Notes From The Dark Side

A levels results finally out… Just a word of congratulations for those who did exceptionally well, I am sure there is a lot out there.. But I really want to congratulate those who put in huge amount of effort to achieve success,no matter how it turns out to be..I was grateful that my hard work paid off even though it was just an average piece of result in the eyes of others, it means a lot to me…

Here are few records I bought recently that I thought worth some reviews:

Shakira: Oral Fixation vol. 2

I bought this one two days ago, and I have to say it is an amazing piece of work, best ever album Shakira have ever come up with.. Chart topping hits like Hips Don’t Lie, Don’t Bother and La Tortura makes this album real hot but that’s not all, some impressive songs like Illegal( featuring Santana), Your Embrace and Timor really show how good she can be on her vocals, not to mention her captivating dances… Definitely one of the best album I have ever listen to, completely blow me away from the first track till the last

Ratings: 5 out of 5

Corinne Bailey Rae

In case you never heard of her, you are looking at one of the brightest upcoming artist.. I bought this albums after all the hypes I heard about her outside, magazines and newspaper all gave her five star review, and its not disappointing at all after listening to her…She belt out songs after songs with her soothing voice, jazzy style and wrote all those meaningful songs herself . A down to earth and not really a commercial artist, she wrote songs about life in rural areas in Africa, cultures of natives and innocent love of young girls.. "Put your records on" is one of the track that make me can’t help but listen to it over and over again

Ratings: 4 out of 5

Carrie Underwood: Some Hearts

Who says Kelly Clarkson is the only American Idol that truly shines? Carrie can do it as well, if not better…This country girl stunned everyone with her debut album, even Kelly Clarkson herself took 2 or 3 albums to get to top the chart, but Carrie is an instant hit.. Her idol winning song " Inside your heaven" , award winning single " Jesus Take the wheel" and lots more are full of moral values together with country tunes and great vocals.. Country songs have never been so good until her arrival, no wonder Simon Cowell never had any harsh words for her throughout the show.

Ratings: 4.5 out of 5

ps. To all Evanescence fanatics, the band is releasing their second wind up album " The Open Door" on October, I have listened to their single " Call Me when u’re Sober", it signals great things to come… Its like a dream come true for me, I have waited for so so long for the second album to be out, can’t wait to get my hands on one copy…

What would you do if you saw a snatch thief taking advantage of an old man on the road?

What would you do if a terrible accident happens right in front of you?

And if you are a parent of a child, what would your respond be when your child tell you that he is going to be a policeman / teacher / artist ?

Just give it a thought, and answer honestly, and this is what actually happening to our society now:

Snatch thief, that’s a pretty scary phrase outside right now, if not scarier than those killers and rapists that are not lacking in our country right now.. OK, lets make it like this, how about if someone is killing or raping others in front of you? Just one word, run, isn’t that easy? No question about that… The same happens to snatch thieves, that’s why they are getting bolder and bolder to attack..

What if its a moral examination question? Everyone knew the answer too, go to the police, scream for help, what else? But how many among us actually do it? No wonder moral is the most useless subject out there.. Battle the bad guy face to face would be a nice plot for movie, but not in real life, everyone’s own life is more important than others right? I wonder would we expect others to help us if we are in such trouble one day..

My dad always tell me, if people want to rob you, just give him what he wants, your life is worth more than anything… But I keep thinking, why should we just allow them to go on rampage? Why should we give up anything that is belong to us to some guy who doesn’t deserve even a piece of shit?

Second question, nowadays road accident is killing people more than tsunami did, so what would you do? Call the ambulance silly, that’s everyone’s answer… Yeah of course that makes sense, people screaming around " call the ambulance!!", but did anyone actually consider of doing it themselves, of course not, do they even know the numbers to dial?? I doubt it… So more people die not because of the accident, but they end up dying because of late medical treatment, such a pity…

When we saw motorbikes parking on the center of the road, people surrounding a particular spot, we knew what happened instantly… Those ah peks would stop by, like it matters a lot more than their life, someone could even smoke and jokes with others while watching, like its some kind of circus… Hey is others life a joke to you? Is watching the suffering and blood oozing out an enjoyment? Or is it just another of your meaningless kopitiam topic? Get the hell out of that place and let the police do the job damn it, people are dying!! Would you want people to do that to you when you are dying too?

Third question, it used to be that parents are supposed to encourage their child to go ahead and pursue their dreams. Well that was ages ago… These day parents tell their children what to do,"you are going to be a doctor / lawyer /engineer when you grow up, get it?" Sounds familiar? Coz we hear that everyday everywhere, some even experience it themselves, right? 

" You are going to work as garbage man if you don’t study hard!!" I don’t know how many times I have heard that… Whats wrong with garbageman? Like once a friend told me, garbage man have free injections to make us disease free, get to stand on the truck to round the city everyday, who else get to do that? Thats so cool! The same happens to artist, " no one will ever buy your paintings, you will end up starving to death" , policeman, " you will get shot to death before you even caught a criminal, teacher, " there is no future, your income will never be enough to support your family". Where do all those words of encouragement goes? What the child want to hear is just, " keep on the good work, you can do it!!" is this so hard to be said?

Class, that’s what our society nowadays is all about, higher class have the privilege to look down on lower class, now who is the one who gave them the privilege? GOD says every human is the same, everyone deserves the same treatment, no one is higher class than others… Now who gave them the power to defy even GOD? I don’t know, but next time if you want to look down on others because you think you are better than them, think about it..

People are saying that our society fell sick, our mother earth is dying.. Is it really true? I feel that human are killing themselves, its the mentality above that is slowly killing mankind, then why do we keep going under? Is reality overpowering morality?

p.s. i have to admit I will make some of the mistakes above too, human will always be human, lets pray that things will get better…

This blog is especially dedicated to everyone I met in UiTM INTEC, no matter I know you or not, you play a big part in my life, thanks to you, for all the unbelievable experience I have there, and you know who YOU are…

          I could recall clearly that time when I settled down so well in Form Six, the offer letter of JPA came, the reluctance to leave ( I even argued with my parents the whole night for that!!) and finally here I end up, after 2 years in UiTM INTEC Shah Alam, a place many described as hell, some describe as heaven but for me, its a place full of memories, sweet and bitter ones….

          Making the decision to accept the offer is very difficult, as I once said, its like someone putting a gun on my head forcing me to change my life.. And it never started as well as I wanted it to, got sick at the first day after eating something wrong, luckily I met JIMI, who had the same experience as I had… A great friend that later I found out to be my classmate as well… It was not easy at the start, got to deal with dirty rooms, new friends, new environment, but I am glad we all got through it, it instills extra steel to our character, make us more independent and determined to overcome all the obstacles…

             Of course it was all about study here, and I have to admit I had a torrid time at the beginning, dreadful opening when I got zero for my stats in the first statistics test and completely flunk my chemistry quiz… One thing about the students here,the word brilliant is never big enough to describe them, producing 100 after 100 effortlessly, it was pretty much a culture shock to me, especially the girls like Tze Huei, She Ann, Hui Ming, really made me feel like I am studying with robots who never make any mistakes at first… A cat with 9 lives, that’s what I would call myself, for surviving exams after exams barely passing them, erm…more than 9 maybe.

             Food there, erm… not bad I think, as I am always eating to survive, not living to eat, I wonder if I am going to miss the food there, since Penang is a food heaven itself. We are occasional rule breakers, wearing shorts ignoring dress code, returning late after curfew, climbing out through broken fences, kind of missing it too..Might be better to blame it on the irrational school system, even girls and guys are not allowed to play sports together sometimes, what the hell are they thinking!!

             There are some remarkable people that really played a big part in my life there, Nicholas– always seems perfect in everything, undoubtedly best student in INTEC, Siva– nicest roommate ever in the whole world, Jimi–I don’t know what to say, but you are always the best, Chun Wai– I just wish you would eat more, Esmond– whats your secret of being so cute all the time??, Puan Sivarani– I am really in love with this teacher!!, and the list goes on, the entire 5M8– you all have been great all the time, and of course the entire ALM, I just wish I could know you guys better…

              For someone depressed, nervous, indifferent, hostile, indiscipline, subjective and over sympathetic ( as said in my psychology test report) to survive in INTEC is not an easy things to do… some tough times there but I can definitely say its one of the best journey in my life, and to Siva, Chun Wai, Andrew, Doreen, Nyuk Cheng, Sin Wee, M3 and M4 friends, you got to bear with me again in IMU…( I am not even sure I will get into it, we will see…) and for everyone flying I just want to wish you all best of luck, have a safe journey and don’t forget to miss me….

                    INTEC ROCKS FOREVER!!

I have just witnessed one of the greatest sport matches I have seen in my life.. The final of WISPA Penang Open between world number three Rachael Grinham and our very own Penangite, Nicol David… Its always great to see Nicol play on TV, but the live atmosphere is a totally different kind of enjoyment.

Taking place in Penang International Squash Centre, I was surprised to find that even though I arrived 45 minutes before the match, the squash centre was already fully seated… So I have to settle down on just sitting on the stair and watch, but its quite surprising that I find Nicol’s father Desmond sitting just right in front of me, he is such a friendly and humble person that he declined invitations after invitations to sit in VIP seat, prefer to seat on the stair just like me and communicate with supporters… Nice man.

Its even more surprising when even our chief minister, Tan Sri Koh Tsu Koon show up before the match, it shows how much we Malaysian appreciate Nicol’s talent, and the Malaysia Boleh spirit is still there after all… Its not just about Nicol, her opponent Rachael is a very respectable player as well, former world number one, coming far from Down Under, she is a very experienced and skillful player, and she proved it in the match.

It was Rachael that grabbed the 4-0 lead at the first set, showing no sign of nerve at all…But we all knew Nicol will come back, we have seen her doing it over and over again, her determination was beyond doubt, once she settle down, she forces error out of Rachael and took the first set 9-5. Second set was a different kind of affair, Nicol hit some great shots and some clever runs from her gave her 8-4 lead, this is the time when Rachael changed her strategy and hit some really unbelievable shot, even the audience including can’t help but start applauding her.. She keep it on till 8-6, where Nicol held her nerve and finish off the set 9-6.

One thing I like about Nicol is her positive attitude towards the game, always eager to play, we can see she always get on court 30 seconds before each set start, allowing herself to get used to atmosphere and practice a little inside.. Another thing is that she is always friendly on court, smiling after some good shots, no matter she win that shot or not, she and Rachael seems like best friends playing against each other! We saw in third set that why Rachael is world number one for such a long time before this, she made Nicol run, make her commit errors, and came back strongly in third set 9-5, showing that she was not about the go down easily…

Fourth set, Nicol showed why she is the best in the business, she just used the three walls and the glass so well that every shot of her were so precise, and Rachael seems a little exhausted, her stamina prove to be a weapon… Taking the fourth set easily at 9-2, she claims the match and become the 2006 Penang Open champion, straight after her triumph in Malaysia Open, making Penang proud, and all Malaysian proud.

After the match, when Rachael was interviewed, she admit Nicol was like a brick wall, no matter what she throw at her, she just hit back…That was really a rare review from Rachael, who is a great champion as well…

I am really happy I manage to watch the match,even though got back and butt ache after sitting too long uncomfortably, its all worth it. Hopefully I can catch more of her matches in future… Best wishes to Nicol, she will remain as world number one for many many years to come, so young and so promising, she is undoubtedly the best sport icon Malaysia ever have…

Go Nicol!!

I don’t know how many of you here watch pool but if you do, here is some one who you should really look out for, Jasmin Ouschan from Austria. Yes I know what I am saying, after watching some of her matches I was really really impressed by her way of playing… Especially her cool and calm expression throughout the match, always very focused on the table no matter when she is playing or her opponents were playing, not even a slight change of expression on her face, just stay totally focused..

And can you believe it, at the age of 20, she is already a world beaters… European champions for many years in a row, gold medal in World games, and she even played against men in European league and most important, beat them! Showed that women can play just as well as men. First time I watched her play was in the BCA open this year, where world top women player took part in, and that’s where she proved that at the age of twenty, she has no fear for anyone…taking out number 2 and 3 seeds, she faced world number one and the Duchess of Doom Allison Fisher in the final. Allison had been my idol since small, making the sport looks so easy and beating her opponents almost effortlessly, and it really seems like a stroll in the park for her when she took a 3-0 lead against Jasmin.

But that is where Jasmin started to show her determination. She never gave up and rattled in some amazing shots… Even push in the 2 ball and 9 ball at the same time to even the score at 4-4, that’s the most amazing shot I have ever seen in my life. Her strength is obvious, her powerful starting shot enable her to put in at least 2 or 3 balls at first shot, which I believe no one in tour can do that, and she can make decisions very quickly, took very short time to strike each ball, yet still be able to make it land it perfect position to shoot the next ball, I can bet no one in the tour can shoot as fast and as precise as her. In the end she won 7-5, even Allison was shocked, that’s the time she really showed her emotion, she finally conquered the world of pool, at age of 20( I can’t help but say it, she played like a 40 year old pro!!)

If you like pool, check her out!! You will really enjoy seeing her play, announcing the arrival of the new shining star in World’s sport

" Cause you had a bad day

You’re taking one down

You sing a sad song just to turn it around

You say you don’t know

You tell me don’t lie

You work at a smile and you go for a ride

You had a bad day

The camera don’t lie

You’re coming back down and you really don’t mind

You had a bad day

You had a bad day "

Ever had a bad day? The lyrics really said it all, here is a classic example of mine:

1)     Lost my wallet

2)      Narrowly miss out qualification to Spirit of Melaka

3)      Caught a terrible cold right before Grand Dinner

4)      Step on my spectacles and broke it

5)      Trip and fell on the road while walking

6)      Bus refuse to send us back to hotel after dinner so have to walk all the way at night in Shah Alam for almost an hour

7)      Electric blow up when I try to switch on the light

      Slept the whole night in total darkness

9)      Almost miss out my bus back to Penang the next morning

Well it isn’t really so bad after all, at least I survived them all and its all over… In our life we will face tough luck sometimes, but bad luck is not always with us,at least I believe so, as long as we face it and get through, I m sure good luck is always waiting ahead… Wishing everyone I know and everyone reading this good luck in everything you do!!