Why don't you write me* - Simon & Garfunkel

And I've been keeping all the letters
that I wrote to you,
Each one a line or two
I'm fine baby, how are you?
I would send them but I know that it's just not enough
My words were cold and flat
And you deserve more than that

Michael Bublé, Alan Chang, Amy Foster-Gillies

As i was singing the above song the other day, i started thinking of the days when we used to write letters to each other. Letter writing is such a lost art these days.

But it was such a wonderful thing back then. We used to go and look for nice letter pads (do such things still exist). Or the cheapers ones will seek to buy aerogrammes. Dun knwo what is it? Google it!

I remember those days long ago when i would specially set aside time and sit down to write, pages after pages. Using all kinds of paper that i could find - even using the tray papers from McDonald's or Coffee Bean.

Letter writing can be done anywhere! I remember a letter i wrote in the laundry room at Marley Hall while waiting for the laundry to get done.

There is this freedom one has when writing - not confined to the four corners of an email these days. One can write, scribble, draw, glue - and attachments are real things literally attached to the letter.

Once the letter has been composed, it is not the end of the creativity! One then can choose how to fold the letter - and then choose the type of envelope and address it artistically, even leaving small notes on the envelope, sometimes to the postman!

Then off ot the post office to queue up for the stamps! Finally dropping it into the post box, leaving it entirely by faith in the hands of the postman, that soon, it'll be dropped into a letter box, sometimes half way across the world, bringing warm greetings printed on a nice coloured (and sometimes scented) letter paper.

On the other end, receiving mail is one of the greatest joys of student life. Going to the post room is so fun - filled with the anticipation and hope, which culminates in great joy or bitter disappointment. Looking out of the window of yr house as the postman approaches, hearing the "clunk" of the metal letter slot of the front door indicating that letters have been pushed into the house... =)

Why dun we write anymore? Sure, we have e-mails these days. Text messages. But sending a letter seems more meaningful at times. Why? Well, it's perhaps because of the trouble it takes to do so - and the receipients realises that they mean something when the sender actually took the time to send them a letter. reading one's handwriting is so much more nicer than reading words off a PC screen, no matter what nice font you use.

One of the nicest letter writing stories i've heard was a colleague of mine who told us that just before he left to the UK to finish his studies, he hooked up with a girl here in Malaysia. While he was away, she wrote to him EVERYDAY!!!!!! Ok, altogether now - Awwwwwww..... how sweet! =)

*Taken from Side B of their 5th and final studio album.

Some guys have all the luck* - Rod Stewart

Manchester United was the only big team to win last weekend in the opening weekend of the EPL season. They won thru this goal:-

Yes, it was not just a deflected goal - it was a DOUBLE deflection!!!! How "lucky" can they be??? But this seems to be their story - well, not all the time, tho but a lot of the times. They always seem to get the best of luck.

Still, i know that in football, teams do "make" their own luck. Credit must be given to them and it looks like they will win the premier league again this season.

But while some people seems to have the good luck all the time, others seem to have bad luck all the time!!!

Maybe it's me! I'm the "curse". But i'm referring to the Law School's moot teams.

I've always refused to believe in the concept of "luck". You are either good or you're not. But since taking part in moot competitions, i've realised that luck plays a HUGE role in determining the outcome.

Take for instance, your team ends up in a group which consists of the competition whipping boys (the team that everyone beats) and another team which failed to turn up. Surely then topping the group is a foregone conclusion!

Or how about your team having to face a judge who fell asleep during the competition? When threatened, the judge decides to give more marks to your team - so what turned out to be bad luck initially became good later!

I've grown to accept it a lot - after all, it happens in any sport. In the prelims, if you end up in a "Group of Death", your chances to progress will be slim.

But in the recent competition, we were again the victims of cruel luck! There were more new judges taking part and these people think it fit to award mooters marks like 98% and 99%!!!! Ridiculous!!!! That is close to perfection!!!!!

We're not talking about maths where if you get the answer correct, you will get the full marks! Even in law exams, getting a 70% is considered exceptionally good!

So it was really painful in the recent competition when 2 of our teams won all their moots easily. They were unbeaten. Unfortunately, there were other teams which also won all their moots - so to decide who to proceed, the individual marks were used.

Unfortunately for us, although the judges sang the praises of our mooters, they were pretty conservative in their scoring - and rightfully so. We had the opportunity to moot before experience judges. However, the other teams had the luck to moot before judges who had no qualms to award maximum points on almost all categories - so naturally, the marks they acquire clearly were more than the marks we did.

We never got the chance to moot against them so we never really knew how good they were. However, i must say that my mooters were really really good. Even a judge of a well known international moot competition thought one of my teams were among the best he has ever seen.

But that's how it is.

Last year, we missed out by half a mark. This year, we missed out despite winning all our moots and doing well. I felt so bad for my mooters. They of course were not too thrilled!

But thankfully, they recovered from it faster than i did.

A good lesson in life, tho. In future, they will experience many situations when they have an airtight case and they submit it perfectly - but at the end of the day, it all depends on their luck of who will be their judge they are appearing before.

C'est la vie.

*A hit for him back in 1984

Enjoy yourself (It's later than you think)* - Doris Day

Sometimes we get too caught up with the demands of life - that we just forget the simple and important things in life. We forget to live! And enjoy.

Jesus said that he came that we may have life - and have it to the full (John 10:10).

So let us all learn to enjoy - no, i'm not saying that we become irresposible and frivolous. But even in what we have to do, we can learn to enjoy it!

Here's a brilliant clip of a wonderful legand (if i may call her that) - i like this recording cuz it has the "old" sound to it, like we're listening to an old radio. =) Enjoy!

*One of the many versions of this popular song in the early 50s. I just found out that the refrain was used in the HK "Enjoy Yourself Tonight" variety show! No wonder it sounded so familiar!!!

Let's have lunch* - Cast of Sunset Boulevard

Last week, i decided to have lunch with my colleague for a change. After all, term has ended, office hours were a little bit more relaxed.

We sat right at the end of the food court - it was wonderful!!! The breeze was blowing constantly, the weather was lovely, we chatted about our lives and made plans for a possible future visit to Paris while enjoying the view of the lake.

And we saw them - ducks!!! And geese! I dun know why i was so thrilled to see them! Maybe it brings back memories of the lakes in the UK when i was studying there - be it on campus or in the lovely parks there. There would always be ducks and geese swimming around.

The next day, we sat right next to the lake - this time it was a bit warmer but still nice. Like a summer day.

I think i'm beginning to enjoy having lunch on campus - not just eating my own packed lunch in my cubicle bout outside, enjoying the fresh air and seeing life pass by. So much so that altho i was the only one around late this morning, i decided to go out for a brunch on my own.

Sitting there by the lakeside, reading, listening to Michael Buble and just enjoying the scenery... Nice!

Little pleasures in life are not underrated! =)

*The first song of the musical where we were brought to the movie studio - i loved it as it captures very well the busy-ness of life there.

So far away* - Dire Straits

More than a year ago, i posted this up on this blog, complaining how far i had to park my car. Here's the picture from that post.

Well, things have gotten worse!!!! Today, i had to park my car so much further away, you couldn't even see the spot from the photo above!!!

Still, i din mind. I saved RM3!!!! Hehe. That's quite a lot edi!!!! You can buy something from the Dollar Shop in the US!!!! =)

*The first track from their brilliant Brothers in Arms album!

God save the Queen* - Queen

A picture is worth a thousand words! What does this say to you?

My fren said "British humour?"

*Featured on what some regard as their best album ever, A Night At The Opera.

Absence of fear* - Jewel

They thought that the only way to deter us was to instill fear in us. They use threats and force against us. They tried to frighten us but it only made us more fearless - they must hate to admit it but their tactics backfired.

They carried out their threats - but this only served to embolden us. They used the media to make it loud and clear that they will do watever it takes - even violate human rights and break the law. This resulted in waking up those who slumbered and push aside those who were sitting on the fence.

It was like a scene from a zombie horror movie on the morning of 9th July 2011 in Kuala Lumpur. Streets were deserted, roads were barricaded, helecoptor hovering above, emegency services on standby.

Yet, when the time came, Malaysians rose up - Malays, Chinese, Indians, young, old, handicapped, whole, they all came forth and stood their ground.

The bullies lost. They did not know what to do - after all, they are not paid to think, just to carried out the brute force. Yet, the people in yellow did retaliate alike - i even read how some of them shook the hands of these policemen when the day was over and the objectives achieved.

The people in the government must really be afraid now - what can they do to stop us from fighting for equality and fairness? What can they do to carry on their corruption and abuse of power? They must be thankful for the selfish short-sighted people who complained about the inconveniences suffered, who feel that we are doing alright and we should nto complain but just to submit quietly as we have done for more than half a century, who are enjoying life and do not want to move out of their comfort zone.

But the message has been made loud and clear. We will not be pushed around and frightened by strong-handed tactics anymore. This is because we have something worth fighting for - and nothing they can do can change that.

We are not afraid.

They should be.

(All pics taken from Al Jazeera website)

*One of my fav song of hers found in her 3rd album which i feel is her best ever!

Ironic* - Alanis Morissette

Don't be too hard on Najib. After looking at all the photos online, i must say that as a result of how he handled the Bersih rally last weekend, he is arguably the most successful PM in uniting the various races of Malaysia - even if he did not mean to do that.

Pics taken from various sources online

For the first time in my (long) life, i actually see some hope for unity among different races in our country.

Well done, Mr Prime Minister! But you still have to go - sooner rather than later.

*Her classic song, still sounds so good!

That's not it* - Jasmine Solano

I remember the last time Bersih had a rally, there was this person who complained about it - cuz it caused him to be late for the musical, The Phantom of the Opera.

This time round, i read from Facebook a friend (yes, she is a friend on FB) complaining about the Bersih planned rally cuz she could not go into town without a massive traffic jam to do retail therapy!!!

Well, everyone has the right to express their view but IMHO i think they kind missed the point here. What Bersih is doing is surely more important than a musical ( a really one at that) or traffic free roads or shopping.

Let us remind ourselves of the objectives of Bersih. They are calling for inter alia an overhaul of voter registration lists, tougher measures to curb fraud and fairer opportunities for opposition politicians to campaign in government-linked media. They are not even calling for the overthrow of the present government. If the next government is elected fairly and cleanly, then well and good - doesn't matter which party is the one that wins.

But the response of the government has convinced a lot of people today that they are not fit to take charge. Even things like human rights have all be thrown out of the window (see here).

The following two pics are taken from Facebook - of this elderly lady who should be an example to us all - coming out to stand up for what she believes in for the sake of the younger generation.

But the response to her offer of flowers was to be drenched by the water cannons.

There is another fren who said that he will not vote for them - simply for causing the massive traffic jams and inconvenience. Well and good too! But i hope also that they do not get the votes not just for that. There are bigger matters here, more serious and long term issues.

p/s - this post is not meant to condemn those frens who expressed their feelings on fb. They have the right to do so - as i have the right to voice mine here too.

p/p/s - except for the last 2, the pics are obtained from Al Jazeera.

*Her debut single.

Drifting apart* - Alien Ant Farm

We had a time of sharing last Friday during our cell group meeting as i thought it'd be good to do so since we have just finished the first half of the year. Always good to pause and reflect, esp since life seems to go by so fast these days.

One of the things shared was the regret of neglecting people around us - we tend to get so busy these days, and at times, there just dun seem to be enough time to do what we want to do. We'll be happy if we can just finish doing what we need to do.

I agreed with the sharing and confessed the same too.

2 incidents today even drove the point further home.

First, i was at the airport today - and i suddenly recalled the time when i had to leave to the UK to do my Masters. As i took the escalator down and walked towards the passport checking terminals, i could hear my nephew shouting loudly at the top of his voice "BYE BYE SOOK SOOK", again and again.

It was such a bittersweet moment for me back then - i was so touched by his gesture and at the same time, it broke my heart.

As i thought about it today, i realised that since i got back, i have not been as close to him as i used to be... =(

Secondly, i received an e-mail just now from an old fren who is overseas now. It was also bittersweet - because i have not heard from her for so so long. And while it was great to finally hear from her again, it was unfortunately not good news as she wrote to tell me that she will not be able to make it for my wedding.

I remembered again the time when we used to be pretty close. It was also before me going off to do my Masters. She had promised back then that she will sing for me during my wedding.

Even when i was away in the UK, we had kept in touch! Her text messages and snail mail (yes, she was prolly the only one who snailed me a few times) were always something which brightens up my day! In fact, i wrote one post just talking about her text messages (see here). When my father passed away, her text message to me was one of the few things that kept me strong.

It hurts me now that we have drifted so far apart.

We shared a lot cuz she was one of the few faithful followers of my blog - so she kept in touch with what was happening to me. Wonder if she still comes here to visit anymore...

Drifting apart need not necessarily be bad. Sometimes, it just happens. Life takes us on different paths and new people come into our lives - sometimes pushing out older frens.

At least for my nephew, i know that it is not too late and i can still try to be close to him, all the more as he enters into his teenage life soon. For my fren i mentioned above... i dun know. Our paths seem to go further and further apart. Maybe i can still try to keep in touch... but like a tango, it takes two to make it work. At the moment, there dun seem to be 'one', let alone 'two'!!!

But i'm certain that if in God's great scheme of things our paths meet again, we shall be good frens again. If not? Then we can be thankful for the frenship we had - we will spend eternity with God in heaven anyways!

*Featured on the MLB 2005 video game.