a completely different picture of you, gets thrown at you from every direction, you tend to be extremely hurt and move yourself into isolation from those you’re used to.

Poor Homer, always the Rumored.

So let’s begin to be morally responsible starting a rumor or passing on a rumor that was passed to us. Let’s avoid unnecessary disharmony amongst us. As the saying goes, do unto others as you’d like to be done unto you. This would be the first step in cultivating a future generation that cares, understands, and respect for one another. Our kids are watching us as we do, so be responsible!

2009-09-12T08:07:00.011+08:00

Xango

I discovered Xango about 2 years ago through my mum. I never gave much thought about it and considered it to be just another home based or networking business. Thinking that it'll just phase out like other businesses that come and go over the years, I brushed it aside. But my mum (being a staff nurse) and the Doctor (Dr. Ng Ah Kow) that she works for in a Clinic in Pudu, Kuala Lumpur, were curious and went on to find out more about Xango. They were suprised with the testimonials, and medical studies done on the Mangoesteen and were instantly eager and excited to put it to the test. Dr. Ng started endorsing and promoting the juice in his practise amongst his patients and the results were both encouraging and positive. The demand for it grew and we knew we had something special in our hands to share to others. Do watch the video below:

I've introduced it to a small number of people so far, and I'm glad there has been a steady demand for it over the months. I've observed that it does help people with various health complications over a period of time, and they can't do without it now. They would have reduced or eliminated the intake of drugs used to control their condition and this has become a norm rather than surprise over time. The demand for it grew and there were times that the stock ran out due to the increased demand for it over the past 2 years in Malaysia. And yet, many still do not know about its existence.

I guess every now and then, we discover natural substances that would help people with medical conditions far better than modern medicine. I wonder, if people knew that a lot of drugs or modern medicine would cause side affects in the long run which is only intended to solve just 1 problem but creates numerous other health problems, would they ever consider a natural juice from mother earth that helps in numerous medical conditions, which tastes so good?!!

You should try it, it tastes like non other and you'd be pleasantly surprised at what it can do.

2009-08-22T12:18:00.008+08:00

!~*Random Pictures*~!

Found myself really bored today, so decided to get some random pics and have it on my blog...Will add more soon :-)

Mum (Alice) and Me, when I was about a year old

Prove that I dance to "Beat It" by Michael Jackson in pink shorts!

Contrasts: A pic of when Cousin Melissa held me when I was little (few months old), and now she has to seat on me! (My 21st B'Day)

Daytona Days when in Secondary School :-)

Alterboy days with Fr. Philip Muthu, Kuala Pilah :-)

Alterboy days with Fr. Paulino Miranda, Kuala Pilah :-)

Uni days, Theva and his oranges!

Uni days, with Thilak and Wen Hao during a computer lab session.

Christian Fellowship brother (From left: Paul, Felix, John, Me and Yohen)

Christmas 2002, My home (From left: Thilak, Me, Senthil, Anand & Theva)

Christmas 2004 My house, with Miss Farah Diana

Having a hair cut, 2003 at a barber shop near campus. You can tell why I was there, the hairdresser chick at the far end is hot!

Final Semester, Ethics Class Gang (From Left: Shahrul, Me, Dr. Sharrifudin, Farah, Asha & Kohila)

Last day of Class in Uniten (From Left: Wen Hao, Asha, Kohila, Shahrul & Farah)

Catholic Student's Society Camp in Port Dickson, 2004. Guest speaker, Father Philip Muthu.

Perhentian trip with the Willing Hands group, Assumption Church. Dont know where the girls went.

2009-08-21T14:01:00.002+08:00

You're gonna be the one that saves me

Hey guys, I've always like this song whenever i hear it on the radio. The tuned and the slightly lazy singing, but it took me a while to know it was from Oasis! Took some effort in getting the lyrics and understanding it...and it sure does hit the spot at times! Have a read through! ;-)

Wonderwall Lyrics by Oasis

Today is gonna be the day
That they're gonna throw it back to you
By now you should've somehow
Realized what you gotta do
I don't believe that anybody
Feels the way I do about you now

Backbeat the word was on the street
That the fire in your heart is out
I'm sure you've heard it all before
But you never really had a doubt
I don't believe that anybody feels
The way I do about you now

And all the roads we have to walk along are winding
And all the lights that lead us there are blinding
There are many things that I would
Like to say to you
I don't know how

Because maybe
You're gonna be the one who saves me ?
And after all You're my wonderwall

Today was gonna be the day?
But they'll never throw it back to you
By now you should've somehow
Realized what you're not to do
I don't believe that anybody
Feels the way I do
About you now

And all the roads that lead to you were winding
And all the lights that light the way are blinding
There are many things that I would like to say to you
I don't know how

I said maybe
You're gonna be the one who saves me ?
And after all
You're my wonderwall

I said maybe
You're gonna be the one who saves me ?
And after all
You're my wonderwall

Said maybe
You're gonna be the one that saves me
You're gonna be the one that saves me
You're gonna be the one that saves me

Guess we have all been down that road, but we shall bounce back! Phases are meant for us all to go through, it's how He intended for each of us to grow and appreciate life. Hence, this song will be one of my favourites of all time! Thanks Oasis!

2009-08-19T20:03:00.002+08:00

20 Random questions

1. What do you like to eat right now?
Subway Sandwiches, (Chicken Terriyaki or Italian BMT)

2. What’s your favorite Domino’s pizza?
Beef Pepperoni

3. What’s your favorite drink when you’re clubbing\pubbing?
Guinness or Heineken Draughts while pubbing, Chivas, JD or Captain Morgan’s while clubbin

4. If you wanted a pet, what would it be?
Golden retrievers, they’re so fun!

5. Do you play any kind of sports?
Badminton, squash

6. Smoke? If yes, what brand?
Don’t smoke, don’t intend to. Though I dated many who do for some strange reason…

7. How many relationships till now?
3

8. Are you currently in a relationship? How’s that going?
Nope. Luck-less I guess...

9. Do you own a car? If yes, what is it?
Yes, My trusted Perodua Myvi :-)

10. What’s your dream car?
2007 Ford Shelby GT500, but 2009 Volkswagen Golf GTI V50 isn’t bad too!

11. Do you own a mutual trust fund?
Yes but not sure why this question is here though.

12. Do you prefer an island, highland or jungle holiday?
Island, white sandy beach with crystal clear waters, and good BBQ with chilled beers!

13. Do you consider yourself a Choleric, Melancholy, Sanguine or Phlegmatic?
Phlegmatic, with a hint of Sanguine when the mood kicks in.

14. What attracts you the most to a person of the opposite sex?
Great smile along with a sense of humor. Someone sporting la.

15. What drives you nuts?
Gloating anti-Man Utd fans, unexpected expenditures; and saying no to myself when I actually want to go for it.

16. Which countries would you like to travel to?
Old Trafford in England! Rome, Paris, Amsterdam, Tahiti or Maldives

17. Blue, green, red, yellow, black, purple or orange?
I’m a Blue kinda guy.

18. Do you have a crush on someone now?
Yes

19. The silliest thing you’ve said to a girl\guy?
I didn’t quite get your name but it sounded really sexy, would you mind repeating it….slowly? (Obviously I didn’t catch it the first time around)

20. Are you happy at this point of time?
Not really, but there are others who are much worse…so am good :-)

2009-08-16T17:35:00.007+08:00

Friends

Everyone needs friends. Whether it’s to have a shoulder to cry on, a story to share with, a joyous occasion to celebrate with or just a simple hug to brighten one’s day. Some say they need only faith (religious) or lots of money to be happy, or just be with family but we somehow feel that lives’ more meaningful with friends. We have friends who are just casual ones, close ones, best ones and also friend’s friends who eventually become ours. It has become more of a need than a want to have friends these days. We go though our lives with so many challenges and unpredictable phases, that we somehow find ourselves in need of a friend.

Over the years, I’ve been blessed with so many different friends through the many stages of my life. Childhood friends, school friends, university mates, work mates, church youths, girlfriends, activity partners and distant relatives who have become more of a friend than family, have become so much part of my life, that I’m very grateful for.

The kinds of friends I’ve had over the years (Guess who you are?):

Friend 1: So many years ago, when I was in Kuala Pilah, this guy and I rode cows in the kampung! His family had cows, chickens, and ducks in their kampung house. He was my partner in crime when we ditched classes for so called Pengawas (Prefects) duties. We took part in sports and became the so called sports stars in our state of N. Sembilan. Dude, I so miss our kampong days and our MSSM days. We played 3 different sports for N.Sembilan; Cricket, Badminton and Athletics.

Friend 2: My longest lasting childhood friend. Arguably my best friend! Our mums were friends even before we were born. September babies as well (1982). He’s my solution provider for all IT questions; he even helped me big time in projects in University. He’s a good friend to all, and makes friends so easily. Girls find him extremely pleasant to talk to, and he’s such a gentleman. He’s a good listenter, and conversationalist. Btw, he’s into palm reading and a big Man Utd fan too, like me. And yes, to you girls seeking a nice dude, he’s still single!

Friend 3: This guy met me in Form 4. He never knew what hit him! From a stranger, to a local celebrity, he was thrown into a world of girls, lepaking and learning to be an adult, by yours truly. Till this day, he says I was the one who spoiled him. Please la, u learned all those on your own k! I just opened the door for you :-) Friends since we were 16, we’ve keep close all these while. Still irriates the shit out of me whenever we hang out, but he’s the best! The definition of a nice fella.

Friend 4: Probably the one guy who spend the most time playing sports with me from back in uni days and also in the first few years working. Badminton, squash mostly. I used to stay back over the weekends in campus to lepak with this fella, who only goes back to Ipoh during the semester break. A very humble, quiet Chinese dude. He’s into Korean pop music, and all mother’s think he’s a good looking fella ;-)

Friend 5: Probably the most disciplined friend among the lot. Works hard for everything, dedicated to his career, and recently got married. Used to my jogging partner at the Cyberjaya lake. We shared a lot about life and having a direction to a more purposeful future. We enjoy the occasional catching up over chilled beers at Tony Romas, coz it’s buy 1 free 1 on weekdays before 7pm! ;-)

Friend 6: Definitely one of my besties. Stuck with me through thick and thin. Knows me inside out, and can tell if the girl I was going out is right for me. Despite annoying, teasing, hurting her feelings and letting her down almost all the time, she was always there for me (but she makes me make it up to her always!) We hung out a lot before, drifted apart due to circumstances. She thought me to play pool :-)

Friend 7: She’ll always have a special place in my heart. Were introduced to each other by her cousin. We are very similar in so many ways. Talk about being in the same frequency, even the shit we faced is almost identical. Enjoyed hanging out with her when she was still in KL, now she’s up north. Was in the airlines before, now in telecommunications. She looks hotter than ever when I recently met her. Thought me a lot about women, not girls, but women!

Friend 8: My first, who kinda dumped me for an older guy later on. Thought me to be more independent and to understand that working hard pays off. Probably the only person I know who’s still studying for higher honours beyond the age of 26 who’s not doing medicine. My best friend for a short period. Wrecked her car some time ago in an accident. The most short tempered person I know, besides my own sister! haha

Friend 9: My sister (not my sister ann marrie). Like a guardian angel, always looking out after me. Calls and chats with me on msn almost every other day. Kept me out of trouble on a few occasions. And our birthdays are just a day apart, thus we’ve been celebrating together the past 3 years…wonder what’s the plan for this year :-)

Friend 10: Another sister, an inspirational person in my life. Also used to keep an eye out for me while I was in Shell myself. Kick boxing silver medalist at the world championships a few years ago, seriously, she can kick ass! Having a respectably high post in Shell. Leaving soon for the UK to work there, with her awesome, handsome and charming husband. Miss chatting with her over lunch breaks…

Friend 11: A new friend. Lights up the room whenever she walks in. At times, it almost seems my heart skips a beat at the very sight of her. Always looking gorgeous even when she’s dressed down, I wonder if she ever does not look as hot at any point in time. Even if she thinks she looks at her ugliest, she still looks Angelic to me. She’s funny and abrupt at times. A lil dirty minded, which is so me too! Annoying at times, but in a cute way. Complimented & flirted with her a few times, but I guess some things are not meant to be. Just a friend, as it’s meant to apparently be. Yes guys, she’s single and if you’re cute, have a good sense of humor, high respect for ladies and above the age of 26; she’s free for a date ;-)

I guess it’ll take me ages to cover every friend that is dear to me. To those who have stuck by me, accepted me for who I am, tolerated me, partied with me, cried with me, danced with me, flirted with me, fought with me, thanks for the experiences and memories. Through ups and downs, you will always be cherished. Thank you all , and you’ll always have a friend in me :-)

P/s I’ve kept out family and cousins out for this post. Just friends :-)

2009-07-30T13:13:00.002+08:00

Mistakes

Mistakes are often made. Either unknowingly or intentionally, we try to understand why we did what we did. I have a past that not many know of. It’s hard to move on knowing we deeply hurt the ones we used to be close to. I guess living by the moment, confidently thinking nobody would find out, living in denial was just too good a feeling to have to stop.

Some kind and caring souls, who could see right through us, would always remind us what we’re doing is wrong and the need for repentance. Why didn’t I listen? Why didn’t I learn? Now I wished I listened, and not even started. To lie or to deceive, is one thing, but to hurt and doing it on purpose for own self interest is both cruel and unforgivable.

2006-2007 was a 2 year period that I wish I was never the person I was. How childish and inconsiderate was I? How ungrateful and selfish was I? How stupid and such a bastard was I? Nothing can change the past, but only to look towards a cleaner and fruitful future. I fell, and now I need to pick myself up and associate myself with all things which are good and have a line drawn. I wish there was a line or 2 that never crossed, but it has. It’s been more than a year since I’ve been repenting, living a cleaner life, a life of morals and ethics. But you would never believe I’m capable of such change. You can’t help it, as I’ve cut you so deep, as you’re still bleeding till now, because of me.

No amount of heart felt apologies can undo the wrongs, and we all know that no two rights can correct one wrong. I’m sorry to you my once friend. To have done the mistakes I have, and to cause you so much pain and disappointment. Years down the line, you would still be as sore and hateful towards me. And you are right, I have hurt so badly. It has affected you for all this while, and it’s all because of me. To think that I’m capable of such actions and even thought, it worries me that I have turned into something I once hated so much. I can’t understand why and how it happened, but it did.

You were kind, warm, gentle and a good friend. You never failed to help when I was in need. You trusted me, and you believed me. You were always the better friend than I could ever be to anyone else. You cared and you always know what was best. You are much more of a man than I can ever be. I’m sorry.

2009-07-22T20:54:00.016+08:00

The day Man Utd came to town

What makes Man Utd? Good players who form a team that plays entertaining football, and is accustomed to winning. They are the current English Champions and winner of numerous of trophies.

Enough Said!

I’ve been their fan since 1994! My first memory of watching MU play is when Eric “The Man” Cantona stepped onto the field whilst folding his Jersey collar upwards. They played entertaining football, to watch the crowd scream and cheer their team on; I knew there was something special about that team. I continued to watch their games and 15 years down the line, I’ve been supporting this team through all the good and bad times.

So the time finally came for me to watch them in person. I went for the training session on Friday (17th July 2009) with Steven, Faizal and a few more. MU were scheduled to come out at 5:30pm. We arrived at about 4pm to get good seats. I somehow knew I was not going to make it for the following day’s match in which Man Utd were to play our Malaysian team. It was Mark and Melissa’s wedding, which I couldn’t miss, thus I really needed to make the best out of it.

The lads that lasted all these years in the team since 1994 would be Paul Scholes, Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs. Needless to say, I was in delirium when I saw them walk out onto the field. First it was Scholes who first walked out of the tunnel and stepped on the field. The crowd at the opposite side of the field saw him first, and made the rest of the stadium excited by their screams.

Scholesy!

Then came out Nani and Giggs. Followed by the rest who were coming out of the tunnel, by this time, the trumpets were blaring, the girls screaming, kids looking like sugar overdosed and grown up men tearing in joy!

The boys are out! The rest seen coming out of the tunnel

They then made a few laps around the field to warm up before their training session began.

Rio leading the pack...

The boys then made their way to the end of a field and did some stretches.

Monkeying Around...

You would think professional footballers would not train as such, but it's back to basics. Playing monkey for these fellas is a little harders as it's one touch football and there's 2 guys in the circle. When you're as sharp and quick as them, the "monkeys" keep changing. Entertaining to watch :-)

They then combined to form 2 teams and played a competitive game using half a field. It was really good to watch them really into it. Anything goes apparently, as we watched Scholes still miss timing his tackles, Rooney pushing and shoving away, Owen getting rid of the ball fast, Anderson holding onto the ball longer, Rio holding his challengers at arms length. Soon after, it was time to wrap up. The boys then did another few round laps around the field.

The team acknowledging the crowd as they warm down.

All in all, it was really nice to have watched them in the flesh. Amazing athletes and display of talent. Rooney was the clear favourite of the crowd, and not suprisingly, Owen came a close second to the cheers of the crowd.

As faith would have it, Man Utd then scheduled a rematch with Malaysia on Monday. So since i didnt get to watch Saturday's match, Thilak, Theva and Leonard accepted my invitation to watch the match, courtesy of Man Utd's cancellation of their Indonesian tour. Valerie Michael helped us get tickets (Thanks Val!), and she brought along 3 girlfriends (Odelia, Rupa and Vanessa) to watch the game as well. So the 8 of us sat together and watched the English Champions on that glorious day for Malaysian Red Devil fans....

The above ticket which I didnt use for the game on saturday. The below is the rematch ticket which I did use.

Needless to say, I'm already planning for a trip to Old Trafford to watch Man Utd play in the Theather of Dreams! *grin*

2009-05-30T11:59:00.027+08:00

The 3 Questions we ask ourselves over time

What have you done lately?

We all have a past, we're living in the present, the future ahead of us is always a mystery. We assess what we've done, achieved and experienced in the past. We look at ourselves now with questions or doubts about the present. We always hope for a better future but everything seems unpredictable nowadays that we tend just say to ourselves "whatever la, we'll cross the bridge when we arrive at it".

At the Crossroads

I have a past, a colourful one needless to say. Good times and bad endured has defined me over the years. As I remember my past, growing up, the memories collected over time has left me wondering, could I have altered my past to steer me to a more fruitful and meaningful future? They say, we always have a choice to decide and act upon our decisions to obtain or achieve something. Whilst pondering upon the past, we ask ourselves "Damn, it's over?"

Looking at myself now, I wonder, what kind of person I am. The kind of decisions I make. The people I associate myself with. What I want and feel that I need. So many different things we face these days, work challenges, family issues, uncertain national political scenes, spiritual doubts, relationships with others, personal wants/needs. We often get confused, unfocused and easily stressed. We loose sight of what means more to us and conveniently choose to prioritise our focus on the easier and comfortable matters. Whilst pondering upon the present, we ask ourselves "What now?"

People are always curious about what will happen next. They indulge in palm readings, horoscope predictions, fortune telling, and other means of knowing the future. Whilst anticipating the future, we ask ourselves , "What's next?" I for one do not want to know what the future holds. I'm happy knowing I can still alter the outcome of the future. I mean, whats the point of knowing something, and you can't do anything to change it? Wouldn't life be so boring with everything is a done deal? Not knowing the future would mean it leaves us with questions, anticipation, and above all, to experience life! As life should be a colourful one. Never would it do justice if it's all monotone and set.

"So what have you done lately?"

Recently, I met with an old friend who is a religious person. He asked "Do you think you were created for a purpose?" I could only imagine why my parents thought about having me in the first place. So I answered "I'm my parent's investment, so they would have someone to take care of them when they grow old". This answer clearly caught him off guard. I knew what he meant, but he also knew I like to joke a lot.

So he carried on with his intention of the conversation, and this is what I gathered from the conversation: Every now and then, there would be a time that you would feel that you were meant to serve a purpose. You would ask yourself, "Did God (or a higher being) create me for a reason?", "What have I done lately to justify my existence?" or "Am I worth anything at all to the people or other beings around me?"

What my friend was trying to do is make me aware that changes around us takes place with someone doing something out of the ordinary. He read my blog entitled "Changes" and he felt a great need to engage me and pose some serious questions about life and me serving a life of purpose. I agreed when he said if we continue doing the same thing we do, we would always be experiencing the same thing we experience.

In knowing our past, we determine what we do not want anymore. In the present, we know what we love and cherish, thus we work for it. The future conveniently holds everything that is uncertain, thus it prompts us to want to do something about it to either prepare for it. In a certain way, we live in fear or challenges our sense of security. Whatever decisions you make, either to be closer to God, touching lifes around you, help build a nation, healing the sick, fighting for the rights of the oppressed, becoming a milionare....you gotta work at it. It starts with the first step, knowing what you want well, and making a decision.

So, What have you done lately?

2009-02-07T10:54:00.016+08:00

*!~*Christmas 2008*~!*

It's the most wonderful time, of the year!

Christmas is always special. It's a time when we celebrate the birth of Jesus. For Christians, we believe that it is Jesus who saves us all and open a path for us to Heaven. It's always a joyous occasion and the practice would be to go to Church on Christmas eve night to give thanks and praise to Jesus, whom we have accepted and believe is the Son of God.

And over the years Christmas has become rather commercial and a time businesses cash in on the holiday spirit. Although it has nothing to do with the actual Christmas celebration, Santa Clause , Snow, Christmas Tress, Presents, Alcohol, Food like Turkey; Roast Lamb ; Christmas Pudding has become a yearly affair. And it's been a practise to visit Christian Homes and finding a beautifully decorated Christmas tree with gift wrapped presents under it.

My family is no different, we told ourselves, "We're Joining in!" So this year, like the many years before, we celebrated at Uncle Harry's place. Well, it is the biggest and the most comfortable house amongst the family, so why not right? :-)

Fusion! Being a rojak family, we had western and asian food. Mutton curry?? But me love my lamb and turkey during Christmas! Christmas Pudding for dessert!

Shepherd's pie, turkey, pasta, prawns and dhal curry???

Time to open presents!! It's mid-night, thus it's Boxing Day!!

Clean up time! The younger ones being thought that after all the fun, we need to clean the mess we did.

My mum giving Damian his present. He was so enthusiastic to open it, that the very next second after this pic was taken, his hand hit my mum's chin, haha!

Wonder why they are crowding the table after the food was cleared?

It's gotta be Alcohol la of course! That's what we do best, correct or not cousins?? :-P

Let the party begin!

Photo shoot time! The De Silva's in all their glory! Smileys are because of the alcohol, if not they won't smile this much when sober! hahahaha

The cousins, although not all came. We smile better after some drinks, don't we? :-P Kenny, Sara and Mervin were on their way when this picture was taken.

My sister, leading the way. Cocktails anyone?

You don't need a further explanation on why they seem to be having fun!

Yerp, it was another unforgetable Christmas. Lotsa good food, drinks, music, presents, catching up and of course, the Christmas mood! Although the whole family didn't make it, like Sharon, Shawn, Rodney, Lily, we sure did make up for them in the partying! Wish you guys were with us. Hopefully this year ok?? I wonder if this year's will top last years....hope so!

2008-08-19T17:08:00.008+08:00

Walk & Burn in Baby!

Recently, My Global Department Manager , Merethe Johansen, got us a pedometer each. Apparently, we IT people don't walk much, and it's really unhealthy as all we do is type, discuss things online through instant messenger or phone calls, all while seated. Besides munching on food all the time! So she got us all to wear it all the time. And to encourage us further, it's a competition for prizes! There's monthly prize for the "walker" of the month totalling RM300, and a grand prize till the end of the year which would be a alot more.

Noticed how striking it looks? Flourecent Green!

If you see me in the next few months, You'd notice this on me. Apparently its suppose to be used 24/7 till end of December! We take count of our steps on a weekly basis, and we started 2 weeks ago. The first week, i did 66k steps, last week, i did 105k steps. That's a lot of calories burnt! More than usual I'm sure. And my feet's killing me! Especially when I've enrolled in California Fitness, and the extra work out with my personal trainer surely knocks me out everytime! Feel really lethagic the next day at work. Oh well, for the sake of loosing weight, and staying healthy, I'm gonna "Walk & Burn it Baby!"

Yes, you read it right, I'm a member of California Fitness, I'm a regular at the Sunway Pyramid branch. I did take the all-country package, which means i can go to the other branches like the one in Mid Valley and Standard Chartered in KL. Heard they opening another branch in Bukit Bintang. It's awesome, and I thoroughly enjoy my work outs. Added to the personal training package, it's also torturing! So it's a mixed feeling going to the gym, but my trainer Samuel knows what kinda pain i need to reach my goals. What are my goals? haha, for me to know, and for you not to know! :P

Met a few old faces from Uniten. And also from my previous company, Shell IT. Nice to have some old buddies in the gym, though we don't really talk much as we all want to work out and be alone to either de-stress or just view the Astro Programmes.

A friend told me this, "If you want something really bad, something you long for and would cherish it for the rest of your life, then the necessary changes, sacrifices and compromise has to be done. And when it gets really hard and tough, you will at least know that you're alive with emotions and feelings, and that shows you're only human. And human's have needs and wants as well". I didn't quite understood it at first, but after pondering upon it, I now know what my friend meant :-)

2008-05-11T17:37:00.010+08:00

Change

We constantly face change. We hear or face change happening all around us. Whether it being rising prices in goods, a new birth in the family, deteriorating quality of air in the city, unpredictable rainstorms or earthquakes, relationships breaking up or new ones created and many more.

All changes are categorized to be either a positive or negative change. Like it or not, changes happen with every passing moment. As we grow older, we put on weight **Vijay quotes “Nature takes its course” to elaborate why we pile on the pounds rather easily as compared to our college days**. Our parents’ act like babies and our kids act like adults. Childhood dreams and present dreams are often not the same. Women prefer chocolates & massages than being with men these days. Men prefer beer and football or shagging a random hot babe they just met, rather than chasing dreams of being a successful businessman or a soccer star.

Do we really have control over change? A friend turning to drugs for stress relieve, a death about to take place as a car runs off the freeway to hit a person in front of you, a plane crashing into a building murdering hundreds, ozone layer thinning out to almost nothing, stock market crashing because of rioting of it’s citizens, laws preventing equal opportunities for all. All of which are classic examples of change happening daily in our world today.

The question now is, how do we engage change with regards to self, family, community and environment? Turning negative changes into positive outcomes with our intervention. Events like wars promoting non-natural deaths, famine through shortages of food supply, global warming caused by CO2.

Melting ice in Greenland

One of the Polluted rivers around the world.

There are changes we can intervene and produce results and some will have less impact. Another question is, how can we help? Do we want to help at all? Someone told me sometime back, it’s better to have contributed even a little, then never contributing at all. Sometimes, the smallest of stones, causes ripples that go far out.

We have wars because or religious, racial or political reasons. All these are waste of money as it can be used for food, clean water, shelter and medical supply. How do we resolve issues in the world? I suggest we divert our attention and work together to save planet earth together, and we dissolve all differences, disagreements and hate.

Hard facts, Rivers of cold water in ice lands like Greenland. Rivers?? Yes, rivers like water fall in our jungles. Temperatures around the world are increasing every year. Less oxygen every year, more polluted air, river and oceans. These among others suggest that we are doing something really wrong. And our future generations won’t be able to enjoy walking out in the open because it’s too hot, or breath clean air.

Is this the future we want for our kids?

Some Tips on how we can help:

Turn off lights and fan when not in use.

Avoid using air-conditioners whenever possible.

Avoid using non-degradable items like Polystyrene and plastic.

Use recyclables. And promote recycling of items at home, workplace and outdoors.

Consider the environment before printing.

Lastly, Please watch this documentary. It really got to me!

An Inconvenient Truth

We have sports heroes, we have political heroes, but ever wondered who would be a candidate for Earth's hero?

Earth's Hero, Al Gore

In the words of Al Gore, “It’s our only home”.

Our one and only home

Al Gore for Planet Earth’s President. A world of Peace, safe and fit for human habitation.

2008-01-23T14:45:00.000+08:00

Tun Mahathir

Yesterday, I went for a jog with my buddies Eugene and Wen Hao at the Cyberjaya lake after work. We drove up to the lake and parked along the road leading to the lake. As we were doing our stretches and loosening up, 2 cars drove into the lake. It was a luxury Mercedes followed by a Perdana. We were saying to each other “Who the heck is driving in to this public lake?”

Then out came 2 guys first, a Malay and Indian. They walked for a distance to check the place out, and then came out Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad himself. Accompanied by his wife Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Bt Mohd Ali, a lady friend and some obvious bodyguards, they went for a walk along the Cyberjaya Lake. Everyone at the lake noticed them. They all kept a distance and let him enjoy the peace and quiet evening.

This is the first time I’ve seen him in person, and he’s really thin and looks frail now. He probably looks like that because of the 2 heart surgeries he had last year, but he seems well. I guess not many have even seen him in person at all. Standing just a few meters away from him, Eugene, Wen Hao and I just looked at each other and in almost disbelieve. You might be thinking, “What’s the big deal?” “He’s an ex prime minister, not the current one” “So?” I bet, if you were in my shoes at that time, you may have felt what I felt, “Gosh, it’s him!” To me, he’s a visionary and probably one of the most influential and admired leaders of our time. Despite commonly reported accusations, criticism and slandering suggesting he is not Mr. Clean or flawless in managing a country, he’s proven to have won admirers and respect from people all over.

What I like and admire about Tun Mahathir? For one, he fights for the lesser known or marginalized. He has been known to criticize western and developed countries which look down on developing countries. In believing and trusting in his country and its people, he often doesn’t listen to western leaders without any solid justification on why Malaysia should listen to them. I guess, he has a lot of pride in his country and doesn’t want foreigners controlling us and telling us what is best for us. In terms of influence, there was a time he managed to convince some leaders such as Prime Minister of France, President of Russia and Counselor of Germany to listen to Malaysian views in certain political matters like war on Iraq. This eventually let to them not interfering in the war. I guess the most that impresses me was that he managed to make developed countries understand the importance of having smaller or developing nations the chance to be able to speak freely like other developed nations. He may have not been the pioneer in making lesser known countries stand out, but he sure made in impact when he spoke up at various General Assembly of UN Summits.

Thank You Tun Mahathir, for all your efforts, sacrifices and hard work. Your bravery and vision has brought us to heights we have never thought possible years ago.

2008-01-20T08:32:00.000+08:00

How to ask a girl out

Guy: "You free tomorrow night?"
Girl: "No."
Guy: "Tuesday night?"
Girl: "Yea, why?"
Guy: "Wanna go on a date?"
Girl: "WHAT!?"
Guy: "I said, are you free around eight?"
Girl: "Oh, erm... yea... I thought you said something else."

Stumbled upon this from http://ayandy.blogspot.com. Good one Andrew!

2008-01-12T00:50:00.000+08:00

Huh? You mean to say I can’t use Allah when praying?

Recently, there was a concern that arose with regards to the Herald Publication (Online version: http://www.herald.com.my/) in our local scene. To be honest, I was disturbed and a little startled. Of all the things that have happened so far in our beloved country in 2007 (mind you, it’s also our country’s 50th year Anniversary of Independence), this one has raised alarms to Catholics and fellow Christians alike. Instead of celebrating the success of a peaceful, developing, flourishing and harmonious Malaysia, consisting of a multi-racial community, again we are faced with a debatable and unmistakably controversial topic. A topic which I feel is a bump on the road or a hitch in moving forward for greater success and setting a good example to developing nations. For many of you who were oblivious with the issue, this is what happened:

I was planning to give you guys the long story of what happened, then I found one article online that sums up the whole topic:-

Herald can’t use ‘Allah’ in its publications
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/1/4/nation/19913048&sec=nation

In short, at first, The Herald’s publication license was not renewed because we used the word Allah to refer to God. Then it was renewed with no restrictions on the use of the name Allah. I gave a big sigh of relieve when I heard this in Church when Father Paulino Miranda (a man I greatly admire) announced it during mass when I attended Mass at Church of Divine Mercy, Shah Alam. Later on, we realized we sighed a relieve and celebrated all too soon, when we got the news that the publication of the Herald was renewed on the condition that we do not use the name Allah as it “has long been the practice of this country that the world Allah refers to God according to the Muslim faith” according to Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Abdullah Mohd Zin; who was instructed by the Prime Minister to clear the air after the Rakyat’s Cabinet decided. I don’t know about you, but somehow, I fail to see how the Cabinet represents the Rakyat as we, the real Rakyat don’t feel the same. Unless the Cabinet thinks majority is enough to “do the right thing”, then I guess we have no choice but to obey and be happy and grateful for what we have, even if it means us changing our practices and believes, for Cabinet knows what best for the Rakyat.

Discussions from the Foreign Scene regarding this matter:
(Kindly do not read these links below if you’re not used to or prepared for deliberate criticism and tolerating the opinion of others)

Thou May not Defile the name of Allah
http://my.telegraph.co.uk/elle/december_2007/thou_may_not_defile_the_name_of_allah.htm

Malaysian row over word for “God”

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7163391.stm

Malaysia faces Christian outcry over word “Allah”
http://africa.reuters.com/world/news/usnKLR316906.html

Definitions and interpretations:

Before we pass judgment on what happened, let us pause for a moment and digest the various definitions and interpretations of Allah for a moment:-

**********************************************************************
The website http://www.godallah.com/ quotes:

The word "Allah" is the perfect description of the "One God" of monotheism for Jews, Christians and Muslims!

Is "Allah" only for Islam and Muslims?
[No! It is for All Three Abrahamic Faiths.]

"Allah" is the same word used by Christian Arabs and Jewish Arabs in their Bible, centuries before Islam came.

Standard Arabic word for God, used by Arab Christians as well as by Muslims.

Derived from an old Semitic root refering to the Divine and used in the Canaanite El, the Mesopotamian ilu, and the biblical Elohim, the word Allah is used by all Arabic-speaking Muslims, Christians, Jews, and others.

**********************************************************************

So, do we really want to accept the logic and explanation behind the cabinet’s decision to not allow non-Muslims to use the name Allah in praying and in publications when clearly, they did not make the necessary effort in finding out the history behind the name Allah and given enough thought and consideration of Christians in the country and the possible conclusions foreign nations will make before making such a decision? Guess that’s why we always end up electing them to make such decisions, for the good of the Rakyat.

Whats my opinion on this?

I’m comfortable referring to my god as God Almighty, Ever Loving God, Merciful God, or Wonderful God. And since I believe in the Holy Trinity, (God our Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit), I shall continue to refer my beloved God as just God; short, sweet and simple, yet just by pronouncing it, makes you what to pause in silence for a moment as reverence to it’s deep and holy meaning. I shall not argue with those who are insisting a certain name belongs to them. I cannot see how this has become a big deal in the first place, when Allah was first used by people even before the Muslim religion was practiced. Anyhow, I believe every one is free to call their Almighty God with any name they desire, but it’s not nice to ban others to not use names that they do not own nor have prove it’s meant only to refer to their religious believes only. As we move forward into the future and evolve into a new generation of thinking, rationalizing, caring and considerate society to co-exist peacefully with others, we have to open our eyes, ears and heart and be sensitive towards the feelings and opinions of others. Just because we’ve been observing the same practice and usage of words throughout the generations, doesn’t make it ours. We share what is good and pure, and rid ourselves of hate, arrogance and selfishness. I have a lot of Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist and a few Sikh friends. As a multi-racial community, we share a few things in common, we all learnt to be friends with one another, we accepted each other as who we actually are, and we treat each others with decency and respect as we would like to be treated. That to me is Malaysian. Kindly be one!

I wonder why they came up with the Unity Band campaign to celebrate 50 years of Independence. I guess they sense even after 50 years growing together, the Rakyat isn't together, then how can we be stronger? May I make a suggestion? Make decisions jointly and with everyone's consent. Consider everyone's views and compromise on debatable issues. Move forward, not backwards! United we stand, divided we fall. Well, as a member of the Rakyat, that's my opinion.

2008-01-06T22:11:00.000+08:00

Christmas 2007

Christmas this year can be summed up as a monetarily costly, turkey & lamb gobbling, laughter filled, wine drunk and most definitely a tiring affair. I sent about 30 invites and about half turned up, which is what I actually anticipated as I had the tiniest of places to host it, my residence in sunway college hostels. No, I’m not a lecturer in Sunway college, but since my dad works here in sunway college apartments, we were given an apartment to live in and the family lives with him lor. We’re hoping to get a house of our own this year…

My cousin Juliana and Aunt Margaret came over a few days earlier to assist in having our home look a bit more Christmassy. They did a fantastic job as some people who came over during the Open house on the 25th commented they loved the tree decorations and the house had been ornamented tastefully to suit the occasion.

The Tree after modifications… Thanks Anna and Aunt Margaret. Can you spot the tiny Candy Canes?

On Christmas Eve, my family and I attended the 6:30pm Christmas Mass at Assumption church, PJ. It was a beautiful celebration by Father Simon. Haven’t been to Assumption since February, so it was really nice seeing some familiar faces. Suprisingly also was a tap on my shoulder by Sharon Mahendra, a workmate of mine from my offce. Didn’t get to chat much, as people were rushing back and we had to leave for my uncle Harry’s in Damansara, same place as where my friend Fiona stays. Though I keep forgetting the name of the place.

The Tree at Uncle Harry’s

Leftover after we’ve had seconds and thirds. Yerp, besides Turkey and Lamb, we have duck as usual.

Uncle Harry as Santa Claus! He was sporting enough to be our Santa as the host. Picture taken with the small ones before present giving.

Family Picture by the tree

With the warm turkey and lamb served, along with lots of wine and liquor, Christmas tree all lit up, and Christmas carols playing at the background, I welcomed my friends for the usual end of the year Christmas gathering from 12pm till 7pm on Christmas Day.

Thilak and Leonard leading the way

Cousin Juliana helping out by carving the turkey

Since I was busy entertaining guests, I didn’t really have time to take pictures of all who came. I enjoyed the day seating in a circle, shared jokes, drank wine and played some party games whilst listening to Christmas Carols. We laughed hysterically at jokes by Calvin and Leonard. A big thank you to those who came, Theva, Thilak, Wen Hao, Yen, Eugene, Calvin, Ravin, Leonard, May, Vino, Devi, Shuba, Edna, Annette, Jessica. You guys rock! Though all of you forgot about the Candy Canes on the Christmas Tree when leaving. Please don't forget this year! *hint-hint* ;-)

2008-01-02T22:09:00.000+08:00

Cantankerous

Now here’s a word you don’t hear everyday. I’ve stumbled upon this word a few times when reading magazines and newspaper, but never really understood its meaning. I first heard this word back in Secondary school days when a friend of mine, Kuhan Nagaratnam introduced this word to the whole school on English day. Every Wednesdays, we’d have an assembly in the morning and for 15 minutes; we’d have the word of the week and a short sketch or performance to improve our command of English. Kuhan has gone on to be a pilot and flying all over with Airasia and I’m stuck on the ground seated in an office cubicle. I should have done more public speaking and teaching English at that time, I sometimes wonder.

Cantankerous means unwilling to cooperate; stubbornly obstructive; disagreeable to deal with. In a sentence, instead of saying “He’s an argumentative man” you can rephrase it as “He’s cantankerous”. Sounds odd, but hey, doesn’t it sound weirdly funny, yet differently cool? So there you go, go forth and use this word wisely. For those who know this word and used it’s context correctly all this while, whilst knowing it’s actually meaning fully, good for you! Yes, I’m that naïve with loads of words in the dictionary.

It’s been more than a year since I last blogged, the reason mostly being that I never took the initiative to seat and write and also that I never had a fast enough internet service at home. I can’t promise I’ll update my blog on a regular basis, but I’ll surely try now that I’ve got izzi (http://www.izzi.com.my/). It’s a 4G wireless broadband service which is only currently available in the Klang Valley. I’be been using izziyou and thus far haven’t experienced downtime, bootup connection within 3 seconds, surfying webpages and chatting online with ease. I’ve no complaints, so I’m pretty happy with its performance. Read it’s website to know more.

Well, that's all for now. Hope to upload some pics the next time around...

2006-06-09T13:47:00.000+08:00

JP's Thought of the Day!

Dear Friends,

It’s been a while since I blogged. So I’ve decided to write something I was thinking about. And I think most of you guys can relate to this. It’s about relationships (again??!!) :-p Ever wondered why some relationships work and some don’t? When things go bad, and a breakup happens, one naturally blames the other for the failure. Finger pointing is easy but what’s the actual cause?

My friend A.N. asked me why girls keep telling her bout their sad stories of their relationships to her. “Why they constantly dwell in their miseries?” “Why it happened the way it did?” A.N. is a little annoyed that they are so fragile and “dependent” when it comes to bad times in relationships. Irritating when it happens all too often, right?

Another friend S.T. asked me “Why is it when we’re there for them when they need us during hard times with their boyfriends, but when all is well, and when we’re the ones hurting when I have a bad time in my relationship, they forget you?”

One more friend F.D. asked me “Why guys get the wrong impression when we’re nice to them?” “Why does this guy give me hopes but in the end, just want to be friends?”

L.R. said to another friend J.T. in front of me “Why get upset over just 1 girl. So many more out there. Why stoop so low for 1 bloody girl?” “Why sacrifice so much when she obviously is not that into you?” “You deserve better or she doesn’t deserve you!”

C.J. asked “Why are some guys so screwed?” “What is it with guys and commitments?” “What’s wrong with me JP (me), why doesn’t he want me?”

After talking about relationship with them and debating about issues pertaining to them, I have developed some opinions on a few things about relationships. These advice/opinions are taken from an email received from F.D.:

**************************************

For those of you who are Playboys / Playgirls:
Never say, "I love you" if you don't care. Never talk about feelings if they aren't there. Never touch a life if you mean to break a heart. Never look in the eye when all you do is lie. The cruelest thing a guy can do to a girl is to let her fall in love when he doesn't intend to catch her fall. Ladies, it works both ways aight?

For those of you who are Heartbroken:
Heartbreaks last as long as you want and cut as deep as you allow them to go. The challenge is not how to survive heartbreaks but to learn from them. Time heals all things? Some people don’t understand the meaning of it. For me, it’s time that enables us to separate ourselves from that person, gives you time to think bout it, analyze if you want to. If you’re smart enough, makes you stronger and not allow it to repeat again. Why get into something that causes you hurt, again?

For those of you who are Naive:
How to be in love: Fall but don't stumble, be consistent but not too persistent, share and never be unfair, understand and try not to demand, and get hurt but never keep the pain. Read it again, and try understanding it.

For those of you who are Possessive:
It breaks your heart to see the one you love happy with someone else but it's more painful to know that the one you love is unhappy with you. Learn to let go. I feel, if it it’s both ways, don’t try assuming it’s a highway, because it’s a one way street my friends! Get that into you head!

For those of you who are Afraid to confess:
Love hurts when you break up with someone. It hurts even more when someone breaks up with you. But love hurts the most when the person you love has no idea how you feel. I think some of you can relate very well to this.

For those of you who are Still holding on:
A sad thing about life is when you meet someone and fall in love, only to find out in the end that it was never meant to be and that you have wasted years on someone who wasn't worth it. If that person isn't worth it now he or she is not going to be worth it a year or 10 years from now. Do both yourselves a favor and LET GO…

**************************************

Personally, I feel there is no such thing as the perfect person for you. Just have to find someone who will want to spend the rest of his or her life with you. Arguments and misunderstanding must happen to learn more about each other, learn from mistakes and be better partners. Tolerating, being patient and “give & take” has to take place in order for relationships to work. Don’t try changing your loved one too much for your sake, just be accommodating and understanding. Discuss everything and work it out. Develop an understanding and realize that some things are best left the way they are.

After all this is done, let love play its part and lead the way...

2006-04-09T10:18:00.000+08:00

I've been tagged by the beautiful Sarimah!

In a way, kinda thankful she did, otherwise I wouldn't know what to update on my blog. It's been a while I know, but there are soo many things to do and experience, that blogging has taken a halt for the time being. So here goes...

How many schools did I go to?
4 only, but will add another soon
i) St. Joseph Kindergarden, Kuala Pilah
ii) S.R.K. Tunku Munawir, Kuala Pilah (1989 - 1994)
iii) S.M.K. Tuanku Muhammad, Kuala Pilah (1995 - 1999)
iv) UNITEN, Bangi (November 2000 - April 2005)

Was I the studious nerd, or the last minute hero?

No doubt, I was the last minute kinda person. If it were the finals, would start about 2 weeks before the papers. The reason, throughout the semester I take down notes and summarized them for these moments of last minute studying. So it makes it easier to revise and memorize, while doing some case studies and past year questions. Would usually summarize a whole semester's subject into just 3 A4-sized papers (front & back of course) just before the paper.

Was I the class 'taiko' or the teacher's pet?

I guess in certain classes I was the teacher's pet. Maybe coz I was kinda lively, playful. Perhaps even quite participative! Was never really a "taiko", although in Secondary school, I was noti!

What was the biggest rule I broke in school?
Destroying School property and Skipping classes and went out on dates!

Three subjects I enjoyed

I enjoyed em subjects because the teachers/lecturers are awesome!

i) Science Class Form 1 till 3. Mr Chen, will never forget him! Very creative and sporting! With all those experiments and constant encouragement to open our mind and think out of the box!

ii) English Class, with Puan Zuraidah in Uniten. It was fun, and I never knew how weak i was in Conversational And Written English till I took her class. Also met with my first uni date in her class! ;-)

iii) Ethics Class, with Dr. Sharrif, the Dean of the IT Faculty in Uniten. Awesome motivator. Makes us believe in ourselves and realizing our potentials. Thought us to defend the poor and defenceless, and fight for our rights with accordance to the law. Instilled togetherness in the group and exposed us to many terrible happenings around the world where we without realizing are partly responsible for.

Three teachers that inspired me

i)Mr Loo, he taught me Bahasa Melayu tuition for Form 4 & Form 5 for free! My family wasn't doing too good financially, So he helped me out. He inspired me with his wisdom in life, good Christian practice and sense of charity. Which reminds me, I need to pay him a visit and see how's he doing! He would be glad I turned out pretty well.

ii)Puan Che Teh Kamariah, truly an inspiring teacher. Thought me everything I know about modern maths. Drilled her class really good till we never had to worry about maths for SPM. In fact, we didn't need to revise for it when SPM came. Over confidence? Nope. Great Teacher with amazing influence and capabilities? YES!

iii) Coach Abdul Rahman (Uda). Till now, I don't know why the athletes nicknamed him Uda. But he's methods of coaching and patience with resulted in state and national champions! One of his boys was Nurherman Majid, the ex-national hurdler. It wasn't easy being state camp in 200m and 400m, (also a member of 4X400M national champions, i ran achor!...had to boast a bit la!;-p) But he turned a playful boy in me, into something more. Thanks Coach!

My turn to tag:
i)Marianne
ii)Henrietta
iii)Sharlyn
iv)Hui Ling
v)Michelle
vi)Devan

2006-01-31T11:04:00.000+08:00

Chinese New Year!!!

Hello people! Once again, I'm back with a another blog. It's almost 3 weeks, but you people have been busy with the holidays anyway, so you wouldn't have checked my blog also. The long awaited holidays have arrived, finally! So glad to have loads of sleep and go out with some friends. I've always been busy, or too tired after work to head out for a drink with u people. Hey Joanne, Desiree' and Anis, thanks for everything, my hols would have been boring if wasn't for u all! Mark, Adam, Mel, Corrinne, Eugene, Darren....u ppl Rock!... Bowling and "luk-luk"(the steamboat van) was so kewl!

So, once again, Chinese New Year is here, and I too celebrate la coz of the "mixed" nature of my family. Went over to my uncle's in near Tropicana. Had fun foolin around, pigging out with absolutely 1st class chinese cuisine!, enjoyin good liquor, and gambling! Oh yeah, I received a lot of Ang Pau too! hahaha

Here are some pics to share...

A nice poser with a simple deco, My sis and my niece Latisha

Mum, cousin Juliana, and Latisha (Juliana's daugther)

Little Ashley scared of the loud fire crackers, poor cute lil thing...

The balance food after everyone had 2nds and 3rds! Few varieties,

but loads in quatity! Aunt Catherine can pass off as a real 5-Star Hotel Chef anytime! The Prawns were AWESOME! had about 10 myself! Pork Vindaloo was sooo ON! And Abolone Kai Kiyuk was "finger-lickin-good" ( ;-) haha, Alvin )

Judi time! The pic shows the older ones playin. Cousins the other table.

Bets were from Rm1 to RM10...Won RM35 myself! Muahaha ;-)

Kristen, claiming she ate too much...but we cuzins know la why!

hahaha (Vodka+Wisky+Wine+Rum) Killer mix!

Balik time at 4am...All not lookin too sober! Aunt Mourine diggin her bag for a few minutes, dunno what she was lookin for and mumblin. Aunt Linda peering into my DVD's, and commenting I should watch more adult ones! "Grow up la u young man!" She says. hahaha. Alcohol and noti-ness. Runs in d family...

I love the holidays, Chinese New Year, Hari Raya (the only time no alcohol!), Deepavali, Christmas and New Year! Coming from a mixed family, we have the best celebrations. The next gathering will be my cousin's weddin! Forgot how fun it is to have family gatherings....coz last Christmas, we had open house, so din join the relations...

Sadly, I'm not allowed to put on my cousins pics because the ones I have, they were all Zonked out! Took movie clips also with my new Powershot A620, but banned from puttin up on my site. Oh well, till my next post...U people take care and be nice! God Bless....

2006-01-16T00:05:00.000+08:00

New Year's Resolution

Why do people make new year resolutions? What good does it do? The way I see it, people usually follow it in the month of January, probably till February if they're still goin strong with their new found habit, exercise or routine. But amazingly, some do follow it through all the way!

Made some myself, let's see if I follow through em all the way!

1.To be more involved in sports and social activities in Church and Work. Wanna make more friends.

2.To loose weight & be fit for extra curricular activities! U can be imaginative here aight? ;-) Gotta hit the gym and jog more for this to work.

3.Read more books, gain more knowledge! Kinda feel dumb at times when having conversation with new friends. May want to talk more with more people, learn stuff...

4.Go clubbing less, and spend more time in the youths at church. Somehow donating for a worthy cause seems more rewarding that splashin it on drinks, getting drunk and making a fool out of myself!

5.Seek out and keep in touch with old friends. Somehow, I feel this is truly important as I believe it's them who define who I am today. The people I used to hang out with and love spending quality time with. I want to be given the chance to appreciate the help, love and care shown to me. Hopefull be good friends again with my "Buddy"...(u know who u are ding!)

6.Come up with an original idea! It's gonna be prety hard but since i love to think and analyze stuff, I should be able to come up with some good ideas. Probably like writing a story! JP style of course! Previous ones were kinda noti/dirty... so will have the next one be readable for all ages! (shame on u JP!)

I guess 6 is enuf. Altough I seriously doubt I'll be able to follow em all, but at least I'm trying to be a better person. Very few have changed me for the better. I hope my new found friends, along with my loyal and trustworthy old ones will continue to guide me and help me be a better Child of God! :-)

2006-01-08T01:22:00.000+08:00

Chistmas 2005

Hello People! I've not blogged for almost a month now. Guess as time goes by, you feel really lazy to do some pretty routine stuff. This time around, I'm posting some pics from my christmas day open house I had. Pictures are courtesy of Thilak Sanjev and his new professional & expensive Digi Cam! Thanks dude!

The makan-makan began from 1pm till 8pm...then my parents friends came. I pulak went out visiting. Ate like a pig the whole day! So much for all the hard work at the gym running the threadmill....

Our Christmas Tree!

My Family, Christmas 2005

A Pic with my sister, Ann Marrie

The Gang, more relaxed pose...

The Gang, in a different , forced pose...

With Mr Wen Hao and his gf, Yen

With Miss Farah, glad you came gurl!

To all who came, thanks! It was nice having all of you at my small, humble home in Sunway college. Just waiting to get a real house and have more get togethers! For those of ou who didn't make it, no worries as there's always more christmases to come... Made some new friends in the process too...

Will update my blog with the latest happenings in 2006 soon...wait for it ya?

2005-12-11T00:13:00.000+08:00

“Got up from the wrong side of the bed eh?”

Unlike any other day, today I find myself in an unfamiliar feeling or emotion. I suddenly feel down, uninspired, weak, lost, uncertain…etc. Why? I don’t know. I believe people go through this stage once in a while. Not knowing why they feel the way that they do at times. Some choose to use the phrase “got up from the wrong side of the bed”. Some address it as “It’s just not my day” when things aren’t going right in whatever they do for that day.

Back to my unfamiliar feeling, why do I feel they way I do now? I have this sudden feeling of being unfulfilled, empty, and unsatisfied. It’s like I feel life can’t just be only this! Thinking about what I’m doing everyday, it’s like it’s such a routine. I feel like a rat in a maze that has no exit! That I memorized every route of the maze, but there isn’t a point to do so as I can’t get out. Why do we have such feelings as times? And u get all worked up, stressed, confused, miserable and the feeling just sucks!

However, I feel that it’s our mental related human being that has caused us to feel this way at times. It’s like a ticking biological clock that rings out an alarm to get you into this mood of feeling when you come to an important junction in your life. Its like God made us this way to help us ponder upon stuff from time to time. Like a time-out to look back at from where you came from and where you are now. To appreciate what you’ve achieved thus far. To realize the mistakes of the past and to repent upon them. To feel disgusted at out wrongs to out loved ones. To feel remorseful of ourselves when we’ve hurt and broken the trust of others. To forgive those who have hurt us deeply. To reconcile our differences with those we hold a feeling of resentment against. To learn to let things go coz it’s just meant to be.

While we ponder upon our past and present, we end up with some conclusions. Like there is not a single thing we can do anything to change the past, but we can help shape the future. If we knew what the ending of a story would be like, we can re-write the body to we can conclude it differently. Sadly, we often don’t know how the story of our lives is going to unfold in the coming days. We often complain that we don’t have more time to do stuff, no money to buy stuff, not smart or confident enough to get a better job, not ready for a relationship… etc. But one thing is for sure, nothing is certain. Nobody knows how long we will all live. Nobody knows when the next world war is going to take place. Nobody knows how far out is outer-space? Will humankind survive the next 2000 years?

Oh well, just thought I’d share with you all about my feelings for today. I know its gibberish, but you still read it anyway right? But I hope it wasn’t too cumbersome reading till the end. But if you happen to have this feeling again one day, at least you’d remember reading my blog, the day JP wrote about the day you get that “miserable-and- useless-kinda-feeling”.

2005-11-28T22:46:00.000+08:00

More Questionares...

Gosh, I'm addicted to em! Got this one from Sarimah's blog. Added a few myself, hehe!

01. First thing you did this morning:
~ Reset the alarm to another 30 minutes later and slept till it rang again, Muahahaha.

02. Last thing you ate:
~ My finger nail… Ewww rite? haha

03. Is your cell phone a piece of crap?
~ Kinda, no camera and limited storage space… maxed out 300 numbers d…

04. What's the thing you look forward to most in the next 7 months?
~ Increment in salary! Continuing my studies…

05. What's annoying you right now?
~ not enuff money….

06. What was the last movie you watched?
~ Chicken Little….Funnie siul…

07. Do you believe in long distance relationships?
~ Nope, but I’ve heard of a few that works… Personally, I’m not into it

08. What's worse, being in love with someone you can't have or pretending to love someone?
~ I think, Being in love with someone you can’t have. On the other hand, I would never want to pretend I love someone, so cruel! Guess both are quite hard to choose from.

09. Is there someone you miss so much it makes you sad?
~ Nope

10. What inspires you?
~ Someone achieving success through pure hard work, despite so many challenges and in impossible situations.

11. If you could put together a concert of 5 bands or artistes, who would you choose?
~ Boyz II Men, Black Eyed Peas, Rob Thomas, Usher & Robbie Williams

12. Lyrics that sums up your love life?
~ Nobody Knows – Tony Rich’s Project

13. What's the one thing you wish you could do better?
~ More focused in whatever I do.

14. If you could do anything this second, what would it be?
~ Go to a clear water beach, lay on the sand and looking up at the starts and seeing the reflection of the moon over the sea…( It’s night now, time of writing this).

15. What's your most vivid memory from 6th grade?
~Having a girl come up to me saying she’s in love with me, asking me to be her boyfriend….hahaha, how I wish… No la. It was being named as the School’s Best Student.

16. Latest addiction?
~ Chockies = chocolate cookies…Need I say more?

17. How many people would you say you are interested in at this moment?
~ 1

18. Who are you in love with?
~ U expect me to answer this and let everyone know? Dun think so….

19. Do you think someone thinks about you daily?
~ Err…I think so

20. Are you self confident?
~ Most of the time…But on occasions, I become really-really dependent on another person…a certain someone knows this…

21. What would you change about yourself?
~ hairstyle, besides that…I love myself…

22. What book are you reading right now?
~ not reading any books…need to la!! Brain getting really idle!

23. How many people do you know with the same name as yours?
~ err…. I know a few Johns, and a few Pauls….

25. What was the last thing you spilled?
~ Cappuccino

26. Who do you normally block online
~ Can’t remember blockin anyone.

27. Name some things you enjoy doing
~ Travelling, Eating, Trying something new like scuba-diving., going to the cinema. Chillin at Coffee bean with buddies…

28. Who was the last who sent you an sms
~ err…u dun have to know… relates to question number 17.

29. Who was the last who said "Love You"
~ think it was me…

30. Who is the most Annoying Person you know
~Andarious a.k.a Ron!

31. Any birthday's coming up? Who's
~ Sajna, 2nd December….Dun think I can ever forget this date…

32. Can you play the card game called "speed"
~ If I knew how to play it. Sounds interesting…

33. Are you a Mr/Mrs Know-It-All
~ nope. I'm Mr.-Dunno-Anything-At-All

34. Do you make people Laugh
~ Used to. Dun think anymore.

35. Do you think you’re ugly
~ Very

36. What is the name of the song that stuck in your head
~ I like to move it, move it! The version from the animation movie, Madagascar!

37. Favorite television show?
~ One Tree Hill, used to be Smallville

38. Your childhood crush, who is he/she? What he/she like?
~ She's a girl from church, Knew her for a long time. But never spoke to her till recently. She's a Catholic, chindian, a nurse. She's cute and friendly. Caring and obedient. Why i never went after her? Coz she's my Uncle's girlfriend's cousin...

39.What kind of house do you want to live in?
~ 6 room Bungalow, with a pool, garden, under-ground mini-cinema, pool & bar room, a library with a fireplace and to place slow classical music, a huge guest hall with a huge plasma screen tv. A modern and spacious kitchen. Not forgetting huge bedrooms with massive luxury bathrooms!!

40.Love is Blind or Lovers are Blind
~ Lovers are blind

41.The one you love or the one who loves you
~ The one who loves me

42. If you were to choose bf or gf smoker or not
~ Non smoking please…

43. Another girl/boy starts flirting with your boyfriend/girlfriend , what do you do
~ Inform that she’s with me. If it continues and if it bothers my gf too much…I’d fucking beat him upside down? Hell Yeah!

44. You hear a rumour that your girlfriend/boyfriend likes another boy/girl, what do you do
~ Clarify stuff as soon as possible. What’s not meant to be, can’t be forced.

45. It's finally your day out of school, having plans, but your boyfriend/girlfriend ditches you for something else like clubs, sports, etc. , what do you do
~ i'll have fun with my buddies

46. You and your friends are having fun at home when your boyfriend/girlfriend texts you to call him/her back now, what do you do~ Call her and ask watzup?

47.You and your boyfriend/girlfriend are watching a movie when you run out of popcorn, you think of getting him/her to get summore, but he/she looks really devoted to the show, what do you do?
~ Interrupt her at an un-interesting scene of the movie and ask if she wants more. Will go get more if she wants.

48. You heard a girl/guy at your school / workplace like you. And you happen to know this person. He / she always smiles and seems to be clumsy whenever he / she is near you. What do you say when u both meet?
~ how ya doin (F.R.I.E.N.D’s Joey’s accent) hahaha!

49. You see your best friend’s girlfriend/boyfriend is out on a date with another guy/girl. What would you do?
~ Casually go up to him/her and ask how are things? Ask Where’s (my best friend’s name). And ask who this is?

50. If you found out you are going to die in 10 minutes, and you had your hand phone with you, what will you do?
~ Call my parents and sister. Tell em I love em, thank them for everything. And call another person too, and wish him/her all the best for the future…

2005-11-13T23:38:00.000+08:00

Work Life Balance

Hello People! Hope u all are doing great. Things have been pretty boring these last few days for me. I didn’t achieve much, not did I try doing something out of the ordinary. Among the phrases I’ve used to reply people when they ask:

Questions below were asked by some of you!

So JP, How’s Life? or how’s Work?
1. The weekdays are too long & the weekends are too short…
2. *Sigh* Okie la…Could be better though
3. No Excitement…Bored….Wat u doin tonite?

Hey Handsome, when u getting ur car?
1. Never…Will continue usin daddy’s car! haha
2. For what? U have car enuf la, u can drive me around!
3. Next Year la…ekonomi gawat la…harga petrol naik giler!

So John, what’s happenin? Still single ar?
1. Nuthin happenin la, Yerp, Still Single
2. *Sigh* What to do? No girls want me….
3. (If annoyed with repetitious questioning) WORKIN ON IT!

Where u workin now? What do you do?
1. Shell Station, pouring petrol
2. Shell IT, Desktop Engineer providing Scripting Services
3. Angkat Tolak Masuk Picit

From what I discovered in my meet ups with my friends and relations, I realized that we all have a work life balance. What I mean is, we all have to work to get the bills paid and we also have a life where we spend time with our family and friends. But do we have it balanced? Most of us wish to have more money at the end of the day, but end up feeling we have more days at the end of the money. Am I right? We had big dreams when we were little, but when we started working and find out nothing is free, somehow, our dreams shrunk.

Thus, we ought to realize that to have more out of life, we need to not only experience new things with the people we love, but also to seek fulfilment in something you’re passionate about. Life is not about working, it is about living it to the fullest! You’ve heard many times when people say that “Life is Short”. But you will only say that when you’re getting old and weak, maybe at age 70. But we fail to realize, years pass us by pretty fast.

Here, I would like to thank and appreciate all those who’ve helped me, cared for me and loved me all these years. I may not get a chance to do so in the future. I’ve seen so many of my friends dying because of freak accidents, that sometimes I feel it may be my turn next time. To my friends and loved ones…who have helped me at times when I was helpless and incapable of doing things myself, thanks for your encouragement and kind hearted-ness. For those of you who sacrificed a lot for me, out of love and respect, I truly appreciate all you’ve done for me, and I still want to repay you in anyway possible. For those of you who are always there for me, you guys are God-Sent! I’m blessed to have you all with me. And for those who are beginning to be a part of my life now, thanks for accepting me and hope we can have a long, prosperous, and fun filled journey together.

From Work Life Balance to thanking those I love and care about….I dunno why I keep writing with mismatched beginning and ending, but I hope you all enjoyed reading my blog. Sometimes, I just feel like writing what’s on my mind. For those of you who I’ve copied the titles coz I’ve run out of ideas to write, hope you dun mind la k? At times, I’m not creative. Just being lazy, as I usually am! :-p

I love you people! Thanks for making my life a wonderful journey of challenges and adventure. I don’t know what I’ll do or become without you all! God Bless you all…..

2005-11-05T12:57:00.000+08:00

7 Deadly Sins :-)

I came across this while visiting one of my friend's blog and it lookes kinda fun. Sumthin bout me that you all can find out….

List of 7

7 Things That Scare Me
1. Falling – Yerp, am afraid of heights
2. Ghosts / Spirits – I’ve seen a person being possessed before, Scary Shit!
3. Losing the ones I Love
4. Scary Movies
5. Backstabbers / Two-timers
6. Really Bad tempered / Crazy People
7. Not achieving my life goals

7 Things I Like The Most
1. Family – How can u not love em?
2. Eating – Totally love good food!
3. Making Friends, chattin / Lepakin with em
4. Doing sporty activities
5. Travelling / Sight-Seeing/ Exploring
6. Good Movies / Window Shopping
7. Kids / Babies

7 Important Things In My Room
1. My Bed / Mattress
2. My 2 Pillows
3. My Blanket
4. My Clothes / Gel / Perfume
5. My PC
6. My Box of past sporting events / School or University items
7. My Mini-Bar

7 Random Facts About Me
1. I used to be allergic to Chicken! Now I eat em almost every other day!
2. I like to dress up, but always have limited clothes, need to shop more!
3. I like meeting new people, and be selective with whom I wanna be close with
4. I talk to myself when I’m alone! Weird, I know…
5. I’m kinda quiet with a new crowd, but can’t stop talking when I’m used to em.
6. Have an Ego, at times only….Situational la….
7. At times, I get crazy! Dunno why, but I talk nonsense or do crazy things…

7 Things I Plan To Do Before I die
1. Complete my education to a respectable level.
2. Visit a few European & Americana Countries.
3. Get married, have kids, grandkids….great grandkids?
4. Own BMW(s)?
5. Own a nice big house / mansion?
6. Help as many poor / needy people as I can
7. Hope to be an inspiration to many…to be a successful and responsible person

7 Things I Can Do
1. Eat a whole roasted chicken
2. Watch good movies and eat junk food all day long on the couch.
3. Go shopping for up to 5 hours…Some men love shopping too k!
4. Play a good computer game the whole day!
5. Jog or hit the gym at any time of the day. Must have the mood la…
6. Get flirty when I’m high…keep em girls away when u see me drunk!
7. Be naughty when I’m required to! And Holy when I’m required to also! Confusin?

7 Things I Can't Do
1. Speak Chinese - despite mum knowin Cantonese, and Sis knowin Mandarin.
2. Watch Scary movies at nite…Can’t sleep as it freaks me out the whole nite!
3. Be mean and sarcastic to someone. Dun like hurtin people intentionally.
4. Stay in the house for more than 18 hours.
5. Resist good food, even when I’m actually full!
6. Not have a friend to talk to for more than half a day. I’m a talkative person.
7. Go to graveyards at nite / walk on the edge on top of really tall buildings!

7 Things I Say The Most
1. oh okie
2. I see
3. So….
4. Oh Really?
5. Bloody Monkey u!
6. Oh Shit!
7. WHHHAAATTTTT?????

7 Foods I Love
1. Lamb Chops / Steaks
2. Spaghetti
3. Chicken – Any style will do!
4. Pizza
5. Beef Burgers – McD’s
6. Breakfast Set – Bacon, Eggs, Baked Beans, Sausages, Toasted bread

7. Anything Chocolate-ty – Ice Cream, Cakes, Cookies….

7 Nicknames From Others
1. JP
2. Johnny Boy
3. Paul Boy
4. JJ
5. Shah Rukh Khan…think some of my friends are bloody blind!
6. Jordan…..School time…when I played basketball.
7. Skeletons….when I was much younger & obviously thinner!

7 Celebrity Crushes
1. Halle Berry
2. Jennifer Lopez
3. Rani Mukherji
4. Mahima Chaudhary
5. Catherine Bell from JAG
6. Maria Sharapova
7. Fauziah Latiff, when she was younger…

7 Real Live crushes
1. (Wouldn't you like to know?) - She stole my fav water bottle thinkin it's hers!
2. (Wouldn't you like to know?) – Was first my sworn enemy...talk about opposites attract!
3. (Wouldn't you like to know?) – This one came after me…just didn’t tell her.
4. (Wouldn't you like to know?) - Also came after me, but passed away :-(
5. (Wouldn't you like to know?) - Met this one during sports - Nationals
6. (Wouldn't you like to know?) - University…she was my senior
7. (Wouldn't you like to know?) - Became my first girlfriend
* There an 8th one too... And I'm currently going out with her... :-)

*All of the above information are true at time of posting

2005-10-22T10:48:00.000+08:00

Relationships

We all have relationships with people around us. Whether it being with our parents, siblings, uncles, aunties, cousins, friends, workmates ...etc. We have something in common; we share a 'relationship' with each other.

But the topic of relationships often is associated with a certain someone from the opposite sex. One who is not related to you. Someone whom you met, and find yourselves being really attracted to. Someone whom you constantly think of, and wish you could spend as much time with them as possible. And before you can get into a "Relationship" with them, you've gotta find out your compatibility wif em. Like age, race, religion, likes, dislikes, character, status and things you have in common with each other. On most cases I've discovered, people who are total opposites attract! In term of character and behaviours...why? You tell me, coz I’m confused.

Recently, I got to know someone, a lil younger, but thinks very maturely. I love talking to her, as she seems to see the world differently from me, yet share the same opinions. She has the cutest of smiles, and her voice is heavenly! She’s a mix too, more than me of course! She kinda opened my eyes towards things I never noticed. Made me also realize the kinda person I am, and my special qualities. Being alone with her is enough to take my mind off any kind of pressure or troubles I’m facing, in a way also gives me strength to face em. We even had a past relationship with other people that didn't work out and took a long time to get over. Although we do have lots in common, like family back ground, same faith, and some favourite past-time activities... we can't be together for certain reasons which are quite obvious. One of em is that as I'm concentrating on my career, she's trying to get one.

Every now and then, you come across someone really special. You constantly think of them, and really appreciate the little-est of time you've spent with him/her. And when this happens, living in the cruel and unfair world seems all peaceful, fair and worth-while all of a sudden. They become your most meaningful friend, your pain-killer, your joy-giver, your adviser, your lepak-partner, and if things work out..... your lover and care-giver too.

Ross & Rachel (just a pic la...for illustration of relationship)

It makes you wonder how people fall in love and what goes through their head when it happens. How do they know they're in love? What do they consider, (besides the things I mentioned above) before committing to a relationship. What are the criterias, conditions and pre-requisites before making that decision?

Being in a relationship is unique and complicated at times. It means a responsibility of a different kind. What girls look for in guys? So far, I’ve found out is they require the guy to be sentimental, appreciative, communicative, decent looking (handsome la), caring, loyal, loving and with security (Money la!) of course… What guys look for in girls? I won’t speak on behalf of all guys, but personally, I think its honesty, loyalty, love, support and being there when it matters most, being hot looking and being cute (like my friend mentioned above) is a definite bonus la… :-)

Hope you people think about relationships a bit more seriously. If are already in one, appreciate it. Accept and love your ‘significant-other’ despite their flaws and weaknesses. Because there are no perfect or custom-made-people around. You may never find better person than him/her again if you loose them. If you’re on the verge of getting into one, think things thoroughly before committing. Can you handle the challenges and obstacles while being in a relationship? Always remember, don’t force someone into it…it’s a choice that you both make. It should never be one sided. Because “It takes 2 to tango”.

I guess you guys would be wondering why John is writing these kinda stuff suddenly, besides the usual updates on whats happening in his life, right? Well, thought of doing some thinking, and just writing whatever I have in my tiny-lil-brain. Something different la…. Or maybe I have a major crush on someone…and wanna just tell it to everyone! Hahaha…no la…it’s the former…or is it latter? :-P

2005-10-14T08:40:00.000+08:00

Chamber of Secrets!

For those of you that I've invited, but didn't come for the camp in Gombak from the 30/sept till 2/Oct...Here are some pics from the Camp....

This shot was taken after we had the Water ballon Tribal War! Yerp, most of us got pretty wet!

Running in the sack race! Really competitive man!

Our Tribal Kings! Suppose to make em scary, but it turned out, FUNNY!

Shot taken on the last day. On the right was really nice Water fall, couldn't see it la.

Chillin out at the pool. Yerp, we had a pool!

The Organizers who made it all Happen, Willing Hands! Thanks a bunch guys!

I had great fun and made so many really great friends! Missin em d! Pictures are courtesy of Andrew, kinda sebat-ed from his friendster pics la! Muahaha, hope u dun mind dude. Hope to meet up with all the old guys in the upcoming camp! Willing Hands, great Job! Looking forward to hearing for you guys soon... God Bless!

2005-10-09T14:00:00.000+08:00

Latest Update!

Hello People! I'm so glad to have the time to write something in my blog this time around. Things have been pretty hectic lately, But I'm hanging in there!

What happened to Mr. JP last weekend (30/9 till 2/10)? I attended a church camp in Jungle Lodge, Gombak! By far the most fun-filled camp, but really exhausting at the same time, hahaha. Was suprised I could go to work on monday. Met so many "Happenin" youths there, haha. It was a really nice getaway from the City. Deep in the jungle, was paradise. Waterfall, cool streams and stuff. Awesom camp, I would recommend anyone to join in the camps organized by Willing Hands, Assumption Church. Happenin bunch, There were no Bible, Rosary or Novena session. So u can imagine la the kinda fun we had!

What happened this weekend? The same bunch of"Holy" Catholics from the camp met up at Karma, Hartamas. Gosh, the organizers and participants came, and had loads of fun chattin and chillin with our drinks. Chilled out with absolutely wonderful people in Imelda and Carmen (Miranda Sisters, how can u not love em!?), Ron (Drummer, Kewl Dude!), Elton (Chunky Monkey King), Angie (da babe!) , Charmaine(hot one!), Debbie (Funnie! & encouraging ;-p), Darren (Prince Charmin!), Melissa (Cutie) , Eugene(Macho), Andrew (Mr. MBA) , Natasha (Sexy moves on d dance floor) , Rubee (Long lost buddy this one, reunited by chance!) and a few of their friends. Had fun with em new buddies, just couldn't get a lil more high to dance like crazy la, coz I was drivin...haha. Nvm, Next time!

Oh well, till my next blog, hope u guys keep me informed on what's happenin with u all! Those of u who have blogs, inform me, I'll add u to my blog list for others to view. People ought to know who are JP's buddies rite? Peace out!

2005-09-15T22:29:00.000+08:00

Where did the week go?

Gosh, it feels like only yesterday we went to work on a Monday, and tomorrow is already friday! How time flies, but i guess time flies even faster on weekends...wouldn't u agree? The past week for me has been a lil stressful.... But coping pretty well with the tasks and responsibility given by my kewl Team Leader Alex Lee and cute Script Coordinator Elaine Cheong.

Last Saturday was the feast of Our Lady of Good Health Kampung Pandan. That parish is kinda like my kampung la. Met many friends there. I was in the youths there in 2000, before I joined UNITEN. It was nice seeing all the lil ones are all grown up, some bigger than me! I guess i' pretty small for my age...wat to do? I don't seem to be growing anymore...depressing man! hahaha... Pleasantly, met some distant relations, introduced by my dad. It was nice to see em, I mean...wouldn't it be thrilling to get to know people, who are actually your relations, but have just met for the first time? Not to mention the daughters are really cute! Heard they have a brother who didn't come...Anywayz, i'll do all i can to unite the cuzins! haha

Today, Datuk Jon Chadwick payed a visit to Shell IT International(SITI). It was kinda like a suprise visit, as no circular said anything about his meeting with out SITI boss, Steve Clearwater and the rest of the big-guns at SITI. Nice guy, it makes u just wanna walk up to him and say "Hi!" and have a friendly chat. Btw, those of you who don't know who he is, he's the Chairman of Shell Malaysia, a post that he has held since 1 st July 2002 . He is concurrently the Managing Director of Shell Malaysia's Exploration and Production division as well as Production Director of Shell Exploration & Production - Asia Pacific, directing businesses in The Philippines, Pakistan and China . Currently the President of the Malaysian International Chamber of Commerce & Industry (MICCI).

Y. Bhg. Datuk Jon ChadwickChairman of Shell Malaysia

Oh well, the week is almost ending, and weekend is near again. As I got to work tomoro, I'll be wanting to finish up on work as much as i can, do that i wun have a headache on monday trying to finish up unfinished scripts... Goin Bangsar this Saturday nite... anyone wanna join?

2005-09-12T08:30:00.000+08:00

Graduation Pictures

Hi All! At last I got those graduation pictures scanned. I could put only some la, din have all the time also. These pictures were taken on 3rd of September. Enjoy people!

With Mum and Dad

Being Congratulated by friends...

With my 2 best friends, Thilak (L) & Theva (M)

With our Proud family

Posing, posing...

Look at the camera la guys...

Dinner at nite, Malas wanna scan d rest...Coz I wasn't in em! hahaha

Overall, the day was really a nice experience. I have every intention of furthering my studies. If all goes well, and with the current cashflow, I should start somewhere in the middle of next year. What I'm gonna do? You'll find out on my convocation day for my Masters!!! Muahahaha, so mean lidat....

2005-08-30T09:00:00.000+08:00

Scripting Team 2005

Below is the picture of our Scripting Team. Taken on July 2005. Seating in d front is my Boss (Team Leader) Alex Lee. Beside him is our End-to-end coordinator from Houston, Margaret. She was on her way to Borneo, i think. So she decided to come a lil , early, work from Cyberjaya and off for her holiday. Yes, we all can work from any Shell office which is connected to Shell Intranet around the world, provided we bring our smartcards with us la of course. Hope i can travel to Houston or Manchester soon...wanna meet the scripters there....

Not all of us were present, Hashim, Thinagari, Sim, Nara were not present when the picture was taken.

2005-08-29T23:55:00.000+08:00

Quite a happenin Monday...

The day started with me heading to Uniten about 9am to pick up my Convocation Robe and Mortarboard. Met up with quite a number of fellas there like Leonard, Yew Cheong, Wail, Trishna, Vatsala, Senji...didn't expect so many of my friends will be graduating the same time as me. I thought they convo-ed in April this year. Oh well, looks like Theva, Thilak and I wun be the only buddies convo-ing...Kinda looking forward to it... It was nice driving to uniten and meeting familiar faces. So many sweet & unforgettable memories.

Went back to work about 11:30am. Work was the usual, but the addition was working on a script that kinda freaked me out a lil. It's a software which is a mandatory software for all staff, What does it do? Keep track of EVERYTHING you do on ur workstation! What u install, what u use it for and to whom u send it to. It's recorded and sent daily to some auditors/checkers to make sure the relevant information is sent to the relevant people. Gosh, the script was so complex, I kinda found out why Shell IT was created in d first place. And with 30,000 over scripts to look after before we launch Vista in 2007, I guess my job is well cut out!

When I got back home at 8pm, to my suprise someone from Kuala Pilah called me. She was only 13 when i was doin SPM, according to her la. She got my number from another friend. Interesting to know some people still remember a senior and call u up. Received another msg from someone saying they know me, and wanna get to know me. If u happen to be this person, a prank-puller, please la, i dun have time for this all k! Save ur credit la, I'm not some perasan case who thinks he's so famous and sooo handsome all k! I like making friends, but dun push it!

Oh well, since wednesday is a holiday, i'm gonna enjoy working tomoro. Will try finishing up things at work and enjoy the luxury of a day off. To all my Malaysian buddies, Happy Merdeka! To all my work-mates, happy 1 day holiday! To the people i'm suppose to meet tomoro at Ryan's house party, go slow on the booze, i'll come a lil late! Attending a Merdeka Mass and Family nite at Assumption, PJ... We do the Merdeka Countdown together-gether in a drunk state k? Muahaha

Convocation this saturday, to all my buddies who are also convo-ing with me, Congratulations and see u there! Those of u who wanna join the rest of us for a houseparty/convo party (if u not celebrating with family la)....meet me there, i'll give u d details of the location. Food, drinks and ..."drinks" all free, dun ask who sponsored all k....Secret!

2005-08-27T11:36:00.000+08:00

True Star for Men!

I’ve been waiting for True Star Men to come out, ever since my sister’s bf bought her True Star for Christmas. It was really, sadly, it wasn’t unisex, so I had to wait till it’s launched. Finally la, it’s here! Launched in Japan recently, and it’s coming to Malaysia soon! Since my Ferrari Black has finished, only left with my CK One and Polo Sport, need another fragrance! Hope True Star Men comes out soon!

Below are some pics of the Japan Launch.

Yerp, as u can see, Enrique is the official guy for the fragrance, Beyonce was for the Women's True Star. All you guys, get it k? You'll love it! And guess what's the tagline for this latest edition from Tommy Hilfiger? It's "You'll remember how he smelled" in a good way i hope! Muahahaha...

2005-08-27T10:37:00.000+08:00

I'm Back!

Hi Everyone! It's been such a long while since I last posted anything here. Thanks for the messages guys, really appreciate the concern. I'm perfectly fine. Work has been okie, can't complain as I kinda like wat I do. The people I work with are really friendly, co-operative and understanding. Made quite a number of buddies from other departments, especially from the helpdesk and CTS teams. Real fun bunch, sporting too. The salary is pretty good, and of course the facilities made available to us, awesome...u can say it's kinda like luxury workin here, haha.

Last weekend (20/8/2005) was Shell IT's Annual dinner. I've only worked for 2 months there, but got invited as well. It was held at Hilton, Sentral. Pretty luxurious place, 5 star ma! I went alone without a date, unlike most of my work-mates who brought their partners, but soon made friends with the other "singles" there! I made quite a few friends that nite, and thanks to the dinner, I found people with similar interests and likes. I'll try to post some pics of the dinner when I get my hands on em. Most of the men wore suits and blazers. The ladies were just stunning! All were in gowns. Really a Gala dinner la. Among the highlights, my friend Lavinia won the best female dressed "Celebrity" award. The macho Scottish Gavin won the best Male dressed "Celebrity" award. Our Country Manager got us all shocked by first dancing with the cabaret girls for the introduction of the annual dinner, and then un-masking himself at the end to suprise us all! What a real sport, Mr. Steve Clearwater (He's Kiwi). Shell's very own Elvis, Ignatius Paul Massang gave a wonderful Elvis number, but I can't remember what. All the girls were practically drooling! haha. Karina Fernandez was awesome! Never knew she was so active in many things in Shell. She em-c-ed some section of the evenin, Danced, sang (Moulin Rouge) and got inducted to Shell's Sports Hall of Fame. She Rocks! If there was a fan club for her, I'll definately be in it!....The nite was fantastic la, it all ended at 12, and me and some new found buddies headed down to Modestos, Hartamas for some drinks. And some got a lil flirty after a few drinks... & I didn't mind at all! haha

This whole week has been a lil hectic for me. Work is ok, just a lot. Preparing for our huge migration to Microsoft Vista, yerp, if you guessed it right, We get to test and trouble-shoot it first! before u guys get it in the market in 2007! Altough I've taken a look at it, and played with some functions, and testing thru command lines....It's pretty huge! 3 Gig plus for installation. People; prepare urself by getting a steroid-enhanced pc's to get this baby installed! Can't say much la it's classified, and please dun get me to smuggle out Vista and all its compatible applications for u k! I know i'll be having the original microsoft release, but I'll get sacked and sued man! For those of you who don't know what Vista is, it's the next release of Operating system after Windows Xp by Microsoft. It was suppose to be called Longhorn, but dunno wht they changed it to Vista all of a sudden.

K la guys, hope u enjoyed my lil life update. Will get some pics up here soon k... Till my next post, God Bless!

2005-07-17T13:40:00.000+08:00

Lazy Sunday Again?

Hey people! Sorry for such a long delay in posting a blog ere. I've been busy, guess you people would have thought the same huh? That I wouldn't be able to post coz of lack of time, or plain lazy when u actually have time... Really la, sometimes, when u get free time, u just wanna go out or just relax at home without even switchin on the pc. I mean, seriously, i stare at the monitor all day long, i just dun wanna look at home too...

I've had requests to post more pics, recent ones of myself and the workplace, ot pics of friends i spend time with...I would love to, but I can't at the moment as I dun have a digi cam...Soon la k? Even the car also, bear with me la peeps. It will come soon, then u guys don't need to pick me up, I'll come get u instead. For those who come get me to join u guys, really appreciate it! Thanks for having me... Btw, even when yesterday's outing to Bangsar wasn't all smooth sailing with (Macho) Shyam throwing up, (cute)Sandy gettin all high and falling over the place (haha) and (The Babe) Sharmini being hit-on relentlessly by some machas...we had fun also la...

Theva is starting work on Monday (Tomorrow) at SITI! Boy, what a coincidence, Thilak, Theva & Me working in the same company! haha, Perhaps we could even pull in Wen Hao, our remaining Brotha' (with a negro slang)! It's gonna be a lil bit more fun, even with all the work and scripts piling up. I guess it's true what they say, when u have good company, you would go the distance.

Oh well, I haven't gone to church this morning, so I'll have to make it to this evenin's mass at Assumption Church (6pm). I dun like going for mass during this time on a sunday. Get really lazy after i wake up from my afternoon nap, coz I would have had a really heavy Banana Leaf rice!

U people have a good week ahead k? Till my next post, take care peeps! (hopefully not till the next lazy Sunday...hahaha)

2005-07-10T12:28:00.000+08:00

Lazy Sunday Again....

Well, it's Sunday again. A week came and gone. But the highlight of the week has got to be the London Bombings. I heart goes out to the victim's families. May they find peace at heart knowing they're in heaven watching and guarding of them.

I heard of the bombings when i was working late that day. Some of my workmates told me bout it. Was shocking....It was like how 9/11 happened. Really sudden, and devastating. In Church today, Father Simon asked us to observe silence for a moment in memory of the victims of the acts of terrorism.

Thusday and Friday was okie only. Had Thilak to lepak with as he out up the nite at my place also. My friend Mangala left work on thursday, a start of a 2 week holiday to England. Say gudbyes to her. Hope she'll enjoy her hols and not let the recent bombings affect her well deserved holiday. Her flight is scheduled for 12pm today. Have a safe journey, and come back Safely Mangala!

Oh well, nuthin much else to write...just that I hope to meet all my old friends soon. Need to catch up with whats happening in their lifes...I'm such a kepo! haha....Till my next post....

2005-07-06T07:40:00.000+08:00

MID WEEK? So fast...

Yesterday, being tuesday...i came in early to work, at 7:30am. Why came early? Obviously not to work so early la.... Went to the Gym. There was this older guy who was on the cycling machine, and no one else. Basically, I had the whole Gym at SITI to myself. This time last year, there would be about 3 or 4 other people occupying workstations before 8am. Like a small kid, i continued working out where i left, to add body mass! haha, my ex told me before I was kinda small. But for now, I've gotta concentrate on loosing weight first, I weighed 65kgs yesterday before workout, and when I finished an hour later, I was 63.5kgs. Didn't know loosing weight was that easy. Started out with a 10 minute jog at a speed of 7. Did some chest, arms, abs and leg exercises. Didn't wanna overdo it tough, it being the first day and all. Finished about 8:30am, had a nice whot shower, and headed back to my "Cubicle" (Mangala will laugh when i say this). Started work at 9am, as usual.

Headed to Uniten for lunch, coz I had to pass up my final year project thesis. Met some old friends! Annette, Michelle, Leonard. Theva and Thilak followed me from CBJ. We had McD's. I bought the cute lil, yellow colour wrist band. Loved it, altough the guys thought it was kinda childish, but hey! I dun wanna grow up too fast, let me act my age la! haha....

Finished work about 7pm, headed home and headed back out again for pasar malam! Bought tenggiri, bayam, chicken, prawns, petai, celery and other stuff la. I'm gettin better at buying stuff for cooking! haha. Had dinner at SAM YOU Restaurant, PJ. Had King's Mee. You have to try it! You'll love it! My fav there...

As i begin work today, I hope I'll be able to do as many acceptance testing on scripts for deployment. Kinda enjoy my work here, you walk all the time to the scripting test lab, practice on problem solving skills, manage your time well with scripts being practically thrown at you, work more than 10 hours a day.... A good start work a guy my age. It'll probably get easier as time goes by....

2005-07-04T08:02:00.000+08:00

A so-so Weekend

I'm back in the office now. It's 7:45am. The first to arrive. The Team has it's meeting at 10am, so these guys usually turn up at 9-ish. Mundane Monday, after the weekend i guess. Oh well, I came early knowing that as i could check emails, reply em, and possibly create a post on this blog!

Like the title says above, it was a so-so weekend. I really need a car soon, so many people calling me out to lepak, movies, makan, clubbin. Gosh, is it coz i'm working now? haha, coz i can't remember this many people calling me out when I still at Uni. Please people, I haven't even received my first month's pay. So, any one wanna recommend a comfortable & an economical car? Have till October to decide as what car to get.

On Saturday, I was mostly at home, altough Farah called out for mamak. Really wanted to meet up, but sumthin came up last minute, cousins meet up, "Hartamas". Although i came back early.
This weekend perhaps Farah? Hopefully "SA" will join us...

Sunday, went to Church early, 8:30am mass. Saw some Shell IT staff there. Was suprised to see em. Since we din really know each other, just nodded. Nice to know I'm recognized at CKK, USJ. Then went grocery shopping to Pyramid's Giant. And to my suprise, I met one of my old classmates from TMS, N. Sembilan. Gosh, it was most delightful. We din talk much, but managed to exhanged numbers. He's still studying in a college, forgot the name. And to tell the truth, i've kinda forgot his name now...hahaha...

Had Brunch at The Chicken Rice Shop, mum's loves it. And headed for home. Bought papers, and there starts the Lazy Sunday again. Just read papers, watched Astro, Slept in the afternoon, kononnya wanna re-charge my batteries after a hard week's work, haha. Oh well, will try updating mu post as often as i can...things are getting a lil more hectic as time goes by...

2005-06-29T23:34:00.000+08:00

New Test Machines!

Well, like the title says above.... The GI-D Scripting team have been allocated new test machines. Basically, they're new workstations. Specs are 2GB RAM, 3.4Ghz, with DVD writer!!! By far the best pc i have even used! And since everyone in my team has it, we're kinda happy. The work may be more demanding, but with stuffs like these, who wouldn't wanna work long hours? All of us scripters will have another pc for normal usage. The test machines are meant to test scripts. I can't say more as it's confidential la.... I was involved in formatting, partitioning and installing/imaging these new machines as the current scripters have their hands full with loads of scripts coming in.

It has been a tiring day, but getting used to it. Sleeping bout 12 :30am, getting up at 7:30am, reaching office at 8:30am, and start work at 9am. At work place, we can have free Milo, Nescafe, White Coffee, Tea, Mineral Water. There are microwaves, fridges, photostate machines,document shredder, faxs for our usage. I dunno why the heck I'm saying all this, but wat the hell, you people still read it without a fuss anywayz. I'll talk about our pool room and gym some other time....

2005-06-27T23:23:00.000+08:00

First Day at SITI

Well, I can honestly sum up my first day at my new work place as "A Pleasant One". Met with most of my old friends while i was there last year as an Intern. Namely Bob, Ganesan, Thinagari, Dhillon, Jasbir, Christi, Radzi, Mangala, Mahes, Martin, Adrew and many more. It was really exciting to see familiar faces. Just glad they haven't forgotten me! Muahahaha...

The day started with an on boarding session with my kewl team leader, Alex Lee. He's understanding, polite, friendly and had really good leadership qualities. He's been in shell for 9 years now. I will not want to be in his bad books at all! Admire this man...

Followed by being introduced to the team members which consists of almost 20 people. Generally, they were all friendly and nice. Just that they have loads of work to do, thats why we never really had chance to socialize much. No wonder they hired me and the other new guys, they badly need people. Got to know the main tasks and processes of the Scripting team today. Was given a manual to read bout how to use its main software to create scripts. Pretty heavy on the first day, but coz i'm new, it's normal i guess. The guys tell me it's pretty easy once you've practiced and gained experience.

Oh well, it has been a tiring first day. But since i had a really long break, thats why i feel tired. Usually sleep in the afternoons, but can't anymore! Well, to earn money, we need to do what we have to do rite? Till my next post....

2005-06-26T23:50:00.000+08:00

Engelbert Again!

There's a write up about Engelbert Humperdinck's Performance recently at the Arena of Stars in the New Straits Times today (26th June). In the Pull-Out section "Show Time", Page 6. For all you enthusists of Engelbert, do read it. It all happen exactly how the writer reported it. And I was there!!!! (so so happy)

2005-06-26T23:29:00.000+08:00

The Final Battle....The Last of the Samurai....An Outstanding performance by Ken Watanabe!

2005-06-26T23:28:00.000+08:00

Algren learning the ways of the Samurai!

2005-06-26T23:27:00.000+08:00

Ken Watanabe in Action!

2005-06-26T23:26:00.000+08:00

Tom Cruise as Nathan Algren... Training to be a Samurai?

2005-06-26T23:15:00.000+08:00

Lazy Sunday

Got up at 9am, slept after watching the Brazil-Germany match. Honestly, i thought both teams didn't play as well to their true quality and willingness to win. Guess there are too many soccer players who are too rich to play a bit more extra for their country, as they are handsomely rewarded by their clubs. Guess they are given specific orders not to get injured by not playing to hard and ambitiously.

The day started with my usual hot cup of white coffee. Then took mum to Giant to do some grocery shopping. While mum was ticking off provisions after she had taken them from the shelfs, i was busy looking for sausages, cheese and some freezer to fryer chicken premium cuts.

Came back, mum and sister cooked lunch. Mutton curry, Mixed vegetables (brocolli & Celery), and red bayam. As usual, it was really tasty and i had 2 helpings to myself. Totally love home cooked food!

Slept like a pig, got up at 5pm to get ready for mass. Arrived a few minutes before mass began at 6pm at the Assumption Church. As i sat in church, with my sister and her boyfriend, i realized there are so many good looking Catholic gurls. Thank God there are many available! Gosh, how i wish i had a girlfriend. Really miss having one. I guess some guys have all the luck. Just hope those guys know exactly what they have and don't take their girlfriends for granted. For those who had and lost one like me.....all we can do is cherish the good times and learn from mistakes we did.

Came back bout 7:30pm, still a bit sad from imagining not havin a gf, i sat down on the couch and switched on the tele. As dinner was ready, i took my plate, had the same food as lunch and watched what I felt was a great Movie, "The Last Samurai". Acted by Tom Cruise and the awesom Ken Watanabe! I recently watched Batman Begins, and Ken was as macho and kewl as he was in the last samurai. Couldn't get my ass off the couch. Watchin this movie, made me realize of my own background. One should never forget his or her past and where we come from, as it is what defines us. I guess I should stop feeling sorry for myself for not having enough allowance or my own car. We should be grateful for the food, shelter and other luxuries we are privilidged with. Only sacrifice and hardwork will get us what we want. As for now, I'm happy for having what I need. There is a difference, want and need. Who knows? In a few months, I can buy a comfortabel car and house. And then, maybe things will look up for my family. Being the eldest, I have responsibilities and having to set an example to not only my sister, but to my other younger couzins.

Tomorrow, I start work. Boy, time sure flies. It seems like only yesterday I was still in campus studying IT with my beloved friends. And tomorrow, it's off to work. Shell, a popular and huge International Company is certainly a suitable place to begin a career. I hope to secure a solid position and climb up the executive positions and of course, the income levels! Again, it takes a lot of sacrifice and hardwork. I forsee a lot of character building and learning will be taking place. Have to look at ot positively and hope, wherever I work, my job would help my family and me have a better quality and comfortable life.

2005-06-25T15:00:00.000+08:00

EPF!!!

Gosh, I can't believe I'm about to work. I signed my contract with my Agents on friday (yesterday). I Start work on Monday with Shell Information Technology International, Cyberjaya on Monday as a Scripter, Programmer 1 position. Thus, I was told to get an EPF account. So today, it being probably the last Saturday where Government offices operates on Saturdays, I took the opppurtunity to get an account/membership number.

EPF at Jalan Gasing is pretty kewl, and comfortable. The officers are friendly and helpful. I queued up at 10am, and was attended to at 10:20am. Pretty fast! Very efficient and professionally done. Honestly, I was impressed coz i kinda assumed it would be like a typical government office where the queues would be long, the service slow & the officers always seem dull and rude.

The very fact I had to get an EPF membership number, hit me quite hard....that my days of relying on my parents are coming to an end, and I'm about to start a new chapter in my Life! The so called "Working Life!". Most of my friends are already working, and it kinda scares me as when i meet em, they always complain of long hours with no overtime pays. Bogged down with endless work and datelines to meet. I guess I'm just gonna have to start somewhere and get into the whole system of 'work and pay debts all your life' which almost everyone adopts.

I guess I'll just have to learn more about the "Rat Race" concept, and try looking for a solution to solve it. To those of you who are already out of it, or getting there, would you kindly share your secrets with me? haha, like most of us already have the answer.... So many people look for ways to have an enjoyable life, playing the lottery while praying and hoping to strike it rich and live comfortably. Well, most of us do not get so lucky. And there's also those who borrow money to start a business, which later end up in bankruptcy...all the more reason as 7 out of 10 new businesses end up being bankrupt within the first 3 years.

Oh Well, i've started to think too much and start blabbering about un-related subjects...haha. Just bored I guess. Till My Next post....

2005-06-25T14:42:00.000+08:00

Bakthiar & Me

2005-06-25T14:30:00.000+08:00

While I was at Genting last weekend, I bumped into an Old Buddy of mine, Bakthiar Hakim. We were classmates since form 4. Kinda lost contact after form 5. He was also our beloved class monitor. Very disciplined and soft-spoken. One of the guys i really respect and admire. Halim jugak!

Today, as I was browsing through my pictures collection, I came across a picture of both of us. Brings back memories. The Picture was taken while we were snapping shots for our school magazine. Yerp, we both were also in the School's Photography Club.

Picture taken when most of the school buildling was still in construction. Boy, does the school look Big and really Good now! Yeah, I was really skinny then! Guess when you're a state athlete, you can't put on much weight as you're always running and exercising...

2005-06-23T17:52:00.000+08:00

These are some pictures of Engelbert Humperdinck. He's awesome! Natural born singer. Love live Engelbert! Those of you who wants to know more about this great artist, check out his website at www.engelbert.com

2005-06-23T17:51:00.000+08:00

Engelbert Live

2005-06-23T17:50:00.000+08:00

Engelbert1

2005-06-22T02:03:00.000+08:00

Kuala Pilah Visit!

Since I'm scheduled to start work at Shell IT International - Cyberjaya next week, I drove down to Kuala Pilah with mum and sister today. This was because, I may not have the time to drive there when I start work. The purpose of the visit is to close my sister’s fixed deposit account there and of course, visit the place we miss dearly. I practically lived there for the most part of my life, so did my sister. So it was like a home coming thingy for us all.

Journey started about 10:15am from Sunway, and we reached Kuala Pilah about 11:45am. First stop was at Bank Pertanian. To our surprise, there weren’t any other customers there, so we had the whole staff attending to our transaction!

Once done, we then made our way around Kuala Pilah town, quite a few changes has taken place, like some shops we remembered have closed down, and new people took over. A new motel, modified and upgraded bus terminal, and more expensive cars seen on the roads are the new things we noticed while being there.

We headed to the Rest House about 1pm, where mum used to work as a waitress. But sadly, it was closed, it being a Tuesday. We totally forgot that the restaurant closes on Tuesdays. Nevertheless, we found out that the district library has shifted location near the rest house.
We had lunch at the park, had cool cendol, and siew yoke kai fan. Amazing how cheap the food costs there. ONLY 70 sen for a big glass of home-made soya bean with ice. Really tasty and Sweet!

About 2pm, we headed down to our former home, Kg. Gentam. Visiting my primary school was really a happy moment as it brought back memories. Have not been there since my early years in secondary school. Lots of changes have taken place. I spent a good few minutes looking at the field that actually got me involved in athletics and thereafter making me a state athlete. Our former home is still unoccupied, so we just took pictures from a distance as the main gate was locked, hope to post those pics once I’ve developed and scanned them. Yerp, I still don’t have a digital camera.

Then we decided to surprise a few old friends by visiting them. Aunt Annie and Mrs. Oliver. They were thrilled and happy to have us. They updated us with the latest happenings and the progress and well being of our small but strong catholic community in Kuala Pilah. Was really nice to have spent our time fruitfully in our Visit to Kuala Pilah. I was impressed with the new sports complex at Jalan Melang. If only they built it while I was still a young athlete there, I would have been a better athlete, perhaps even a national champion! Haha, just perhaps.

Leaving Kuala Pilah about 4:3o pm, we arrived at Ulu Bendol recreational park. We had time to dip our feet in the water and breathe the cool fresh air. It was much cleaner than the KL air, quite evident!

Making our way back to Sunway, we decided to visit my aunt Theresa. She made Putu for us, mum’s favourite. Aunt Theresa is my mum’s second eldest sister. Stayed a while, had tea and left about 6pm only to discover a tire was punctured. We headed to a workshop and bought a temporary second hand tire for only Rm20 and patched the punctured tire for Rm4. The spare tire apparently was a poorly patched tire. That’s why we bought a second hand tire. We were soon on out way to Sunway at about 7pm.

Reached home bout 8 something. What a tiring day, but it was a memorable and meaningful journey. We surely had an adventure!

2005-06-21T00:04:00.000+08:00

The Engelbert Humperdinck Show!

I've listened to his songs a number of times now. Mum's a big fan of this Oldies Singer, Engelbert. So when he came down to Genting to perform on the 18 & 19 June 2005, I brought mum to watch him Live for the very first time. She was ecstatic! We stayed overnight at the First World Hotel, and watched him perform live on Sunday the 19th at the Arena of Stars. Mum’s friends also came along so we weren’t alone.

The show started at 8:15pm and ended around 10pm. I was mesmerized with the way this man could sing and dance at his age, he’s 68 this year! What a performer! He sang about 20 or so songs which included ‘Quando Quando Quando’, ‘A man without love’, ‘The Last Waltz’, ‘Ten Guitars’ and of course, the famous ‘Release Me’!

He joked too! Like how he said he made the long side-burns famous, not Elvis Presley! It was so long, that people thought he was on a hand phone all the time!

With about 12 people in his band, they played songs to a lasting memory. Mum and her friends were so happy, sang along to his songs, waving their hand from side to side. At these times, you’ll understand how much these older generations really loved Engelbert, he’s just that good! He has gifted us with such a great collection of songs, which I have grown to love to! Engelbert performs about 140 shows a year! For his age, does he ever slow down? Guess not! He says singing is his passion and keeps him going on!

The show ended, but people shouted “More! More! More!” So he came back from back stage and gave 1 last number, “My Way”. He sang it like how it should be, with passion, experience and electrifying stage presence! A standing ovation with thunderous applause followed. Engelbert was almost to tears as he said he never knew his songs has inspired and touched so many people in this part of the world. We continued to cheer as well as observed when he had difficulty leaving the stage, coming back from back stage 2 or 3 times to wave and air-kiss the crowd, collect flowers and shake hands with the front row audience.

I’m blessed to have had the privilege to see him live on stage; don’t know when else will I see him again. Truly a memorable and wonderful experience. I’ve heard his songs, seen him live, thus I will always remember the legendary Engelbert Humperdinck!