If you're gone* - Matchbox 20

Saw this earlier (see the part circled in red):-

For a moment, my heart leap! They sold Carroll!!!! Yes! Some team actually paid money for him - and hopefully, it was good money.

If he's gone, we can start to look for a new striker. KD can stop putting him in hoping that he'll deliver. Things can only get better, right???

I clicked on the link - and to my dismay, it was referring to ROY Carroll and not Andy Carroll (see here).

Sigh...

*Their second single from their Mad Season album, one of my fav song of theirs.

Just the two of us* - Will Smith

The Wife said that she was glad that I could look at the matter differently from the rest and decided to do it. Truth be told, I dun think I saw it any differently. In fact, tt’s wat I told me mom – that it would be extremely jammed up at that time – both going there and coming back. The area is pretty bad and to go there after office hours at the peak time will only mean being stuck there and frustrated.

Furthermore, it was merely RM100!!! Yes, Hannah Yeoh had arranged for senior citizens like me mom to be able to shop for free up to RM100 – but only at that particular place, only between 6 – 8 pm!!! I actually told me mom that I can very well give her the RM100. In fact, I would rather give her the RM100 than to brave thru the traffic at peak hour.

Somehow – and I dun know what happened – I just relented. I agreed to do so.

So on the day in question, I got back home and did not get to rest much before embarking on our journey into “Jam-ville”.

But to our pleasant surprise, it was not very badly jammed up. Not at all! =)

I spent the next hour or so shopping for groceries with me mom. Thereafter, we went out for dinner with the Wife who joined us after she finished work. By the time dinner was over, the traffic had cleared up significantly and we got home quite stress-free. And me mom got the back seat filled with groceries!

I was really glad that something moved me to agree to take me mom there. I know for certain now it was God’s prompting. Looking back, it is clear now that it meant a lot for me mom. She is not rich – and neither are her children. Getting this RM100 is not something one gets all the time. Compared with the kind of money I get these days, it may not seem to be a lot – but it is to her. She is always so thrifty, never wasteful.

I was also thinking of how she would have felt if we all just refused to take her – which we could have very well done so. When we were young and small, she would carry us to where we want to go. When we got bigger, sure she could not afford a car but she would take us by public transport to buy our stuffs. Now that we are all grown up and have our own cars, how would she feel if we simply refuse to do so cuz it is inconvenient for us? She never complained about it being inconvenient for her.

Perhaps the best thing that came out of this was that I managed to spend some quality time with me mom! =)

It has been a long time since we have spent time together, just the two of us. Especially now that I’m married and have moved out. So while navigating the traffic and taking me mom on the short-cuts around PJ, we chatted. And I enjoyed it so much.

It was also then she told me how much she appreciated the gift that the Wife and I gave her for Christmas. It was a DVD of a popular and funny pastor in Hong Kong. She even told me the things that the pastor shared. She truly was blessed by the DVD and we praise God for that.

On top of that, she is now using the DVD to bless others too – offering to lend it to her frens and letting my niece watch it when she gets home from school. =)

I would have missed out on so much blessings if I simply refused to take me mom out in the first place. Moments like these are few and far between – and will definitely be cherished for a long long time!

*His version of this brilliant song dedicated to his son.

For the first time* - The Script

After the pathetic attempt of being more consistent in my running last year, i decided that i will make it a point to sign up for as many runs as possible this year - in a way, it's to prepare me for the major half-marathon run at the end of the year - the Penang Bridge run and perhaps the Stand Chart S'pore run!

The fact that the last run last year was pretty excouraging (see 2 posts below) also made me start to look for runs to participate in. The first run for the year was the Mizuno Wave Run.

I took part in it a few years ago - pretty challenging as the route covered many hills and slopes. Someone even said that's why they called it the "wave" run!!!

But since then, it has moved to UPM. I've never been there before but me running mate (the last one standing), Mah Pung ran that last year. I managed to get him to sign up with me and we went for it last Sunday.

The sea of red runners gathering at the starting line just as dawn was breaking

It was pretty good! In the first place, the route was wonderful - we ran around the campus and i must say it was pleasing to the eyes. I enjoyed looking at the lecture theatres, the halls of residence, the many lakes and ponds, the greenery, the fields etc.

It was much more challenging than my last run which was around the very flatland of USJ!!! Still, it was not as bad as the last Wave run i went for! The weather was pretty cooling - due to the plants around - but i found it to be pretty humid. My running vest was totally soaked at the end of the race!

The goodie bag was nothing to shout about - but they did have lots of food at the end of the race!!! And i like the red running vest (red cuz of CNY???)

Oh, this was my first race in the veteran category!!!! The junior veteran category! It felt good running past all those men from the "A" category who looked so much fitter and are obviously younger than i am. And altho the ladies started 15 minutes before the men, i passed quite a big number of them!

But the best thing of all was that i bettered my time which i set for the Subang Jaya run just slightly more than a month ago. Now being more challenging, the fact that i completed it faster bodes well for me! I *am* improving!!!

So here's to more runs this year - and last nite itself, we have signed up for a the Brookes run in March! Mah Pung will be going for the half marathon but i'll still stick to the 10 km run. The ankles are still hurting a little today and both legs were cramping up yesterday as i tried to push myself to cross the finishing line.

I've oredi ear-marked a run in S'pore in April. Thereafter, it'll be the KL Marathon in June!

*The aptly titled song which was their first ever no. 1 hit.

Stay the same* - Joey McIntyre

I know that my "Highlights of 2011" post is really overdue. But this post here is referring to one of the many highlights - and it is important to warrant a post on it's own.

Last December, an old fren of mine came back from overseas for a visit. To my surprise - a pleasant one - he wanted to meet up with me, among others.

Still, it has been a really long time and to be honest, i wondered if things would be awkward.

Thankfully - and obviously, since this was one of the highlights of the year - it wasn't. There were four of us who used to hang out a lot together - and we all met up again and had a wonderful time - we reminisce about the past and caught up with what was happening in our lives.

Just like really good old frens, it was like the time between our last meeting and now just melted away. Of course some things have changed - like we're all married now! But the most important things stay the same - our sense of humour, our tastes and interest, our frenship. And i'm so glad that it is that way. On top of all this, the four of us now have partners - and this makes a nice addition to the whole frenship.

Jit Tat and me at Pulau Tioman - yup we talked a little about this trip long ago


Our last group photo until last month


Our latest group photo - with some additions =)

*His first and most successful single.

One more time* - Daft Punk

This unfinished post has been sitting in my drafts folder for a while. Time to complete it!!!

I went for the last run of the year in early December - it was a race which i originally wanted to go for but failed to sign up on time (yeah, the perils of procrastination) but in the end, it was postponed as it was scheduled originally to take place on the 9th of July!!!

It's the Subang Jaya 10 km run! So when it was rescheduled to be in December, i signed up for it. When i went sigining up, i realised what my bib number was going to be:-

I jokingly told the guy that Chinese ppl would think that the number is bad!!!! It's basically "die, die, die"!!!!!

Thank God it went well. I enjoyed the run. The crowd was actually very small - i guess the *real* runners were down in S'pore running the Stan Chart marathon there!

Most importantly, it was the best 10km timing that i got in my post-operation days!!!! Not that i have ran many races after my op!!!

I was pretty glad of the timing. Furthermore, it seemed to have sparked off my interest and enjoyment of running again! I've been running more regularly since - and i actually look forward to it, not taking it like a chore i have to do.

My first race for 2012 will be this Sunday! =)

*This is their biggest commercial hit - and it is number 307 on Rolling Stone's amended "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" list in May 2010.

Not guilty* - George Harrison

So this was the big news today. Anwar is not guilty! So many status updates on fb was regarding this. It made the main news of the BBC News online too!!!

So what does this mean? He is innocent? Legally speaking, yes. After all, everyone is innocent until proven guilty - and the court found that the prosecution did not prove his guilt.

Did he really not do what he did? I do not him nor the victim personally - so it is hard for me to make a conclusion for sure. He knows it for sure. But more importantly, God knows - and God is just. Everyone will have to pay for what they have done.

So was this a big surprise? Well, no. Not to me anyways. A small one, maybe. But it makes sense, doesn't it? If one were to believe in conspiracy theories and that the judiciary is being controlled by the government, then it does not make sense for the government to antagonise the people any further. Perhaps they have finally learnt from their past mistakes? That by going after Anwar in a bully manner, those who sat on the fence eventually sided the seeming underdog - some even out of pity.

Someone posted on FB recently - if you put away Anwar, a thousand more "Anwar"s will arise.

So for conspiracy theorists, this could be a win-win situation for the government - do not antagonise the people, and at the same time, make themself look good! There are oredi politicians from the government who are saying now that the judiciary is independent!

Then there are those who think that this is a no win situation for the government. Guilty or not guilty, the government will end up in a bad light.

When the verdict came out, someone told me immediately that this is just an election ploy! If the verdict had been guilty, some people would say that the government is just out to get Anwar. The opposition will get even stronger and Anwar would get more sympathy by being the opposition leader behind bars.

Still, i do not pity the government. If this is a no-win situation for them, it is totally self-induced. They have behaved in a manner that no matter they do now, they can never do right.

Oh yeah - for you Anwar supporters who are rejoicing over the decision, dun forget that that there is still the Court of Appeal - and the Federal Court!!!

*This is his remake of the Beatles' version - his version being less "harsher", featuring the acoustic guitar and piano.

When you say nothing at all* - Ronan Keating

Starting reading the book of Job for my daily devotion in the middle of the week.

Basically, Job was a man of God who suffered a great deal. The book contains mainly his discourse with 3 of his friends - all of whom basically concluded that Job was suffering because of his sins. They basically made things worse for Job.

One of the thought of the day was that sometimes in times of suffering, the best help we can offer is just to be there - and not say anything.

I remembered a time when one of my fren's father passed away. We went to see him and we basically sat in silence with him. He however was expecting more from us - and he basically laughed at us for coming to see him to comfort him but not saying anything at all.

But what could we say? "We know how you feel". We didn't. "It's alright, he's in a better place now". Does he really want to hear that now? Maybe he had hoped that we came to say something that would somehow take away the pain of the loss. But we couldn't. Is there anything that can be said?

I remembered years after that when i finally went thru a similar bereavement, i was thankful to all my frens - not so much for anything they said but just them being there.

If only you would be altogether silent! For you, that would be wisdom.
Job13:5

*One of his classics, this was also featured in the soundtrack of the movie, Notting Hill.

Better* - Boyzone

We went for a holiday to Bangkok - finally! It was originally planned much earlier and we were supposed to go in October last year. Well, mother nature had other plans and to cut the long story short (yes, it was a long story but thank God things worked out well, generally), we finally went there last week.

It was a pretty good holiday. The wife got lots and lots of dresses at good prices. Me? I got a pair of Darth Vader boxers!!!!! =)

There were no signs that the place was earlier threatened with floods - lots of tourists around too.

We generally found the place to be nice - in some ways, much nicer than our own capital city, KL!!!!

Check out in my other blog (click here) 10 reasons why we felt that Bangkok is much better than KL!!!

Some of the reasons are light-hearted in nature - but most are true (to us, anyways) and we felt that KL is lacking so much, especially in the public transport area and the attitudes of people. Ah well... but this is home.

*Their remake of Tom Baxter's song which can be found in their compilation album released in 2008.

Don't come back knockin'* - Buddy Holly

CT Scan - RM610.00

Breakfast at hospital cafeteria - RM3.20

Doctor's consultation fees - RM190.00

Parking fees - RM3.00

Confirmation that the tumour hasn't recurred - Priceless!

Thank God that the scan revealed that there has been no changes to the scan i took last year (see here). Thank God that i've been given a clean bill of health. Nice start to the year!!!

I pray that the tumour does not come back again!

*This track can be found on side 2 of his That'll be the day album - his last album before his untimely death.

Always look on the bright side of life* - Monty Python

This is the reason why footie fans shouldn't gloat when the teams they dislike loses - because in football, as the cliche goes, the ball is round. What goes around, comes around. No team will win forever!

So after feeling good about Man Utd losing (see post below), the Man Utd fans will be laughing at how we got thrashed last night!!!!!

But then again, i think last nite was one of the rare occasions (that makes football so interesting) when the Man Utd fans were rooting for Liverpool! After all, Liverpool was playing Man City!!!

Anyways, the quote of the day has got to be from me wife. After i told her sadly that Liverpool lost to Man City, she said this:-

"but that (Man City beating Liverpool) can be a good thing right since we most likely won't be the champion anyway. They beat us now at least they can stay on top of the [table] and not give man u any chance at all."

She has only started following BPL last season and she is oredi understanding it well!!!

Oh, methinks she's a secret Man City fan - but only because she finds them entertaining to watch. Which i agree.

*Originally featured in the movie The Life of Bryan, sung by people who were crucified!!!