Iklan Youtube (A Vlog Is Born)

"If you are what you say you are," Superstar by Lupe Fiasco feat. Matthew Santos.

My Youtube debut:

Don't be hatin' on me, please?

I've finally decided to get a vlog going on Youtube. I already have several topics lined up, so look out for them.

And I think I'll be more consistent with the vlog than this blog. Don't ask me why, it's just how I roll. I'll be updating weekly, although I haven't come up with a specific day to upload a video. I'm thinking Saturday, but we'll see.

Hope you guys like it!

And if you have a profile, be an awesome person and rate, comment and subscribe to my channel. I'll try my level best keep you happy.

Cheers!

You Will Be Missed

"Kesat air mata. Ku mahu kau senyum seperti bunga menguntum," Kasihan by Hujan.

Earlier today, while I was out with my family at Padang Besar and trying to have the most fun a guy with no money and a camera could have at a place like that, I received a text message from a friend.

"Sahabat kita, A, telah meninggal dunia pagi tadi kerana asma.. Al-Fatihah buat Allahyarham.."

My first reaction was, "A? Innalillaahi wainnaailaihi raaji'uun (From Allah we came and to Allah we will go back to)", and proceeded to recite the al-Fatihah, while having A's face in mind. But that was left at that and then I went on minding my own business.

Then I received the same text from another friend of mine. Then another. Then another. I read them and did nothing but put my phone back into my pocket. The place was really crowded, so I could hardly hear myself think. Thus, I just went with the current of people minding their own business, looking for stuff to buy.

Taken from http://images.businessweek.com

Several moments after the last text message, another friend called me. A was from Terengganu. This friend, S, is from Terengganu. He asked if I knew, and I said I did. He said he was visiting the family of the deceased person in question, I just nodded and asked him a few questions about some details, then ended our conversation.

After hanging up, I imagined S going to see A's body, and how he would react. My eyes immediately welled up and I had to stop in my tracks to wipe away the sudden tears. They came uninvited, unexpected, but, at the end of the day, totally welcome. I'm sure the people who were walking right behind me were thankful that they didn't run into me, and while passing me gave me the stink eye, but at that moment, the whole world didn't matter to me. What mattered was the realisation that A, a senior, a College-mate, a block-mate, a Student Council-mate, a FRIEND, was no longer with us. I couldn't smile for the rest of the day.

Taken from evonseah.blogspot.com

You see, what finally got to me was the suddenness of it all. He started his day, I imagine, not much differently from all of us. We woke up, as he must have, had our breakfast, like he would have, and went on with our day without ever thinking that anything would happen to us, until they happen to us. And when they happen to us, we might not fully realise that, hey, that thing that happened to us, THAT'S FATE. And that was was what happened to my friend, A. Fate.

You can't run away from fate. If fate says that you'll bite your lip today, you WILL bit your lip today. Even if that's the last thing on your mind, even if that's the least favourite thing that could happen to you and you would do anything in your power to stop it from happening, you WILL bite your lip. And I have. Same goes with death. You die when you die. No questions asked. No age limit required. It doesn't matter if you're 71 or 17, you'll die when you die.

Taken from http://cdn.92q.com

The question is, will you be ready when it's your time to go?

My friends,

A was 22 years old. Twenty-two. Pretty young in anybody's book. He hadn't even started working yet. He hadn't even finished his studies. He had just finished his 6th semester in the Teacher's Training Institute for crying out loud, and 2010 was a very good year for him. He had just finished a whole term as the Student Council Treasurer, part of the Student Council team dubbed "the best we've had in years" by a lot of people. Nobody in their right mind would say that it would be the end of the road for our dear A. Alas, he was to go, and nothing could stop it from happening.

Taken from grumblingdwarf.com

The question is, will you be ready when it's your time to go?

In my memory, A was one of the nicest guys you could ever meet. He always greeted you with a smile, even if you didn't always smile back. He was a smart-looking, soft-spoken, dedicated and overall good guy. I don't think anyone would have anything bad to say about this friend of ours. Even yours truly, who didn't get the chance to really get close to him, knew enough about him to be able to trust him with anything. I was able to observe him from Student Council meetings and jobs, from trips to the Surau (he frequented it way more than I did), from the field (he always had these cool Adidas shirts on), from the Amra block (he was always smiling and getting other people to join him smiling), from passing through the Student Hall (that was his study spot for the exam period), and others. And earlier today, he was to be no more.

The question is, will you be ready when it's your time to go?

Will I be ready when it's MY time to go?

Out for A Jog

"The chase ain't worth the prize," Break Your Little Heart by All Time Low.

Watch. Video. Laugh. At. Me.

It was extremely awkward running around a golf resort with a tripod and camera in hand. And all the "who's that weirdo?" glances that I've had to endure.

But it was all worth it, for all of you, my loyal readers/viewers.

Also, I'm thinking of setting up my own Youtube channel. What do you think? Would you subscribe to me? Give me your answers in the "expressions" link below.

Cheers!

Couple? Not For Me, Thanks! (in Manglish)

"Mungkin dia perlukan perhatian," Kasihan by Hujan.

Since this seems like THE topic right now, I have been drawn to share my views/ reasons/ arguments/ whatevers for not couple-ing (that's having a girlfriend, for all you non-Manglish speakers).

Disclaimer: I have had the experience of having a girlfriend before this (two experiences, to be exact), so I know why people do it too (ecewaaaaah, expert abes ayat beliau!). Oh, and this post will be in Manglish too. (Sorry non-Manglish speakers!)

Reason #1: Berdossaaa..

The reasons that I have been reading all along. All I agree with. There are several blogposts about this that say it better than I ever could, but the most concise (i guess) would be this one --> Click here. Check it out.

Reason #2: Loss of Freedom

Sure, memang bes bila ada orang tanya pasai kita tiap-tiap hari. Sikit-sikit, "Dah makan belum?" Sikit-sikit, "Dah mandi belum?" Sikit-sikit, "Dah berak belum?"

taken from smallbiztrends.com

Tapi lama-lama naik rimas gak woh. Bila dah siap buat satu benda ja kena bagi report, kalau tak kena merajuk sedas. Bila tak reti nak pujuk awek, tambah-merajuk beliau pasai kita tak pandai nak pujuk. Last-last skali kena label "tak reti nak pujuk orang".

Jadi hidup akan jadi soo dependent on our phones. Kena text them, like, 24/7 kot. Nak buat kerja pun payah. Kalau lambat reply, kena lagi merajuk. Mau tak letih? Bila busy sikit, kena merajuk lagi. Nak bersembang rancak ngan member-member pun jadi payah. Pasaipa? Pasai time dok sembang-sembang, nak kena stop sat, reply message dulu. Kawan kita dok cakap, kita tak pay attention kat dia, then kata "hah?" Kawan kita pun naik bengkek ngan kita.

Tapi, on the other hand, kalau ignore the phone, then akan dapat lagi message daripada "si dia", yang akan berbaur "hello?", "U there?", ataupun miscall trus. Then, this happens:

Si dia: pasaipa lambat reply?

Kita: sembang ngan kawan.

Si dia: Oh, kawan... (which of course means "So kawan hang lagi important dari aku la?? Kononnya special la aku?? Kawan boleh dicari, tapi aku mana hang nak jumpak???")

Kita: Sorry.

Si dia: *merajuk, tak reply.

And the whole sha-bang lah after that. The fight scene that ensues I'll leave to your colourful imaginations jalah.

So, memang tak free man. Kena menjawab ALL THE TIME. Baik clash and stay single. Tak payah risau nak report kat siapa-siapa.

Reason #3: Habis duit.

Seriously, if you have a girlfriend, your wallet is not safe. Or rather, the money inside it. It's not that the girl will ask for the money or presents or whatever. It's usually our own innate desire to be so-called "romantic" to get them stuff. Pantang nampak bear cute atau cincin stai skit, kita terbayang-bayang si dia, so kita pun beli la, bagi kat dia bila jumpak.

taken from t0.gstatic.com

Ha, bila jumpak tu pun satu lagi hal. Kita ni kena la jadi gentleman konon kan? Kena la spend duit nak belanja dia ini itu. Mana boleh split the bill beb. Tak gentle ah. Kita kena belanja. Memang at the time kita tak perasan pun duit kita habis. Kita terlalu taksub nak make that person happy and make it seem like we're the perfect boyfriend, that everything that we spend is considered small change compared to what we get in return, and that's "true love". Bleagh~ I can't believe I was that kind of person. Astaghfirullahal'aziim.

Then not to mention the incessant amount of money that needs to be spent on prepaid. You have to text this person every 3 minutes, for the whole time that you're awake (let's just put it at 15 hours). After doing the math, (what?? Anak Pak Man does math??) I have discovered that if you send a text message every 3 minutes for 15 hours, you would have sent 500 texts to just ONE PERSON in a day. That's like RM5 (if one text was one sen). So an RM10 prepaid card would only last you 2 days! Gosh, even I'm astonished with this piece of information.

What do you get in return for your heavy investments? So-called "pure love" from someone who is not even your wife and you can't do stuff to her that you can do to your wife, and nothing else. Now tell me, is that rational?

Reason #4: You Lose Friends

Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a little bit. Just because you have a girlfriend doesn't mean you lose friends automatically. But you do lose the time you can spend with your friends. Think about it.

taken from ih3.redbubble.net

Friend: Jom p tengok movie?

Kita: Oh, taleh ah bro, aku nak keluaq ngan awek satgi.

Friend: Oh, okay then.

Friend: Jom p mandi sungai?

Kita: Oh, taleh ah bro, aku janji nak breakfast ngan awek aku.

Friend: Hmm.

Friend: Jom mandi hujan?

Kita: Oh, taleh ah bro, awek aku kata bahaya, dia tamaw aku demam nanti.

Friend: What the foo??

Seriously, when your life revolves around your awek, everything else just drifts away. Family, friends, you bet.

So I have my reasons. I can spend my feelings, time and money on things that really matter, that are friends and family. Plus, I don't need to have a girlfriend to be in love. I'm already in love right now, and that love has brought and will bring me closer to Allah. And that's the only love I need.

Akhir kata, takkan kau rasai indahnya cinta; andai tiada cinta buat Yang Esa. (You won't feel the beauty of love if you don't feel love towards the One)

Cheers!

Stop & Stare/Radio

"Waking up next to nothing," Radio by Alkaline Trio.

This is my first attempt at making a music video.

It was a long process. Took more time than I actually had to, because of several mistakes I made along the way. But I've learned, definitely. Hope you guys like it.

Cheers!

Namewee & 1Malaysia

"Alangkah indahnya dunia," Muda by Hujan.

Hey peoples! Check this video from our very own infamous namewee out. Some of you might have seen it already, some might have not, so I advise you to watch it. It's pretty interesting, I assure you:

I came across this video about a week ago on my facebook home wall when a friend of mine posted it. I'm all for homemade videos, so I checked it out. He definitely knows how to make videos, but that's not what I'm going to be talking about here.

-Courtesy of Google-

As you might have noticed in the video, FINAS didn't want to sponsor his film since most of the dialogue (50%, according to namewee himself) was in Mandarin, and their requirement was that at least 70% of the film had to be in Malay to get approval. So he got disappointed. But then again, who wouldn't right?

I'm not going to attack namewee here. I think what he wants to do is great, and more power to him. However, I do have a bone to pick with FINAS here.

-Courtesy of Google-

Did you notice how they responded to his request for the 1Malaysia sponsorship? As soon as they found out that 50% of the dialogue was in Mandarin, they said "Itu bukan 1Malaysia." and namewee abruptly got up and left.

FINAS's epic fail here was their failure to explain to this young filmmaker what they meant by "That's not 1Malaysia," and I will give a suggestion to how FINAS could have modified their answer to sound more respectful and respectable.

They should have explained to Mr. namewee there that for a movie to be "1Malaysia", then the majority in our country should be able to understand the majority of the content in the movie without having to rely on subtitles, and how a majority of the folks in our little Malaysia speak the Malay language, which happens to be the Malay language, just in case you didn't know. You can't be a Malaysian without knowing the national language, thus by having most of the language in a film in the national language, then the whole of Malaysia could enjoy it, not just the minority which understand Mandarin.

-Thanks again to Google-

Seriously, a 1Malaysia movie should attract all Malaysians to watch it, not just one single race. And I imagine that a movie that only one race would be able to understand, can't achieve that.

I'm sorry FINAS, you guys failed to have the decent courtesy to have decent courtesy. The rakyat need to understand what is meant by 1Malaysia, and you guys didn't help at all. If anything, you made it worse.

Conclusion #1:

I would like to take this opportunity to advise all government servants (even aspiring ones) to have more courtesy in your dealings with clients. If you're a teacher, treat your students with respect and without prejudice. If you're a FINAS clerk (or whatever), please smile and use courteous language, respect your client, try your best to help him/her to understand what the problem is and explain solutions or whatever you need them to do in a non-condescending and respectful way. (I used respect 3 times here, so yeah, it's pretty important)

Conclusion #2:

Please people, try to get to a firm understanding of what is meant by 1Malaysia. Don't just interpret it to satisfy your own narrow understanding. Please try to understand that we want the WHOLE country to prosper, not just one type of people getting what they want in the name of "1Malaysia". It is what you make of it, and if you turn it into a racial sentiment, it will indeed turn into one. If you take it as a stupid idea conjured up by some prick who thinks he's all that when he's not, then it's exactly that. If you take it as a way forward, I'm sure it will be just that.

Comments are welcome in the expressions link below.

Cheers!

Teacher-to-be's Dilemma (Posting)

"Ku tetap akan teruskan apa yang dijuangkan," Lonely Soldier Boy by Hujan.

As a teacher-to-be, you can’t avoid thinking about your future teaching career. The biggest question that would appear in future-teachers’ minds would be “Aku kena posting kat mana ah nanti?” Yes, all of us have thought about where we’ll be posted at least once, even before getting into the Institute. Where we’re going to get posted is a popular question among us, and as the years of teacher training pass, the question appears more and more frequently. There’s even a quiz application in Facebook telling people where they’ll be posted based on the answers that you give (I got someplace in Sarawak, by the by).

Some would dread getting posted in rural and faraway places, like the interior parts of Sabah or Sarawak, or even Pahang’s own Jengka areas, mostly because they’ll face a lot of hardships there. But on the other hand, there are some who prefer to get posted to places like that. It’ll give them experience, they say. Plus, there will be added incentives for teachers in the rural areas. Money can be a motivation, definitely.

Now, let’s look at one aspect that I’ve been giving some thought to. And please bear in mind that I’ll be teaching primary school English. Let’s get this party started.

Since urban folks are more exposed to English than the rural folks, then it can be safely assumed that teaching English in urban areas would be easier compared to rural areas. This is because the rural children, given their low exposure to the language, would have a harder time understanding the language. The teacher would be forced to speak the native language more frequently, decreasing the English immersion time the children get. A good teacher would of course do his/her best in trying to help the children understand the language better, and she/he would succeed, but at the end of the day, emphasis will be given towards vocabulary and proficiency rather than other skills.

A teacher teaching in areas where English exposure is high would have a very different situation. Say that the proficiency of the students is not a problem, since they are already able to use the language well. This opens a lot of doors for the teacher to teach the children other things, such as critical thinking skills, learning to learn skills, and the whole bag of chips. To me, these skills are very important and should be taught to the kids who already know how to use language. The teacher can now teach them how to express themselves, teach them to have an opinion and write it down or speak it out, teach them to question ideas while using the appropriate language. Of course, the teacher will have to set some healthy boundaries as to what they could question and how far to take the discussions, teach them learning to learn skills, encourage them to look for the answers by themselves. In the end, the teachers will be a facilitator of the children's learning.

Of course it would be fantastic to help less fortunate children gain an understanding of the country’s second language, but I think changing students’ mentality from swallowing everything given to them and puking it all out in exams to a more inquisitive and critical mentality is also equally important.

From these arguments, you can probably see that I aim to change the thinking of Malaysian students. I want to get Malaysian students to think more critically about things, to appreciate knowledge more, to question more, and not just regurgitate everything that has been said by the teacher or a text book.

And yes, this all starts at primary school, with the teachers playing the leading role. I need to study up if I want to be able to do all that.

Discussions in the comment box are welcome.

Cheers!

Conversation with Hystrix (Islamophobia)

"Muda memberontak, etika yang kononnya akan dipegang sampai ke hari tuanya," Inspektor Remos by Hujan.

Here's a very interesting texting session I had with Hystrix the other day. I was roaming Youtube as always, and the theme of that session was "Islamophobia in America". I was too lazy to write anything, but Hystrix wasn't, so she put it down in her blog.

CLICK HERE

for part 1 of the conversation.

OPEN THIS IN A NEW TAB

for part 2 of the conversation.

THIS

is part one of the town hall debate I was watching.

Big THANK YOU to Hystrix for typing it down.

Cheers!