A long wait worth waiting

Went to Kajang for a function to celebrate the end of seventeen years of waiting. The housing project that was abandoned finally came good after that long and the people who bought the houses finally get their keys and are able to move in. One of them is my brother in law.

Sg Buloh over the years

Was in town to do some errand yesterday. It was about 11 in the morning and the once sleepy little town of Sg Buloh was wide awake. The town was crowded with people from all walks of life and vehicles such as cars and lorries were a plenty. The place really needs a new centre as the current one is getting too small. Finding a parking space can take a whole day..

Spoilt for choice

Imam Muda...... Akademi Al Quran........ Musabaqah Antarabangsa. All at the same time. How come?

Thirty one years of service

Just another day

On the way to the office this morning, I went to my bank ATM to withdraw some money. As it happened, the ATM was out of order. I went to another ATM but that too was out of order. In despair, I gave up and headed straight to the office. The moment I entered my office I knew something was not right and sure enough, there was no electricity. Refusing to give up, I went to the canteen to have my usual breakfast and what did I find? The canteen was closed. A note was placed at the entrance to explain the situation, "closed for the day for a function". Sigh......... what a way to start the day I thought!

Tarranum

I learned the art of 'Tarranum' ( reading the Quran with melody) many many years ago. My teacher was a former national champion. From him I picked up the seven basic songs or melody which are quite straight forward actually. It is in the variations that make the difference. It will take years of learning and practice to master them. You also need to learn from many teachers to pick up the different kind of variations. As for me, I'm still at the basics.

It is so so complicated!

Airlines are stripping it to the bare minimum just so that customers can enjoy cheap airfares. While it is good, it can also be a nightmare because buying airline tickets is not as easy anymore. It can get very complicated these days. It depends on what you want. If you just want to get from one place to another and nothing else matters, then you pay the minimum for your ticket. Anything more and it starts to get complicated. It requires a lot of thinking because booking a seat, extra luggage, food on board, on flight entertainment, reclining seat etc etc. they come with a price. Gone are the days when all you need to do is to just buy a ticket and everything else is built in. It was so simple, a no brainer!

Its a nightmare without electricity

It has been two straight nights of interrupted sleep because of blackouts. The first one happened twice, just after nine and lasted till almost midnight and again at about four in the morning till about six. Then the next night it happened again. This time from eleven o'clock and lasted till about two in the morning. Hoping it won't happen for a third straight night. Its a nightmare without electricity.

Eureka!

After a few tries, I have finally figured out how to transfer photographs from my hand phone to the computer in the best possible way. Its actually as easy as ABC. Wonder why it took me so long?

Monkeys alert

One of the advantage or disadvantage of living in a Kampung is that you sometimes get monkeys as your next door neighbours. When I said monkeys I mean real monkeys. They have been making frequent appearances lately on the trees just beyond the wall of my house, swinging just like monkeys do. They even have been knocking on my windows lately. Can you spot one in the picture?

Feeling listless

This morning I woke up and felt my body aching all over. I'm not sick but just feeling a little bit under the weather. I had planned to send my car for servicing but with the condition I'm in, decided to postpone it to next week. Today, I'm just going to lie in bed and hope to recover as soon as possible.

Me, the notebook and the mobile office

Running a mobile office can be quite a challenge. Its mostly the amount of walking that I have to do and also having to carry my notebook with me all of the time. The walking is tiring while the notebook is putting a heavy strain on my shoulders. I guess at my age, walking around carrying a notebook is really not on. I'm passed that but then again, there's always a first time.

Living on the highway

Every now and then, you get to go to places you've never been before. It don't have to be oversea but even locally. A few days ago, I was in Jasin, Melaka, for a meeting. Its about a two hours drive from KL, a bit further down south after Seremban. Its my first time driving that way. However, what I want to talk about is this. I was surprise to meet a person who said that he commute everyday KL- Jasin. That is really astounding. Half his life must have been spend on the highway

After my jog

After a tired jog round the Shah Alam Lake Garden, decided to amuse myself by taking some photos of me. Actually, my new hand phone is still giving me problems when uploading pictures to the computer. No, nothing to do with the hand phone but me. All these new gadgets proved to be quite a headache, for me at least.

Resting by the lakeside

My mobile office

A week ago, the renovation to my office started that will take about two and a half months. Since then, I have been without an office and just squatting a room at another department. Sometime, I worked from a meeting room. Luckily, in these days of the internet, e mail, hand phone and notebook, communication has not been much of a problem. I bring my notebook wherever I go. All I need is to put it on and voila! I'm in business.

It definitely is the chicken first

Ever heard of the chicken and egg story? Its finally solved. The chicken comes first because scientist in England have discovered that the egg shell have an ingredient that is only found in the chicken. Therefore, the chicken must come first or must it? Maybe we should call Paul the octopus to help us solve this problem!

On the highway

After so long, I'm finally on the highway. Not really super but at least a highway. If you are wondering what I'm talking about, wonder no more. I'm on four megabite. Not that fast if you compare with the Koreans or the Japanese but fast enough for me, for the moment. Internet browsing is a lot more pleasant now.

Are you smarter than Paul?

I predicted Spain will win the final and I was right. However, that was only one match. Paul the octopus got 100 % correct for all the German matches plus the final! How come? Even in the face of challenges from a parrot from Singapore, another octopus from Netherland and countless others, Paul held sway. By the way, grilled octopus has now become the favourite food of Germany.

Life without the Internet

The internet in my house has been giving me a lot of headaches lately. One minute ok, the next not ok. The whole of last night it decided to take a rest and I was feeling so lost without it. Come to think of it, how did I manage to get through living my life when there was no internet? Perhaps I should try living without one for a whole week! Can I?

The end is near

After a month of football, the end is coming soon. I sure am going to miss the anticipation, the excitement, the matches, the goals, the skills, the players, the supporters, the stories and above all the vavuleva (am I spelling it right?) It will definitely be a long four years before the next episode begins in Brazil. Meantime, it will be back to the routine of the various football leagues the world over which will start soon come August.

The last match of World Cup 2010

I picked Spain to win simply because they have star players in almost every position. When even the likes of Fabregas couldn't find a place in the first eleven, it tells a lot about the quality of the players in the team. As for the Netherlands, they have to be content to playing the role of the bridesmaid once again.

History of football and rugby

Now that the Football World Cup is ending soon, I look forward to another World Cup in December, of the rugby type. History has it that football and rugby were closely intertwined in the beginning. They were one and the same and it was undecided then how exactly it should be played. It took a show of hands at a meeting before football as we know it now won. The losing group then went on their own and called their game rugby. That's how football and rugby came into being.

Another milestone

Today I have reached another milestone. I'm fifty four years old, Alhamdulillah.

Football is a simple game

Yes! that's what Spain showed to the world. Its all about possession. Keep the ball to yourself. Move it around within your team with short simple passes. The trick is to not let the opponent get the ball. They must not even touch the ball if you can but if you must, keep it to a minimum, 20 to 30% only. When they can't get the ball, they can't score. Simple...isn't it. On your side, all you need is to score a goal. That should be enough.
Spain has shown how the game should be played. All you need is to keep it simple. Only two defeats in over forty games is testimony to that.

Ole.... Spain

Spain and Netherland will fight it out this Sunday to be crowned world champion. Any surprise? I thought Brazil and Argentina were cruising along nicely until they got undone. Germany, as always, will be there or thereabout hence no surprise there. France and Italy were betting on players way passed their prime and its no surprise they went home early. England came with high hopes but perhaps should have known better. My thoughts.. Spain will win.

The Great Debate

No.... this is not about football. This is about what the world leaders are debating at the moment, should we go on austerity drive or should we go on an expansion drive to counter the economic slowdown. Some say an austerity drive will bring down the economy further and cause more misery while others say an expansion drive is not workable as budget deficit will get bigger and loans increase. So, which is which?

The Dutch and total football

In the World Cup of 1974, the Dutch came and played their delightful brand of total football. With Johan Cyruff in the form of his life and well supported by his team mates, the Dutch captured the imagination of football lovers worldwide with their style of play not seen anywhere before. Although they failed at the last hurdle, that Dutch team of 74' left a lasting impression on me. Since then, I always have a soft spot for the Netherland. Can they go one better this time?

Argentina exposed!

Nobody could have seen it coming! Not even the Germans I think. Crushing Argentina by four goals for nothing is just unimaginable but that's just what the Germans have done. The Argentinian defense were always thought to be their weak link as compared to their attack with big names like Messi, Tevez, Higuian, Milato, Argeura etc. They coped well enough against lesser teams but against a team like Germany, they were badly exposed. Germany is not three times champion for nothing!

The morning after

Its always difficult to accept a Brazil defeat in a World Cup match. After all they are everybody's second team, if not the first. I remember the 1982 and 1986 World Cup when Brazil were playing with almost a care free gung ho attitude that resulted in attractive attacking football with free flowing movement and silky skills to match. It was so beautiful to watch that when their World Cup ended after being defeated in the knockout stages, the World Cup virtually ended for me as well. Such was and is their aura!

Brazil, how should they play?

Brazil, everybody's second team, played some beautiful flowing football but only in patches and its the Dutch who came out winners. A sad end to this Brazilian team which tried to combine their natural way of playing with some European defensive discipline. Should they now go back to playing football the only way they know and can?

Everything must come to an end

Since this morning I have been feeling that something is not right. I feel sort of empty, like something hollow inside of me. Try as I might, I cannot get rid of it. I just don't know why I'm feeling this way. Then I turned on the TV to watch a World Cup match and that was when it struck me! There's no World Cup match tonight....... !