Do We Really Blog?

My Grandmother (Paternal)

2009-05-27T02:20:00.002+08:00

It is 6:30am (25^th May 2009), here I am penning my thoughts in a MS Word document. As I was burning the midnight oil doing my Systems Analysis & Design (SAD) assignment, I suddenly began to lose focus, my eyes started wandering around like a wild goose. In the short moment of wilderness, my sight fell on a pink family photo album (belongs to Aunt Mimi). I reached for it without much hesitation, it was just what I needed to unwind.

Flipping through it reminds me of how my grandmother looks like. There are so many photos mainly on my grandmother along with my 6 lovely aunts (paternal side). Besides that, it also contains some photos of other family members, my uncles, elder cousins, marriage photos of my father’s 10 brothers and sisters. The one that caught my attention was of course my parents’ marriage photo – my dad was so handsome and stylish, my mum was sooooo beautiful and graceful that I would had fallen for her if someone similar as her appears in my life right now or maybe, in the future.

There are not much good memories in regards of my beloved grandmother. However, the bad ones are rooted pretty deeply in my memories – her funeral. I was only 5 ½ years old when the Imperials of Hell decided to take her away from us (June 1989 to be exact). It was a very grand funeral which lasted for at least 5-7 days. There were sooooo many people who came to pay their last respect which shows her popularity and charisma in the small town of Selama, Perak. Some came from as far as Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Ipoh, and some say JB.

I remember it well even though I was so young at that time. We were all wearing black and sometimes a plain white T-shirt, but it was the official black outfit most of the time. There were so damn many funeral rituals, it was “non-stop” from the first to the final day. The one that stood out most in my memory was the “bridge-crossing ceremony” which lasted for at least 30 minutes late at night. Everyone was required to get in line to cross the custom-made mini-bridge spearheaded by her sons (my uncles and my dad took turns taking the bamboo shoot spearheading our mission to cross the bridge multiple times). As we were crossing the bridge, we were all required to ask my grandmother to cross the bridge. There goes my phrase in Hokkien, “Mama, gue kiu ah!!!” The normal hourly-rituals, early in the morning and evening, were mainly holding our joss sticks chanting holy words for the dead, led by the appointed monks and nuns.

As I said earlier, the funeral was very grand, very traditional and quite lengthy as well. I suspect her coffin was among the costliest you could get in town, the “sai kongs”, monks and nuns appointed to conduct rituals, the amount of chemicals to preserve her body, awnings, lightings, rental for tables and chairs, food and drinks, the paper house (it looks more like a palace to me, fully furnished and tons of servants), paper cars, paper clothes, paper shoes, paper… the list goes on and you name it! Add up all other miscellaneous stuffs and ‘my wild estimation’ it could go up to as high as RM8000 or maybe more! (My parents should know the exact amount but I don’t wanna ask them.) This amount could be tiny nowadays but if you rewind it back to 20 years ago, it was enormous!

The fire near her coffin NEVER goes out, it was always burning 24/7. Everyone took turns to burn joss paper especially midnight till dawn. We must also watch out for black cats. One midnight, when I was staying awake, I saw a black cat approaching my grandmother’s coffin. I shouted, “orh miau!” (black cat in Hokkien) and immediately, a few of my family members chased it out with anger. It was well believed that black cats has the tendency to jump over a dead or coffin which will awake the dead (gosh, that would turn the dead into a “kiongsi” or zombie!). Did I tell you it was “very traditional”? But who would risk it especially on your loved ones?

My dad once told me something which I couldn’t recall about my grandmother. It was during her last moments in Hospital Fatimah, Ipoh, calling me, crying while telling me that she really loves me. I was feeling touched, surprised and guilty when dad told me that. I never knew she loves me that much and feeling very guilty as I couldn’t recall a single moment of that memory.

I’m really sorry grandma, I honestly couldn’t recall that till now… Deep in my heart, I knew you love me and I really love you too. That should be good enough. My only regret is you couldn’t live longer to see so many of your grandchildren and great-grandchildren who were born after you leave us. I’m so sorry I disappoint you if you had high hopes on me, I underachieved all my life. I’m born wild, playful and mischievous and I’m trying to get over it as I age. I’m glad my sister, brother and a few cousins are doing great (although some are not) and on the right track. They deserve more of your love rather than me. Whatever it is, I’m doing my best to get back on track. May you, grandfather and the rest up there bless every single of our family members (including all your sons, daughters, in-laws, grandchildren and great-grandchildren) in whatever they do.

Tagged by Shelby

2008-09-13T03:24:00.002+08:00

Lol, I know it has been way, way overdue. I'm sorry as I haven't been updating my blog lately. Being late is still better than never. So here you are... XD

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Instructions: Remove one question from below and add in your own question, make it a total 20 questions. Then tag 8 people from your list. List them out at the end of the post. Notify them that they have been tagged.

1. At what age you wish to marry?
After 30.
Yeah, some might say it's a bit late but I felt I need more time to settle down. :P

2. Are you straight?
Yes I am.
So watcha thinking when you see me checking out hot chicks at every given opportunity? XD

3. Do you smoke?
Social smoker.
You rarely see me smoke unless we party or clubbing together. ;)

4. List out two gifts you'd like to receive now.
I don't need two. Only one is enough... as stated below.
Huge amount of cash injection into my bank account! $$$$$$$$$$$

5. Who did you text most lately?
It has been pretty random.
Ok, Kyun Yee or Ee Tuck should make the list.

6.How old are you?
24 years and 9 months old.

7. What is the latest thing you bought with your own money?
Nasi lemak, roti banjir and teh tarik. LOL!
If food is not counted then it's a joint-shared birthday present for a good friend of mine.

8. State 3 people of the opposite sex that first comes to your mind.
Teresa Kok (My female politician idol who got arrested under ISA)
The other 2 are strictly P&C. ;)

9. Currently into?
BPL fever is back!!! Man Utd~~~!
Parties and clubbing.

10. Getting married is going to heaven or grave?
Neither. It's HELL!

11. How many kids do you want?
Damn, I never plan that far. It's unthinkable!
Maybe Two?

12. Are you in love?
Nopes. I wish I am.

13. Where is the latest restaurant you have dinner?
Mamak. Restoran Ajimal Razim near Bukit Jalil.

14. Name the latest book you bought?
I couldn't recall the last time I bought a book.
I promote and sell books in schools and colleges 2-3 years back, that was my job. :D

15. Do you believe in open book test?
Yes I do, those questions usually makes you think out of the box.
However, it would be hell if you don't have a good understanding on the subject.

16. Single or Attached?
Single? :P

17. Name the first person that comes into your mind now.
Shelby, the gal who tagged me. I've got a surprise for you.

18. The most exciting place you want to go?
Luna Bar.

19. Which quality is more important in a lover. Looks or personality?
Personality. Looks are usually for short-term stuffs.

20. Make 3 wishes?
3 wishes are not enough. Well....
1)****************************
2)********************************
3)************************************************
LOL! People said it won't come true if we reveal our wishes. It's kinda unrealistic anyways. :P

Who i wanna tag?
I felt it should end here. Not tagging anyone. :D

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And... Here's the SURPRISE for you Shelby!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!! Kindly scroll down~~~!

TADAAAA!!!!

Look who's that girl sleeping with her Kitty during our Karaoke session (Samuel's birthday) in Neway, Puchong?

Sleeping beauty wannabe!!! XD

I'm VERY SORRY Shelby, it has to be done due to overwhelming request and demands from all our friends. I simply couldn't resist it!!! Arghhhhh!!!! ROFL!!! XD

In Memory of Eric Matthew Yeong

2008-08-13T05:37:00.008+08:00

1st August 2008 (coincided with the 1st day of 7th month in the Chinese Calendar), was one of the saddest day of my entire life...

FLASHBACK!!!

My handphone went out of battery since early in the morning. I got it recharged about 12pm. When I switched it on... "10-11 messages received". o.O

"Who da hell is spamming my inbox?!?!" I thought to myself. It wasn't a special occasion so I didn't expect mass SMSes coming in. As I enter the inbox, something weird happenned... All SMS were from different people and ALL are from my hometown friends. 2 of them were missed calls notifications. "Holy hell, WTF is happening, something is not right here..." I said. Bring on the messages...

1st message: Dear friends, to be informed that, Eric Matthew Yeong Chee Wai passed away this morning from a fatal accident.

"HOLY F***!!!! This couldn't be true... But, but... Kean Aik is not the kind of person that would put up such a prank..." I rubbed my eyes in disbelief and proceeded reading the other messages. They were all similiar messages!!! Only the last few were written differently but the facts are the same. I was so shocked and dumbfounded! And I actually sat there doing nothing for about 10 - 15 minutes.

Tears were flowing from my eyes without me realising. I'm actually a coldblooded person and I couldn't even recall when was the last time I cried! We've lost a very good friend, in fact, he was one of my best friend during our upper secondary school years. I called my friends immediately the minute I settled down. They've made a car pool arrangements of 4 cars with about 16 people meeting up and have dinner in Damansara Utama at night before rushing back to Taiping. Some of them were back earlier and the remaining ones the next morning.

2nd August 2008

I only went to his house at night as I've got something to do in the morning. I met so many of my friends there, I even got to see a few that I had lost contact for ages! Sad to say, it was an even more complete gathering compared to CNY. To hell with that, no more such inauspicious gathering please!!! As what I said in my last post, gatherings and time spent with close friends are always priceless! Now we'll have one friend less in our future gatherings... :(

The sight of the altar and his photo saddens me as I walked towards his coffin accompanied by one of my friend... His godmother greeted us as she was beside the coffin as well. We had a light chat about him that turned emotional as we were looking at his face and body(covered with a red cross flag). She cried and we had to console her before excusing ourselves. I then stay back and chat with my friends while eating groundnuts till 3:30am. Took another look at him again before leaving. I couldn't sleep that night as I was thinking back about the past memories we had with Eric.

3rd August 2008

4pm, everyone gathered in Aaron's house before departing to Eric's house paying our last respect. The funeral is on the next day which is a Monday. Almost everyone have to go back to work and for me, study. Eric's mother was so happy to see me when we reached his house (she was busy entertaining hundreds of people last night so I didn't disturb her). We had a short chat for a while and she patted my back when I wanted to see Eric. Everyone of us took turns taking a look at him... We all then hang around chatting with each other for a while more. The time came at last, we're gonna make our move back to KL. I went to take another good, thorough last look of him and said my last words to him (about 5 minutes).

I said goodbye, conveyed my condolences and shook hands with Eric's mother before I left. The sight of my friend crying in the other car made my eyes went heavy with tears about to burst out... Damn, I've never seen him cry before!!! The feeling of knowing that this would be the last time I'm seeing him is like a knife piercing through my heart. The pain is worse than people gang-beating you up. Tears flowed from my eyes, I couldn't bear the pain and I had to let go...

I'll always remember the moments of us:
In joint Moral classes in standard 1
Playing chess everyday in standard 4
Secondary school scouting moments (form 1-5)
Scout camps where you'll always be our cook or QuarterMaster
Taman mini project (form 3)
Fishing in Tekah
Overnite in your house
Learn to bake cakes (Failures!!! LOL!)
Co-organizer for my birthday parties
Ponteng class go swimming or playing snooker and pool or arcade games(and got caught by your mother)
Watching porn (got caught by your mother as well, LOL!)
Play Starcraft (Hunter Z Turbo Map) with Eng Keat in NetSurfer till 4am in the morning then go eat Wantan Mee
Sometimes join our friends bashing up people in school toilet or outside
Long kai with our motorcycles during midnite
One big group of us got chased by police during midnite (LOL!!! I rolled 3-4 rounds down the hill, craziness!)
Molotov Cocktail Operation during midnite
Stealing coconuts during midnite and drink/eat it in my house
Lim Teh sessions in Siang Malam

From left: Wei Xiang, the late Eric Matthew Yeong, Chin Hong. (Taken during CNY 2006)

Thanks for the memories Eric. You'll always be in our heart...

[17/09/1983 - 01/08/2008]
Rest In Peace.

Family Reunions

2008-07-06T10:13:00.003+08:00

A big family relationship could only be stronger with such occasions. Last week, on 28th June 2008, my mother's side family had a birthday celebration for my grandmother cum family reunion. She is 73 this year, or maybe 74 according to the Chinese Calendar. Everyone from KL and Singapore went back to Muar, Johor for this special occasion. :)

I felt obliged to go back as the sole representative from my family since I'm in KL. Don't get me wrong, I'll sure be back there even if I'm not obliged to do so. Who would wanna miss such a memorable occasion? My parents had got some real life commitments and it is very far to travel from Taiping to Muar. (It would be different if I'm the one driving, just hope for no speeding summons though) My sister is in Australia and my brother is in Taiping as well.

I was a little late for our gathering in Puchong as I woke up late compounded with the jams endured from Setapak - Puchong. I met my uncle and aunt there before we start our journey back to Muar. The night before, I attended APIIT's SARC post Sports Carnival celebration cum Aya's birthday in Nandos Midvalley. After that, we watched 'Wanted' midnight movie. It is a must-watch movie for 'The Matrix' trilogy fans! Then a few of us went to the Arcades for games till about 2am. I went back to Setapak right after we're done with games, to the CC which I always frequent to online.

Adapted from Logic Loh Ji Yuan's blog - Taken after our successful Sports Carnival event in APIIT Smart School (24th May 2008)

Back to Muar, as we were crossing the Muar Bridge, lessons from Mr. Warren's Malaysian Studies lectures came into my mind. Parameswara's temporary settlement near Muar river before he discovered and founded Malacca. Also, the British great fight against the Japanese in Muar after retreating from Kampar, and later retreated to Singapore.

There were 22 of us (with 7 absentees if my calculation is correct) for grandma's birthday cum family reunion in an air-con restaurant. We had our dinner and a great time together with the birthday celebration (birthday song and cake-cutting session). Drank some red-wine and wines too. It ended with a family photo taking session (have yet to get it from my cousins) and it continued even when we reached home. ROFL! Back in my grandparents' home, everyone was having a good and quality family time together. Everyone was chatting, joking and catching up with each other. My cousins and I were having a great laugh watching 'Kungfu Panda'.

The next morning, I was so happy to drink Muar's coffee and eating Muar's food especially their famous 'otak-otak'. I just love the food and coffee there! Everyone went back home after having our lunch. I wished I could stay there longer but my new semester starts the next morning (10:35am) and there was an Euro 2008 Finals to catch up with Ee Tuck, Seng Wai, Wei Ming and Kit Wai as well.

I'm looking forward to the next family reunion in November. From such occasions, you'll be reminded to cherish the ones around you especially your family members. You never know what to expect or will happen in the future. Therefore, spending more time and appreciating the moments you had with your family members, loved ones and close friends are always priceless!

Till then, what are you doing now? Go get some quality time spent with your loved ones. :P

Pre-semester “Kaw Kaw” Entertainment

2008-06-26T05:58:00.000+08:00

24^th June 2008

It was a day where the initial plan was to register for the new semester and nothing beyond that was expected. Our batch TPD0F0703 is moving on to a new challenge, Diploma Part 2. Unfortunately, we’re on the crossroads. One route heading to Information and Communications Technology, and the other, Business with Information Technology.

TPD0F0703 is now history. A new era begins as TPD2F0806DBT and TPD2F0806DIT emerged.

2:00pm – I reached college and waited for Ee Tuck, Seng Wai and Fung Wei in cafeteria while playing Facebook.

2:45pm – 3 of them arrived and we head straight to Admin to register. We registered for Kyun Yee as well as he’s still in Singapore.

3:15pm – Made payment in the Bursary, someone got a call from Kit Wai and he was in Admin.

3:25pm – Met Kit Wai in Admin and we got our Academic Report as well. We were shocked as he’s choosing Business with IT which was the total opposite of what we thought.

4:00pm – Carrefour’s McD in Sri Petaling. We had our meal there and this is where the entertainment plan came up. All 5 of us agreed to eat seafood in Klang. We then decided to call Andrew along upon Seng Wai’s suggestion.

4:45pm – We’ll all meet up in Seng Wai’s house while waiting for him and Ee Tuck to pick up Andrew.

5:30pm – Departed with 2 cars, 3 in Seng Wai’s car and the other 3 in my car. We head straight to the seaside in Klang.

6:00pm – We reached the seaside. It was quite far and remote. We had fun enjoying the sea breeze, sunset and crapping around.

6:45pm – Reached Restoran Kang Guan (Pulau Carey). We had our seafood delight there! Yummy! :D

8:15pm – Decided to play bowling and we went to AEON (Jusco) Bukit Tinggi Shopping Centre only to find out there is no bowling centre there. So we actually went there for the toilet and window shopping express. Next destination, Sunway!

8:50pm – Reached Sunway Pyramid, we then decided to watch midnight movie as well, so we bought tickets before going for bowling.

9:20pm – Bowling session! (My left leg and right thumb is still aching atm, I’m a noob bowler). And I had the sudden urge of ice skating, so who wants some? :P

11:20pm – Midnight movie. We watched “Get Smart” and it was a f***ing hilarious movie. We were all laughing our asses off from start till finish!

25^th June 2008

1:10am – Alas, all good things comes to an end. We’re all going home…

1:35am – Reached Fung Wei’s house.

1:45am – Drop Kit Wai in Arena Green as he parked his car there.

Streets were clear and I went full speed heading back home. Suddenly…, I saw long queue of cars from far. It was either an accident or road block, accidents rarely happen there and especially at this time. I’m quite sure it was road block so I made a U-TURN and use MRR2 to go home. Obeyed the speed limit this time as I had a strong feeling there’ll be a block on MRR2 as well. Well oh well, there was indeed a block and I was safe this time.

It was about 2:30am when I reach home. Changed my clothes and went to CC to online. The new semester timetable is up and I chatted with Ee Tuck about our new semester only to find out Samuel is also taking up Business with IT, another shocking revelation. LMAO, it’s 5 of us now. We’ll be joining class with TPD2F0802DBT for the new semester according to Ee Tuck. I can’t wait for the new semester to begin and everyone of us are looking forward to it. :=)

Glorious Man United!

2008-05-26T20:30:00.014+08:00

Wednesday, 21st May 2008

To make a long story short, I was in APIIT as early as 8:30am for the new intakes’ Orientation. It turned out that there is too much manpower for the Orientation which was held in both Auditoriums. I was then assigned to help up on setting things up for the Mini Sports Carnival which was held in the Foyer. (20th – 22nd May)

I was ‘lepaking’ in the PS2 counters most of the time watching people play Winning Eleven and looking at people playing “Hit the Cone’ and ‘Ball Juggling’ as well. Went online in the Syndicate Room after the Mini Sports Carnival ended. Time flies and it was 9.30pm when I got chased out from the Syndicate room along with a few others.

“Alright! It is time to find my friend to watch the penultimate match of the season.” I said to myself excitedly. I had that very strong feeling Man Utd will win it and lift the Cup this year. We last won it in 1999 when we did the unbeatable treble. “This will be Man Utd’s year. With the Premier League title in bag, we’ll do the double this year by lifting the Champions League Cup in Moscow later!” I said to myself again while driving. I went to Subang SS15 to find my friend, Dennis, another die hard MU fan just like me. Reach there about 10:45pm and I hanged out in his apartment located beside Asia Café.

We were chatting and suddenly, he said, “There will only be 3 of us watching, we’ll go out book place about 2am ok?”
“Oh 3, I thought it’ll be only 2 of us. Who’s the other one? Is he a MU fan as well?” I asked.
“Well, it’s a she, my housemate and she’s a big fan of Cristiano Ronaldo. She loves it when he scores and takes off his shirt!” Dennis said.
“Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!! (ROFL)” both of us were laughing like hell. LOL!
“It is a possibility (bigger possibility of him scoring) and I don’t mind him getting a yellow card for doing that as it is the Finals” I said.
“Lol, she is sleeping and I’ll call her up when the time comes” Dennis said.

Thursday, 22nd May 2008

It was 1:30am when Dennis got a SMS from his friend saying the whole Asia Café was already full house!

“Holy S***! Go, go, go!” that was my immediate reaction…
“I’m gonna call her up now.” Dennis said.

1:45am, it was really full house when we reached Asia Café. So we rushed to a mamak restaurant known as Silva’s Tandoori. Thank god it wasn’t full yet by the time we reached there. 80% of the crowd were Man Utd fans based on the jerseys they worn and the team they were cheering on. This doesn't happen only in Silva's, the statistics were the same even in Asia Cafe and Darussalam. This is not surprising as the majority of football supporters in Malaysia are MAN UTD supporters just like me. The latest official statistics shows that Man Utd has got a worldwide fanbase amounting to approximately 330 million suppporters, thus making it the most supported club in the world!

Starting Lineup > Standing from left: Owen Hargreaves, Edwin van der Saar, Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand, Wes Brown, Cristiano Ronaldo.

Squatting from left: Carlos Tevez, Wayne Rooney, Paul Scholes, Michael Carrick, Patrice Evra.

The Match

1st half was clearly dominated by Man Utd and there was even a time when the possession was MU 65% Chelsea 35%. C. Ronaldo gave Man Utd the early lead with a great header on the 26th minute(pix below). United spurned lots of chances especially the saves made by Petr Cech denying Tevez’s header and Carrick’s follow-up drive. Man Utd should easily be 3-0 up by half time. Instead, Chelsea levelled the score (1-1) on the 45th minute. Essien’s shot was double deflected by Man Utd defenders into Lampard’s path, who scored it with ease.

C. Ronaldo's superb curling header putting Man Utd 1-0 up!

2nd half was Chelsea’s domination and there was once Drogba’s shot hit the post.

The match went into extra time and Chelsea was still threatening when Lampard’s shot hit the bar early of the ET. Man Utd responded with Giggs looking like scoring the winning goal only to be denied by John Terry by heading it over the bar with Petr Cech clearly beaten. Things got heaten up at the end of ET and players start losing their temper resulting in Drogba being sent off for slapping Nemanja Vidic.

Penalties

It had to be decided by penalties… I was really worried as penalties can go either way, it is really gonna be decided by Lady Luck and maybe, fate. MU will take the 1st shot.

MU: Carlos Tevez took it and GOAL!!! The whole mamak was erupting! (1-0)
Chelsea: Michael Ballack converted it with ease! (1-1)
MU: Michael Carrick sent Cech the wrong way, GOAL! (2-1)
Chelsea: Juliano Belletti finished it clinically. (2-2)
MU: Cristiano Ronaldo’s shot saved by Petr Cech. OMG! (2-2)
(Everyone were sighing and swearing all around)
Chelsea: Frank Lampard scored! (2-3)
MU: Owen Hargreaves converted it confidently! (3-3)
Chelsea: Ashley Cole scores. Van der Saar got a touch on it but it still deflected into the net. (3-4)
(Everyone were chanting SAVE! SAVE! SAVE! synchronously when Cole was about to take the penalty, MU spirit!)
MU: Nani converted it amid high pressure as this is a must score penalty. (4-4)
(Now onto the Cup decider penalty, if Terry scores this the Cup is theirs, every Man Utd fan were nervous, the whole mamak was very quiet for a while and even I thought it’s over to be honest with you guys)
Chelsea: John Terry slips! The shot hits the post! (4-4)
(WooOoohooOOO!!! The whole mamak erupted once again! Everyone was jumping out of their seats celebrating as if Man Utd had just won it, including me!)

Sudden Death Penalties

MU: A clinical finish by Anderson! (5-4)
Chelsea: Salomon Kalou converted it with style. (5-5)
MU: Ryan Giggs netted it! (6-5)
Chelsea: Nicolas Anelka’s shot was saved by Edwin van der Saar! (6-5)

Van der Saar's heroic save which won Man Utd the cup for the 3rd time! You could see him smiling before saving the penalty in the replay, which means he knew where to dive. Fantastic keeper!

All players running towards van der Saar to celebrate his heroic cup winning save! Kings of Europe!

Celebrations

MAN UTD the Kings of Europe! It was 5:35am and we were all celebrating! Got a few calls from my friends almost immediately and we congratulated each other. I could hear them celebrating as well. :D We’ve waited for this glorious moment for 9 years! This is for you Busby Babes and the people who died in the Munich Air Disaster 50 years ago.

Rio Ferdinand and Ryan Giggs officially lifting the crowd for Man Utd. Glorious Manchester United!

We walked back to Asia Café to join the big crowd celebrating (cheering, jumping around and sang Glory Glory Man Utd) while watching Man Utd lifting the Cup on the big screen. It was a fantastic feeling, simply ECSTATIC and this is definitely one of the happiest moments in my life. We celebrated till 6am in the morning and I actually 'almost lost my voice' for shouting too much that day. :P

Celebration and jubilation!

The best club in the world for 2007/2008 season - MANCHESTER UNITED FC

Oh yeah, to sum this up... Cristiano Ronaldo will surely grab the Balloon d'Or and the World's Best Player this season. 42 GOALS a season from a winger! What more can you ask for? :P

KINGS of Europe and England!

2008-05-23T20:15:00.004+08:00

MANCHESTER UNITED
2007/2008 European AND Premier League CHAMPIONS!

We did the DOUBLE! The ULTIMATE DOUBLE!

What a perfect way to win it and commemorating 50 years after the Munich air disaster and 40 years after the Reds first lifted the European Cup at Wembley in 1968.

Here goes our famous 'Glory Glory Man Utd' song:

Glory, glory, Man United,
Glory, glory, Man United,
Glory, glory, Man United,
And the reds go marching on, on, on.

Just like the Busby Babes in Days gone by
We'll keep the Red Flags flying high
You've got to see yourself from far and wide
You've got to hear the masses sing with pride
United! Man United!
We're the boys in Red and we're on our way to Wem-ber-ly
Wem-ber-ly! Wem-ber-ly!
We're the famous Man United and we're going to Wem-ber-ly
Wem-ber-ly! Wem-ber-ly!
We're the famous Man United and we're going to Wem-ber-ly

In Seventy-Seven it was Docherty
Atkinson will make it Eighty-Three
And everyone will know just who we are
They'll be singing 'Que Sera Sera'
United! Man United!
We're the boys in Red and we're on our way to Wem-ber-ly
Wem-ber-ly! Wem-ber-ly!
We're the famous Man United and we're going to Wem-ber-ly
Wem-ber-ly! Wem-ber-ly!
We're the famous Man United and we're going to Wem-ber-ly

Glory Glory Man United
Glory Glory Man United
Glory Glory Man United
As the Reds Go Marching On! On! On! (3x)

Next post I'll tell you my experience of watching it Live till 6am in the morning and the crazy celebrations when Man Utd lifted the CUP!

STUDY GROUP is counterproductive when you...

2008-05-09T20:11:00.017+08:00

>> * Handphone Rings! *
>> * Answers the incoming call *

CH: Hello...

ET: Hey Chin Hong! Let's get the study group plan going!

CH: Alright! I'm on anytime? You guys set the damn time and location ok? :P

ET: OK! 4pm, same place. We got Seng Wai and Wei Ming as well. But we'll go search for APIIT Smart School first.

CH: Har... Why are we going there?

ET: SW said our new campus open there liao wor... Kelly wants to have a look as well.

CH: On! Cya laters!

About 4.05pm outside Arena Green, Ee Tuck, Kelly and Seng Wai were already in the car waiting. Wei Ming just got down from his apartment while I'm parking my car. Without further delay, We started our journey to 'APIIT's new campus'. It took us a while to find it as none of us are familiar with the roads near Subang Airport until... we actually got lost. Then we decided to call Mr. Visva to ask for directions, only to find out the "open day" published in The Star newspaper, were meant for APIIT Smart School primary and secondary level only. There are no APIIT college new campus there yet.

"Lol, what a joke! A big misunderstanding. So what we gonna do now?", everyone exclaimed. Hell with that, we're already there and we've decided and insisted going there to have a look as we've already got the exact directions. It is actually located in a 'somehow remote area' in Subang, a countryside feel as we were going through a narrow road with potholes. Dude, I ain't gonna study there if the new campus plan were to materialised! It is just too far for me and that place is simply not suitable for a college IMHO. Don't get me wrong, APIIT Smart School is big and has the state-of-the-art infrastructures and designs. It is an ideal place for primary and secondary education, but not for tertiary.

We then shoot to Kajang Heights to drop Kelly in IMEC while waiting for Kit Wai. It was about 6pm when KW arrived and we decided to eat satay in Kajang. After the Kajang Satay delight, we proceeded with our STUDY GROUP plan in Ee Tuck's office. Upon reaching there, I set up my laptop and start playing Utopia while CABAL-ing (punching actually, that's why I'm able to multitask). In just a short time, everyone in the Study Group were ONLINE in my CABAL's Buddy List. EVERYONE was CABAL-ing and I was reading football news and managing my Utopia account at the same time. Seng Wai also managed his Utopia account for a while after I'm done with mine. Everyone was discussing about CABAL and stuffs. Time flies and it was about 10pm when we only started distributing jobs on doing MB's Revision Exercises. Everyone procrastinated and CABAL-ing until... Someone suggested it's MAMAK time! Everyone were saying, "Hungry la! How to study when hungry?". "OK la, OK la, let's supper, but everyone must do MB exercises when we're back!", Ee Tuck said.

11pm in Mamak stall. After ordering our food, the next thing you see... CHOR TAI DI! Food was served and when everyone was done... CHOR TAI DI Part 2! LMAO! I opted out this time as I wanna watch Dracula on the big screen. Everyone was oblivious about the time, and it was about 1.45am when SW said it's time to go back and study! It was 2am when we were back and believe it or not, everyone started CABAL-ing again including me! OK, i was punching while doing MB's Revision Exercise 2... 3am, everyone decided to call it a day and 'Wong Fei Hung sau tong'!!!

'QUESTS' completed were...
1) Everyone got IA's Review Questions and Full Answers printed. LOL!
2) MB's Revision Exercise 2 completed. (Ahem!)

I would like to end the blog with words that will make the title above complete:

CABAL, Utopia, Chor Tai Di, Kajang Satay and Mamak.

Post GE, Man Utd and APIIT Updates

2008-04-17T19:52:00.005+08:00

First of all, I'd like to apologize to everyone who actually read my blog. It's been more than a freaking month since I've last updated it and please believe me... the college assignments, test, activities (joined a few clubs/council lately), BPL/UCL live matches (not compulsory, oops!) and my real life commitments almost killed me. ROFL!

I actually enjoy these challenges and I'm glad the 'storm' for end of semester is finally over. Just got thru our last assignment's presentation yesterday and it'll be 3 weeks of rest for our intake before we actually sit for the examination starting from 12-15 May 2008. A few of my friends had been asking me when will I update my blog as it's filled with cobwebs already. Lol, here you are now guys. But it'll only be summaries of one month's topic going through my mind.

Oh btw, to all APIITians. There will be a new exam venue aka APIIT Satelite Teaching Facilities located in Bandar Bukit Jalil. I believe Mr. Anthony and Ms. Amilia will update you guys before you collect your exam dockets. My intake with the other one will be the joint-first batch to sit for our examinations there, that's why we got to know it first.

There will also be APIIT Sports Carnival in May 2008. It is open to ALL Students, Staffs and Alumnis. As it stands now, the SARC members aren't allowed to participate because we're the organizing members. Registrations are open from 17th - 24th April 2008 and registration booths will be set up in the Foyer. So please get active and participate NOW, life in APIIT isn't only about IT and studies btw.

For the post 2008 GE, I was simply ECSTATIC on 9th March 2008 as at 4am when most of the results were out! Pakatan Rakyat succeeded on denying BN the 2/3 majority. Penang, Kedah, Perak, Selangor, Kelantan (as always) and KL fell to the hands of the Oppositions. That's 5 freaking states, mind you. So long for the ammendments of the Constitutions as you wish, BN won't be able to do that for at least 5 years. This is a BIG WAKE UP CALL to BN, the arrogance, cronyism, judiciary failures and endless corruptions. We as 'rakyat' already had enough of those BS! It's time to put things right with our democratic rights and (hell with that) we did it with STYLE! A political tsunami indeed! We show our 'RAKYAT POWER', most Malaysians have the guts now, especially the new batch of voters like my age - a paradigm shift of the political mindset for most Malaysians. Just like what most said, we make them and we are also capable to destroy them at will.

AAB should really step down IMHO. The results from the 12th GE is really clear, most are rejecting him and if it's not from the great win in Sabah and Sarawak BN is simply "toasted". I'm glad the big guns especially Samy Vellu is out! zOMFG, DAP won it in Taiping! Kayveas is out and I'm glad everyone who went back to vote made a big difference there! And... as predicted Koh Tsu Koon is out too as what we've seen from the mammoth crowd in Han Jiang Field. This massive event wasn't even published in our government-controlled newspapers. Worry not, we have the internet as our alternative source, after the GE those newpapers and ignorant BN ministers realised the power of Internet and some even followed up by creating their own blog. LMAO!

Now to BPL and UCL, Man Utd is edging closer on doing the double. The title race now is only between Man Utd and Chelsea. After Wigan succceded in holding Chelsea in Stamford Bridge, the gap now is 5 points with only 4 matches to go. Thank you Steve Bruce (Wigan's manager and ex-Man Utd legendary defender) and I believe you'll get a nice bottle of wine from Sir Alex Ferguson when we won it! :P

Next UCL semifinal match - Barcelona vs Man Utd (leg 1) in Nou Camp. It will be the match I'm most looking forward to for so many years! It came true at last, as two ATTACKING teams go head on head with each other. As I've mentioned in my MSN message, it'll be the most beautiful, interesting and thrilling match of the season. If you've watched the match between Man Utd vs Arsenal last week, you get the idea and I believe it will be even better than that! It's just a waste as I felt this is the kind of match that should be played in the Finals...

Till then, enjoy your weekend guys and gals. :D

Election 2008

2008-03-07T04:31:00.009+08:00

As I was back in Taiping on 29th February - for Chia Chun's marriage last weekend , i noticed the posters, banners and flag war had already begun. Even the contesting parties' bases had been set up where you see counters and laptops all over. The election is already the main talking point all over the country, you hear people talking about it in restaurants, coffee shops and even mamak stalls. Mat Rempits with party flags strutting their stunts on the streets almost everywhere. Wow... i think you could guess it, most of them are UMNO's so-called polished products. With Khairy Jamaluddin running the show from behind (our puppet PM), things couldn't be good. It has in fact, turned from good to worse since Tun Dr. Mahathir stepped down.

I wanted to register early of February 2008 only to find out I won't be able to vote as it was too late to get my name into the electorial pool. I'm regretting for not registering earlier as i believe my vote might make a difference to shake BN off Taiping's parliamentary seat. It is imperative we need to prevent BN from getting 2/3 majority this year. May 13th, 1969 came into our mind if that were to happen, but i doubt it.

While I was back in Taiping, I was taken by surprise that EVERY single of my friends are supporting DAP. None of them in our group who were back for CC's marriage are BN supporters. Even other old friends told me in MSN they will be back to throw BN off their seat on election day. I can conclude that the majority of Chinese youth will be opposition supporters. We're the new generation with a different mindset and perception who will shape the country's future.

In college, only 3 from our class are eligible to vote this year. ALL 3 of us are DAP supporters. There was even one 18-year-old girl from my college whom i call small girl, supports DAP as well. We as Chinese or Indians should be fighting for our rights by voting the right party, not the party which has to bow to UMNO when it comes to making vital decision which involves our races. Yes, i'm talking about MCA, MIC, Gerakan and PPP. They claimed they've been working hard to 'fight' for our rights. Why should they 'fight' if this country is "A place for all" just like what BN claimed to be? If DAP wins, we need not even fight for it! Such is the sad reality for the power of BN's component parties. They're just like a dog to UMNO. (No pun intended!)

Last night, one of my close friend called when he was back in Penang just to let me hear Karpal Singh's fiery speech live from Han Jiang Field, Penang! From the phone i could hear LOTS of people cheering when he blasted BN's wrongdoings and weaknesses for the past 4 years. My friend was telling me the crowd was so DAMN HUGE (Mammoth ceramah crowd -AT LEAST 50,000 PEOPLE - from what i read on comments in Lim Kit Siang's blog) and it was such a great environment for DAP supporters. My friend also said it was "very red" here which refers to the crowd in red as called upon by DAP party leaders to show its strength in numbers. There were even loud calls/roars "JUST CHANGE IT" in Hokkien... This is a big warning to BN and I could foresee a BIG SWEEP for DAP in Penang this year. Tan Sri Dr. Koh Tsu Koon might even lose it this year! Kindly refer to the links below for more info:

http://dapmalaysia.org/english/2008/mac08/bul/bul3439.htm

http://salinankarbon.com/DAP/manifesto/web_edition/DAP%202008%20General%20Election%20Manifesto_En_s.jpg

http://blog.limkitsiang.com/

Let's hope for a DAP victory in Taiping as well. May the oppositions win more seats this year to deny BN 2/3 majority, and may the country benefit/prosper from that. :D

Your vote decides the future. Happy voting and 'vote wisely'.

Link: http://www.dapmalaysia.org/

Man Utd 4 Arsenal 0 - Nani Showboating? It's a SKILL! :)

2008-02-19T16:36:00.003+08:00

This was a match where all Manchester United fans had a 'huge grin' on their face while watching it in mamak stalls. Arsenal was hammered in Old Trafford by a huge margin of 4-0, a resounding victory for Man Utd. They were totally outclassed and outplayed in every department from start to finish!

Check the match statistics below for more info:
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=235856&cc=4716

'Some people' claimed Arsenal lost because they fielded a weakened team. I beg to differ, they had Gallas and Toure on their defence, their super talented wonderkid Fabregas on the centre midfield, Gilberto and Hleb as well. Bare in mind, for Man Utd's lineup, there was NO Cristiano Ronaldo, NO Ryan Giggs, NO Carlos Tevez and NO Paul Scholes. Ronaldo and Giggs were totally rested, Carlos Tevez an unused substitute and Scholes coming in after 70th minute. It was obvious Sir Alex Ferguson had one eye on the very important Champions League away match against Lyon 4 days later. Europe is our priority this season after all.

The game was actually wrapped out in 1st half where Man Utd went 3-0 up before adding 1 more in the 2nd half. Arsenal had salt rubbed in their wounds when Emmanuel Eboue was given a straight red card on 49th minute and Arsenal were down to 10 men. His harsh tackle on Evra was totally uncalled for and he paid the price for that. It was a great match for Darren Fletcher where he scored a brace - 2 excellent headers, in the right place at the right time. :) He rarely had the chance to play and he did a great job when being called upon.

Another particular fringe player which impresses me the most is Nani. This was no doubt his best match for Man Utd so far. He scored a fantastic goal (the 3rd goal), it was a great run from him and a great lob cross from Carrick. It caught Gallas and Toure and there was nothing much Lehmann can do to save it.

Arsene Wenger was criticising Nani for showboating (ball juggling/seal dribble) which angered Arsenal players. Gallas even kicked him when he had the opportunity and he was lucky to get away with it. He should be red-carded, it was a straight red card. Arsenal wasn't playing football anymore at the end of the match, simply disappointing! I just want to make one thing very clear, he wasn't showboating, it was PURE SKILL and that's what ALL football fans in the world wanted to see! Below is a video link of Nani's great SKILL:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dP11rk6GTpg

Arsenal fans might be offended but i must say you guys, Arsene Wenger and his boys have no right to critise and getting frustrated at that. Reasons:

1) It was already 4-0. Match was won and there's no sign of Arsenal coming back, no penetration at all!
2) Arsenal only had themselves to blame, they should have played better and the way they play that day was way, way, way below their actual ability.
3) What Nani did is a SKILL where the neutrals wanted to see badly in any football match. Manchester United always play entertaining and free-flowing football!

Whatever is it, i wish Arsenal good luck on their upcoming Champions League match against AC Milan. It will be a great and entertaining match to watch! :)

CNY, LCCT and KLIA

2008-02-15T05:51:00.004+08:00

There are too much to write that i don't really know how to start. It has been pretty happening especially during CNY in Taiping. We've been partying like hell, drank a lot, hanging up and meet up with lots of friends that we don't see that often, or for some, didn't see at all for quite a while.

The most noteworthy event would be my sis' farewell. She flew to Sydney on 13th February, 10:45pm flight, from KLIA, to further her studies (JPA scholarship). It coincided with Kyun Yee's arrival in LCCT about 8:00pm (from Sandakan) on the very same day.

I was hanging around in Ee Tuck's office (in Cyberjaya) until 7pm after my classes are over. Me, Ee Tuck and Kelly went to pick up Kyun Yee in LCCT. We then went straight to KLIA and reach there about 8:45pm. Met up with my family members and we took lots of photos before sending my sis off. 3 of them went shopping in KLIA and ate at Burger King while waiting for me. Thanks guys! I really appreciate that! :D

KLIA International Departure Gate was sooooo crowded. There are only 25-30 of them, but there were hundreds of family members and friends sending them off. This is understandable because we won't be seeing them again for the next 2 years. Everyone of us hugged my sis, and I said "take good care of yourself over there" while doing so. That was my last words to her. Soon after, their coordinator got them in line for departure. We waved goodbye to her and her friends as they were checking in through the gate. It was quite emotional for my parents as she is the only daughter in our family. They hid it very well, but i could still see it. It was a bittersweet feeling afterall as she is going over Australia for a good cause!

I'm wishing her well and all the best. Hope she would enjoy herself there and will get adapted to her life there ASAP. :)

Ee Tuck, Kelly, Kyun Yee and me had some great time after i regroup with them in Burger King. What's next after that will just be kept between us. ;)

Kyun Yee's "Temporary" Farewell

2008-02-03T04:24:00.000+08:00

Kyun Yee departed on 1st Feb for his flight back to Sandakan in LCCT at 7am. We were planning for him a nice and memorable temporary farewell dinner as posted in my last post.

Part 1

We changed plan, it was Iranian food in Jalan Damai on 30th nite.

There were 9 of us fooling around, taking pics besides enjoying our delicious Iranian food as well. I had Lamb Mendi with their special yellow rice (i forgot the name :P).
Attendees were me, Kyun Yee, Amelia, Ee Tuck, See Ling, Steven, UncleLim, Kok Kein and Kah Kiat (Both TKKs).

Part 2

31st Jan nite, got a call from Kyun Yee asking me to join Ee Tuck on sending him to LCCT.

1st Feb (1am). Shoot straight to Arena Green (from Setapak), got some hotdogs from 7-Eleven and online for a while at KY's place.
About 2am, we started our journey to Seremban to find Ee Tuck. Took us about 25-30 mins to reach there where Ee Tuck was waiting for us near Seremban tol. We took a rest in Ee Tuck's house waiting for the time to set off! :P

4am, pumped petrol and shoot straight to LCCT. Reached there about 4.40am. We had our breakfast in McD and had a long conversation before sending Kyun Yee off.

It's been a while...

2008-01-30T05:26:00.000+08:00

3 years, add 1 month to that equation to make that more accurate.
That's how long i've stopped blogging (apart from my Friendster blog - which are quite short with only 3 topics in it).

CNY is around the corner and i've been taking it pretty lightly. Have yet to buy any CNY clothes... So what? Let's get it at some last minute shopping spree!

Pre-CNY "lou sang" plan will most likely take place on the night of 31st Jan as planned with Ee Tuck, Kyun Yee, Steven and Uncle Lim in Steven Corner (OUG) yesterday nite.