yes, i think so

Would you like some coffee?
Are you OK?
Would you like some sugar with that?
Are you going to class today?
Is he going to ask her out?
Is the toilet working?

These are the types of questions that you can answer with "Yes, I think so". Questions such as "Do you still wanna run this country?", on the other hand, should be answered with more..uh, conviction, I think.

But what do I know,huh? I mean, you ever run a country before, Jibam? No? So just go sit on the sidelines and shaddap! Kapish?

life is full of important choices

I think netizens are mostly aware now of the lawsuits filed against two prominent bloggers by the upper echelons of a certain mainstream newspaper. I, my connection to the mainstream media restricted to being a mere newspaper-buyer and TV news-watcher while my knowledge and opinions is formed out of blog-hopping without commenting and/or debating (this is a disclaimer so that anybody reading this won't take my word for it. Not 100%, that is. I can even live with 0%. Honestly), think that this is really good progress. Society-wise, that is.

If anything, the lawsuits highlight the growing influence of blogs; people read them, and people might believe what is written in them (that's a significant might there, that's why it's in bold. The mighty might). So much so that bloggers can be forgiven for thinking that we can make a difference and so much so that some people in the mainstream media are suing. Because, well, we don't really know who's reading what. And those 'whos' might very well be the who's who of this country. Hell, maybe Datuk Hishamuddin's reading this right now. If you are, Datuk, my friend Boro thinks the education system suck (then again, naaah! But just in case, you know)

So this is basically how I break it up;
Statement 1: Blogs are free so anyone can have one
Statement 2: People have opinions, some write them in blogs
Statement 3: Anyone can read any blog(s) (reading a large amount of blogs, all at the same time, can be nauseating but hey, it's a free country)
Statement 4: Anyone is a big word and might consist of well, anyone

Conclusion: People can voice their opinions in a way that there's a possibility of anyone at all to hear about it. And maybe something will be done (in effect of what's been written)

The way I see it, blogging is one way that people can actually do something without waiting for the government to come up with some kind of program(s) for them to do so (and to provide some fried bee hoon at the end of the program(s)). Sure, we might not achieve much but hey, people are getting sued here. So we might achieve something. People are taking notice. So write, dammit!

I am of the opinion that lots of people in this country are doing things because somebody told them to. We have to be told to stop smoking, we have to be told to obey traffic lights, we have to be told (by a bunch of kids) to 'jangan memotong barisan, beratur dan tunggu giliran anda'. What's the point of democracy if we don't choose? We should choose ourselves, not have the government tell us what to do. Choose to stop at zebra crossings. Choose to give our seats to pregnant women and senior citizens. Choose to write (and blog) responsibly.

The lawsuits are filed against them because of certain things that the bloggers choose to write. The lawsuits are filed because some people are offended and choose to file them. The court, in upholding justice, is really choosing which side is right.

I choose to see what happens. I choose to not jump to conclusions. And I choose to hope that everyone will always have the choice to freely air their views. In blogs or otherwise.

what's my age again?

Location: in front of Bank Islam atm, 12 R.C, UM

I was waiting for two maintanence guys to finish whatever they were doing so I can withdraw some money from the atm. These guys couldn't have been older than 23, judging by the way they talked to each other and what they were talking about. One of them, upon seeing me there, asked;

"PTPTN dah keluar ke dik?"
(note:words in bold are, well, important in making a point)

lalalala~

Arsenal 2 - 1 Manchester United

I went to Jamal to see the game (sori Boro, tak bole join ko. Aku penyelia bertugas). The table behind me was occupied by, like, 4-5 Indian guys. One sat very near to me. So very near if he sneezes, whatever bacteria from him would have landed on me in less than two microseconds. Anyway, their conversation (I wasn't eavesdropping, mind you. But they were sitting so very close to me I could even differentiate between 'the' and 'da', as-in Da Man, geddit? And I couldn't really eavesdrop properly had I want to, since I'm not really proficient in the Tamil language);

TamilTamilTamilTamilTamilTamil MU kalah la ini malam TamilTamilTamilTamil.

Get what I'm saying? But for that particular sentence, everything else was in Tamil. And I suspect that the remark was made -and made in that manner- highly likely because I was wearing a Man United shirt. I cursed like hell. In silent mode, of course (I vibrated a little, just in case anyone's wondering). Never imagined the Bahasa Kebangsaan to be used as a medium to cause annoyance and irritation. In this particular case, to cause annoyance and irritation only. So much for muhibbah.

Anyway, after the match has gone 10-15 minutes;

TamilTamilTamilTamil Rooney tak boleh la ini TamilTamilTamilTamil

Wooooooh! My skin was starting to have a slight greeninsh tint at this point.

When Rooney scored I shouted "in your face!" and danced the funky chicken.

In my mind only, of course. Silent mode, remember?

Then they scored twice. Then came all the sounds from the table I sat. Terima kasih Sasa, Kecik dan Nini; hidup lebih indah dengan adanya kalian. Then came the smss.

Crap.

akak engkau,abang engkau

I think people should hold someone very close to heart to admit her/him as their sister/brother when that particular someone really isn't (their sister/brother). But it seems that this sister/brother thing is somewhat inverted amongst the people I know ;p

"..'abang' kau tu tak datang ke?"
"..'akak' kau mana? Tak nampak pun?"
"..waaaa bukan main lagi dok sebelah 'abang' sampai tak nampak kiri kanan.."

Stressing the on words abang and akak when saying the sentences helps a lot in trying to understand what I'm trying to say.

pieces of the jigsaw

At the start of the season, there was much anxiety. We have just lost Ruud, an accomplished goalscorer. Alan Smith, for all his achevements at Leeds, looked more capable of defending rather than scoring. And Rossi was loaned out. And we bought a defensive midfielder, of all types of midfielders. And hardly the one who scored lots of goals. Or as commanding as Keano (to be fair, and compliments to Keano, I don't think anyone is that commanding). Mahal pulak tu.

Then we saw how Saha and Rooney benefitted from playing together a lot (and alhamdulillah, there weren't many injuries). And people were actually talking of how Man United have actually benefitted from the departure of Ruud; we have become more dynamic, using the entire field, producing the most entertainment in the league aside from Arsenal.

And then came Larsson. I've great respect for this man. Like Rooney, he's quick and hardworking. Like Ruud, his positional play is superb. And because of his stint at Barca, I think, he has a taste for these cheeky flicks and occasional dribbles. And aside from Van der Sar, none in the team can match his experience.

And here's another plus point: Larsson is the kind of player that won't mind being benched. That's the thing with the current squad. Such is the harmony that I don't think any of the lads mind being benched. This is not to say that they won't be working hard to have a crack at the starting lineup, but since those on the field have so much capabilities to dazzle, the ones on the bench can enjoy watching. And when called upon, they can enjoy playing.

And this weekend it all seemed so..easy. It was like an exhibition match (although Aston Villa helped a lot with their defending). And a glance at the bench will tell you just how much ground we've gained since the start of the season, playing staffs-wise; Giggs, Solksjaer, Saha, O'Shea, Kuszczak. And we still have Fletcher, Gaby Heinze, Richardson, Silvestre, Smith and Rossi outside of the squad.

January is a good time to be a devil.

4-0.looking forward to more 'special one' claims

Out of frustration (at not being able to strengthen his squad), and probably the desire to rally everyone at the club, this was what Jose Mourinho said;

Are you up for the challenge of playing without the best goalkeeper in the world, the best central defender in the world..

amongst many things. So frustrated was he that there are talks of him leaving (or being sacked, whichever comes first). For all his achievements, I think it is evident now that the special one is not so special after all. I mean, you don't have John Terry and Petr Cech (in their own right, very good players) but hey, you have a squad full of people capable of turning the game around at their former clubs. And we are talking about huge former clubs here; past Champions League winners. These people can walk into any first teams but under the special one, they are benched. And judging by the way the team performed -associated more with bore than adore- it is hardly because everyone else performed better than them.

So here we have world beaters in one team. And two players with long term injuries (and to add the irony of it, neither were the special one's signings). And we have the special one complaining about having to let 16 and 17 year olds play.

Wenger played youngsters and beat Liverpool 6-3.

When Fergie first fully utilized Giggs, Butt, Scholes, Beckham and (Gary) Neville, people were saying "you can't win the league with kids". Look how many people have eaten their words.

Neither managers ever claim to be special.

Mourinho ni macam akulah. Suka berlagak