5 Ways to Get Through A Jam

Traffic Jams.
If you live in Kuala Lumpur, then you've gotta endure that kinda crap everyday.
I know, cause I do endure that kinda crap everyday when I go to work. Even in my hometown of Ipoh, traffic is starting to get congested.
Very rare back in the good ol' days. But not in KL. KL is the jam capital of Malaysia.

I was even told off by a judge once that traffic jams is never an excuse for being late in court. I agreed wholeheartedly and all I could only do is muster my most sincerest apologies. I had nothing more to say about being late as it is the truth but the truth is just never enough on those occasions.

Why do traffic jams happen? Sometimes a stalled car. Sometimes an accident. Sometimes, people stopping by the side of the road to offer help to these victims. Sometimes people stopping by the side of the road to GET THE CAR PLATE NUMBERS of those victims (my best guess is that they feel lucky and their next destination would be the lottery joint). Sometimes events only God will ever know.

So, what do we do when we are caught in a jam? Do we get angry? Do we complain? Is complaining going to help? Nah. It won't but we complain anyway.

Here are 5 ways to make your jams less intolerable:-

#1
Lots and lots of music in your car

Be it your CD collection or stuffing butt-loads of music into your mp3 player or even listening to HItz FM gotcha calls in morning, it works. Well at least it works for me. If I'm feeling intelligent I would listen to BFM, 89.9, the only business radio station :).
If you had a long hard day and you just wanna let loose, play some heavy metal music. Or equally as loud and bad, play some classical music or opera! Or if you feel that your heart is heavy, play some jazz or some Engelbert Humperdinck. And if you're feeling suicidal, some BSB or N Sync might just do the trick :)

#2
Play your favourite air instrument

If you are a musician, then play your favourite air instrument. Be it the air guitar (this is / or should be by far the most common of air instruments), the air drums, the air cello, the air bass, the air harmonica, or heck, even the air harp if you will.
Well if you are not a musician, it doesn't matter. It's not rocket science and you don't need a musical degree or background to play air guitar, I kid you not. Just follow the music and it will flow naturally.
As for me, I choose the air drums, but I would alternate between bass and guitar too. Oh, the air harp too at times.
If the car next to you thinks you're crazy, so what? I bet he secretly wants to play the air harmonium if only he knew how!

#3
Get a smartphone

If you have smartphone, i.e. Iphone 4S, Galaxy S2, Galaxy Tab or the rest, then this is the best time to utilize the smartphone. See, now you can check your Facebook or your friends' Facebook statuses even in a jam. Or you can complain and tweet about how bad the jam is on Twitter, and if you're in luck, your friends are probably stuck in the same jam as you are! And if you have Words with Friends, isn't this the best time to reply and think of an awesome 'word' to put on the board? That way you don't have to waste your sleeping time or your work time to play Words! Now, please don't start playing Temple Run in a jam though. Just because its on a smartphone, it doesn't work the same as what I mentioned above. And if your car is stationed next to a police car, please for the love of Pete, throw that smartphone away!

#4
No Smartphone? Then do a car census
Find a specific car that interests you. Count how many same type cars are on the road. What better time to observe and make your own census without getting into an accident right? Yes it is harder to do census cause you need to concentrate on your driving when you are actually driving! By the end of the week, you will know which are the highest and fastest selling cars in the market after this exercise! Please do not do any Perodua or Proton car census as your efforts will then be futile. Too many of those on the road.

#5
See if the driver in the car next to you is a hottie
Whether we like it or not, we often meet people in the pathways of our lives. A jam is no different. So, look to the left or to the right to see if the driver next to you is a hottie, or an 'auntie'. At least you get to 'cuci mata' and this makes your jam more bearable. Who knows, that person may be observing you too. And if your eyes meet and sparks fly, who knows what may come eh? If not, please don't stare too long. It will probably creep him/her out and if he/she whips out her phone and starts dialing, you can bet your ringgit he/ she ain't replying his/her friend on Words with Friends!

Ok. So, there you go.
Some suggestions to make a more pleasant driving experience under terrible jams. But please practice safe driving alright. Especially do not practice #3 when there are cops in the vicinity. I won't be responsible for your driving summons. And #5 if you see Jealous girlfriend or boyfriend sitting next to hottie.

Of course if you have court attendance in the morning, please don't ever be late! Nothing above will make a pleasant experience, this I can promise you!

Or, if anything goes, you can always do a Dave Grohl :)



Ok. Good night now.

KONY 2012

With all the hype surrounding KONY 2012, naturally I decided to have a view of the youtube video which has been circulated like wildfire.

But before watching the video, I wiki-ed this person, this war criminal known as Joseph Kony. And that's where I learned that Joseph Kony or Kony (as he is now being made famous for) is the head of the Lord's Resistance Army or the LRA which operates in Uganda and formed as early as 1987.

This LRA is a militant group which has syncretic Christian ideologies, with an intent to build a theocratic government based on the 10 commandments.

However, their methods are extreme and like every other despot or tyrant, it is all about how much power one holds. The LRA is known for the atrocities committed such as murder, abduction, mutilation, rape of children and women and most notably drafting children into the militia. Children as young as 4 I believe, training them to become killing machines.

Before this, I have only read of Taliban children children soldiers and that itself is a horrible thing. Children shouldn't be carrying guns, and the only guns that they should be carrying are those that emit light and sounds and not pellets and bullets.

The video that I post below, is an endeavour by an American NGO called Invisible Children to bring awareness to the globe at large. Awareness that only tools such as Facebook and Youtube can garner. Usually, people would only be made aware of issues such as these from Time or Newsweek.

But the media landscape is changing and the media is now a very powerful tool, more powerful than ever. And perhaps it is with the hope of this awareness, that we may see a tyrant who is currently number one in the indictment list of the ICC (International Criminal Court), once and for all be brought to justice.

I won't blog much about this, but as stated in an article posted by my friend, Simon, Kony may not be the last, but at least its a start, for lay people like me, to be aware that as we live our lives in blissful slumber, there are others out there who are suffering under tyranny.

And this is how I lend my support, to spread the awareness all around. The video speaks volumes for itself, more than what i could ever write.

Let's Go Green!

I wrote a post about the Lynas rare earth plant not too long ago.
That was almost a year back. It is encouraging that nothing has been set up yet.
The Plant is still not up but our genius of a government via the Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) has approved a Temporary Occupational Licence (TOL) for the start up on 30 January 2012. What deems shady is the public consultation process which only took four days to convince the AELB to issue the TOL.
Hey, if we can serve fast food justice in this part of the country, why should this be any different eh?

Anyway, on 26 January 2012, the world got greener. At least particularly in Kuantan. People from all over the country gathered in Kuantan to protest against the setting up of the Lynas plant. The dressing code was green. Green is a nice colour, soothing to the eyes.

As I was following tweets of various people who attended the gathering, it made me wish I was there to personally see it for my own eyes. Even as early as 8 am, people were already tweeting about it and by 12 pm it was all over. The atmosphere that, I read was carnival-like to say the least. People setting up picnics all over the padang, there were cyclists, jugglers...ok, I made the jugglers up, but they could have very well been there :)
I suppose to sum up, the gathering went rather smoothly without hiccups and the police, were co-operative and well behaved :). Nope, no water cannons and tear gas. After all, those are not natural substances and the theme of the gathering is to "go green", so it only made more sense :)
Brownie points for the PDRM yeay!

There were satellite gatherings all around the country as well, like in Penang and in KL. Though I understand that BN managed to send some thugs to well, spice things up a bit. Perhaps for every Yang there is a Yin. Though slogans of "Hidup Lynas" don't really make sense and I'm sure the blokes who chanted this, knows nary of what it actually meant.



Naturally, mainstream news under-reported those incidents, stating that it is a failure and it did not attract its intended crowd of a zillion people. Only 1000 people turned up. Oh, how we Malaysians suck when it comes to calculation, or in this case, simple estimation. Look below and decide for yourself if it was only 1K people.

Around 1K? Really? You think so? :)
Apparently statistic showed a healthy figure of 15,000. Now that's more believable.

It is good to see people power in action. Especially when it involves issues of the nation and the Lynas rare earth plant issue is one.

I had a discussion with a friend, on whether the people who protested, would they have studied the reports or that they had prejudices without cause? I don't know. But it is always easier to judge from a vicarious role, to say that people fear what they don't understand. And it is perhaps this fear, that people don't fully comprehend the effects that the rare earth plant brings or not, which kicks in the natural response of self preservation. "Why take the chance?" - and this would be the natural response of any right minded man (or woman) who lives in Gebeng.

After what has happened in Bukit Merah, if we are already smarter, then perhaps the best way is to make sure that history will not have its chances of repeating itself.

This is a clip from Malaysiakini, an interview with a Bukit Merah survivor - I am deeply saddened (I'm not trying to be dramatic here) and I'm sure you, watching this would feel it too.



Is economical growth more important than the lives of people, even if its comparatively, just a few? Is it? I hope and I pray that I will never put myself in a position where I regard the lives of other people so scantly, that they are no more than collateral damage for economic wealth.
No. Damn if I do.

Our PM says that it is safe. If it is so safe, why is the Australian government refusing to take responsibility for the radioactive waste that Lynas may produce whereas our government take it so lightly? Reports that may be, but actions speak louder than words. And if the Australian government's actions of debunking any responsibility, surely the proposed actions of our government fly in the face of reason!

Anyway, I believe, if the people continue to pressure the authorities, then we may see a breakthrough and Gebeng will be safe from its potential harm. But the people must forge on. Fight the good fight, and hopefully we see the fruits of it.

So I leave you with Namewee and his controversial but ultimately funny MTV, dedicated to Lynas.

Sidenote: We don't hate any Australians, and no Australians were dissed in this video, except of course Lynas :)

Lawan tetap Lawan.

Honda's Oddysey

This is a story of a Japanese bloke named HONDA who lived in rural Japan.

So, deciding on embarking on an ODDYSEY, he went, on his own ACCORD to the CITY. He has heard many evil things about the CITY from his father, but nevertheless decided to have his own INSIGHT on things.

He found that there were many CIVIC minded people in the city, and his venture there FREED him from his prejudices.

“What CR-Zy ideas my father have” he thought to himself.

He made many friends and soon STREAMS of e-mails and whatsapp messages flowed.

Along the way, he picked up some JAZZ cds as well.

So ends the PRELUDE to this story.

Now…try this with TOYOTA

Family - You can't choose em :)

I was having a conversation with my sister.

I was told that someone told her that family is 'over rated'.
By 'over-rated', I don't really know what it means exactly, but I may have an understanding of what I think it may mean.

When I was younger, family was always there. Something that I know I can come back home to.
When I was growing up, in my tweens and my teens, I didn't like to be around family. I thought it was 'cool' to not be with family. I would just force myself to have dinners with them and then go out and do my own thing. I just didn't want my mom or dad to breathe down my neck or tell me things in front of my friends.

It simply WASN'T COOL!! Especially not in front of the girls!!!

Well, and then when my sister left for KL to study and my Mom went to Singapore to earn more money (to put it very bluntly), suddenly, family shrunk.

It was just my dad and I. And things took a different turn. I ate many many dinners with him cause we both hardly cook. Its hard to cook for two and being men, I suppose its simply easier to eat out. And we had many good conversations. The times when I stumble and did some many a stupid thing which ordinarily would freak average minded parents they were there for me. My dad locally and mom from Singapore would worry for me.

And perhaps through all the absence of the family not being together, it was quite empty to say the least. Well, only felt a little bit though, but I felt it nevertheless. I normally don't care for these things. But also the conversations that I had with my dad, it reached a new level. No longer did I see my dad as a disciplinarian which he was when I was younger (I grew up by the rod and I think it was well worth it), but someone whom I can engage into long conversations with about life and perceptions.

And I took time offs to see my mom in Singapore and she would spend her hard earned money so that I have a comfortable trip each time I visited her. Of course being me, I took advantage of that and would buy many stuff that I normally don't have the chance to buy. It was like the floodgates had opened! HAHAHA.
OK that was beside the point. But from that, I did see the love and sacrifice that she has endured for her kids. For money for better education and better living. And to buy a blue Nike bag and a Manchester United jersey (circa 2000-20001). I was a brat. And I knew it. And I see the love that my mom has for me.

In college, things took a change. It was cool to hang around parents. To spend time with them when they visited KL and to just go shopping with them. Of course in all honesty, when they hit the departmental stores to browse their stuff, I would frolick on my own still :) But hey, it's still with family. Or to take them around KL. Just to hang out. COOL.

You can choose your friends, they come and go. But family is always there. Or always connected whether you like it or not. Through bloodlines or proximity. You can't choose them. God chose them for you.

So, coming back to this bloke who said that family is over-rated, he is 26 now. And I do feel sorry for him. Alas, he is entitled to his opinion :)

I would have thought that family was over rated..when i was 15-16 but they mean the world to me now. And I believe many of you out there would feel the same :)

For good times with Family (past and present, core and extended), here's to a Happy Chinese New Year 2012.

Me and my Grandma - She's having Alzheimer's so she spaces out very often. It's really sad to see her like that, but always nice to see a smile on her face which is worth more than anything.

The Dark Knight is AWESOME!

AWESOME!
Nuff said.

A review of 2011 - Part 2 - Happiness, Sadness, Death, Life, Lessons

So what makes a good year?
Where the good experiences outweigh the bad?
Or that we have learned to be better through the mistakes, hurts and regrets? Good or bad, there will always be both and somehow, both good and bad eventually balances itself.
For every bad experience, there will be a good lesson. For every good experience, there will be an end to it eventually. Like they say, every cloud has a silver lining.

The second part of my review talks of both.

I have experienced the departures of dear family members of my friends.

One, a close friend, Daren, whose friendship has transcended time...a friendship over 25 years is certainly no easy feat. It was indeed painful to see him going through what he did. And even in the funeral, we could see the love of a son towards his father, the hopes he has and the regrets of not being able to fulfill the hopes for his father. But at the end of the day, life is as such and these are things that life throws at us. And I hope time will not make his memories towards his father any less, but perhaps will lessen the hurt of losing someone so dear.

And the other, the father of my junior Boss at work, Peter.
We have seen time and time how he had tried to juggle work while attending to his father's ill health. It was indeed tiring, even watching vicariously from where we are. But at the end of the day, perhaps death was a more comforting outcome than fighting cancer. It is painful yes, to have him see the loss of his dear father.
At the funeral service, this was were I have had a chance to listen to one of the more heartfelt and beautiful of eulogies. Peter, being a litigator, definitely knows how to speak in Court. But an eulogy is different from a court submission. And here is where I heard, perhaps something beautiful about commitments of a father, sacrifices for his children, life and eventually death in a single speech.

And then, as the end of 2010 showed me a revelation, that I am diagnosed as diabetic. It wasn't an easy taking it. It was a huge blow to my face. I couldn't for the love of God, tell anyone about it. Only those who are closest to me, family and my closest friends would eventually know. That called for a drastic change in lifestyle. I have given up many things but this was something new altogether. But heck, a year has passed and I'm still alive. So I thank God for that :) I now love my drinks sugar free. And I'm also much healthier than I was before my diagnosis. It's a challenge i have to take and something I will have to live with. :)

I would also learn that I have much to buck up in my work. As my boss had said, my assessment is very much different now and I should be able to take charge of more things and learn to assess things independently. Somehow, I am still afraid of doing that, but it isn't an option that I can pick. It's something that I need to do. Its a challenge to myself, and a challenge that I know, have the ability to see through. I just need His guidance and His help to give me the strength to discern and to see things through.

Of course, what is life without good memories? Much has been achieved too this year. I got a new car, a new watch, an Iphone 4S (Now, I'm always connected and I wont have to sms for updates and information; especially during rallies aha), but this are all superficial and material.

The bigger achievements this year, how we stood up against fear infliction and tyranny of rule during Bersih 2.0, something monumental for the us, the church, my friends and the people of Malaysia. And perhaps that was the last great rally after the passing of the Peaceful Assembly Bill. We fought against the Bill - Kill the Bill as they say, but failed. But it only spurred us for a hunger for change and come 2012, elections, the tides will turn. In any event, we will continue to fight for a better Malaysia.
(If you think that these events do not concern you at all, then I feel gravely sorry for you and I hope that you will understand that these fights, are for, if not this generation, then for the generation that is to come; i.e your children. And I hope in time, you will join this wave of change.)

On the world stage, we have seen waves of protests, bringing change, particularly the Egypt uprising, the toppling of Gaddafi's Libya and more uprisings within the Arab Spring. We have seen the death of a dictator in Kim Jung Il. Change is happening all around. For the better or for worst? We may not know for sure, but we do know that changes are overdue.

Closer to home, also I have grown closer to my colleagues of whom are all different in their ways but yet, shown much humility and kindness and also sharing the same sense of humour. I have seen them over the years, but only as colleagues and as I get to know them better, they are true and genuine friends. I'm blessed to have meet people like them over the years. And over the years, I am also blessed to have met good friends and people I still stay in touch with. I hope this trend of blessings continue on.

So, I also feel that in some ways, 2012 may be an extension of 2011, all that is left unsettled and not left behind. Things that I still need to deal with. Ghosts of which have yet been fully exorcised. I hope I may see an end to some things and start afresh with new things. It will take time but with His grace and strength, I know i will pull through.

May we all have a better year ahead and may 2012 be a year of overcoming challenges and greater revelations.

Happy New Year All! Let's make 2012 a blast!

I leave you with something I picked up along the way. Two of the quirkiest stars in Hollywood :)