Compleanno & Eid Al-Fitri

Well, well, well. Has it been this long already since I entered the blogosphere and joined the land of blogistan? Indeed it has been three years of channelling my energy, expressing myself by writing puerile stuff (surprisingly, the reading level is that of postgraduates, wow oh wow!) and weaving words together on this online graffiti board. It has become a form of psychotherapy outlet, a playground, a place where I can rant and rave whether in long and diatribe detail or short and sweet and concise summaries of what I perceive, see, hear, think and feel. Travel experiences, everyday experiences, footie reviews. It’s all a jumble and all my reflections and opinions of things. I’m confusing and confused like that.

And yes, it’s mainly about me (because everything revolves around me, me, me). And I won’t apologise if anyone find this blog hardly interesting because well, it contains puerile stuff anyway. And with me, What You See Is What You Get. I don’t bare my soul on this blog (maybe I’m not brave enough yet but I have another outlet for that) and I try not to wear my heart on my sleeve. But that’s me as for now. Maybe I’ll change later, who knows, and this blog will reflect that changed person.

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After a month-long of abstinence (not if you’re one to go crazy at the Ramadan Bazaar), control, exercising patience and observing ibadah, it’s time again to celebrate and rejoice in the glory and graces of Allah.

Here’s wishing everyone a blessed, happy, peaceful and prosperous Eid. I apologise for my wrongdoings in my posts and/or comments (but I won’t apologise for hating Chelshit and ManUre). May our ibadah continue to be of barakah, insyaAllah. Go easy on your food intake and have a safe trip to/fro your destinations. Oh and thank you for all the physical (and virtual) Eid cards.

Eid Mubarak everyone.

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I was angry, furious, mad, depressed and disappointed the whole of yesterday because Arsenal lost on Saturday and at home too. What the heck. I felt like smacking everyone hard. One short week at the top and after 90 minutes of playing, we suddenly dropped to the fourth spot. Idiots!!! Stupid buggers! Grrr... yes, I am absolutely gutted and shattered.

Please excuse me while I let off steam.

Thank God, Lewis Hamilton made it to the Singapore podium and widened the gap for the driver’s championship.

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I was also disturbed on Friday when I learnt that a friend’s husband not only remarried but that she is now divorced (before or after the bugger’s second marriage, I know not). They had been married a fair number of years but had not been blessed with a child yet. All the years of courting, marriage and attempts to conceive, all those money spent on IVF treatment, and all those heartaches and disappointments when the pregnancies turned out bad. It’s all been for nothing now.

I know a few couples who are also similarly tested but yet the husbands still stay faithful instead of straying. Is it so difficult to hold on to one’s marriage vows? Is it so difficult to stand by your spouse in times of difficulties and continue to cherish and support her/him? They can always adopt or is that such a horrible thought? OK, so some may argue that you can’t blame him for remarrying but why does she have to be punished/penalised this way then? Is it her fault for not being able to conceive just yet? It’s all God’s will to grant one his/her life partner, wealth, children and good health anyway.

I’d asked this before: where did the love go? And now I ask this: Where Do Broken Hearts Go?

Blades Blunted

The kids were running riot last night in the playground that is the Emirates. It was probably almost their bedtime but who cared – there was certainly no curfew imposed on them last night. They were happy to cause havoc and ‘bully’ their older opponents. And the very young Gunners really did slice the Blades to pieces.

The scoreline summed it all, thanks to a brace by Bendtner, a hat-trick by Vela and in between, Wilshere’s first goal for Arsenal (but my Fàbregas remains the youngest to score for Arsenal).

Woohoo!

If you’re wondering how Arsène Wenger does it, this leaked blueprint may provide some clue.

The future is bright. The future is Red and White.

Bogey

Dictionary: bogey (bō'gē)

also bo·gy or bo·gie n., pl. -geys also -gies.
1. An evil or mischievous spirit; a hobgoblin.
2. A cause of annoyance or harassment.
3. Sports.
a. The number of strokes that a good player is likely to need to finish a golf hole or course.
b. A golf score of one stroke over par.
4. Slang. An unidentified flying aircraft.
5. Slang. A detective or police officer.

tr.v. bogey Sports., -geyed, -gey·ing, -geys.
To play (a hole in golf) scoring one stroke over par.

We all know that technology has made it easier for us to get access to all kind of information and the latest news – instantaneous market update, latest sports news from half a world away, five-day weather forecast of other cities and even prayer times. Unfortunately, the very same technology has also enabled unfiltered, sometimes even false, information to be posted. I’m sure most of us have received those bogey forwarded emails promising free cash or prizes (in fact, I just received one such forwarded message this morning), or of such and such a body pledging to donate a certain percentage of money to an unfortunate child, if such emails are forwarded. Other examples include disturbing allegations that Tommy Hilfiger is a racist; of toilet seats inhabited by some dangerous spiders; infection if you lick envelopes; deodorants are the main source of breast cancer, etc, etc, etc.

What do you do when you receive such emails? Do you stop and think, hmm, there’s a possibility that there is some truth to the email and proceed to forward them on; do you laugh and brush them off and immediately hit delete; or do you check to see if there is any element of truth in those allegations and claims?

I usually opt for the last: I check if there I could be some truth to the emails. Maybe I’m a bit of a sceptic but I figure better be that than be irresponsible and pass on unfounded emails. After all, there are many sites that you can use to check if there is any basis to the emails you receive: Snopes, Urban Legends Reference Page, Truth Or Fiction, Hoax Slayer, Break The Chain and Urban Myths to name a few. If the emails turn out to be mere hoaxes, I reply back to the sender and tell the sender so, giving the references (I usually give more than one to support my case) and ask if he/she could set the record straight.

On one occasion, namely the claim that Pringles potato snack contains a non-halal ingredient, my reply is this: that I’d seen Pringles sold by the bulk in Makkah. I picked a few cans up, checked to see if the so-called offending ingredient was present and confirmed that the cans did indeed contain the very same ingredients as produced and sold elsewhere. So don’t tell me that the Arabs were less discerning and sensitive about the halal-ness of the food they consumed than other Muslim countries and actually imported cans of non-halal Pringles without knowledge of the ingredients?

On other occasions, I actually wrote to the relevant parties in question to seek clarification/confirmation (in fact I still have their replies in my inbox, you know, for future reference – because we know these bogey emails will resurface and re-circulate) as follows:

#1: Wrigley’s use of animal ingredients in its gums. I posted a query on Wrigley’s UK website and obtained the following reply:

From: Vicky.Morrison@wrigley.co.uk
Subject: Ingredients
Date: 02/25/2002 02:30 PM
To: adek@xxxxxx.com

Dear Miss XXX,

Thank you for your email regarding the use of animal/meat based ingredients in Wrigley products.

Please be reassured that the Wrigley Company’s priority is, and always will be, to manufacture high-quality products that are safe, enjoyable and meet domestic and international food regulations. All the ingredients used in Wrigley products are of the highest standards of safety and purity.

All Wrigley products sold in the UK are free from ingredients of animal origin, including egg or dairy products.

Thank you for your interest in this issue. We hope you will continue to enjoy Wrigley products for many years to come.

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#2: Coca Cola contained alcohol. Now, I don’t drink Coke (I don’t generally drink sugared carbonated drink) but I decided to write to Coca Cola all the same:

From: Coca-Cola Support
Subject: RE: Coca-Cola Web Form
Date: 10/08/2003 11:55 AM
To: adek@xxxxxx.com

Thank you for contacting our Web site, Ms. XXX. We appreciate the opportunity to address your concerns.

The basic ingredients and process used in the manufacture of Coca-Cola are the same in all countries. In the manufacture of Coca-Cola, alcohol is not added as an ingredient and no fermentation takes place. The ingredients used in the production of Coca-Cola are rigorously regulated by government and health authorities in over 200 countries which have consistently recognized the beverage as a nonalcoholic product. This includes countries where Islam is the major religion.

We hope this information is helpful. Should you have additional questions or comments, please visit our Web site again. Best wishes!

Robin
The Coca-Cola Company
Industry and Consumer Affairs
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Interested in receiving the latest news from The Coca-Cola Company? Sign up now for our email alerts: http://www2.coca-cola.com/cgi-bin/opt-in/subscribe_page.pl

[THREAD ID:1-4TWJ9Y]

-----Original Message-----

From: adek@xxxxxx.com
Sent: 10/7/2003 9:15:55 PM
To: "Coca-Cola Support" <coca-cola.support@na.ko.com>;
Subject: Coca-Cola Web Form

Hi there,

I would like confirmation on the following:

(i) whether or not Coca-Cola contains alcohol; and

(ii) do the ingredients in Coca-Cola differ from country to country? For example, if I travel to Australia, can I be assured that the local Coke is free from alcohol?

I’m a strict teetotaler and your prompt clarification would certainly put my mind at ease. Thanks.

Adek

~~~

#3: A fellow blogger chastised the Chief Minister of Selangor for not visiting the storm victims in Klang earlier in the month. I was sure he got that from the mainstream media so what did I do? Why, write to the Chief Minister of course. Barely a day later, I received a reply from his aide assuring me that it was just a ploy of the ruling coalition to cast the Chief Minister in a bad light. He also guided me to the Selangor state website for me to check and confirm.

As members of the online community, we all have responsibility to our fellow online community members. Hence, let’s verify our sources before we decide to forward that email or blog about something. If unsure, state so. With all the information swirling around us and the means to manipulate the truth, it helps if we could all play our role in determining whether something is ‘a mere Urban Legend or the Real Mc Coy’ (I so love using this line).

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Thanks to technology too, we have been able, for some time now, to view live sports and matches beamed via satellite on a real-time basis. The fatigue travel-weary Gunners made a return trip to the north (following last week’s trip to Blackburn) to meet bogey side Bolton on Saturday. Of course there was also that long-distance 2,700-mile air-mile-racking round trip to Kiev in the middle of last week so the trip to Bolton was the Gunners’ third consecutive trip on the trot. I understand they only reached London in the early hours of Thursday morning – hardly enough time to recover and return to the training ground. But such is the demanding schedule of footballers (the Christmas/Boxing Day weekend would be another mad marathon of matches).

My heart was sinking as we conceded a goal when the match was less than a quarter of an hour old, so much so I muted the volume. I only turned it back on when Arsenal, after having hit the woodwork not once but twice (by Adebayor and Song) so much so I thought we would really be unlucky this time, equalised 12 minutes later via Eboue (I had a good time laughing at this post of Eboue of the past) and Bendtner added a second goal 85 seconds later. My heart almost stopped though when Bolton counter-attacked particularly in the second half with their successive free kicks and corners and I was at the edge of my seat. Armed with my comfort pillow, I was threatening to throw it to the Gunners when they slipped off their performance (of course they could hear me and see my gestures thousands of miles away!) with lapses in defence and sloppy passes. Thank goodness there were few of that and Arsenal managed to control the game especially after the hat-trick hero Walcott came in for Bendtner. We finally hit a third one three minutes before stoppage time.

Thank God for that.

BBC Sport Player Rater man of the match: Arsenal's Cesc Fàbregas 7.59 (on 90 minutes).

Watched the highlights of the West Ham-Newcastle match among others too. The former’s jerseys looked strange without any sponsor logo on them. I didn’t really want to watch the smelly match between Chelshit and ManUre but did catch some of it as I wanted to find out the outcome. Honours even at Stamford Bridge and that means Arsenal are at the top (OK, for now)!

Now, if the US Government had not stepped in to save AIG, ManUre’s jerseys would also look as horrible as the Hammers’. Have a look at this.

Oh, and in the aftermath of the Titanic-like financial havoc that rocked the world last week, Arsenal managed to post a profit of £36.7m (so after taking into account the expenses, can we now spend some on some new blood, please, Wenger/Arsenal board?).

Oh, that reminds me, I did scour the Internet looking for Wenger’s email address a few weeks ago and finally sent him a message via the Arsenal website. Heh.

Chicken Kiev: First Serving

Alarm rang at 0400. Stumbled out of bed, tumbled down, and flicked on the tube. Both English clubs and their respective opponents still goalless. Then shortly after, a dubious penalty was awarded. What the heck?

The chicken that I can be at times pressed the mute button after that. Prayed hard while feeding self. With every tick of the clock, my nerves continued running amok and my heart continued its wild pounding. And suddenly, with about 90 seconds left to stoppage time, Gallas came to the rescue again, arriving just in time to slot in a scrappy goal. One that was low on style but sky high on importance. Thousands of miles and several time zones away, I was screaming, ‘Thank you, God, thank you, God, thank you!’

We have yet to overcome the former Eastern Bloc block and butcher the chicken Kiev but at least we drew - and at Kiev at that, the venue where we had lost three times before – to prove our point in difficult circumstances. Heck, even the defending champions ManUre had to settle for a goalless draw with the Yellow Submarines and at home too.

How Are You Lately?

Zui Jin Hai Hao Ma/How Are You Lately? - S.H.E
Track 2 of Hooping Dulcinea OST

Pick up a Christmas card
Fill it with best wishes
Address it to the heart
Can you receive it?
Weather is a bit cold, wind is a bit strong
The city is quiet with the noise
This winter
I have to go home alone

Ask myself if I’ve gotten used to it?
The nights without you
The echo becomes so loud
Is there a good way
To quiet the loneliness

How are you lately?
Are you also struggling inside?
You said you would remember me, remember?
How are you lately?
Are you busy? Does your heart still hurt?
If you have to, forget me
Quickly head for your happiness

Regardless how much I care
I don’t have the right to ask
Ex-lover’s greetings
Are more awkward than a stranger’s
Yesterday is far, tomorrow is long
Memories are blurry yet huge
The tears in this dark night
How to stop them from falling?

For video clip, go here. I’m listening to it - and the others are listening to Eid songs (???!!!).
Found the lyrics (I can post the lyrics in Mandarin too but am sure you will all go WTH?!), but yet to find the MP3 though...

Pre-Dawn Preoccupations

I always grumble when I hear the alarm for me to get up for my pre-dawn meal and I always have to drag myself out of bed and stumble down to the kitchen. But once there, I’m up and about, somewhat alert in my semi-comatose state (??). Sometimes I listen to the radio with its early morning religious insight and advices, and sometimes I turn on the tube and watch sports or catch up on world news. And when I watch the latter, all kinds of thoughts run through my mind.

#1: The financial crisis is nowhere near its tail-end. Lehman Brothers was doing badly. This was the prestigious investment bank in the US, heck, it was the lean, mean, investment banking machine. But the credit crunch caught up with it and yesterday, even before the markets Stateside had opened, Lehman Bros filed for bankruptcy protection. And the tumble of the banking group will have global repercussion effects – it’s already hit Asian markets shortly after the US stock market suffered its worst daily plunge since 11 September 2001.

Isn’t a business’ main purpose of existence or objective to make profits? So how and why did Lehman get so badly affected? The US government had said it wouldn’t save Lehman and risk the taxpayers’ money, though it did bail out Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae just days earlier (maybe because it had bailed out those two). Merrill Lynch was luckier as it had a white knight in the form of Bank of America. All eyes are now on AIG – millions of policy owners and consumers worldwide would be affected if it collapses.

Should government step in to rescue a failed financial institution? Is it the responsibility of the government to do so? One argument is that government should shun bailouts as firms may accept more risks beyond their normal risk appetite if they feel they’re insulated from the consequences.

A few British tourism-related operators have also filed for bankruptcy recently including XL (which sponsored West Ham jerseys). Oh, and let’s not forget troubled Alitalia.

#2: Seemingly sudden large-scale deaths around the world from the Russian plane crash; Hurricane Ike which hit Houston, Cuba and Haiti; stampede in Indonesia; deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan before that; Typhoon Sinlaku in Taiwan; Turkish ferry capsize; Delhi blast; toxic milk and landslide in China... the list just goes on and on and on (and let’s not forget the unrest in South Ossetia previously).

It does sound all doom and gloom, doesn’t it. Sometimes I think I can go without watching news for a few days and when I pick up where I left off, it’s just the same grim news recycled but in different countries, different scenarios, different contexts. The flooding in Haiti is made worse by deforestation: this made me ponder and wonder if it was them (OK, substitute this with any other developing countries) who destructed their country and themselves first before the hurricanes (calamities, catastrophes, natural disasters) arrived.

#3: This country is going to the dogs with all the arrests, accusations and slander. Keep it this way and we’ll be social pariahs soon. Even Zimbabwe’s disputing leaders have agreed to a power-sharing deal; of course it’s still much too early to see how things will go, if things will really improve or if this is something Bob thought of in his attempt to pull the wool over the world’s eyes.

All that happening around us, near and far, and some people are more concerned if so-and-so singer’s husband strayed away? Or what to have for break fast when there are people out there who are unsure if (rather than when) they will get their next meal? Or where to spend Eid when there are people who no longer have homes to return to?

Or do I just think too much at pre-dawn? And if so, is it unhealthy of me to have all these pre-dawn preoccupations? Maybe I should just stick to watching sports or listening to religious advices (the latter does make me think too, of how blessed I am).

Gimme More

The football weekend kicked off with a much touted match between Liverpool and ManUre (I have nothing against Liverpool except when they play the Gunners, of course. Their fans are an affable lot too). And Liverpool finally managed to do what they had not managed in the past seven years - beat ManUre in a league match. In the later match – a clash of the cash – ‘old money’ came back from a goal behind to beat ‘new money’. Proof that even a rich multi-millionaire Sheikh’s dinars can’t buy a win.

The Gunners travelled north-west to Blackburn. While the host has a new manager in the form of Paul Ince and some new players, their players still adopted their old style of playing – kicking opponents’ feet than the ball. The new England hero (incidentally the youngest player to score for England – correct me if I’m wrong – but definitely the youngest English player to score a hat-trick) fed van Persie for the Gunners’ first goal. Then Adebayor finally scored his first goal for the season and didn’t stop there – he went on to score two more goals including a penalty. It had indeed been a week of hat-tricks for Arsenal players and this match was quite a stroll in the (Ewood) Park for them too.

Wenger brought in Aaron Ramsey (who was later instrumental in Arsenal’s last goal) and Jack Wilshere late in the second half. The Gunners were briefly down to ten men as Clichy went down and was brought out for treatment. I hope he’ll be fit for Wednesday’s Champions League match.

I feel sorry for Paul Robinson. To let in eight goals in the last two games would be a nightmare for any goalie surely. Oh, to be honest, I didn’t think Arsenal played a whole 90 minutes of wonderful football. There were a few passes that were intercepted, there were lapses in defence in the first half and, at times, too many passes, so much so I wished I was at the stadium and could just step onto the pitch and smack some of them.

Oh, and Santa Cruz, please don’t follow in the steps of Andy Murray. Next time, please shave.

I’m not going to complain about the score-line though. Come on Arsenal, Gimme More goals, more wins and more fine performance!

To the tune of Britney’s Gimme More:

We can get down like there’s no one around
We keep on rockin’ (We keep on rockin’)
We keep on rockin’ (Keep on rockin’)

Cameras are flashing while we’re dribbling
They keep watchin’ (They keep watchin’)
Keep watchin’
Feels like the crowd is saying

[CHORUS]
Gimme gimme more
Gimme more
Gimme gimme more
Gimme gimme more
Gimme (Mo’)
Gimme gimme more
Gimme gimme more
Gimme more
Gimme gimme more
Gimme gimme more
Gimme (Mo’)
Gimme gimme more

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On a personal note, I have also been adding to the tally of Scrabble bingo hat-tricks.

I did WOODMAN, UNPLAITS and CURTAINS here.
I did BONDERS, CADDIES and SHAITAN here.

And here, I did LISTELS, CLEAVER and BOASTED.

What irked me though was someone actually had the temerity to ask if I was using an aid. Just because I’m a non-native English speaker or that my mother tongue isn’t English, doesn’t mean that I can’t play Scrabble and kick some spice. And I can certainly do a bingo, or a brace or a hat-trick. My first bingo hat-trick was in a friendly match with my mates (where I scored three consecutive bingos in my first three moves), then after a long drought, I did it again during a competitive match. And I’d done so in my online Scrabble games. So don’t you dare suggest that I used an aid, just because I’m a non-native English speaker, an Asian whose mother tongue isn’t English.

Besides, it’s not as if I can control those tiles that I receive in online games now, can I? And I have lost too; I don’t win every time.

So Gimme More, Gimme More, Gimme More Scrabble bingos!

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I’m not any close to understanding Mandarin that I was (alas, even after watching all those Chinese dramas and Korean dramas translated into Chinese) but I love the soundtrack to the drama Hooping Dulcinea, the Taiwanese drama I was glued to. In fact, I actually stopped in my tracks when I heard the song while doing window shopping on Saturday. I retraced my steps and went to the store that aired the song and asked the girl what song it was. She couldn’t tell me the song title but told me the group is S.H.E.

I just can’t seem to stop humming the song since Friday evening. Alas, doubt I can listen to it anymore as Hooping Dulcinea drew to an end on Friday evening. I wonder if I can download it from the Internet somehow – now that would be as much a challenge as finding anything Taiwanese-related in English is never easy.

I am enlisting a friend to help me. Heh. Wish us luck!

Addicted

A fortnight ago, I actually wondered what it is like to be a compulsive gambler. Now, I reckon a compulsive gambler would be gambling away his money, possession and even his pride. He’d be tempted to continue gambling because he believes, rather foolishly, that his luck will change, that he will hit the jackpot if he places just one more bet even though he knows he can ill afford to pay his existing debts. The situation is worse if he has to resort to borrowing from loan sharks to pay off his debts because he would be constantly looking over his shoulders, be cautious to walk alone in public places lest he be recognised by the loan sharks or their ruthless followers, and generally be fearing for his life.

I’m no gambler but I have my own weakness: I stray and get involved with random strangers (don’t I sound promiscuous!) by joining new online Scrabble games even though I am already playing a few games (I’m currently playing 16 games simultaneously). Oh, there are similarities between a gambler and a Scrabbler, I can assure you. By gambling, a gambler keeps adding to his debts; by joining new games, I keep adding to the games I have to play. A gambler would need to be one step ahead of his pursuers (loan sharks); I have to keep one step ahead of all those I’m playing against. A gambler over-commits himself (and make empty promises) in order to get another extension from his creditors; I over-commit myself to my opponents.

And for a while that day a fortnight ago, I wondered if what I was suddenly feeling was what a gambler feels like as he tries to escape from his creditors because at one point, I felt a bit panicky - as if I have got myself involved in too many debts and over-committed myself – and I questioned my decision to join new games when I still had games outstanding.

Just like an addicted gambler, I think I’m an addicted Scrabbler. (But not to worry, Adek has yet to have dreams playing Scrabble or visuals while performing prayers – which she had when she was addicted to Tetris previously).

Lion's Share

The lads wearing the Three Lions played as beautifully as any English rose last night (wow, did I just write that?!) to deliver a stunning result against Croatia. Theo Walcott, in his number 7 jersey, was the bee’s knees as he delivered a hat-trick. I think the English fans can be forgiven for having schadenfreude after having being subjected to the loud cheering by the home side. Still too early for the 2010 World Cup of course but it looks like Fab (and here, I mean Fabio Capello and not my Fabulous Fàbregas) is doing something right. Now let’s hope England won’t get too carried away and that Theo will continue his fine form for his club.

In other games, Les Blues avoided being French fried by Serbia, Oranje didn’t need Dutch courage for their victory over Macedonia and Spain had their Spanish eyes and minds focussed on delivering a good result.

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It’s the 9/11 anniversary today. RIP to all those who perished in the attack.

Lunch Squawk Box

Had a farewell break fast yesterday with my mates at Planet Hollywood: one of them would be leaving for Blighty next week to pursue his Master. I haven’t been to the Planet for a while and miss the place. We had good fun and enjoyed a good meal. The ambience was great and the spread was fantastic, generous and varied. My minor complaints are the porridge was wayyy too salty (I abandoned mine after four scoops) and the pasta queue was wayyy too long (so much so I missed the call for prayers). And for prayers, I just sauntered to the Millennium Hotel across the street.

I reached home after 2130 and hence missed Hooping Dulcinea, the Taiwanese drama I’m currently glued to. Yes, I’m a sucker for Korean/Taiwanese/Chinese/Hong Kong dramas (modern ones please, I don’t favour those set in ancient times). Not for me are Bollywood films.

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A girl who I always meet at the bus stop had her handbag snatched on Monday morning. The eye witness, a Chinese lady who is also a bus commuter, told me about it yesterday. Apparently, the girl fell onto the road, gnashed her arms on the asphalt and soon had blood on her arms as a result of the fall.

Times must be so bad that people have to resort to such lowly act of cowardice. I know how it must have felt like - because I was once a victim myself. One minute I was walking without a care in the world, the next I was on the road and I even hit my head on the road as the cowards grabbed me from behind, sent me spinning before I landed on the unkind surface of the road. Heck, I even have scars today to serve as an unpleasant reminder of what happened then.

My ‘controversial’ wish is for this country to embrace hudud to curb and arrest crime. Heck, even my Chinese neighbours opine that hudud law would solve most criminal offences. But unfortunately, we have people protesting to these and (so-called) Muslims too (surprise, surprise). Who are we to defy God’s word? Heck, I believe that even borders on doubting God or syirik (go on challenging God’s word and one might even be an apostaste without realising it). And these are more or less the same people who readily declare Pete a blasphemous Muslim... duh! So please pots, all you self-righteous buggers who label things and people as you see fit, please stop calling the kettle black.

I also don’t want to meet my Maker and be held accountable for not performing my duty as a khalifah in this world by upholding my religion and all it stands for.

~~~~~~~~

On to a lighter topic: as we already know by now, FedEx silenced his critics and recorded a lucky 13th Grand Slam by beating Andy Murray in the US Open. I don’t have anything against Murray but am delighted with FedEx’s win. What did I say before, the world does love a beaten hero who rises and fights back despite earlier setbacks. And he is such a humble person, delivering his post-match speech with praises for his opponents, the crowd and the game.

The Real Deal

There was a massive traffic jam in downtown KL on Friday and Saturday and all because a departmental store had a sale for its members (how low the prices were slashed and how real were the so-called deals, I have no idea). I always find it funny that over here we are more prepared in the material aspect of life when it comes to celebrating Ramadan and Eid – as evidenced by the annual thronging of shoppers along TAR Road and Masjid India come rain or shine and the purchase of cookies and decoration items– than in the spiritual observance of fasting and celebrating Eid. Another example: over here, we are actually overjoyed when Eid arrives, whereas the more knowledgeable among us would actually weep and wonder whether he would see Ramadan again.

Anyway, I went out early on Saturday morning and headed for the MATTA fair. I was pretty sure that when I last visited it in March (yes, I’m a regular visitor and never fail to attend one unless I’m away), there were banners saying that the next fair would be in October, i.e., after Eid, so I was surprised to discover that the fair would still be held in September as usual despite it being a fasting month. I decided to take my time to browse as I did not want to unduly exert myself: from previous experiences, MATTA visits would leave me feeling knackered and hungry. I’m happy to say that I managed to secure some deals, alhamdulillah.

A rainy Saturday afternoon greeted my exit and I thought, just the perfect weather to be in bed under the duvet!

Later that evening, I made my way back to Ampang.

On Sunday Morning, I walked to SPCA to check out its Jumble Sale. There were a lot of things on sale, some in good condition, some not so. There were piles of used clothes (whether gently used or not, I could not tell) with Indonesian and Filipino ladies excitedly rummaging through them (I did buy ‘gently used’ clothes before from Oxfam in England but they were in mint condition); shoes (I spotted two pairs of Bruno Magli!); knick-knacks; small ornaments; toys; kitchenware items; and books and magazines. I ended up buying three books – a paperback Memoirs Of A Geisha, a hardback The Kitchen God’s Wife and a paperback The Wrong Way Home – all for RM7 (or about USD2/GBP1.15/Euro1.4)!!! All three cost less than a single second-hand book at Pay Less Books store, and I dare say, they cost less than some food items too (but alas, you can’t eat books of course. I remember Mummy getting annoyed because I was such a bookworm and would be engrossed in my books that she asked if my books would fill my appetite).

I am so chuffed with the deals I made over the weekend! One thing though: the area where the books and magazines were arranged was the nearest to the animal cages and area and I tell you, I almost gagged at the overpowering stench. I had to cover my nose for the first fifteen minutes before I became accustomed to the smell. Now I’m having second thoughts about volunteering for animal causes (is that bad of me?). I then went to pay some cats a visit: they were so cute and adorable, purring and greeting me from their cages but I can’t adopt them. Because they will all die and leave me alone.

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It was also an International football weekend. England won unconvincingly 2-0 over Andorra and my hero helped David Villa to score for Spain. While I’m delighted that Andy Murray beat Nadal to meet FedEx, I think it’s outrageous of the F1 stewards to penalise poor Hamilton. And so the race for the driver’s title continues.

Pay It Forward

... by way of CSR.

TheOrganisation has embraced CSR finally and everyone was invited to participate in any of the causes like children, disaster relief, poor/underprivileged communities, youth, women, animal welfare, health/disabled community and senior citizens. I signed up for animal welfare because I don’t think I can work with people. I know I will cry or will have to try very hard to hold back my tears if I see people less fortunate (I’m the girl who cries watching Disney movies and Petronas festive adverts, OK!). My expression will definitely give me away. So, no, I can’t work with people. I will probably cry too at the sight of the animals but at least they can’t talk back at me and tell me how difficult their lives have been.

I learnt about CSR during my post-graduate days and even did my dissertation on the topic. I wish the MBA I took had been an MBA in CSR but it was then still a new subject at the business school. And yes, there were people (my coursemates) who scoffed at the idea because businesses exist for the sole purpose of making money, right? Wrong. I say that we all have something to give back to society and I was so happy that the course was taught.

I wish there’s something on the environment too (strangely enough, it doesn’t appear on the list of causes TheOrganisation is supporting although there is a Global Warming Volunteer Group) because I’d like to join that too.

After all, this is something I can give back to the society. And it can help open my eyes to all the examples in life (as it did for Fàbregas. Even Wenger was moved – you need to sift through this article though).

I’m glad that Arsenal embraces CSR, with the Teenage Cancer Trust as its nominated charity for this football season (it teamed up with autism charity TreeHouse last season). For more pictures, go here.

‘Be A Gooner. Be A Giver.’

Just another community service brought to you by a Gunner and a Gooner (that’s Cesc and Adek of course!).

What Have I Done To Deserve This?

Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God. I have always been a very good girl, and also plain Lucky. You see, two lovely lasses whom I'm Lucky to now call my close mates, had actually bought it for me. Sure, I blogged about my lust for it earlier but never in my wildest dream did I think anyone would even take it seriously. Now, I’d make sure my special someone gets the hint of course but I didn’t expect my lovely, thoughtful mates to get it for me. And because it was not yet available in KL (I only found out it had reached KL shores a fortnight ago and was thinking I’d get it at the next Isetan sale), my buddies actually considered purchasing it online, scouring eBay and whatnot. They then changed their minds and decided to obtain it in Europe.

Oh. My. God. They went to all that trouble just for me? They spent that much money just on me? What can I do to deserve more such thoughtful, kind, lovely people as my buddies? That is just The Sweetest Thing anyone has done to me in a while. Their very thoughtfulness is enough to make my eyes swim.

I was so shocked and surprised and delighted when I received the gift, I kissed one of them deeply. Now, that shouldn’t be weird or unusual but we don’t show Phileo Love often enough - our society is too conservative for such an open display of affection although pecks on the cheek are common enough (though to some, it’s more a process of almost rubbing cheeks and kissing the air – if you have one of those, then I don’t think it’s an exchange with a close mate). I would kiss the other lassie too but I’ll probably just embarrass her.

I am such a lucky bunny. Thank you, God, thank you for my mates. I am so blessed, I am (and I’m not only just saying this because of the gift). And thank you buddies, for making me feel special (continue indulging me), for your thoughtfulness and for being Simply The Best.

I love you, girlfriends!

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Fàbregas was voted as Arsenal.com’s Player of the Season and received his award before the match against Newcastle.

The 31st August Weekend

The weekend marked the last few days of the year’s mega sale and I’m glad to report that I managed not to spend too much (though I have most definitely way overspent in August *gulp*). But there will be festive sales soon, I’m sure. Went out on Sunday afternoon and was caught in a heavy downpour. So many people thronging KLCC (were they shopping, window shopping or seeking refuge from the rain, I wonder?)!

Saturday marked Fàbregas’ return back to the Premier League after playing on Wednesday against FC Twente (where the latter’s manager suffered another raining of goals). The Gunners played host to Newcastle - mind you, this was the team that held ManUre to a home draw two weeks prior so there was reason for concern. I was a bit surprised to note that Northern Rock still sponsors the Magpies’ jerseys. Anyway, Arsenal was back in business, high on the success of Wednesday’s despatch of FC Twente, and played irresistible football. I was glad to see van Persie slot in the penalty and the second goal courtesy of Eboue’s backheel instead of launching the ball into the sky as he was becoming prone to doing. And Denilson added a third goal for the host and his first for the club. Everyone played well, even Clichy could have scored too. Then, Keegan decided to introduce bad boy Barton into the game in the last couple of minutes and he made his mark alright by putting in a hard tackle on Nasri. Barton does seem to find it irresistible attacking French players.

Fabulous return! Cor!

Denilson and Fàbregas battled for the ball from Nicky Butt

van Persie’s penalty

van Persie and Fàbregas celebrate

With Eboue

Good job, Eboue (finally)!

Team still celebrating second goal

Denilson’s goal

The pain on my rump worsened during the weekend so much so that I actually remarked to Mummy that if humans were born with tails, the pain I was feeling must have been how it would have felt if the tails broke off. And I even wondered on my own, gosh, this must be a fraction of how hurtful sodomy is. Not that I have any idea of that whatsoever, of course (my imagination was running amok over the weekend, blame it on the pain). Another visit to the doctor was made and I was assured that this kind of injury would take a week to heal. So sue me for being impatient. I now have to perform prayers (and tarawih too!) sitting down (and there’ll be lots of sitting down this month as I attempt to finish my Quran recital).

It’s fasting month and I shall attempt and strive to be more careful with my speech and that includes writing in this blog (so help me God) and to be more patient (not easy) out of respect for the holy month. Wish me luck. After all, I did manage all that before for a few weeks in the Holy Land (though I immediately regained my impatience shortly after returning home. Tsk, tsk, tsk). One question though: why are people more focussed on breaking fast and on Eid (the cookies, the new clothes, the new deco, etc, etc) than on the deeds they should instead perform in this month? Why, the orders for Eid cookies were already out at the start of Syaaban month. How do we start sympathising with the less fortunate when we can’t even begin to appreciate their hardship and suffering?