Champagne Supernova

Yup, that's exactly how am feeling at the moment; like a star about to burst full of champagne (Kristal haa!). Today is Fri 25th August 2008, my sis that I miss so godamn much is coming back to KK for a visit and will be arriving this afternoon. Then my dearest friends in the whole wide world Tun Ladoni and Syaifa Syirin and their little one Tun Aylin Zaira are also arriving tomorrow afternoon. Like a cherry on top, she rang me yesterday to inform me that her brother Syaiful Fizrai ( that boy is the world!!) and her other brother Syaiful Faizal are also coming with them. OMG, I could just die with happiness!!! Not to mention the Anuar Zain concert that me and Amon are going to tomorrow (FRONT SEATS!!) at the Dewan Canselor.


I have truthfully not felt this 'immense happiness' in a long time.Then it made me realise that actually what makes you happy is not money, stuff but rather around people whom you love and loves you; the chance to be able to spend some time together and do some crazy stuff together.

These friends and my dearest sisters (like I so keep harping in this blog) are the finest this world can find. I have had my share of so-called 'friends' and 'family' whose sole purpose in their lives is just to use you or bleed you dry ;in a way I am glad its happened as it has taught me to choose my friends more carefully.



Oh well no time for animosity now that my sources of happiness by tomorrow will all be in one place in the form of Amon, Tun,Syirin,Rai, my family and kids. Except for my other 3 sisters (4 actually - Ab, Liz, Ain and Yong) in which then champagne supernova will most definitely happen.



Good job,Good life,Good friends, Good family - what more can I ask for?

Anuar oh Anwar

I had a really good lunch with my colleagues today, courtesy of AP Dr Mike and AP Dr Vijay due to their recent promotions. The menu was 'nasi beriyani gam' cooked by my dearest mum, plus a myriad of other food including fruits and satay. The mangoes Shanty brought from her house was divine and so was the fruit salad that Azian made.

We also had a good chat,Prof Ann,Dr Mike,Dr Vijay,Zaidi and I. Among other things discussed were Anuar Zain's concert in that Prof Ann's daughter who's just come back from Germany has asked her to go together with the 'dulang hantaran meminang' as apparently she is so nuts about him but he met her once and said to her personally, come see me when you are older. Then Shanty broke the secret about me singing with Anuar Zain on Astro ( and I went- come on!malu!!) so everyone had a laugh.

Later we talked about Anwar Ibrahim and the debate last night. I missed it and could have kicked myself for having forgotten, but what to do when you have kids and their tae-kwondo lessons. All the same,no regrets they said on the debate as the Info Minister was rubbish and foaming at the mouth it was so sad to watch (True ka?) Dr.Vijay said the DSAI won the debate hands down.

Anyway, we then talked about how we don't want him as Prime Miniter and all that, and how the Malays should stop taking handouts from Govt and start thinking like our Non-Malay compariots. Quote " How long should the Malays stay on crutches?" Unquote - Exact words of Dr.Vijay. And he cannot be anymore right.

After the hearty meal, I went upstairs to my office.Before continuing with my lectures on " Genetic Engineering (YUCKS!!SUCKS!!) I browsed through the internet a bit to read Utusan Online. That was when I read the bit on Anwar being arrested again by the same modus operandi they used 10 years ago, commandos wth masks and the works.

Oh dear.

I am not sure if it was the food, but then I could not help but feel a pang of sympathy for him as well as for his family.

The Government by this recent action has loudly proclaimed to us all that not only it is flip-flop,it is also unimaginative . This commando crap with masks this time will bear no effect and is a total waste of time in trying to instill the seriousness of the situation as it has "STALE" pasted all over it.

Why la Government you do this kind of things???WHY???Cannot do something a bit more exciting like Incredible Hulk kaa??

And then the Ketua Kelong Pendatang Haram a.k.a Katherine Jackson has demanded Anwar give his DNA samples asap. What rubbish. If there are any DSAI supporters out there, I suggest you tell DSAI to masturbate in front of KJ and give him the samples personally while it is still fresh. Then he has no reason to complain of the validity of his samples. Or that it has been changed as he was right there to receive it.( Sorry younger readers reading this!)

And my dearest PM , if you so criticise the actions of our former PM, why did you replicate his very actions? I believed you have more intelligence than that,epecially after your marriage to this so-called first lady whose names we have to pronounce in French for it to be right.

I am sorely disappointed by this most recent arrest. Although I do not like DSAI, I do not expect for him to be subjected to again a few tumultous years of not being with his family.That is a need. It is also a basic right. Like what Prof Ann said just now and I quote : Why does have to spend years behind bars for something that all the ministers do anyway?Unquote

In order to develop the people in our country fear should not be used as an instrument. The people of Malaysia are not stupid. To me the right thing to do is let him stand for election if he wants and then we the rakyat shall choose . Do not deprive him of what he seeks to do; in so far I have not seen him do anything unlawful. I do not like him yes, but that does not mean we have to be unjust.

Tonight I will pray to Allah to let DSAI be released and for him to go about his own business for the sake of our country. Although I do not support him, the sad fact is we the rakyat need people like him to open the eyes of our ministers who do not care to see. Enough to open, but definitely not win.These are interesting times in our nation and so it must be observed and dealt with properly and justly for the sake of our future generations.That' s my two cents on this matter.

OMG, it MUST be the food.Or have I gone soft?

Naw, I am just saying what I think is right.

All the same,I think the PM at some point should be Mukhriz.

Melancholy all of a sudden.....

To try and take my mind off work, I have got my IPod on me at the moment to try to listen to some music . Instead of making me less stressed out, I start thinking about all the times I was in Sheffield with Ija, Amon, Abalong and Co and then it made me feel a bit sad all of a sudden. A lot of things have changed, and it was not helped by the fact that I was just off the phone with Amon just now and to hear how much her tone of voice has changed since she went to work in KL.So different from her usual, calm self.

I guess it is true that living here in Malaysia does make you change a little bit from the calmer person you were once before; perpetually stressed out in rushing to meet deadlines,do this,do that, etc. I am not saying home isn't great, its brilliant.But sometimes,just sometimes, it can make you feel you have too much on your plate.

I miss my old self- my home at Ecclesfield, and more importantly my life there. It was unhurried and so much calmer. Maybe it was the weather that was never warm so people were rarely hot and bothered to the point they always looked stressed out.

I guess I am still lucky I am in KK where people here are still placcid compared to us Semenanjung lot whose always quick to lose our temper (yours truly included).

All the same, I still miss my house, the snowman I left behind and McArthur Glen.
And McFly..
Oh deary me....Its a good job Amon and Shirin/Tun/Zaira are coming here in 3 weeks.

Its times like this sometimes I will say I can't wait to go to Sydney ASAP , away from Malaysia ; then change my mind in a few ticks and say oh what the fish...home is BEST!!!

My hypocrisy only goes so far...

SHINE

It has been five days since I last wrote anything in here.It was not for the lack of trying (seriously) but oh haven't we all been busy. Last week saw UMS welcoming the arrival of the new UMS students, all looking scared and homesick it made me think of the times I entered ITM Shah Alam. That was simply the best times of my life actually, with friends like Shahrul, Hisham,Tinia the way we knew them all back then. And it was also there that I met the love of my life, Andy whom I am now happily married to with two lovely kids ( lovely but notorious nonetheless -what to say)



Coming back to the present, we all congregated at the Dewan Canselor to listen to VC's opening address. The students were all dressed up in blue batik while some of my friends were robed in the academic robe for the Senate Procession. Then after the address we all had a cooffee break prior to proeeding to another congregation to welcome the students at our school level .



This time we were all called to sit on the stage and it was an experience for me, as I vividly recalled my graduation ceremony in Liverpool 'Batman' where I was awed by all the lecturers waiting on stage. There was this sense of deja-vu for me when I realised it is now me on the stage, and felt a rush inside.



I hope I will teach the students as well as my lecturers have taught me.



This week I have been trying to get my lecture notes together and even got the opportunity to meet my MSc student for the first time. She seems keen on the research project I have asked her to do. Good. Then went to see Prof Ann and she has asked me to not dally with the 10,000 ringgit seed money application as she is keen for me to publish three papers this year.



THREE papers.....no big deal, right? To even try to do in the middle of my teahing workload and research and student supervision ( I have two this year ,another one's a lazy bum!!) I'd probably need to die a few times over for that to happen , but hey, when you work at the uni, even while you are sleeping you are most likely to do a spot of sleep 'research writing', and find that you were actually still stuck at your study table and not your bed and that you were not actually sleeping at all.

How's that for encouragement?

I have no energy even to blabber about the darned Anwar and Najib case today.
Maybe I will blabber tomorrow.

'ODE' TO DSAI

I DON'T LOVE YOU-MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE




Well, when you go
Don't ever think I'll make you try to stay
And maybe when you get back
I'll be off to find another way

And after all this time that you still owe
You're still the good-for-nothing I don't know
So take your gloves and get out
Better get out
While you can

When you go
Would you even turn to say
I don't love you Like I did Yesterday

Sometimes I cry so hard from pleading
So sick and tired of all the needless beating
But baby when they knock you
Down and out
It's where you oughta stay

And after all the blood that you still owe
Another dollar's just another blow
So fix your eyes and get up
Better get up
While you can

Whoa, whooa
When you go
Would you even turn to say
I don't love youLike I didYesterday
Well come on, come on

When you go
Would you have the guts to say
I don't love you
Like I loved you Yesterday
I don't love you
Like I loved you Yesterday
I don't love youLike I loved you Yesterday

Brain drained and its not 9 am yet!!!

Its a good thing we subscribe to the Borneo Post. Every morning without fail at 6 am the newspaper will be at our doorstep; fresh and crisp ready for me to open and take in all of todays 'wonderful news'. Living in Sabah although lovely has one definite disadvantage: No STAR or other national papers until after 12pm. I guess I just have to be satisfied with the Borneo Post.


So thats my daily routine, after my Fajr prayers at 5. 45 am (have to be quick coz syuruq here is at 6am beat that!!) I will go downstairs to unlock the gates and door for my helper to come and then get the paper. I was especially excited to read todays' as I couldn't read yesterdays' due to it absoulutely chucking it down with rain yesterday morning and me finding the newspapers soaked to the core I just had to throw it away.



So when I removed the rubber band off the paper what did I see staring back at me on the first page? Nothing else but all this story on DSAI and his second sodomic act. The entire first page was dominated by that with a little corner at the bottom on Datin Rosmah's statement as seen in the news yesterday.

Now guys, I do want to see DSAI put away for again another long time, and I also want to know about the late Ms Sharibuu's case. Nevertheless, I think the media is putting too much spin on other things . Perhaps to steer our concerns away from whats really nagging us : the petrol hike? Only on PAGE 5, beat that, PAGE 5 did I actually see something on the public saying they might consider getting the motorbike as their primary transport to aleviate their fuel-affordability problems.

Spin is a strange thing. In Malaysia it is part and parcel on the mainstream media . When I was living in the UK some years back, a officer at the Daily Mirror and someone at No 10 Downing Street got investigated for an 'alleged'spin story on the Government to digress the people for the cumbersome political issues that were clouding the country then. It resulted in the sacking of both these people when all they were trying to do was save poor Tony Blair's ass.



DSAI although I do not like him has only just voiced his concerns to the US who in turn has issued a statement to the Government.NEVERTHELESS, the media purported it this morning ( at least in the Borneo Post) as a WARNING.



Now I think that's spin.Because nowhere did it mention Tony Casey saying 'we will take military action' or a statement resembling that.



DSAI being DSAI actually is a bloody chicken who likes to throw stones and hide his hands behind -oh no- not his back- but USA's . But as far as me and many others are concerned, having DSAI on the front page isn't going to reduce our petrol prices. He is just another has been who has lost his fangs long,long ago to far far away land of Shrek and Snow White .But thats another story altogether.



The media should be responsible in giving us news thats really important, not someone like Rosmah or DSAI who is TOTALLY irrelevant,at least to me.It is sad to note that in this day and age the big guns that sit on the press board and companies still think that the Malaysians around are still as stupid as before and cannot see what they are up to.They in reporting that many malaysian students that have graduated, be it from local unis and colleges or abroad have completely forgotten to realize that we are thevery same people that make up the pulse of the country. And so we are not STUPID.

The media needs to gain back the credibility that has been lost in journalism that we now see as ass -wiping and politics so that their paper can stay alive. At least I still bother to read the papers, my other half has no time for it, and I think its because where facts are concerned,he thinks his students theses are more reliable.


I thought of the good old days in the UK where we would buy at least 2 newspapers daily, The Mirror for Andy and Amon and the Times for me. It was a daily refreshing exercise of comparing what each paper had to say about a particular issue, very much unlike our country's papers that if you read one you have read them all, even Borneo Post with a circulation of very little compared to our other national dailies.


What is happening to journalism in Malaysia?You know I am curious to know whatever happened to the ever-so-proud (back then we say aksyen-la) uITM Shah Alam mass communications students (back in those days I was student there) that was proud of what they did they saw themselves as the purporter of truth , the best there was, the creme-de-la-creme?

I see one of them once in a while on TV3, on MHI.Looks like his, and other tails, have been clipped. Poor them.



Journalism in Malaysia needs a revival; its dying a slow death. The spin has to stop and the focus has to be on what is really important by asking the right questions.Politicians, if you want our country to develop you must let the journalists ask the right questions.Then you can answer whichever way you want and we will decide for ourselves, who is right and who is the nincompoop.



All this story on DSAI and Rosmah makes stories on the petrol hike go quiet.Perhaps I will wear the white ribbon on me tomorrow.



Then after all that news, I went to shower have my breakfast and all ready for work. The moment I got into my office the first three things I would do without fail everyday is log on to my uniwebmail,read TDM's blog then read Anti*****'s blog. Dispatched comments to the last two but became very boggled at the uni mail to all@ums.edu.my.



Apparently, my opinion on premature promotion of APs and senior lecturers was shared by many,many people at the unversity and has been published uniwide to all staff.Ooohhh..this IS hot stuff. Many academicians are very unhappy at the recent appointment of allegedly undeserving staff when some who actually deserved it were not considered.I have never seen the unimail getting comments as bad as malaysheffield.


Some people are hot under the collar,I bet as this is definitely going to warrant a Senate meeting.


I think its time people put a stop in this unfavourable curry-favour amongst our academicians.And my hope is that our new VC Dato' K will do this. At the end of the day it will only benefit the students if the only deserving people get the promotions. Deadwood needs to be removed and not promoted.But whats happened unfortunately is vice versa.



Like I said, when I started writing it was hardly 9 am but I was already brain drained.So much issues to be mulled over and thought about. But I guess this is a 'cikgu's' job.To think.

Kalau tak macam mana budak budak nak pandai?