Greek Tragedy

It was Arsenal which first suffered a significant injury blow when the club learned on Monday that Denilson would be out for the next two months. Then Wenger announced that Bendtner had a major fender bender, crashing his Aston Martin on his way to training on Sunday morning.

We played beautiful football with a lot of attacks. Despite this, the match had the fans in tenterhooks and tearing their hair out in frustration for 78 maddening minutes. The veteran George Clooney doppelgänger goalie, who was the goalie in the Greek side that won the Euro 2004, was as good as Mannone was at the weekend. I was instantly awake when I caught the match, shouting at Diaby (I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: he really was diabolical) among others. Then with twelve minutes remaining, Cesc threaded the ball to Dudú (not to be confused with their Dudu) who flicked it to van Persie and the Dutchman poked it home for his first European goal this season. And four minutes before time, Cesc (yes, he’s my man!) floated the ball to Shava who turned it in with a cheeky backheel. I love, love, love the goal. The win was an early gift to Wenger who celebrates his 13th year at the club tomorrow. Crazy or brave signing , he’s the longest-serving manager at Arsenal.

And so it was a Greek Tragedy to the visiting Greek side.

At training. Cesc looked like a Greek guy here, or even an Arab
Shava attacks

Cesc attacks

RvP celebrates

Shava backheels

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Elsewhere there were natural catastrophes first in the Philippines when tropical storm Ketsana struck on Saturday. It has since strengthened into a typhoon and has hit Vietnam and south China. And this morning, a tsunami hit Samoa. My prayers and thoughts to all victims.

4OUR

Sometimes when I look back at my previous posts, I’d wonder:
- Wow, I wrote that?! I sounded matured then!
- Whoa, I wrote that? Whatever was I thinking of?
- Hmm, why did I sound so immature/childish/confused/angry in this post?

And there have been times when I cringe reading something I wrote before, when I consider deleting an old entry, when I feel like starting anew. But then I think again and tell myself that that was what I felt and thought at that particular point in time and hence why it was reflected as such in my entry. I may or may no longer be the same person or felt the same way as when I wrote that entry but it doesn’t mean that what I felt then was wrong or that I should deny what I felt then. I hope those who have been brave enough to delve into the past archives of this blog will understand this as I continue my journey forward.

I do realise that there is no specific theme to this blog; instead this blog is a smorgasbord of my feelings, emotions, musings and reflections, my football joy and frustrations, and my life and travel experiences. Yes, some readers have suggested that I set up a separate blog to document my travel experiences and I have toyed with the idea (so much so I even have a ready name for this other blog should I decide to set it up) but for now, I will stick to this one blog due to other demands on my time (and besides, will anyone visit this blog if I have another blog solely for trips and travels?). I have, however, compromised by labelling my entries (yes, all entries are only recently labelled) for your benefit (hope they help!).

Reflections turns four today. Thank you for taking the time to read my rants and raves, my puerile thoughts, my angst and joy... and thank you for riding along with me in this journey through life.

Return To The Land Below The Wind

When I last visited the city twelve weeks ago, I did wonder if I’d be visiting it again and if yes, when my next visit would be. But of course I didn’t expect or anticipate that there would be developments so rapid as to make me return to this city so soon after the last visit. The return visit was confirmed just before Ramadan and I spent some time frantically searched for the best airfare deals and am happy to say that I managed to get MAS airfares at very reasonable rates (in fact way better than AirAsia) despite this return visit occurring just after Eid and the week following Eid.

25 September 2009

Thank God It’s Friday

A very early start to the day. I left the house before 6.30 am and waited for the bus to KL Sentral. Managed to arrive in time to use the check-in facility at the KL City Air Terminal (KL CAT) and took the KL Transit train to KLIA (there was a buy-one-free-one KLIA Transit ticket deal during the recent MATTA Fair and I took advantage of the deal seeing as I’d be making some early morning trips in the next few months) and this was when I discovered that you could take this train and stop at the Salak South station for the shuttle to the LCCT without paying extra for the shuttle (wonder how long it would take from that station to LCCT though). And thank God I checked in at KL Sentral for there were a lot of people and long queues at KLIA. Even the self-check in kiosks had considerable queues. I quickly went in to browse at the duty-free.

When I checked the screen again, I was puzzled to note that the flight to Kota Kinabalu (for yes, that was my destination) was at a different gate, A8 instead of A3 that was printed on my boarding card. Oh well, I thought, this would not be the first time gates are changed after checking in. Imagine my confusion when I later discovered that there were actually two 9 am MAS flights bound for KK – but one would transit at Labuan. And yes, as it turned out, the flight I was on would make a stopover in Labuan. This was not printed on the electronic ticket and in any case, I could not check the arrival time at KK on the ticket as there was instead a fast-food advertisement that appeared and obscured that information.

So yes, we landed at Labuan Airport at 1110. Those wishing to stay on board could do so and those interested to shake off their sleepy feet could do so too. I decided to get down, hey after all, who knows when I would land there again anyway.

The stopover was supposed to take 40 minutes but we only re-boarded the plane about 45 minutes later and only air-borne about an hour later. The announcement that came on informed that this was due to some technical faults that happened en route to Labuan and thankfully, the technicians at Labuan managed to rectify them. We were in the air long enough for the cabin crew to offer some drinks and collect the glasses before we landed at KK International Airport. So a journey that I thought would take me 150 minutes turned out to take four hours. Oh well, at least I got to see a bit of Labuan (and even managed to use my plastic on something. Oh dearie me!).

Delia was already waiting for me when I emerged from the airport. We’d earlier joked that I’d be waiting for her but as things turned out, it was she had to wait for me. After checking out her office, I set off first for the nearby city market (where vegetables, fruits and dry food were sold) before making my way to the dry seafood produce market and the handicraft market (more popularly known as the Filipino Market) where I spent considerable time walking back and forth and back and forth again.

Then I walked out past the markets again to Wisma Merdeka, where I surprised myself with some purchases of DVDs. Next was a brief pit-stop at the neighbouring Hyatt Hotel for prayers before I retraced my steps back, this time past Le Meridien Hotel to Warisan Square. It was shortly after 5 when I returned to Delia’s office with aching feet. We left after 5.40 pm and went to her apartment in Likas. Dinner was had at Tanjung Lipat.

26 September 2009

Little Bit Of Everything
We went to Delia’s office at 11 am and stayed until 3 pm to do some personal work. Then we drove the short distance to Warisan Square and met up AudMraz. After some late lunch, we walked about and after checking out the best shop to get DVD supplies in the city, we spotted a moneychanger. I was surprised to note that this moneychanger charged different rates for USD – different notes had different charges. Smaller notes (USD1 and USD5) attracted the best rate and Delia and I got a bit excited; she because the GBP and Euro rates were slightly better than in KL (then), me because of the different USD exchange rates. We ended up checking a number of other moneychangers within the vicinity (and all had the same differing rates) - and I now have a thick pouch full of USD1 notes. I had come across this concept before but can’t for the life of me recall where.

I was asking AudMraz whether she had ever had cupping treatment (bekam) and she said yes; turned out the centre she went to was nearby and we decided to check it out (sans Delia who wanted to perform prayers. I had already performed both Zuhor and Asar prayers earlier). I have always wanted to try this cupping treatment because I know my body has a lot of ‘wind’. We were lucky as we managed to do it without prior appointment. We requested a private room just for the two of us.

Now if you’ve never done cupping and/or don’t know what it’s like, this is how it’s like. You lay face-down on a bed (and yes, you need to undress first). Then someone (a lady from mainland China in our case) will proceed to first massage your body briefly with some massage oil. Next, she will heat up some glasses and place them on your body (haphazardly in my case, symmetrically in AudMraz’s case) –and somehow, presto, your skin within the glass bulb will rise and turn any range of colour from pale red, dark red to purple, dark blue and maybe black. For every glass placed on my back, I felt as if I was given a big pinch which pain lasted the whole twenty odd minutes or so (our total treatment was thirty minutes). And when she had put a number of glasses on my back, I felt like a piece of leather stretched out in every possible way. She put the glasses on me first before she did them on AudMraz and it was an effort for me to lift my head to look at AudMraz to see how the process was done. Not exactly the most comfortable half an hour I’ve ever spent in my life but I have no regrets. After the treatment, you’ll be sporting some round marks on your back which can last for days or weeks. I must admit that I’m still feeling the pain and I must be careful even now when I lean on my back (I’ve been sleeping on my side the past couple of nights) and the angry-looking marks on my body will make anyone believe I have been battered and abused. Anyway, like I said, no regrets. It was a good experience and I may do it again.

Delia and I parted ways with AudMraz after 8 pm and we then drove over to some shop-lots near the sprawling 1Borneo shopping mall for dinner. Delia finally went to a clinic on our way back to her pad as she was feeling a tad under the weather. She slept considerably early but I stayed up to watch my sweetie play against Fool ‘Em Fulham (I brought my Astro card over for the sole purpose of catching the match); man, man-of-the-match Vito Mannone was brilliant! ;’’) And who would have thought that Wigan (which we beat just the week before) disposed off Chelshit and that Titus Bramble of all people would score for the home side (!) and that Blackburn would beat the Villains? Well, that’s football for you.

27 September 2009

My Good Friend’s Wedding

After an hour-dose of footie thanks to Football Extra, we got ready to got to my good friend’s wedding at the nearby Dewan MAKSAK. Yes, SK was getting married! ;’) We didn’t have the benefit of a proper card (SK was soo busy with the wedding preparations, bless her) and we thought that it’d be a buffet reception but it turned out even the TYT and Chief Minister of the state were in attendance (and we were royally late, ho ho). Everyone had finished his/her main course. Anyway, we managed to find an empty table and were still served clean cutleries, plates and napkins. There were some cultural performances in between the speeches and then the couple went on stage for the cake-cutting ceremony. SK looked sooo radiantly beautiful and gorgeous, I just felt my heart swell with pride when I saw her ;’)

Shortly after, the VVIPs took their leave and the couple went out ahead of them to send them off and thank them for coming. Most other guests took their leave too but we lingered on as we loathed having to join the long queue and meet the afternoon heat so soon. Anyway, a friend of SK told us that the couple would come back in again and so we waited. There were some guests who also went on stage to karaoke (not the usual karaoke songs, mind you, but of course).

At last, the couple came back in again. They made their way slowly to the guests who were still in the hall and finally SK came over to our table. I think she looked touched with my attendance - well at least I like to think so ;) – and I hugged her twice (for Fifi too you see) and congratulated her. After the seemingly endless hugging and hand-shakings, the couple went on stage and the photo-taking session commenced. We waited patiently before going on stage ourselves.

Delia and I left shortly after we took pictures with the couple and emerged out into the hot afternoon sun. We went back to change and half an hour later, we left for Karambunai. We spent some time there walking around the Nexus Karambunai resort and strolling briefly on the beach. Then we headed back and stopped at 1Borneo where we had our dinner and my long-awaited foot massage. We opted for the hour-long session (it was only a few RM top-up from the half-hour session). Man, it hurt but it hurt good. And all these beauty treatments (pedicure, manicure, massage, cupping, foot reflexology etc) cost less in KK than in KL.

It was raining pretty heavily when we finally emerged from 1Borneo. In fact, there were tree branches strewn on the roads on the way back.

28 September 2009

Monday Moan

Another early start to the day as my flight back to KL was the first one out. Made it to the airport in time to check in and perform prayers. It was a pretty uneventful flight (thankfully smooth take-off and landing unlike on Friday) and we landed on time at 0840. My bag came out early too and I was already on the coach back to KL by 0855 (saving my return train ticket for another trip and besides was in no great hurry).

And that was my fourth trip to KK. Guess I should not ask when and if I’ll be back.

Stars’ Artwork

There will be a Willow Foundation (I wrote about the Foundation briefly earlier) artwork exhibition featuring former and current Gunners (Titi Henry, Bergkamp, Theo Walcott, Cecs Fàbregas, van Persie and Jens Lehmann) at the Catto Gallery in Hampstead from tomorrow to Sunday (25-27 September 2009).

Check it out if you’re in the area!

Almost end of September now; golly, how time flies.

Eid In The City

I always get these surprised, amazed looks when I tell people that I spend Eid in KL, every single year; I don’t see the big deal because this is how and where I celebrate Eid. I suppose just as how some people cannot fathom how anyone can celebrate Eid in the city, I similarly cannot understand how they cannot grasp that it is a normal practice for some of us. How I love the quietness and peacefulness that the city enjoys in this period; if anything, this is among that something that I look forward to every Eid!

I spent Eid helping out as usual, catching up on reading and footie, and thinking of and refining my travel plans for the coming months. It was also during the weekend when I told Abah and Mummy of my two coming trips and not without some trepidation of how they would react to one of the destinations (I wonder how they will react when I tell them of the next few trips before the year-end). They were surprised alright and not too encouraging (they had been to the country before but in the dry, hot season, i.e. the ‘wrong’ time).

Speaking of trips, it looks like I may need to fork out more dosh than expected after all for one of them. Now, I like taking the train whenever possible and plausible and had even contacted a local travel agent who has agreed to purchase me a sleeper train ticket but after further consideration, I decided train travel will cost me too much time. Just like in Laos, although I would have liked to experience taking land transportation to/fro Vientiane-Luang Prabang (if I can even bear a 10-hour bus trip or an 11-hour boat-ride on a challenging landscape), in the end, I decided to fly between the two cities because of time constraint (and even that was a 5D 4N trip). I don’t want to feel guilty of the carbon footprint I’m leaving but in the interest of time, it looks like I will have to go for this option for this particular trip. Flying equals speed and time-saving but it sure does come at a cost to the pocket (as it is, I’m already forking out a fair sum of money for the air ticket and the visa application) and the environment. But seriously, if you have only a few days and want to squeeze in as many destinations possible, I’m sure you’d consider this too. Believe me, if I have the luxury of ten days’ leave to spend in only country, I’d take the train too, never mind that it’d confine me to a train-ride of close to fifteen hours one way (I read that trains in this particular country are quite old and rail-tracks not any better). It costs considerably less and I get to enjoy the landscape and scenery. Oh well, that’s opportunity cost for me then.

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Glad to say that I managed to watch footie on the eve of Eid (!) and was very happy with the win (oh and the young Guns also won their Carling Cup match last night). Oh must share this: Titi Henry shares the opinion that you-know-who’s celebration is classless. And Song, Eboue and Cesc have all expressed their anger too (the latter has scars to remind him of what you-know-who did, poor baby!). Well, he certainly deserves the ban.

Sweet Escape

We lorded over them 16 years ago with a seven nil spanking. And for the first five minutes of last night’s visit, it looked as if Standard Liège would finally have their revenge on Arsenal. Their first goal came from a crazy back-heel pass by Dudú (yes, he who only two days prior had a two-match ban overturned) pounced upon and shortly after, a dubious penalty (how ironic considering the recent controversy surrounding Dudú. And just so that we are all clear, diving is not acceptable) handed the host a two-goal lead.

But the threadbare Gunners (why so many injuries?!) would not accept defeat so easily and they improved after that. Bendtner, on his 100th appearance for the club, halved the deficit just before half-time and Verminator added to the tally (a dubious goal as replays suggested offside and a hint of handball) and Dudú wrapped it up with a third goal to give the visitors a win.

The investment in Dudú had paid off and it was a Sweet Escape in the end for Arsenal.

Just a bit of mention here on you-know-who. Before the match on Saturday, Wenger had actually urged the fans to give some respect to the scumbag for his contributions to the club. And the scumbag moron actually repaid his old manager and club with that stamp on his old team-mate and provocative celebration. Wenger was understandably furious at this and backed van Persie’s statement. Yet, ever the diplomat, Wenger has stated it is up to FA to deal with.

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Thank you everyone who has given me Eid cards. I appreciate your thoughts and I especially love the card from AudMraz – it’s handmade and I appreciate the effort, thought and care that go in the making (hunting for the paper and envelope) and design of the card. It’s a rare act, especially in this age of technology where most people would just prefer to send electronic greetings at a click.

Malice

It was unfortunate, to say the least, to have to witness two unsportsmanlike behaviours exhibited by two athletes over the weekend. One was by Serena Williams, in her US Open semi-final match against the comeback queen Kim Clijsters. She ranted and raved at the line judge and even threatened her. Honey, money just can’t buy class, can it?

The other was by none other than Adebuyout who just couldn’t stop issuing statements about his time at Arsenal, about Arsenal’s fans and much more (for your info Adebuyout idiot, showing one’s displeasure at a player who doesn’t show enough love for the club to begin with DOES NOT make one any less a true fan. And speaking of fans, did you know that rich Man Sh*tty have poor fans while not-as-rich Arsenal have the third richest fans after Chelsh*t and Spuds?), about how Arsenal will lose Cesc if we finish outside the top four, about the fans who drove him out of the club... he just cannot stop and shut his gob. Oh but that’s not enough. He decided he would take out his anger on his former team-mates on Saturday and leave his mark on them. Have a look at this and try not to smash your PC in the process. And again, even the new-earned Sh*tty money is not enough to buy one class and composure, unlike van Persie whose statement on the incident is simply eloquent, concise and brimming with posh class elegance. What a mindless, malicious, mean, spiteful piece of sh*t you are Adebuyout and I’m mightily glad you left. I only wish you had been sold earlier to another club not in the EPL so we can be spared your antics. And, FA, I beseech you to do your stamp duty.

(You mindless idiot, I hope you get banned for a dozen matches if possible. That’s for being selfish and mean and spiteful. And that your new club will discover how selfish you are to rob your new team-mates of you in the coming matches.)

I may be biased towards Arsenal but we should not tolerate any childish behaviour from athletes. They are supposed to be role models, they should behave well and when they cross the line, they should be punished rightly. Yes, sportspeople suffer from bursts of anger due to the intensity of the match, but as former top British player Andrew Castle put it: ‘Controlling your emotions is what training is about, what being a professional is about.’

On another development, the Dudú diving saga has finally ended. It was a debate that went on ever since he was slapped the ban and culminated last week before England met Croatia for the World Cup qualifying match (and who does Terrier the Terrible think he is anyway?). I think he did dive and I do not like to see anyone dive especially a Gunner but really regardless of whether or not the penalty would hardly have changed the result. Kudos to Tony Mowbray – he of all people could have chosen to harp on the dive but he hardly ever mentioned it. And anyway, there are all the other divers whom UEFA has chosen not to penalise so why the particular obsession to Dudú? It was after all much Edu about nothing of particular significance.

Oh, and we bid farewell to Patrick Swayze who died of pancreatic cancer yesterday.

Reality Bites

**UPDATED**

*Ouch* It sure does bite hard. Reality takes a while sometimes to sink in and accept/adapt to. And even though it’s may be something not that complex to understand, it doesn’t make it any easier to accept.

I’m talking about the rising cost of living in the city. In mid-July, we were informed that there would be increase in bus (from 1 September), taxi (from 1 August; it now cost me 50% more to ride a cab!) and hire car fares. As if it’s not hard enough for the city folks to live (especially city folks dependent on public transportation) what with other rising costs that we have to endure.

Pictures nicked from this site

The costs of books (since three years ago or so), vitamins and supplements, food, clothes, beauty-care products (SK-II products generally cost an extra 20% more than previously) and now, even cable TV packages which have sports in them... they have all gone up. You know what they say about what goes up must come down? Well, they are wrong or at least never considered price increases in that context.

So we thought we’d share some ideas on how to counter the recession/financial crisis/economic downturn.

1. Books

Book lovers, consider joining the local library. Did you know that you can borrow books and more from the Kuala Lumpur City Library? Besides the main building, it also has six other branches around the city. Registration and annual member fees cost RM6 and RM10 respectively. OK, I have yet to visit it myself but will definitely check it out soon (after I’ve finished the two dozens of books I have in stock). Alternatively, you can join a book club (or does this only discuss books?) and exchange/swap books among yourselves. For bargain books, check out flea markets, SPCA bi-annual jumble sale, second-hand bookshops, garage/warehouse and car-boot sales and charity shops. If you must buy brand-new books, look out for ‘3 for 2’ deals or 2-in-1 books. Most bookstores offer discounts to members so becoming a member may be beneficial.

I don’t normally watch Oprah but one night a few weeks ago, I was flicking channels and tuned in. She was interviewing a couple which continued to spend as before even though the wife just got laid off. Then another couple came to help them juggle their spending and the result was the first couple saved more than USD2000 a month! And the ‘saving plan’ (my word, not Oprah’s) included going to the library to borrow books and CDs, instead of buying them. This will also save you storage space.

2. Travelling and travel-related expenses

(i) Ground transportation – car-pool (ha ha, alien concept to us) or use public transportation as much as you can (or walk and exercise your feet. Opps, this is yet another alien concept to Malaysians). If you can master taking the Tube in London, mastering the LRT/monorail network should be a breeze. And apart from the KLIA Express and KLIA Transit trains, did you know there is also KL Sentral-KLIA-KL Sentral coach service?

(ii) Airlines. Besides the national carrier, find out the alternative low-cost airlines that you can fly. Sometimes breaking a trip can save you a lot. And while being an early bird and buying tickets early usually means you get the best bargain, this does not work every time. For instance, my well-in-advance ticket to Milan cost more than what Fifi eventually paid for hers – sometimes airlines would rather sell seats away rather than leaving them empty and you can actually enjoy better deals the later you book. I’ve also suffered similar opportunity cost of late: so it could pay to wait. And remember, always shop around!

When deciding between flying one airline over another in same/different cities on different days, I’d also factor in the cost incurred (lodging) if I actually stay on and fly later. For example, if it costs me Euro20 more for a flight on 4 May compared to 5 May, I’d still consider it unless I can get lodging for 4 May for Euro20 or less (why 4 May? No reason other than it’s Cesc’s birthday). Also I’d consider alternative airports (and consequently alternative cities and sights I can enjoy) to fly out of and fly into (e.g. Cologne-Bonn as opposed to the busy Frankfurt; Luton as opposed to Heathrow; Rome Ciampino and then taking a low-cost airline to England as opposed to flying direct to Heathrow).

(iii) Travel insurance: Hmmm, depends if you’re a risk-taker. I hardly ever purchase travel insurance; anyway I’ve since made a switch to a credit card provider that offers free travel insurance if I use the card to purchase air tickets.

3. Food

I’m very fussy about food (and a lot of other things too, heh), what I eat and don’t. I am happy to say that I have yet to visit any Ramadan Bazaar this year (or, for that matter, last year). Reasons being because I can actually control my eating urge; I don’t really dig some of what is sold; I get put off by the reused cooking oil used to fry food; I don’t see the need for eating more when fasting is to empathise with the less fortunate; and also because once or twice, someone did buy food from the Bazaar only to discover it was already bad by the time we wanted to break fast. I also don’t overdo it on Eid cookies because I know from years of celebrating that they will never get finished, ever. Our visitors are just not that big on eating cookies.

I don’t eat out a lot either because I’m trying to eat healthy and if I eat out, I don’t know how much preservative or colouring or MSG is added to my food (so yes I save on service and government taxes. It doesn’t mean I know or even love cooking but I figure it’s time to place importance on what I consume); I don’t drink canned soda so I hardly ever buy it except for isotonic drink (if it falls within the definition of soda); I don’t visit coffee shops because I don’t drink coffee in the first place; and I’ve cut down on processed food and visiting fast-food outlets.

Of course I don’t starve myself. I eat like a champ still and I enjoy good food. I still indulge in Häagen-Dazs for example and sometimes I do stock too much food in my larder (with the consequence of throwing some away because I fail to realise the expiry date) – I’m still working on this to reduce and eliminate waste.

4. Clothes/shoes/handbag/beauty products

I only shop when there’s a sale or promotion. You don’t normally get discount on beauty products but during sale periods, you can get freebies (usually if you purchase above a certain amount) and/or entitled to vouchers for every RM100 spent – if you are a member of that departmental store - redeemable against future purchases made in the same store. I don’t wear a lot of make-up and I only spend on blusher, lipstick and lip-gloss, and even then I’ve really cut down on my lipstick purchases.

Being a bargain hunter, I also try to go to factory outlets where I can (I’m not just talking about those in Bandung; although admittedly some of the stores there do stock good, quality clothes) and there are a lot of factory outlets in the world! I’m happy to report that I’ve been to the ones in New Jersey, in Italy (near Florence), in Japan (Gotemba), in Switzerland, Australia (Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne), New Zealand (near Auckland) and those small ones in Hong Kong - yes, I love bargains but I won’t just buy for the sake of buying. Storage space is expensive you know.

Check out the warehouse sales but bear in mind that not all warehouse sales are necessarily cheap, and that some don’t sell genuine stuff (I remember going to one only to find personnel of the relevant ministry confiscating the products on sale and only then realised some of them sell counterfeit products).

Also, try shopping in other departments. In the UK, children’s clothes are not subject to VAT so when I was there, I shopped at the children’s department. A few weeks ago, the Nike store at KLCC had a sale and I bought a t-shirt from the children’s line that cost so much less than the adult version and from the price difference, I got to buy a baby tee. I was also lucky enough to find an original Arsenal jersey from the children’s range at a Nike store in KK for a fraction of the price of the adult size.

5. Utilities

What can I say, be more economical and resource-efficient of course. Use energy-efficient light bulbs, timers etc. I’ve decided to counter the rise in cable TV packages by being energy-efficient (so I don’t have to pay electricity bill).

6. Other tips

(i) Consider DIY: You can save a lot of money by doing things on your own (among others, that’s why IKEA can keep prices low) – plumbing work, gardening, cleaning, electricity-related tasks. I changed a light-bulb all by my little (little?) self a fortnight ago and was feeling very chuffed with myself. I’m still hopeless with a lot of things though.

(ii) Cut down on unnecessary stuff (so hard to implement in practice when I feel I deserve something and should reward myself for my efforts). I haven’t had a facial in months already (boo hoo) and have cut down on accessories.


If you have any ideas/tips on how to save money (c’mon you work for your money so be wise about spending it!), do share.

This is another community service brought to you by Cesc and Adek.

All I Really Need To Know, I Learned From Football

No pain, no gain. If you want to achieve your objectives or realise your goals, you have to be prepared for a daily dose of pain and discomfort. Work hard. Training will take a big chunk of your time but hey, no one said life’s a rose garden (unless you’re Paris Hilton). Even if you like to think so, you’ll still get pricked.

Always have a goal/target/objective of what you want to achieve in mind for yourself, or your family, or your group/team (and scoring goals too in the process). Like Captain Cesc and Diaby. Dream big. Always keep you eyes on the ball and don’t ever lose your focus!

Always be prepared and have a Plan B because you never know when things may go wrong, when crap occurs. A team-mate may suddenly get injured during training or in a match and everyone else would have to shoulder extra responsibility. You may get injured yourself. And if the latter scenario happens, it’s important to keep your sanity and concentrate on getting better. If you’re a manager, you need to be able to work out the logistics of getting the results with the team players you have left.

Teamwork is important and everyone has a role to play (in football: striker, midfielder, goalie, defender). It’s important to keep this in mind because things may fall apart if something happens to upset that balance or if anyone forgets his role. This is as true on the pitch as it is in a school or work project. As Shava told the Official Matchday Programme, ‘On the pitch it’s difficult to play alone! If we play well together as a team it becomes easy to show yourself and operate at your best as an individual.’ As Almunia and van Persie put it, team spirit is key.

Nobody likes a bully so always keep your patience and maintain a cool head. It doesn’t help for you to lose your temper which may result in your dismissal (fired from work/dropped from a project/get red-carded). Your hot-headedness will not only cost you but also your team. So don’t be selfish, indulge yourself in throwing tantrums or be too disagreeable because this may only result in you being given the marching order, your team losing a team member and your club and fans being robbed of the opportunity of a match played for three points with 11 men – and all because of your short-term personal satisfaction and instant gratification. Think win-win.

Always be a professional. So what if there are other clubs/organisations trying to win you and woo you over to their side? Have respect for yourself, your team-mates (your club), your boss and your fans. Don’t flirt with the temptation or the possibility of leaving your club because this will not endear yourself to the team at all. Oh sure, it is nice and lovely to be courted and promised greater reward but your loyalty is at test here. Or are you only motivated by money? (Wonder why cA$hley Cow/a**Hole and Adebuyout come to mind). It’s NOT all about the money.

Respect yourself – and your team-mates, your club, the fans that support you – and even your opponents (because we can always learn from our opponents) - and don’t cheat. Don’t play dirty, resort to questionable behaviour (diving, taking bribes) in and out of the pitch, and don’t suck up to anyone either. If you’re good, chances are people will notice your talents and skills anyway.

Claim ownership for your mistakes instead of blaming everyone else (like Adebuyout).

Take risks, move out of your comfort zone and explore other possibilities if you need to. Cesc left Barcelona when he was all of 16 and Shava left St. Petersburg at 28, having never left Russia ever before (except on international games of course) and despite knowing he could earn more in Russia. As Wenger put it, ‘To leave St Petersburg where he was the star and to go to England at 28 years of age and to say, ‘Okay, I want to start it all again’, you need to have strength of character and to like challenges. He does that in a very focussed way.’

If you don’t at first get it, try and try again. Persevere. Look at former boo-boy Emmanuel Eboue who accepted criticism and transformed himself from arch-villain to accepted-again player. And look at Gallas: stripped off his captaincy, he could have left the club altogether but decided to stick through and he’s saved us more times than I can remember. Accept criticism, take the right attitude and demonstrate your mental strength.

Respect each other even if you don’t see eye to eye. You can never get on with everyone at school or at work but be a professional and have a professional relationship anyway. As Wenger put it: ‘We have a united spirit but you have to take care of your attitude and the spirit in the side. It is as fragile as the weather in England. It can become quickly cloudy. When you have no attitude or spirit you have no results.’

You don’t win all the time. It’s impossible. Look at Tiger Wood, FedEx, Lewis Hamilton (and Alonso or Kimi. Nadal was number 1, then 2 and now number 3 in the world, all in a space of a few months): they don’t all win all the time. The important thing is to hold your head up high and not let defeat get to you. Think continuous improvement. Besides, there are lessons to be learnt from losing. After the defeat to ManUre, Shava said this in his website: ‘I’m upset about the result. Yes, we got our first defeat, which I think will only make us stronger. We will make necessary conclusions. Why did we lose? After we got in front, we shouldn’t have backed off, we should have stuck to our game and not play to hold the result. In the second half Man Utd increased intensity a bit and this ‘bit’ was enough to score two goals. That spurred us but that was too little too late. Minus three points.’ And besides, there is always room for improvement, as Wenger likes to say.

I’ve said this before and I’ll say this again: in life, you need a combination of a dose of luck, determination, perseverance, hard work, self-belief and confidence, especially - and even more - when it looks like the odds are against you. And as Dudú told Croatian newspaper Sports Novosti, ‘No problems last forever.’

Babes In The Cities

28 – 31 August 2009

Rem has always been telling me that she’d want to come along on any of my trips so when I told her of the MAS offer in early June, she immediately agreed to come along. So last Friday, we met up at KL Sentral during lunch and from there we took the coach to KLIA.

Our flight took off at 1630 – it was pretty empty and after the door was closed, I moved to the middle row seats and monopolised all four seats by stretching out after the seat-belt sign was turned off. We landed at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport at 1730 (that part of Indonesia is an hour behind). We were swiftly reunited with our bags and bought voucher for a taxi for Rp200,000 to our hotel. We broke fast in the car shortly after leaving the airport, thanks to the packed meal from MAS. We were lucky that the traffic was smooth and where it took me 90 minutes to get to our Jakarta hotel previously, it only took us 40 minutes this time around. I was happy to note the prayer mat, the Quran and prayer book thoughtfully placed in our room. We initially wanted to take a bajaj to the Gambir train station but after chatting with the porter, we decided instead to ask him instead to buy the train tickets to Bandung for us. He managed to do so before the station closed for the day.

Later that evening, we ventured out to a nearby shopping complex to have a light meal.

Please Do Stop The Music

We left the hotel early on Saturday morning (almost immediately after prayers) for our train was due to depart at 0610. The Argogede train ticket cost us only Rp55,000 each (excluding tips to the porter for purchasing them for us) for executive seats (business seats cost less surprisingly). It was a good thing we asked the hotel porter to help buy the tickets for us as the ticket office at the station was still closed when we arrived there at 0545 and there were quite a number of people already queuing. We travelled through the massive sprawling metropolitan before finally leaving the city and entering the suburbs. After some time, we passed plantations and paddy fields and other smaller towns. The seats were comfortable, the leg space generous and the ride would have been very pleasant indeed had it not been for the annoying TV screens that blared out irritating pop Indonesian songs. It was so bad that at one point I told Rem, ‘You know the Rihanna song ‘Please Don’t Stop The Music?’ Well, I want to sing ‘Please Do Stop The Music!’. It was enough to cause the sleep-deprived me a headache.

We reached Bandung slightly later than scheduled and took an angkot to Pasar Baru Trade Centre where we spent the next three hours there browsing, bargaining and purchasing baju kurung and kebaya materials and prayer attires. We also performed prayers at the mosque situated on the rooftop. Yes, it is all very convenient for shoppers.

Next, we took a rickshaw - yes, the two of us fit in uncomfortably in it and the poor chap had to carry the burden of our combined weight (!) – to Jalan Aceh where the factory outlets are. Despite having visited Bandung twice previously, this was the first time I was in that area. Thankfully Rem managed to find what she was looking for and was happy with her purchases (I wasn’t looking for anything at all). We then took a cab to a Kartika Sari cake store to purchase some cakes/brownies and local specialties.

We decided that was enough for the day (our shoulders and hands were already aching under the burden of the weight of our purchases) and returned back to the train station. I tried to doze off but was not too successful (I slept very poorly the night before, well all the nights there actually due to the Nasal Symphony from the bed beside me. Sorry honey, I still love you but it’s just that I am sensitive to noises and lights when sleeping). When I returned from a mini-market, I was not happy to see one of the train porters carrying our bags without being told to. Now, the Indonesians are notorious for this. They will squeeze money out of you from every possible opportunity – carrying your bags to the cab, carrying your bags onto a train, making way for your vehicle to park... it all comes at a cost. Small as the cost may be, I hate it when people decide to be presumptuous with me that way.

Our train left slightly after 1705. We didn’t manage to buy seats on an Argogede train (the next Argogede train would leave much later and we weren’t keen to arrive in Jakarta too late) so we bought seats on Parahyangan train instead. The executive seats cost less at Rp40,000 but the seats looked old, worn out and stained in places. Nevertheless, we were spared the annoying train soundtrack and had a relatively quiet three-hour journey back to Jakarta. The train also offered some fried rice for break fast (delivered to your seat, no less) for Rp15,000, which we thought was a fair price. We reached Gambir station at about 2020 and searched for a bajaj back to the hotel. A tip here: do agree (and bargain) on the fare for your destination beforehand.

We were too tired to venture out again that night and instead just stayed in. Unfortunately, a group of new guests just checked-in (after 11 pm) and they turned out to be noisy, inconsiderate oafs who didn’t think twice of speaking in loud voices in the corridor and yelling out each other’s names. I also managed to watch the ManUre-Arsenal match and I must say the referee was biased. I was not happy that ManUre got a penalty when we didn’t and Diaby was just diabolical. Oh and my sweetheart didn’t play either ;’(

Easy Like Sunday Morning
We slept in today and left after prayers to Tanah Abang. Another shopping spree was had (I didn’t expect to spend there but hey, what did I know of the shopping delights there? The last visit I had with my parents was a brief one and only to the level that sold footwear, where I didn’t purchase a single pair, surprise, surprise). We even met a former lady minister (and former Wanita UMNO head/chief (?)) and her hubby and relatives (?) at one stall. To be honest, we only realised her presence after some time but after having realised it was indeed her, decided to take some pictures of her and tried to be discreet about it. Ha! A former Cabinet Minister also shopped at Tanah Abang! Fancy that!

We left her and went to the fifth floor where we spent considerable time again browsing, bargaining and purchasing, this time it was kebaya and modern kurung tops and some ‘slip-on’ headscarves.

After all that was done, we took a bajaj to Plaza Indonesia. I love this place and the adjacent Grand Indonesia! Everything was modern and sleek and shiny and in place. If you want to see beautiful (and rich) Indonesians and expatriates, come here. At the very least, you get to use the clean bathroom. I bought a Cathay shoulder satchel at the LeSportsac store (there was an additional discount for credit cardholders of a particular bank of which I am one, plus such model is not available in KL). We then went in search for the Hard Rock Café but left empty-handed.

We then made our way to Grand Indonesia and broke fast at its lovely, modern food-court at the third floor. To me, Indonesia is a bit like India in that you have to be very careful of where you purchase your meals and drinks from and it is important that you eat at clean hygienic establishment unless you want to risk a stomach upset. I have a sensitive tummy so I don’t dare eat at roadside stalls where the hygiene is questionable.

We returned back to the hotel after 8 pm.

Not A Manic Monday

We checked out of the hotel at 0745 and the cab was already waiting for us (we had pre-arranged with the cabbie who brought us to the hotel on Friday that he’d pick us up today). We were again lucky that the road to the airport was clear despite it being a Monday morning. We reached the airport before 0830 but could only check-in just before 0900. After checking-in and paying the airport tax of Rp150,000, we went in to the duty-free area. The duty-free area was designed such that we had to pass almost all shops there are before we reached our gate (maybe they know Malaysians can really spend) and stop at almost every shop we did. Another damage was inflicted on my credit card – this time it was a Teddy Bear Anne bag (such print is not available in KL and I know that because I go to the LeSportsac corner every single time I’m at Isetan).

The flight this time had more passengers (maybe because it was co-shared with Garuda Indonesia) but I still managed to move seats and monopolised the middle four seats by sprawling across them.

We landed about eight minutes late than scheduled at an overcast KLIA. My bags were late in coming out onto the carousel; in fact one of them did a disappearing act and I was even advised by two ground staff to lodge a missing luggage report. I was a bit upset at this, especially when I thought of the banana pastries I bought in Bandung that were in that bag. I was waiting for the chap behind the desk to key in my details when another bloke came in wheeling a trolley and announced they found a bag from flight MH710 and it turned out to be my bag! Syukur.

Ran all the way to the KLIA Express platform where Rem was already waiting and we took the 1520 train (had my bag not gone ‘missing’, we would have been able to catch the 1500 train). Rem’s husband came to fetch us and dropped us at Rem’s office where she left her car. She then dropped me home.

And that was my Merdeka weekend. How was yours?