Magritte ... Magritte and more Magritte ...

For all you Magritte fans out there, more pictures to tickle your sense bud. Enjoy mates!

Homesickness

L'assasins menace

The Lovers 1

L'aimable verite

La Chateau des Pyrenees

La condition humaine

L'OISEAU DE CIEL

"L'OISEAU DE CIEL" BLIJFT IN BELGIE

Het doek "L'oiseau de ciel" van de Belgische surrealist René Magritte is in Zaventem geveild voor 3,4 miljoen euro. Dat is veel meer dan verwacht. Een Brusselse kunsthandelaar kocht het werk in opdracht van een bekende Belg, die anoniem wenst te blijven. Zeker is dus dat het doek in België blijft. Het kunstwerk was het topstuk op de veiling van de failliete luchtvaartmaatschappij Sabena. De waarde was geschat op 1,2 miljoen euro. Volgens de veilingmeester is deze Magritte met 3,4 miljoen euro het duurste schilderij dat ooit in België is verkocht.

My favourite painter - Rene Magritte

Rene Magritte
1898 - 1967
Belgium

René Magritte, the famous Belgian Surrealist, developed his signature techniques early in his career while working as a commercial artist-designing wallpapers, posters, sheet-music covers and collage illustrations for furriers' catalogs. When he moved to Paris from Brussels, in August 1927, to join the Parisian Surrealists, Magritte began his investigation of pictorial language in a burst of activity that was to produce sixty pictures in one year, some quite large. When Magritte left Paris in 1930, he abandoned the Surrealist milieu where the painters tended to be subordinate to the writers, and in particular to André Breton.

Although Magritte was not adverse to the company of writers-indeed Paul Eluard was his closest friend in Paris and many of his writer friends helped produce titles for his paintings-he was adverse to Breton's organizing, and returned to Brussels where he was regarded as the center of the avant-garde circle. He remained in Belium, save for a few trips, until his death.Magritte's works are conceived of as riddles. In them, he explores the mysteries lurking in the unexpected juxtaposition of everyday things, involving the viewer in a self-induced disorientation. His paintings exclude symbols and myths; everything is visible.

Magritte worked from several sources, which he repeated with variations: anatomical surprises, such as the hand whose wrist is a woman's face; the mysterious opening, where a door swings open onto an unexpected vista; metamorphic creatures, such as a stone bird flying above a rocky shoreline. He animates the inanimate, as a shoe with toes; he enlarges details, as an immense apple filling a room. he makes an association of complementaries, as the leaf-bird, or the mountain-eagle. His titles accompany the paintings in the way that names correspond to objects, without either illustrating or explaining them.

There is always a kind of logic to Magritte's images but when asked about analysis of the content of his paintings, Magritte replied, "If one looks at a thing with the intention of trying to discover what it means, one ends up no longer seeing the thing itself, but of thinking of the question that is raised." The interpretation of the image was a denial of its mystery, the mystery of the invisible. His images are to be looked at, not into.

tanda-tanda anda bayi tahun 70 / 80-an

kita membesar dgn menonton G-Force, He-man, Transformers,Thundercats,Silver Hawk, Woody Woodpecker, Chipmunks and Mickey Mouse.

Not to forget Ninja Turtles, Mask, Smurfs dan Voltron.

berus gigi time waktu rehat kat skolah rendah?...hmm, mesti pegang cawan warna-warni kan. mencangkung kat tepi parit dgn classmates semua kat seblah... ingat tak, misi kat skolah masuk kelas dgn list dentist appointment.

pastu bunyi gigi member kite kene gerudi kat bilik sebelah. ada gigi yang berlubang, kene laa tampal.

ni sure korang igt...program minum susu di skolah. nak galakkan budak2 time tuh minum susu. sekotak 30 sen jek beb... cikgu2 kalau nak denda, mesti guna pembaris panjang warna kuning tu. pukul tapak tangan...kan?

semangkuk mi sup ke, mihun sup ke, 30 sen jek kat kantin. Hankyu Jaya, Yaohan - shopping complex yang popular utk meluangkan masa dgn family. ni for those yg dok KL laa time skolah menengah, korang sure beli kasut skolah Bata BM Turbo atau Pallas Jazz. ada yang suka kasut high-cut yang buatan china tu...ada yang suka stoking tebal laaa... internet? email? mendalah ape tu? CD? ape tu? kaset tape penah laa dgr.

tiket wayang pun 5 inggit je. kite pegi kedai runcit, beli Chickerdis, Mamee , Kum Kum, UFO, O-Ya, Ding Dang chocolate balls yang ada mainan kat dlm die, 'telur' keras warnawarni, 'rokok' chewing gum, KIKI Bubble Gum. tak dilupakan, 'Ti Kam'.

bile dah abih exam, main Monopoly la, Donkey la, Happy Family laa dlm class. tapi bunyi loceng laa yang paling best skali. boleh beli aiskrim ngan apek kat luar skola tuh... lagi satu loceng masa nak pegi rehat. tinggal kan keje skolah, jom kita pegi makan. budak2 yg dpt Rancangan Makanan Tambahan (RMT) mesti kluar awal.

lagi satu yang seronok mase time Pendidikan Jasmani, PJ. main bola laa,rounders laa... permainan kegemaran, main guli, batu seremban, penutup botol, batang aiskrim, 'Pepsi Cola one-two-three', 'Police & Sentry', kejar2 duduk... kita hilangkan dahaga dgn aiskrim 10 sen. yang tube aiskrim, ada byk 2 color tu.

kalau nak makan, kene patahkan kat tengah2 die! lipat kertas kecik2, pastuh buat lastik. hmmm..ni pun kita main duluni.

baling2 kapur laa. hmm...budak2 kat university skarang, kebanyakan nye lahir thn1987/88. skarang digelar 'remaja'.

bagi diorg, diorg mane penah dgr lagu 'We Are the World, We Are the Children...' dan lagu 'Uptown Girl' yang diorg tau, yg Westlife nyanyi....bkn Billy Joel nyanyi... bagi diorg, ada satu je Jerman kat dunia ni, dan ade satu je Vietnam.

AIDS wujud sejak diorg lahir. CD pun wujud time diorg lahir. Michael Jackson dah putih dah time tu.

Diorg percaya Spiderman dgn Incredible Hulk tu filem2 baru. Diorg tak bley bayangkan skrin hitam putih utk sebuah komputer. Diorg tak penah tau pun 'Atari' dgn 'Game & Watch'.

Diorg tak percaya penah ada TV hitam putih...dan diorg skarang takretinakswitch on TV kalau xde remote control. dan diorg tak paham macam mane kite boleh survive dkt universiti tanpa handphone...

hmm...jom kite check, kite ni dah tua ke:

1. korg paham ape yang korang baca kat atas ni, dan korg sure tersenyum

2. kebanyakan member2 skolah menengah kite dah kawin

3. korg sure pelik bile nengok bdak2 kecik main komputer, selamba je

4. kita geleng kepala bile nengok bdak2 skolah menengah guna handphone

5. kita dah tak byk sembang2 dgn member melalui telefon lagi setiaphari

6. bile jumpe member lame dari semasa ke semasa, seronok bile bersembang pasal cerite2 lame, cerite2 kelakar yang kite alami mase dulu time kecik2, nakal2 dulu...

7. last skali, bile dah bace email ni, korang akan terpikir utk forward kan dkt member2 lame korg. Sure diorg suke punye laa...hehehe Yaa, kite pun dah semakin tua!! Teringat zaman2 dulu kan?

Cheers to the 70s / 80s babies!!!

p/s ..aku cut nd paste dari email kengkawan.. mate ...
sama jer budak 80 dan budak 79... hahahahaha

Am I Doing The Right Thing?

Hello everyone! It's been quite some time since I last wrote something here. It's not that I'm not interested or the Blog phenomena has lost its charm on me ... It's just that I've been freggin tired everyday after coming home from work. Look, I live in Selayang and work in Putrajaya. I have to wake up at 0540hrs every day to be in time for work. Mind you, I take the chartered bus to work. I finish work at 1700hrs and take the bus back home and the time is usually 1830hrs when I step foot into my home.

Well, I guess it's normal for each and everyone of us who commute on that same blue bus everyday. And to add to that, in the late afternoon or early evening when it's time to go back home, the scorching sun outside raises the temperature to about 35degrees probably. The bus can't take the heat too I guess as we are all baked and soaked in our sweat on our journey back to Selayang. It's awful.

Anyway, what I wanted to write about today is whether I think I'm doing the right thing working what I am working as now. I'm not bitching about the job and all. I mean the job's great and fantastic and your future is clear and the chances of promotion to a senior position in the government sector is quite high and people my age are really climbing up high. So, what's there to moan about.

Actually, I started as a Linguist after graduation. My first job took me to Ieper, Belgium and I clearly remember that date ... It was on the 11th of November 2000 when I arrived in Zaventem all gleaming and smiling excited about my new position. The journey to Ieper from Brussels Airport took almost an hour but every minute was worth it. Well, what did I do? I worked for a Speech Technology Company called Lernout and Hauspie and it was one of the biggest Belgian company that had branches worldwide. Sadly, it was bought over by ScanSoft USA but the job reamined the same. My daily routine was to create linguistic resources to be used for Text to Speech and Advanced Speech Recognition System in American and Asian accented English. Being the ONLY Malay guy there, I was really proud of the position I was holding and I was representing my country.

However, in 2003, I took a turn in my life. I decided to pack up and head back home. People do say that there's no place like home ... The reason I left Belgium was not due to the fact that I was home sick and all, it was just that my Mom had asked me to return and work at home. I adhered to her request as Mom's words are always blessings in disguise. So there I was on the plane bound for Amsterdam, Hong Kong and final destination ... Kuala Lumpur. I was finally back home.

So, what did I do when I got back. I worked as a Speech Therapist for a few months teaching Chinese students from China proper English and pronunciation. I also had to assist Libyan, Arab, Indonesian and Uzbek students as well. It was great fun and I knew I was happy. Then the offer to join the government service came and I was petrified. I didn't know what to do but I did know that I did not want to end up as a Speec Therapist all my life. A linguist? defintely!!! But not a Speech Therapist. I finally took the offer and here I am now, a civil servant still wondering whether I'm doing the right thing.

I have told people many times that I wouldn't say NO if ScanSoft approached me again and asked me to work with them, but will I go through the whole process again? Many of my frineds tell me that my body is here but my heart and soul is lost else where. That saddens me. I don't know what's the right thing now.

In the meantime, I am still employed and I love my job now. My job has taught me many new thing and brought me to places I've always dreamt of going. I also had the chance to experience my baby nephew grow up. Apparently, when I was in Belgium, I was foreign to him. Now he knows me well and I'm happy I got to watch him grow.

There you have it ... the story of my life. Am 30 and still comtemplating about my future. Have I gone nuts? Am I really crazy? I can't answer these questions but if anyone of you out there who happens to know me reads this, let me know what you think of me.

Cheers!!

Laguku Untukmu

PETER PAN - MUNGKIN NANTI

Saatnya ku berkata mungkin yang terakhir kalinya
Sudahlah lepaskan semua kuyakin inilah waktunya
Mungkin saja kau bukan yang dulu lagi
Mungkin saja rasa itu telah pergi

Dan mungkin bila nanti kita kan bertemu lagi
Satu pintaku jangan kau coba tanyakan kembali
Rasa yang kutinggal mati
Seperti hari kemarin saat semua disini

Dan bila hatimu termenung bangun dari mimpi2mu
Membuka hatimu yang dulu cerita saat bersamaku
Mungkin saja kau bukan yang dulu lagi
Mungkin saja rasa itu telah pergi

Dan mungkin bila nanti kita kan bertemu lagi
Satu pintaku jangan kau coba tanyakan kembali
Rasa yang kutinggal mati
Seperti hari kemarin saat semua disini

Tak usah kau tanyakan lagi simpan untukmu sendiri
Semua sesal yang kau cari semua rasa yang kau beri

TO KNOW ME IS TO LOVE ME

shoe size .... 9

shirt size ... 16.5

glasses .... yes

left power ... -250

right power ... - 350 (astigma -0.75)

glasses ... Calvin Klein

contacts ... not yet but on the way

hair ... short and comed with a parting to the right

facial hair ... none

favourite colour ... purple

lifelong ambition ... airline pilot or steward

shirt maker ... Marks and Spencer

trousers ... Marks and Spencer

tie ... Marks and Spencer

socks ... Byford and Marks and Spencer

cufflinks ... yes

shoe maker ... Obermain and Pellucca

accessories ... ring on right thumb

watch for leisure ... swatch skin

watch for work ... Tissot

perfume ... Acqua di Gio and Tommy

cosmetics ... Biotherm for Homme

phone ... Samsung

pen ... sheaffer

Monday ... how I hate Mondays. I must have inherited the positive attitude from Garfield. Not that I like eating lasagne nor am I orang and stripey all over, it's just that we both are ..

FAT

SELFISH

LAZY

CYNICAL

ENDEARING

that's me !!!

I am what I am and no one can change me for that although many people have tried as they were uneasy with the fact that I speak my mind to the fullest, i speak uninsured and that every 5th work that I utter is either a curse or a swearing word. Whoa ... education must have taught me really well. Aren't I proud of myself? Like I said earlier, I am what I am.

Back to Monday. I started work only to find out that there was a Management Meeting today ... shit!!! of all the days why Monday. I didn't know what to feel anymore. So, pusing aside the mandatory Nasi Lemak and Chicken sambal, I dragged my feet into the meeting room to tell myself that there is a meeting and I must at least survive this. Apparently, I was suppose to have another meeting the same afternoon but was postponed due to some reasons I truly thanked God for.

I survived the day though. went back home and decided to take a spin around the village. Why, I was actually disturbed today. 4 of my best friends actually retaliated against me for something I've done that I think is meager. I won't tell you what it is but is it fair for 4 of your friend to speak about you behind your back and convince theirselves that I'm such a horrible prik. I mean I know I'm not the best in nature but these 4 girls were always there by myside during good and bad times. Not to mention when I was their shoulder to cry on at times.

The saddest part was the fact that things I have joked about taken seriously and all of the days, they had to bring ot out on me today, Hooray ... great job girls. I must say that I've been deeply hurt andnot to mention the times when I was working for them and tried to cover their asses at work and their appreciation were sometimes by getting angry at me.

It's ok. I'm a grown person and i can take care of myself. I don't really mind tht my so-called chums are like this. They've taught me to be a tad careful with people around me. So moral of the day ... don't trust anyone around you unless you've vowed to each other to do so.

Thanks girls, you've lighten up my day today.

tin whistling session

Hi and welcome back to my page. It's been a few days since I last updated my blog. I just didn't have the time to write anything as I was really tied up with work and all. However, since ot's the weekend tomorrow (Yippie!) and work ONLY starts again on Monday, I thought I'd use the time I have this weekend to write as much as I can.

So, what have I been up to lately? Nothing much although I have been practising my tin whistling. Next question ... what in God's name is a tin whistle. Apart from the fact that it's a souvenir I got for myself (ahhh ... ) on my recent work assignment in Dublin, Ireland (show off!) it's a slender musical instument made of light aluminium and looks almost like a recorder - the thinggy we used to play in standard 4, 5 and 6. The major differences are major. Firstly, a tin whistle comes in a certain key only. The one I am using comes in the key of D. The barrel is made of aluminium where as a recorder is made of plastic. When playing it, you also use almost all you fingers to cover the appropiate holes. Not with a tin whistle as it only comes with holes to make up the tunes. A tin whistle is usually named. Mine's called Feadog and Walton's. The ones from Feadog are actually made of brass and sounds sweeter. The ones Walton makes are called The Little Black Whistle. Heard or seen of ot before? Well, one clue - The Corrs. Ring a bell? No? It's the EXACT tin whistle that the gorgeous Andrea Corr plays. The sound's a bit airy and it might take you some time to get used to it but it's lighter than the brass whistle and hey, the corrs use it :) The tin whistle can play happy cheerful Irish jigs and tunes and on the opposite, it can also play eerie haunting tunes. Weird eh?

So, the sheet music I posted above is actually a part of The Corrs new album "Home" I bought in Ireland, just for the sake of having it made Irish! So, Spancill Hill is actually an Irish folk song and the lyrics are nice. It also has a melancholic type of music. I am so hooked on to the song. Here, check out the lyrics:


Artist: The corrs
Song: Spancill Hill
Album: Home

last night as i lay dreaming of pleasant days gone by
my mind being bent on rambling to ireland i did fly
i stepped on board a vision and followed with the wind
till next i came to anchor at the cross near spancill hill

t'was on the 23rd june the day before the fair
when lreland's sons and daughters and friends assembled there
the young ,the old, the brave, the bold came their duty to fill
at the parish church at cluney just a mile from spancill hill

i went to see my neighbors to hear what they might say
the old ones were all dead and gone the young one's turning grey
i met the tailor quigley, he's bold as ever still
sure he used to mend my britches when i lived at spancill hill

i paid a flying visit to my first and only love
she's fair as any lily and gentle as a dove
she threw her arms around me saying "johnny i love you still"
she was meg the farmers daughter and the pride of spancill hill
she was meg the farmers daughter and the pride of spancill hill

Then comes Sharon's violin, Jim's guitar, Caroline's bodhran and finally the chirping of Andrea's tin whistle. It's played really fast and I'm training my fingers to play it as quickly as Andrea. It may look simple but it ain't! I thought it was as easy as the recorder but I was wrong.

So, what Corrs tune do I play?

1. Only When I Sleep
2. Dreams
3. Humdrum
4. Rebel Heart
5. Lough Erin Shore
6. Spancill Hill
7. And I'm practising Haste to the Wedding and Toss the Feathers.

Well, that's a wrap for tonite. I hope to have more news for you tomorrow ok. In the meanwhile, take care and have a good one :)

puisi ini hadiah untukmu

saat hentian tak lagi rindang
saat tepian tak lagi nyaman
biarkan kaki ini beringsut
pada seraut senyum nan teduh
bila ini takdir mengapa aku begini pandir
terbiar pada dingin hujan tak berbelas kasih
bila payung cinta terkembang seperti sayap-sayap merpati
akankah tangan yang tergapai ini kau sambut ???

Stereotypes

"Yes, they're STEREOTYPES
There must be more to life
All your life you are dreaming
And then you stop dreaming
From time to time you know
You should be going on another bender"

Stereotypes by Blur (The Great Escape Album)

Yes, they're STEROTYPES ... god damn, freggin, nail biting, obscure dirty little stereotypes. You must be wondering what I'm winging about. And you have the right to know because I hate them stereotypes. It started when I was in my last ten minutes of work today. I got a phonecall from a friend that asked me to meet up after work and I politely refused. I explained that I was in a bit of a messy situation at the office - not that I'm in trouble or anything but the workload is piling on my desk and I just can't take it anymore. So, here's a teaser of what needs to be done before the end of the week:

1. Memo to Qat*r embassy
2. Letter to Malaysian *mbassy in China
3. Letter to education attache in China
4. C*binet paper for visit
5. Scholarship payments
6. Preparation for pre-council meeting
7. Discussion matrix
8. Meeting issues
9. Saudi's MoU
10. Ireland's Follow Up
11. Egyptian Visit follow Up
12. Omani Ministerial Visit
13. Committee Meeting
14. and the list goes on and on ...

With all that I have listed, I need to get them all done in time for the weekend or I'll end up working extra hours unpaid. Life is so unfair sometimes because at some level, you are not allowed to claim overtime allowances for working the wee hours of the night. So, what ticked me off this afternoon was that fact that this friend of mine was telling me that I was unable to handle pressure and will never make it to the private sector. HELLO!!! Wake up and smell the poo buddy. I was from the private sector. Worked in a multicultural environment in Belgium as a Linguist. Work there is no hanky panky. You come in, log into the network, work, break for lunch, take a piss from time to time, work again and head back home. Honestly, I survived the private sector better that I am surviving the civil service. Am not trying to put the civil service down but the amount of pressure building in government offices is worse that thought. I never knew that the civil service would be that tough as compared to working with a multinational like Unilever (M) Sdn. Bhd - who used to sponsor my studies and decided not take hire me as the company was downsizing and let me off the hook.

So, is it fair for all you people out there working for the famed private sector to diss us people working for the public? Is it right and ethical to judge us as being incompetent? Would you think of the public sector as working in a laid back fashion? If all, or even one of your answer is YES to any of the questions just now, I plead you to think again. Sit down, sip a cup of coffee and think realistically. Ask people who are working in the public sector what its about. Don't just think that people who work in the private sector are frustrated over things that they have not achieved. People in the public sector frustrates twice the amount due to the large competition around.

What then would people in the private sector define stress, frustration, tired, mental block etc as? Would it be similar to how people in the public sector would view it? I urge someone to iron it out for us civil servants.

Sekian, terima kasih.

"BERKHIDMAT UNTUK NEGARA"

Saya yang menurut perintah,


(KHAIRUL SUFI)
Bahagian ****
b.p Ketua Setiausaha
Kementerian **** Malaysia

Sorry ...

SOMETIMES WE DO AND SAY THINGS THAT HURT PEOPLE WITHOUT REALIZING IT. ONE CAN ONLY ASK FOR FORGIVENESS FROM THOSE WE HAVE HURT. A THOUSAND SORRIES AREN'T ENOUGH FOR HOW SORRY I FEEL ...

Friends or Strangers?

Hi ya and welcome back! It’s been a day or two without me having the chance to fill up my blogsite but today, I’ve vowed that I’d write something down so I can share my thoughts with you. So here it goes …

On my recent day off from work ( I hate Sundays because the next day is a Monday and I loathe Monday ), I had the opportunity to go for my mandatory at-least-once-a-year corn popping experience at the local cinema with a friend, although the only corn I popped was into my mouth and not kernels in a popcorn machine. I was given a choice of a few movies to watch; namely Long-Khong or The Descent. The former having being sold out, I was given no choice but to opt for The Descent. So there we were, lining up at the mile long queue waiting to buy or tickets and keeping our fingers crossed that the tickets wouldn’t sell out once we reach the counter. 15 minutes passed and we were still queuing up. Didn’t take my eyes of the NOW SHOWING screen as I patiently monitored the progress of the ticket selling for the movie we wanted to watch. At last, came our turn and luckily, we got the last few seats for the movie. It was the second row but that really didn’t matter as I wanted to watch the movie so badly.

After getting the tickets and having a puff or two ( I don’t smoke but my friend does), we finally dragged ourselves to the refreshment counter and got a small popcorn and two drinks. Got into the movie theatre and tucked ourselves into the seats. Movie started 15 minutes later as advertisements were shown first. Then the moment came … the movie finally started. So we watched … and watched and screamed and got startled and got annoyed at the guy behind us projecting what might happen next in a voice where the people of Uruguay can hear and the movie ended about two hours later. I’m not going to tell you what the synopsis of the movie is (really, Faikay???) but what I do want to share are what happened throughout the film.

A group of six girls went cave exploring and found out they were lost when the group leader admitted she brought them all to a different cave hoping they’ll create history by uncovering a new one. Hey … that kinda sounds like a synopsis, doesn’t it? Anyway, what she did actually put her other 5 friends in a terrifying experience that later lead to their death(s). So, the question here is whether we would do the same in order to gain fame and at the same time jeopardize the lives of our friends. Would we actually stand up to our ego and not letting the people we love that something is extremely wrong at the very beginning? Would being well-known enough a reason to danger and take the lives of the people we love? And if we were one of the girls, would we ever forgive ourselves for getting into the mess although at first, we do not want to continue with it but for the sake of friendship, keep on playing to the beat? I’d really love to hear what anyone has to say about this. It can be an interesting topic of conversation or it could bore you to death. What ever you feel about it, I leave it for you to decide …

Decision Making

The story given below is quite interesting and really gives us an insight into DECISION MAKING.

Which one will you choose? A group of children were playing near two railway tracks, one still in use while the other disused. Only one child played on the disused track, the rest on the operational track. The train came, and you were just beside the track interchange. You could make the train change its course to the disused track and saved most of the kids. However, that would also mean the lone child playing by the disused track would be sacrificed. Or would you rather let the train go its way? Let's take a pause to think what kind of decision we could make. Most people might choose to divert the course of the train, and sacrifice only one child. You might think the same way, I guess.

Exactly, I thought the same way initially because to save most of the children at the expense of only one child was rational decision most people would make, morally and emotionally. But, have you ever thought that the child choosing to play on the disused track had in fact made the right decision to play at a safe place? Nevertheless, he had to be sacrificed because of his ignorant friends who chose to play where the danger was.

This kind of dilemma happens around us everyday. In the office, community, in politics and especially in a democratic society, the minority is often sacrificed for the interest of the majority, no matter how foolish or ignorant the majority are, and how farsighted and knowledgeable the minority are. The child who chose not to play with the rest on the operational track was sidelined. And in the case he was sacrificed, no one would shed a tear for him.

The friend who forwarded me the story said he woul d not try to change the course of the train because he believed that the kids playing on the operational track should have known very well that track was still in use, and that they should have run away if they heard the train's sirens. If the train was diverted, that lone child would definitely die because he never thought the train could come over to that track! Moreover, that track was not in use probably because it was not safe. If the train was diverted to the track, we could put the lives of all passengers on board at stake! And in your attempt to save a few kids by sacrificing one child, you might end up sacrificing hundreds of people to save these few kids.

While we are all aware that life is full of tough decisions that need to be made, we may not realize that hasty decisions may not always be the right one.

"Remember that what's right isn't always popular... and what's popular isn't always right."

Everybody makes mistakes; that's why they put erasers on pencils.

Celcom, you're truly the BEST!!!!

KLians … beware! Your conversation with the Celcom Customer Careline Representative may be recoded but not taken seriously! Trust me – I’ve been there and done that, and twice …

As I said earlier on, I was in the Celcom service centre today applying for some International Roaming and International Direct Dialing Service. I also did ask for a termination of my supplementary line THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE ALMOST A YEAR AGO! Bravo Celcom, you’re truly the best and most caring telecommunication company in Malaysia, probably in the world too. So, to my surprise, my supplementary line hasn’t been terminated yet. I filled out a frekkin form and was asked to wait. Wasn’t that long, although there were probably a billion others frustrated customers there today. When my turn came up, I went to the counter and explained my situation. I told the sweet smiling lady clad in the famous Celcom-brand-batik what has happened. She checked her records and told me that there is no record of my request to terminate the supplementary line. That almost peed me off but keeping my cool, since it’s a Friday, I hastily told her that the request has been submitted since end April 2005. Well, according to Celcoms’ record, there isn’t any request. So all this while, the payment for the supplementary line goes down the drain with what is known as the supreme service that Celcom provides its customers. Look … I paid RM30 per month for the supplementary line. Multiply that with May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December and January 2006, what do you get RM270 bloody Malaysian money.

So, they asked me to provide proof of my termination request (hmm … lemme see, April last year. A fax letter to Celcom, will it be in my file, you do the calculation) and only then will the CARING(not) people at Celcom readjust the money paid for the second line.

Was it my fault? I don’t think so. I’ve done my part as a consumer asking for a request. I was advised by one of the consultants to write in a request and happily did it. I waited a few months and no action was taken and followed up on the matter but was told that the matter is being taken care of. And today, what do I get for being so loyal to Celcom? An extremely hard punch in the face. So, Celcom should rewrite their service motto as Celcom It's In Your Face. They’ve the worst customer service one can ever encounter, although they claim that they have the best coverage, the lines are usually congested, GPRS works as and when it wishes and text messages takes over a century to arrive in your inbox. Believe it or not, I recently have just received a text message sent from London in the year 2004. And a friend of mine asked to post his resume for a job application so he texted the address to me. It never arrived on time but luckily for him, he sent me a second text and it arrived almost immediate.

So Celcom, ask yourself. Are you guys proud of whom you are? Do you think you’re on top of the world? Will you ever beat Maxis? I think not and with that, I’d like to end with … Celcom, you should shove it where the sun ain’t shining :)

To work or not to work, that is the question.

Hi there! Me again here ... Yeah, boring ol' me. Well, it's the 3rd of February today and according to my work schedule, it's a working day (yikes!!!). So yesterday, I prepared myself mentally and physically to go head on with what many people like to refer it as work [ work v. to get up REALLY early in the morning, look handsome and smell sweet to face a being often telling you what to do and when to get it done. This being is called a boss ( a noun ) ]. So last night, I ironed my shirt, pressed my trouser and tie and hung it up nicely so that it'll all look freshly pressed when my full-sized-kinda-model body fills into the shirt and trouser. I also made sure that my mandatory pen I place in my shirt pocket is on my desk, my pendrives are securely packed into my work bag, the home keys are neatly placed where I can see them an of course, set the alarm ( aaa ... what would I do without you Mr. Alarm Man ) at 05.45hrs and my MP3 player by my side, in case I need some music to lull me to sleep. So once all this is done, I slept and slept and slept .....

Beep ... beep ... beep ... beep went the alarm at 05.45 sharp and in the early morning, I could hear the muezzin at the nearby mosque reading verses from the Holy Qur'an just about to call out for the Dawm prayers. However, I was contemplating ... should I get up for work, or shouldn't I? I actually HAVE applied for a leave today as I had 4 leftover days from last year carried forward. I did want to go gto the office and check my emails, read memos and start working on my assignment with China. There I was in bed, almost wide awake thinking what I should do. So, I decided to put the alarm on snooze mode and wait till the next beep comes along. So, I went to sleep for another 6 minutes. Again, the alarm went off when my snoozing was up and I still could not make up my mind. I put the alarm on snooze again and when it went off again, I immediately turned it off! Well, you know what happens next. I got up (not!!!!).

Well, that didn't work :) but it's the thought that counts right? That's what all my friends tell me so the next time you come across someone's birthday and forget to but a card BUt you have been thinking of getting him/her one and never had the time, don't feel so bad, I would then like too reiterate the fact that it's the thought that counts! Hope my god-forsaKEN boss reads this and sees how hard working his junior officers are, thinking of going to work albeit you have approved of his day off! I did manage to do my banking though. Went into Maybank to withdraw some loot and popped into EON bank to pay my Credit Card. Then went off to Celcom to sign up for International Roaming and International Direct Dialing. To ny surprise, I didn't have to pay an extra sen to secure these services. Guess Celcom loves me so much to trust me with my phone. Wait till they find out that I'm actually thinking of migrating to Maxis.

At about 13.00, took a quick bite and scadaddled to the Mosque near Taman Amaniah. Man, the service lated till 14.19. That really took a while because the mosque at my place finished at about 13.55. I wouldn't want to debate about that here though ;)

So, I went home afterwards, changed into my shorts and here I am writing what has happened till about now. The time is 15.13 and nothing is exciting yet. Wish a swarm of bees would attack the neighbours or a group of ninja-rabbits would stop by asking whether they could befriend my 4 other rabbits. If it does happen, I'll let you know. Till then, take care all and may the question I posed earlier on be answered upon finishing this paragraph. To work or not to work, that is the question!

Adios!

Just amazing. 

A last glimpse of the Concorde before we all left the site and returned home. It was really the best experiance I went through and I'll never forget it for as long as I live. This one's dedicated to you Ian :) 

"Thank you for flying British Airways and we hope to see you on board one of our flights again!"

The sun was setting when Ian took this photo, You could clearly see that the air was very cold from the skin of the Concorde. Truly remarkable. 

The picture speaks for itself! 

Me under the Concorde behind the main landing gears. Quite kewl isn't it? 

A view of the cockpit. Look at all the dials and switches. The Concorde was flown by a three-man crew. The Captain, the First Officer and the Flight Engineer. If you look carefully, you can still see the Captain's hat squashed in the middle. Apparently, Concorde expands 6 inches when flying at supersonic speed and the captain forgot to remove the hat when it flew at normal speed. It'll be there till Concorde flies supersonically again. 

A view of the cabin from the first zone of the aircraft. The second half was sealed off to the public. Posh ain't it? 

Everyone loves this pose. In fact, everyone who was on this tour took the same picture I did. Too bad we weren't really flying Mach 2 at 55500ft above sea level.  

As I was trying out the recline of the seat, Ian snapped this photo. As I said earlier on, the seats are very comfortable despite the fact that the are narrower that the seats you get for paying the fare (the average concorde fare from London to New York is about GBP7000+). Fly First Class subsonically if you want luxury. Also, check out the small windows. You can't see much through it but it relieves you of your fright for confined space, that's if you have one.

These pair of seats were taken from the first zone of the Concorde. They are line with soft connoly leather. The seats do not recline very much but they are comfortable indeed. However, passengers with a height of more than 6 feet might feel a bit squeezed. But then again, what can you complaint? Only the privileged few fly the Concorde. Wish it were me :(

The Concorde dining experience. What you see in the picture is the service trolley that the flight attendants use to serve their fellow Supersonic passengers. I was told by the guide that the bottles contain the actual drinks and not emptied. I guess British Airways wanted to preserve more than just a flying machine. 

This is my impression of an advertisement for the Concorde and the headline would be something like "Welcome On Board". 

The Concorde Experience ... or what's left of it

Hello again. As promised another day with another thought to be shared. I was wondering what I should write about today. As I was cleaning up my room, I found a picture CD stashed in my travelling bag and wondered what contained inside. To my surprise, the pictures I took on my recent Supersonic Experience (grounded though) was in it. So, I thought I'd share this with you and hope you'll enjoy the experience as much as I have. And just to let you know, the Concorde Experience was actually last year's birthday present from Ian. It was the best birthday present anyone one can get. Thanks a trillion Ian, you're truly the greatest :) For everyone's information, British Airways DONATED all their Concorde aircraft. In England, one is displayed on the tarmac near Runway 9 in London Heathrow Airport, one is in Manchester (I think) and another one that I know of is at the Airbus plant in Bristol. I visited the one in Bristol. Although this was a Birthday present, I found out that the cost of the ticket is GBP12.50 and the proceeds goes to an organisation that will permanently keep the aircraft in a comfortable home.

As I am still new to blogging, I'm really confused of how to set up more images next to text. Because of that, I'll have to post the pictures one by one using hello from picassa and explain the detqails of each picture. I'd appreciate anyone who can advise me of how to paste pictures and texts like how I did above using only one frame and not multiple ones.

Home Alone 4 ...

Hello everyone. Just felt like writing again. Apparently, the whole family went to Kerteh to meet up with my younger sister who's living there. She recently gave birth to a beautiful baby girl (watch out Lucifer - another one of your kind in the making) and my Mom's crazy about her kids. Aaaaa ... the first one's a boy. Cute, energetic, dying-for-attention syndrome and last but not least a bit, but not too DESTRUCTIVE ( broke my Simpsons coin bank, destroyed my MP3 player clip, lost my coins I kept on the table, scribbled all over the screen of my computer, broke my tie hanger and the list goes on and on) kid. Well anyway, am all alone at home now with my four bunnies living outside. Nothing much happening except that I've been flying my planes and the route today was Zurich to Cairo on a Swiss Airbus 340 and Amsterdam to St Maarten on a KLM Boeing 747-400. I almost fell asleep flying to Cairo today. Dunno why but shouldn't keep it up. If I were a real pilot, I would've put a lot of peoples' lives in ultimate danger. Hmm ... that's as far as I get from flying a plane. Have always wanted to become a pilot and work for Malaysia Airlines but wearing spectacles did me no good (so did joining Arts stream in Form 4). So decided to become an Air Steward instead and still no luck. Never even tried.

Am a blue collar guy working for the people of Malaysia, yep - a civil servant. Work's really stressful and busy but I kinda enjoy it as I'm in the International Relations Division taking care of more than 50 countries under my portfolio; Middle East, The Americas, South America, Ireland to name a few. I do speak a number of languages too: Malay (my mother tongue), English, Arabic, Dutch (Flemish) and Spanish but I don't think it's enough. Would love to learn German and French too. However, German being a Germanic language and French a Romance language with completely different grammatical ruling systems, would take up much of my time to master and I can't afford more time spent. Not yet though.

Spoke to someone on the phone today. In fact, it was my long known friend Malik. We used to chat before but lost contact. Today, as I was signed on to MSN, his name appeared as ONLINE and I decided to give him a shout. Thank God he remembered me, so we started chatting for hours and I rang him up to talk in person. Oh well Malik, if you read this sometime, the whole blog is dedicated to you. May you continue being my friend no matter what the circumstances are. God bless Malik :)

Didn't cook anything today but went out to buy food instead. Ate Nasi Goreng Ayam and Satay Ayam today. Thought I'd pig out but the hefty portion of the rice left me full even before I got to relish the sweet and tender morsels of meat skewered onto bamboo skewers grilled to perfection over a charcoal flame served with piquant peanut sauce. Damn, that made me hungry. So I saved it for tomorrow and kept it in the fridge. What will I do tomorrow while waiting for the family to come home? I dunno but I'll let you know tomorrow night. I'm sure I can cook up a good long paragraph that'll bore you to death about what I did. So till then, good night and see you all later.

This is me ... and my teeth :)

This is me under the Three Sisters in Sydney, Australia. The picture's perfect except for the fact that there is an anonymous Asian woman in the background. Grrr ... Alex :) 

Well, not the best light quality but the view's fantastic 

Me ... Myself ... and I ...

Ok ... ok, that sounds a bit individualistic but I've learned to love myself first before I can start loving anything else that crosses the path that my two legs take me. So, you must be asking why am I starting this blog. Simple ... the fact that everyone has their own site to freely express their thoughts, frustrations and ideas. I guess I've always been the person who actually pours everything on paper and just leaves it lying around waiting for some poor soul to pick it up and read :) Pathetic eh? Trust me, I'm not that bad. Get to know me better and I assure you I'm a friend in deed. Anyway, do not wanna take up much more of your time (heaven knows time is precious these days - especially my god forsaKEN bosses who sits in their room all day long watching their live just critter away while their junior officers do all the hard work-kinda-precious). Take a read and feel free to post any comments eh. I'll write more about myself once I've gotten this thing set up. In the mean time, enjoy!