False sense of rightfulness

I never start a bog entry knowing what to say... just rambling on till i get to my point..

Hot issue going on at the moment; the organization I was involved in is under attack by a Malaysian "Islamic" society in Manchester. I couldn't believe the level of the accusation they put on us.

Few weeks ago, words were going around amongst the "Islamic" society that our organization promoted alcohol during our last event. Shocking news considering that it's false news... but all was well when the head of the "Islamic" society (from here on referred to as Isociety) got in contact with our organization to clarify things.

so we thought....

Then out of the blue, we got news that the Isociety signed a petition amongst their members with intent to tarnish our name, and sent it straight to the Malaysian student department. They even went so far as to write to an Ustaz, asking him to take action on us. It felt like a stab to the back.

First key point here ; in Islam, the sin for false accusation is worse than murder. So it saddens me to know that people use the name of Islam [acting high and mighty] meddling around in peoples affair trying to tarnish peoples reputation. Its shocking how they use "Islam" to justify their wrong doings.

It was bad enough that we lacked this Isociety's support (as fellow Malaysians) for the event. I would assume that members of the Isociety was advised not to support us as we were deemed sinful. I wouldn't have mind the non-attendance as it was their right to live however they choose to... so be it they choose to live detached from the real world. Its when they try to control the life of others that bothers me.

But don't they know, that when they act with the name of Islam, they risk ruining the name of Islam itself? They act with a false sense of rightfulness. They attack us on the assumption that we are sinners. They seek to ban all things they perceive as sinful.

That is not how Islam works.

They dont even know what a gig is.

Islam is an educated religion. Education here refers to understanding. Understanding of the world, people, culture, other religion etc. Muslims are ordered to study everything there is to study - not to condemn everything they do not understand.

Islam is about self control. In a mixed religious society, it is an even greater triumph to be able to control ones self from consuming alcohol while still respecting religions that do.

- You don't ban a whole event just because your not suppose to drink. It isn't a drinking event anyway. [we did not promote or sell alcohol during the event, but the local British bands drank]

So.......... go on living under your rock if you want to, go on trying to force people to live as you do, go on trying to stop the world from spinning, go on accusing people as you wish..

but do not do it under the name of Islam.

There are far better ways to promote Islam than this.

Back on stage

I got a new bass :D

About 2 weeks ago, Couple was scheduled to perform in Manchester. As they arrived in Stansted, en route to Manchester, their bassist got a call from Malaysia with news that his mother got admitted into ICU. Knowing this, he made a tough decision to get the next flight home. It was the right choice on his part. He made it just in time to see his mother before she passed away.

The other band members stayed and was determined to keep the show going - all they needed is a replacement bassist. I was reluctant to play for them at first. Haven't touched an actual bass in ages. Honestly, I might have been a better bassist a couple of years back.

A bassist friend in the area volunteered and saved the day. He was available to play all the big events in the Couple UK tour but could not make it for some of the smaller gigs.

So, the band asked me again and I decided to step up to the challenge. After all, it was just small gigs and would be a perfect stepping stone for me back into the world of music. Never the less, It was still thrilling and terrifying.

I've been wanting to buy a bass for quite some time, and as events unfold, I stopped procrastinating and actually bought a bass.

[Sexy lil thing. A Jackson bass with well rounded deep sounds and various tone setting]

Was scheduled to play two pub gigs in London. Had to learn eight songs for the first gig, and eight more for the next. All that in 3 days.. and it got rather confusing. They day came for us to perform, whether I was ready or not.

Personally I think I did okay on the first, but not so good for the second. Lucky for me the band and the crowd were nice and didn't go down hard on me. hehe

At the end of the day, I cherished the opportunity given...Its not every day you get to perform with such well known bands.

In the course of things, I managed to relive the joy of performing as a band, awakened the sleeping bassist inside of me, and got myself a new bass to practice with.

When the next opportunity arises, I'd be ready.

If u want to do it, do it right

Attended a Malaysian Night in Liverpool last saturday,

It was my first time attending a Malaysian night. My expectations were high since i heard that it was a sit-down event with performances going on on stage. I was thinking of it as something rather formal akin to a wedding banquet in a hotel. They charged 8-10 pounds per entry anyway.

The event has got everything in place ; there were performances, an emcee, lucky draws, Chinese meal, etc. But i was very disappointed on the execution of all those elements of the event.

The hall was filled with the circular tables as expected, but it was left bare. They laid a square coloured paper in the middle, with smaller different coloured paper around the table as place mats. They served the Chinese food in aluminium foil take-away trays with the plastic covers merely placed under it. The food did not look or taste eight pounds.

The emcee has a flat tone, the lucky draw gifts were bought from the pound shop and left unwrapped.. exposing its cheap contents for all to see.

The sound technician didn't know what he was suppose to do, the main performing band......

If you want to do it, do it right.

Since I was just involved in organizing an event, this really got me thinking about the act of organizing an event,

Firstly, and most importantly, I realize the importance of having a vision for what the event could/should be. As the Malaysian night event thought me, its not about the elements that make an event but rather the execution of it. Just getting by does not cut it.

In order for an event to be executed well, the project manager has to divide the event into smaller elements and put under the supervision of elected team members. Therefore it is extremely important that the team members be chosen wisely. Every individual in the team must also share the vision and passion for the event.

The chosen individuals then has to be dedicated and knowledgeable about their responsibilities. In educational terms, everyone must aim for an A, rather than just going for a pass.

Some may argue that the lack of funding is the main cause of not doing things properly, but that is what designers are for really - making things happen in the best possible manner with whatever budget allocated to them. 'Designers' here is not limited to visual designers, this includes designing a nice sound or designing a nice flow of events etc.

As a team of organizers, it is also important to realize and discuss the details and the smaller bits and pieces that make up the event. For example, a greeting smile at the door might just make or break the entire event.

The whole is made out of smaller elements, therefore everyone in the team is responsible in making a successful event.

and I was blessed to be able to be part of a great team.

Cheers.

Our Menu

Me and Ska have almost been together for 5 years now and we always eat well :)

We would rather travel for miles for good food than eat at any crappy restaurant near by. Therefore, we tend to stick to the restaurants and foods that we know will taste good.

Over the years, we have pretty much narrowed down the menu to this ;

Fatmawati - Nasi Daging empal

Shih Lin - XXL Crispy chicken

Shih Lin - Seafood tempura

Anywhere propper - Dim Sum

Ah Hong - Kam heong Sotong

Ah Hong - Dry Butter Prawn

Ah Hong - Hokkien mee

Stevens - Chicken Chop

Stevens - Lamb Chop

Uptown - Yong Tau Foo

Sisters - Crispy popia

Hakim - Nasi Ayam kuah campur + papodom

Man chong kam - Nasi Ayam

Jusco Food court - Claypot Chicken Rice

Penang Mari - Sar Hor Fun [no longer available]

Red Quali - almost every dish [no longer available]

Jati dormitory - Nasi Lemak

Road Side - Rojak & Cendol

Ikea - Meatball

Ikea - Daim Cake

Ikea - Curry puff

Subang Ria - Won ton Mee

Subang Ria - Hakka Mee

Subang Ria - Kuew teow + Fried Yong Tau Foo

Nandos - Quarter Chicken meal

Al-rawsha - Anything Lamb

Restaurant Sambal Hijau - Nasi Campur + Sambal Hijau

Jaipur - Apom

Kedai Kopi - Beef keow teow Shah Alam

Pucuk Paku - Cantonese noodle

Idaman - Tom Yam

Idaman - Kari hijau

Maulana - Nasi Goreng Kambing [Ska je suka :p]

Pak Li - Nasi Ayam Lemon

Seoul Garden - Korean Buffet

Awana Resort - Burger [best burger i have ever tasted. boo Carls Jr.]

Wong Solo - Ayam penyet

Tony Roma's - Ribs + Baked Beans

McDonald's - [Fillet o Fish & Sundae for me] - [Chicken McDelux & Fries for Ska]

Fillet Mignon steak is over rated.

The places aren't high end to any degree, but as they say, the best food are hawker foods.

By going back over and over again, these places and food develop a sentimental memory for me. I could never eat there without thinking of ska. So im posting this as a check list of what to eat when we're [since ska is coming to the uk] back home in Malaysia :)

Every stranger is a person

It was a very disserty weekend,

I had to distribute a questionnaire from house to house for a survey on home energy... I admit that the topic isn't as interesting as a dissertation could be, but I needed to know about environmental design in this part of the world. Would be a waste of money if i travelled all the way here to learn what i could have at home.

Decided to distribute it personally house by house because I was hoping for a better response rate, rather than sending it out by mail.. only got 20 respondents in two days though.

Anyhow, it was quite an interesting experience meeting random people in their own environment.

I went to a high-end area on Saturday. People there were nice - i guess its because most of them were educated people and knew what i had to do for my research.

Went into the house of a landscape architect. It was a lovely place with full height glass doors opening to a back garden. Then, oddly finding a women and her mum who were both on benefits living in a house without central heating in the high-end area as well [but her cats were extremely healthy].

Then on Sunday I targeted the lower-end houses. Was almost demoralized by how unfriendly people in that area were. Most of them were middle eastern/Indian etc. sheesh...A lot of the immigrants don't even speak English!

things got better in the later half of the day.. Locals and students were always willing to answer the survey. I was pleasantly surprised a couple of times when i said, "I'm doing a quick survey", and their immediate reaction was; "would you like to come in for tea?". Haha.

Met a 63 year old man who lived in the same house since he was born. He started out trying to act tough.. "I don't like people knocking on my door promoting, distributing flyers etc" ..... "are you sure its only gonna take 5 minutes?"

Ended up spending half an hour with him. Showed me his living room... talked about how the area changed in 50 years and so on.

It was kinda fun... Frustrating at times.. but all good. Its like the world is one big party. Just chat up random strangers and you'd get a nice story from every one of them. After all, every stranger around you has a unique story of their own.

Extra curricular activities....

I've done a lot of extra curricular activities in my life.There are a lot of reasons one should take part in these extra curricular activities - and i don't mean just the school ones.

I'm posting this cause my sister posted a note in facebook about having to choose what you want to do for the rest of your life at a very tender age. It begins by choosing your subject in high school. From there you have to narrow down your scope further when you choose a course for uni - and it all takes place before you reach 18. A lot of people i know start reconsidering half way through the course.

Im not saying extra curricular activity solves the problem, but by joining these activities, you get to test out different job scopes. It keeps your options open... Usually when people decide not to pursue the career they studied for.. they often fall back to those things they've done through these extra curricular activities. This may include joining an animation team, going into events management or just setting up a business.

It is like falling back onto your hobbies.. but its different - hobbies can be done alone. In my definition of 'extra curricular activitiy' [ECA] it requires some sort of interaction with people. I guess im defining ECA as: a non-profit organization that any group of people can band together and set up in order to achieve certain targets or goals.

For example.. i was in a band and worked towards performing to a crowd, i was in scouts and we worked to organize events for the younger ones, I joined a marching troop to win the national tournament, I joined a group of people to organize a gig, or even something as simple as organizing a barbecue.

All of it helps in getting through the 25 years you spend preparing yourself to get a job. In fact it adds the colour to life. Cant imagine people who study hard since they were 7, day in and day out to achieve grades at school. Because doing these ECAs' actually does make you a better person. I do in fact believe that i managed to score the scholarship just on the basis that I have gotten myself involved in a lot of ECA's.

By joining in these ECA it develops organizational skills, social skills... general knowledge etc.

It develops your social skills unlike you would develop it by partying or at clubs. It gives you the capability to actually make something happen... and it gives you a sense of achievement.

I cant point out exactly what I've learnt from them, but i sure as hell wouldn't want to go through life without them.

Why do i think all the time?

I already know that i think a lot all the time. I would question everything.

Then one day.. i found myself thinking of ;

"why do i think all the time?".

I figured that the best way for me to figure it out is to map out my thinking process.

Thus, I had to track my thoughts every step of the way.

and this is how it goes...

[Experiment to test the way that i think:]

Stage 1 [test a scenario]

for example,

If I hear someone say "is that a fish?",

with my natural tendencies to want to know things and my scientific way of thinking ...

my brain would go to this imaginary cabinet of data and look for the letter "f".

Scroll through all the animal list and find the folder 'fish'.

my brain would then look up all things i know about fish.

Find something i dont know...

Then It would trigger the reaction question; "how can I figure this thing out."

Then I would plan an experiment..figuring each step in detail.

(got forbids, there's something about the experiment that i don't know.. and my brain would try to figure that out... and come back to the fish later)

So after i figure out in detail the appropriate experiment to test this thing about 'fish' that is unknown to me. My brain would simulate the experiment mentally and then provide me with the most logical answer.

Stage 2

My mind would then drift to a random-but-connected issue.. such as:

"what if this new discovery, of this thing about 'fish', would change the world?"

then the process to answer my second question would be:

..........................." test if people will still eat fish knowing what I have just discovered"

.........or............. "test if fish might be produced in a different way to be able to feed the poor"

.......or.............. "test if fish might be made into rocket fuel" etc etc

..then after I've figure out the appropriate thing to test ... my brain would simulate the test. Mister Brain of mine could then , provide me the answer to the question:

"what if this discovery, of this thing about 'fish', would change the world?"

Stage 3

My mind will then lead me to the next random-but-connected question. Which will lead to the next random-but-connected question, to the next, then the next and so on.

Stage 4 [conclusion]

So, with this path of natural thinking i have. I would never run out of questions until I've figure out everything there is to find out in the world. There is still the possibility that one of my mental experiments is flawed too. So i can never have nothing to wonder about.

[experiment concluded]

So u see guys... thats what i found out when i was thingking of:

'Why do i think all the time?'.

Well, Thats just how my mind works; A series of random-but-connected question that never ends. So, the answer to my question"why do i think all the time?"is:

" Because I love to find out about everything"

Therefore, I would always tend to space out. But the speed at which this process of

"Question-Experiment-Imagined Answer-New Question" cycles through my head is so fast, that if someone were to ask me "what are you thinking about?"

The answer i would give that person would most definitely sound like the most random thing. When it is in fact a highly organised step-by-step thinking process.

p.s

Its hard for me to finish this posting particularly. Because the questions keep coming. Such as:

"why did i imagine a cabinet of data?"

"what are the implications of my thinking process towards the way i interact with the world?"

"what are the implications of my thinking process towards the way i interact with people?"

"How does other people think? The same process as myself?"

"Am I thinking so much?"

So i better just end it before i go crazy (-_-")

I should probably make a PhD report out of this.