Archive for June, 2006

Girl Class Referees?

{ June 28, 2006 @ 2:52 pm } · { Views }
{ } · { Leave a Comment }

A recent comment by a friend on the World Cup referees this year spurred this flow of thought in me. He claimed that this year’s referees were becoming girls. Apparently they are issuing coloured cards aplenty, a little too much in fact (this I agree wholeheartedly..but that’s not the point). Thing is, he felt that the issuing of these cards refers to an act more prone to the female gender due to our temperament.

Naturally the girl in me felt it a little, with such a remark being thrown. But NO… I didn’t flash any coloured card whatsoever at him. Hehe… I wasn’t gonna argue with him either and have him prove his point too.. Nah… I’m not falling into such traps. This led him to conclude that I would make a much better referee because of my better-ness in temperament.

Well, won’t argue with that either. But this whole thing got me thinking. Are we girls really that temperamental? (I’m thinking if any guys are reading this, they’d be nodding their heads profusely right at this point) Even if we are, is this necessarily a negative implication or rather is it more of an advantage to us?

I, for one, try as hard as I can not to let feelings get the better of me and control my temper. Futile efforts, but I still try. Honestly, I do see it as a weakness. Perhaps again, this is what we have been led to believe by the male dominants of society. Haha.. (NO! Go Away! *shuts out jurisprudence*) Guys have always felt that we girls use our tears as a weapon. This is once again, another misconception of theirs. At least from MY point of view.

ME? I HATE to cry in an argument. Why, you may ask. Well, for one, if I start crying, I can’t argue anymore, and believe me I have a lot more to say about it than just sob. Secondly, it signals a surrender. A wave of the white flag. That is just the wrong attitude in anything! We must never give up no matter what! Haha…

So yeah, perhaps being temperamental are in a sense girl traits. Though many feel that we should embrace our “qualities”, I’m of the stand that we should fight with heavy artillery against what we think is our weakness. Erm, the best defence is a good offence?

Girl class referees? Sounds a little to me like World Class referees. Go figure!

Essence of Time

{ June 20, 2006 @ 11:18 pm } · { Views }
{ } · { Comments (1) }

Picture this.. You’re at a wedding dinner. You glance down at your watch and it tells you that its already 8.30pm. You’ve been sitting at the table for half and hour. A familiar rumble in your stomach greets you. The stranger next to you hears it and you smile sheepishly at him. However, he nods understandingly. He’s hungry too, you guess. Glancing over at Dad, you give him a weary look. He shrugs and flashes the knowing look.

The dinner was supposed to start at 7pm. But at 7pm, your family was just only about to leave home for the hour’s drive to the wedding’s venue. “But Dad…the card says it starts at seven..” you point out only to get the reply, “Everyone else will be at least an hour late. Its KL after all.” True enough, here you are one and a half hours past the time stated on the card. STILL, guests were streaming in.

Yes, sadly, this is the attitude of the people around me. No one seems to bother about punctuality anymore. Punctuality is like a forgotten concept buried deep under the daily activities of human life. Punctuality has seemingly lost its importance in being a virtue held close to the heart to be unerringly practised.

I can hardly find any punctual people left in this world. Though I’m not exactly the most punctual person on earth, I try hard to follow by it for the simple reason that I HATE waiting for people. Therefore I don’t want people to (HATE) waiting for me. Do you see the one that ends up the loser in this situation? When you don’t want people waiting for you, you end up waiting for people. Sometimes, I do question if I’m holding onto an irrational principle.

WHY? Why are people late? Time is precious, so they say. I wonder what these Late-ism cult members do with all the time they spend being late. What I know is that they are wasting MY precious time. Selfish maybe…but true.. I’ve gone to the extreme extent of trying to time myself to be slightly late so that I won’t have to wait. You know, if you can’t beat ‘em join ‘em. But STILL it always turns up that I’m among the earlier ones to arrive. People are still later than me when I’m trying to be late. The only consolation I get by doing this is that I don’t have to wait “so” long for them to arrive. But really, some of them are masters of Late-ism. They can arrive up to more than an hour late. I’m truly at my wits end as to how to curb this problem.

As such, this post is generally a shout-out to anyone out there who can tell me of a solution to this “problem”. A little disclaimer though, if yours truly was ever late in the past, I deeply and most humbly apologise to the ones that I have wronged. I understand your feelings the best and I seek your utmost forgiveness. All willpower will be put in to ensure that there wont be a repeat of the horrifying, traumatic incident. Thank you.

Losing Gracefully

{ June 18, 2006 @ 11:23 pm } · { Reviews }
{ } · { Leave a Comment }

Today, our national badminton player, Lee Chong Wei won the Malaysian Open tournament held in Kuching, Sarawak. He defeated Lin Dan (my badminton hero) 21-18, 18-21, 23-21. I know I’m supposed to be patriotic and all and support my own country. But where individual glory is concerned, I’m not all too pro-country.

Yes…. I’m still pissed at the dismal performance of Chong Wei in the Thomas Cup. Where it was for the country, he just failed to deliver. Can’t blame me for being negative towards a person who only strives for individual glory right? So imagine my heartbreak upon seeing unfair line calls made against Lin Dan, who in my mind is the best player at the moment. Ultimately invincible. Watching him play brings joy to the heart as his shots and moves are absolutely mesmerising.

I wouldn’t say Chong Wei didn’t play well. I think they were both good. But I felt that Lin Dan could’ve done better than that. He shouldn’t have let the bad line calls affect him. He could’ve wrapped up the match when it was the match point at 20-13. But NO….. He relaxed, made mistakes and instead Chong Wei forced the deuce and went on the clinch the win. *Sighs*

To make things worse, he showed such unsportsmanship behaviour which was truly a disappointment to watch. Sure, I agree that there were bad line calls and with all my heart i felt that you deserved to win. But to be a sore and graceless loser is even more heartbreaking to watch. Nevermind the fact that im a sore loser myself.

Which brings the question to mind – Which is worse, Losing or Being a sore loser? I would think the latter is the obvious one. It considerably wrecked my mood further. We shall not even start to talk about my strained vocal chords from cheering him on. It was this incident that forced me to think about Chong Wei’s performance.

Truth is, to some extent, I think I will forgive Chong Wei for the Thomas Cup outing. He showed alot of grit and determination especially when it mattered most (well, only in the malaysian open which once again i remind u, is the purely for personal glory). He stayed cool and won the match. Today’s win I will credit it to him for showing grit and determination, for not giving up when all seemed perpetually lost. If its one thing I hate in sports, its the giving up attitude.

I suppose there are times when one is off form or just unable to cope with the pressure. We can’t be at our best all the time. Even androids malfuntion or suffer from glitches. And so human beings make mistakes now and then too. Because of that, I will try my best to forget the Thomas Cup blunder and look to his possible future contributions to the country’s badminton progress. (I wonder though if I’m more of trying to convince myself here..hehe..)

One final dedication though. “Hail Kien Keat-Chong Ming!”

(Update: Lin Dan thrashed Chong Wei at the recent Taiwan open to claim the title. Ahh…Sweet is revenge..)

Kongsi Raya, Not?

{ June 17, 2006 @ 9:34 pm } · { Views }
{ } · { Comments (1) }

Issues of religion have been popular of late. We have this ongoing debate about kongsi raya which I feel is outrightly ridiculous. Sometimes I feel that religion in this sense is purely overrated. Why can’t we all just be free to choose our own views and beliefs without comparing amongst each other whose is better or greater?

As a friend pointed out recently, all religions instill values and advocate goodness. Though the methods in which they use to reach the same end differ, ultimately they are for the better of human society. Hence, why so many disagreements?

Perhaps this is why my stand as to religion has always been somewhat sceptical. It is not so much the teachings that I disagree on but rather how people perceive those teachings to be. If God were to tell us to fight each other in his name or condescend on other faiths, I for one, wouldn’t think very highly of this so-proclaimed God.

This is where most people would love to argue with me. Before jumping to conclusions that my view is horrifyingly wrong, just look around you. How many wars have been fought in the name of God? How many demonstrations and public outcries have there been because sceptics have poked fun at other’s religious beliefs?

Yet, I truly admire those whose faith is so strong that they have utmost confidence that their religion is THE religion. They would want to tell the whole world about it and wish that the whole world shares the blessing of their faith. Come to think of it, that’s not that different from my perspective of faith. To me, a unified belief would definitely be more desirable. Perhaps then, because everyone agrees on the same thing, we have less one reason to wage war against one another.

But I do realise how idealistic and unrealistic this is. It is human nature to differ in views. The reason is simply because we’re each “blessed” with a unique individual brain that can supposedly think for itself. But who said rationality was a human virtue? Some of us so obviously lack it. For if humans were rational creatures, what’s with the wars and critics?

Many have told me that I should be open minded and learn to accept faith in their religion. What I wonder is, why can’t they be open minded and see that so long as I keep those same values religion teaches close to my heart and practice them, I’m really not that much different from them. Why the choice? In fact, I daresay that I’m much better off conscience-wise than those who proclaim to be of a certain religion but not practising the values in which that religion emphasises.

So then it is back to the topic at hand. Kongsi Raya. I am a strong believer in such events as I feel that this is the root for harmony within society. Shared occasions are what brings people together because sharing is caring. (i know this sounds cheesy…but it rings true to me.) We should all have open minds about each other’s religions and not try to condescend one another.

Just because a person does not share the same religious beliefs as you is not the platform for a perception that the person does not share the same values. Indeed this is one huge misconception of those who are strong in their faiths. As I read in those recent articles in the paper on Kongsi Raya, “The test of faith is whether you can make space for difference”.

My answer? Kongsi Raya a definite YES.

A Tribute To Supporters

{ June 14, 2006 @ 11:02 pm } · { Outcasts }
{ } · { Comments (1) }

In light of the World Cup these days, mention the term “supporters”, and people would be questioning “Hmm..which team does she support huh?” Well, correct me if I’m wrong but it is the norm of late and totally understandable.

However, as you would’ve guessed by now, this post aint got nothing to do with football. So football fans can just stop reading at this point. If tips on the next match were what you were looking for, erm…wrong person to be asking.

Its been quite a few days since the end of my exams and upon reading Chan’s post, I suddenly recall that I have yet to thank all those supporters of mine during the dreadful exam period. So yeah, this post is to you. All of you. My dearest family and friends who have given me support and strength to pull through yet another year of dreadful exams.

I think dreadful is a pure understatement of the actual state of affairs. I doubt words can even come close to describing my feelings during the final couple of months. (Arguably it could be attributed to my limited vocabulary as well..*shrug*) The tension evokes a certain crankiness in me despite attempts to plaster a cheerful expression upon my face.

Its times like these when my brother will be more compliant and erm..”understanding” towards his beloved sister and I get extra “huggy”. Wish you were here though, Sher-Li. There’s nothing like a good cup of limau ais, cheese naan and a game of pool to appease the insanity that threatens to rise. Wait. I think insanity is the cure for stress. You know, how insane people are actually the happier bunch of people. Hmm…

So a big heartfelt thank you to those of you who entertained my desperate calls in the middle of the night, who offered hugs upon seeing my tears, who constantly reminded me of perserverance when i slacked, who were by my side as I studied, taught me when i was blur, discussed when i was confused, encouraged when I was down, called when i was in need and not forgetting those who brought jelly as comfort food and all those lame jokes to make me laugh. I really appreciate all the support you’ve given me to make me feel so loved.

Thank you, my supporters.. I love you all…

If I Were You..

{ June 14, 2006 @ 1:25 pm } · { Reviews }
{ } · { Leave a Comment }

I came across this song recently and I loved it. The lyrics, the tune and maybe the special way in which it is sung. (at least I think so..) Hence, I’ve decided to share it, or rather, post it up where I can see it. Its meant for all those negative people who put me down and also as a reminder of those who think themselves miserable. The idea is to look positively. They are many people out there who are in worse off positions.

So as the saying goes,

“Look to the light, and you will never see the shadow.”

(or something along those lines…haha..)

The lyrics are as follows.

Hoobastank – If I Were You

You seem to find the dark when everything is bright
You look for all thats wrong instead of all thats right
Does it feel good to you to rain on my parade
You never say a word unless its to complain
Its driving me insane

If i were you..
Holding the world right in my hands
The first thing i’d do
Is thank the stars for all that i have
If i were you..

Look what surrounds you now
More than you ever dreamed
Have you forgotten just how hard it used to be
So whats it going to take
For you to realize
It all could go away in one blink of an eye
It happens all the time

If i were you..
Holding the world right in my hands
The first thing i’d do
Is thank the stars above
Tell the world i love that i do
If i were you..

So whats it going to take
For you to realise
It all could go away in one blink of an eye
It happens all the time

If i were you..
Holding the world right in my hands
The first thing i’d do
Is thank the stars above
For the world I love
Take a breath and enjoy the view
If i were you…
If i were you…
If i were you…

A Step In The Right Direction?

{ June 13, 2006 @ 12:27 pm } · { Outcasts }
{ } · { Leave a Comment }

It was only fairly recent that I had been lamenting about how my brother failed to inherit any of those wonderful values of my father. I was so annoyed by the fact that he was unhelpful and inconsiderate in many ways, and despite my attempts to instill such values, they always seem to be in vain. I had hoped for him to be more thoughtful instead of having to always probe him in order to get him to help around the house.

Maybe you would think me arrogant and feel that perhaps I am not a worthy person myself, to actually be instilling values in others. I admit that I am far cry from perfect but I think one should always try to strive for the better even if it is for others. Life revolves alot around the people around you and hence, improving others would be akin to improving oneself? Haha…maybe a little farfetched.

It came as a surprise therefore that it was just yesterday that I realised that some of my incessant advice (some call it nagging) to my brother had actually rubbed off. Just a simple act he showed rushing to open the door while I took out the laundry showed consideration and thoughtfulness as this was something he never took the initiative to do. It was then that I suddenly recalled his offers to carry heavier packages of shopping in more recent times.

Yes…. Its a change albeit a small one. Definitely a step in the right direction to me. And therefore my verdict to the question in the title of this post : CERTAINLY! Just when I’ve almost given up on him, he shows promise and hope of being a better person. Bro, I’m proud of you. I really am. I hope with all my heart that you will keep up this progress. Love ya always.

Opening Post!

{ June 13, 2006 @ 12:47 am } · { Outcasts }
{ } · { Leave a Comment }

Yay! My first blog! I’m probably starting this blog all for the wrong reasons. You see, a friend of mine let me have some free advertising space on his website and suggested I put my blog address there. Alas..I don’t have one. Fret not, just set one up. Its so simple to do so these days.

Yet, now that this blog is set up, I doubt I’ll even post my address up there for the world to read. I mean, “Are you crazy?” I doubt I’ll even give the address to anyone for that matter. So if anyone i know actually does stumble upon this blog by accident, you better not be spreading the word around if you wanna live to see the next daylight. That’s a serious threat I’m telling you. Do I look like I’m kidding?

I know, I know…. You must all be thinking….erm…but…but…the whole purpose of a blog is for the world to read it. Well TOO BAD! Not in my dictionary. An idea of a blog had actually always sounded ridiculous to me. Why would I wanna share my thoughts with the world? Has privacy lost its meaning? What happened to the good old fashioned journal?

I think its bad attitude to start a blog criticising blogging. Hehe.. Well, guess that I’ll just have to approach this new concept with an open mind. Hopefully, peer pressure wasn’t the ultimate reason I set this up. I’m one muddled person when deciding on objectives of doing something. *shrug* Have a good day..