Friday, October 24, 2008

Old is gold


David Beckham's on loan transfer to AC Milan has been received with mixed reactions.

My humble opinion is not intended to favor Beckham, but throughout the years all of us have known Mr. Golden Right Foot, sometimes it's not wrong to appreciate such a rare talent like him. He may not be the same we had expected and got of him in his heydays; nevertheless, he is still in his own league in certain aspects of football and is definitely from a different planet when we talk about cross-pitch deliveries.

Remember baby-face predator Solkjaer only needed to run towards the goal and Mr. Becks calculated the distance so perfectly his long ball fell right in front of running Solkjaer. And the rest is another goal from the man you think is only needed to sell shirts. I bet he got As for all his Calculus exam papers. And who else but the great Zidane acknowledged Beckham's delivery is perfect where in many instances spectators' jaws dropped seeing the ball flying to Zidane's chest out of nowhere.

From Becks' boot, that is. He arrived at Real Madrid with mixed perceptions - goals or shirts. He managed both successfully, helping Real Madrid out of 4 barren years to lift their domestic trophy as well as pulling the club out of the red to rake in millions of profits. Kewl... Albeit a year plus older, he is not useless. And Milan's manager may have the last laugh.

And to England - they need to find a new Beckham, and a new Scholes too...

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Tanda-tanda kemalasan menulis, so salin dari laman saya yang lain - yang pernah bacanya (Wira etc) jangan maraa arr...

On my way back from Santiago back in October 2007, I was blessed with meeting nice people who helped me out of near-miseries although it’s their first time seeing this ordinary bloke. What and how they helped me may feature later in my future postings. But now, I just wanna zero in on people’s niceness and kindness to others in general, no matter how they look and what language they originally speak, and the lasting power these 2 mahmudahs possess.

Don’t think about ageing sign yet. These days, people complain about a growing concern of individualism in the society. When I flash back 15 years back during the final lapse of my secondary education, images of nice people would evoke in my mind. They are either my relatives, teachers, dorm-mates, friends or even passers-by merely smiling at me at bus-stops or in restrooms. Perhaps, as life then was less dictated by the breackneck pace, people would tend to accomodate more time for others.

Coming back to 2007, my recent experience is supposed to negate any notion that mankind is dealing with a growing number of individualists. Well, whilst still many beg to differ, I think I hafta be comfy with a preconceived notion that wherever I go, there will always be kind-hearted people who won’t hesitate to lend a helping hand in unavoidable circumstances where I need help.

Come to think of it - I mean that we should still be able to roam the planet conscious that we may not be left alone in the dark - one should also wonder how the society’s tolerance level against individualism is gonna take shape 20 years from now. Okey, this time lapse may be a bit too far ahead for you guys, but hey, if you can still visualise your life 20 years back, that means life is so short and probably, in a blink of an eye, blink blink blink, you are 20 years older, you see. So then, will there be nice people in 2027? I bet there will, do you?

Hehe, is looking to far ahead a sign of ageing process in me?

Bye

Sunday, October 05, 2008

Ramadhan sudah berlalu, so has Syawal 1,2 and 3...

Time has never flown this fast, that's what I perceive at least. For the umpteenth time, I left Ramadhan or, perhaps more precisely, Ramadhan left me unfulfilled with the best endevour to achieve the zenith of 'ibadah to the Almighty, granted on a night known as Lailatul Qadr, which is singled out in His holy words. Truly, where else can I get something worth a thousand times more without spending a single cent, with just a limited amount of energy and time needed in the final third of the night. Which night is the night, only He knows and only they who put concerted efforts to find it will find it.

This year's Syawal to me is different in many ways. Still, I celebrated it in Malaysia, unlike some of my ex-schoolmates and blogger friends who are away in Berlin, Cork, Al-Hambra etc. Lucky eh? And for the first time, I bought 3 shirts for the first 3 days (pants, recycle from Syawal 1 lah). This shows Luck 2. And because my wheel-chaired mother could only celebrate the festival at my brother's house in Senawang where she's been staying since her discharge from Seremban Specialist Hospital on 19 August, for the first time in my entire life had I had my Aidilfitri celebration outside my hometown in Kuantan. Blessing in disguise, all my nephews and nieces were there, and I treated them as if they were my own blood. so, this year I had longer time with them. Luck 3. My ol'time buddy Dr Fariz the physician, sorry we can't celebrate Raya together this year.

Jintian ji hao? Syawal 5. October 5 (timekeeper Tissot still shows Oct 4, but it's not from Petaling St. maa). Back home in Kajang, the mood to return to work has not returned. Fingers crossed, most are feeling the same. Tomorrow my office will look like a deserted curved monument as some continue their leaves and others are overseas for meetings or preparing for such meetings (leaving me grounded to do the most boring and least glamorous jobs).

And owh, an issue that I need to solve is whether our Federal Constitution has successfully achieved the separation of powers in our country.