Protective Headgear Recommended....

Vices

2011-05-24T19:02:00.002+01:00

Sleep, eat, music, shisha and 'washing my hands' with luck, in no particular order.

These vices seem to keep me going in moments of need. Moments when I've got my bow and arrow ready to shoot, but there doesn't seem to be a target.

In the days of past, I've always seemed to enjoy reading. Feeding my mind with knowledge. But somehow, with all the reading required of me due to my course, the love for reading, hobby-wise, is slowly extinguishing. I've got a lot on my mind, maybe that's why. I have yet to find something that holds my attention for more than days.

But one good thing remains: my love for writing. Although I do admit that my writings are merely ramblings of a mad man. But maybe this is life. Life is all about evolving, or less controversially: adapting. Maybe my love for writing has seeded from my love of reading. I know, it's perplexing. How should I simply put this? I just don't know....

Haha

Inhale deeply....

2011-05-23T15:30:00.002+01:00

and exhale when your lungs can't take it anymore. Stay calm and collected. Two more days 'til the first hurdle. A giant hurdle if I might say so myself. I tell myself I've been through all this before and most of the time I get my way. But in the back of my mind, I feel fear and worries lingering, always. Almost two straight weeks preparing myself for this hurdle. Preparing my mind to remember what is needed, my body to endure whatever may come, and my spirit to never waiver.

Now, I just require the solace and solitude of my mind. Eyes open, vision always pointed forwards, conditioned to never to look back. Body heavy, as if constrained by shackles and my mind weak constantly enduring. But my heart perseveres. And that is what matters.

If it's one thing that should be known, its that I always get my way. If the hurdle is too high, I'll find my way around. Under. Or through. My ends will always justify my means.

21

2011-05-11T03:21:00.004+01:00

It's been almost a year now since my last post, but somehow it doesn't feel so long. I apologize in advance if this post might not make sense and I will use two excuses to explain why: 1. It's almost 4am UK time and 2. I've just got a lot on my mind.

My second academic year has gone by real fast. A lot of memories, both good and bad, but mostly good, have been made throughout the whole year. BruLeics being founded, my presidency, American Football with the Longhorns, Courage here and there and lifelong bond of epic proportions, all laced with good company and love.

This whole year, I've come to the realization that the needs of others outweigh the needs of my own. Whatever I've done this whole year, I've done for others. I have adopted a selfless nature that I have come to enjoy. But it's worth mentioning that whatever I do for others, I make sure not to neglect my priorities towards myself. Being selfless is one thing, but being selfless and smart about it is another.

I have yet to show my temper, though I don't intend to let it loose. I fear that adhering to it will bring destruction to others around me. My temper might have no bounds, and if it does, I don't want to know to what extent. What I can just say is that, whatever that angers me will anger me, but it will take a lot to make me react. Calm and collective, patient and selfless is what I endeavor to become and maintain.

Others might just take advantage of this and others might not even be aware of it. But thats not important. Whats important that I know that I'm always in a pursuit of happiness, not just that of my own but most importantly for others. There is no use of being sad or angry when you can always be happy. Taking a hit for the team, although it may be personally costly, will be worth it. Any impediments denying the happiness of those I care about, I will always find a way to destroy, because I know that it will always make me happy. Even the slightest of smiles, the glint of gratitude in their eyes and the hidden laughter will make me happy, because deep down I'll know that I was the cause of that. My actions may not be perfectly acceptable conventionally, but the ends will always justify the means.

Courage is the only thing on my mind. With courage and a strike of luck, I see myself fulfilling my full potential. I am confident that with courage, life will go by with ease. Courage as my goal, extended happiness as merely a by-product.

Ok I have a confession to make: after being preoccupied with a lot of things such as work and those good ol' fun times, having nothing to do but wait for exams is really dull. I thought I've passed this phase in my life already, foolishly thinking that I'll always have something to do. I think I might just be hungover from all the work I've done for the past few days. Even sleep, although as tired as I am, is evading me. I seem to always be chasing, knowing that there are shortcuts. But I feel that I'm so stubborn and hard-headed that I always take the long path.

Whatever comes my way, I will endure and carry on. Thats just how stubborn I am.

Imperialism

2010-05-24T19:06:00.002+01:00

My introduction to an imperialism question, if ever it will come Thursday:

Imperialism was not a new prior to the 1870s, as a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, an Imperial Empire mercilessly governed and replaced the Old Republic.

There, enough said about my exams.

Home

2010-05-18T06:47:00.001+01:00

is where I just wanna go :|

2010-05-17T11:09:00.002+01:00

Please note that the lack of a title means that I seem to have a lot on my mind. My first paper, Current Issues in International Relations, is tomorrow and all I feel is apathy right now. I should be scared out of my mind, but it seems that I can't really be bothered. I don't really know why this is happening at such a crucial time. Am I not scared because subconsciously I feel ready? Or is it because I'm too scared that I can't even feel scared? Oh dilemma, dilemma... :s

Oh well nothing I can do now but go back to revision :|

Lest we forget

2010-05-14T00:27:00.002+01:00

You might have noticed (or might not) that my blogging behaviour rate is relative to the intensity of my workload. I've read through my posts dating back a couple of months and mostly are work related or matters that are very pressing to me. Initially, I asked myself why? Why write these things when there are tons more I could do with the time? Why write when I know not many people are gonna subject themselves to my thoughts and worries? Why write when virtually nobody is reading?

Well I guess the answer to all that is merely for some relief. Whenever I try to do work or try concentrating on things, it could just never work without me thinking of other things. Things, even though menial and irrelevant to me now, I just don't want to forget. I guess all that I've written and shared, more or less, originates from my selfish nature of always wanting to remember.

I guess forgetting and losing memories, of either the good or the bad, just scares me. The memories and experiences cherished and burdened upon us all makes us unique. I don't want, in the future, to grow old and forget these things as these things aren't only for me, but also for the sake of not hurting people I love and cherish by forgetting them. So I endear and remember myself, so that I can remember others.

If by any chance I forget, I will always have this to remind me. Better yet, I have you to remind me also. So please remember to let me not forget. =D

*This post sounds kind of grim. Sorry for that. Just letting go of things on my mind I guess

Keeping this window open

2010-05-13T16:14:00.002+01:00

When I started today, I decided that I should keep my blog on at all times just in case I wanted to gallivant about and wander from my studies (of course for reasons of relief nonetheless). Hours of reading meant that I had hours to think about new posts, but I just couldn't think of anything. But then I realised something: I tend to concentrate more on the things that I don't intend to rather than on the things that I wanted to. And today, I concentrated on trying to think of a new post to write, but instead my focus wandered into reading instead. How funny life works.

First paper up for me is my Contemporary International Relations module, encompassing on Post-Cod War Issues. As mentioned in the handbook and reading list, whatever topics included as an assessed essay would not reappear in the examination. Kind of a gift perhaps from the Politics and International Relations Department. Therefore, matters concerning human rights, new global threat i.e. nuclear proliferation and climate change, international organisations and US Foreign Policy has dominated my thoughts.

Now I regret not having paid much attention to the issues of the world prior to this. I should have made it a habit to check the pressing issues and their developments at least once a day either on the internet, newspapers or magazines. However, not much despair though, because the presence of new technology, especially Twitter, I'm now up to date (sort of) with some matters.

With Twitter, I was able to follow the 2010 Elections recently and get updates as quick as they happened. Oh how I love Twitter. But seriously starting next academic year, no more fooling around for me.

I just can't help...

2010-05-12T03:48:00.002+01:00

but feel challenged.

It's 3:49 am. I'm up. I wasn't up an hour ago. I was asleep. I was asleep for about 6 hours. It was a long day in the library yesterday. But still a satisfyingly productive day. Enrolled for my modules for next year. I felt the adrenaline and I can still feel it. Going to repeat my routine again. So my mind tells me to sleep, but I endeavor to read a bit more.

My life has revolved around revision. This has not been the case in the past. I've never tried this hard ever before. Are these feelings of inferiority in my academics? Do these feelings stem from the challenge purported by my peers? Am I intimidated by the fact that there are, as I have heard, 10 other Bruneian Political students in my batch right now? These questions baffle me as a new question arises: What do I have to be intimidated about? They all are in the same position as I am in.

As my mind wanders in attempting to answer these questions, a conclusion struck. No longer am I subjected to learn what I do not want. No longer do the words calculus, osmosis, titration et al mean anything to me. Only conflict and resolution are in mind. My future is at stake. My life depends on it.

It is human nature to want more. To never be satisfied. To not feel utter fulfillment. My mind seeks more knowledge, perpetually pursuing intellectual satisfaction and fulfillment.

Everything learnt interconnected. One should lead to the other and the other leading back to one. A circle has been drawn. But now I have to fill it. International Organisations and human rights. Terrorism and proliferation. Climate change and governance. Nothing stands alone. Nothing stands unfilled. As words transpire from my mind, more words form within.

If only this can be perpetuated during my examinations. The mastery of not just the course, but also intellect.

PS: pardon the ramblings.

I Got Snap!

2010-05-11T19:36:00.004+01:00

I don't want this to be a photo blog or anything but I just felt like uploading some pics I took over the past few weeks with the new cam me papa got me (And also my blog has kinda been lacking in the images department). Canon 350D nothing real fancy but still I love it. I've been playing around with the camera and tried some things I could never have bothered to try on a normal camera. Also lots of post production here so nothing originally spectacular. However, still does not escape mediocrity. So please note that I have admitted to mediocrity (lots of noise and stuff) and that hurtful words criticizing my work would just be mean =D

In the Pictures below, I retouched them using the open sourced GIMP following the instructions to create lomo-esque picture types.

This is my favourite. This is the Astronomical Clock at the Rattray Building at Leicester University. This I used the manual way of lomo-ing

This was in the library. Yeah same effect but poor vignetting (really dunno but thought I'd use it) I guess haha

This I used the lomo script and it kinda saved me a lot of work and effort.

For my mum =D

Next up are the pictures I took in 3 different exposures, then creating HDR images in post production. Didn't do the manual layer masking or anything. Had some help by an open sourced software hahaha.

What I noticed from most of the pictures is that after post production, even though it doesn't leave the image flat, the pictures end up being dark and gloomy. But yeah thats all I can do now. Maybe during the summer after my exams I can experiment more hahahaha.

postscript: the models in the pictures weren't free. I had to pay them with kfc -_-

Part of my revision

2010-05-11T16:42:00.004+01:00

All the work I have done, the knowledge I have chosen to absorb, the countless number of books I have read and the advice I have taken from those around me all come together now. Yes my minions, it is the time of the year again. The time of judgement, the age of examinations. Hahaha yeah I know, a bit too melodramatic.

My first paper is in two weeks from now, and in the past two weeks I have been studying non-stop, even my trip to Coventry went along as I have read materials on current international issues and what not. Prior to these two weeks, I thought my revision would be futile as I have been delaying it time after time. Fortunately, the mood in the United Kingdom has been been very political due to the elections.

The political parliamentary condition in the UK is somewhat in a turmoil as some might say, however most are left unaffected and apathetic. As a politics student, I see it as my solemn right and duty to inform you of these matters, just so that you all know that I'm a know-it-all of course in this matter (and also this might help me in my revision, thanks). Although I won't be learning about the UK Government and Politics until the next academic year, I know enough to give enlightenment of this matter.

The electoral system in the UK is of a plural/majoritarian nature, as it is a first-past-the-post kind of election. Unlike the election system of the US, in which they are of the same nature, the Prime Minister of the UK is elected according to the support their party gets and in this sense meaning the party with the most MPs winning seats in parliament have the right to establish a new government. Therefore, in the case of the 2010 elections, the Conservative Party, whose leader, David Cameron, I have personally met on a train to Loughborough (to my surprise), won the most number of seats in parliament. However, Mr Cameron has not been elected Prime Minister due to the fact that his party did not win a majority of the seats. Winning more than half of the seats in parliament is considered a majority. The Conservative Party was and is still short of 20 seats in order to gain majority. The current government under the Labour Party, whose leader, Gordon Brown, I have not met, had lost to the Conservatives by almost 50 seats. Apart from Labour and the Tories, the Liberal Democrats have also taken their stance in the UK parliament having won almost 10% of the seats making them the third biggest party in the Parliament.

The problem now is that without majority in the Parliament, no party is able to form a government, therefore the status in the UK now is that they have a hung parliament, the first to happen in the UK after 36 years. The Tories are unable to form a government, even a minority government due to the fact that they are the opposing party to the current system. The case would be different if Labour had won the elections, as they would have the right to form a minority government, subject to the queen's invitation to parliament of the leader of the party. Therefore, the only chance for the Tories to form a government, is if they have the backing of the Liberal Democrats and with that they will achieve majority. So the past few day, talks between the Tories and Lib Dem have taken place and have been stated as progressive. but the major turning point in this matter is the declaration of resignation of Gordon Brown as leader of the Labour Party in order to gain the support of the Lib Dems. Because of this, I have a feeling that Labour will win. But with a Labour-Lib Dem coalition, I think it would be wrong as it would be a collaboration of the defeated :s

Ok now for sure I know your heads are hurting. Because mine is slightly in pain. Alright now, I will give a solution to this problem. A solution persistently repeated by politicians, especially of the Lib Dems. A solution practiced by most European countries. The solution is: Proportional Representation. Proportional representation means the ratio of votes should equal the number of seats. Unlike the current system now, the elections are based on the number of seats won, not by the number of votes. To explain even further, lets make a hypothesis of a liberal democratic Brunei. Just imagine Brunei going through an election between two parties in Brunei: the Blue Party and the Yellow Party, to determine who the executive should be. Lets take the current electoral system of the UK as a model and use regional types of voting and parliamentary seats and what not. Lets say every every district in Brunei has two contenders each from both parties vying for a seat in the Brunei "Westminster" and the party with most seats will have the right to rule. Lets say the Blue Party won the elections in Belait, Temburong and Tutong, while the Yellow Party only won in the Brunei Muara Districts. This makes the Blue Party having the majority of the seats and are viable to rule the government. However, this does not necessarily mean that the Blue Party got the most votes. Have I lost you now?

Ok let me explain slowly. Ok lets take Brunei's population to be 400,000 with Brunei Muara having 200,00 people, Tutong having 100,000, Belait 80,000 and Temburong 20,000. Can you see where I'm going at now? No? Ok lets move on. Lets say hypothetically in the three districts the Blue party won, the managed to get 60% of the votes of the population. Meaning in Tutong, the won 60,000 votes, in Belait 48,000 and in Temburong 12,000. That all adds up to 120,000 votes, the remainding 80,000 votes belonged to the Red Party. In addition to that lets say they won only 10% of the votes in Brunei Muara, meaning 20,000 votes equating totally in 140,000 votes nationwide. The Yellow party on the other hand won 180,000 votes in Brunei Muara and couple that with the remainders of the other districts, they won 260,000 votes nationwide, clearly more than that of the Blue Party. However, using the British electoral system, the Blue Party would still be considered to have the right to rule due to their dominance in the parliament. Unfair right? Right!

So this is where Proportional Representation should come in. the number of seats in the parliament should be proportionate to the ratio of the votes won. So if the hypothetical liberal democratic Brunei was to adopt PR, 260,000 votes won by the Yellow Party would be translated into 65% of the seats and the rest would go to the Blue Party.

So now do you get where I'm getting at? I hope you did.

PS: the english is a bit mediocre. blabbered everything. lol

Il Principe

2010-04-26T23:04:00.006+01:00

Vertue 'gainst fury shall advance the fight,

And it i' th' combate soone shall put to flight:

For th' old Romane valour is not dead,

Nor in th' Italians brests extinguished.

Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince (written in 1513, published 1532 in Latin)

Despite the immense amount of work, there is still time for peripheral reading. I am aware that reading Machiavelli cannot be considered as reading for enjoyment to some, it is to one.

It has almost been a year since I have started reading this book, but I haven't seemed to get it over with. It seems that I cannot find the endurance to go through it all, as every line, every sentence has a depth that I myself cannot read into. So for the past months, I have merely been going through non-canonical pages. Reading the details that capture my attention. Tonight, after accomplishing a third of my workload, I came across this ever so intriguing sonnet.

First, let me explain to you in what context this sonnet arises from. The Prince, is one of Machiavelli's most esteemed work as a political theorist. It entails the coming of age of a prince, a prince groomed towards kingship, a prince of royal heritage, a prince first revered then esteemed with allegiance and subordinates.

The sonnet was used as a closure to the book. It depicts, to my understanding, that virtue and valor are the possessions of leaders, not of aristocracy but of pure authority. Virtue, in this context, will bring about the combat/resistance of the Italians against the Barbarians, and their valor will keep them alive and let them fight, until there is no more to fight.

Such noble cause will let them fight and their righteousness and courage will let them fight on. For what is right. For what is theirs'.

Although I am rated as a 'high mach' in the MACH-IV test, I do not aspire to be Machiavellian. I aspire to be among the righteous and the courageous.

Just like lightning...

2010-04-26T20:57:00.002+01:00

...inspiration struck. Mind on full throttle. Words flowing from my mind into my hands, transpiring into writings and typed text. One essay down, two more to go. At the rate that I am going now, sleep will not be an issue tonight, as I intend to use the momentum I have now to catapult me from one to two and from two to three.

Check Kahar's blog. You can find an addition to this blogpost for today there.

Something to think about...

2010-04-25T00:50:00.002+01:00

"Nothing happens unless first a dream."

Carl Sandburg, US Biographer and poet (1878 - 1967)

Right now, I dream of only one thing: finishing all my assignments. But alas, it has been hard for me. Whenever I try going on with work, my mind wanders. Just like it wandered into reaching this quote and as futile as it may seem in helping me with my work, there is much insight on how deep and defined this quote is.

I am not a philosopher but in what I do, especially in my course of work and my dream of a profession, I come across philosophy as my guide. My mind wanders to retrospect whatever I hear, see or experience. Whatever I read I tend to analyse. To me, this characteristic is bittersweet. It is a curse and also a blessing. As whenever I read, I take into account everything written. Word after word, sentence after sentence, phrase after phrase until there is nothing more to read. I used to be a very quick reader. Able to read an entire book without stopping, finishing in mere hours and absorbing the face value of it all. But now as time passes, my reading has become slow. Analysing everything as said. Delving myself into the depth of it all.

Mentioned quote is one example of all of this. I stumbled across it in my efforts to progress in my work. At first, worried about work, I pushed this quote aside and continued. But not long after, my mind, as curious as it has always been, seemed to retrace its tracks onto this quote. The longer I tried eluding it, the more my mind drove me to it's attention. At first I didn't know why. I questioned it's importance as to why my attention had to be flailed towards it. Finally it led me somewhere. It led me to a Facebook status my eldest maternal cousin had updated, which I paraphrase (due to horrendous grammar): "A dream without a plan will never come to fruition". I don't know where this came from. I do not know it's origins. But deep within me I knew that I needed to prove this wrong.

A plan is technically something. Therefore, if without a dream, a plan will not come to fruition. If not for a dream, only nothing will happen. A dream entails an objective. With an objective, everything will come to fruition, even if it may come with failure. Because an objective or, in this matter, a dream, if not met does not necessarily mean that what you have done in attempting to achieve it is faulty, it might be the dream that is faulty. But whatever you do, never give up and never be afraid to fail. Because surrendering to fear is the truest form of failure. As said by Picasso:

"I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it."

I hope that I have given you insight, just as I have to myself.

PS: No wonder my work nowadays require a lot of time to do.

Volunteering: it doesn't pay....

2010-04-23T19:25:00.004+01:00

You know that feeling when you have so many things on your mind, but just can't physically transform them into words? You know like when you try eating everything on the table at one go and in the end nothing goes in? Or when you try to shred bundles of paper at one go but end up jamming the machine? Well, thats what I'm feeling now.

I've got 3 essays due on the 4th of May, all summing up to 7500 words, and all I've achieved is a miserly 1000 words on just one essay. I seriously don't know what I've done wrong. I've done all the reading and writing down the notes but my mind just can't seem to be doing any good for me. The 4th is 10 days away. Maybe this is my mind telling me that its still early. I don't have to do all this until the last minute. But guess again. It's actually my mind telling me that I should've finished these essays a long time ago. Way before easter. Its like my mind is saying to me right now: "There you go again procrastinating, blogging about work when the simplest solution is to just get on with work!".

Hmmm... good point.... Thats the best idea I've heard in a long time.

Later Gators =D

Gone but never forgotten...

2010-04-20T13:24:00.001+01:00

Feeling reminiscent, I looked through some of the photos posted by my friends on Facebook. Some funny, all nostalgic and all made me smile. But what really touched my heart is the picture below, which my sister uploaded.

From Left to Right: Haji Masri Haji Mat Salleh (nini laki - maternal grandfather), me and Allahyarham PSR Pg Hj Jaya Pg Hj Rajid (nini bapa - paternal grandfather)

Pengiran Setia Raja Pengiran Haji Jaya bin Pengiran Haji Rajid was a decorated national hero - serving in the Ninth Batallion during the Japanese Occupation giving the greenlight to the Australian Forces to come into our shores and I remember my maternal grandpa telling me that if it wasn't for him the 1962 Civil War wouldn't have been avoided. He was a cheteria, the first Bruneian Police High Commissioner and ambassador-at-large for the nation until retiring in 1998. But to me, he was more than that. He was not just a grandfather to me, he was my hero, he was my role model but most importantly he was my friend.

Picture looks familiar? Gramps pictured fourth from bottom right. He was a ruggedly handsome man.

He was always there for me since I was born, giving me the name 'Saiful' as all my other male cousins were. He gave my parents his house so that me and my future sister could be raised in, of course at that time serving as an ambassador for the nation in Kuala Lumpur he did not require a house. He always welcomed us to wherever he was, be it in KL or Bangkok. When my mother's tenure in her UK posting ended, he let us stay with him and my grandmother while we waited for our house to be finished. Then during my formative years, he would always bring me to the Friday prayers where we would always be sitting in the front. He gave me first weekly allowance (which I have never told anyone) of $10 a week for almost ten years, until he was not able to go to the Friday Prayers anymore. Whenever I slept over, before sleeping he would always tell me (and sometimes my sister) stories of his past experiences.

It's been awhile now since my grandfather passed away - 6 months actually. Sadly, I wasn't there to be with him in his last few moments with us as I was in the UK. The final time I was with him was on the day that I left to the UK. We were at home reciting the doa selamat before heading off to the airport. The exact words that he said to me while I hugged him in tears was: "Don't cry. We'll meet again." That of course did not come to fruition. Never a day passes without me thinking about him. The man whose blood run in my veins. The man who is a part of my long name. The loving man who will always be loved. The man whom I will always try to become. The man who, if was still alive, would be 85 today.

Happy Birthday Gramps. Bahri loves and miss you always ='D

Take it from a pro...

2010-04-19T03:02:00.003+01:00

Ok my sleeping pattern is officially screwed. But on an even lighter note I just had a chat with my Bungsu who just went through a breakup with his girlfriend of 2 years and now is having a tough time adjusting to the single life. In order to do so, he resorted to me for help. I'm not here to brag or anything but I guess he did so because he knows that I'm such a pro at being single.

Unlike some people who can't last a second being single, jumping from one girlfriend to another, I'm very much happy with the situation that I'm in. The reason for this is that the question of: what is there to expect when you have a girlfriend? Of all my non-immediate relatives (immediate being the ones I live with), the one I'm closest to is my Bungsu and within the two years of his relationship with his now ex-girlfriend all I could see them doing was holding hands, talking on the telephone like there was no tomorrow and you know generally going out (i.e. morning jogs, breakfast, movie, lunch, dinner etc). I can't say that they weren't perfect for each other, but yeah, they weren't perfectly compatible too. So I guess what I'm saying here is that in whatever time or moment in life, with great friends and family surrounding you, thats all you need. In our own culture, considering our origins and religion, I would think that having a girlfriend is much more of a conquest or triumph. Putting aside all the kinky details, theres nothing much to do when you have a girlfriend, especially in this moment in my life. Yeah you might say that I'm biased because I haven't had much experiences in being 'triumphant' but right after you say that make sure you have an answer to my question to what follows: Why? If your answer is: "They're there for companionship" my response would be "Faeces of A Bull!".

What better companions can you get than your friends who are there whenever you need them (in my case they're called 'Bros')? You might not be able to hold their hands (shhhh Jeng shhhh) or do all those sappy things with, but from what I've seen is that these things are just not that important. Thats what I told my Bungsu and he agreed.

It was two years ago at the Squash courts (I think), I saw these two people (whom you all know btw) holding hands and swaying them about. Of course there were smiles, but not only on their faces but also irkful and awkward smiles from others' watching. And better yet, you could see that it was all just a faux. I guess the guy was just trying to metaphorically get into her pants and she wouldn't have it I guess so it didn't last long *insert "thats what she said" joke*.

Don't get me wrong here, I'm not saying that you should care what other people think nor am I saying don't seek companionship in the other gender, I'm just saying: don't do it on false pretenses because it can really screw you up (directly or indirectly). Ok now I've read the last sentence and I think I'm starting to sound like a delusional relationship therapist. Ok tell you what, just forget everything that you've just read and just remember this:

Bros before Ho's, and then you're good to go!

And also being a delusional 'playa' doesn't work. Even those girls you make up in your mind everyday won't like you :D

Gung Ho

2010-03-24T03:33:00.002Z

Planned on watching Santau with my bro Kahar earlier. However we had o wait til the videos fully loaded on youtube. Thank god for that because while waiting for them to load, we watched The Pacific Part I and II. One word: EPIC. We ended up not watching Santau at all as we were on a World War II frenzy as we watched Saving Private Ryan right after (A movie which I shamefully admit haven't watched before). Made me think of how serving your country in the warfront would feel like. No, I'm not talking about the new type of 'war' that we have right now, but I'm talking about in World War II. Just imagine, landing in Normandy to liberate Europe from Nazi tyranny, invading Berlin to purge the rule of the Third Reich, scalping Nazis etc. I imagine myself in the frontline and go gung ho. Advancing on my enemies, for the sake of m country. But in these days and times, I don't think I would survive five minutes what with all the long range weapons.

Almond and Verba

2010-03-23T14:22:00.002Z

"Too much political participation is a bad thing..." what a great quote to use for my not so upcoming exams. I just went to my final Comparative Politics Tutorial today and honestly speaking, it was a blast and a half. I learned that even when you choose not to politically participate you actually are. So all these weeks of choosing not to participate (extensively) during the tutorials, I have exercised participation in all of them in my own way. Shows how funny life is huh? This was really good news because at the end of the tutorial all my worries about my non-participation were gone because rather than be unenthusiastic about my tutorials, I was instead enthusiastically going about my chosen path.

That was just the tip of the iceberg for me. After today I have no more lectures nor tutorials to attend. All I have to do now is enjoy my easter holidays (I'm going to Prague with them BROS), finish up my three essays before the start of the next semester (which is in about 6 more weeks) and start revising for my exams (whereby the period starts in 8 weeks and ends 3 weeks later). Of course I only have 3 papers to sit for so my exams might finish very early. Then after that, back to Brunei I go!

Note: Oh how I miss Brunei ='D

Life is too short...

2010-03-23T03:45:00.002Z

to be serious all the time. I know its kinda bad not being taken seriously but its better than being taken too seriously about something intended not to be. This comes from a recent post by my cousin on Facebook by which I jokingly took philosophically to. Thats a real downer. Trying to make a joke but being taken too seriously. It seems like some people don't have the capacity to just sit back and let their sense of humour all out. Having read the comments following my comment, I see that that part of my gene pool don't have the intellectual capacity of processing humour, even when I blatantly point out that I was joking.

So remember, taking life too seriously without giving in to your sense of humour, to me, means that you don't have anything to expect for in life. I'd just tell them that they'd make the world a better place if they would just stop producing offsprings and rid the world of their handicapped genes because obviously a funny bone will be perpetually missing in their biology.

"Life is boring, so get a sense of humour..." - Jofray, B., "Life is Boring, So Get a Sense of Humour you Douchebags", (Oxford University Press, 2010), Title.

True story.

Insomnia...

2010-03-18T05:21:00.002Z

Ok I know crashing at around 7 or 8 at night and waking up at 3 in the morning does not constitute insomnia but I am suffering from severe (not really though) sleeping disorder. Good thing the sun is always up nowadays to keep me fresh and awake. But when it comes to those lectures in those dark and gloomy theatres, my mind tends to drift off thinking about sleep. So for now, I will go back to sleep to further screw up my sleeping pattern. Good Morning!

The Procrastinator's Creed

2010-02-18T13:48:00.003Z

It just seems that everytime I'm stuck on my essays (having nothing to write about summed up with mental blocks) I resort to spilling out here. How ironic. I can't write anything that I have to write, but I can divert my attention into blabbering on and on about how I'm trying to do my essay here.

Now I' done, so yeahhhh.... back to work I guess. :s

Blackboard Fail

2009-12-10T19:07:00.001Z

WTF!!!!

electronic submission of politics and international relations assignments unnecessary. Does this mean I couldve just plagiarised my work? LOLOLOLOL

Plagiarism, I miss you....

2009-11-27T15:08:00.004Z

GAHHHHH!!!! NEED. TO. VENT!

This sucks man. I've been spending almost the whole day working on this essay and still can't pass that 500 word mark. Haven't even passed 400 words. I've read the material and stuff and got a plan, but still theres no easy flow. I can't start working on my other essays (which are easier but still excruciating to do) yet because of this pile of crap. All the hours spent in the library this whole week has only accounted for 300+ words.

On a side note, winter break is in less than two weeks for me. Oh how time flies. Lets just hope it flies even faster during spring. I'm starting to miss home.

Later Gators

2009-09-23T18:01:00.002+01:00

Its the 24th and I'm feeling almost everything right now. I have less than 19 hours left in Brunei and god how I hope it goes by slowly. Feel like I shouldn't sleep tonight but my gut tells me I should. This might be corny and emo if you may but screw it: I'd like to thank everyone and I mean everyone for all the good they've done and all the bad too. Also sorry for everything.

As the cliche goes: this is not goodbye, will see you later :'D

PS: will be missing, not mostly though, all the late night ventures with the Bungster and just lying around the house doing nothing with the cats.

Close to my heart

2009-08-10T03:13:00.005+01:00

Sometimes I wonder why I didn't choose to take up history as my course for Uni. But last night I found out why: I love history too much that I'd rather learn about it myself without ever being graded about it (again).

Last night I was at my grandparents' house for an impromptu visit and while I was there I found very old photos of my granddad back when he was in his 30s. I won't tell you much here because I intend to blog about it when I can get hold of these pictures (which I really hope is soon). All I'm gonna say is that, to me, my grandpa was awesome.

This morning I came across a few videos which really irked me. I won't say much about this matter also. I will only be saying: your great-gradfather gave up his rights when he decided to flee. Running like a coward into the woods/to another country makes you less of a man. A man undeserving of any subordinates. Enough said.

Later, alligators! =D

Dear Friends...

2009-07-24T12:47:00.002+01:00

Yeah yeah long time no blog yada yada yada bla bla bla sorry for yak yak yak....

AAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHHHH NGAPA NADA ORANG ONLINE ANI KAN?!?!?!??!?!?!??!?!?!? TOLOOOOONNNNNGGGG!!!!!

I DONT WANNA CHAT WITH SI DAO SAJA WAHHHH!!!!! T_T

Surprise Surprise!

2009-07-05T06:48:00.003+01:00

As of Friday 3rd July 2009, Manchester United, the team that I have followed and supported for the rest of my life, has officially signed former Liverpool star Michael Owen on a free transfer. It is reported that the English marksman (or whats left of him) will be earning a 50,000 pound a week salary and possibly a pay-as-you-play wage.

never saw this coming....

After losing high profile players, Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez, many (including yours truly) expected United to splash some money around in siging replacements of the same calibre into the fray. However, despite reaping 80 million pounds from the sale of CR7 which brings United's transfer kitty, as they call it, to a 100 million pounds, United have only spent a rumoured 17 million on their first signing Luis Antonio Valencia. Many have scoffed at United's transfer activities in this ever so important transfer period but United and SAF are not to be solely blamed.

Real Madrid, home of the scorned Galacticos, have been some sort of a leaky drain in their spending. High profile signings, Kaka, Ronaldo, Albiol and potentially Benzema, Ribery and Maicon, has seen United running out of options on players. It is rumoured that United's next targets are Sergio 'Kun' Aguero from Atletico Madrid, Luis Fabiano from Sevilla and Ibrahimovic of Inter. It is highly unlikely though for United to sign either players with El Kun's release clause is worth 60 million euros, Luis Fabiano is a tad bit too old and Ibrahimovic is just a dream away.

Off to be a Blanco

But do we really need any more forwards? With the likes of Rooney, Berbatov and Owen being 'senior' forwards and Danny Welbeck and Frederico Macheda rising through the ranks, United's strike force is more than sufficient. All these players can surely contribute to the goal tally but only under one condition: United need to sign a playmaker of some sorts in the centre of midfield.

The strike force!

The Young Devils

If any of you watched the Champions League final against Barcelona, it was evident that United were the weakest in the middle of the field. Xavi and Iniesta dominated over United's 'mediocre' central midfielders. So the solution here for the Red Devils in order to retain EPL glory and reach and win another Champons League final is a central midfielder who can complete passes and win tackles. We had that once when Roy Keane was in service or when Paul Scholes was in his prime but those years have faded and its time for things to change.

There are many options for the Red Devils. The likes of Youann Gourcuff and Jeremy Toulalan and come into my mind but is an unrealistic dream though with Gourcuff just signing a four year deal with Bordeaux and Jeremy Toulalan is everything but a traitor to Lyon. Then down the pecking order comes the names of Miguel Veloso and Joao Moutinho. These players have made names for themselves in Portugal with Sporting Lisbon and are established internationals. However are they good enough for United? Veloso is known for inconsistency and Moutinho although can hold the ball in the centre of midfield, his strength and commanding prowess is doubtful. And on a side note: all the names above seem to be 'nice' guys and what United really need are players with the charisma of Eric Cantona, vision of Paul Scholes, fighting nature of Roy Keane and the work rate of Wayne Rooney. A player of that calibre may as well be the best player to ever exist (sorry Ronny but you're just not that good personally) and surely United would be able to dominate for many years to come.

The Ginger Magician

However finding a player with such criterias is, as I utter repeatedly , impossible. It really is heartbreaking when you (you I mean 'me') think about it. There is no such player in existence like that. So what I think United should do is carry on what they do best: harness and develop the talent instead of search for it. Currently in our squad we have Darren Fletcher, Michael Carrick, Anderson, Owen Hargreaves, Darron Gibson, Paul Scholes, Park Ji Sung and Ryan Giggs who can play in the centre. Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs are approaching the twilights of their careers and I expect them to see limited amount of play time in the next term, which would possibly be their last. Darron Gibson is untested and lacks experience and the latter also can be applied to Anderson. Owen Hargreaves is crocked but I have total faith in him and Park Ji Sung is more effective playing by the wings. The only ones left are Darren Fletcher and Michael Carrick. Both unsung heroes but the latter gets more adulations than the former which to me is rather unfair. Darren Fletcher is a reliable workhorse when you expect him to hold the ball and Michael Carrick can surely breakdown defences with his cutting diagonal passes. But these two players are only effective as one.

Heart of the midfield

When one can pass the other can't. When one keeps possession the other can't. So to say either of them can play well only if the other one does too. The missing factor in the United midfield is none other than Owen Hargreaves. As both of the aforementioned unsung heroes are not really defensive in their nature (Fletcher used to be a winger and Carrick can't relly hold possession), 'Hargo' can and will cover for them. At top form, he can be as solid and commanding as both Ferdinand and Vidic combined, aggressive and committed as Rooney and the dearly departed Tevez, score goals from dead ball situation like he who will be forgotten and the versatiliy that should be named 'The Hargreaves'.

The solution to all the Devils' woes

But just to be safe United should sign someone who can cover for Hargreaves when he's out.

He came, he saw, he conquered and popped his collar!

There's only one number 7!

PS: I was really disappointed when Benzema chose Real over United. I thought he could be the successor of l'enfant terribles, Eric Cantona, and wear the number 7 shirt proudly. But like I said United don't need another striker, they need a playmaker.

Without ME its just AWESO!

2009-07-01T03:30:00.004+01:00

That makes perfect sense. A few months back I was going through a phase in my life where I was keen on dressing smart i.e. buttoned down shirts all the time. But now it seems that that phase has passed and I'm really into t-shirts now. I've been following bustedtees, a website where they sell t-shirts designed by normal people, for quite a while now and it seems that if I were to wear t-shirts for the rest of my life, I'd be wearing those from bustedtees.

This one cracks me up all the time! In case you don't get it thats MAO Tse Tung

They also have classic stuff like the uber cool Voltron! And the caption! HAHAHA

First rule of Fight Club: Do Not talk about Fight Club!

One word: Awesome!

The funny side of global warming

LOL

E.T. pwned home!

This one I really like!

GAHAHAHAHAAH!!!!

But I bet if I get my hands on these shirts and wear them in Brunei, only a handful would get it. Oh wait that would be kinda great.

Antonio Valencia... United's new number 7

2009-06-30T22:11:00.002+01:00

It's official! Antonio Valencia the Ecuadorian star and playmaker, previously of Wigan Athletic, has signed a 4 year contract with Manchester United with an undisclosed fee agreed betwen Wigan and United. Valencia will take over the reigns of the illustrious number 7 shirt from the confirmed departee (yes thats all you are to me CR7, just a departee) Cristiano Ronaldo.

Now that that's done: "OI SAF!!!!! Sign Benzema next! Thanks~~~!!!"

And I think United should get a defensive midfielder just to cover Hargreaves until he is fit.

Click Like!

2009-06-29T13:48:00.003+01:00

Ok I haven't been one to request anything from people on this blog but this time its different. I'm just gonna ask you to do one thing and one thing only: click the link below and like the picture you see! Even though you dont know them just do it.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2074958&id=82941554549&comments

I wont be winning anything though but I want these guys to win it. =D

Lets just pray...

2009-06-24T05:53:00.002+01:00

that this movie doesn't turn out like Dragonball or Speed Racer. I have total faith in M. Night Shyamaln to give this movie the awesomeness it deserves. It doesn't look like there's gonna be any nonsense like in the DBZ movie or Speed Racer. Man do those movies suck balls. I hope this movie stays true to the origins.

Inglourious Basterds - I wanna be one too!

2009-06-24T01:29:00.003+01:00

I've actually known about this movie months ago but only now have I remembered to do something about it. This might well be the second best movie I'm gonna see this blockbuster season (second to Transformers 2 of course *hopefully*). I've never been a big fan of Quentin Tarantinos work but he's not bad. I thought Reservoir Dogs was good and I hope that this movie will be better.

NEIN NEIN NEIN NEIN NEIN!!!!

Lets go to Tasek!

2009-06-15T13:32:00.000+01:00

Guys its time to wake up early. Put on your running shoes. We're gonna go jogging tomorrow. Get a good night's sleep and make sure you don't pull a Fadhil tomorrow.

I have a feeling this is gonna fail.

Stop-motion-esque stick figures

2009-06-12T17:22:00.002+01:00

Lol just wanted to try this. Stick figure animation somewhat stop-motion-esque. I guess animation is still animation. Theres a special appearance near the end. Whoever can guess who it is gets fadhil for a week =D

Took me 30 minutes to do the stick figures and 15 minutes or so to mash things up. Quite happy with myself.

Douchin' it out lounge style!

2009-06-09T05:08:00.004+01:00

I thought I'd share this with you. Don't know if this is serious at all. But I know it irks the hell out of me. Oh yeah just for that dramatic effect, please wait till the whole vid loads and watch it till the end. Make sure your speakers are on full.

Yup the word 'groovy' comes into mind. If this was a Scooby Doo episode we'd be hearing the whole Mystery Inc. saying "JINKIES!".

*sigh* the good old days...

Halfway there

2009-06-04T16:48:00.002+01:00

I didn't know they'd get faster after level 8 -.-

Finally an answer!

2009-06-04T10:33:00.004+01:00

"Why do we celebrate National Day on the 23rd of February?"

This question has been bugging me for a long time now. I've asked many about this and none of them gave me an answer. Not my history teachers, parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles etc. But now I just found out the answer.

The reason why we celebrate our National Day on the 23rd of February is because even though we achieved our independence from the British on the 1st of January 1984, we were only freed of their rule by then and not their protection. It was 54 days later, 23rd February 1984, that we achieved independence from the protection of the British.

HAH!!!! THERE YOU GO MRS SINGH!!!!

Pucker Up Bitch!

2009-05-31T18:09:00.002+01:00

This is very disturbing. I couldn't sleep for days. I was afraid I was gonna start pouting in my sleep like this little douchebagette (female douchebag) and be stuck like that forever *iyea labih*. _|_

United - ogres, prettyboys, koreans etc

2009-05-27T03:07:00.008+01:00

We're moments away from the defining match of the season. The Champions League Final between Manchester United and Barcelona to be precise. Both teams are currently, in my opinion, the two best football clubs in the world and are on top form at the moment. Barcelona, with the likes of Messi, Henry and Eto'o leading the attack look a formidable threat to United's quadruple hopes. But have no fear United fans because United also have their kick-ass trident attack.

Leading the trident attack is Wayne Rooney. He has been prolific in front of goal this season. Despite not scoring a lot of goals, he has missed lots of chances which means that his selfless behaviour, which at times are wonderful for the team but not always, is gone and is now more of a deadlier predator. Apart from that, hehas also starred in three movies where he being the beast gets the girl and rules as king in the end. Don't know what I'm talking about? Well just take a look at the picture below taken from his latest movie:

Shrek 3: Pursuit of the Triple Successive BPL wins

As support to the attack, Cristiano Ronaldo and Park Ji Sung. We are not unfamiliar with Cristiano Ronaldo's skills as a footballer. His thunderous earth shattering freekicks, his dribbles, speed, pace, acceleration, deadliness in front of goal and good looks *EEEEKKKKK* (please detect the sarcasm) makes him almost the perfect footballer. But football isn't the only sport he plays. Recently he was called up to join his national side's, Portugal, Olympic diving team:

Verdict: 10 out of 10. Perfect timing, composure and most importantly believable (if you were a sucker). Go for Gold Cristy!

Park Ji Sung, despite being underrated in England is much more of a cult figure in Asia especially in his homeland South Korea. To me he is the most hard working player n the United team. You can see him run up and down the flanks chasing after the ball relentlessy and winning. Asked in an interview what his plans were after football he said: "I think I'm gonna follow in Eric Cantona's steps and act" and act he will. Posts on fan boy/girl pages are raving about the prospect of him appearing on Korean dramas:

Sim aku post pasal Korean LOL!

On the bench we've got two othe prolific strikers - Tevez and Berbatov. Both if summed up cost $50 million. Man I wish somebody paid that amount of money just to have me sit on a bench for a large fraction of 90 minutes every week. Berbatov and Tevez play very important roles while on the pitch but because of their public behaviour, managerSir Alex Ferguson, decided enough was enough and is gonna bench them possibly for 60 minutes or for the whole game.

Berbatov (some might know him as count) was caught in the streets sucking blood out of the necks of United Supporters.

Asked why he did this: "I just wanted to pwn that guy - Edward's ass!"

Tevez has also risen dispute in the United camp asking for more money as he was jealous of his brother earning more than him:

Pictured: Tevez (left) and his brother - that dude from Red Hot Chilli Peppers (right)

*Stay*

So with that amount of firepower it's safe to say United are gonna win it tonight!

You might like this..

2009-05-26T11:41:00.002+01:00

Copy and paste the link below to your browser then after the '#' sign enter your name/nickname. It's a lot of fun.

http://thepoorprofessor.blogspot.com/#'your-name-nickname-here'

Try it!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!

2009-05-26T10:28:00.002+01:00

Even though she doesn't read this blog, I'd just like to wish Happy Birthday to the greatest mom ever (in my opinion). Thanks for giving me money and a roof over my head (that goes for my dad too). But I'm mostly thankful for the love you've given me. May age cure you of your crankiness and nagging.

Sincerely,

Mama's boy and favourite eldest son =D

Picking locks....

2009-05-22T07:42:00.000+01:00

I can do it!

Your favourite yellow-skinned (jaundiced?) family

2009-05-20T15:04:00.007+01:00

I just finished watching a few episodes of the Simpsons and there was this particular episode where Milhouse was having a birthday party which made me think: "They always have birthday parties but they still turn the same age". Ok So I googled for their birthdays and found these:

Lisa Simpson's birthday is on September 28th, 1981

Homer Simpson's birthday is on December 5th or May 12th, 1956

Marge Simpson's birthday is October 1st, 1954 or 1956 (she said it herself on Marge Gamer)

Bart Simpson's birthday is April Fool's day, 1979

Maggie Simpson's Birthday is in November of 1986 (she was turning one during the tracy ullman shorts)

Looks like Lisa, Marge, and Maggie was born in the Ber' months (September, October, November and December).

I dont know about the others but I'm sure Homer's birthday is correct. I've got the evidence right here:

Lol so he's 52/53? I should've gotten him a birthday present for all the good he brought to the world. Man that picture cracks me up!

On other things Simpsons, the US Government has recognised the contributions the Simpsons have brought to the entertainment business. So they issued Simpsons stamps.

I've gotta get me these to add to my Simpsons memorabilia

My favourite! =D

Toys for the big boys!

2009-05-20T13:54:00.005+01:00

I know its too early for a second post but I just had to do it. I just got back from gift hunting with my mum. We were searching for a birthday present for one of my nieces. She's turning 1 in a few days. In other words - I don't really care =D. What's the point of getting a birthday present for someone who wouldn't even remember their birthday even the day after their birthday?

Anyway back to the main point. Me and my mom went to Bebeland at HuaHo Manggis and it felt like geek heaven to me. THere were toys... toys for big boys. HAHAHA. There were many transformers action figures. There were many marvel toys also including the new Super Hero Squad collection. There were Hulk stuff too. But the most eye-catching toy was the claws. Yep the claws. THe one that go "SHING!" "SLASH!" and "SWOOSH!". I'm talking about thee claws:

Ok that sucked. Those were wolverine claws. So those weren't clear but the one below is as sharp as... anything sharp I guess.

I want one of those! =D

Protectorate and residency - yes. But colony? Never

2009-05-20T10:40:00.004+01:00

With the scholarship interviews lurking right around the corner, I've taken initiative in brushing up on my knowledge of Brunei Darussalam. I've been memorising the ministers' names, important dates, themes and so on. I guess you can say I've gone all MIB now.

Speaking of MIB. Last night the MIB Concept Forum was held at the ICC Plenary Hall, which I regrettably missed due to bodyaches and lethargy, in accordance with the Silver Jubilee National Day 2009. In attendance wah HM the Sultan, the royal family, nobles, ministers and the 'rakyat' of Brunei Darussalam. Do you know why I regret not attending the event? It's because there were - in my own terms - epic moments according to my parents. HM started the proceedings with a speech questioning the reliabiity of the MIB board which was appointed in 2001. Then as it was a forum, the chairman of the ostentatious occasion was berated by meny questions which led to some heavy discussion at some points. At least I think it was heavy as the event ended 10 minutes before midnight.

I know that might not seem interesting to you but to me, it's my cup of tea (I hope I'm using this expression correctly).

Despite missing out on the event, I managed to get a copy of the Titah book and the program book (which contains lots of information on the hierarchy of the Brunei government and other information). I've started reading the Titah book and I find it very interesting and informative.

When I read the first Titah in the book, I had chills all over. The Titah was delivered on the day Brunei achieved it's independence. I could not imagine the sense of pride, joy and relief of those in attendance of that auspicious occasion. It brought me back to form 4 - when I was learning about the history of Brunei. Then it didn't seem as interesting, probably because it seemed to me as a task that I HAD to do. But now, there is a sense of pride in learning about Brunei and it's history <--- Don't mind this, it's just the historian in me talking.

I realise that not everything that I'm reading about is necessary in the interviews. It might even be ok not to know some stuff and be honest about it. But seeing that I've got lots of free time, I might as well spend it on stimulating my brain.

Anyone read the papers lately?

2009-05-18T11:14:00.002+01:00

I stumbled upon an article from the opinions section in the Borneo Bulletin Weekend edition which really caught my attention. It goes:

Small could be beautiful

I was interested in the comments of the Minister of Finance II stating that we should be prudent in our spending in this time of global downturn. Here's my suggestion, why not the government change all the luxury cars to more cheaper but reliable cars. Think of the money saved in maintenance and upkeep of our expensive cars. Take for example the Prime Minister of Malaysia. He's using a Proton Perdana as his officially car. The Prime Minister of India is using a Tata. -Citizen

Who needs 6000cc gas guzzling luxury cars like the Mercs, BMWs and Lexus' when 1500cc (like my Vios =D) efficient and economic cars can go just as fast and gives you comfort at the same time? Sure those luxury cars are alluring and very appealing. But let me tell you this: the so called 'normal' cars are too. Sometimes I think 'normal' cars are better than those luxury cars because to me, they have more character than the Mercs and BMWs (which all look the same). So it's time to think people. Living materialistically or pragmatically? You decide!

Nasi Katok - one of the things I'm grateful for being a Bruneian

2009-05-14T13:35:00.008+01:00

In my 2 weeks of perma-employment (now I'm just on call until the night shifts starts next week or the week after) my lunch menu consisted of rice, sambal (gravy) and chicken. Yes people, I'm talking about Nasi Katok - undoubtedly the most versatile, economic and fulfilling meal ever. So in those two weeks, I found myself obsessed with Nasi Katok. Every morning before lunch, I'd think about what type of nasi katok I'd eat for lunch that day and where. My obsessions with this "culinary innovation" led me to google it and I found this:

Definition:
Nasi: Rice.
Katok (originally “Ketuk”): Knock.
Nasi Katok: B$1.00 meal consisting of rice, sambal and chicken. Sambal can be categorised into biasa and padas.
History:
The reason why the name “Nasi Katok” derived from this family who lived in Ong Sum Ping who (used to?) sell these so-called nasi bungkus meal only at night time. Why Katok? Translating the word “katok”, as above, is knock. This means that people who wanted to buy this nasi katok has to knock on the door and then make their order. This Ong Sum Ping resident is the pioneers of the evergrowing Nasi Katok outlets in Brunei.
Development:
Nasi Katok has gain its popularity over these past months. Until today, you can find at least one Nasi Katok outlet in every area. A few of those who are successful in this business managed to open up another branch elsewhere. I am quite amazed by their hardwork in filling up the tummies of Bruneians (and foreigners).

Despite not knowing the extent of it's accuracy and precision, since it is the only information availabe on nasi katok on the internet it is logical to think that the aforementioned information is as closest to the truth as possible (iyea star trek talk). I always thought that Nasi Katok originated from the Lambak area. Also nasi katok does not only come with chicken. There's this place I know, close to where I live by the way (which is the best in my opinion), that serves nasi katok lambchop. Doesn't that make you drool?

Evenly painted walls are overrated...

2009-05-14T09:00:00.005+01:00

I painted my room for the past two days. Well I tried to anyway. I only managed to paint 3 out of 4 of my walls and of those three, I only got to paint from the bottom of the wall to the point 2 feet from the top of the wall. Bummer ey? So yeah my walls aren't evenly painted, my door framesand floor have splatters of blue paint and I think I kinda fractured (worst case scenario) my finger (yeah you know which one) or maybe just bruised it.

But looking at the bright side.... no harm was done. Everything feels normal. Like nothing really happened - the walls are still blue if you dont look at them carefullyand who really notices door frames right? (although my finger is really sore. I think I should get it checked or something). I'd like to thank Fadhil for helping me out in trying to paint my room. I don't think we made a diffference though.

I just found a new thing to add to the collection of things that make my room very crowded. My parents recently bought a recliner. Its not those expensive leather ones though. I don't really know how to explain it but I'd say a hammock on a chair which reclines is close. I think. I've dozed off a few times today on it - which is one of the main features to look for in furniture. It's so comfortable that I think I'm gonna sleep on it tonight.

It look like its gonna rain tonight. Heavily. The wind is already blowing ferociously. I expect to hear earth shattering thunder tonight. So don't fail me unstable weather!

I feel like blogging today

2009-05-11T08:21:00.003+01:00

It's been a while.

Before I started working, I seriously despised doing nothing. But now that I've finished working (tentatively), I've come to see how precious these moments are. I've been having some "me" time lately. Getting away from all the rush of life and going through things one thing after the other.

Today started out with some exercise with the gang at Tasek Lama. There were new faces present. Amal and Zimin were there; Imi and Sim too. We jogged (more like strolled) for a few laps and ended up sitting at the reflexology path way. We had a nice chat for 15-30 minutes and then sought to go home. Just as I was getting into my car Zimin called me and gave back some books that he had borrowed from me. One of them was 'Confessions of an Economic Hit Man'. That was the turning point of my day.

Prior to that moment, I hadn't really planned on what to do for the rest of the day. I already decided that I was going to HSBC to cash in my paycheck and go to the car wash. That was just it. But since Zimin gave a good review on the EHM book on his blog, I decided at the moment he returned that book to me, I was gonna start to read the book.

I haven't really been reading much lately. The last book I attempted to read was 'Hot, Flat and Crowded' but I stopped because there were too many distractions. But now I've found a solution to this problem - read at unfamiliar places. No I'm not talking about places at home, but places where I have to drive to. I'm already through chapter 4 (each and every chapter at different places and time) of the book and it's safe to say that I'm deeply enthralled in it. Also I've never been as thrilled into reading like this before. Maybe the combination of something most people deem as 'bland and boring' like reading and something 'enjoyable and fun' as travelling(in this sense driving around) sums up to become something very appealing. I read chapter 1 of the book at Ceri Cafe whilst enjoying an ice blended caramel latte and some garlic bread. Chapter 2 at the car wash. Chapter 3 at the Pertama Jaya (Lambak) parking lot and Chapter 4 at Pantai Meragang.

I'll post updates in the sidebar on the places where I read the book. The carnal rule to this scheme is to never read at the same place more than once. So I guess said places in the previous paragraph cannot be used anymore. Oh and I'd like suggestions on places where to read.

Oh yeah I had a nice nap at Pantai Meragang just now. Nothing like 15 minutes full of 'zzz' in the car.

Happy Birthday World Wide Web!

2009-04-29T22:58:00.002+01:00

The World Wide Web turns 16 today.

16?!?!?!?!?!?!?! So I'm guessing the stuff where the rule '18 years or above' doesn't apply to the '3 W's", huh? So with that, the prize for the biggest hypocrite ever to exist goes to: The World Wide Web!

My First Job

2009-04-27T23:27:00.003+01:00

Yesterday I started work. Yay! I don't think I'm at liberty to discuss the operations of what I do but all I can tell you is that I work as a Data Entry Clerk at Expansys Technologies located on the top floor of iCentre (Your Innovation Centre - iyea) which means I'm one floor above Ranoadidas who I think I will meet today if not on Friday. Why Friday? well on Fidays the iCentre family (they're familial there) gathers at Coffee Zone down below and has sort of an activity called 'The Breakfast Club'. Our employers said that this Friday all of us new staff will be introduced to the whole of iCentre. And oh yeah they have a Foosbal table.

I guess this is the closest I can get to working in Collegehumor.

Movies are AWESOME!!! (you can say you were wrong man, I'll forgive you)

2009-04-21T02:38:00.002+01:00

Man this video clip is very close to my heart. I know you guys might think I'm talking about Megan Fox but actually no, not entirely though. There's a scene in the clip that really touches me. The one when Sam tells Bumblebee: "You'll always be my first car". Well the time to sell my Vitara has come and soon it'll be out of my life forever which is kind of sad because I've had quite a few memories in that car een though I've only been driving it for about 8-9 months. It is (and will be was) the first car I ever drove in my entire life. I've hosted a Nutella Party in that car.

It's been a good ride and I guess I have to move on to bigger and better things, steed-wise, just like what Sam said in the clip to Bumblebee. WTF am I saying? How can you move on to bigger and better rides than a car that transforms into a badass robot?!!! I don't care if you're dating Megan Fox, talking cars are awesome.

My parents are getting me a new (not really) car. Too bad they got the car before I saw this video clip. If I knew Bumblebee was available I would've pitched him in for my new car.

Look at the Jello bounce!

2009-04-21T02:30:00.001+01:00

This video was shot with 1000 frames per second and I am really impressed. Seeing how everything moves in high-def sure changes how a guy views life. LOL!

I-Movix SprintCam v3 NAB 2009 showreel from David Coiffier on Vimeo.

It's just not funny anymore... but it still makes me laugh

2009-04-18T11:41:00.004+01:00

Last night while searching the internet for knowledgeable material (the internet meaning collegehumor.com and knowledgeable material meaning tings to fill in my time) I stumbled upon.... hmmm I don't really no what to call it... it's not really a creation because they didn't realy create it but it's also not an improvisation as the main part of it was removed. So I guess we'll have to do with an innovation.

I stumbled upon Garield-minus-Garfield right after I stumbled upon quarterlifecomics (which will not be covered in this or future posts). Garfield-minus-Garfield is described as:

a site dedicated to removing Garfield from the Garfield comic strips in order to reveal the existential angst of a certain young Mr. Jon Arbuckle. It is a journey deep into the mind of an isolated young everyman as he fights a losing battle against loneliness and depression in a quiet American suburb.

Sounds to me that he's not really depressed. Instead, I think he's got an abundance of time to do nothing. Believe me I can relate. He's just like you and me.

HAHAHAHAHHAHA

Flight....

2009-04-18T02:04:00.003+01:00

or maybe after you've seen this video maybe not. I've been wanting to share this video which I found on youtube for a long time now but seemed to have forgotten to do so again and again. I don't know if I've shared this vid before but I've checked my archives and no traces of it were found. So enjoy...

Hmmmm... sure, why not?!

2009-04-17T17:53:00.003+01:00

I know I've been neglecting this *cough*sorryexcusefora*cough* blog and I really do feel guilty. So to rid myself of all this guilt I present thee... pictures that I delayed from posting time after time.

Spiderman is not gay at all (please detect the sarcasm).

He actually said "I'm web shooting spidey!" but that wasn't funny at all...

I'm proud to say: "Didn't even have to edit this..."

HAHAHAHAHAHHAHA

I smile whenever I see this picture....

I never realised it until I started using them but camera-phones sure are handy.

From Slumdog to Firebender... HAH!!!

2009-04-17T14:17:00.002+01:00

*Short post alert*

I just found out that whats his name from Slumdog Millionaire is gonna be Prince Zuko in the upcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender. The aforementioned (iyea) movie will be directed by none other than the master of all movie twists - M. Night Shyamalan, and will be out next year. Man this is exciting. Avatar was great for me.

*End*

I DID IT!

2009-04-08T04:12:00.002+01:00

I finally did it! I went 1 month without shaving or trimming my beard! I don't think I've ever been happier. That's an something I can cross out of my bucket list. The itchiness an lack of comfort was totally worth it. So now I guess people owe me some virtual money. Or not. Whatever. Man is this a short post or what?

Alright I get it!

2009-04-06T11:56:00.003+01:00

Don't you just love spam? Y'know those kinds where you have to be scammed first into giving out your email account and password into a system and the automated programme within that system hacks into your account and gives people stupid IM's. I have fallen victim to these scams back in the past (long, long, long time ago - like before star wars) and now it seems like others are too (or not). Can't keep up? Let me give you an example:

*friend's display name* says:

This is like a dream come true for me and my Becky. We both are living proof that Acai pills work to lose weight quick, we both lost over 30 pounds and still losing, no diet or excercise they just burn the fat off. Get them now for only five dollars at http://datedoes.com

Wow it's funny how the universe can give you hints. Cruel and hurtful hints I might say. It's like a punch in the gut! HAHAHA

Yeah, yeah, yeah I get it. But the main question here is who the hell is Becky? And Acai pills? Seriously.

Oh yeah, I'm back... and I know I promised pictures but YEAH just be patient (or not).

Don't miss me too much =)

2009-03-19T06:26:00.001Z

I'll be gone for 12 days for 'Umrah' so yeah just follow what the title says.

I'm really excited to go the Holy Land and I hope to find spiritual peace within myself (iyea). Hahaha seriously. It's been 8 years since I've been there last and I expect many changes. Last time I went there, it was just me and my parents. But this time, I'm going with my whole family with my grandparents, my 'bungsu', two of my cousins next door with their parents and my youngest aunt with her daughter.

I heard it's cold there this time of year. 10 degrees celsius during the day so just imagine how low the temperature is night time. Thank god I 'improved' my insulation lately. The others will be so jealous of me. hahahaha

I'll be bringing my camera along so to Sim: "Don't worry dude, pictures are coming". Also I'll try to bring back camels for all of you. But no promises.

Ok guys I guess that's all I have to say. See you in 12 days or so!

Not That Chatty Now , Huh?

2009-03-18T13:15:00.000Z

So much for consistency, huh?

Some of you might have noticed that I've been missing from the tech-world lately. The past few days have been somewhat blissful. I've been watching a few movies, 4 movies precisely.

1. SE7EN (Seven)

Rookie detective (Brad Pitt) teamed-up with a soon to be retiring veteran detective (Morgan Freeman) investigates a case of serial killings revolved around the '7 Deadly Sins'. Looking at movie reviews and film critics columns, it was rated very highly. The acting was good, the flow of the story was too. The thing I really liked about the movie was that it made me think. It made me think about what the killer would do next. It made me think of the who, how, when and why. But the ending sucked. Not big time though. It just normally sucked. THat's why it only deserves an A- from me. Not really an A but sure as hell not a B.

2. Taken

Ex-government special agent (presumably black ops) Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) goes to Paris not only to save his daughter but also to find and track down the people who kidnapped her so that he could kick some ass. And let me tell you this: "Liam Neeson can totally kick ass!". He's just like an old Jason Bourne. Now that being said this movie also warrants an A-. Not because I didn't like it but because I just liked it. If I loved I would've given it an A but sorry no. It actually seemed kind of realistic. No superhuman BS going about. Just like the movie mentioned before, the ending was just an ending. Nothing big.

3. The Punisher: War Zone

I just don't want to give a sypnosis here. It was really unbearable. I thought all the violence would amount to something. I thought wrong. It was so unealistic and GD boring I started blogging. Let me tell you one thing: Frank Castle, or the Punisher as you may know him, sure is a badass, sure he's a an anti-hero who kills bad guys but he's not a freaking superhuman. I just saw this one scene where he punched a guy in the face and his fist just went through the guy's skull. I do not recommend this movie to anyone. Even if it's the only movie left in the world. I liked the first movie more. The frst movie, I gave it a B+. But this movie doesn't even deserve an F. F is too good a grade you can give it. Even Elektra was better than this movie. And Elektra did suck. Now I just pray that the Punisher isn't included in any Marvel movies in the future. I don't even want to hear anyone mentio the Punisher in the Avengers movie. But wait, they could punish the Punisher. Maybe the Hulk (the Incredible Hulk was fantastic by the way regardless of whatever people say) can rip his head off. But unliek the movies before, the ending was the best part of the movie - because it was the end of it all.

4. Gone Baby, Gone

Amongst all the movies I saw, this was the best. I've been wanting to watch this movie for a long time now but I just got to it toady. It was very compassionate and gripping tale. The cast was excellent in their portrayals, indivdually and as a group. The flow of the story was absolutely magnificient. It peaked right in the middle of the movie and it stayed that way until the end. I don't want to spoil anything here because I am certainly recommending this movie therefore no spoilers will be attached. Oh yeah A+. This movie deserves going back to. Like Fight Club, I could watch this movie over and over again and not get bored.

The common thing about all four movies was that they all made me want to kick open a door. You know detective style kicking the door in around the door handle area. When I was a kid I wanted to be one of those trench-coat detectives smoking cigs and catching bad guys. But I realised that in Brunei, those kind of cops only existed in comic books and movies.

I also watched 'Sixth Sense' yesterday at Syd's place but I've watched that before. The kid sees dead people. Who can complain about that right?

Can't seem to catch a break...

2009-03-06T09:59:00.005Z

Man I've got to go to another wedding thing tonight. Last night I went to my great-grandma's house for a family gathering, then this morning I had to wake up real early to go to an Umrah briefing. This afternoon I had to go to my uncle's place and help out a bit for tonight which leaves me no time to take an afternoon nap because soon I'd have to go back to his place for the thing tonight. Don't get me wrong or anything, I kind of enjoy these things but its piling up too fast for me.

I haven't been able to sleep early at nights. Sound familiar to you? Oh so you've read Zimin's blog. But seriously, last night I tried to sleep at 11 but ended up sleeping at 2. All that time I was lying on my bed. I switched off everything that emitted light so my room was pitch black but still I couldn't sleep. I wanted to make myself a cup of hot chocolate but I was afraid that if I got off of my bed I'd be tempted to do something else other than sleep.

After tossing and turning looking for the perfect sleeping position I found it. It was very comfortable but still I couldn't sleep. Smells like insomnia right? I hope its not. I don't wanna be like the 'Fight Club' guy coming up with a Tyler Durden of my own. It would be cool though, in a really, really freaky wax.

I found a solution to my problems though. I talked myself to sleep. HAHAHAHA. I know it sounds crazy but it really works. I didn't do the split personality thing because that would be crazy. I just thought of a history essay that I could right and I laid it down note by note, fact by fact. I discussed about JFK and theorized that if he wasn't assasinated he wouldn't be the American hero he is now. I think 5-10 minutes after I started I finally dozed off only to be woken up three and a half hours later. Talk about sleep deprivation.

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

2009-03-05T10:17:00.001Z

The title directly translates to "Who will guard the guardians?" but in colloquial English terms it can also refer to as "Who will watch the Watchmen?". The answer to that would be "ME!".

No I don't mean that I'll be a protector of any sorts. I'm talking about watching the movie 'Watchmen'. It just premiered today in Brunei so probably I'll be able to watch some time before I fly off to the Holy land of Mecca and Medina for Umrah (which is in exactly 2 weeks. wow O.O).

Unless you didn't know, the movie Watchmen originates from wait for it, wait for it...) the award winning 12-issue comic book titled 'Watchmen' (Yeah no duh!). And as you all might know (or might not know) I know the whole sequence of the story since I've already read the comic book. Ok so now you might say that, "Why should you watch the movie if you already know whats gonna happen?". My answer to that is "Why not? I read the 'Wanted' comic book and still watched the movie". And also I won't be the only one who has watched something that I already know about. Why not ask the millions or possibly the bilions of Harry Potter fans. HAHAHAHA

Watchmen was created and written by one of the most critically acclaimed writers, Alan Moore, the same person who brought you V for Vendetta. Yes it might not ring a bell. The Watchmen is based in the 1980s in a 'what if' scenario in which the 'what if' was that the Watergate incident didn't happen and that Nixon had carried on being President. So in this so called 'alternate world' superheroes, 'masks' as they call them, were considered renegades and criminals of the law. SO one thing comes after the other, some explosions, nuclear missiles, treachery and so on. So the 'Watchmen' have to save the day and all. Just like the Justice League but they're 'renegades'.

Now that I've mentioned it, why did this get a green-light but not JLA? hmm

SOAS Memorial Lecture by MM Lee Kuan Yew

2009-03-05T03:06:00.001Z

Finally got my hands on the speech. As mentioned a few posts back, I didn't get to hear to the whole lecture. So to those who were unfortunate ont to hear it last time, you could read it here.

"THE LEGACY OF SULTAN HAJI OMAR ALI SAIFUDDIEN"

I am honoured that, with the consent of His Majesty Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei Darussalam, the Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Foundation has invited me to deliver the first of the Sultan Haji Omar Ali Saifuddien Memorial Lectures. It is fitting and proper that the Seri Begawan should be commemorated. At a turning point in its history, the Brunei Sultanate would have ceased to exist as an independent state without him. In August 1963, Indonesia was opposing the proposed Federation of Malaysia and confronting Malaya and Singapore. Only eight months earlier, on 8 December 1962, Brunei had faced a revolt by Sheikh Azahari of the Partai Rakyat Brunei (PRB) and British forces from Singapore put down the rebellion. It was a time of great peril when the Sultan decided not to join the proposed Federation. Singapore went ahead and joined the Federation. Sultan Omar Ali was under great pressure from the British who had hinted that they would be leaving the region soon. But he stood firm. He put his position as Sultan and the fate of his people on the line. His judgment was that the British would be responsible enough to give him some time to get his country in better shape before British forces left.

Let me briefly recount his personal history. Sultan Haji Omar Ali Saifuddien Sa'adul Khairi Waddien the Third was born on 23 September 1914 in Kampong Sultan Lama, a ward in Kampong Ayer. He was the second surviving son of Sultan Muhammad Jamalul Alam the Second, the 26th Sultan of Brunei and the Rajah Isteri Fatimah, seventh in a family of ten. He received an informal traditional Islamic education based on the study of the Quran. He was taught good manners, respect for elders and Islamic prayers. He was interested in traditional Malay literature and was familiar with the text of the Hikayat and Syair. He had a bent for Malay poetry and wrote four works of poetry. That earned him the accolade "Penyair Diraja" or "Royal Poet". In 1932, at the age of 18, he left with two of his cousins to enroll at the Malay College in Kuala Kangsar, Malaya. He studied there for four years and returned with a Standard 4 examination certificate. He then entered the State Administrative Service with the encouragement of the British Resident, later Governor of North Borneo, R E Turnbull. He was stationed in Kuala Belait for a year, lived and worked in the jungle in Ulu Belait. After a year, he joined the Legal Department as a cadet officer, and learned aspects of civil and criminal law, understudying H Hughes-Hallet, the Assistant British Resident.

In 1938, he left the legal department and devoted his time to study religion under well-known religious teachers. In 1941, he joined the Resident's Office. On 6 September 1941, he married Pengiran Anak Damit, the daughter of the Pengiran Bendahara. Brunei was occupied by the Japanese military in early 1942. He was nominated to the State Council from 29 June 1942 and worked at the Governor's office at the request of the Japanese military administration. His brother, the Sultan, Ahmad Tajuddin, died on 4 June 1950, and Omar Ali was proclaimed Sultan on 6 June 1950. He was crowned on 31 May 1951 as Brunei's 28th Sultan at the age of 35. He was made a Knight by the British monarch.

I first met him in September 1960 when he had invited the Yang Di-Pertuan Negara of Singapore, Yusof bin Ishak, me as the new Prime Minister and our wives to Bandar Brunei for his 46th birthday celebrations. He had gathered some Malay literary figures from the Dewan Bahasa Dan Pustaka in Kuala Lumpur, including Syed Nazir, the then-President of the Dewan. He spent time the next few days discussing Malay literary works. The late Sultan was a modest man. He was soft-spoken, with a frequent smile when speaking to his friends. He lived a simple and frugal life. For his birthday, he had built an annex to the old Istana. It was not air-conditioned. He did not like air-conditioning. The room that my wife and I stayed in within this newly-built annex was very hot, like an oven even at night. The sun would shine on the building in the afternoon and there was not enough ventilation. So I quietly moved out to stay at the rest-house in a room with a window-model air-conditioner. It was during this visit to Brunei that we struck up a friendship that was to grow and endure the rest of his life.

On 27 May 1961, Tunku Abdul Rahman, the Malayan Prime Minister, at an address to the Foreign Correspondents Association in Singapore, mooted the formation of Malaysia, to include Brunei, Sarawak, North Borneo (subsequently to be named Sabah), Singapore and Malaya. On 5 December 1961, Sultan Sir Omar Ali described the Malaysia proposal as very attractive. In January 1962, he appointed a Brunei-Malaysia Commission to report on the opinion of the people. On 18 July 1962, the Sultan stated that he accepted the Malaysia proposal in principle, but that it did not necessarily mean it was final. If agreement could not be reached on important conditions affecting benefits to the people and the state, Brunei would not participate in the Malaysia plan. In August 1962, the Partai Rakyat Brunei (PRB) won a landslide victory in four District Councils which in turn would choose 16 members for the Legislative Council (LegCo). The PRB won 54 seats and had all the 16 members required for the LegCo. But they could not form the government. The 17 government nominees outnumbered the PRB in the 33-member Council. Sheikh Azahari, Leader of the PRB, rejected the proposal that Brunei join the proposed Malaysian Federation. Azahari put forward three motions at the Legco meeting, for 5 December 1962: first, to reject the proposal of a Malaysian Federation; second, to request the restoration of Brunei's sovereignty over Sarawak and North Borneo and the installation of the Sultan as constitutional monarch of the North Borneo Federation; and, third, a request to the British to grant independence to Brunei not later than 1963.

The Speaker of the LegCo disallowed the motions because the issues fell within the purview of the British government under the 1959 British-Brunei Agreement. Sheikh Azahari, the PRB leader, decided to resort to a military solution and staged a rebellion led by its military wing, Tentera Nasional Kalimantan Utara (TNKU). The revolt began on 8 December. It was put down in short order by British forces flown in from Singapore. On 20 December, Sultan Omar Ali declared a State of Emergency, suspended the Constitution, dissolved the LegCo, and appointed a 14-member Emergency Council comprising four ex-officio members, including the British High Commissioner, Sir Denis White, and 10 members nominated by the Sultan.

Negotiations on Malaysia were resumed in earnest following the end of the rebellion. The Sultan did not accept the terms that Malaya offered him. When the Malaysia Agreement was signed on 9 July 1963 in London, Singapore, North Borneo and Sarawak signed on. Brunei did not. I had been in frequent touch with the Sultan in London, then staying at Grosvenor House. He was very firm in his decision not to join. As a result, after Malaysia was formed on 16 September 1963, Tunku Abdul Rahman, the Prime Minister of Malaysia, recalled hundreds of Malaysian teachers and government officers seconded to serve the Brunei administration. Their departure caused a temporary dislocation in Brunei. Several accounts were given to explain the reasons for Brunei's decision not to join the Malaysian Federation. One account cited disagreement over oil revenues as the primary cause. Kuala Lumpur wanted Brunei to hand over control of its oil to the Federal government after 10 years. Kuala Lumpur also wanted to immediately tax any new oil and mineral finds discovered after Brunei joined Malaysia and to make the Sultan's contribution of $40 million to federal revenues compulsory rather than voluntary. The Sultan was said to have found these terms unacceptable.

Another account from Kuala Lumpur alluded to the Sultan's unhappiness over the issue of royal precedence. However, I believe Sir Omar was neither willing to compromise Brunei's control over its oil revenues nor ready to have his privileges as the Ruler of Brunei curtailed. More to the point, the vibes that Sultan Omar Ali felt during the negotiations were that he would become subordinate to Kuala Lumpur's leaders and he would rank behind Malaysia's nine Sultans in seniority, besides giving up a chunk of this oil wealth to KL. When we met soon after Singapore was asked to leave Malaysia in August 1965, he nodded with satisfaction that his decision not to join was wiser than Singapore's acceptance of Malaysia.

Just over two months after Malaysia was formed, on 1 December 1963, the British Colonial Office cut its long-term connection with Brunei. The British High Commissioner in Brunei, no longer called the British Resident, henceforth would deal with the Secretary of State for Commonwealth. When the Labour Government took office in October 1964, it became clear that sooner or later they would withdraw their forces from east of Suez. This would jeopardise Brunei's secure position as a protectorate. British advisers pressed the Sultan to hasten the implementation of constitutional reforms so that there could be a democratic government in place. In March 1965, a second general election was held for District and Legislative Councilors. 36 candidates contested for 10 LegCo seats in the 21-member LegCo that would comprise six ex-officio members and five members nominated by the Sultan. 88 candidates fought for seats in four District Councils. A large number of candidates contesting under political parties were defeated by independents because the political parties were weak.

On 4 October 1967, Sultan Omar Ali, then aged only 53, abdicated in favour of his 21-year-old eldest son, Hassanal Bolkiah, born on 15 July 1946. It was a strategic move he made to buy time before a British withdrawal. I was invited to the coronation of his son in 1968. Protracted negotiations with the British on Brunei's future continued following the abdication. The Sultan, now the Seri Begawan, dragged out the discussions. He wanted his son to get familiar with the administration. Moreover, his son was only 21 years old. He deflected pressure to adopt the British adversarial Parliamentary system. He argued with the British that he needed a few years for the young Sultan to learn the ropes and strengthen the domestic situation ahead of any constitutional changes. He bought time from 1963 to 1983, over 20 years, when the British finally withdrew, and Brunei became an independent state. Without the skilful and determined stand taken by Sultan Omar Ali in the full knowledge that he was risking the future of his Sultanate if the British were to leave precipitately, he saved his dynasty, delayed majority rule before Brunei was ready, and he secured Brunei's continued defence by an agreement to pay for one British Gurkha battalion that would stay in Brunei under British control. A discreet British presence remained. The Seri Begawan had preserved Brunei's oil wealth. He left the bulk of his country's reserves with the Crown Agents to manage. He was fortunate that Britain acted with responsibility. Most of all, the Seri Begawan played his hand with considerable skill. He pleaded for time to educate enough local Bruneians who could manage the administration of the country.

Way back in the 1960s, he and I had become close friends. He trusted me because I never took advantage of his friendship to ask for favours. On one occasion, he asked his sons to sit in when I met him and he told them that I was a friend who could be relied upon. He wanted the friendship between us to continue with his sons. It has. The close ties continue between the Sultan and his brothers with the present PM and other leaders of Singapore. Less than three years after independence, on 7 September 1986, he passed away. He was deeply mourned by the people of Brunei. They knew that he had saved their independence and are able to live as they wish, keeping their oil wealth. It was Sir Omar's statecraft. He built the infrastructure of state. By the 1980s, he had given the sultanate's 200,000 people a high per capita income of US$20,000, among the world's most privileged. He strengthened Brunei's Islamic institutions.

Sultan Omar Ali took calculated risks with courage. He had a keen sense of what was politically possible. During the 17 years from 1950 to 1967, he brought economic, social and political developments to Brunei. With two Five-Year Development Plans, he provided for an education system throughout the state. He built schools to teach English, gave scholarships to promising young students to study in overseas institutions. He provided school children with at least one free meal a day. Religious schools were given high priority. Hospitals, clinics were set up and dental services to schools were provided. He eradicated dysentery and malaria. He provided electricity for the whole state. He developed the roads and telecommunication systems. He reclaimed swamp lands and resettled people. He set up the Royal Brunei Malay Regiment in 1961, which evolved into the Royal Brunei Armed Forces. The Currency Board was established in 1967. Sultan Omar Ali had ensured the survival of an independent Malay Muslim monarchy at the end of the 20th century. He had built a strong foundation before passing the mantle to his eldest son. His Majesty Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah has guided Brunei since independence in 1984, a 25-year period, during which Brunei has progressed in material and social terms. The old Sultan would have been happy to know that an independent Sultanate in Brunei has progressed in the quarter century after independence. His son, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, has preserved his heritage. Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah has continued to expand the numbers of abler Bruneians who are educated abroad, and created a thicker layer of the higher educated and well-informed elite.

It was good for Brunei that at the time it became independent, the leader of ASEAN was President Soeharto of Indonesia. He knew that I was a good friend of the Seri Begawan. So he asked me to invite Brunei to join ASEAN. Brunei did join and became a member of the family of ASEAN states. This consolidated Brunei's sovereign status, especially when it was recognised by its neighbours. Joining ASEAN also reduced the dangers of conflict between Brunei and its neighbours. The close friendship and mutual trust that the father established with me have continued in the leaders of the next generation. This is a special relationship. We are the two smallest countries in ASEAN. One natural area of cooperation is defence, where our two countries have a longstanding, deep and extensive relationship that goes back to 1976. There are extensive interactions between the two Defence Ministries and the Armed Forces at all levels, from the Ministers to the younger officers.

All Singapore Prime Ministers and Ministers have scrupulously followed my policy of never taking advantage of our close friendships with the Brunei Royal Family, their Ministers and officials. The two Armed Forces train together in Singapore and Brunei on a regular basis. They conduct seven joint exercises annually. The Singapore Armed Forces is particularly grateful for the opportunity to conduct some of its training in Brunei, given Singapore's land constraints. RBAF officers and soldiers attend a wide range of military courses in Singapore, together with their Singaporean counterparts. These range from technical courses to Officer Cadet School and the Command and Staff Course. Likewise, SAF officers attend courses in Brunei, such as the Executive Development Programme and the RBAF Junior Staff Course. A recent addition is the Scholars Exchange Programme for scholars from the defence establishments of both countries before they depart for their studies. These exchanges have enabled the officers to enhance their military knowledge. More importantly, they get to know one another at a personal level. Such interactions provide the foundation for ensuring that the relationship between our two armed forces remains strong in the coming years.

Another important area of collaboration is the Currency Interchangeability Agreement. In December 1964, a year after Malaysia was formed, the Malaysian government decided to terminate the Board of Commissioners of Currency and to issue a new currency for Malaya, Singapore and the Borneo territories, including Brunei. The Malaya-British Borneo Currency Agreement was terminated two years later. The Malaysian government in Kuala Lumpur declined Brunei's request that it be given a seat on the policy-making body. Also, Malaysia opposed Brunei's request that the portrait of the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia should not appear on the new notes. Hence, Brunei enacted legislation in January 1967 to form its own Currency Board. Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore adopted a Currency Interchangeability Agreement, which allowed our currencies to be accepted inter-changeably in the three countries. Although Malaysia withdrew from the Agreement in May 1973, Brunei and Singapore have maintained the arrangement till today. In June 2007, His Majesty Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong celebrated the 40th anniversary of this Agreement and jointly launched two $20 polymer commemorative notes in Bandar Seri Begawan to commemorate the event. This Agreement reflects our long-standing friendship and mutual trust, and has deepened economic ties between Brunei and Singapore.

Singapore's leaders have continued the close ties with Brunei after my long association with the Seri Begawan and his sons. This association has endured and flourished because it is based on mutual respect and trust, and utmost good faith. Future generations of leaders and officials should build upon and enrich this special relationship.

The history of Brunei has been a most unlikely story of a Sultanate that has survived into the 21st century as an independent oil-rich state in a turbulent part of the world. Singapore and Brunei share fundamental similarities. I remember during one of the Seri Begawan's visits to Singapore after our independence, he had smiled broadly and, with his eyes twinkling and his moustache twitching, said "You are now like Brunei. It is better for you." As small states surrounded by bigger neighbours in an increasingly uncertain and complex world, we share similar aspirations and concerns. We can complement on our respective strengths to enhance our development and growth. Both bilaterally and multilaterally with our other partners in ASEAN, we can help ASEAN become an integrated, stable and thriving regional association at peace with one another and with our larger neighbours, including China and India.

Profiling

2009-03-04T14:43:00.002Z

In my previous post I forgot to mention that for the past two days I'v been picking up my sister from her new school, PTEB. Let me just tell you one thing, the traffic is horrible. Yesterday I spent close to 30 minutes to move the car for about 800 or so metres. Today was bettter but still took quite a while.

But looking on the bright side, I had company along the way. Before picking up my sister, I usually pick up my brother first. So yesterday when we were stuck in traffic, he and I came up with this game (actually I was the one who came up with the game and he just played along). The game was called 'profiling'. The rules were to look at the drivers of cars passing by and assess them of who they were by just a glance. It was a lot of fun and hilarious too. My brother didn't get it at first so he just decided to describe the person. "Moustache" or "funny shirt" was what he said first. But as the game progressed he soon got the gist of it.

Ok so you might think I'm kinda shallow judging people by their looks. Yeah I'm aware of the phrase "don't judge a book by it's cover" but that wasn't it (at least not all of it). It was sort of like an analysis of a person's personality, status, occupation etc through assessing what they drive, what they were wearing, how old they were, their mannerisms and body-language or if they had company in the car. The only thing we didn't take into account was the race because I guess it would be just bland as we'd come up with boring stereotypical perspectives of the people. So it was sort of like playing detective like in the TV show 'Criminal Minds' (you might have seen this show before but it used to air a lot on Star World).

For example, what would you think of a man, early 40s, buttoned down formal shirt (presumably tucked in) with the top buttons undone, side-parted hair, flashy watch and car and not at work at 4 pm? First thought I had was that the guy wasn't a government official, was a busines type person (maybe did not own one but was one of the highly-ranked) and picking up his only child (probably his daughter because he was punctual). That was my assessment of the guy and my brother did quite a good job doing it too. He said that the guy looked like someone who sold cars. Not bad for 9 year old I thought.

Next was a lady driving a compact car, with a son inside wearing 'sekolah ugama' clothes sleeping. It was (about) 4.15pm and the lady was in her late 40s. She didn't wear anything fancy from what I saw. She clutched the steering wheel close to her body. She didn't lean back on her chair, was sitting up straight and seemed kind of jittery. What I could come up with was that she was a stay at home mom, because she was able to pick up her son at 3.15pm then be there stuck in traffic at Berakas/Lambak. So she wasn't in a hurry (to get back to work at least). But the way she held the steering wheel and sitting in the driver's seat, it seemed that she was late to get back home. And also I thought since she was this late and got caught up in traffic, she must've stopped by somewhere and maybe bought some groceries. When I mentioned this my brother added "maybe she has to prepare dinner or something" and I was quite impressed. Again not bad for a 9 year old.

The last one was not at all tricky. There was a guy, late teens (not a day over 20 I presume), looked ravaged and bored. This was a no-brainer. I instantaneously desxribed him in one word: "ME!". He fit the profile of a guy who had nothing to do. Didn't wear working clothes, hair messed up, car was not new but also not really old and he was damn right BORED!!! But then my brother got me again. He said "Yup he is you.... without me to play this game!". Then I guess we burst out into this laughing fit and as soon as we knew it, my sister had just seen the car and was on her way.

Well the point here is that my brother is quite an awesome person. Although annoying at times, he serves good company when you're bored. He never fails to make me laugh (out of joy or irritation). But he also never fails to make me wanna strangle him like Homer does to Bart. HAHAHAHA!

And oh yeah, profiling is cool in a weird but fun way.

Holy Headaches!

2009-03-04T10:20:00.001Z

So yeah I missed two days of blogging. I hope all 12 of you didn't miss me that much.

So Sunday night was a blast. I had great fun with the gang. We had dinner for Kahar's birthday party which was like a first. Usually birthday parties meant music, dancing (although I normally avoid this), shouts and yells, jumping around and you know the usual stuff. But this was different. It was tame and civilised. Which comes to the verdict: I liked it!

After dinner we had cake and played Guitar Hero: World Tour on Kahar's Xbox360. One thing I found out is that Cheah Wen is really good at playing the guitar (hero). She amazed us all with her precision and accurate timing. After she finished one song, I think she burned Imi. I was wowed after that.

Then the ladies (and some guys) soon left the party and only the sleepovers were left. Wait, did I just say the sleepovers? I meant the STAY-overs. I don't think you could really call it a sleepover considering during the niht no one really slept. While some of the guys chilled outside, me, Zimin, Fadhil and Faris were inside. Fadhil and Faris were napping while I listened to Zimin sing on Faris' karaoke machine. He's kind of funny that guy. I think he sang non-stop for an hour or so. Then after that the guys were finished with their air-time and we all went out for a drive on Fadhil's car.

We 'explored' Jerudong (overstatement). We went to the elephant place but it was just a place (minus the elephant) the to the 'Red Rocket' house which we just passed by. Then to Kahar's area then to the beach. It was very serene there on the beach I might say. We climbed the rocks and each and everyone of us claimed a rock for ourselves to lay on or make territory. It was awesome and relaxing. I think we spent one and a half to two hours there 'chilling' until there was light and we headed back to Kahar's place.

I think by that time people started to feel tired. Each and everyone of the guys started sleeping. I didn't actually sleep. I took a short nap downstairs with Zudin, Kahar and Fadhil in company. Only for 15 minutes I think. Then I woke up and joined Fadhil playing videogames then not long after I got bored and just watched him play with Quasim. Then we went back.

As soon as I got back (at 11am), I slept up until 3.30pm and then took my brother from school (I was late). When I reached home at around 4, I continued sleeping until 9 in morning the next day. I vaguely remember being woken up by my parents a few times but I can't seem to remember any details.

Man did that result in a major headache. It felt like being hit on the head by a sledgehammer. TWICE!!! I was so disoriented. First thing I did was freshen up. Then I went to eat then there was a note downstairs from my mom. It read: "Suruh Agus jump kereta, bawa ke workshop usai... ada duit." And next to the note was some cash. I took it and did as instructed. Fixed the car and then bought a few DVDs to indulge my self in these times of boredom and stagnancy.

Today was the same as yesterday minus the workshop thing and the buying of DVDs. =)

Update pasal bual.... ummm I mean bula!

2009-03-01T02:47:00.000Z

Hahahaha sorry jengkins. I felt the twitchies.

Last night me, jeng, zudin, das, kam and syuk joined the jocks (jimmy, vovie, azmi, tom, wafri and man i can't seem to remember the other one) had a little game of futsal at Harun's gym. It was a great deal of fun. I scored two goals last night each scored with my left and right foot. Could've scored more as I had a few shots hitting the upright and some shots were just wide off the target. Me and jeng suffered (exaggerated) a few knocks last night.

Jeng upon attempting to score a goal (before that I think he scored 2 goals), slipped in front of the goal post and somehow cut his toe. It looked kind of gruesome but hell was it enigmatic how he fell down. He fell while trying to stop the ball and ball rolled under his foot. I don't know how he got cut though. HAHAHA

My injury was a re-occurance of the one I had during last year's cross-country. Last year during the cross-country the soles of my feet got cramped and swollen due to poor or lack of hydration. Since that incident, whenever I was due for physical activities and exercise, I made sure to drink a bottle of water before. But last night I forgot and now my feet hurt. It's not as bad last year as both my feet were out-of-service, this time only my left foot hurts bad. But I healed faster than last year and as soon as I reached home, I could limp faster.

Mystifyingly, yesterday the MS Cross Country was held. Maybe its just a coincidence that I acquired the same injury on the same day of a particular occasion. But I'd like to think that cross-countries have something against me.

Seems like this is gonna be the only post for today. Later in the afternoon (at around 3) I'm gonna go to my cousin's 'nikah' ceremony and I think after that I'm gonna go straight to Kahar's (who is celebrating his birthday today by the way). Or maybe I'd go home first and prepare my stuff. My parents finally gave me a green light to go to a sleepover. I don't think they'd mind if I go to a few of these things. Just as long as its not all the time I think.

OH YEAH HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAHAR!!!

At last....

2009-02-28T09:27:00.002Z

Finally after almost 2 weeks of not having it but really wanting it, I finally got it! But every up ha its downs. I was hoping to get a large one but was just able to get a medium one. But it was still good. Still don't know what I'm talking about? OK I'll save you the time: Yakult Green Tea with Grape Jelly from Easy Way. Man that was the highlight of my day!

OH YEAH Happy Birthday to Adeq!

Praises to alternate solutions!

2009-02-28T06:47:00.001Z

Look out sucky Windows Live Writer, seems like you've got some competition.

Since Zimin (or Jengkins as you might know him from my tagboard) introduced me to Windows Live Writer, I've been experiencing some setbacks and disappointments. Not that I'm saying that WLW sucked or anything (it looks terrific btw!) just that it won't work for me. I've tried many times to solve the problem. Installing it, uninstalling it,reinstalling it and even went to greater lengths of asking on forums and what not. But to no avail I failed.

Despite being down and out, there was a light at the end of the tunnel. Yes that light was an alternative to WLW, Zoundry Raven. It's not as cool looking but it still does the job. So kudos you people who aren't as popular as Windows Live!!!

The Comic Book Guy!

2009-02-28T05:39:00.002Z

Well I stayed up late last night. Went to sleep at 2. Why you ask? Well because I watched the new animated movie from DC Comics and Warner Bros. Wonder Woman. Man that girl can serious kick ass.

Ok I'm a self proclaimed comic book geek. For all I know, there's only a handful of us left in this country. No, I'm not talking about those mainstream anime and manga types of comics (which I confess I used to read but soon realised that they were just crappy), I'm talking about the classic but articulated comics from the west. Where when you mention them, the likes of Superman, Batman, Spiderman, Marvel and DC and the whole lot.

Currently in my possession, I have close to 300 comic books from both Marvel and DC, and 50 or so graphic novels and novelty books. All amounting to thousands (I think). That I regret. But not really. This is because as soon as I started collecting comic books, I learned that they can be worth more than the buying price after a certain period of time. I checked online and have seen the likes of the first Batman comic book costing as much as U$1,600,000 purely in mint condition. Back in the day it was sold, if I'm not mistaken, the retail price of the book was only U$0.10. Yes people 10 cents. As I learned this, I started not only buying the comic books for reading, but also for preservation.

In 2005, I used to visit this shop in Gadong where they sold comic books. It was called BlueStone and to me it was comic book heave&B one but was actually ridiculously cheap if you think about the appreciation. It was a comic book from the 40s or 50s and it was in a small convenient store with a price tag of $10. HAHAHA yeah lucky me.

Other rare acquisitions of mine include the Sinestro Corps Vol. 1 out of 1 with the Superboy Prime cover and also the Sinestro (who resembles Hitler to me by the way lol) and also the Justice League of America (ver. 4) issue #0. Yup number zero. lol.

So enough about me... how you doin'?

Here's to Consistency!

2009-02-27T06:58:00.002Z

I know not many people read my blog. I think the only people who do are *looks at cbox* : Zimin, Mal, Waqi and Meips. HAHAHAHA. But even though my fan base (should I even call them fans?) is limited to those few, I don't actually care. Hell it doesn't matter if only one person reads this blog (actually it matters though but this is so to play cool).

The most important thing is that I'm consistent at this thing. Notice that almost everyday there's an updae no matter how boring or short it is. So cheers to consistency and blogging!

Man, this is CRAZY!

2009-02-26T14:31:00.005Z

Saw this great picture. Freaky shit man. Crazy as hell. Might even be hell. If you wanna see what I'm talking about click here.

Happy Birthday Malina Funky-Pants!

2009-02-26T11:30:00.002Z

The title says it all! Today is Amal day!

Amal turns 19 today. Ain't she old? Yup she is. But you know what, she'll always be the funkiest old person I'd know. To celebrate (was it really a celebration?) Amal invited us to the Snowhouse place to watch a DVD. In attendance was me, Amal, Zimin, Kahar, Zudin, Cheah Wen, Khairul and Fy (Khairul and Fy left early though). We watched Zoolander and it was really funny. I've watched it once before and it was funny that time too. But this time I'd say it was funnier. I don't know why but maybe it was because there were others there watching it too. Sometimes company makes lots of difference.

You know I've seen many movies I can't even keep track. I took a somewhat "test" posted as a note by Daus on Facebook recently and the result of the "test" was that I've watched 185 out of 239 movies that were listed on the "test". Thats quite a lot and also there were movies that I've watched which weren't on the list. Recently I saw the movie Australia. It's a movie of good, proportionate story-telling. Full of adventure and romance (eww! hahaha just kidding) and a pinch of comedy. All in all it was a pretty good movie. Until the DVD stopped playing because of an error at the end of the movie. Man after watching the movie for 2 hours, I expected to watch the ending but no, I didn't.

Oh yeah, I still haven't been able to get my supply of Yakult Green Tea with Grape Jelly from Easy Way. It's been almost a week since I've drank that stuff. I think I'll try tomorrow. Or maybe the next day.

Double Bummer... (but we went to the beach though!)

2009-02-25T13:53:00.003Z

Well I got a call from the Brunei Times just now. Seems like no one wants a temporary reporter right now. So yeah. Alright.

Today was a tiring day. Firstly I woke up feeling kind of drowsy. I didn't actually what was going on. I thought I was just fatigued because yesterday I went jogging at the stadium. It was quite nice to get out of the house to exercise. But because I haven't actually done anything physical lately I felt real heavy and couldn't seem to go really fast. I thought you know, trimming my beard would shave off (please excuse the pun (if it is one)) a few minutes of my time. But noo~~~! It was all the same to me.

OK back to today. After waking up, I got ready for the SOAS Memorial Lecture (just after I blogged for a while) and couldn't decide what to wear, Cara Melayu or smart casual attire? NOT!!! Of course I didn't have a hard time. I'd always pick anything other than cara melayu. Even during Hari Raya, if I had a choice I would wear normal clothes instead of the Cara Melayu. So I opted for a grey long-sleeved shirt, black pleated pants and a sports blazer (to you its a coat). I met up with Zimin at the In-door stadium (at the ICC actually) and we waited for an hour until the event started. While waiting, Zimin pointed out that he may be sick due to exposure to rain during the Satay thing at the Polo Club. Then it struck me. I am probably sick too. So yeah. The whole ceremony was ok. I liked the content very much. Unfortunately the sound system wasn't working well as the technicians didn't adjust the volume accordingly. When

Minister Mentor Lee addressed his lecture, it was brely audible. But still I was able to catch some of the important things he said.

Then in the afternoon, me an the guys, Zimin, Kahar, Zudin, Das, and Nawi, went to Muara Beach. Initially we planned to have a picnic with the girls (Amal pulang kali saja) but they didn't show up. So rather than a picnic, it was more like an outdoor adventure outing with gang. At first we just sat around, then we went to the beach, I hit a few golf balls, we sat the the 'valley' thing, got our stuff, I fell at the 'valley' thing and then we went along the coast to the very end of the beach. It took us about half an hour to get to the other side of the beach. It was very tiring however very fun. I don't know why maybe because thats we do, we strive for adventure.

We found this very cool place at the end of the beach. It was beautiful and serene. But yeah as beautiful as it is, still there was rubbish all over the place. We stayed there for a few minutes maybe 10, then we continued on until the very end (Das and Nawi stayed at the place though and I only went until before the rocks and after the green stuff).When we got back to the place where Nawi and Das were, we decided to chill there for a while until we headed back to where we started. When we finally reached our starting point, I realised the whole thing took us (or just me because I was left behind LOL) 2 hours.

On my way back from the beach, I witnessed something so cool but yet it was so sad. While I was driving, I saw a dog trying to cross the road, I was about 100 metres away from it. I slowed down to let the dog pass, but in doing so the dogwas hit by a car on the other lane which was going in the direction opposite of me. So I can deduce that I played a part in the death of the dog and canbe considered as an accessory to dog murder. But the collision was so cool that.... oh nevermind.

Bummer....

2009-02-24T23:58:00.004Z

I woke up this morning with high expectations for the United-Inter game but Noooo~~~!

It was a draw and the line-up SAF used was unexpected. Evans and O'Shea were fit. Evans replaced the bnned Vidic while O'Shea played out on right-back. Not much of a surprise there. What was really surprising was the attacking lineup.

Instead of using the classic but most effective 4-4-2 formation, SAF opted to use a European style type of offense formation with a 4-5-1 formation. It is of to no surprise that Ronaldo played wide on the right and opposite tohim on the left was the ever so lvely and energetic Park. At the heart of United's attack the trio Carrick, Fletcher (who is magnificient by the way) and Giggs dictated the play and pace of the game. Berbatov played the lone striker role up front which to me was not right because we all know he's not remotely strong and composed enough to go against big guns Maicon, Zanetti and Chivu.

Oh well, I guess I should be thankful that they didn't lose right? What? The other team didn't lose also? Well whoop-de-f@*#ing-doo-dah!

Hey Jose meet my friend Fergie and his squad of devils. They're RED!!

2009-02-24T04:53:00.003Z

Tonight (or should I say tomorrow morning) United are gonna go head to head with Inter Milan at the San Siro. They say it's gonna be the game of the season. Too bad I'm gnna miss it though.

Despite so, I surely think United are gona have quite a tough time going against the 'Special One's' team. I'm not saying United are gona lose though but it's not gonna be a stroll in the park for them. With the likes of Maicon, Javier Zanetti, Ibrahimovic and Adriano, United are gonna have trouble on the offense and defense.

With Vidic (who has been tremendous and very significant in the past few weeks) out due to his one match ban after being red-carded in the Club World Cup, Ibrahimovic will crush United. Not me talking there but Jose Mourinho. What a load of bull! Rio Ferdinand can cover him with eyes closed. Not really though. I do have concerns about the back four especially the centre-halves. Rio and Vidic have extablished a phenomenal partnership at the back and Inter might take advantage of this absence. Also United is finding it difficult to find replacements for Vidic as his deputies seem to be injures or aren't fully fit. Evans and O'Shea are the likely contenders. Right-back would be Rafael as he has proven himself invaluable in wing-plays and he's also defensively driven. Left-back would be Evra for me as his link up plays with the attacking players set up many chances for the team.

The midfield is fantastic. Any selection made would be a strong selection. They say United need Ronaldo to set the pace of the game and lead counter attacks. But I think otherwise. In the big games I seem to notice that the team is quite dependent on him to initiate plays which makes it easier for the opposing team to target him. So if he is to play any part in the game, it would be as a decoy for the likes of any of the other midfielders and attackers to take charge.

The forwards are kind of tricky. I still can't figure out which partnership is working well. Berbatov and Rooney seems to be doing quite well but in recent games Berba has been playing with Tevez. But what I'd like to see in this game is Rooney and Tevez starting with Berba on the bench. This is because I personally think that Berbatov can make a difference as a substitute, somewhat of an Ole Gunnar player. Rooney and Tevez can set the pace early in the game and with their unlimited stamina and ferocity of play, they can help fatigue the opposing defence and when Berba comes on for any one of them, he doesn't have to worry about getting through the Inter defense.

So here's my preferred line-up for the game:

E. van der Sar

Rafael R. Ferdinand J. Evans P.Evra

Park Ji Sung M.Carrick R.Giggs (C) Ronaldo

Tevez Rooney

Subs: Kuszczak, Fabio, O'Shea, Fletcher, Scholes, Berbatov, Campbell.

A classic but also effective midfield line-up would be:

Ronaldo M.Carrick Fletcher/Scholes Giggs

Passes, Photos, Puddles, Joyrides and Choki - Choki?

2009-02-23T10:30:00.004Z

Hahahaha that was fun.

Ok earlier today I said that I was gonna go with the guys (Zimin and Kahar) to the record-breakers. But in fact, we did a lot more. At first before joing up with the guys (at Kahar's place), I decided that I should go sightseeing around his neighbourhood. So through the Jalan Sengkurong A, I started my venture into the depths of the rural areas. But as I went in deeper I got lost and had to track back where I started and tried again. It took quite a while until I reached the desired track but stil in the end I didn't really reach where I wanted to go. But yeah I eventualy found my way to Kahar's place.

So from Kahar's place we decided to car pool. It was cool. Its actually been a long time. So yeah when we arrived at the Polo Club, one of the police officers told us that we weren't allowed inside without a pass so we had to go to the JP Parkiing area and use a shuttle bus from there to the stables for the horses. So when we reached the area, I realised that if we just lied to the policeman and told him that we were visiting someone at JPMC we could've parked nearer and didn't have to ride the bus. It was raining and whe we reached the Polo Club we noticed smoke and stuff and you know there was satay and people and food and drinks and yeah. We didn't stay long there (about 30-45 minutes). In the process we were drenched by the rain.

Ok after the Polo Club, we went straight to the Orchid Garden Hotel but it wasn't as lively nor was it as interesting but yeah it was ok. Was only intended to be Brunei's Tallest cake not the world's so yeah (thanks min). Time spent there: close to 15 minutes. Seems boring right? Well you haven't heard the whole story.

After the Orchid Garden thing we went to the Awang Budiman Road and we drove across it. HAHAHAHA panat! (Pictures will be available courtesy of Zimin on Facebook kali). Then after that we went around Brunei (Kiulap first to have a hot drink but yeah). It was kind of an unforgettable adventure. We took more pictures at odd places and we waved at people as we passed by them (two waved back and one of them was THE SULTAN!). Then we took some more pictures and went to Kahar's. Then I went back.

I think I'm gonna end this post prematurely. I guess all that excitement got to me.

Talk about waking up on the wrong side of the errr... bean bag!

2009-02-23T04:06:00.002Z

Happy National Day Brunei!!! Wow 25 years huh. Congratulations and adulations.

This morning I woke up with a bad neck and a back ache because I dozed off on my bean bag. Man how can something so comfortable at first result in such pain later. So I woke up face down into the bean bag, my torso on the bean bag but my abdomen and legs were on the floor. So yeah I was roughin' it last night hahahahaha.

I watched the celebrations just now and it seemed to be quite underwhelming. I expected the stadium to be packed and all but no. There were still empty seats. Also I thought the "Belia Cinta Tanah Air" thing had lots of members but no. There were just 200+ participants. I thought it was gonna be like 500 or something. I think I saw Fadhil though. He was in the centre of the thing.

I could've gone just now using my mom's other invitation but I thought about it and decided not to because if I did so, I'd have to wear baju cara melayu and sinjang. I wasn't in the mood to do so. In fact, I'm never in the mood to wear baju cara melayu.

Later me and the guys (who didnt join the Youth thing) are going out to witness not one but two historical events (hopefully). First of all the 'Most Satay prepared at one go' and the 'tallest cake' at the Polo Club and Orchid Garden Hotel respectively. Bothevents are attempts at setting world records (I'm assuming Guiness... duh!).

So ummm.... yeah.

The 25th National Day (Silver Jubilee)

2009-02-22T15:36:00.005Z

In just a matter of minutes, the clock will strike 12 and the 23rd of February of 2009 will mark the celebratory date of Brunei's 25th year of independence. So tomorrow, from early morning until late in the morning or by noon, the celebrations of the 25th National Day will be held at the National Stadium.

Just like every year, the agenda includes field performances, marches, prayers and so on. In attendance will be His Majesty the Sultan, the Royal Family, the nobility, government officers and also invited guests along with all the participants. So premuably there would be thousands taking part in the proceedings of the celebrations and thousands would be spectating.

25 years of independence is quite the landmark. Witnessing it would be fantastic but being part of it would be even better. So I duly confess that I regret not joining in the Youth Programme set up by the Youth, Culture and Sports Ministry. However I realised that if I had joined the programme, I wouldn't be able to attend the SOAS Memorial Lecture. So you know what they say right: the grass is always greener on the other side (or something like that).

Ok. Now for the History lesson. Did you know tomorrow Brunei would not be celebrating exactly 25 years of independence? Actually it would be 25 years and 54 days. This is because (ok for some of you who didn't pay attention in history class please pay attention now) Brunei actually achieved it's independence on the 1st of January 1984 led by SOAS III. I don't know exactly why Brunei chose to celebrate the National Day on the 23rd of February. I've asked around (in history class and even BR) and still did not get any definitive answer. But I assume that if we were to celebrate the National Day on the 1st of January every year, it would clash with the New Years Day celebration meaning we'd have 1 day less of a holiday (hahahaha).

Februarians! (this has nothing to do with the content)

2009-02-21T16:13:00.003Z

Just got back from Imi's place. Had fun. I wish I could've stayed longer but it wasn't actually up to me. I didn't drive there. I followed my pal Fadhil. Initially I wanted to drive there but my car seems to be on the fritz and all lately. Poor old Suzy (Suzuki Vitara LOL).

From the looks and sounds of it all, my car's battery is soon gonna die out and the belting needs changing. Apart from that everything is just dandy.

I love my car. It was the first car I ever drove. But I wish that I had a new car. It doesn't have to be new, I just need a change (and something faster). I'd like to own a saloon car like a skyline (not the new model but the model before) or maybe a Honda Legend. But I guess its just something to dream about right now. Oh well.

Oh yeah the National Day is gonna be held on Monday so tomorrow most of my friends are gonna be away living at the Sports Village. I guess I won't be meeting them any soon. Which is kind of sad. So see you guys!

SOAS Memorial Lecture

2009-02-20T10:18:00.001Z

I just got my ticket for the SOAS Memorial Lecture yesterday and I am honestly very excited. The SOAS Memorial Lecture is going to be conducted by one of my heroes Minister Mentor of the Republic ofSingapore Lee Kuan Yew. I've read so much about him during my first year of A-Level History and was enthralled by his conduct of politics and the traits and qualities he harnessed as a leader and a pioneer of politics in the region. Although I know that there is a small chance of conversing with him during the event but just to be in the presence of such an iconic person would make me happy.

But the main star of the occasion is not Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew but in fact the subject of his lecture, Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien the Third, dubbed the 'Modern Architect of Brunei'. My knowledge of Bruneian History is kind of sketchy so just to make sure I do no wrong, I'd just like to say he is one of the greatest Bruneians ever. He has done so much for the country: pioneering Brunei's development, wrote the Brunei Constitution, opposed the merger with Malaysia, tamed the Brunei Revolt, achieved for Brunei it's independence and the list goes on. Mr Lee Kuan Yew, I presume, would touch on these areas and more, with a personal touch.

I can't help but feel ecstatic to be attending this glorified event of such iconic figures. Mybe its just the historian within me. HAH!

Holy horse-shaped clouds, Tonto!

2009-02-19T14:39:00.004Z

I was heading back home on the bandar-sungai akar highway when I saw this. As soon as I realised that the cloud formation looked like a horse I whipped out my phone and took this picture. Might look like a horse to you or it might not. But I think it does. I tried to take a better picture from a better angle but as you can notice from the picture I was on the road and at a bend and what more can you ask from a 2.o megapixel phone camera.

I guess if the Lone Ranger and Tonto saw this they might weep tears of sorrow seeing Silver galloping over the dumpsite. (kermit channel reference)

*Hi-yo Silver, away!*

Finally in HD!!!

2009-02-18T08:38:00.003Z

After 20 years of entertaining, 400 or so episodes and 1 movie, they are finally in High-Definition. But wait, not only are they in HD but they've also got a new intro. Same song but different animation. It looks terrific and I guess this intro is gonna last them another 20 years.

Still don't know what I'm talking about? Guess.

Hint: I've seen almost every episode and the local store keeper's surname is Nahasapeemapetilon.

Oh how I wish I worked at CollegeHumor....

2009-02-17T12:36:00.004Z

Ok Monday and Tuesday, not my favourite days. Why, you ask? It's because there were no friggin' plans!

So yeah for the past two days I've been stuck at home doing nothing than being a normal human: glued to the computer. I've been watching videos on collegehumor and guess what? I'm so envious of them. They've got the best jobs in the entire world. You might think I may be exaggerating things here but I'm here telling you with a straight face: no I'm not exaggerating.

At collegehumor, the people there get to be themselves. They have a good and friendly working environment, they get to do fun things, they play games, make funny videos and I dare not forget to mention they have an EDITORIAL BEANBAG!!!! Just imagine, you just got out of a meeting, you've got the urge to just relax and presto! A beanbag in your office where you can lie on and release all that tension and stress. Peace and serenity. Man thats the life.

Here's my favourite video clip from collegehumor:

Smile like a big boy smile like a big boy! HAHAHAAHA

All right guess I have to keep it short this time. The cat's on my keyboard and I can't type rightabtabnjbnsakgnbkanasfajl!

lol =] (awkward smile btw)

Profession: Beard Growing

2009-02-15T16:01:00.002Z

I made a deal with Sim and Khaliq yesterday. The deal was that I won't shave, trim nor tidy up my beard for the next month. If I acomplish this deal I'd win 500 virtual dollars. So it's gonna be 500 each boys. Yes people our currency is not worth anything. HAHAHAHAHA.

Oh yeah HAPPY BIRTHDAY to IMI!

My feline friend...

2009-02-15T14:42:00.003Z

While the days are filled with so much exciting activites, nights are spent doing nothing. But thank god for the creation of pets especially, I've come to enjoy (not really) the time between the end of the day and the time to sleep (so sad T_T).

So out of boredom I filmed my cat exploring the depths of my room and got this clip of my cat... well just watch and see. Spoiler: it might waste a minute of your life. I sure did. So don't come asking for that wasted minute back.

I like my cat!

Please, don't mind the title.

2009-02-05T09:29:00.003Z

Wow it's been a hectic period since I last posted. Seems like Rumor wasn't lying when he said the results would come out on the 29th of last month. Some were delighted to get the results and some weren't. Me? Well I'm not really that delighted but also not that down about it. I'd say I'm just contented with my results. I met the required grades to get me into a University in the UK so now the only obstacle in the pursuit of my dream is the scholarship situation.

Funny thing happened Friday last week. Fadhil and I had our weekly driving session (I know BK but c'mon guys... you know you're not interested). I brought my dad along that night and Fadhil didn't expect it. So when he arrived there, he was all awkward and I could see he was nervous. Nervous to the point that he teed up almost 10 minutes after he arrived. So all night long Fadhil (and on certain occassions me) had an instructor telling us what was wrong with our game. But that wasn't the gruelling part of the night for him.

My dad left early that night so Fadhil and me were left alone there for a moment. When my dad left, Fadhil got back his usual game and were hitting better balls. But it only lasted for about hmmm I don't know, 5 minutes? This was because a stranger (both to me and Fadhil) teed up next to Fadhil and when he saw my friend there swing his club as noobly as possible (sorry Dil) the guy went all 'pro' and threw lots of pointers and tips to Fadhil. To save myself from any humiliation and embarassment, I tried to 'up' my game and surprisingly it worked. I kept on thinking that if I was to hit just one ball badly, the guy at the back would direct his attention to me. Due to that, I was playing one of my best games ever that time while it was the opposite for my friend. All the nerves and jitters got to him and he crumbled under the pressure. To make it up to him I told him to bring his dad the next time we go driving.

Since I talked about Friday already, it wouldn't be fair to the other days so I'll just briefly go by them. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were the University Hunting Days in Rizqun, Empire and Rizqun (again) respectively. Although I had no luck in getting an unconditional from any of my Universities, I still had fun. I don't know maybe it's the company I enjoy or maybe because I just hate doing nothing. Thursday I had a haircut which was a failure because people failed to notice it. Then later on Zimin, Kahar and me attended the career expo briefing. Prior to that we had lunch and went around Bandar. Then we met up with the 'Belia's at Easy Way and went home. Saturday we all went to the Scholarship Convention at ICC which then in the afternoon the guys and I went swimming. It was fun but at the same time very tiring. Lastly there's Sunday. Oh Sunday Sunday, how I love thee. Didn't do much on Sunday. But had a good rest.

Ok enough about the past. Lets talk about the present. Or should I say the latest past. Yeah whatever. Today we had the CareerExpo at school and to tell you the truth it was tiring. We didn't really do our jobs though. Technically we were just sitting around chatting. I think the only time we were really working was when we were stapling the papers together. I got a chance to talk to the Brunei Times people as they had a booth opened up in the expo. So lucky me. I've got my name forwarded to the HR person who called me last month so that I can get feedback on the status of my application. So I'm actually quite delighted because I've got something to expect now.

Oh yeah I nearly forgot, on the 31st of January 2009, the Graduation Magazine was finally out. It was a proud day for me and the magazine committee. We worked really hard on it, had sleepless nights and had our ups and downs in the process. But we got through it and it turned out to be really good. The feedback we've been getting has been mostly positive. However, there are regretfully some mistakes we made. All I can say is sorry and we just have to move on I guess.

Gonna go play Futsal tomorrow *ecstatic*

note: driving - hitting golf balls at the driving range

Rumors, rumors and more rumors!

2009-01-27T12:38:00.003Z

I'm sick and tired of all the rumors flying about in the air recently. They say it was gonna be on saturday last week, some said today and as those days have passed, people are confident that its gonna happen tomorrow or the day after. Here's what I *four-letter-word*-ing think: it's gonna happen so who gives a *four-letter-word for excrement*.

Well I said that I'd be updating my blog more frequently the last time I did, but I lied. So sorry to the 12 (or was it 13 or 15?) people who read this blog. Ok so lets get going (sorry no pictures this time:

12/01/2009: nothing important happened that day but who really cares right? oh yeah practised the don't worry be happy song at my place followed by karaoke courtesy of faris.
13/01/2009: practised the grad song in the morning. pm - went to my place for another round of DWBH.
14/01/2009: Dry run for the grad day.
15/01/2009: full dress rehearsal for the grad day. got really confused. the supervisors crossed swords over how we should walk on stage.
16/01/2009: day before grad day. did work at school. morning was practice. afternoon we did the deco. it was a really fun and proud day.
17/01/2009: grad day. thousands of pictures and tons of memories. Glorious day. Better than most. Took the grad mag after. looked nice. Day was followed by a fun-filled night at azim's bbq (yes another one but it was fun). In attendance: the usuals plus the others. Everyone went crazy. sent people (ainul, meips, syd and faris) home.
18/01/2009: slept. tired.
19/01/2009: went to school to practice. was cool. made my mark in the auditorium. dont ask me how. ask the others. afternoon went shopping at the mall with the guys (LOL).
20/01/2009: went to school again. same stuff happened. night came by. torrential rain led to flooding and massive blackouts. areas known (by me to be hit): sungai akar, anggerek, serasa, mata-mata, parts of gadong, kiulap and more(maybe). Stayed up to watch the inauguration of obama but was disappointed because of the black outs.
21/01/2009: woke up and went to school. many didnt show up. many affected by the floods. fully energised. went to the mall. electricity still up and running that time. by the time i got home still no electricity. slept at my aunt's.
22/01/2009: school again but not for long. went to polo. then went back to school. the guys went to the mall to get their stuff. thought electricity was back but no. went to my aunt's again. but didnt sleep there. power went back up at around 9. went back and slept peacefully on my bed.
23/01/2009: the day before grad night. polo. practiced everything. had a dry run. afternoon went to imi's. was a fun but tiring day.
24/01/2009: day of grad night. AM - zudin and das came over. watched tv until they went to imi's. in the meantime, I searched for a suitable tie for the shirt I was gonna where and found it. at arnd 4+ got ready to go to imi's and did so. halfway there, realised I wouldnt make it in time. So decided to just go to the studio and wait for the others there. and wait i did. but not for long. as the others came, we proceeded with the pics. then after went to polo to meet up with the others. grad night = fun. everyone looked good. as it rained that night, i was allowed to sleep at kahar's. at kahar's everyone was hungry so we cooked. zudin and khaliq made fried rice, but before that zudin made sandwiches, kahar made soup (?) and I made garlic bread (but it failed T_T. one thing i forgot was the butter LOL. but it smelled nice though. long night. slept at arnd 3.30.
25/01/2009: woke up at arnd 8. zimin took pictures but then fel back asleep. me and ayub watched 2 stupid movies.surprised by my parents' presence. told me that we had lunch arrangements. got ready for the lunch and went to seasons. at seasons i slept at one of the booths while others celebrated my grandpa's birthday. turned 70 a few days earlier but only celebrated it days after his real birthday. went back home with bungsu who was told my parents he was gonna bring me to labuan this week (on saturday). looked forward to it. arrived at home and slept (sporadic).
26/01/2009: woke up at arnd 9. went to eat out with dear family at 10. got back at 1. slept again. woke up fresh at 6. showered. dinner. wow. msn. wow. sleep. (at this point im just too tired.
27/01/2009: woke up as usual at 6. got ready for school (although i didnt have to). went to school at arnd 8.30 and played the usual waiting game. zimin came at arnd 9. fadil followed soon after. zimin and i went to the baker's bakery. new establishment. closed. went to lof instead. got back to school and met ayub. soon e were on our way to gadong. at gadong we ate at kfc. food was late but in the end still great. then rf. played cod4 and l4d. fun, seriously. went back early. took my brother. cleaned the interior of my car. dinner. watched a movie. facebook. msn and finally updated the blog.

So to the 12/13/14/15 people loyal to this blog, happy reading! LOL

PS: since I'm technically going to be jobless in the next,let's say, 5-6 months, I'll surely update more frequently and I promise you it will be more amusing than this.

So you thought this was dead?

2009-01-10T23:36:00.007Z

To keep everyone updated these are the things (that I remember) I've been doing for the last month and a 26 days since I did anything with this blog:

21/11/2008: last day of exams ever and the guys and I had steamboat.

22/11/2008 - mid december: went to school almost every work day to finish the magazine with the mag committee.

24/11/2008: Ayub, Fadhil and Zimin came over to my place to help with the magazine. Ate chicken sandwich and a burger. Went to the beach.

30/11/2008: Imi's place. So called movie marathon.

06/12/2008: The day of the pyramid.

13 - 17 december 2008: went to KK. Nothing much there (especially the overrated OneBorneo). But para-sailing and snorkeling were fun. Read and finished a book (The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch)

19/12/2008: Fadhil's birthday. Had BBQ. Fun.

From end of a year and the start of a new

21/12/2008: Went to shop for Little Sarah's present with my Bungsu. Went and became a dragon later that night.

24/12/2008: Taureans Cafe with the guys and Zati.

From end of a year and the start of a new

26/12/2008: Munji's party. Awesome.

From end of a year and the start of a new

27/12/2008: BBQ at my grandparents' house. Had a bouncer. lol

29/12/2009: Took our kain for grad day. Nearly got killed because I smiled.

31/12/2008 & 1/1/2009: New Year's celebration with my family. BBQ. Also fun but tiring. Resolution: prank/burn someone (Kahar and Fadhil most of the time) everyday of the year.

03/01/2009: Went to kawan's house and took a picture. Kahar's party that night. Zudin came. Had BBQ again T_T.

05/01/2009: Went to school to find Kahar sleeping all day long (-.-). This repeated itself for 6 days.

06/01/2009: Went driving with Fadhil. Made a bet with him but lost. He gained nothing.

07/01/2009: Got a call from Brunei Times. Had a short interview over the phone (not the kind of interview you're thinking about).

09/01/2009: School on a Friday. Karaoke at Faris' (click and play vid).

10/01/2009: Got new TV with a remote controller. Got offers from Nottingham and East Anglia. Delighted.

11/11/2009: Finally updated the blog.

That wasn't all I did but hell that was all I can remember. I watched a few movies which were ok. Graduation day is looming around the corner. I can't believe that its been more than 7 years now. School has been a great ideal to me so it might be hard to let go. But venturing off into a new world of unfathomable experiences (iyea) is rather appealing so yeah, I'll let go. *ramblerambleramble*.

So in conclusion, no this blog is not dead... just neglected.

Some pictures taken from facebook albums. So thanks.

I am Football Crazy!!!!

2008-11-16T11:57:00.002Z

These past few dyas have been the greatest days of my life. Not only did I finish my exams but I also met Jamie Yeo from Footbal Crazy!! WOOOO!!!!! I don't wanna ramble on so here are a few pictures.

The ESPN gang (left to right): Andy Penders, Jamie Yeo <3, href="http://picasaweb.google.com/bahri.jofray/FootballCrazy">football crazy

Andy Penders and Me loking at (look down) From football crazy

Jamie Yeo Woooo !!!! From football crazy

From football crazy

Just look at the way she looks at me. LOL! From football crazy

The eager fanboys. Jamie Yeo Fan Club! LOL! From football crazy

Jamie YEo Fan Club and Fadhil. From football crazy

Woo ani rugged. From football crazy

Ani jua. From football crazy

I'd like to thank Azim for providing these pics. If he wasn't there that night the pictures wouldn't be as good as these. Top notch photography man!

Nearly there! WOOOOO

2008-11-07T04:05:00.002Z

Just had my physics core just now and I'm not sure whether I should be happy or not. It was actually a manageable paper in my perspective but still it was hard. So probably I shouldnt be happy. But knowing that I only have 6 more days until all this exam sh*t is over, I'm sort of relieved. And better yet, all the tough papers are finished with only Physics Paper 5 in the way. WOOOOO.

Here's a cool vid I found on youtube. Its an homage to John Williams titled "star wars". LOL!

Wookie Wookie!

Selamat Hari Raya

2008-10-01T17:10:00.002+01:00

Just wanted to say

SELAMAT HARI RAYA AIDILFITRI

MAAF ZAHIR BATIN

Hope you have fun and get lots of cash! LOL

Out

PS: Stay Solid and don't eat too much!

Anything For The Greater Good

2008-09-08T16:29:00.004+01:00

One a half hour left til 'sahur'. Yup I can't sleep. Stupid coffee.

Wow its been a while, don't you think?

Lots happened to me since I last blogged: A level results, basketball, qualifying exam results, fasting, SMARTER, license and so on. But I bet nobody wants to read about those kind of things. But if you continue on reading, I'd bet you'd rather read about them instead.

Wherever I go now I see people playing with rubiks cubes. Seems to be the in-thing right now. What's also the in-thing is Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series, especially among the girls (I think I've only seen girls reading them though). Probably I'll just stick with the comic books. Just kidding haha. I've been reading a few books too. Not the kind of books most people would enjoy though. I've been reading 'The Audacity of Hope' by Barack Obama (thanks mom).

First of all, I'm reading it not because I've got nothing to do. Secondly, I wanted to read it. Lastly, its very inspiring. He's the embodiment of a true politician/leader. Gifted with charisma and oratory skills, he envisions a new kind of politics, where everyone is unified in saving a nation. That gives him my utmost respect. Rather than succumbing to mainstream segregation, one should always consider and prioritize unification for the greater good. Thats what I think. He reiterates the use of the phrases 'Yes we can' and 'we want change'. Renewed hope has appeared. Hopefully this man can help change the world for the better which is one thing I aspire to do also. But I've got a very long way to go before I can reach his level.

Now you're bored to the max. You're thinking: "Nearly a month's long hiatus and this is all he has to offer". I'd hate to say it but I told you so (second paragraph last sentence).

Inspiring words from an inspirational man (from his New Hampshire speech - made into a song by Will.i.am):

Yes we can to justice and equality.
Yes we can to opportunity and prosperity.
Yes we can repair this world.

We know the battle ahead will be long, but always remember that no matter what obstacles stand in our way, nothing can stand in the way of the power of millions of voices calling for change.

We’ve been asked to pause for a reality check. We’ve been warned against offering the people of this nation false hope. But in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope.

Changing Channels

2008-08-16T17:36:00.000+01:00

Its been a rather "fun" week. Just finished our qualifiers. *Hope I get into the finals*.
It was actually very disappointing. I was hoping the A-level results for June 2008 to come out before my history paper but it didn't T_T. If it did probably I could've studied physics more.

*insert what you wanna read here*

Here are some pics:

HAHAHAHA!!!!

notti eh zimin!

CNgian

Tsk Tsk Tsk!

doesn't make sense at all!

payah jeng?

payah deq?

HAHAHAHAH ROFLMAO KAKI C ADEQ!!!!

RUBE!

lol

N2 din!

Brovas!

eh macam rugged.

Halal Food Expo

Kaghas muha atu deq!

The Useless complete!!!

MMMMM...... look what we did to the chicken!

Nice.....

Paper chickens

Happy Olympics Everyone!!!

2008-08-08T03:41:00.000+01:00

Yeah you must be thinking: "Two posts in one day! He must be crazy!". Yeah so what if I am *making a big deal out of nothing*.

Yeah I know I should be studying but I've got some pictures to share. So lets go!

The Finals - Hulu (3) vs. Laksa (0):

Jeng

Whoa

The suppor.... hungry people.

The Post-Match Accident:

OMFGROFLMAO N1N1!

Hey thats me!

Haha Adeq the Mechaneq

Baik jua Megan Fox pandai usai kereta

AMC:

Gotcha!

Haha bored!

Soulja Boy!

2 minutes after start!

Hey look! Another shutterbug.

BatMaths by Adeq

Cheesed faces and random stuff:

lol

whoa

Haha sakit parutnya

AWWW KIUT!

*insert caption*(haha)

Squash:

Sorry min... couldn't photoshop!

O.o

Hahaha

You want proof? See below!

Look at his hand reaching for the cakoi

Sim taking a dump

Caught black handed using meips' racket

The Useless

PS: Oh yeah I hit meips with a squash ball yesterday and it looked like it hurt (real bad). So I'm sorry meips. haha.

Score!

2008-08-08T00:45:00.000+01:00

I've got nothing much to blog about. In fact I never have anything to blog about. Well there are some things that have been going on but yeah I'm gonna be secretive and all censored and shit. Isn't that just frustrating? HAH

With the qualifyings just around the corner, a student like me should be studying and worrying about the exams. I've got half of that done as I'm constantly doing the latter but not the former. Instead, I'm dwindling away updating this sorry excuse for a blog. Well whatever makes me happy right?

The past week has been kinda 'different' because although its still the same old same old but with a touch of new. Nothing much happened on Monday or Tuesday, but Wednesday you might say was the bomb for me. We played futsal and I got plenty of scoring chances. If I'm not mistaken I had about ten or more chances on goal and the majority of those attempts on goal were with my head. This was mainly because my other teammates kept crossing the ball conveniently to my head. However scoring a goal from open play was never meant to be for me. I got a goal under my belt though through a penalty kick. I was pretty relieved after scoring the penalty because I missed a lot of chances before that and I didn't want to disappoint. The game ended in everyone having fun. I don't remember who won but I think it was the other team. Later after the game, I learnt that the reason why I was given so many chances was that Jimmy told the others that I wanted to score a goal with a header. So I'm really grateful because of that.

Team 1: Jimmy, Kahar, Zai, Adeq, Vovie, Faris, Azim (Tom), Azim (Mami), Piring (saucer), Wafri and Bahri.
Team 2: Hanis, Hadi, Zimin, Azmi, Semiun, Ali, Wafi Z, Sim, Dao, Hazwan and I think I forgot the others hahahah.

Cheese Off!

2008-08-01T07:26:00.000+01:00

First post of the month (woo!). Since posting Faris' picture I've been feeling guilty because I guess its not fair for my other friends to have their cheesed face immortalized on the interweb. So I decided to put in the cheesed faces of myself and also my other friends.

All for one and one for all right guys?

Das wasn't there masa atu. He was busy somewhere else:

HAHAHA

Why so serious APAKAHEYO?!

2008-07-28T13:45:00.000+01:00

Don't worry Batman fans, The Joker is surely gonna be back in the next Batman movie. Although Heath Ledger has died, a replacement has been chosen:

LOL!!!

Well I guess my photo editing sucks. If you didn't find that funny probably this would tickle your funny bone:

HAHAHA CHEESED!!

Still not funny? Then go play with yourself!

More pics to come I hope...

Should've thrown a batarang!

2008-07-22T10:51:00.000+01:00

Meips: So how are things?
JuggerB: everything's cool...
Meips: Gila perfect jua your life
JuggerB: I just let life pass by without a care kaliah.... and aku kanyang....

lol

That was when I was waiting for my dad to pick me up this afternoon. Seriously I was full because we went to WYWY at lambak just now with fadhil as the driver along with sim, kahar, hanis, meips and sue. It was quite fun sal its been a while since I've gone out makan with the guys. At WYWY I discovered that Fadhil and Kahar are really fast eaters!!!! Gila wah I don't think sampai 5 minutes kolo mee durg sampai abis tia bemakan and this was their second helping of kolo mee (All the guys except hanis ordered another bowl of kolo mee lol). Aku and Sim astonished brabis apatah lagi c meips who at that time hadn't even finished her fried noodles yang paling awal sampai (masa our first bowl).

Oh yeah tadi during lunch time we were at the cafe and played with cards. Dewi and I tried to build card pyramids separately but failure was definite for me because there were these two guys (azim and fadhil) who were throwing cards at my pyramid whenever I got two pieces to stand up. Baie ah!!! Here are some pics (only for literates):

Dewi got her pyramid completed tapi skajap saja

Futility lol

Bumblebee, Zohan and my MEGA PYRAMID!
Wooo SASAK?!!!! HAHAHAHA

That took me 15 minutes to do lol.... nadawah. Actually my bumblebee and zohan did it in 15 minutes while I just watched. DISCO DISCO UH UH!!!!

Other pics which I'm just gonna caption:

RBC lol

After watching Dark Knight!!!!

Hancock!!! (Get it?!!!)

On the way to and at WYWY (17th July)

The football match - Pahlawan (0) vs. Laksamana (1) (22nd July)
The scorer - Vovie

The Five-Touch Wonder- Adib and The Super Sub - Dao

Haha a friendly tussle

The Three Caballerros

Oh yeah Dark Knight rocks!!!!! Better watch it. I'm not gonna spoil it for those who haven't because I know the feeling. Personally I think it beats all the other movies I've watched this year due to the intensity of the movie which was perfectly written from beginning to end. What can I say? Aku kipas-susah-mati (die-hard fan) Batman kaliah hahaha!

I'm gonna leave you with a few pics from:

Tri-Xtreme Celebration

Supposed 'Boys' Night Out'

Golf Outing (sama my bro)