Just received a call from my office's secretary telling me to get ready for the trip which will tentatively be either on the 1st or 2nd of November.
I was happy because finally at the very least the departure date is (almost) finalised. I have been keeping the news about my intended trip only to myself and Wife. How to tell some other people that you intended to go away for an important journey but you could not tell them when it would be if they would ever asked. Funny isn't it.
It was towards the end of the conversation that I realised, oh my God, I only have 3 days from today to be prepared! Suddenly many things rushed to my mind. I promise to complete and deliver a few assignments/documents by next week, got one meeting scheduled next Tuesday etc. I had earlier promised to my Wife to accompany her to look for her kebaya-raya. She didn't like what we had browsed at Ampang Point last weekend.
Got Iftar tonite at the Foster Homes in Damansara Utama. Tomorrow will be considered gone because I have three meetings to go through. Aaarghhh! *beep*beep* tensionnnn.
Need to cool down and re-arrange and prioritise the assignments.
OK, first thing to do is....to stop this writing and get going with the assignments now!!. Chow...
Thursday, October 28, 2004
Wednesday, October 27, 2004
Pretty balls
The recently concluded ATP Madrid Masters was hit by controversy when the organiser decided to replace the normal young volunteer ball boys and girls with models wearing slit skirts and tight tops with the name of the sponsor prominently displayed on their ample chest. The 19- to 28-year-olds were drafted in as ball-girls to replace the young fans who usually run around picking up stray balls and handing towels to players and will work in most of the televised matches at the tournament.
Parents of the teenagers they ousted felt it was a heartless move as they said the move have killed the children's dreams of sharing a court with their idols.
In the final last weekend, the eventual winner Marat Safin was shown being srayed with champagne by one of the pretty girls as her model colleagues looked on. Just like in Formula One and MotoGP.
How the game of tennis have changed over the years!
I remember in the early eighties when the tennis players wore simple white tennis shirts and shorts - remember Steffen Edberg? John McEnroe? or their female counterparts, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graff and Gabriella Sabatini?. Things started to change when younger generations took over in the likes of Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras and in the women circuit, Monica Seles and Martina Hingis.
Agassi and Sampras were among the earliest players started to wear denim shorts and refused to follow the conventional 'dress code'. I remember at one time, the English press covering Wimbledon Open were more interested in Seles' grunts and her pink panties than her play.
Then came Anna Kournikova which was a classic case of commercialism and marketing endorsement rather than about playing good tennis. She was one of the highest paid player from appearances and product endorsement eventhough she never won any tournament. Of course the William Sisters with their outrageous fashion statement.
Today, you will see female tennis players wearing all kinds of sexy dresses and of course, the sponsors like them, the TVs love them and the crowd have extra reason to watch and cheer upon.
I wonder how long it will take for these commercialism to creep into the more asian dominated sports like badminton and table tennis. Yeah......could not wait for that to happen. I hate to see our women shuttlers wearing those oversized t-shirts and shorts.
Parents of the teenagers they ousted felt it was a heartless move as they said the move have killed the children's dreams of sharing a court with their idols.
In the final last weekend, the eventual winner Marat Safin was shown being srayed with champagne by one of the pretty girls as her model colleagues looked on. Just like in Formula One and MotoGP.
How the game of tennis have changed over the years!
I remember in the early eighties when the tennis players wore simple white tennis shirts and shorts - remember Steffen Edberg? John McEnroe? or their female counterparts, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graff and Gabriella Sabatini?. Things started to change when younger generations took over in the likes of Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras and in the women circuit, Monica Seles and Martina Hingis.
Agassi and Sampras were among the earliest players started to wear denim shorts and refused to follow the conventional 'dress code'. I remember at one time, the English press covering Wimbledon Open were more interested in Seles' grunts and her pink panties than her play.
Then came Anna Kournikova which was a classic case of commercialism and marketing endorsement rather than about playing good tennis. She was one of the highest paid player from appearances and product endorsement eventhough she never won any tournament. Of course the William Sisters with their outrageous fashion statement.
Today, you will see female tennis players wearing all kinds of sexy dresses and of course, the sponsors like them, the TVs love them and the crowd have extra reason to watch and cheer upon.
I wonder how long it will take for these commercialism to creep into the more asian dominated sports like badminton and table tennis. Yeah......could not wait for that to happen. I hate to see our women shuttlers wearing those oversized t-shirts and shorts.
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
They're singing in the rain at ol' trafford
What a match!
I am referring to the most anticipated match between MU and Arsenal last Sunday. Finally, MU ended Arsenal's unbeaten run with a 2-0 (controversial?) win. Well, the penalty was a bit dubious but nobody could deny the second goal by Rooney (I'm beginning to like this kid) was superb.
Arsenal however still retained the record of 49-unbeaten run in the modern premier league. It is unthinkable if there will be any team that could match that record.
I am happy that finally MU managed to pull their act together and won this important match. Otherwise they could just forget about the league title for this season.
But honestly I still think Arsenal is the most enticing team to watch. They have the best players for the whole departments (except may be, their german goalkeeper) . How I really missed those days when Cantona was playing for MU - that was the time when Cantona, Giggs, Keane, Beckham and Schemeichal were at their best.
Had fun sending SMS to ABU and SAP after the game.
I am referring to the most anticipated match between MU and Arsenal last Sunday. Finally, MU ended Arsenal's unbeaten run with a 2-0 (controversial?) win. Well, the penalty was a bit dubious but nobody could deny the second goal by Rooney (I'm beginning to like this kid) was superb.
Arsenal however still retained the record of 49-unbeaten run in the modern premier league. It is unthinkable if there will be any team that could match that record.
I am happy that finally MU managed to pull their act together and won this important match. Otherwise they could just forget about the league title for this season.
But honestly I still think Arsenal is the most enticing team to watch. They have the best players for the whole departments (except may be, their german goalkeeper) . How I really missed those days when Cantona was playing for MU - that was the time when Cantona, Giggs, Keane, Beckham and Schemeichal were at their best.
Had fun sending SMS to ABU and SAP after the game.
Saturday, October 23, 2004
Met THE MAN
Yes, finally I had the chance to meet THE MAN personally.
So much that I have heard about him - from newspapers and from other reliable sources. About the elusive, low-profile corporate figure. About his generousities, his charities. About his conglemerate and corporate undertakings. Publicity shy and very rarely give any interview in the press. My friend Azam of Utusan got his chance of a lifetime to meet and interview the man last week - that interview came out in Mingguan Malaysia last Sunday. The Man said he gave the interview because he felt he was compelled to correct certain misunderstanding about him.
He is tall (I think he's a six footer). Lean body or may be he looked a bit thin because of his height. But, there's something charming about this guy. I guess may be because of his smile. The smile that never left his face during the meeting. Or may be because of his eyes. The eyes that showed the warmth and genuine interest when he listened to what others have to say during the discussion. He constantly cracked jokes at any given opportunity as if trying to water down the seriuosness of the matters on discussion.
I'm glad to have met him. Like I always do when I met any other successful malay corporate figures who are very humble and remain down to earth and more importantly they are god-fearing persons. Not that many that I have met so far though.
But still there is hope. If there was any lesson that I learnt today, it was that you could still be a successful in this cut-throat business world without forgeting your root and more importantly without sacrificing your religion and your principles.
So much that I have heard about him - from newspapers and from other reliable sources. About the elusive, low-profile corporate figure. About his generousities, his charities. About his conglemerate and corporate undertakings. Publicity shy and very rarely give any interview in the press. My friend Azam of Utusan got his chance of a lifetime to meet and interview the man last week - that interview came out in Mingguan Malaysia last Sunday. The Man said he gave the interview because he felt he was compelled to correct certain misunderstanding about him.
He is tall (I think he's a six footer). Lean body or may be he looked a bit thin because of his height. But, there's something charming about this guy. I guess may be because of his smile. The smile that never left his face during the meeting. Or may be because of his eyes. The eyes that showed the warmth and genuine interest when he listened to what others have to say during the discussion. He constantly cracked jokes at any given opportunity as if trying to water down the seriuosness of the matters on discussion.
I'm glad to have met him. Like I always do when I met any other successful malay corporate figures who are very humble and remain down to earth and more importantly they are god-fearing persons. Not that many that I have met so far though.
But still there is hope. If there was any lesson that I learnt today, it was that you could still be a successful in this cut-throat business world without forgeting your root and more importantly without sacrificing your religion and your principles.
Monday, October 18, 2004
On Being a Leader
Had lunch with Dato' Ismail Kamus just a few days before Ramadhan.
We were talking about the qualities that a leader must possess and as usual, his view was simple and easy to relate. According to him, a leader must be like an imam in a prayer. If you are an imam in a prayer, you should not follow any other 'imam' or person in front of you. Because as an imam you are supposed to lead the makmum. At the same time the imam must always remember that a makmum could correct him if he (the imam) is wrong.
Those comments came about when we were discussing about the lack of decisiveness or firmness in decision making on the part of our current PM. Anyone familiar with the bidding to acquire strategic interest in DRB-Hicom from the Estate of the late Tan Sri Yahaya by two interested bidders would know that the final decision has not been out yet even after the bidding was closed some time ago.
Intense bidding by both parties seemed to make the situation more difficult for the PM to make his decision. It has been said that the PM has even appointed Azman Yahya (ex-Danaharta) to help to advise him on the matter and still, the decision not forthcoming as yet. Any group taking over that block of shares would surely need to have the government's blessings. One of the beneficiary of the Estate had even tried to throw the spanner by making an announcement that was reported last Sunday that the consortium led by NAZA had won the race.
But as far as the information that I knew, it's actually far from over.
Anyway, Dato Ismail Kamus has also adviced that nowadays, all imams need to add another phrase in their usual reminder just before the beginning of a prayer, "Penuhkan Saf, Betulkan Saf, Matikan Telipon!"
We were talking about the qualities that a leader must possess and as usual, his view was simple and easy to relate. According to him, a leader must be like an imam in a prayer. If you are an imam in a prayer, you should not follow any other 'imam' or person in front of you. Because as an imam you are supposed to lead the makmum. At the same time the imam must always remember that a makmum could correct him if he (the imam) is wrong.
Those comments came about when we were discussing about the lack of decisiveness or firmness in decision making on the part of our current PM. Anyone familiar with the bidding to acquire strategic interest in DRB-Hicom from the Estate of the late Tan Sri Yahaya by two interested bidders would know that the final decision has not been out yet even after the bidding was closed some time ago.
Intense bidding by both parties seemed to make the situation more difficult for the PM to make his decision. It has been said that the PM has even appointed Azman Yahya (ex-Danaharta) to help to advise him on the matter and still, the decision not forthcoming as yet. Any group taking over that block of shares would surely need to have the government's blessings. One of the beneficiary of the Estate had even tried to throw the spanner by making an announcement that was reported last Sunday that the consortium led by NAZA had won the race.
But as far as the information that I knew, it's actually far from over.
Anyway, Dato Ismail Kamus has also adviced that nowadays, all imams need to add another phrase in their usual reminder just before the beginning of a prayer, "Penuhkan Saf, Betulkan Saf, Matikan Telipon!"
Friday, October 15, 2004
Ramadhan Mubarak
Ghadan Ramadhan Ya Abi!
That's part of the conversation that my friends and I always remember and make us laugh every time we talk about our 'favourite' subject at the University. It's a conversation between a son with his father about the coming of Ramadhan and the family is going to the market to buy a certain type of delicacies for breaking fast.
Nothing so funny about the story in our Arabic workbook though but the story reminded us of how we struggled to learn the language since all of us did not have any basic in Arabic. Of course there were many more instances that in our Arabic classes that will never fail to make us laugh our heart out.
Salam Ramadhan.
Puasa officially starts this morning.
That's part of the conversation that my friends and I always remember and make us laugh every time we talk about our 'favourite' subject at the University. It's a conversation between a son with his father about the coming of Ramadhan and the family is going to the market to buy a certain type of delicacies for breaking fast.
Nothing so funny about the story in our Arabic workbook though but the story reminded us of how we struggled to learn the language since all of us did not have any basic in Arabic. Of course there were many more instances that in our Arabic classes that will never fail to make us laugh our heart out.
Salam Ramadhan.
Puasa officially starts this morning.
Thursday, October 07, 2004
No title
Dearest blog,
Apologies for not updating in the last few days.
Been busy with urgent works, very urgent works and extremely urgent works since last week. I did visit you regularly though - but just could not sit still and write something.
Daughters have been complaining that I have not been sending them to their kindie for the whole week. I am very sure Wife would want to complaint too, since she had to take over the "task" since last week. In actual fact, they were also frustrated that they could not catch me to express their dissapointment because by the time I reached home, Wife and kids all have long been asleep and the next morning I would rush to office even before Wife finished preparing breakfast for the kids. So much for a family life.
But this is going to end soon. Hopefully the assignment could be completed by next Tuesday. Then I will have to reward myself for all the trouble, stress, mental anguish etc that I have sufferred while attending to this particular assignment. I love happy ending........
What should I buy for myself? T630 would be nice...eh?
Apologies for not updating in the last few days.
Been busy with urgent works, very urgent works and extremely urgent works since last week. I did visit you regularly though - but just could not sit still and write something.
Daughters have been complaining that I have not been sending them to their kindie for the whole week. I am very sure Wife would want to complaint too, since she had to take over the "task" since last week. In actual fact, they were also frustrated that they could not catch me to express their dissapointment because by the time I reached home, Wife and kids all have long been asleep and the next morning I would rush to office even before Wife finished preparing breakfast for the kids. So much for a family life.
But this is going to end soon. Hopefully the assignment could be completed by next Tuesday. Then I will have to reward myself for all the trouble, stress, mental anguish etc that I have sufferred while attending to this particular assignment. I love happy ending........
What should I buy for myself? T630 would be nice...eh?
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