Behind The Dimpled Demon's Multicoated Lenses

A shift of attention

2009-10-20T01:13:00.000-07:00

To all who follow this blog, please note that i am discontinuing it to focus on my (not so) new other blog:

richmaybe.blogspot.com

those of you who have enjoyed my witty insights into life will continue to find them on that blog as well.

YAY!

What do you write when you haven't written for 5 months?

2007-07-11T07:59:00.001-07:00

5 months, thats a long time....

thats close to 20 weeks, without posting anything on my blog. Of course, in my defense, i was rather busy with exams, trying to make up for the fact that i failed one of my papers in the last sitting.

Even so, that's not much of an excuse as to why i haven't blogged for 5 months... sometimes i feel like my mind has just blocked itself from doing anything remotely productive on the PC... and that includes blogging.

So far the most productive thing that i was doing was slogging away for my finals.. which are now over, Praise The Almighty. All my writing, my training, my creative, artisitic what-not and my pet projects have all been put on hold, due to the fact i failed one paper.

It hit me pretty hard, that i failed, but looking back, i'm dissapointed that it affected me that much, when it shouldn't have.

So here i am, still glued to the PC, playing the occasional game, trying to pick up where i left off 5 months ago... now that i am done with ACCA (praying hard that i will clear my papers..and score!) i begin to wonder what to do with the rest of my life....

perhaps i should find a job, maybe i should try a different course, or i could always bum around and become another liability to society, no doubt the easiest of the three choices...

But that's not me.... i can't sit around too long without doing anything, it turns me insane. So, doing what i do best, when i have no work to do... i make my own work...

Expect to hear from me more often from now on.

; )

Wannabe Entrepreneur Errors #2: Miscommunication

2007-02-02T03:28:00.000-08:00

In any business transaction, communication is of utmost importance. Both sides must be clear as to what they are they are buying/selling the price and any other matters (discounts, additional commission etc..).

In my experience i have face some severe problems with miscommunication. I won't go into details, lest i get too technical... basically it involved a case of misplaced expectations.. i expected a higher pay... i tried to negotiate a higher pay... but my client claimed that he had promised differently.

Needless to say, i got the bitter end of his words and i lost a customer and a friend. Although i did manage to eke something out of it (he paid up what he promised), i realised that the opportunity cost lost here is far greater than whatever meagre fee i got out of it.

In the future, i will remember better to write down an agreement, and be clear about my words, rather than just rely on spoken promises and fancy rhetoric.

A clear agreement leads to clearer business practice.

How to comfort a friend

2006-12-22T17:33:00.000-08:00

Just recently a very dear friend of mine had a lousy birthday...

really lousy...

she cried...

I felt bad... not that i was the one who made her cry, but mainly because i didn't know how to comfort her. I couldn't possibly imagine the pain she must have been going through, the emotional distress and the thought of having her hardwork suddenly going to waste.

Basically, she was the one who was a victim of circumstance...and I wasn't.

I felt guilty.

Guilty because any attempt i make at comforting her seems selfish. It seems selfish because im doing it to make myself feel better. When the person who really needs cheering up is her.

Sure i can say something supportive

I can praise her virtues through the roof

but the bottomline is... i don't know her pain... and if i can't feel it... all my efforts to comfort her may just be for the worse...

eventually with the help of some of my other friends, we managed to get her to stop crying and laughing again... it felt good to see her smile... im not sure if i did manage to help or if she feels much better now...

whatever it is, i hope that her next birthday will be even better than this year's

The right to wear, The Right to stare

2006-12-20T00:28:00.000-08:00

When it comes to women and dress, i really have no favourites nor dislikes, in short i couldn't care less.

I doesn't really matter to me if a Woman covers up or doesn't, its her body and its her right to do what she wants with it...

I firmly believe that the likelihood of a woman getting raped/molested/sexually assaulted has nothing to do with her dress.. it mainly has something to do with the man's mind more than anything else.

However, women who dress to reveal must realise that wearing such dresses has its effects.

Effects? Such as?

Such as staring.

Yes. we men like to stare. Especially at whatever patch of flesh we spot on women. Be it bare shoulders, smooth thighs or even the small of their back/butt crack when they bend over or squat down.

Perverted? Depraved? Animalistic?

All fair and dandy if you think that way... Its not like we stare at hours on end, but we stare long enough... until someone notices that we are staring.

Somehow staring has become a social taboo of sorts... here we are surrounded by attractive women who dress revealing with and yet society demands that we don't stare...

Why not?

staring is harmless, its safe and it hurts no one (unless you don't see where you are going and walk into an open manhole).

I believe that if Women have a right to wear,

Men have a right to stare.

Don't think of staring as something carnal and debasing... think of it as a symbol of our appreciation for the woman's choice in dressing, thus we admire her beauty and aspects of her body whilst enjoying her feminine charms...

Of course there are times when staring must be done discreetly (or avoided entirely) such as:

- When the subject of your staring is with her boyfriend/husband
- When you are with your girlfriend/wife (in which case you might want to spend the better part of the day staring at her)

So the next time you catch some one staring, give the poor guy a break and let it be...

Work Ethics

2006-12-16T01:29:00.000-08:00

What are work ethics?

For me an unemployed-yet-to-graduate... i believe my concept of work ethics are all messed up...

So m not really sure what will be required of me once i venture into the full-time working world...

Although maybe i have some taste of it, editing, writing articles for theCicak.. but its hardly any real challenge when compared to the REAL WORLD work...

REAL WORLD work? What is the real world anyway? Or maybe working world would be a better term..

oh well, having started a new job with a start-up.. dealing with a catalyst program for young entrepreneurs in Uni KL, i find that i have yet to get any crash course on work ethics...wondering if there are indeed any work ethics which i need to acquire?

Based on my very limited knowledge...

works ethics = hard work

haha!

do let me know if im wrong

Peaches Jo

2006-12-13T22:47:00.000-08:00

In my previous post, somehow the link to my girlfriend's blog was lost.. :P

Here it is now:

http://peachesjo.blogspot.com/

or click here

you can also find it at the links on my blog

The benefits of covering up

2006-12-10T14:42:00.000-08:00

In relation to my previous posting, i have come up with a short list of why wearing dresses which cover up are better than revealing ones.

Now, now.. before i'm mauled by a man-eating crowd of feminisits, i'm not saying that covered/uncovered women go to heaven/hell... heck, i don't know where im going anyway. Its just a practical look at the benefits of covering thyself:

Benefit 1: Protection against scratch and bruises

We all know how women want smooth, flawless skin... or at least that what all those ads make us think anyway. But if you went out...say.. sleeveless or in the shortest of skirts, you reveal more flesh, and thus the risk of accidentaly brushing against thorns or that odd piece of rusted metal increases. This can create very unsightly gashes on your once beautiful skin. Personally, i would say jeans are good, because they are tough and they cover.

Benefit 2: Protection against the cold

Yeah, Malaysia can get quite cold, mainly in those air-conditioned rooms... and when it rains...brr.... too many times have i seen female classmates shiver and shake because they decided to wear a halter top and shorts into class... forgetting to bring a jacket. Now if they were wearing long sleeves and perhaps pants of a durable material (think jeans!) they would be warmer perhaps?

Benefit 3: Protection against the sun

Malaysia is a sunny, sunny country. Often we see a lot of girls, with their umbrellas up... when its not even raining. According to the ads, women want fair, gentle skin... something which can be spoiled by a tanning caused by too much sun exposure. So by walking around in a revealing top/bottom, you increase the skin area which is exposed to the sun's rays, which means more that your skin will get darker. If you covered up on the other hand... the skin area is less exposed and you can maintain the fair quality of your skin. Or you could bring an umbrella..those clunky things...

All in all, it is riskier to wear revealing clothes... but im not saying women should all cover up... heck... i, like most other guys... prefer it if they don't... but im just saying that there are some obvious advantages to protecting yourself against the elements.

To Scant or not to scant...

2006-12-10T14:09:00.000-08:00

Now im sure you all know the latest controversy brewing lately...oh well... its not a particularly new issue, its just that wheneve a PAS politicians opens his mouth on Women's dressing, fireworks are bound to ensue.

Yeah... if i had a RM 1 for everytime that issue popped up, i'd be rich by now.

Problem is, people still act like its a big deal... over something so tiny...(literally speaking ;) ).

So now PAS wants to instill a dress code in Kelantan.

Oh the outrage!

The Suffering!

The Humiliation!

But honestly... why bother?

Its not like they are forcing Women into slave labour or drafting all first born sons into military conscription. Although the concept of having a dress code enforced by the law may be foreign and barbaric to some of us, if it works for them... well.. who are we to tell other people how to run their state.

Selangor, although far more developed than Kelantan has been the target of a lot of high profile cases against our leaders. Not a very impressive track record i might say... so if anyone should reprimanding, its our Selangor leaders... their actions have far greater effect than those of a Serban-swathed Ulama' in Kelantan.

Anyway, this debate has brought around the whole 'what is the definition of scantily dressed?' Personally, i don't care what Girls wear... I, like most other hormonal young boys would prefer it if they wore nothing at all... but, of course, that isn't going to happen here...

In my theory, there are various stages of scantily dressed.. they are:

Scantily-Teasing:

This includes sleeveless tops, medium length skirts and tight jeans. This type of dress aims more to tease and draw short bursts of attention from fellow onlookers. Nothing too revealing, just enough to make guys give a few glances and say 'she's kinda cute!'....

Scantily-Revealing:

This includes spaghetti straps, near-transparent dresses, miniskirts, hotpants...etc..Scantily revelaing aims to send out a message: 'look at me... but no touching'. This sort of dress demands attention from onlookers. It captures their gaze and makes guys go like 'wow... she's hot...' (assuming of course, the wearer is hot... if otherwise, it would make guys puke in repulsion..).

Scantily-take it off already!!

huhuhuhu... this includes bikinis and any tiny two-piece get-up (think mini tube tops and hot pants). This dress aims to make people stare. Especially if worn in a public area. the effect is less pronounced on the beach... but in a mall... well... rest assured, the men will have a tough time walking. It makes guys go like... 'Ouch.. i wish i wore boxers today...'.

So, im not sure what these Kelantan dress guidelines are but if they are looking for consultants, i wouldn't mind helping out... if it means i get to analyse the levels of scantilyness amongst their womenfolk...hehehehe

For a just cause

2006-12-08T06:14:00.000-08:00

My dream job is...

as i have often been repeating over these past few days, working together with the Nescafe Kickstart crew.

My dream job is to sell t-shirts for social awareness.

Its something i have been doing with some of my friends for a while but now we have the opportunity to really well... kickstart it!

The concept is simple:

We have a brand, Positive Outbreak,

we sell t-shirts with designs based on social issues

so they can be based on various social issues, such as animal rights, disabled people, children's rights etc...

The reason why we do this is because we want to generate more social awareness for these issues and we want to encourage the public, especially the younger generation to take part in volunteer activities.

So we sell our t-shirts, mainly targeted towards college students, although we also make designs for younger kids and the general public.

We sell them through retail outlets and through individual distributors.

In the long-term we hope to establish ourselves as a recognisable brand which is socially responsible.

We also hope to become an organisation which can help develop young people by teaching them valuable skills through volunteer activities.

We do all this in the name of Social Awareness.

to find out more, do check out

positiveoutbreak.blogspot.com

Whoah!

2006-12-08T05:52:00.000-08:00

Whoah!

Back from exams! back from the dark end of self-imposed separation from online society.

Once again im back!

So.. what are my plans, hmhmhmhm, well, perhaps some controversial postings maybe hmhmhmhm...

oh well... or maybe a slightly less edgy posting about what i have been up to lately...

I am on nescafe kickstart!

yeah!

one of the 8 finalists!!! hope i don't get eliminated...

i wish i could talk more about it however i have sold my soul to the producers and i am bound by a 16-item contract to not spoil the show for the general public...(yes, that is you..)

Other than that.. hmm, well...

please do check out

positiveoutbreak.blogspot.com

and now i shall get back to my work on theCicak

(www.thecicak.com)!

Still Mad about Dimples

2006-11-21T08:20:00.000-08:00

Oh, yes, dimples, again...*sigh*

Can't get over them. I see them everyday. In the mirror. On my mum's face, and on my girlfriend's face.

Yes, that's me and her up there.

Anyway, every now and then i notice someone who has dimples and, regardless if they are guys or girls, i try to make eye contact with them and try to smile, hoping that they will smile back... maybe to create a dimple connection of sorts... hmmm..

I feel it to be a pity for some one to have dimples but not smile at everyone they meet. Dimples are a gift, meant to be shared with all. If you have dimples, your smile will probably brighten someone's day...or at least that is what i like to think..

then again i am just being overly perasan...

ahaha!

fortunately for me the more important women in my life have dimples (mum, grandma, gf) so whenever i need a little happiness, i can always look for them...well, not grandma lah...she is all the way in Kelantan... though i can always look at her picture.

Or worst come to worse, i can always stare at myself in the mirror...(again, overly perasan!)

anyways, u can check out my gf's blog at

and google my mum's name (she's everywhere!): Raja Maznah

Dimples rock!

What is a Malay?

2006-11-19T06:16:00.000-08:00

What is a Malay?

Really, lets ponder that for a moment....hmmmm...a Malay....

Well, according to the constitution, a Malay is someone who:

1: Speaks Malay
2: Practices Malay Customs
3: Practices the Islamic Faith (is a Muslim)

Well, ok... following those conditions, is it possible for my Indian/Chinese friend to be come Malay?

Apparently it is!

Yeah, considering how most Malaysians speak Malay (with varying degrees of ability) and assuming they grew up in Malay communities (which means they practice Malay customs/culture to a certain extent), all they need to do is convert to Islam and voila, they are Malays!

Yes, it IS that easy... (since we know how easy it is to become 'Muslim' in this country).

oh, wait, i can hear the UMNO strongmen shaking their keris, braying for it to be bathed in my infidel blood... claiming that there is no way i can be right...

well, ok, i am by nature non-confrontational, so emulating my favourite Malay politicians, i thus retract my statements (with fingers crossed).

So, lets take another look at this term, this Malay/Melayu term...

Historically, the term 'Melayu' has been used to refer to locals who inhabited the Malay Isles (Kepulauan Melayu). Generally this included the greater part of the southeast asian Archipelago and the Malay Peninsula.

The Kesultanan Melayu Melaka, as all good SPM students know, was started by an Indonesian (Palembang) Prince. So, obviously the term 'Malay' was quite widely used.

So using this rather simple definition 'Malay' being those originating from the Malay Isles, one can say that the Kadazans, Ibans, Melanaus, Bajaus, the Orang Asli and even our Indonesian, Phillipino (Descendants of the Sulu Sultanate) and Thai (the descendants of the Kelantanese Sultanate) are sub-ethnic groups which fall under the umbrella ethnicity of Melayu.

Whoa...heheheh, that keris looks really sharp...

Ok, ok, lets rethink this, hmmm...

What is Malay? Hmm, lets see...considering that our Malay culture and customs stem from Hindu, Chinese, Islamic and Siamese practices... its a bit tough to categorise i guess.

Here is my personal (unsupported) theory:

The Malays as we know them today are descendants of the citizens of our sultanates of long past who intermarried with the various traders who came from the Indies, China, Middle East...etc... As our Isles were popular stops for traders from every corner of the globe, it wasn't rare for traders to intermarry with the locals so as to make their stay easier everytime they came around.

Which would explain why Malays look so different from each other.

Some have Chinese features, some have more Indian features, some look Arabic and even adopt Arabic surnames.

Think about it....

How do you (physically) tell if some one is Malay?

Here in Malaysia its pretty simple: If you don't look very Indian/Chinese/Foreign you probably are Malay.

This theory of intermarriage would also explain why the offspring of Chinese-Indian marriages often look very 'Malay'.

Anyway, there you have it, three different definitions, given from a legal, societal and historical point of view...

Ok, one last final definition, which i think is probably the most accurate.

The Malay are a Political entity. A group of settlers who came here before the Indians and the Chinese who decided to put aside their differences and band togther as a 'race'.

As a political entity, they effectively control Malaysian politics and those deemed unsympathetic to their plight are squashed.

So how do you become a Malay?

Simple, step forward, profess Islam and claim to stand for the rights of all Malays.

So it doesn't really matter if you are of Chinese/Indian/Arabic/Caucasian/Afrcian heritage. As long as you claim to be Malay, you probably are. Notice how a lot of UMNO politicians are of Indian descent?

Malay Culture? Malay Language? They are a result of the mish-mosh of cultures which came to settle here earlier. Heck, even the keris, which we so proudly brandish at UMNO general assemblies are traditionally an Indian (Hindu) weapon. Google 'Kris' and you'll see what i mean.

Honestly speaking, Malays have and will always be a political entity. As long as we can stay united that way, our rights won't be challenged.

Without the presence of a political entity, we would become divided due to our inherent cultural and physical differences.

So, am I Malay?

Yeah, Politically anyway ;)

The Return

2006-11-15T08:46:00.000-08:00

Alas after an absurdly long hiatus, i have returned to my blog.

Apologies to those who have come here, seeking my two sens worth and finding nought.

Truth be told, i was stricken by a serious bout of lethargy after coming back from raya. And exams are next month, which means i should be studying too as well.

Although, i would like to think that i have a firm excuse for not updating my blog, i think a more reasonable explanation is that, im too busy playing games on the PC than for me to be updating my blog.

*sigh*

And yes, according to my previous posting i do know that i have pictures to upload as well.

But other than that i am glad to say that i have awoken myself from my bout of lethargy and am back with my brain switched on.

To flog a dead horse, i feel the subject of corrupt leaders is quite interesting... interesting in the sense that we know these leaders are corrupt, yet we, the people sitll vote them back into power...well, maybe not directly, but indirectly, by voting for people who will put them into power.

I think the problem lies with the fact that most people are disillusioned with the fact that they have the ability to change the leadership, to take charge of their destiny..to a certain extent.

Most Malaysians of voting age have not even registered to vote. Those who have, often rank voting as a very low priority. Often i wonder, what is required to stir these people from their non-chalance...

Well, now that corruption has been exposed, thanks to this new bout of freedom that we are currently enjoying. It shows a lot of things, things which are not pretty, ugly things. It is much like ripping a bandage off a healing wound. It looks really ugly, hurts like hell, but it heals better without the bandage suffocating the wound.

So now that the bandages are off, let the healing begin.

The elections are coming soon. If you are above 21... register to vote.. and vote for the betterment of our future!

Back from Binging

2006-11-01T14:05:00.000-08:00

Wow, it has been one week since Hari Raya. I haven't been updating for that long.

But then again, there isn't really any real reason to come back an take a look here. Nothing much going on right now.

Apart from Dato' Zakaria's fall from grace and some Singaporean whining about elitism and what not...hmm...well... nothing much to talk about really.

As for myself, i have gotten fatter. Yes, though it may not seem obvious, but i have. Yes, fat. F A T. Bleagh. Even doing yoga is a chore. Mainly due to my sore shoulder. Must be careful not to aggravate it. Careful...

Lately my poetic/creative streak has been stagnant for a while... a general lack of inspiration i guess, or it could be due to the worrying caused by my upcoming exams... i am starting to twitch involuntarily...first my nose, then my forehead, my neck...etc...

It starts to get really bad a few weeks b4 the exam.

*sigh*

here is hoping that i get better

The Ramadhan Diaries - Final Day

2006-10-23T03:23:00.000-07:00

Its the last day of Ramadhan.

It has been especially slow

as i anticipate the coming

of the first of Syawal.

Looking back , i suppose i could say this year's ramadhan was better. Mainly because i didn't have so many papers to juggle so i guess i could spend more time well, doing moer ibadat stuff i guess.

eheh

anyway, tomorrow is Raya/ Aidilfitri.

Hooo boy

i am gonna be SO fat!

Starting from Maghrib today until tomorrow...

must...practice...self..control.

so, i would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have been following my updates regularly and thoses who have commented on my blog.

I really hope that my postings have provided you with a better insight as to the Muslim life here in Malaysia during the 30 days of Ramadhan.

So to my Muslim friends, i say

Eid Mubarak!

And to my non-Muslim friends i say

'You didn't fast for a month, so try not to stuff ur selves too much at ur Muslim friends' open houses!'

Salams to all

The Ramadhan Diaries - Day 29

2006-10-22T18:43:00.000-07:00

The second last day of Ramadhan….

Wow….

And my shoulder still hurts. Damn…

Oh well, at least it feels slightly better than it did yesterday.

After being woken up at 4, and the Subuh prayers, I fell asleep and woke up at 9.

Went to my aunt’s place, which was quite nearby and I managed to touch base with some of my relatives, including my cousin’s new husband. Managed to get to know the new in-law better.

Other than that, the rest of the day was pretty uninteresting, even though it being the second last day of Ramadhan and all.

*sigh*

One thing about fasting here in Pasir Puteh is that time seems to drag oh…so… slowly.. life around here isn’t the least bit hectic. Everything is so…slow…

Oh, but the sky is clear and haze-free…that’s good.

Tonight was the last night of Tarawih. Generally Tarawih is started on the night before Ramadhan and it ends on the second last night of Ramadhan. Which means no Tarawih tomorrow.

Imagine…just the day after tomorrow, it will be first Syawal…wonder what it will be like this time around.

The Ramadhan Diaries - Day 28

2006-10-21T23:30:00.000-07:00

Once more, woken up at 4 am..

Once more, made to eat rice for sahur.

Fortunately Subuh prayers were easier on the body.

Woke up again to continue studying, an activity which I usually kick into gear when exams are approaching.

Mum hasn’t been enjoying her holidays much.. been too busy working on her research project and stuff. But I guess its easy for her considering that she doesn’t have to fast. Its that time of the month for her.

In Islam, women are exempted from praying or fasting during Ramadhan if they have their period. During the period, the woman is considered to be in a state of uncleanliness, because well… to put it simply, she can’t control her bleeding, and blood is considered as not very clean in Islam.

So, lucky for the women, they get to be exempt from prayers and fasting at least for one week, every Ramadhan… although they have to make up for their missed fasts throughout the year.

Hmmm… Lucky? Not really sure about that… the prospect of bleeding from my genitals for an entire week does not really sound that attractive to me…

Oh, I just realized that The Ramadhan Diaries is missing day 25. This is because there is an ‘extra’ Day 12 in my blog : p… that means that day 24 is actually 25 and 23 is 24…etc…

In an attempt to do yoga today, I managed to sprain my shoulder. I was jumping for my ashtanga san salutation and somehow, I failed to balance myself properly resulting in my shoulder shifting with an audible ‘Shrraaaff!

It hurt!

And what hurts even more is the fact that I may not be able to do yoga for the next couple of days or so.

No yoga… not enough exercise.. too much food…. *sigh*… im so gonna chunk up by the time I get back to PJ…’

The Ramadhan Diaries - Day 27

2006-10-21T01:55:00.000-07:00

At 4 am in the morning I was greeted with a burst of light from the ceiling.

My grandparents were up…

And I was very much half-asleep.

After some general smacking my head back and forth, I finally regained control of my senses and I ambled to my parent’s room to wake them up.

They weren’t that pleased to see me either, at 4 am.

Eventually we all woke up to eat our sahur.

Sahur here in the Kampung, is almost as large as iftar, mainly consisting of last night’s leftovers. So I was made to eat a plate of rice together with the chicken or something ( I can’t remember, my mind was still trying to wake up). My grandma kept pushing me to eat more rice. Urgh…

After sahur, I managed to get some shuteye before Subuh.

Today is a Friday and Subuh prayers here in my Kampung on Fridays are slightly different from other days. It involves the imam reading a particularly long surah (I thin its surah Sajadah) and then making us perform an extra prostration during the first rakaat. It can be highly tiresome or deeply spiritual…depending on how you look at it.

Friday prayers in the mosque are still as packed as any other mosque. The sermon today was about Zakat…. If im not mistake is the same as the sermon I listened to during the first week of Ramadhan back in PJ. Anyway, the Khatib (Sermon reader) wished us all a happy Aidilfitri.

yay!

The rest of the day was quite slow. I slept, went to the market, did yoga…

Ate…

And Tarawih!

Spent the rest of the night burning the midnight oil, studying for exams which are coming up in 2 months time!

The Ramadhan Diaries - Day 26

2006-10-21T01:52:00.000-07:00

Wow, thought I wouldn’t be updating, but here I am, updating.

Managed to hook up to a dial up connection here at my grandparent’s place in Pasir Puteh. Dial up is 4 sen a minute though, but it does not require registration which makes it quite easy to use.

TMNet’s 1315 dialup number. Quite useful I must say.

Anyway, today was spent traveling back to Kelantan. It took us about 6 hours. Plus we didn’t stop that much because there was a reduced need to go to the toilet every few kilometers or so. However snacks were non-existent on this trip and my father found it more difficult to stay awake without his regular shot of caffeine (usually derived from Coke).

Upon reaching Pasir Puteh, we were greeted by my Grandparents who were unfortunately down with the flu. They looked pretty tired. But later that same night, my grandmother was up and cooking dinner for us. Apparently she felt A LOT better seeing her daughter (my mum), son in law and grandson come home.

She might feel even more better once my aunt and her family comes back as well ,but that won’t be until next week. She will be spending the first day of Raya in Perak with her Husband’s side of the family.

Later we went to the town market and bought some extra food for our iftar. I managed to get some good pictures. I promise that once I get back to my beloved broadband wireless I will upload the pictures for public viewing.

My grandparent’s house is located right behind the local Mosque. Its literally a stone’s throw away.

Tarawih was done at the Mosque. Apparently this kampong Mosque only has 8 rakaat (repetitions) for the Tarawih prayer (plus 3 rakaat for Withir) and they do not go the maximum 23 rakaat.

It’s a very different experience in a smaller kampong Mosque compared to the large, air-conditioned halls of the city mosques. The ventilation is natural, with the wind blowing in cool breezes of air. There are bugs and cicak aplenty on the walls and the floors, not in a bothersome way though, but in a way that makes you go ‘oh, look at that..’.

I slept at 12 that night, massaging my grandma before bed.

The Ramadhan Diaries - Day 24

2006-10-18T09:17:00.000-07:00

Day 24, six more days until the last day of Ramadhan..

sigh, its over so soon...

WEll, not yet though,

Today morning was spent transcribing...the ENTIRE morning, then suddenly, i hit the wrong button on the computer and before you could say 'recover data!' all my hard work was gone...just like that.

Feeling utterly depressed i decided not to look at any transcripts for the rest of the day, instead i decided to do what i always do, blog, yoga, some studying and general moping around.

Ah...moping around.

I had class today. At night..

Today wasn't exactly my day... the trains had some problems, it was slow, and because they were slow and infrequent, people crammed into the trains. Really nasty stuff.

Upon arriving at my stop, it was pouring. Though i am a huge fan of the rain, i prefer not to get too chummy when it pours, i mean it was REALLY pouring. Unfortunately i did not have a choice as i did not prepare my umbrella in advance.

So, giving the rain my best wishes i made a mad dash for my tuition centre from the train station through the rain.

Gotta love the rain.

I froze in class... aircond and wet shirts do NOT go together...

Tomorrow i will be going back to Kelantan, will be there for the next 10 days, will be celebrating Raya (Aidilfitri) there too. Since the internet there is pretty crappy, i may not be able to go online... although, rest assured, i will try my best to go online and keep on blogging all the way until day 30.

But if you don't hear from me, i would like to once again wish Selamat Hari Raya and Happy Deepavali to all my readers!!

The Ramadhan Diaries - Day 23

2006-10-17T21:20:00.000-07:00

The morning was spent transcribing, an activity which i do not really enjoy doing. BUt i had to do it because mum said so and heaven is beneath the mother's feets..bla..bla..etc..

Im such a mama's boy.

Anyway, transcribing = not easy. Never is never was. In fact the reason why my friend was late yesterday was because she was still busy transcribing her interview with me.

So it seems like im not the only one who hates transcribing.

Anyway, i got it done. Phewh!

The afternoon was spent with another frien of mine, a non-muslim girl whom i had agreed to go out with earlier last week. Fortunately she was on time. And i didn't have to bum around this time.. a good thing too because i hadn't brought anything to read.

WE spent the rest of the day talking about religion and stuff...well, mostly me doing the talking, mostly about my religion anyway..eheheh.

In Islam, we call it da'wah. Which basically means sharing the word. I suppose you could call it missionary activity but we are different in the sense that our aim is not to convert but to merely inform. We believe that through understanding will we be able to live side by side in harmony.

Humans do not convert other humans, only God and God alone can do that. Of course, we could pray, but that is as much as we can do.

In fact what i am doing here right now, is a form of da'wah, telling stories about my religion and my personal experiences. Its good to have shared with those of you who have been following my blog. I hope now you have a better understanding of what it means to be a young Muslim here in Malaysia.

I will be going back to Kelantan in two days time, so i might not be able to update from there. If you don't here from me in a while, i would like to wish all my Muslim readers, a Happy Aidilfitri and my Hindu Readers a Happy Deepavali!!

And to those of you whose celebrations haven't come around yet,

Just be happy!

The Ramadhan Diaries - Day 22

2006-10-16T09:21:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning, thinking it would be nice and relaxing, just do my Yoga, really stretch it out..., but then i checked my email, and suddenly i found out that i have a Psychometric test in KPMG scheduled for today!! apparently it was sent last night!

Yikes!

So i had to get ready in a rush, and zip off to Wisma KPMG, off jalan Dungun.

I got there on time but according to KPMG time i was 10 minutes late.. (KPMG sets their clocks 10 minutes ahead)

The tests were fairly easy, consisting of numerical and comprehension questions, then i had to write an essay. I wrote about Positive Outbreak. Hehehe!

In the afternoon i was supposed to have an appointment with my friend that i went out with yesterday, apparently she wanted to take some pictures in the Masjid Jamek area and needed me as a guide.

First she said she would be slightly late, and would tell me when she was coming.

Initially we agreed on 12. Then it got pushed back a bit. So there i sat at sentral, waiting about two hours for her sms/call but alas, no response. Feeling impatient, i decided to call her, only to find out she was still working on her stuff and she wouldn't be around for another hour.

Needless to day, i was slightly perturbed by this turn of events.

Mainly annoyed by the fact that i waited for about two hours, only to find out i would have to wait another hour.

Had i known earlier, i would have been able to plan my time more productively.

In the end, i decided to cancel the appointment, as i realised that i had some work my Mum wanted done, mainly transcripts of her interviews.

She apologised, and i accepted and laughed... mostly at myself for sitting on my bum for the past two hours.. but it wasn't a total waste, i managed to read up on more Buddhist literature! Sweet!

Punctuality is an important concept.

As a Muslim, we have punctuality written all over our daily lives, through the practice of our five daily prayers, call them our appointments with God. They are the early morning prayers (Subuh) the Afternoon prayers (Zuhur) the Evening Prayers (Asar), the Sundown prayers (Maghrib) and the night prayers (Isya'). Muslims are required to fulfill this daily obligation at each interval of the day. We only have a certain timeframe within which we should complete each prayer, for example, Zuhur is typically from 1 to 4 in the afternoon, and Subuh is from 5.50 to 7 in the morning. Muslims are recommended to perform the prayers as soon as the timeframe starts. Meaning that if i performed Zuhur at around 1, it would be better than performing Zuhur around 4. Thus the concept of punctuality and the importance of being early is taught through prayer.

Punctuality also serves a more practical concept.

It can be a very nice way to start an appointment, especially a first meeting, because by being punctual, you show the other party that you appreciate them and that they are very important to you. It can go a long way in establishing mutual respect for one another in any relationship.

And speaking of puncutality, i have an appointment with my bed and pillows in about 5 minutes.

*yawn*

nights

The Ramadhan Diaries - Day 21

2006-10-16T09:02:00.000-07:00

Oh, the days just fly by don't they?

Before you know it... its already Syawal...

well, not yet anyway... Today is a Sunday, fortunately, not a slow Sunday like usual. But today i went out with a friend... a girl... once more breaking a few uhm.. guidelines which i should have been following... ehehe

Anyway, i was helping her out with some interview that she had for her project then i accompanied her around brickfields, an area i am somewhat familiar with to take pictures of religious buildings for her project as well.

It was a learning experience for me as well. We went into one of the Churches and the huge Maha Vihara Buddhist complex.

The Church was cute, built in a triangular shape, representing the Trinity and the church workers were very.. very friendly. They even invited us for Sunday mass...hmmm...

The Buddhist temple was really nice i we managed to pick up some buddhist literature which i find to be quite enlightening as it helped me to realise how much Buddhism and Islam have in common, a lot of which i find most Muslims seem to have forgotten.

The tolerance for others, to treat others they way we would like to be treated and to ahve compassion even for those who hate us.

A story regarding the Prophet s.a.w. Once upon a time in Madinah, there lived this old Woman who really hated him. Everytime she saw Muhammad s.a.w. walk past her house, she would chuck faeces and garbage in his general direction. But one day, it just stopped. Curious, Muhammad asked around where she was. Some of the locals told him she was sick. The next day he came to her house bearing fruits and dates, to visit the old woman. Upon seeing him and his gifts, she felt ashamed and from that day on she became his friend.

There are minor variations to this story, but the gist is the same. The worse thing that you can do to someone who hates you is to be nice to them.

By being nice you rob them of any reason to hate you, and in the end, they may even develop greater respect for you.

Comparing Islam in Malaysia with the other religions, i wonder if our Mosques could be as open and accomodating to non-Muslims who would like to come in, take a look around and learn more about the faith. Although i can name a few Mosques which practice this openness (Masjid Negara, for one) most of the Muslim establishments have this air of exclusivity about them which only serves to tarnish the name of Islam. By opening our doors to them, only then can we share with them the beauty of our religion.

The Ramadhan Diaries - Day 20

2006-10-14T08:39:00.000-07:00

Whoa!

Day 20 already!

Time does fly

Indeed it does.

hmmmm....

This morning i couldn't sleep in as i usually do... well... i did for a while, i napped until 8, after which i had to wake up because my business partner, Nick was coming around to pick me up to go see a prospective new printer. My dad (my other partner) came along as well.

we arrived at the office at around 9.00 and we were greeted by stack of T-shirts lining the office...almost wall to wall... WOW!

The owner was a Mr.Lee who had a lot of stories to tell us. Not that i really paid attention because what really caught me the most was his prices.

They were a LOT cheaper than other place i had been to. For a T-shirt printed with three colours at RM 9 a shirt, 100% cotton...well, for those of you not in the T-shirt business.... that is as Cheap as it gets, short of going and building your own printing factory of course.

He even offered to print a sample for us. And he was willing to allow us to stagger our order of 200 pieces...

ok, needless to say, we were bought.

After wrapping up his story about his daughter and how teens nowadays should be more active in business and social activities (that would be us...) we shook hands and he agreed to deliver the sample to us next week...

Tarawih tonight was rather interesting because we had an Imam who was only 11 years old. This little kid apparently was trained from young to recite the Quran...beautifully... he had this really cute pre-pubescent voice.

Usually imams are from those who have achieved puberty but seeing as how Tarawih is a Sunat (optional) prayer, i suppose the allowance could be made for the little imam.

Shocking?

Not really as it is quite common in schools for kids to 'jemaah' amongst themselves with a kid imam too. Plus when i was younger i have been imam to my fair share of adults as well.

An imam is not the equivalent of a priest/monk/holy man. An imam basically is a prayer leader. Any muslim can be an imam for a congregational prayer. However women can't be imam for a congregation of men... although this is sometimes disputed.

More educated members of the Muslim clergy are called 'ulama'' which basically means 'knowledgable'. Thus the Muslim definition of clergy is not just one who is well-versed in religious matters but in worldly matters too. Which is why in our Muslim communities we have a lot of ulama/politicians, ulama/businessmen, ulama/scientists.

One does not need a certificate to be declared an Ulama', but generally you have to be well-versed in a particular area and you have to be a respected person in your community... and people come to you seeking advice on various matters.

A true Ulama' never admits to being an Ulama' because a true Ulama' is never knowledgable as he is always constantly learning.

The Ramadhan Diaries - Day 19

2006-10-14T08:34:00.000-07:00

Still high from my interview yesterday, i felt really good today.

With theCICAK on the way to fame, a job (hopefully!) in my pocket and a meeting with a new printer lined up... i felt good.

And because i felt good i decided to sleep in the morning.

bliss....

I woke up, did my Yoga and then was rushed off to the Mosque, this being a Friday after all.

Can't really remember what the Sermon was though, it probably was generic and not really that memorable. Maybe that's why...hmhmhmhm.

The rest of the day was spent in KDU shadowing mum like i always do, hoping to glean some bits of experience off her. Today she was handling a room of KDU lecturers. Mostly they came in to whine about their students etc... the learning hadn't really started yet... not in a big way anyway but i knew that in the next lessons, things would be different and i get to see my mum manipulate..oh.. i mean ... mould...these lecturers to follow her principles of classroom management.

Sweet.

The Ramadhan Diaries - Day 18

2006-10-14T08:29:00.000-07:00

Well, today is the day.

The day of the interview.

The interview which was given to me at the very last minute .

Hah!

Anyway, the interview was slotted at 3. So i spent the morning bending myself into shape, Yoga-style. Worked up a good sweat, but i still felt fat. Probably its due to the huge quantities of rice (Carbohydrates!!) and dates (more Carbs!!) which i consume when the Sun goes down.

*belch*

The interview was at 3. I went in with my best attire and proceeded into what i felt was a very informal interview. I was chatted by an attractive Audit Manager and later the partner was brought in to give me the KPMG sales pitch.

Some conversation was made about my past involvements and i was given the lowdown on the salary structure of a fresh graduate auditor (RM 2100 a month! starting salary).

After the sales pitch, needless to say i was bought... and i so totally wanted in!!

Fortunately i think they were impressed...either that or they were absurdly polite.

I was told that i would be contacted to come back for a psychometric test next week...

oh, the wonders of Ramadhan.

Praise the Almighty!

:)

The Ramadhan Diaries - Day 17

2006-10-14T08:24:00.000-07:00

Wow, ok, i have a confession to make

i haven't been updating for the past 3 days!

mainly because i had been sleeping... a LOT, so nothing much to really blog about.

I guess it is true, fasting does tend to change your sleeping habits quite a bit. Not to mention eating habits as well. When i would usually be munching away in the afternoon, i find myself knocked out for 2 hours or more... hmhmhm. Mum says i'm getting in touch with my 'Malay' side.

But in the wee hours of the night however i find that i can stay up to absurdly long hours...working mostly on theCICAK stuff. Got a few...well.. a lot of things to settle before our debut in theSUN. So on one hand im sleeping my days away but working (getting in touch with my 'Chinese' side?) my nights away.

Anyway, the highlight of today was that i got a call from KPMG. For an interview...
tomorrow...

oooooooh....

more on that tomorrow!

The Ramadhan Diaries - Day 16

2006-10-10T23:24:00.000-07:00

Probably the best thing about today was that it rained.

Yeap. it rained... it really poured. It rained in the morning.

Im not really sure if it rained in the day though, i was in class for the better part of the morning.

Half way through Ramadhan, fasting does not seem such a big deal anymore. Its so normal now not to have lunch, although i must admit, it does get boring because i can't be going out with friends for lunch.

I believe lunch to be a very social activity. I generally don't have lunch if there isn't anyone to have lunch with

I have been fasting so long, it does not feel like fasting anymore.

haha!

Alright, anyway, there are about 14 more days left until the end, i can't really say i'm anticipating Aidilfitri (the first of Syawal, right after the end of Ramadhan), when it comes it comes lah.

Spent the rest of the day working on theCICAK press kit.

Oh and for followers of my blog, expect theCICAK to come out in theSUN soon

The Ramadhan Diaries - Day 15

2006-10-09T16:24:00.000-07:00

Ok, tired of wasting my time during the weekend, i woke up today with renewed vigour to do something productive.

I realise that during the month of Ramadhan it is better for us to be up and about, doing stuff rather than sleep and getting fat in bed.

So today, after my usual Yoga what-not, i planted myself in front of the PC and i started writing!

Yeah!

I managed to complete an article on the haze and i managed to get out a review for S'kali an indie local movie.

PLus i managed to call a few ...no... a LOT of potential suppliers who may be interested to print for Positive Outbreak...

yeah!

Did i sleep?

Only for half an hour (5 to 5.30)

Wooh!

Then i helped to cook, we ate, went for prayers then came back.

Hah!

ok, here is hoping that tomorrow will be just as productive as today was!

The Ramadhan Diaries - Day 14

2006-10-09T16:23:00.000-07:00

Another slow weekend

Weekends during Ramadhan tend to be quite slow and boring, with me spending most of the time curled up in bed sleeping my boredom away.

*sigh*

The Ramadhan Diaries - Day 13

2006-10-08T00:22:00.000-07:00

ITs a Saturday.

A really slow one.

Really.

*sigh*

other than my mandarin class, i pretty much slept the rest of the day.

*snorE*

but had a buka puasa buffet at night, not that i managed to stuff myself because we had to rush off to the mosque anyway...

*sigh*

anyways, here's hoping that tomorrow will prove more exciting

The Ramadhan Diaries - Day 12

2006-10-06T12:26:00.000-07:00

Day 12 of Ramadhan!

TOday was a really slow day. I woke up and i stayed up after Subuh prayers. Spent the morning finishing up some designs and doing some Yoga and installing some printer drivers.

After that, i folded some clothes, did laundry...well... mostly boring, non-world changing stuff lah.

Then i went for Friday prayers! The second one in Ramadhan. The topic of today's sermon was something about the Quran... and its holiness...etc... can't really remember, i was half asleep due to the fact that i had been up since 5 this morning.

AFter prayers which ended at around 2, i got home and pretty much slept the afternoon away, then i cooked...(yes, i cook)

At night, i met my 'client' whom i massaged yesterday, said he was better, but his other leg was acting up, so i did that one too. Got myself RM 20!

Whee!

THen came another guy, complaining of headaches and well... pretty much a lot of aches. So i massaged him too. But no payment as of yet. I don't really like to push for payment. Said he wanted to continue the treatment tomorrow night...

Well, ok, but if he expects me to massage his entire body, i expect more than RM 20...

hmhmhmhm

The Ramadhan Diaries - Day 12

2006-10-06T12:21:00.000-07:00

Ok, admittedly, i have been slipping in my updates.

But to be honest, nothing much happened this Thursday..

I went to college, got my degree project... and i went out...

with a friend...who is a girl... wihch BTW, isn't exactly good practice from an Islamic POV..

hehehe

At night however, after Tarawih, i saw a man, who was massaging his leg to no avail.

I decided to help him and well... im not really sure if it turned out well...

The Ramadhan Diaries - Day 11

2006-10-04T18:01:00.000-07:00

After awaking from my usual after prayer nap, i made the decision to do yoga...again!

This has got to be a habit!

Anyway, today i had a class in the morning, and one more in the night.

Which meant i had to brave the awful traffic of Masjid Jamek and lately the....

HAZE!!!

Argh!!

It just keeps coming back doesn't it? You'd think that they finally get it under control...

No doubt it was probably courtesy of our delightful neighbours to the West, those Forest Burning Indons... what better way to show their appreciation for us, for providing many of their children better jobs and better pay than polluting our backyard...*koff**koff*...

Of course Malaysia's own industrialisation has contributed to the haze.. but lets face it, if the Indon's weren't too busy burning down forests, it would be a lot cleaner. Besides, our own pollution we can manage... but their pollution??

Anyway, i'm just upset because i'm fasting, and i have to deal with the haze.

Not a very easy thing to do mind you,

Fortunately my home wasn't badly affected. I can still see the clouds around here.

The night was pretty uneventful, as i had class... Unless of course you find Audit and Assurance services to be fun....you weirdo!

The Ramadhan Diaries - Day 10

2006-10-03T14:39:00.000-07:00

Wow, day 10 already?

Time does seem to fly quite fast...

Sahur was fairly simple, consisting of a simple potato, water, and some dates.

But filling nonetheless.

After prayers, i napped for a few hours, woke up and decided that i was getting too fat and lethargic from this routine of eating, sleeping (for the entire day) and then sleeping again.

I needed more action!

So i decided to practice Yoga on my own (as opposed to practicing it in a class), something which i haven't exactly done before. So i managed to sweat for a good 45 minutes, after which i had to prepare for class.

I managed to get a ride from my friend to the LRT station which would take me to class.

One thing which i noticed about non-Muslims, during this fasting month is that they feel kinda guilty about eating in front of me when i'm fasting. Or rather, they apologise for eating (???). Well, to be honest, if you want to eat, eat Lah! Don't starve yourself on account of me fasting. Besides, the whole, 'seeing you eat' is supposed to challenge our own will...etc...

Halfway through the day, i was beginning to feel the effects of my Yoga practice this morning... i felt really whacked!

Getting back home, and after giving my friend a tour of the apartment, i slept.

While sleeping i got phone calls from my parents, both of which i answered in a half-asleep state, which is why i forgot to take out the fish my mum wanted to cook for iftar, which eventually led to me getting a good sounding.

The fish was good though.

The Ramadhan Diaries - Day 9

2006-10-02T14:44:00.000-07:00

If there is anything worth mentioning about this day is this:

It was HOT!

Like really hot, really dry and just generally tiring.

Its bad enough for a regular person, but for a person fasting it just becomes a real trial from God.

The day started simple enough with a fairly simple sahur. I had class today at around 10, which meant that i slept from Morning prayers onwards.

The effects of the hear were not so obvious in the morning. What was more obvious was the unbearable cold of the classroom... brrr...

After class, which finished at around 1, i was greeted by the other extreme of extremely hot weather. Imagine a hot and dry day in the centre of KL and imagine not being able to drink or at least eat something cool.

But i persevere!

That day i had to make my way to UM to use the scanner in the lab, which meant i had to take the train, wait in the baking, zinc-roofed bus stop for the bus while the driver took his own sweet time, after which i had to walk a bit more to the lab, under the hot sun... there was practically no wind!

Somehow all these little details seem a lot more pronounced when you're fasting...

Fortunately i got to the lab, exhausted but still with enough energy to scan my pics and do some photoshop.

After that i got a ride back from Mum.

Upon reaching home, i crashed out on my bed from the heat and exhaustion (sounds like a pretty good excuse neh?).

But i woke up in time for iftar (lamb chops!)

The Ramadhan Diaries - Day 8

2006-10-01T14:36:00.000-07:00

Sahur consisted of leftover Fish head curry from last night with bread.

Yum.

I tried my best to sleep after Sahur and Subuh, because i was going to have a class for the entire day, from 10 to 5, however i was too busy updating my blog/ going over some articles that i just stayed up. By the time it was 8.30 it was too late to try and catch any shuteye.

I just willed myself to go to class.

Needess to say i was drifting in and out of a sub-conscious state whilst in class. I think i only managed to absorb about 60 percent of the lesson... which isn't too bad considering we learned about taxation...OHQs, IPCs, RDCs, Shipping companies...that kinda thing.

Iftar was done at my aunt's place in Setiawangsa. This is my mum's sister.

Tarawih was also done at my aunt's place with my Grand Uncle leading the prayers. In between prayers we also got little lectures on the minor details one needs to consider whilst praying.

For those of you who don't know, Muslim prayer is a dynamic activity. We don't crouch and kneel and stuff. Muslims prayer involves standing, bowing, sitting and prostrating with prayer included for each position.

So my Unc was commenting on how to properly perfect our pose and how to recite our prayer properly, pointing out the common mistake made by most Muslims when it comes to prayers.

We spent the better portion of the night at my aunt's place, hanging around, eating and stuff.

The Ramadhan Diaries - Day 7

2006-09-30T15:24:00.000-07:00

WOw, it has been 7 days into Ramadhan!

That means it has already been one week!

Which leaves us with only three more weeks until syawal....and we all know what happens when Syawal begins.... well, not all of us... but for those of who don't know, i'll leave you here in a bit of suspense :p.

However the seventh day, despite its auspiciousness (at least i think so....7th day...?) was spent by me mostly sleeping... themost productive thing i did was going to my Mandarin. Oh and i learnt some cool Mandarin Terms:

Fasting: Zhia Jie

Muslim: Hui Jiao/Yi Si Lan Jiao

Apparently Islam in China is commonly referred to as Hui Jiao, which means 'Religion of the Hui people' because apparently practically all of the Chinese from the Hui region/ethnicity are Muslim.... which makes me wonder... maybe we should start referring to Islam in Malaysia as 'Agama Melayu'....

Yi Si Lan Jiao is the proper way of addressing Islam formally in China. (Islam Religion)....Yi Si Lan - Islam... get it?

The rest of the day was spent in bed....i felt really tired...i guess...hehehe

then we had iftar, steamed Salmon head!... really good stuff.

Then at Tarawih i met my Mom's cousin...my uncle...who is my age actually... he is studying at UIA, Engineering. Strange that we don't see him often, considering that UIA is so close to my place. I guess extended family isn't really a priority for 19 year olds...

The Ramadhan Diaries - Day 6

2006-09-30T15:15:00.000-07:00

Ok, i'll be honest, i forgot to update this yesterday!

Hahah!

And i can't, for the life of me remember what i had for Sahur, but it could have been leftovers or bread...or just dates and water... i can't really recall.

But what i do recall is that today was the first Friday of the month. For those of you who don't know, Friday is the holiest day of the week for us Muslims. So every Friday, Muslims go to the Mosque to take part in the Friday prayers, and listen to the Friday sermons. Prayers start at around afternoon, when the Sun is directly above your head. Attendance is compulsory for guys and its optional for girls.

However here in Malaysia, culture has it such that somehow girls don't even go to the mosque on Fridays...hmmm..quite strange considering Muslim Women in other countries (Saudi, Thailand, etc..) do participate in Friday prayers.

Anyways, today's Friday Sermon was about Zakat. And paying it Up!

Zakat is a form of religious tax for Muslims only. It is a religious obligation for us to pay up zakat to the proper authorities. The authorities then will use the Zakat money to support the poor and the needy in our community. I can't seem to remember though what the going rates for Zakat are lately...:p. But i do know that once upon a time, people used to pay Zakat in the form of Bags of rice.... now they just pay money.

I didn't attend Tarawih as i had classes (AGAIN!) at night.

Needless to say i was quite whacked after class

The Ramadhan Diaries - Day 5

2006-09-28T14:51:00.000-07:00

Woke up late again this morning, however i had a rather large sahur, most of which involved me stuffing down a grilled chicken wrap from last night down my throat.

I didn;t have time to drink much water, an oversight i would soon regret during the day.

As usual, i slept in the morning, this time until about 10.30. Only waking up to go for a meet regarding one of my side projects with the project leader.

Usually i am quite psyched and pumped about such meetings but... today i felt reawlly lethargic and unmotivated...could be my empty stomach speaking.

The rest of the day i just felt thirsty. Really thirsty. So in the afternoon i pretty much bummed around, not doing anything productive really.

Iftar tonight was done at the MOsque. They usually have free iftar for everyone in the area. But the reason we went tonight was because they had Daging Kurma, Ayam Masak MErah and tomato rice. Yum!

Before 'buka' there was a lot of zikir (chanting) and prayers, the basic supplication stuff really.

Then we ate, Then we prayed, then i got back, watched some TV (Alias!!) and went to bed.

The Ramadhan Diaries - Day 4

2006-09-27T14:47:00.000-07:00

As the days go by, its getting harder for me to discipline myself to make a regular blog entry every day... i attribute it to mainly a lack of self-discipline...

But then again perhaps im just worried that i may find that i have nothing to write about other than just boring recollections of my oh so routine life.

But lest i go on ranting, Sahur today was fairly simple, 7 dates and 7 glasses of water. Mainly due to the fact that i got up late for Sahur and i only had a few minutes to eat.

It wasn't a big deal really 'cos i had eaten a lot last night. :)

Today i helped mum in her class, i usually help out every wednesday, i am the unofficial lecturer's assistant i guess. Nothing out of the ordinary happened, other than the occasional 'Sam, help!', everything was as normal.

Later in the evening i had classes. From 6 to 9.30. Which means that i had to iftar in the middle of class. Before class i had bought some dinner (murtabak, some various kuih) with which to iftar with. My Lecturer, Sheila Williams was cool enough to give us a 20 minute break to go pray and eat. However i took a little longer than that... like maybe 25 or 30 minutes... hehehe but for the record i was eating with my non-Muslim friends...

Because of my class, i skipped Tarawih for tonight. I probably would go tomorrow.

The Ramadhan Diaries - Day 3

2006-09-26T14:44:00.000-07:00

Today's Sahur was slightly different from those before in the sense that i stuffed my self... full. Bleah.

One Cold cut sandwich and one more sandwich amde with leftover prawns from last night.

And a few other smaller items, like dates and such.

I was really full.

After prayers, i decided to get some work done on the PC, making an effort to stay up in an attempt to score some religious brownie points. However Mum came around, telling me to go to sleep because i have class today...

Well, i guess since my mother, the person whom i should revere the most after Allah and Rasulullah, told me to go to sleep... i can't really argue can i... :p. (Rasulullah s.a.w. was quoted once when asked who is the most important person in our lives after Allah and His messenger he answered first is our mother, next is our mother, next is our mother... only then our father...-wish i could be a Mother...but then again do i really want to go through menses, childbirth, menopause and the occasional moodswing...hmm... I suppose we should all be grateful for who we are)

After waking up, i went off to class. It was a three hour audit, i found that i could sit through it quite well, perhaps with my body getting used to functioning on an empty stomach (but to be fair, it wasn't really empty then, i was still full from the heavy sahur i had :p).

After class some of my friends were planning where to go for lunch whilst i stood silently, unable to join them. *sigh*. Oh well, I got better things to do than eat lunch!

Better things like my 2 week old pile of Laundry and the sad, sorry state of my room.

So the afternoon was spent mostly doing house chores. After chores, i fell asleep.

We did not go to the mosque for Tarawih tonight, instead we stayed at and did Tarawih on our own, as a family. Tarawih is a sunat (optional) prayer which can be done anywhere...actually...

Then the rest of the night was spent referencing some theCicak stuff.

and then it was lights out!

The Ramadhan Diaries - Day 2

2006-09-25T15:08:00.000-07:00

For Sahur, i had something a little more substantial, a croissant sandwich with cold cut meat, cheese and mayo (mmmm...cheese and mayo...)

Plus i ate a little more than usual, seeing as how i could only fit in five dates and five glasses of water.

I made an effort to stay awake after prayers but alas, after making yesterday's blog entry, i succumbed to sleep... (that means less brownie points for me!)

The day was spent tagging along with my Guru, Chin Lai to Fitness First Subang and True Fitness Sri Hartamas where i helped him run the Yoga/Yogalates classes. Some of the members were surprised to see a Muslim boy in the Gym during Ramadhan. But to quote one of the older members, he said its fine for me because I 'Have youth and energy on my side'. I guess it helps being young and healthy.

It was difficult not to notice the various attractive women in revealing gym attire... Something i should not be looking at, lest i *koff* fantasise *koff* too much :p. It wasn't difficult spending time with the aunties but every now and then comes along a pretty young thing in a sports bra...so...well...Allah forgive me...:p

The afternoon was spent rushing my final project paper to my supervisor, only to discover a few more mistakes, to rush fixing them, only to realise i forgot my Bank draft.

I went home to search for it, only to realise i lost it.

Needless to say, i got a serious shelling from my parents... not a very good way to end a day of fasting really...

For iftar, we ate at home, rice and prawns and veggies and fried fish.

Yum. Tried not to eat too much.. :)

After 8 ra'kaat (repetitions) for Tarawih, we went back.

My room was a mess, from and Islamic point of view, mess=bad. But i was too tired... so i decided to postpone my cleaning 'ibadah'(religious obligations) to the next day...

The Ramadhan Diaries - Day 1ll

2006-09-24T15:30:00.000-07:00

The day began at 5.00 am where i ate 7 dates and drank 7 glasses of water in the wee hours of the morning.

Seven by the way is an auspicious numbers for most Muslims... we believe in Seven levels of Heaven, We circle the Ka'abah 7 times during pilgrimage etc...

But in all fairness, it doesn't make it any more luckier than the other numbers. :p

From 5.00 am until my morning prayers and until class started at 10, i didn't catch a wink. I wanted to, i so badly wanted to but i had to complete my degree project which is due for submission tomorrow.

In class, i was dropping in and out of semi-consciousness trying to keep up with the lesson. Tax Incentives aren't exactly the most exciting topic around.

We were given a lunch break of one hour... as i sat around thinking of how to kill one hour, i decided to go to the Mosque and read some portion of the Quran, something which i don't usually do often enough...

I find that my mind strays off every now and then, thinking about food...hmm...delicious food... well, i guess its better then thinking about naked women in various positions...

I broke fast with my family at my aunt's house who just got back from Brunei. Had a pretty heavy dinner.

Then we went for Tarawih.

After Tarawih, i reached home, i kept my keys and the next few hours were a blank because i woke up in my parents' bed, in my boxers. And my mum was yelling for me to go bathe and brush my teeth.

Hmmm, i'm blanking out, could be due to the fact that i haven't fasted in a while...

The Ramadhan Diaries - Intro

2006-09-23T15:24:00.000-07:00

Salams to all my blog readers!

I have decided to embark on a mini-project of my own.

For the next 29 days or so i will chronicle the events happening in the day, up until iftar (that's 'breaking fast'/'buka puasa' for you non-Arabic types).

These Postings are dedicated to my non-Muslim friends who rub their foreheads in disbelief at our ability to forego lunch for a month (yes an ENTIRE month!!).

These postings also are intended to allow an insight into what it feels like to fast and the meanings, reasonings and logic behind it. Plus it can serve as a vivid account for those of you who want to know what it feels like to fast, but don't have the 'stomach' to do it (pun definitely intended).

So, do visit this blog regularly, perhaps you may just learn something new

Salams out!

(salams = peace)

:P

A Muslim is A Muslim is A Muslim

2006-09-23T15:02:00.000-07:00

Yay!

Its Ramadhan!

sweet! now time to renew my vows, and set new resolutions.

So this year i want to be less hormonal and more humble.

Two things first. Although there are a few more things i would like to work on, but for now, i'll try to focus on those two things.

So in the spirit of everything good about Ramadhan, i'd like to make a little commentary about being a Muslim.

Hmmm.

Have you ever heard of such terms as 'moderate, conservative or fundamentalist' Muslims?

Come now, i'm sure you have. Like in the newspapers for example:

'Moderate Muslims seek dialogue'

'Fundamentalist Muslims take to the streets'

Which then brings me to my issue:

Why is it that we have such polarising terms to separate siblings amongst siblings? (i us e the term 'siblings' 'cos its more politically correct :p)

Personally its these terms which i feel isolate us from one another, which allows us to commit acts of violence in the name of the religion.

Take for example:

If i have been labeled as a fundamentalist Muslim, i would find myself ostracised by the 'moderate' Muslims. Then i would start going to 'fundamentalist' gatherings, listen to 'fundamentalist' leaders and then start believing that i really am fundamentalist.

As for the 'moderates', they pride themselves on not being as fanatic as the 'fundamentalists' but they don't realise what the root of the problem is.

Moderate basically means, balanced, in-between, non-excessive, non-lacking..

Fundamentalist basically means, one who believes in fundamentals, the basics and has strong foundations and belief.

Going by those definitions i would like to call myself a Moderate Fundamentalist... or Fundamental Moderate... hmmm...

My point is that, why should such terms even exist? They create a culture of separation from one another.

Both 'moderates' and 'fundamentalists' feel that they are better, even holier than each other. They decry the actions of one another. No matter what each other does, they make it a point to get agitated by one another.

So why then even have such terms?

A Muslim is A Muslim is A Muslim.

Allah has sent down His Word to us through Rasulullah s.a.w. complete.

Yes, complete. (i wish i could quote the exact verse but i don't have it off-hand :p)

Complete meaning that the guidelines have been set, and they should be followed.

No where does it mention any delineation between 'moderates' and 'fundamentalists'.

If you admit to being Muslim then there are a set of Guidelines which aren't too difficult to follow.

It does not matter if you follow these guidelines strictly or whether you choose to do any extra 'sunat' religious stuff to get extra religious brownie points. That is between Allah and yourself.

So if you are a Muslim, or a follower of any other religion for that matter, stop labeling yourselves as 'religious or non-religious', 'practicing or non'practicing', 'moderate or fundamentalist'.

If you are a Muslim, then you are a Muslim.

Thinking About Religion

2006-09-18T06:11:00.000-07:00

Let us take a moment to ponder,

We all believe in the same things

We all believe there is a greater power governing us

So, why is it that all of us, despite our common beliefs still can't seem to find common ground with each other.

I firmly believe that there is a greater power, one that holds power over us all. And i believe that all the world's major religions believe in the same thing too.

This is evidenced by the prevalence of a 'God' or a 'Greater Power' figure in all our beliefs.

Further more, consider this:

All religions condemn murder

There isn't a single religion which permits stealing

Lying is always a sin with all religions

I can think of a lot more similarities, this list is not exhaustive.

yet there are those out there who would go so far to make public statements, condemning the beliefs of others.

As a Muslim, if i were to make fun of my Buddhist friend, i would only be making fun of my Religion because Buddhism and Islam share a lot of things in common: for example: Alcohol is frowned upon in both our religions, and we both preach acceptance of others.

Lets be honest, who knows for sure whether or not we are going to heaven or hell, so how can we start passing judgement on others, claiming that they will go to hell or heaven. That decision lies in God's hands alone.

The only person we should worry about going to heaven is ourselves. And we won't be able to get there questioning other people's beliefs.

So rather then let our different methods of approaching God seperate us, let us hold true to the universal goodness that all of us share.

Awekz Orang

2006-09-15T09:54:00.000-07:00

Ok, an open question to you all out there:

Is it right to 'kacau' someone else's girlfriend?

I mean, like, is it all right to hit on her/mengorat her?

Kinda like flirt with her, but with intention to win her heart and make her dump her bf... or be the cause of the break-up..

Eheh

Yeah,

That's where i am now. There is this gurl, whom i find to be quite fun and attractive, problem is that she has a boyfriend... and they have been going out for sometime lah. So generally long-term relationships are a bit hard to break.

So she is fun and cute and spontaneous and intelligent.. bla..bla..bla.. i find her extremely attractive basically. But it seems that she is quite close/clingy to her bf. The whole 'using her bf punyer handphone' and getting him to drive her around kind of close. So i can tell that it would be quite difficult for a third party (me) to cari peluang with her.

So there are a few possible options:

1: I make an active effort to drive a wedge between them (villify her bf/make him jealous)

2: I make an active effort to win her heart (whatever makes her heart melt)

3: Wait and hope and pray to God that they will break up

4: Find her boyfriend another girlfriend and hope that she finds out...

Hmmm, so i consider my options, though im not sure which one would be the best way to go around doing it....

so i plan my strategy...

or maybe i should just stick with option 3 and not do anything... after all, is it even right to win over someone else's girlfriend?

WOW, People actually read my Blog??!!

2006-09-14T05:51:00.000-07:00

Before i go on any further, i would like to thank all of you who have diligently come to check out my random ramblings on this humble blog of mine.

Now, allow me to explain the reasons behind what i write on my blog.

You see, its my personal blog. And being a personal blog, i don't usually expect people to read it...eheh

Its like my diary lah. Its where i store my thoughts, feelings and emotions.

Whenever something is bothering me, whenever i need to get something off my chest, i write it on my blog. Its Therapeutic for me really. It helps me clear my mind and think clearly.

So whatever you see here on my blog are things which have been bothering me for a while. Once i can't take the pressure anymore, i write it on my blog.. i transfer my problems into this blog.

Now, i did not expect that people would come to read my blog. Never had it ever occured to me that i would have a small following to my blog...

So when i write in my blog, i just write whatever comes to mind, without editing it and without caring the effects it may have on anyone who reads it.

Which brings me to my point:

Yes, obviously my previous post has sent many tongues wagging about the 'good little kid' who suddenly seems like a hormonal teenager.

Well, first of all, i was bothered with those 'evil' thoughts of mine, so i had to write it on my blog so i could get it out of my mind.

Secondly, my fantasies are my own. Don't let it bother you lah! Above all else, i still am a Muslim and i know how to conduct myself around women and girls. I have personal limits which i set for myself. Heck, i even get disgusted by couples who kissy-face in public.

Thirdly, grow up!! At some point in our lives we all have thought about sex and at some point we will do it. Its natural, its our fitrah. God made us such that by instinct we want to reproduce. But of course, the mind must suppress these desires and only allow them when necessary. So to suppress it, to clear it out of my system , i wrote about it.

So, i would like to apologise to all those who were shocked by my post.

But it is still staying up, im not going to delete it. It still is a part of my history.

So, once more, pardon my writing. In the future, i shall for general public consumption...

And once more, thanks for reading my blog... although now i have to be a bit more careful what i put in it.... :p

Anyway, i hope that helped to clear things up!

till the next post then!

Doing what's right, doing what's ...uhmm....

2006-09-11T08:18:00.000-07:00

OK, i am done apologising for not posting much on my blog, knowing full well that it does not get that much traffic anyway...

But for the record, this is the first time in this month i have posted anything, so , here goes:

Lately i have been having thoughts, and i have been indulging in them, thoughts which are ... uhm... 'questionable' to say the least. Ok, fine my hormonal teenage mind has been riddled with fantasies of sex (the straight type.. phewh!). Yeap. Sex

Oooh, taboo.

Anyway, lest i get into details, i have satisfied myself...by myself of course. Fortunately there hasn't really been any real opportunity for me to go all 'evil'. Although, im not very sure how i would react if presented with the opportunity (read: sexually attractive member of the opposite sex cornering me into doing it).

As i continue to 'layan' these thoughts, i find myself having all these weird fantasies...

Now i am presented with a choice:

Instead of waiting for an opportunity, i could go out looking for one

Or

I could remain a fairly good Muslim and keep my pants up... until i get married

Hmhmhmhmh...

The first option seems fairly tempting, though i wouldn't really know where to start looking

The second option remains tried and true. I could keep it up until marriage... i suppose...

This whole hormonal journey has taken its toll on my professional life. I seem to be losing track of projects and studies. Which is bad really. Sometimes i wonder if i actually had sex with some girl would that satisfy my hormone-driven curiousity. Or it could backfire and i could get addicted....

Hmmmm....

I think i'll stick with the Whole 'be a good Muslim' option. Its safer.

But presented with the opportunity...

Well, i just hope im a good enough Muslim.

I suppose it all boils down to a matter of willpower.

Do i have the will to do what is right?

Or do i succumb to what's ..uhmmm... 'wrong'?

Probably ill stick to right... its a lot safer...

Faci me

2006-08-29T20:47:00.000-07:00

After a rather long hiatus from the hubbub of life as a facilitator, i find myself once more thrust into the role, at a rather last minute.

Friends whom i haven't seen for months, some even years suddenly appeared back into my life. The last time i saw them was during the last workshop we conducted...

Once again, JKM took me under its wing and packed us off to Port Dickson to handle a bunch of overeager 13 to 17 year olds.

And i am reminded how much fun... and hassle being a child facilitator is.

GOD!!!

When you want to get them to respond, they shut up, when they should shut up, they can't keep still. Some of them even purposely try to get on your nerves, its like they are asking to be punched in the face....

but being the older 'abang' one has to control one's temper, be cool.. etc.. bla..bla..bla..

right after i was finished with my wshop in PD, i went off to Putrajaya International Convention Centre, for another workshop... this time with a bunch of younger kids, 9 to 12, under Rumah Bakti Petronas.

So there i was, with a fairly vague idea of what to do, once more finding myself having to handle 30 or so overeager kids, all wanting their say in our 'Wants and Needs' activity... thankfully i had a lot of help from the Petronas peopls...

Phewh!

Since facilitating 5 days in a row, i find that i haven't been eating well, and haven't been exercising, which probably has contributed to my face exploding and my general 'God-i-feel-fat' feeling.

Oh well, it all part of the job... which i don't even get paid for... (in all fairness, JKM paid me a token fee of RM 100 for 3 days....at least i got something)

But still, facilitation gives me a high.. a rush.. i call it the faci's high. Its fun to do, scary for the first time but once you start... its hard to not pass up an opportunity to facilitate.

Confessions of a SmartBoard Junkie

2006-08-13T06:34:00.000-07:00

Ah yes,

to all my students out there. This post is dedicated to you:

The SmartBoard. That magnificent piece of scientific wizadry which i hope by now has touched your lives quite significantly.

I shall not bore you with long-winded tales of who invented the smartboard, when it came out, etc.. suffice to say, it was designed by some NASA dudes.

But what i will do is to talk about the SmartBoard, in all its cool, funky, educational glory.

Lets take a look at what we have now, in our classrooms in schools and in colleges. What we see is a lot of Blackboards, whiteboards and in private colleges, an influx of overhead projectors.

Nothing wrong of course with these archaic methods of getting the message across but after one has been touched (or HAS touched) the SmartBoard, these outdated methods just seem plain boring.

To illustrate my point:

I see my lecturer scribbling on the whiteboard, but why does he have to rub it off? Cant he open a new page? Move the writing around? Its gone forever!! Never to be seen again!! YikeS!

What is my lecturer doing? Why is he hunched over the OHP? Whats that? He is trying to scribble something on the slides. Oh, i see the words coming out... damn, they are permanent... he can't even move it around... and my eyes hurt...bother.

Oh, he's brought his laptop and projector today. Hmmm....techy... After wrestling with the wires and controls, we finally get a picture, only to be treated to a boring, static powerpoint presentation.

Learning today sucks.

I blame my lack of enjoyment on the SmartBoard really.

If it had not been for the SmartBoard, i would have not really noticed how BORING conventional methods are.

I find it strange that words can't be moved, pictures can't be added and websites can't be linked.....

But that's just me.

A SmartBoard junkie.

*sigh*

Why i write

2006-07-31T03:28:00.000-07:00

Why do I write?

Its simple really, there is no deep hidden meaning behind it. I shan’t fool you into thinking that by writing I achieve a nigh-nirvana state of enlightenment or that I write in order to fulfill my needs which were neglected as a child.

I write because I can.

Well, I can. Like I can talk, I can walk, I can eat and I can sleep.

Yeah

Simple really.

But honestly speaking, why I write holds a different meaning for all of us I guess. We all have our own reasons for writing.

Apart from the fact that I can write, I can’t do a few other things too well. For instance, I can’t sing. Yes, I just can’t. I’m tone deaf you see. My voice can’t reach the right notes or the right pitches. So don’t expect me to be singing songs of heartache or trying to create awareness regarding social issues with my voice… ‘cos I can’t/

Other than that, I can’t paint. Oh yes, I have no sense of colour coordination whatsoever. A colour is a colour. That’s how it is to me. Red is red, green is green, and black, no matter what you say about it, will always be black. Although the discerning artist will tell you that no colour is as what it seems and some crap like that, well, colours are just colours are just colours. Nothing to it really. So I won’t be painting any post-modern, anguish-laden, symbolistic piece of defiance to society kind of work. ‘Cos I can’t.

My drawing sort of sucks too. It seems that I have been limited to merely drawing sad little caricatures, mainly doodles of various animals both real and mythical. Although I must say that my mythical creatures look exceptionally fine… (especially my three-legged grophondwarph) I can’t really say the same for my real animals… if I were to draw a cat, it might look more like a Hurtingus Yarp… or even a Bolgh (these are also other mythical creatures I have made up). So I won’t be publishing any politically charged cartoon or be bitching about how life sucks through drawing either.

Which brings us back to writing.

Oh yes,

Writing.

A passion once lost rediscovered again.

When it comes to writing, it is far more interesting than to speak. For speaking is like masturbation. The thrill is only temporary. Once you’re done, it feels kind of sticky. Plus you get only one chance to deliver your message. You don’t get to come back, re-edit it and make it sound extra nice.

But with writing, you can do all that and more.

Writing is a powerful tool. Pardon me for torturing a cliché, but it is. It is a tool which can be used to convey thought, emotion, ideas, etc… It is a medium where you get to really fine-tune your message and use your command of the language to the fullest. A writer can describe his feelings and his ideals using his words. He can change perceptions, both his own and others around him.

But lets not get sucked into writing rhetoric, lets look at some examples of the power of writing.

Take a look at movies. Yeap, those big Hollywood blockbuster productions. The movies which they always seem to keep making based on books…yea, books. Books which were the result of months…even years of hard writing…writing, and more writing….

Have you ever watched a movie based on a book and go like ‘the book was better’. That is because the book IS better. For the simple reason that the written word is better than the spoken-special effects-big explosion words on screen.

In the book, the setting is described, each character is fleshed out in detail, the reader takes it all in at his/her own pace… it is fluid, gentle, beautiful.

Unfortunately not many appreciate the power of writing, in an era of quick-fixes and easy access, writing seems like a cumbersome chore. Reading and writing are the keystones of civilization. Its what made us who we are. Knowledge is permanently recorded in writing, together with history, plays and whatever else you can think of.

So I write. And I shall continue to write until my hands fall off or I lay lifeless, my spirit flown off. But maybe even so, in my afterlife, I hope they have word processors in Heaven (yes I am optimistic) so I can spend the rest of my life, writing for eternity….among other things of course..

So to my reader, thanks for reading my written rant. Its not very often that you find someone willing to pore over several hundred words for a few minutes. I hope that you too will write about your own experiences, your views and opinions, your environmenct and maybe even write about why you write.

Samlingo

2006-07-24T06:25:00.000-07:00

I have decided to give english my very-own personal twist to it bu adding some patented original myself kind of words:

Fuzzly:(Faz-lee)

Adjective

Furry and fuzzy yet portrays an endearing sense of adorableness, due to its round and rotund nature.

e.g.: My cat is so 'Fuzzly'

Blejeagh:(Bler-jiah)

Descriptive, emotion

To convey a sense of frustration and disgust and a current situation or circumstance

e.g.: This play is blejeagh!

-ish:

Pre-fix

To be used behind adjectives to show a moderate stance on the degree of the object being described by the adjective

Can also be used for verbs to the same effect.

e.g.: Well, the situation is kinda like that-ish
Yeah...i spoke-ish to him
Whatever-ish
Sure she is hot-ish

Innyowhack: (In-yo-wak)

Expressive

To epxress shock when jumped by a person of affection (usually a close friend, older sibling, parent..etc..)

e.g.: Hi mum! Innyowhack!

stay tuned for more!!

More reasons to be an accountant!!

2006-07-17T03:43:00.000-07:00

if a doctor does something wrong, he gets sued

if a lawyer does something wrong, he gets his license revoked

if an engineer does something wrong he gets fired

if a scientist does something wrong, he gets made fun of

if an architect does something wrong he gets emotional/teary/angsty/crazy (or some close approximation of which...)

but if an accountant does something wrong, he gets rich!!!

Why I am an Accountant:

2006-07-17T03:31:00.000-07:00

Too cool for engineering

Too ambitious for medicine

Too honest for law

Too hot for science

Too sane for architecture

that's why!!!

I, Accountant

2006-07-12T06:21:00.000-07:00

I, Accountant

well...accountant wannabe to be more exact.

First of..i'd like to clarify that Accountants do NOT crunch numbers. Number crunching is done by our lowly peons...we call them fresh graduates.

Anyways, i believe that the accountant is probabaly the most misunderstood of all professions...together with CEOs and CFOs...who by the way at one point in their lives were accountants...

Ok, first off, the definition of an Accountant:

Anyone who has ever studied for an accounting degree and graduated or holds a professional certification and membership from a certifying body can call him/herself an accountant.

Considering how most CEOs, some politicians and almost all CFOs hold the above qualifications, they too can admit to being accountants.

Secondly, accountants are not evil:

Yes, we are just as human as the Holy man and the thief on the streets. We have feelings too, we have families to feed..etc.

The thing is that people think we are evil because we are put in a position of great trust, usually as CEOs or CFOs or Politicians, or Financial Analysts or Investments Bankers or Property Magnates or just general Rich Guy.

And the fact that we usually tend to be in a position of power sometimes lends us that 'evil' aura that being in power tends to give you.

Thirdly, yes, we do less work yet get more pay than the grunts:

This is something you have to accept, despite the fact that most accountants graduate quite early, usually with less heartache and strain compared to other courses (engineering, IT) the bottomline is that our ceiling is way...way...WAAAAY... higher than most other professions.

A young, ambitious accountant only need to open his mouth at the right time, say the right words and bring back the desired results, he may find himself in the running for upper senior management...

But, hey, despite the fact we do very little of the groundwork, we do a lot of decision making...tough stuff considering that the future of the co weighs heavy ob our shoulders.

Fourthly, In the event of a recession, we can bounce back

Lets face it, in the face of recession, companies need their accountants and finance people to keep their business afloat... although the less skilled accountants might get laid off...but with all the knowledge gained from their training, they can usually start their own businesses and still bounce back.

Fifthly, Accountants are prudent

Yes, we are prudent, above all else, we are prudent. Although the term prudent can be defined variably... say if the client offers 10 mil to close one eye over an immaterial statement...that is still prudent... heck, its just a small matter...plus our firm could use the money to create jobs, generate economy and overal improve the standard of living of the society.

Accountants affect the lives of many and their future generations as well. The decisions they make and the work they do puts them in a position of great good and of course, great evil. The accountant has to walk a fine balance of both light and shadow, maintaining the flow of cash and prosperity through the community and of course, get rich at it as well.

So lets stop antagonising accountants shall we?

Teetering On the Fence

2006-07-09T05:33:00.000-07:00

I am a liberal

Yes I am

Thank God i am...

However i feel that my current status is threatened...

You see i go for a lot of these seminars organised by NGOs and the such. The most recent one i've been to is 'Community Driven Change' organised by Balairakyat (check out their website on my links!)

The seminar was harmless enough... it was for a good cause. There were very insightful ideas as to how the public can empower themselves to better community. About standing up to corrupt officials and persevering to solve a problem.

What strikes me most about these seminars are the high level of left-winger attendees... (I wish to clarify that being liberal is NOT left!!!) no doubt they are entitled to their ideas... however extreme they may be... but i guess they sometimes do not realise that their mindset may be just as closed as the right-wingers they so oppose...

Anyway, i'm missing my point.

My point is.. if i continue to go for these seminars, i may be earmarked as a 'leftie' something which i firmly AM NOT!! I am neither right nor left... but i sympathise with both of their points...and oppose some of them...

That's who i am... teetering on the fence...a very precarious position to say the least...

My observation is that these community service seminars are largely attended by left-wingers. Its good that they show their support and such however i feel that these seminars lack a more right-wing touch. I believe that more right-wingers should be drawn in to sort of balance the points put forth by the left-wingers. Perhaps we can have a few lively debates... though i hope they don't erupt into fistfights.

Or maybe i should (shock horrors!!) think like a right-winger...just to counter the lefties....nah... at the end of the day i am still liberal and all i want to do is to better understand both sides of the coin.

Newbie Coupling

2006-07-09T05:17:00.000-07:00

Ok, i'll be honest...i have never had a girlfriend.... not until recently at least...

So i wonder then, what do most other couples do...

I mean, i hear all these strange concepts of open relationships...long distances... and questions like.. how often do we keep in touch? and where is the line drawn separating caring and controlling?

Phewh!

Not Easy!

One can always plan but one can never foresee. You can plan and plan the relationship but unexpected things always will occur. Man can plan but God decides.

But one question that has been nagging at my head is 'what is a couple?'

A bf-gf type of relationship...

I mean, who invented the concept?

I wonder sometimes how long this phenomenon goes back... where members of the opposite sex share special feelings for each other yet are not bound by the ties of marriage...

Perhaps its a modern invention whereby in this society of ours we couple as in to test a person's likeability before we marry them....

Is it?

Or is it an excuse to get close to each other without any need for obligations and what not?

*sigh*

As society evolves, new concepts of coupling are invented... sometimes the media catches wind of them and tries to overcomplicate what is meant to be something simple. When celebrities couple, it becomes an entirely different concept...celebrity coupling...hah! What is sad is that people tend to pick up on these coupling fads and philosophies that they forget the real reason they coupled in the first place.

I admit that i too am influenced by these strange concepts... taking it fast...taking it slow... when to call...when not to...

I suppose i could crack my head over the best way to have a relationship but never find the answer.

I believe that coupling should be the most natural thing. Its after all ingrained in human nature to find a partner... its our fitrah to say the least.

The reason we couple is because we want someone to share our thoughts and feelings with. Someone to listen to and someone to talk to... i know that sounds cliched... but sometimes in cliches come the soundest advice... far better than any '10 ways to funkify ur relationship' column can give you.

Trust your feelings, trust your judgement and most importantly, trust your partner

If God wills it, then it will work out...naturally.

Jumbly-mumbly-frought

2006-07-09T03:28:00.000-07:00

Ok, yes, i have not been updating frequently...

but then again... does anyone even read my blog for me to frequently update it??

Oh well, maybe there are but due to my lack of updating, people just stop coming...

people... hahaha

Anyways, showed my dad how to use Blogger the other day to set up the condo website... hmmm....somethings we tkae for granted, others seem to just realise...

Apart from the usual hubbub of my 'business' of selling T-shirts, life has been...eventful... to say the least... i wrote a story, went to some seminars... went steady...

Yeah,

went steady...

OMG!!! Aku Laku!!

But to torture a cliche, i'm gonna take it slowly and let things work out naturally...(whatever THAT means..)

Hmhmhmhm... some other more interesting events include me helping out an old friend with her marriage problems... cry-on-my-shoulder kinda thing really.

And more plans. 40 year plans, plans for my business, short-term plans... oh, i am SO scheduling my life.... now i have a guide i have to stick by... i wonder if my future self will be pissed off with my past self for making him abide by a plan written ages ago...

anyways, to those of you who DO read my blog, thanks... i will try my best to update diligently.

Back from Exams

2006-06-15T03:22:00.000-07:00

Phewh, exams are over. M not sure how many hits my blog gets... (m guessing not much) but anyway, im back.

After several weeks of head-twitching, (a physical manifestation of my exam stress) i can finally relax and play games...perpetually...ahahaha!!

But, oh well, relaxation is shortlived because now, my Tshirts have come in.

For those who are confused, i am one of the founding members of Positive Outbreak.

You can find out more about us at

And our Tshirts are out.

Buy them!! Support the cause!!

M guessing that this will probably take up most of my time.. until my next exams that is... in December...jeng jeng jeng....

Confessions Of an 'Evil' Developer

2006-06-03T15:52:00.000-07:00

Hey, the other day i was possessed by a spirit of an Evil Developer and boy, did he have a lot to say, he made me type this out:

Oh dear, another landslide, oh, what a horrible loss of life… my condolences to those who care. Ok, then, time for us to move on, get on with our lives, there is money to be made!!

What’s that? You ask if I feel guilty getting rich off the deaths of a few dozen?

Are you making me look like the bad guy here?

You know what?

I’m sick of people calling me a bad guy, the ‘evil’ developer. I will have you know that those house you are living in, yes, that very high-rise, that penthouse, that bungalow, semi-d or whatever little hovel you are holed up in was built by none other than yours truly. So please, show me some gratitude.

Without me, you people would still be staying in mud-huts with nipah roofs with the grass-skirt wearing ‘ulu’ nuts as your neighbours.

You want that?

Come now, the ones who died, well, collateral damage really. Its all in the name of progress. I mean, of course I mourn their deaths, but, what can I do about it?

I can’t bring them back to life.. if you wanna bitch about their deaths bring it up with God. Isn’t he the one who determines who lives and dies… or something like that….

Besides, the ones who died were mostly illegals and those whose lives were mired in poverty and suffering that death was the kindest thing that could have ever happened to them.

They weren’t people, not like you… or me… well, I’m probably more than a person, yes, a demi-god probably. Hey, I determine where you live the rest of your lives, so therefore I deserve some worship… at least!

Now I have hundreds of ingrates and heretics on my back, each one of them calling me names like ‘negligent’, ‘irresponsible’ and ‘greedy’. Well, honestly, bugger for them for not realizing all the good I have done for them.

I can be charitable too. I can name several families of the authorities whose lives I have made better… charities which you heathens call ‘bribes’. That is such a crude word… all I do is provide them a better standard of living for a simple signature on a piece of paper. How can that be a crime?

70 percent of Malaysia is still untouched, pristine Rainforest…. I intend to change all that. I mean, who need rainforests anyway?

I find that they are a perfectly good waste of building materials and building space plus they are downright inhospitable, what with the mosquitoes, weird noises and strange smells…. If I had it my way, I’d clear ‘em all for development. Now that would be putting it to good use.

One day, there shall be homes for everyone, every person who can afford it of course. And the ‘ulu’ nuts, the mosquitoes and those hideous forest critters will be a thing of the past.

This is development people, if you don’t like it, tough! The only constant thing is change… duh!

Now then, I’m just a simple man… well… uhm… god-man, who is trying to make a living in this world. I help those who help me in return. That is my simple philosophy.

Its not that I over-charge, I just charge enough to pay my loyal disciples, whom you called under-paid employees and enough to maintain my three Mansions, my four BMWs, Five Mercedes, Two limited edition Seafarer Yachts and state of the art underwater house.

My achievements have been recognized by many great leaders. In fact, Satan himself is so impressed with me that he has contracted me to develop blast furnaces in hell. Apparently the fire-pits were getting too old.

Oh well, I would love to stay and chat with my ardent followers but I have a golf appointment with Satan himself. It seems he wants to offer me a permanent spot in hell.

How delightful! I have always been a great admirer of his work, and i’m sure I’ll get a lovely tan down there.

Farewell then mortals! There are Jungles to be cleared and hills to be raped!!

Dressing Up, Dressing Down

2006-05-26T05:29:00.000-07:00

In response to a comment posted earlier by the lovely miss Farhana, as to whether dressing up is of importance to me, i have this to say..

Was i horribly dressed that day at KYUEM?

oh, and i recovered my specs

YAY!

But anyway, much ado about dressing...?

Not to be sexist or anything but i find that girls tend to be more particular with dressing and looking good etc... heck my mum won't even let me go out unless i look 'presentable' to her.

But when mum isn't around... well... i guess i really couldn't care less... of course being a Muslim, i would have to cover certain parts of my body but beyind that, well, lets put it this way...

A shirt is a shirt is a shirt.

A pair of pants are a pair of pants are a pair of pants.

Shoes are shoes are shoes.

there you go.

Although occasionally, depending on the occasion (a date, an important meeting, functions) i do try to dress up complete with colour coding, colour schemes (black is negative, i wear it when i am positive, it offsets my personality creating a harmonious balance, white is positive, usually worn casually when there is no occasion, blue and grey are neutral colours which i usually wear on second meetings/second dates, shoes have to match the top i'm wearing or at least the pants, 'cos my hair is black. Practicality also comes into play, wear white on hot days, black on cold, rainy days, sneakers for sports, walking shoes to look good, etc.. i try to colour coordinate my dressing styles as well)

So when it comes to dressing, thats how i dress..lah

Which brings me once again to my first question

Do i dress badly?

What's Your Excuse?

2006-05-23T20:41:00.000-07:00

There comes a point in our lives when some of us feel a need perhaps to contribute, to give back to society.

Honestly, reading about some kids doing something, trying to change the world, etc... does make one question one's self.

'what am i doing?'

So then we go off in pursuit of so-called 'social awareness' trying to go here and there, looking for ways to help out. Trust me, many people do this.

And what happens is that a lot of people lose their steam halfway. Usually because its not what they expected and they feel that they can't do enough. Or perhaps they just don't have the time/effort/energy.

A lot of excuses really.

Excuses to justify why they can't give back to society.

As part of society, we have a duty to help out, to better each other.

Its not about the glory or the fame of coming out in a newspaper

Its about knowing at the end of the day, you did do something, you persevered, braved the challenges and you achieved something. You changed your bit of the world.

Although admittedly sometimes it can be difficult, but we should all help out whatever way we can.

Lost!

2006-05-14T18:01:00.000-07:00

The unthinkable has happened.... i have lost erh..well, misplaced rather...my multicoated lenses!! (my glasses, spectacles)

I just came back home from my aunt's house one day, really tired and stuff and the next thing i remember was sleeping.

When i woke up the next morning, i couldn't find them!!

So i went a single day with no glasses.

Admittedly, my power isn't that high, only about 150 or so, but i found myself straining to look into the distance, checking out hot chicks have become such a chore! i can't admire them from a distance no more! Now i have to get closer and risk blowing my cover.

It gets difficult in class as well, as i'm straining to look at the OHP and the whiteboard... blergh.

I have lost it for 2 days. My eyes are as tired as heck, all bleary and mussed up.

Feel like closing them and just sleep.

This loss has made me realise that i have relied on my lenses for too long to the point where life becomes difficult without them, though i don't REALLY need them.
Might go out to make new ones though.

So now, i find myself naked and exposed to the world, thus making it harder to conceal my feelings etc..

Plus now people can tell how young i really am!!!

shock horrors!!

Much ado about dressing

2006-05-11T00:58:00.000-07:00

Dressing up, dressing down...

whats the point really?

I mean, as far as i'm concerned, if i have enough cloth to cover my vital parts, fine for me... really!

Why bother going through the process of finding something that fits, or buying the latest fashion or modifying your clothes..

For me, if its affordable and it covers my body well, well, its good enough!

Myspaced!

2006-05-08T18:53:00.000-07:00

Once again i have succumbed to the evils of peer pressure...

Or rather my boss/friend at the Cicak has gotten me to sign up to myspace..

eheh

So im up on myspace, on of THOSE friend/community based websites where people whine if you don't give them testimonials and question you if you don't constantly update your profile...

Plus i heard that it had some fishy paedophiliacs hiding in there....

But i've joined... anyway... totally against my principles... but yet...

ARGH!!

peer pressure!!

check it out here:

Coming Soon...

2006-05-08T01:09:00.000-07:00

The Dimpled one

2006-05-07T21:38:00.000-07:00

Dimples have often been associated with cuteness or innocence. A person with dimples is often seen as 'nice' or 'goody-two-shoes'.

Hurray

If you are one of those people who believe in that association, well, bugger for you.

Do you watch Alias? Well, if you do, then you would know that Sydney Bristow has dimples. Is she safe? Is she innocent? Hardly.. but i can bet you that the dozens of bad guys she has taken down thought she was cute... before she totally whups their asses!!!

If you watch Lost, the resident bad boy, Sawyer has dimples and he sure as hell ain't innocent....

In Malcolm in The middle, Lois, the mother, she has dimples, and she is the meanest, loudest, TV mom ever!!

but anyway, yeah, dimples

Dimples are actually a birth defect, it usually happens because the skin on the face is still young. So a lot of people tend to have dimples when young yet they lose it as they get older. However, there are those whoi retain their dimples through adulthood. These 'severe' defects seem to maintain their youthfulness and child-like innocence.

So if you have dimples, then smile, smile and be proud of them, because they are a valuable asset in everyday life, it melts the hearts of many and it lowers their guard. Use them wisely and do not abuse them, with great power, comes great responsibilities.

Dimples rock!!!

Study..study..study

2006-05-06T19:45:00.000-07:00

Exams are next month.. bother,

Its interesting really how a piece of paper can determine your standing in the eyes of the wrold for the remainder of your natural life.

Of course there are those few who refused to go through the regular academic route and find themselves successful and stuff.. but for the rest of us mere mortals, exams seem to be a viable way out.

Exams were first historically recorded to happen in China, during one of those dynaties. Apparently back then, government officials had to sit for exams to qualify for higher posts. If they failed or were caught cheating, they would literally lose their heads, executed on the very nexty morning.

Well, thankfully there isn't any system that still practices that today but more often than not we hear stories of kids who commit suicide or just burn out because they fail their exams. Most of this can be blamed due to the increased pressure put upon them to succeed by their parents.

I suppose there are merits to examinations but it can't be the sole measure of the worth of an individual. Practical experience counts as well.

By the end of the day, a truely successful person would know how to talk the talk (academic) and walk the walk (practical).

As for me, i better pass this exams ASAP lest i waste to much time learning how to 'talk'

Flowy skirts....yummy!

2006-05-03T16:20:00.000-07:00

I think flowy skirts are just hot

really, they are. Girls in flowy skirts tend to set my heart a fluttering... with their graceful walk and their sweeping frills...hmmm..the epitome of beauty

Flowy skirts are way better than hot pants or tight jeans. Although nice to look at, they do not leave much to the imagination, whereas flowy skirts tease the viewer with what mannerism of grace lies beneath the undulating flows of the skirt.

Flowy skirts can usually be worn with tops of any choice, but personally i think it goes best with a tight-fitting blouse. Like the woman in this picture:

Flowy skirts also are regularly worn by those sexy, gyrating belly dancers (for that matter, i find belly dancers to be hot as well!) which captures the fluidity and seamless transition of the dance:

*sigh*

Flowy skirts, you belong on my ever-increasing list of weaknesses

Conservatism

2006-05-03T07:14:00.000-07:00

Conservatives

*sigh*

Have you ever wondered why there is no such thing as a 'Conservative International'?

Heh, thats because conservatives are too busy fighting with each other to be able to agree on anything.

It seems that conservatives from opposing parties always seems to be at each other's throats and not realise that if they took the effort to understand the views of one another to achieve greater goals together.

Or then again, perhaps i'm one helluva idealistic liberal.

I have come into several conservatives in my relatively short time on this earth.

One one hand, i appreciate that its more often the conservatives that reaffirm the rule of law and the standards of morality, but on the other hand it seems that they will disagree on the most inane, obscure of topics. Even small matters like movies and certain articles are pounced upon by them and if not to their liking, they will rip it apart with little regard with the feelings of others.

Perhaps their strengths lie in their abilities to appeal to niche groups of supporters. Generally conservatives tend to be based upon religion or race or any particular ideology. They also tend to make verbose promises to forward the interests of that group.

Conservatives are a popular group to leverage upon, however they can be very volatile and they would no sooner turn their back on you as soon as you conflict with their ideas.

It would be interesting to learn the arts of harnessing the powers of the conservatives without having it blow up in my face

Me? A Liberal?

2006-05-01T18:41:00.000-07:00

I've never had a very clear perception what liberalism was all about..

Often i percieved liberals as those who simply refused to adhere to what they call 'old-fashioned brouhaha'. The word liberal usually followed my thoughts with images of naked bodies rubbing against each other in one sweaty orgy...

It seemed like good fun, but it wasn't me...

well, at least that was what i thought.

recently i had the chance to sit in a talk given by Lord Alderdice, president of Liberal International.

He is a rather large, roundish man with much facial hair. Thats him in the photo

So he started off by talking about his experience, growing up in the violent era of Protestant-Catholic conflict in Ireland, when people got shot in the streets and bombings were common.. not too different from Iraq today.

He explained to us how the Catholics were sidelined in the north and how, after realizing that they were being treated as second-class citizens began an uprising against the Protestant majority.

He went on tho recall how he joined a liberal party with a bunch of other like minded protestants and catholics in the hopes that they could bridge the gap between the two conflicting parties.

It was a long process he says, one with much obstacles, the biggest being the fact that conservatives parties on both sides shunned them.

eventually peace did come about, albeit 25 years later, but it did come about...

Although he did not say it outright, Northern Ireland today owes some of it thanks to the efforts of the liberal party.

So what is liberalism?

Well, in the words of Lord Alderdice,

Liberaliam is the pursuit of freedom and the generosity of spirit.

in other words, Liberalism advocates understanding and co-existence between different parties. It advocates freedom within reasonable boundaries. And it also finds a way to bring people together to work towards common issues in a way where it benefits everyone.

Liberalism should not be confused with the freedom nonsense being shitted out by Bush. What his administration (which is staunchly conservative) has done is that they have taken noble ideals and made a mockery of them by violently forcing it down the throats of others.

A liberal is not necessarily un-religious. A lot of liberal thinkers are religious people, in fact some of the more prominent liberal thinkers like John Locke and Friedrich Naumann were theologists. It is in fact, because of religion that one becomes a liberal, for there is no religion that does not promote understanding and co-existence with one another.

A liberal is a person who understands that education is the key to better understanding amongst the members of society. He/She is a person who realises that he/she should understand people and get them to understand each other. They are the advocates of peaceful solutions to any problem. A liberal seeks to pool the strengths of different parties to work towards common goals.

A liberal is a person who facilitates the healing of society and leaves no one out, be they socialist, capitalist, conservative, fundamentalist or any other new, unknown denomination.

Well, at least that was the idea that i got from Lord Alderdice's talk.

Then i realised that perhaps, i myself am a Liberal.

I seek to understand others

I have a strong desire to learn

And I have a strong urge to share my knowledge with others

I suppose that I am a Liberal...

huh...

hmm

interesting......

Why i choose to blog

2006-05-01T18:00:00.000-07:00

Ok, this would be the 3rd time that i am trying to set up a blog...again

My previuos attempts were at thematic blogs.. unfortunately, something which was not suited for such a 'vibrant, dynamic, chameleonistic' person like me...

but i digress..

The reason that i choose to blog is because... uhm.. well... uhmm

because everyone else is doing it...

there, i said it..

I am a victim of peer pressure

*sigh*

yeah, besides, it would be nice to have an online portfolio kinda thing going on.. kewlness!

But i'm not succunbing to peer pressure in the sense that i do it because all my friends are doing it.. for that matter i don't 'friendster' or 'myspace' and bitch and mope and whine over why no one has given a freaking testi...

I succumb because i see that it is an opportunity for me to gain minor celebrity status online.

yeaps!

Won't be long before i'll be signing e-autographs

keep posted!