I am a Malaysian and Malaysia is my home

I’m really not the most patriotic person around, but I’m also not one who does not love her own country – unlike many people who was de-Malaysian-nized.

I’ve been busy (hmmm too free, that’s why) spending my time exploring Malaysian groups discussion boards in facebook. There were some rather political, unfriendly comments from various nationality (and Malaysian themselves) but mainly light-hearted and funny things. Brought smiles to my face just thinking about my fellow Malaysians.

Malaysia has its flaws, and its beauty… and it will always be my home, and I need not say more.

Happy 50th Independence Year Malaysia!

Oh… and I came across this “How Malaysian Are You” test and so I thought I’d try it out (and yes, I’m totally honest and did not cheat!)

You can try it yourself first here (of course don’t scroll down too much lah) before you read my answers and the actual answers below

1. How much is satu kupang?
[I have no idea??! I thought it’s some extinct currency? The only thing that came to my mind was kuda kupang… wait, or was it kuda kepang… well, something like that lah]
2. Where's the favourite spot to take wedding pictures in Taiping?
[Jeeez I don’t know… I’ve been to Taiping only once, and that’s to the lake… and I did not take any wedding pictures. The Taiping Lake Gardens perhaps?]
3. In what dialect is Apo Nak Di Kato?
[I really don’t know too… but I’m guessing some Kelantan dialect?]
4. Name at least five variations of roti canai.
[Hmmm I thought there’s only 1 roti canai?? I could name 5 different roti(s) though – Roti Pisang (my favourite), Roti Tisu (another favourite when I feel something extra sugary), Roti Telur, Roti Planta, Roti Bom. And there are heaps more of weird Roti name thanks to Murni in SS2]
5. What is the staple food of native Sarawakians?
[Rice perhaps? Why would there be different staple food for them??]
6. Name a popular Malay ointment made from "sea-cucumber"
[I totally have no idea… I only know Malaysian Chinese eat sea-cucumber]
7. Name the sauce made from fish or shrimp that the Kelantanese love.
[No idea]
8. What does pi mai pi mai tang tu mean?
[I forgot! I used to know it…. It’s a tv show – at least I know that]
9. Which fruit is Ipoh famous for?
[Pomelo! I can’t be wrong!]
10. What is the English name for putu mayam?
[There is an English name??!]
11. "Lah" is to Peninsular Malaysians as"..." is to Sabahans.
[I really do not know…. Perhaps my brother can help in this since he studied in Sabah]
12. What does ABC stand for?
[Air Batu Campur (Ais Kacang translated as Ice Peanut)… but also means ABC soup for the chinese community]
13. How long is a sari?
[Quite long… 2 metres maybe? I should have taken the saree out from the bag which I bought last year while in India… yups it’s still in that shopping bag!]
14. What does the Cantonese phrase" ngam ngam " means ?
[“Exactly” or “Just Made It” or something like that…. We all know we cannot give the exact direct translation to words like this!]
15. Name Penang's famous beach.
[Batu Ferringhi…. I would assume any Malaysian would have known this!]
16. How do you order coffee mixed with tea at a kopi-tiam?
[Yin-Yong!]
17. What's on Malaysian TV at 8pm?
[Hahaha…. NEWS! So it was so odd when I came to Australia when good movies are at that time instead! 8pm used to be my dinner time with 6-7, 7-8 some Chinese Drama, followed by 8.30-9.30, 9.30-10.30 with some more Chinese Drama / Korean Drama or movie time]
18. On one side of our RM1 coin is the bunga raya, what's on the other?
[Oh no! I don’t know? RM1? No no… RM1 is with the Bunga Raya right? A Keris maybe? I can remember the old RM1 though…. It has that building and the star… I think…. Oh well, at least I know it is Gold in colour]
19. Now what's on our 10 sen coin?
[Congkak? I think…]
20. What was the name of the KL Commonwealth Games 1998 mascot?
[Hey… that’s not fair… it was ages ago… Was it a bird? I have a vision of some blue yellow red white bird… but I could have mistaken it for something else]
21. When you fill in a form, if you're not Malay, Chinese or Indian, you are...?
[Lain-Lain ;)]
22. Who is Malaysia's favourite Kampung Boy?
[Are we talking about when on Malaysian Idol or what? Coz the first person that comes to my mind is that fat rock singer on Malaysian Idol – Faizal was he? Or Fairul… or Faizul… or something like that… but the question probably have no connection with Malaysian Idol anyway… if so then probably that famous Malaysian kampung cartoons… Lat perhaps?]
23. How did the word "gostan" come about?
[Why can’t you just ask me what it means…. I means reverse… and I have no idea how it came about though I remember reading it somewhere… funny we always use that word when we talk but we never write it coz we all know it’s not a dictionary word – or is it now?]
24. Lobo's "Whispers in the Wind" is the English version of which famous Malay song?
[There was an English song from a Malay song??! OK I cheated a bit on this – I looked and listened to “Whispers in the Wind” and I know the tune… “Getaran Jiwa by P.Ramlee”! it’s not even direct translated! “Bisikan Angin” Hahaha]
25. When did Malaysia last win the Thomas Cup?
[Ages ago… I think 1992…. And I lost interest in Badminton soon after that…. The best game which left an impact to me was Foo Kok Kheong vs Joko Suprianto and yup I was a super big fan of badminton back then, now? I don’t even know all the players…]
26. What is the name of our national flag?
[Jalur Gemilang]
27. If you want 4D numbers, who do you consult?
[Temple? Or some Chinese bomoh or something]
28. What's the name of the Malaysian-made 175cc motorbike?
[Jaguh if I remember correctly]
29. Name our national bird.
[We have a national bird??? We have a National Flower and a Sarawak bird. Perhaps they meant Kenyalang (Hornbill)?]
30. If the father is a baba, and the mother is a nyonya, then what is the son?
[BaNya or NyoBa? Hahaha… Baba lah!]

The Answers and my response to them...

1. Northern slang for 10 sen [Haha… oops sorry! Kinda ignorant… been a central kid all these while… not in close touch with northern slang :p]

2. Lake Gardens [yay… I’m right! Guess that’s the only nice place in Taiping? Heheheh]

3. Negri Sembilan, meaning "What's there to say?" [Sorry had no idea!]

4. Roti bom, roti pisang, roti planta, roti telur, roti sardin, roti tisu, roti bawang [Hmmm… wrong question lah dude… Canai just means plain… you can’t ask what type of roti canai]

5. Sago [Oh yes yes… sounds familiar]

6. Minyak gamat made from sea cucumber, for wounds [Ahhhh now why didn’t I think of that… Sea Cucumber Oil… Minyak Gamat… of course….]

7. Budu [Never heard of it before… ask me belacan and some more common Malaysian stuff then I’m sure to score!]

8. Northern dialect that means coming and going but ending up at the same spot [Hmmm…. Ok]

9. Pomelo [Yay… my dad is from Ipoh… so no way I can not know this]

10. String hoppers [Jeez…. Serious??!]

11. Bah [Lalalalala…. Whatever…]

12. Air batu campur OR All Asia Broadcast Centre [Never knew it stands for that too… oh well]

13. Six yards [Almost 6 metres???! Wow that’s really long! But I don’t think my saree was that long though… maybe coz it’s a modern less cloth saree… hahaha]

14. Just in time or just fit or just right. [I’m ngam!]

15. Batu Ferringhi [duh]

16. Kopi cham [since when??? It means coffee mix… don’t remember anyone saying it! Which state uses this??! I’m sure I’m right!]

17. The news [Of course…]

18. Keris [hahaha… I’m actually right!]

19. Congkak [and this too! Great!]

20. Wira [Sounds familiar… so is Wira a bird??]

21. "Other" or Lain-lain [Another duh]

22. Lat [Hahaha… Malaysian Idol pulak… but hey, I’m right too]

23. A corruption of "go astern" [serious?? I don’t remember people telling me that]

24. P. Ramlee's Getaran Jiwa [and I like it when our modern Malaysian singers mem-more-pop-kan it nowadays]

25. 1992 [I told you I WAS a badminton fan!]

26. Jalur Gemilang [another duh… but well, if you say Bendera Malaysia it could be still right right?]

27. "Datuk" [since when?? Is there another meaning to this question? I know people always go to “temple” to “kao chim” to ask for 4-D… Malays are not supposed to gamble so they don’t need to see datuk for 4-D!]

28. Jaguh [Yay!]

29. There's none – lah [Hahaha… Trick question….]

30. Baba [another Trick question :p]

Survivor Re-visited

Indeed… Life hasn’t been very busy at work for me here in Canberra. So, there are some “extra” time to do non-work things like spending time looking at immunity challenges in Survivor on youtube!

I so like reality shows like these…. Haven’t been able to watch all seasons though, only the first few and then Survivor Fiji, the latest one. And looking back at the youtube videos, I think I like Survivor All Star 1 best… the people there all seem happier and enjoying the game much better than anyone else… and it’s the season where Amber and Rob won!

And hey… just to share with you one of my favourite immunity challenges…. I thought it was quite funny and different from most challenges…

And one challenge which I will totally fail in…I probably could survive eating cow brain or spider but this… I just can’t (you must watch this video from beginning til end!)

American Idol Re-visited

Season 1
I really cannot remember any of them (or maybe I was not even following the show) except for Kelly Clarkson. And everyone knows Kelly Clarkson – need no further comments.

Season 2
For some reason I don’t remember any of them either except of course for Ruben or Clay Aiken, only because they have been talked about in the later seasons. I do not think I know much of their voice or their music either. I had no memory of Season 2 (again, probably I was not in touch with this season).

Season 3
Ahhh…. This season is still fresh in my memory.
I know I did not like Fantasia’s “eccentric” voice – not a fan of Donald Duck voice. And I thought Latoya London deserved to win most.
And I think my favourite was Jon Peter Lewis (JPL) – coz I thought he looked cute (well, not like he’s super good looking or what – but yeah cute) especially the way he moves on stage. Guess he didn’t end up going to med school and being a paediatrician. It would be good to have a Dr.JPL

Jon Peter Lewis - A Little Less Conversation on Idol

Jon Peter Lewis - Man Like Me after Idol

If you remember Jasmine Trias, here is a video of one of her songs (Sana Lagi) after Idol. I think it’s in Tagalog so “Sana Lagi” wouldn’t mean “There Again” coz it’s not Malay :p Her voice is still sweet as always. She may not have the most powerful voice, but it’s always more pleasing than Fantasia’s.

Season 4
Ahhh this is the one which Bo Bice should win and not Carrie Underwood! I think I did not have much feel with this season because most of them were forgettable – also means not good enough… but I guess out of the pool, my favourite was Anwar Robinson, steady normal guy but perhaps got a bit too boring for the voters.

Anwar Robinson – What A Wonderful World on Idol

And remember Mario Vazquez who pulled out? People thought he had chances to be the winner, but well… he did not go through the whole thing, so hard to tell… He has his own albums without American Idol but I’m not a huge fan of his songs – I think he sounded better singing those songs in the competition. But anyways, something from the audtion….

Mario, Anwar and Jamar – I can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey)

Season 5
And of course this is my favourite season of all – simply because I had so many favourites here! I liked Ace Young, Chris Daughtry, Elliott Yamin, Kellie Pickler, Katharine McPhee, Lisa Tucker, Paris Benette, Taylor Hicks (hahaha yeah, almost everyone!) and even a few from Top 24 I had my favourites already – David Radford and Will Makar.

David Radford - The Way You Look Tonight on Idol

Will Makar - How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) on Idol

But if I had to choose 2 (I can’t choose 1!) – I’d choose Chris Daughtry and Elliott Yamin as my super favourites. There are heaps of new songs by this group of people but here is one of my favourite: Elliott Yamin-Wait For You

Season 6
This was nothing as good as Season 5. The most deserving winner was obvious from the very start – Jordin Sparks, and she did win. Finally the best person did win an Idol contest. Blake is well liked by the judges and the voters, but for some reason, he’s just not very much liked by me – I think it’s the whole spitting saliva thing he does (well, not that he really did that, but yeah those who did watch the show know what I'm talking about).

But anyways… here’s Chris Richardson, my favourite this season. I find his style on stage rather special.

Chris Richardson – Change the World on Idol

Chris Richardson - Don't Get Around Much on Idol

Jordin and Chris - What Hurts The Most

A dose of Vitamin C

The whole “Canon in D” thing reminded me of Vitamin C’s song – Graduation. The song was released during the final year of my “higher” high school Year 2000 (I think)… but I actually left the “real” high school in Year 1998… I love the song… and it came just at the right time – for my generation that is…

“And so we talked all night about the rest of our lives, Where we're gonna be when we turn 25”
So where are we at 25? (or rather, where WAS I at 25?)
Did I actually end up doing what I hope I’d be doing at 25?
Career wise – from accounting to biotech to information technology… never thought I’d end up in SAP! But then again… this is not the end yet, or is it?
Relationship wise – I thought I’d be married by 26! And it’s only at 25 I met my dream guy… or is he not?
Well… all the “all night talks” were mainly about career and relationship isn’t it? – That’s what we were always worried about, strategizing and planning for…. Most of us missed talking about the little things in life, like…
… how would ice-cream taste like when I’m 25
… how the tolerance for alcohol goes down when I’m 25
… how would my parents feel when I’m away from home at 25
… if that mango tree would still be in my front yard when I’m 25

“I keep thinking times will never change, Keep on thinking things will always be the same”
Hah! Shallow high school kids thoughts… times WILL change… things WILL change… let’s get real… but all we hope for is for it to change for the better…

“But when we leave this year we won't be coming back, No more hanging out cause we're on a different track”
Can’t remember when was the last time I went back to school… (or now also known as the jail)
But we are still hanging out! Well… not when I’m here in Australia… but yes we do – not the entire school of course… but the “lot” of us do hang out still…

But I miss school…. The PE / PJ lessons, the pretending to pick up rubbish before school time, the snacks we smuggle into classrooms, the football field we created at the back of our “Reading Room” Class during World Cup Fever, the floating classes, the must tie your hair up if long and only blue / black bands allowed, hiding in the school hall for mini-PA sessions, Kevin’s’ world’s smallest Malaysian flag…

“And if you got something that you need to say, You better say it right now, cause you don't have another day, Cause we're moving on and we can't slow down…”
We NEED to slow down! Sometimes I think we move too fast we let things pass by us without realizing… so high school friends (or any friend for that matter) – anything you need to say which you did not say back then? Anything you want to say now and may not have another day to say so? Well… you’ve got my mobile, my e-mail addresses, some even know where I live… so feel free to say it to me right NOW! :)


“…We'd get so excited, we'd get so scared, Laughing at ourselves thinking life's not fair, And this is how it feels…”
And it still feels this way isn’t it? Life is NEVER fair… we just need to earn it and to win it even when there are plenty of obstacles along the way making it just so unfair… But hey… this is life.

“…And as our lives change, Come Whatever, We will still beFriends Forever”
Friendsr4eva indeed ;)

“…Will we think about tomorrow like we think about now? Can we survive it out there? Can we make it somehow?...”
Yes, Yes and Yes

“…Will these memories fade when I leave this town, I keep thinking that it's not goodbye, Keep on thinking it's a time to fly”
I don’t think it will ever in my lifetime… unless amnesia hits or something but there will always be photos, voices, presence and the memories will always be alive.

Vitamin C – Graduation (Friends Forever) revisited
Full lyrics can be found here

Note: Apologies for some tersirat parts where only a few would fully understand

Canon in D

Canon in D is a nice popular wedding song. It would be wonderful to have a mini orchestra at my wedding playing songs like this instead of just using music CDs… Hahaha well… sorry, couldn’t help it… one by one of my friends are getting married... can’t help but picture a lil bit of my wedding if ever there is one….

Ade - Remember how we said we must have Canon in D at our wedding (well, not that me and you are marrying each other ;))…. and we played it out loud in client office while working late at work and got screwed by the new client lady boss (nope, need to clarify - it's not Ashley... Ashley is probably one of the nicest client bosses around) then? And well… wait til she hears the rock version of it….

Simply Awesome! You just have to watch it! And for guitarists - learn it too! :)

25 million hits and still counting (and there’s another exact same video with another 1 million hits)…. There are a few similiar YouTube videos as well, but this is my favourite…. Just awesome! Enjoy...

Thursday Night Out in Sydney & ENGLISH Lessons

I was in Sydney office last Thursday and managed to visit some bar and club in Sydney for the first time! This was my 3rd visit to this city in the last 2 months… and the other times had been non alcoholic outings, except for wine. Wine does not count. *smiles*

A few of us went for drinks (and not just minimal glasses) on a Thursday night… and going back to the hotel only at 12 plus on a Thursday night! The rest had to work the next day and I had to leave for the airport before 8am! We were at North Sydney (a bar at the corner of one of the streets, near Rydges then to Greenwood – I think) that night – not in the city but just across the Harbour Bridge. The club was good. And Craig was an excellent dancer with nice moves. The club has 5 parts, and there were quite a lot of people for a Thursday night! I was also surprised that it’s now a non-smoking area, I thought it was only in Melbourne. Well, good stuff for me. *smiles*

But the highlight from that night was “English” lessons – as in really English lessons. 2 of them were from UK and they were talking about Brit stuff which only the other Scottish guy understood and I had no clue. Perhaps we were exposed to American stuff all these while and British stuff just never reach us!

And as how Helen put it “How can you not know these???!” Check out the youtube videos… quite entertaining *smiles*

Wombles
It’s a popular children’s cartoon with the motto “Make Good Use of Bad Rubbish”
And here’s to share with you the a Womble Song


Morph
This is another tv shows for kids – the popular Plasticine man
Do check out this video too and see if it would have been your favourite kids show too?

Or maybe they were talking of things of a different generation??! *grin* All I know was Transformer, Smurfs, My Little Pony, Jem…

Congratulations Dr.Jaya & Dr.Teeba

I’ve known Jaya for such a long time now – almost 15 years now… Wow… that statement makes us sound so old. We got to know each other better when he called my house and we talked for 2 hours for the very first time about another guy initially and totally forgot what else. He’s one of the nicest and friendliest people I’ve ever met. And he’s the only guy who had period after drinking too much (Only few people would understand this. Unfortunately, I could not find that picture! However, it may pop up again on your wedding day – thanks to your wonderful guy friends *grin*).

And Teeba, we don’t hang out as often and I do not know much of her embarrassing moments compared to those I know of Jaya *grin* but I’ve known her since high school when we were in the PA division of the Prefects Board. There were times when we went to the school hall and have our own little activity with the team and always had the opportunity to let the whole school hear our voice through the PA System all the time! We got closer in Form 6 when she was kind to drive us to school everyday. And she’s nearly as a extremely dangerous driver as Jaya! *grin*

These two love-birds first got together in form 6… The thing I remember most about them was Jaya was always away on the phone for hours though he was still physically with the gang most of the time. We are all very happy for them and knew they were going to be one of the first to get married in our gang. And well, we are quite right! Congratulations to you both on your engagement. Sorry I could not make it back to Malaysia for it. But know that you’ll always have my best wishes. I look forward for your wedding this coming December. May you both live happily every after *smiles*, and hey, start working on that football team of yours soon!

My First Time

Smelling, Seeing, Touching, Feeling the snow…

When I first found out that the temperature up in Mt.Buller is -3 degrees Celcius, my first reaction to it was “-3? So Warm?” It would be surprising to hear something like that from a Malaysian. But hey, I had to survive Canberra weather the last few weeks and sometimes in the morning it gets -3 as well, so I would expect high up in the mountains where there are good snow falls this year – to be at least -10??! If there is snow at -3, why isn’t there snow right here in Canberra City??! It would certainly make winter a better experience…

Snow was good. I tried making snowballs at one attempt but I could not! The snow just refused to clump together to form a ball in my palms! I did not have much time to play with snow… it was a serious outing – it’s all about learning to ski! *grin* However, due to the need to rest my my tired-lack-of-exercise legs, I did sit on the snow sometimes and just touch it with my bare hands (it feels like those soft fine ice formed in your freezer) , but no snowballs, no snowman, no snow-fight. Perhaps next time.

Skiing was hmmm… excellent if you know how to ski. It was my first time skiing… I'm no excellent ski-er. But at least I tried… and did ski a little bit. It was a good experience, especially when you have your own personal instructor. And apparently all ski instructors are hot… and I did get a hot instructor too! I’ll try it again sometime later – perhaps next year to Perisher Blue or to New Zealand, but probably will go for a few days trip instead of a 1 day trip.

Click here for a few more pictures in my online photo album.

Movie Review on Facebook

I’ve seen quite a bit of movies on DVDs, or Internet or at the Cinema since I came to Australia – and there are short reviews available on my facebook. If you are interested to find out how I feel about these movies below, feel free to drop by there – as usual, I’m lazy to do a duplicate review here *smiles*

And if you don’t know what facebook is, it’s something like friendster – somethings are better but somethings are less friendly compared to friendster. Ben and I are competing on who has more friends on facebook as we joined almost the same time, and we have reached a stage where we cannot find more friends who are in facebook… so perhaps you can help me out here if you are reading this - by joining facebook. Hehehehehe…..

Lazy weekend...

Yup it has been a lazy weekend… with

NO exercise
NO outdoor activities… maybe just a walk to check my mailbox for DVDs

And all I practically did was
Sleep
Eat
E-Photo-ing – the 2 left rectangular columns are work of a lazy weekend
Listen to my.fm and hitz.fm
Watch DVD
Wanted to watch TV – Survivor but it was either Tennis, Cycling or F1… so I pretty much ended up LAZY-ing again…

Such a satisfying lazy weekend…