Me.....

In a reflective mood

Rumble in the jungle ...ooops...sorry

Need I say more?

Can money buy success?

What is happening to Real Madrid? A 0-4 defeat to an unheard of team from the lower rungs of the Spanish football league! That is real bad. Millions of money spent on players but Ronaldo out injured and you know what? The team is suddenly struggling. Three defeats in the last five matches...wow... that don't look like a team challenging for supremacy in Spain, much less Europe!

Torres the conqurer

So Liverpool beat Man U courtesy of Torres. One win and they are right back in the race. Have they finally overcome their problems and will go on to win the championship? Only time will tell!

Keeping healthy at 50 +

I have been doing a lot of jogging lately and the results have been encouraging. If before it was only 10-15 minutes, now I can jog continuously for 25-30 minutes and that includes climbing two flight of stairs. I also need only a day to recover before I can jog again. Before I would need a few days. The thing now is to keep on with the exercise but by far the greater challenge is to ensure I eat healthy food. That is one very difficult thing to do but exercise not accompanied by eating the right stuff is futile.

The accidental farmer

This mango tree has given us plenty of eating pleasure

The small rambutan tree makes the fruits easy picking


This papaya tree grew without us noticing it until it starts to bear fruits.

That's the pleasure of living in the kampong. Peaceful, cool and tranquil. Its a far cry from the hectic city life and yet it's only minutes away. For one who professed to knowing next to nothing about farming, it certainly provides a new learning experience.

Be careful when you sell Belacan

Do you know that selling 'belacan' can get you in trouble? That's what happened to a belacan seller recently. Her 'belacan' was deemed artificial because it did not contain enough of the ingredient that makes the 'belacan' smell like one. Apparently, the smell is an important part of the 'belacan'. Without the smell, it is not 'belacan'. For that, the 'belacan' seller was fined!

The simple life

Although gardening/farming has never been one of my favourite pastime, living in the kampong has allowed me to enjoy having fruit trees around the house. 'Pisang', 'cempedak', 'jering', 'rambutan', betik, limau, ciku, mata kucing, ubi kayu, mangga and a few others. Some of the fruit trees grew naturally without us realising it while others were planted. After a day in the office, I enjoy going back to the peace and tranquility of the kampong and doing simple things like picking fruits from the trees and eat them.

Hari Raya 'do' at the local mosque

People making a beeline for the food

Enjoying the food at the mosque verandah

The crowd picking up in the afternoon

Our mosque had a little Hari Raya gathering last Saturday. My wife and I came at about 9.30 am and left about 2 hrs later. We went straight to another Hari Raya 'do' in Bangi and after that, to a wedding reception in Shah Alam. By the time we got back home, it was almost 4 pm.

Get on with it!

Our internet is below par. That's the damming conclusion from a survey done recently. Is that a surprise? Certainly not! It is so damm slow. When countries like Korea and Japan and even Singapore are enjoying fast internet, we are still at a snail's pace. Something needs to be done about this, urgently or we be left behind even further!

Another empty season?

Four defeats in a row! Whatever is happening to Liverpool. At this rate, they can kiss the championship goodbye. This was suppossed to be their defining season after coming so close the last time around but the way things are going, they need to find a quick remedy to their woes or else its another season down the drain!

A second EGM to solve the first EGM

The MCA squabbles has been topping the headlines the past few weeks. Interested or not, you can't help but read them. The first EGM was suppossed to settle everything but it seems that the opposite is happening. The MCA is now in an even bigger hole than it was before. Now the President wants to have another EGM but many others don't think it is necessary! So.... the saga continues.

Those were the days ......... again

16th September 1974. That's the date when I left Malaysia for the first time heading for England to further my studies. That's almost thirty five years ago. Can you recognise me in the picture? I was just 18 years old then. It will be another four years before I set foot again in Malaysia, coming back to spent the summer holidays.
As usual, I would spent my summer holidays in Europe and if I remember correctly, I was in Amsterdam that summer when I suddenly felt the urge to come back to Malaysia. As luck would have it, I had enough money for the plane ticket and that's how I ended up back home after four long years.
After the holidays, I went back to England to complete my final year and came back for good in 1979.

Open houses here, there and everywhere!

The month of Shawal is nearing the end. What a hectic month it has been. Open houses everywhere, weekends, weekdays, week whatever. It seems like we are hell bent on catching up with whatever we have lost in the month of Ramadhan. I'm talking about eating off course. Don't know if this practise of celebrating Eidul Fitri for one whole month is only in KL or all over the country!

Just thinking aloud

Dow Jones

For once I'm glad I was wrong. The Dow burst through the 10,000 mark last night. Let's see if it can stay or ...........

World Cup 2010

Argentina made it, barely. However, on the strength of their showing so far, it will be one big struggle in the World Cup. As for Portugal, they lived to fight another day. So looks like Messi and Ronaldo are to going to grace the World Cup after all.

10,000?

Will the Dow Jones hit 10,000? Let me be bold and say it will not hit 10,000 today but give it another week or so and it will definitely hit the figure. Right now the bulls are in charge and the bears are nowhere to be seen!

The lost years

Been catching up on the stories of the lost years of my long forgotten friends from Brighton days of 74-76. Its been thirty three years since we last connected. Somehow, through one of us (Aziz Bakri- thanks to him) we are now reconnected although some are still un contactable. He prepared a spreadsheet where we are asked to write our stories of what we have been doing since 1976 till now. We all have different stories to tell, charting our own paths while living out our life. Really a great effort. Kudos to Aziz.

Another one for the memory

Standing: Amin, Latip, Mazani, Razman, Rahim, Hartono, Aziz, Ali, Zainal
Sitting : Md Noh, Me, Borhan, Johari, Syed Hamid, Khairi

Wan Husin went out somewhere while this photo was taken while Akashah came much later. All in all, it was a good gathering of forgotten friends from our Brighton 74-76 days. We had a lot of catching up to do as much has happened in the thirty three years since we went our separate ways. Some went through a colourful life with lots of stories to tell while many others are just normal. As for me, life has been good and I have no complain. I am grateful always to God.

Now and Then

Me, Aziz, Latip, Johari, Rahim Hilmi, Borhan and Syed Hamid (2009)

Me, Malik, Aziz, Latip, Razali, Johari (squating), Hartono, Zainal, Zulkifli, Rahim Hilmi, Borhan (1974)

D Day for Argentina and Portugal!

Argentina and Portugal. Will they win their matches tonight or will they bite the dust? Very interesting indeed! As a sports fan, I would want to see both in the 2010 World Cup. The tournament will not be the same without them. Messi with his mesmerising run and Ronaldo with his bagful of tricks! How can both be missing from the World Cup?

Market on the rise

The world's markets are still on a rampage. It was choppy waters two weeks ago but since then, the coast have been clear. Its up, up and away. Though there are some who are saying that it is too fast and too soon but I for one believe that it is sustainable. I think it will keep on rising well into the new year. As for our local market, there's a lot to look for in the near future. It will definitely keep on rising!

Gathering of Long Forgotten Friends

Me, Aziz, Latif, Johari, Rahim Hilmi, Borhan and Syed Hamid

Borhan and Me with a few others in the background

Wah Husin, Md Noh, Syed Hamid, Razman and Mohd Ali

We had a gathering recently of Brighton Technical College 74-76 alumni. Seventeen came and what a meeting it was. Some I have not met for more than thirty years, i.e. since 76 after completing our Diploma in Brighton. I went to Surrey University while others to Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds and many other universities. We all came back, me in 1979, started work and go about our daily lives too busy to care I supposed. Anyway, thanks to Aziz, we get to meet again after all these years.

The Sunnah

The prophet pbuh used to pray the Eidul Fitri prayer in open spaces. This is another of the sunnah that is seldom followed nowadays. This picture was taken at our mosque in Merbau Sempak at the recent Eidul Fitri. Don't know if it was because of space constraint or was it because they were following the sunnah. Whatever it was, the prayer was done inside as well as outside the mosque.

Avoid it if you can!

There have been occasions when I use public transport either to work or to go home. The most recent one was just a few days ago when I took a ride on the komuter to go home. My verdict! Avoid it if you can! We were packed like sardines. It was just so terrible! Its agony. I really pity those who have to face it everyday. Just don't understand why they can't increase the number of trains during peak hours! Terrible!

Just thinking

There are days when everything is just great and there are days when everything is ...... Today is one of the days when everything is .......... I guess that's life. Its like a roller coaster. The great thing about the roller coaster is that as long as it keeps on rolling, it is never going to be constant and as long as it is not constant, ......... is not going to be forever either. So keep on plugging. The light might be just round the corner.

A commitment

Today I have made a commitment. Have been thinking about it a long long time but this time it is for real. I will start small but God willing, it will get bigger and will keep on growing. It's what I have always wanted to do but never got round to it. This time the commitment is real and I will start right now!

Its Rio!

Guess what! I got it right. Rio De Janerio will host the 2016 Olympics. Its a no brainer actually. The other three cities have their credentials but Rio simply cannot lose after going so far! All credit goes to Madrid who put up a good fight but with London hosting the 2012 Olympics, their chances have always been slim the moment Rio got to the last four.

Be grateful to Allah

All too soon, its Monday once again. Monday blues or whatever, Monday will still be Monday and it will come no matter what. So like it or not, face it! Put a smile on your face and look at the bright side. There are millions of others who will gladly take your place because theirs is a lot worse. Think of Padang Indonesia and many many others. So, be grateful to Allah, all the time. Yes, be grateful to Allah!

The dreaded vote of confidence

Who is the latest manager to get the dreaded vote of confidence? No prize for guessing it right but its Leonardo, the AC Milan manager after the very bad start to the season. The Vice President of the club has renewed his faith in the beleaguered manager to turn it around. However, in the funny world of football, the vote of confidence can only mean one thing! The end is near for the manager. That's why the vote of confidence is so dreaded. Lets see if its true in this case.

Which city will host Olympic 2016?

As I'm writing this, the announcement is going to be made soon from Copenhagen! Rio De Janerio, Tokyo, Madrid and Chicago, these are the four cities left standing. Which city will be announced the winner and erupt into joy while which cities will go home in bitter disappointment.
My take ..... Rio De Janerio, simply because a South American country has never hosted the olympic games before!

Helping people in need

My heart goes to the people in Padang, Indonesia. I feel so helpless. Just can't imagine the things they are going through right now. Must be damn terrible. I really hope they can come out of this disaster even stronger. In my own little way, I will definitely contribute in any which way I can to help them get back on their feet. It may be small and insignificant but yes....I definitely will!