They had the right idea

I saw this link on facebook one day, and I would think that its not just me that has tried it, but its called yearbookyourself. The results were ok, probably because I didn't have the right picture to slot in the template, but with what I had to work with, one picture caught my eye, and made me think of my Atok for the first time in a long time..



I now know why my family said I looked like my arwah tok. Aside from the hair (which he never had much of), the combination of the glasses and face shape, yeap, quite sebijik la. I need a second opinion, but i'm pretty sure of it.

I don't know if my grandparents did or did not plan to have a big family like they have today, but If they did, they had the right idea. Sometimes, if you think of it, it's impossible, with the age gap that they had, they would be able to last through the years. But again, "orang-orang" lama did what was needed, worked things out, and eventually, everything would be ok.

Opah had her 82nd birthday on Merdeka Day, and even without me and ayeng, the house looked full as always, courtesy of the "right idea" of raising a big family. She looked healthy enough, managing to smile depsite her impending illness, but again, I think seeing her son, daughters, her cucu's and cicit's around her, that would give anyone a morale/mood boost if you ask me.

Why this sudden out of place post? I don't know, something triggered it, and it has been written, so might as well publish it.....



P.S,

With an err of smugness Venus cast its spell,
which made the knght aim his arrow towards the ground,.........


gotta get outta here, making me weak, making me spew out rhymes and shit...

As promised

As promised...the dance performance for Unity in Diversity. I only danced the first and third part. Enjoy people..

Merdeka?

This is an overdue Merdeka post. I really did want to write something on Merdeka day, but due to technical problems with the video I wanted to attach to this post, It comes almost 10 days overdue.

Honestly, I wasn't feeling very patriotic on the day itself, when I normally would in previous years. I guess I was thinking about a situation in Malaysia about a friend that made me sad. But i'm not at liberty to discuss that here. The day was spent, firstly sending Imran and Nana to the bus stop, sending Harris back home, to the rec center for "Merdeka Volleyball", bit of badminton, lunch with Qi Su and Meqsu in town and Merdeka cake made by Hani at Rotary court. Not very exciting.

So, Merdeka? I myself truly believe that Malaysia is a special place. If we really try to see everyone as the color grey, and think of ourselves as Malaysians, Merdeka would truly have lived up to its true meaning. I remember in primary school, my best friends were Amritpall Singh and Nicholas Tan. It was never about race then, and I think I'm not the only one that feels that way. Somewhere down the line, people change, people grow up, and more variables come into play. I love the idea that Malaysia is a country with racial harmony, and I want to be able to be friends with people that have different religious beliefs and are from different races. I want to be free to be happy for them when they celebrate their festivals, and I want to have the freedom to share my joy with them when I celebrate my festivals.

I am guilty of the occasional racial name calling, and I know its just not me who does it, but honestly, its more out of habit than malice. I mean, If I hate someone, its because I hate someone, and not because of the race that person belongs to. Maybe that's just me. But even in the this name calling context, it would be better if people say "bloody Malaysians !" rather than specify to any particular race. Hahaha. At least there would be unity even in our negatives.

51 years? My god, time flies. Still, after all those years, we're still struggling, and the sad part is, its amongst ourselves. I guess the world doesn't really see Malaysia that way, and I guess one thing that all Malaysians do best, is not showing the world our true colors.

Happy belated birthday Malaysia. I hope that the drama that is unfolding is for the best. I still love you Malaysia, and believe in the idea of you.

I leave you with a video me and Lutfi made for Malaysian Night 2008, with help from Worm and Haizat. Its called,

"How far has Malaysia really come in the eyes of the World"