Politically correct ...

Note: This is a rare post on politics ... well not entirely.

Back from the brink and not getting any wiser.

I have been sitting on the fence too long watching the world go by. It gets bored sometimes perched up there with nothing to do but observe, learn a little, cheering, jeering, being judgmental, having plenty of ideas, all talks, but not really getting involved. It feels like going to a battle that I wasn't a part of and just stand on the side while other people kill or be killed.

Ok, maybe not that dramatic. Life doesn't revolve around me and my coffee induced rants, right?

But let's face it. When it comes to politics -- my least favorite topic these days -- everyone has an opinion. Everyone. Top to bottom. The politicians most of all. The voters. Even those who don't vote. Even those not of voting age. Even those far away overseas who can't or won't come home to vote. Even those who aren't even from this country. I'm not blaming you, I belong to one of the category above. Nothing wrong with giving an opinion, I'm about to hand one (or two) myself today. However, an opinion remains as what it is -- An Opinion. Subject to neither right nor wrong.

The still-warm General Election 2013 (yes the very same, so go ahead stop reading whenever you feel like it because here comes another opinion from the sidelines you probably have heard before...) left a lot to be desired. You know the results yourself, look it up. The dominant political party Barisan Nasional (BN) won the majority seats, almost by a close call, although personally I won't call it a good victory considering the People's Alliance rose up in great force this season and almost managed to tip the scale of time to create history. Almost, but not quite there. A small victory for them.

On the other hand, let me deliver this while I'm still precariously roosting up here. I support no party but my own. Election is finally over. But didn't somebody say it was only the beginning?

I love my country, but the people in it are getting more and more advanced with their words and attitude and those do not necessarily bring about a good thing. Thanks to social media, you can say just about anything you want and damn the consequences. All the good values and proper upbringing at risk of going down the drain in all those status updates, comments, replies, shared links, supportive or non-supportive mentions, derogatory remarks, big pompous words, seemingly intelligent outbursts, drama. The Internet brings about a lot of good, but it's also a harmful tool. Weapon, if you may.

Start them young ...

With all the political drama going on in our country these past few weeks -- one that saw the supporters instead of the candidates, going to war against each other -- it's any wonder that we're even standing straight and taking it all in stride. I believe this season we're a step ahead (or backward depending on how you read it) what's with all the ruckus some people created to draw attention to  themselves. Using abusive words to hurt and slur your very neighbor, sowing seeds of hatred, teaching kids to discriminate and choose for themselves a vicious path ... Nasty. And then you blame the younger generations for inciting rage and wrath, but you forgot maybe you started it and didn't remember it.

Mouths faster than the brains. Quick to anger, slow to listen. When provoked, influenced by peers, thinking you're somehow following the flow, going where people go... You crack. No, WE crack. Fumbling. Flustered. We responded. Reacting without taking enough time to catch our breath. We stop thinking about all manners of things good and kind. We forget our values, our faith, our upbringing, our friends, most of all, our God who sees all things.

All in the name of defending ourselves, our beliefs, our rights. We're not even going to war and yet here we are shooting virtual venomous ammos at each other. It must be a sign of the end time.

Truly One Malaysia ... and more

Somewhere in the world's most published book I read, "...he who sheds blood in peacetime, will never go to his grave in peace...". A troubling thought, isn't it. Whose God in this world, do you think, teaches His congregations to stir hate and causes strife? None. Or is there? Perhaps you can show me so I would shut it now and stop typing.

*Paused for breath*

So somebody won. Somebody almost won. Not a landslide win, but a win nonetheless. So give it a chance and embrace it. All sides have been given ample (if not too much) time to pitch their sales. All those 5 previous years in the record to show their mettle, make improvements, do stuffs for the good of the people... However you treat those years behind you will determine the votes against or for you.

Winning a seat isn't your personal and individual victory, Sir. Losing a seat doesn't mean you're a horrible leader either, Sir. Remember this isn't about YOU or the POLITICAL PARTY that backed you up. This is about WE THE PEOPLE. WE THE COUNTRY. WE THE NATION.

The die is cast. Be a sport and accept the general r.e.s.u.l.t no matter how hard it is to swallow for some or how unexplainably allegedly unfair it seems. But you wasting your breath isn't going to change the results. Or make the 5 years term run faster.

I love my country. No matter which way the votes swing, I will still be grateful for all the good stuffs I have gained, friends I make who hail from various culture background, abundant of great unique food, the facilities, job opportunities, and the lists is pretty long. See... when you stop to smell the roses, you will probably be able to appreciate a lot more than those.

Development ...

Why would you pit one religion against another? It's just not done. Besides, if God had wanted it any other way (here I go again dragging the Deity into this, but you asked for it, o ye of little faith) He would've tipped the scale to the other side, no assistance from mere mortal like us needed. If this is how we react in the face of internal political strife, God help us when we actually face real bloody war.

Stop being such a sour puss. Don't you have a job to do?

P/s: If you're offended, no apology is going to be issued, not for stating opinions anyway. If you're hilarious, go ahead laugh. If you're thinking I'm pro-something, get it off your head. I'm not. Just a concerned citizen.

Steady hands sturdy feet settled heart ...

9.49pm on the eve of Valentine's Day. A bit of time to update the abandoned blog before all resolutions fly out the window.

Doing not too bad lately considering the game and the current score. The mind is currently on a semi-recess. The Chinese New Year weekend was a welcoming reprieve, however short and unfocused it may be.

Rushing for sunset in Miri ...

The brain has been on a mental workout since I started work on 2nd January of this year. All the KPIs to list down, record, perform and then measured. All the work-related travel to endure or enjoy, whichever way you want to take it. It has been non-stop since the beginning of the year, but hey... not one to complain right now (at least not to general public on social media network). We take a deep breath every chance we got.

The soul is sunbathing in the glow of a pretty awesome -- and sometimes somewhat unfathomably  amazing -- relationship. My emotion included. The adjectives as proof. Say no more.

Some say love are stuffed cuddly animals...

And the body. Well. Looks like the pretty curves aren't going anywhere anytime soon. Between standing on the feet all day long in 2 inch heels a week ago running around with a walkie talkie during the office gala dinner function, and again while in Miri two weekends ago, and again the weekends before that in Bintulu, it has been ridiculously physically straining. Why that didn't do much, if at all, for the weight, is stupefying. The whole resolution to take the stairs instead of the elevator which started on a good note... went down the drain a few days upon returning to work from the endless journey. Sometimes taking the flights feels like taking a bus on a normal route home to and fro.

Kuching from up above...

Shall not talk about the glorious food along the way, because I'm sure some judgmental side of you (the readers) will put two and two together and sum up that the generous hard-to-shed curves on the vital corners were the results of over indulgence. Yes that too but oh if you only knew how constant traveling makes you get hungry so fast it messes with your meal schedule. Between the next city or the next flight, there's always new food to be discovered, or rediscovered, depending on the company you hang out with or the amount of work you take up to boost the appetite.

 Right. How do you say no to this?

It seems that everytime the job changes, the remnants of weight from the previous post gets carried forward to the new. Wow. If I get a dollar for every kilo I gain each time I resign and start a new stint elsewhere, I'd be a millionaire and a half by now. Imagine that. 

11.41pm. The ramble ends. This post shall not make it to any newspaper column.Who knew why it took so long to write huh.

11.57pm. I'm hopeless. Zzzzz...

Hello November ...

Don't know how it happened, but November is here now and there's nothing to do about it but accept the brutal truth. Real soon it too will pass and then year end looms.

If anyone were to ask what were achieved so far, the answer would be pretty much a lot, and then some. Emotional level is currently on a high. Career level? Just had a lump of good news being dumped on the unsuspecting happy us. Social level? Not so bad. Spiritual? O Father in Heaven, search this humble stubborn heart.

Irregardless, still loves coffee but has been reducing the intake due to conflict of taste. Cant name one-self Coffee Girl if the namesake is slowly being converted to tea lover as well, now can she? One must always be true to one's heart, even if one drinks all sorts of coffee at all sorts of cafe without being partial while the partner only drinks a certain brand.

But it is rainy season. And I did get this short Venti coffee mug as consolation. So me no complain. For someone who claims he doesn't drink coffee, he sure does know his way around Starbucks waaaaaaay better than I do. And that's a good thing too.

Like I said, am not partial when it comes to coffee. Besides, the more run down the cafe, the better the coffee. How can anyone compete with experience right?

HAVE A GREAT NOVEMBER RAIN AHEAD PEOPLE!  

One more to go and I'd have to make another entry on the yearly appraisal. 

Dabai in little big town Sibu ...

Guess what people?

This would be the best time of the year to go visit SIBU! No no no ... not for the night life or the clubbing scene as recently reported in one of the local dailies. Although for the life of me I couldn't understand nor accept why some people would be so ridiculously shallow to actually be judgmental of other people who were only out in town for some unwinding sessions with friends or acquaintances without bothering anybody nor spending other people's money but their own. I say... that article would potentially pissed a lot of people, if it didn't already. It's not about drinking or having a rowdy good time or showing bad examples to future gens that's the issue now, isn't it? The editor probably overlooked that report, otherwise it never would've made it to print, or at least rewritten, like what my ex-boss would've done in those days. Unless you're a blogger or a columnist with your own dedicated space or an established well-known journalist or writer, you don't get to write news piece like that and injecting your own opinions, worst when it's biased opinions, which is why you weren't supposed to do so in the first place. You think easy meh being a reporter? You have to be a responsible uneasily-swayed writer, otherwise you would downgrade the very paper that pays your bills. Become a blogger also people would condemn us for simply opine on something.

Tsk tsk tsk. BUT... My. How I could digress! See what you made me do? 

Anyway... I was going to say that this would be the best time to visit SIBU because dabai season is here again!

A little 411 on this fruit: Dabai can only be found in Sarawak. There, special exotic native fruit, Sarawakians, don't you just love yourself now? And it grows best along the Batang Rajang river, which explains why it is found abundantly in Sibu because its feeder areas are Kapit, Song, and Belaga, and sometimes in Kanowit. Which also explains its distinctive taste compared to dabai grown in other places in Sarawak, like Kuching. My friend who's a so-called dabai expert, said that it would be lucky indeed if dabai can grow elsewhere other than along that river, and even if you take the seeds from Song for example, when grown elsewhere, it wouldn't have the same taste. How would I know? I listen, take note, eat, make comparison, take note, eat, make comparison, eat... and by the time I'm done comparing, I'd be too full to be hey -- word of the day! -- JUDGMENTAL!

So last week I went to Sibu on official business, made my way to the wet market after work concluded, and bought myself a RM24 per kg worth of freshly picked dabai. Expensive? Ho yeah! But who cares. It would go down as cheap as RM8 per kg once the season is in full blown in another month or so, but hey, I'm in Sibu already. Why not right? It's not like I come to Sibu all the time to spend money having a good time and get harassed for it.

Price differ depending on grades, level of freshness, and size...

For the untutored, dabai is purplish black in colour when ripe, before that it was white. You need to soak them in hot water (or lukewarm water, for some) for a few minutes until tender. Drain the water, sprinkle with salt (if you prefer), then voila! Ready to be served! 

Best taken on its own while watching CSI, or with a proper meal. I like mine dunked in a dose of soy sauce with chilli and sugar. The hotter it is, the more action your morning after will get. :p

And you thought you could give Sibu a bad name? Shame on you.

That stuff about blogging ...

So there I was half-way to the buffet table holding my huge empty heavy dinner plate, and got waylaid by a familiar face who's more interested in what I was doing there than who I was with. Sometimes familiarity and history tend to make people think that they have every right to shoot all kinds of questions at you and you're obligated to answer. And sometimes you answer anyway because you tend to think that you owe them some sort of explanations and all that we-go-way-back crap.

Actually, I was a little irked and annoyed that someone with that level of work experience, field expertise, education, and so-called openmindedness could be both sarcastic and cynical when it comes to technology and social media. I mean, the world is revolving, and if we don't catch up, or at least follow the progress from a safe distance, we'll forever be backward and stuck in the dark ages of our own mind.

Oh I was talking about blogging actually. Getting there now. Everytime I think about that few minutes of bothering to explain myself to the man, I just get riled up all over again. He knew I had been blogging for a few years already, and admittedly when I first started, the content were a little immature, personal, sometimes too dark and depressing, and without any focus. But now the content is more guided and focused and has grown up with me.

Still... I think that's the beauty of a blog. You can be random, you can be focused, and you can be you the best (or the worst) that you can be, or even grow up with it, like I did.

So, his questions? Bits and pieces of them sounded like this...

"I remember some of you were in the group with the media when we were doing this development coverage. I mean, bloggers? Come on. Have you seen any of the stuffs they write?"

To myself: Oh yes I have, they're good stuffs too. Good job. Nice. Knowing you even read them makes me proud of them bloggers yo...

"Why are you  telling the world what your room looks like, what toothpaste you use, what you eat, how you hold your chopstick, bla bla bla ... as if anyone would be interested? And then mixing with the press as if you're a reporter, I'm sorry to say, but your reports are not even newspaper stuff. Some of them are not even qualified to be called a writer... If you can call yourself that. A blogger.. come on. I don't  know why you guys even get invited. Free stuff?"

Ok I have to stop myself right here before I make myself upset again. Oh yeah, it was that hostile, stemming from, I suspected, the threat of a mere blogger standing right in front of him who gets invited to the same event as he was, treated with the same respect, and probably gets more hits and readership than he does. But then again, he wasn't talking about me, he was merely generally expressing his opinions (although I don't remember asking for them) about blogging and those closely or directly associated with it.

I let him finish before I politely answered. Was even getting a little defensive already because oh that did touch a nerve. At best, blogging is something I do in my free time, I write about stuffs that caught my fancy, I defended issues that are close to my heart, I expressed myself freely but always within the bounds of proprietary and the law, I tried not to offend any parties or groups or race or culture, I vent about life in general, and I read all other blogs that are worth reading. But then, anything worth writing is always worth reading.

That's the best part about blogging. It's not the same as writing for the press, sir, as if you don't already know. It's not even pure journalism stuff. In fact we didn't learn this in MassComm classes in my days. True, we're reporting on something sometimes, but you can't compare lil known us with you reporters from the press. We never even claim to be one. Those that do, they probably earned it. I'm humbled that I could even be invited to the same events as you are, to do a little coverage on the same stuff we attended, to write my piece in my own words, and to construct a complete entry that will never get through the editor's desk before I hit the 'post' button.

So what if we write day to day accounts of our journeys? So what if we take pictures and share them? So what if we have grammar mistakes sometimes, or that we repeat ourselves, or that we write not according to your set of rules? So what if we state our views and even be vain sometimes? We don't have an editor that checks our drafts nor do we need one, because we are each responsible for whatever we put up in the Internet. Don't you think we know that? Those who don't or ignore that bit, well, that's up to them.

You see, when writers are not being edited or corrected or rewritten, that's when the real opinion comes out, as honest as it gets. You don't have to like it all the time, you only need to evaluate it and decide whether to believe it, accept it, challenge it, or push it aside and discard it. Or if you want to drag some of them to jail, that's up to you too, since we have all been warned and so do you.

If you worry about why I'm here, ask the organisers, they're the ones doing the invitations. Don't be threaten by me or my peers, Sir, we're merely journal writers. Half of what we write will never even make it to the press. We are all aware that the medium is evolving very fast ... But that's another enty.

What I don't get is he is being paid for his job. I'm doing it for free. So, what is the problem again? I won't stop blogging just because you call my writing worthless. You should try it sometimes too, it's really therapeutic.

P/s: If any of my reporter/journalist friends is reading this, please don't be offended. Merely having a moment. And I claim the above as my own sole opinion on blogging/bloggers and not influenced or have anything to do with anyone/anything. And yes despite this difference in opinions, I am still friends with the man.