A Cheerful One Now

Midori told me this the other day, "Wei your post kan...dono why after reading i emo sial. Dono y...just emo, emo at the thought of so many things, esp death". So to cheer mimi Midori up, i'm gonna write a funny and educational post now.

I was about to leave the gym this evening when i met my friend at the enterance of the gym.

Me: Eh, lambat today.

Fren: I'm not going to gym today la. Injured.

Me: What injury u got?

Fren: Salah bantal sial.

Me: Wahahahahaha (ketawa terbahak-bahak). Serious??

Fren: Yeah man. My girlfriend fell asleep on my arm. Woke up then kena salah bantal di.

Lesson to be learnt: Dont let your gf sleep on your arm for an extended period of time. Tak pasal-pasal kena injury because of a short moment of TLC.

Organ Donation

After watching the second season of Grey's Anatomy the other day, i realised how much people suffer waiting for an organ to replace their damaged one. The pain and agony not only affect the person, but also the people around them. The people who cant bear watching the person they care and love suffer to fight for another day. I've actually thought of being an organ donor a few years back but when i told my parents that if i were brain dead, i would like them to donate my organs. However, they were unresponsive and just brushed off the subject. They told me not to talk nonsense and say these kinda things. I cant really blame them because it's the traditional Asian culture in which they were brought up in. It's the culture where we dont talk about things such as death as we fear it would come true.

However, i'm a child of a modern society and am also a realist. I know each and everyone of us will die one day. The only question is when. One day i could be happily playing football with my friends and the next day i could rupture my Anterior Cruciate Ligament. Oh wait, that already happened. Hahaha. Or one day i could be happily driving to the nearest padang to play football with my friends and the next day i could be in an accident and be left brain dead. Hey, you never know ok. You cant foresee these kinda things.

Anyway, after watching Grey's, i decided to google organ donation to see if there's a website to help me be an organ donor in Malaysia. I found this website Organ Donation in Malaysia to help Malaysians understand more about organ donation right here in Malaysia. There are frequently questions, various religious viewpoints and most importantly a form to be an organ donor. I've already sent my form and i'm currently waiting for my organ donor card. I've informed my family about this and hope they respect my wishes when the time comes. To my friends who know me in real life, if i'm left brain dead, please remind my family that i'm an organ donor ok. Just in case they forgot or have other things in mind. Thank you.

Now, i'll leave you with a poem by an American poet named Robert N. Test.

To Remember Me - I Will Live Forever
Robert N. Test

The day will come when my body will lie upon a white sheet neatly tucked under four corners of a mattress located in a hospital; busily occupied with the living and the dying. At a certain moment a doctor will determine that my brain has ceased to function and that, for all intents and purposes, my life has stopped.

When that happens, do not attempt to instill artificial life into my body by the use of a machine. And don't call this my deathbed. Let it be called the bed of life, and let my body be taken from it to help others lead fuller lives.

Give my sight to the man who has never seen a sunrise, a baby's face or love in the eyes of a woman.

Give my heart to a person whose own heart has caused nothing but endless days of pain.

Give my blood to the teenager who was pulled from the wreckage of his car, so that he might live to see his grandchildren play.

Give my kidneys to the one who depends on a machine to exist from week to week.

Take my bones, every muscle, every fiber and nerve in my body and find a way to make a crippled child walk.

Explore every corner of my brain.

Take my cells, if necessary, and let them grow so that, someday a speechless boy will shout at the crack of a bat and a deaf girl will hear the sound of rain against her window.

Burn what is left of me and scatter the ashes to the winds to help the flowers grow.

If you must bury something, let it be my faults, my weakness and all prejudice against my fellow man.

Give my sins to the devil.

Give my soul to God.

If, by chance, you wish to remember me, do it with a kind deed or word to someone who needs you. If you do all I have asked, I will live forever.

Genting July '06

Alritey, i just got back from Genting yesterday. The trip was a blast and i really hope that it wouldnt end so soon but the price of food would kill me and the others if we continued staying there. Besides, i dont think we have anything else to do there because we've done almost everything possible in Genting. FYI, i didnt gamble because i didnt have the feeling to gamble. I know it sounds ridiculous but that's the way it is. Anyway, Choo won RM 50 from Uncle Lim (good for you, Choo) but unfortunately Ash lost RM 25 to Uncle Lim (maybe the next time you'll win it back).

So, here goes the picture story of our short holiday in Genting.

When we reached First World Hotel, Choo went to check-in the rooms while everybody else started calling/messaging friends and families back home in Malacca, i think. I know Ash was actually talking to the Tenaga Nasional or was it the Finance Division of MMU. Either one la.

After checking in, we went to the rooms for a little rest before we went jalan-jalan around First World. The stupid timer went off before i could get into place but it makes a cool shot though.

This is the dinner i had on the first nite there. It's a stone grilled chicken chop meal. They give you this very hot stone with a raw piece of chicken thigh and you are supposed to grill it yourself. Yours truly here isn't very bright in the head so Siew Lin had to go ask the waiter how to actually cook the meat. All he did was cut the chicken into smaller pieces and flip them over a few times. At the beginning, we all thought that you just need to leave it there and it'll cook itself in due time. After seeing wat the waiter did, we then realised how stupid we were. Hahaha.

Next on the itinerary was the Mysteria show. It's a magic show with a storyline. We cant take photos while the show was going on so we did our camwhoring before the show started. Some of the magic tricks were really good but overall, the show was a little boring for my taste. I was yawning throughout the show (Siew Har can vouch for that because she kept asking me why i keep yawning during the show) and i actually did fall asleep for a moment during the show.

After the show, Gary and Siew Lin went for some indoor rides together while Choo, Ash, Siew Har and i went jalan-jalan around the casino in First World. Then, we ended up sitting on a bench beside Starbucks enjoying the cold night air.

Then, we went back to our rooms to bathe and get ready to sleep. Choo isnt in the picture above because he was either bathing or pangsai-ing at the time. This time, i got the timer just right.

This is Ash using his excellent chopsticks skills to eat Cheezels without getting his fingers dirty.

Here Ash is seen showcasing the food junk that we brought up to Genting with us while Gary's face seems to be saying "Apa lu mau arh?!".

The next day, we went to the theme park to amuse ourselves. The Corkscrew was the second ride for me and Gary as we had already warmed ourselves up with the Space Shot. I think this is the only ride that all of us went for.

Me and Gary passed on the Swinging Chair thingy because it makes people dizzy. After a Space Shot and 2 Corkscrew rides, we didnt want to risk our food coming out of our mouths after swinging around in circles in the air.

At last we have a group picture. I dunno why but we had to wait for a day before getting a full group picture. Hahaha.

S&M Shopping Centre? I wonder what goes on in their backrooms.

The three kings on the throne. Hahaha.

Gary and Siew Lin in the spotlight.

Now it's time for Choo, Ash and Siew Har to sit on the chair.

This is us before our karaoke session began.

This is me showing off the gaya rock orang giler.

These were the food that we ordered for our lunch at Be A Star Karaoke. There were 3 fried fish fillet with rice, 2 chicken chop wif rice, some noodle dish, keropok and kacang.

Everyone singing Take Me Home, Country Roads. Somehow, i managed to change the lyrics to

"Take me home, United Road,
To the place, I belong,
To Old Trafford, to see United,
Take me home, United Road."

This is what you get after 2 hours of singing - 6 zombie-looking people. Not a pleasant sight.

After that, we went back to our rooms to recharge our batteries. I slept for about one and a half hours. I dont know how long the others got to sleep but i know i got a good sleep. After we woke up, we went back to the theme park to get on some more rides. Gary and Siew Lin sneaked out of their rooms when we were sleeping and were already enjoying themselves at the theme park when we got there. While waiting for Gary and Siew Lin to finish their monorail ride, we went for some pirate ride which actually some lame rumah hantu.

Then, Gary, Ash and i went for the Flying Coaster. It cost us RM 10 for a ride because we bought the outdoor theme park tickets too. If you want to try the Flying Coaster without the outdoor theme park, it'll cost you RM 12 per ride. Flying Coaster was helluva fun ride. Siew Lin told us that we shouted the loudest compared to the other people she has heard riding the Flying Coaster. We took that as a great compliment. :)

We wanted to get on the Space Shot again after that but it was already closed. So we are left with the Corkscrew again. We got on the final ride of the day sitting in the first car. Everyone should try sitting in the front car. I dont know why but it was the best experience yet sitting in the Corkscrew. It seemed like the thrill effect is more pronounced in the first car. Then, we went back to First World to have our dinner and continued with some casino royale action.

This is the last picture we took in Genting. Yann Ling and Yen Mao came up the day before to get some gambling action too. Tan Tan was with them but i think she was eating when this picture was taken.

So that's all for my Genting trip story. See ya!

World Cup Withdrawal Symdrome

The World Cup is officially over. After a month of glorious football, the greatest show on earth has come to its conclusion with Italy beating France 5-3 on penalties after drawing 1-1 during normal time and after extra time. However, the match wouldn't be remembered for the superb attacking football on show that night, but for a Zinedine Zidane red card which brought a glittering career to a slightly premature end. The pre-match hype was all about Zizou's last match before retirement and how it would be fitting to end a brilliant career by lifting the World Cup as captain of France. Alas, the fairy tale ending didnt materialise as he was sent off for head butting Marco Materazzi in the 110th minute. So, down the tunnel trotted a man in tears whose CV reads 3 FIFA World Player of the Year, 1 European Footballer of the Year, 1 World Cup winner's medal, 1 European Championship winner's medal, 1 Champions League winner's medal, 2 Scudettos winner's medal, 1 La Liga winner's medal, and numerous other medals. I would like to say au revoir to Monsieur Zidane and merci for all the beautiful football memories i have of you. It was a real priviledge to be able to watch you display your craft all these years.

This edition of the WC was totally awesome as i'm able to watch about 80% of the matches shown. Being unemployed certainly has its advantages. :) Matches were also much more enjoyable because i was able to do live match analyses and commentaries with a couple of my friends. Especially fun were the bitching sessions about England and how kayu they are. Hahaha. I know one of them is very happy right now because Italy just won the WC.

Anyway, to help me cope with the impending World Cup Withdrawal Symdrome (WCWS), i'm going for a short holiday to Genting with some of my friends - Choo, Ash, Gary, Siew Lin and Siew Har. For my next football fix, it'll surely has to be the Manchester United preseason tour of South Africa which would be shown live on Astro SuperSport. The first match is on July 15th at 9:10pm. Speaking of Manchester United, the new EPL season is 41 days away and they have not made any new signing. Come on, time is ticking and the other 3 big English clubs already have a head start on you. We need quality players in the middle of the park and certainly not a new goalkeeper. To a certain Cristiano "Cry Baby" Ronaldo, if you think that leaving United for Real is a good move for you, you can very well leave us because playing for United is a priviledge, not a right. We do not need players with questionable loyalties. I do hope Fergie keeps Ruud because he's a great goal scorer and still wants to play in the red jersey of United. And speaking of the red jersey, United are going to unveil their new home jersey this coming Friday and the new away jersey on August 24th. The bad news is that these jerseys will only last for a season as they are special edition celebratory jerseys to commemorate the 50th anniversary of United's first league title.

I guess it's time to save some money to buy a new jersey. If my elder sister is reading this, what do you think of a United jersey as a graduation present? *hint* *hint* Good idea rite? Just make sure it's the correct red jersey with a devil in the crest, instead of the one with a funny looking bird in it.