Travel (2/5)

The journey from Keramat AU takes about 40 minutes. We had to take the MRR2, on to Kesas and GPS some part of the way. Going there was a breeze since most of KLites are stilll hung over from weekend party. Heading back took us 1 hour, no thanks to the traffic.

The road isn’t exactly smooth, there’s a lot of huge bumpers, gravels and uneven roads along the way.

Service (1/5)

When we reached there, we were greeted by some Nepal or Bangladeshi, the first thing they asked was “Bola ada boss? Kalau takda RM20 for 12.” That was bad, although I do appreciate the concern. But think about it, if you’re going to play golf, wouldn’t you at least have all your equipment ready the night before?

When I got to the counter, I told the girl some friend of mine made a booking (but actually I don’t know whether he did or not). She asked for her superior, whom spewed pretty nasty word, “Lain kali tak bole datang macam ni je, kene booking, nasib baik harini tak banyak flight.” Man that was cold and rude. I really wanted to leave the place and spend my money elsewhere but knowing that my best bud will be heading to West Coast in the evening, I shrugged and pretended I didn’t hear a thing.

Price (1/5)

I’m not so sure what’s so great about the Club, but I was told this is where noob golfers go to. They charged a frigging RM 340 for the two of us. That’s RM 170 each, and I have never paid that much for a such an easy course, with weak-sluggish buggy and drainy course. We also got RM30 food voucher, which we don’t really need. I guess they wanted to keep kitchen alive.

Most noob places charges RM100 plus minus, but RM170 is definitely a ripoff, especially if you have rude fat desk girl and golf ball pushers.

The Course (2/5)

It’s definitely a lot of fun playing with my Skis. We laughed a lot, made fun of people and played an extra ball sometimes. But seriously, the course is a lot fun. The fairways is wide, makes it look near when actually it’s 300 meters away.

I’d give a 4/5 if it wasn’t for the the things above.

The Fairway (3/5)

We played early in the morning, there was no running away from plugged ball. (Plugged is when your ball sank into the ground). As the day progressed, the fairway hardened, it got pretty fun.

The Rough (3/5)

The grass wasn’t too tall. It was pretty easy to strike the wood and hybrid.

The Green (1/5)

Every single green on the course has a mind of it’s own. Sometimes it’s fast, sometimes it’s slow. It was very hard to predict where it was heading. So the best way was to aim for the pin and control the speed of the roll.

The Companies (1/5)

Like I said, this is a noob’s course. There was these group of people who wore pretty striking shirts, pants and shoes, or practically showered themselves with golf brands. And boy, did they ‘play’ well. I don’t mean to laugh at people, but 5 strokes and they’re only at 150 meter marker. It took hours for them to finish a simple Par 3.

The next crowd was some uncles, playing like their in PGA or something. They were really taking they’re own sweet time. We swing anyway, and it landed very close to them. These fella got upset and yelled at us when we met at one of the crossroad, although we’ve apologized many times. It came to a point where I almost raised my putter. But knowing we were wrong, we kept our heads low.

In all honesty, just let us pass. Don’t hog the course.

Overall (1/5)

I’m not setting my foot there anymore, end of story.

A couple of friends, who’s already good enough decided to tap along. I had no problem with that. Who knows, I might learn a thing or too. I was already halfway through my bucket, the friend started pulling my leg.

“Pukul dah lawa, jom la lawan”

I know for a fact, this bunch of crowd bets on the green. I declined right away. It’s against my principle, to associate gambling and sports.

They stood there, being so insistent just to ensure I’d take up the offer. They’re trying their best to win money from beginners. Bad … bad boys!

I couldn’t stand them nagging anymore, so I took the offer.

When I thought about it again, and again, and again. I don’t think I’m up for this. No way santa maria, I’d bet on the green. My father doesn’t, so I shouldn’t be. I should take a stand on this. I’m not going to bet, but I’ll make sure I’ll win.

ps: I would settle for “kalah belanje” deal

All that was stuck in my head was mosquitoes, leeches and more mosquitoes. Nothing short of that. Boy I was wrong.

We took off from the office at 11pm. At 410 am, we reached Taman Negara. Before we arrived, I had the impression of, we’re going to stay at some cheap chalets with leaky roof, crappy foods and toilet that doesn’t have a proper lock. I was wrong. It was just like any luxury getaway resorts, air conditioned, bricks and mortar, full mobile reception.

The first day, we hiked. It was thrilling and exhilarating, of course, tiring as hell. Up hill slopes, slippery down hills and saw some wild huge insects. It was fun to watch co-workers in their mid 30s struggling to catch up. And I finally know how a Tongkat Ali looks like other than Ali Cafe.

Amongst our path was the Canopy walk a.k.a. hanging bridge. I have to admit, I am afraid of heights but surprisingly, I managed to content my phobia especially when the head of division started jumping like a monkey and swaying the bridge left and right. If it did break, we’d suffer hemorrhage and a few broken bones from a 35 meters fall. Thank God I survived.

Spot the monkey!

In the evening, we went to visit our original landlords, the orang Asli (native people).

In my 27 years of living, I’ve never seen a life as simple as these people. They couldn’t care much about making money, what matters was their survivability and not getting too hungry in the process. It somehow reflected onto myself, while I enjoy my lamb curry, slaughtered and cooked to perfection at any mamak franchise, these people, hunt, fish, gather and start their own fire.

From their appearance, you can tell that they don’t have loads to wear nor do they smother after bath lotions. Dried dark skin and fuzzy hair do was the way to go. Most with missing tooth. At some point, I felt embarrassed being properly dressed, use of personal care and not barefooted. I guess the feeling surfaced because we were the minorities.

We also tried shooting some sumpit, which of course, most of us missed miserably. I missed by 3 inch below the target.

An Orang Asli showing us how to light a fire using woods. I won’t bother lighting one manually, I either pack foods or bring along a lighter but truth is, I was impressed with his skills.

Just as I thought the first day was over, there’s a night walk. It was pretty dark and lively. The mat sallehs were in their evening dress to explore the woods. Seriously wtf. Anyway, we did spot some wild deers, huge insects, scorpions, birds and nothing extra terrestrial.

When the clock struck midnight, everyone was already snoring their way to slumber land. Tiredness has taken it’s toll due to lack of sleep (3-4 hours) before the first day starts.

On second day, we hiked to a water fall. The water is not as clear as your average perception, it was black. Black like the thick tea that your forgot to strain after hours soaking the tea bag. We had to take a 30 minute boat ride to get there. The journey was already half the fun, what more when arriving.

Thank God, there’s nothing line up for us in the evening so we loitered at a local shop. They sold keropok lekor 10 sen per piece. We had 70! Hahaha.

The night was pretty interesting, a buffet dinner under the starlight and a camp fire (which to me was just nothing more that burning woods). The lamb was marvelous, I even got some pointers

Of course, being a weirdo, I didn’t want the fire to go to waste, so I leaped over the fire a few times. And someone managed to capture it.

The third night ended with a karaoke session, much to my disappointment, they don’t air Chelsea’s match. Boo hoo!

The last day here at Taman Negara Resort, we had a few rounds paintball. I got one huge bruise on my back. It looked as if a bird took a dump on me. Painful? Yes. But I like.

After lunch, we checked out and took a boat ride about 2 hours! I was fun at first, before I knew it, half of us was already fast asleep. I accidentally stuck my hand out of the boat and got sun burn on just that hand. I shouldn’t have declined the sun block offer from the ladies.

What have I learned from this trip? First, I never knew Taman Negara was so much fun when they’res a huge turn out. Second, two of my superiors are either insane or crazy (most managers are). Third, I’d thank the company for sponsoring the whole event.  Taman Negara sure leaves us with tonnes of memory. If you’ve got the time, go! Make sure to rope in a few of your friends too!

ps: There was one keras incident, but I guess I’d just tease you with that.

It was hosted at Nilai Spring Resort, somewhere south of KL. The trip from my house took about 45 minutes. It was blazing hot and surprisingly very windy.

For me, it was the third time for me on a real golf course.

The first nine holes witness a mental break down. I was hitting everywhere else except for the target. The weather wasn’t helpful either, it was hot and humid. My peers were Wong and Herfa. Wong is regular and Herfa, just like me a beginner.

I was doing so bad until Wong told me, “Edwin, remember practise driving range.”

From there, things took off. I played much better, more composed and focused. Landed a few chance for birdie, unfortunately I was pretty much a sissy when it comes to putting. It’s always too short or slow to reach the hole. The score was good for the second nine, it was full of bogey and a par.

Having to recover from a bad game, landed me this..

.. 2nd place in Rookie Category and if I have to thank anyone, it’ll be Aisyah Rozi. If she hadn’t tried hard to understand my new hobby and the time needed to practise, I wouldn’t have a place in the rankings. Thanks hun! Also thanks to Dad for the set. Oh yes, and I played 108. Which is a big deal

ps: Ramadhan is coming, I doubt I’d have the time to swing. So puasa, is really PUASA

Every single time I played, this is what happen, broken toe nail. It was a direct result of going too fast and changing direction in an instant. I keep forgetting I’m 74 kg! (was 64 kg 7 months ago). Weight shifting requires lots of energy and exerts physical capability. *Repeat After Me: You’re not young anymore!*

I didn’t go through proper surgery as I did it myself. Just a nail clipper, a chain saw, a lighter, a spanner and 3 types of kitchen knifes. Except the first, the rest are just gimmicks. It was pretty hard to pull out the whole chunk, the skin was still attached to the nail. By applying minimal constant force, I did it. Patience was the key factor.

Since my toe is pretty much exposed, it feels like naked and funny.

I guess it’ll be months until I get to play again. Oh well.

ps: Will tell you about my first golf tournament in the next post

Have you watched the games? Spain sucks, so does Italian, even worst for England, not to forget Germans. So I guess Europeans aren’t doing well this time. Which is GOOD. It shows other side of the world are no pushovers.

The competition is getting more intense as most teams have to rely on their last game to earn a ticket to second round. If you’re a junkie like me, you can get updates from celcom website. There’s also an offer 5Gb for RM 20 for data plan!

In case you missed my previous post, here’s a recap.

Celcom is also giving away 8 different limited edition Celcom Blue Bears ™ from 17th May to 11th July and you can also walk away with RM 10,000 daily! (If I had RM 10,000 , I’ll probably get engaged or put deposit on a super bike ).

What do you need to get win the Blue Bears ™? 3 Easy steps.

1. Just sign up for Celcom Broadband or upgrade existing broadband to 5 Gb data volume before 11th July.

For new customer:

For existing user, purchase an additional 5Gb for RM20 from:

• Celcom’s Online Customer Service at www.celcom.com.my/onlinecustomerservice
• Celcom Call Centre (1-300-111-000 or 111 if you’re calling from Celcom mobile)
• Any of Celcom Branch

2. Register with Celcom’s Online  Customer Service.

3. Get a serial number from the Online Customer Service and draw the date for you to be eligible to win your prize. Celcom will call and ask an easy question if you’re short listed for the day. If you win, you can redeem your collectible Blue Bear at any Celcom Blue Cube or branch before the expiry date.

Do tweet if you’re planning to catch on some football together

Everyday I get the same question, again and again, “who do you think will be in the final?”. If I say England they’ll boo me, Argentina, they’ll say, only if Maradona isn’t coaching. I guess everyone has their own opinion.

I don’t actually support any team in general. Not because I don’t have a stand, but I believe my loyalty is with Harimau Malaya even though they suck (big time). All in all, I just want to see a good game.

So where will I be watching the WC? Mamak, some fast food chain or home.

If you’re a football fanatic you might want to head over to Celcom dedicated website for World Cup at celcom.com.my/vs. You can play online games, fold originami, download wallpaper even get the latest ringtone!

Celcom is also giving away 8 different limited edition Celcom Blue Bears ™ from 17th May to 11th July and you can also walk away with RM 10,000 daily! (If I had RM 10,000 , I’ll probably get engaged or put deposit on a super bike ).

What do you need to get win the Blue Bears ™? 3 Easy steps.

1. Just sign up for Celcom Broadband or upgrade existing broadband to 5 Gb data volume before 11th July.

For new customer:

For existing user, purchase an additional 5Gb for RM20 from:

• Celcom’s Online Customer Service at www.celcom.com.my/onlinecustomerservice
• Celcom Call Centre (1-300-111-000 or 111 if you’re calling from Celcom mobile)
• Any of Celcom Branch

2. Register with Celcom’s Online  Customer Service.

3. Get a serial number from the Online Customer Service and draw the date for you to be eligible to win your prize. Celcom will call and ask an easy question if you’re short listed for the day. If you win, you can redeem your collectible Blue Bear at any Celcom Blue Cube or branch before the expiry date.

As time goes by, we landed back in Malaysia, the hobby fades away. I seriously think it’s a dumb game. To me, it’s like playing fetch with a dog, except we use golf balls and the one that needs to do the fetching, is us. But dad earnestly continued playing. I bet it’s the business network he’s after. ..and I’m still searching the thrill of playing golf.

Occasionally, I do shoot some balls once every full moon. Releasing this bottled up feelings within, more like venting my anger in every drive.

“So, how did it go?”, dad asked as I entered the living room.

“I got a few blisters on my hand, but I’ll manage”, I replied.

“Distance?”, he asked again.

“Not far.” keeping my ego down.

“In yards?”, he likes technical details, just like this son of his.

“75% *home run…”

“Since when golf is baseball?” in disbelief he asked. I later explained to dad how my drive swerved to the right and went over the fence, like a home run. Roughly about 180-200 yards (not that far really).

via: my flickr

A few friends did invite me to join them in tackling real golf courses, but I’m a shy guy, plus, I still think golf is a game of fetch. (It should be played with dogs, not human.)

ps: But I do love the sound ‘ting’ everytime the club hits the ball.

Fortunately, that never happened to me.

ps: Coding new theme

While I was playing my Football Manager 2009, I browsed through my Google Reader and read Rasyan’s post, ‘Wonderkid‘. I was a bit curious, but I played the video anyway.

[flash http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICNJEfCgHn4]

I thought it’d be some perasan posting on Youtube. I was wrong! I watched it 3 times. Wan Kuzain had my jaw on the floor. Pure inspirational!

He’s constantly whipping and lashing the mat sallehs. No kid could steal the ball, let alone bring him down. His witty moves and slick skills somewhat resembles Ronaldinho. I don’t know any of my closes friends could match that talent.

We’ve all seen how prodigy stumbles, I hope he’s not one of them.

Till then, good luck Wan Kuzain! Make us proud!

ps: Back on Hiatus

pss: If you like this post, be sure to watch Madin Mohammed, 6 year old, so short and cute but vital.

Friday, I drove dad to Ipoh for his golf thingy and continued my way up to Kuala Kangsar. Along the way, I reminisced my journey back on the bus 9 years ago. It was dreadful and hot. I wished something would happen to the bus, and find myself back to KL. I never enjoyed my trip back to KK. Tide has changed, I couldn’t wait to get there except, it was still dreadful and hot.

I arrived at about 6pm. Ran along the booths and got myself a tshirt. Laksa came after that with Life4Hire and Callister.

2 hours later, I found myself surrounded by a group of older boys (easily doubles my age). I didn’t have much option, either talk to juniors (which I felt guilty for not remembering their names) or super seniors. The latter was much preferable.

We talk for about 4 hours (I listened intently most of the time) until Meba & Aneipe arrived. Quick supper and off to bed.

I couldn’t get any sleep. I blame my screwed sleep cycle, the uneasy dorm, spongy mattress and of course, the loud snores. How in the world I survived 5 years in a boarding school?

Saturday, I woke up at 3pm (LoL) and rushed to cendoi~ It’s still a bliss after all these years.

Time to shine! 430 pm, I was on the field warming up for a rugby match. It was a handicap game, Above 35 (age and waist) against Under 15 (age). I used to wear 36, somehow I shrunk to 29. Yes, I am qualified to wear that jersey.

I got my ass whopped by Wooer (57 year old), physically. I didn’t really see what happened, but I know Wooer headbutted my ass. It sores every time I’m seated.

We won 27 – 0. I scored a try under the post and a conversion.

Dinner was held at Medan Pelajar and the concert was pretty ok. It was a long day, everyone went to bed early (including me).

Sunday 9am, rugby kick off. We (old boys) lost the game. The last time old boys lost was back in 2000. The game ended with 12-15. I wanted to gear up, but I wasn’t fit enough. I’ll make my comeback next year.

Thought it wasn’t as exciting as it used to be, I sure did enjoy myself.

Big questions struck on the way back to KL, what’s old boys weekend all about? Why do MCKK get overly excited about it? How do I explain this to non MCKK?

It’s not about Pride, Passion or Tradition. It’s about reliving a 17 year old life. I’m sure you’d need that once a year.

ps: I shipped a parcel 2 weeks back, I’m glad it arrives. (will write about it)

pss: Thanks Shayyum for the logo and keep up the good work! You looked restless.

This is what you get if you run with your heart out and stop quickly.  Your body weight shifted to the toe and your nail bites the inner layer. Usually, it bleeds, internally.

I’ve been thinking about permanently removing my toe nail. I’ve read before, pro athletes do that if it happens once too often.

Casual futsal is quite a dangerous sport. I get ‘that look’ if I tell them, I need my fingers to work. Especially when they’re trying to blame me for letting in a goal.

I also hate when people put a foot when I try to shoot. Often, I’d stop myself. I don’t want to injure my friends over sportsmanship. Afterall, futsal is just a window to sweat.

You’ll probably think, I’m being a sissy or a wuss. Well, maybe I am

*Warning, the video might bug you*

[flash http://embed.break.com/NDE0ODk5]

ps: I wonder, if I undergo the surgery to remove my toe nail, will I get the handicap parking lot? You know, since I don’t have a toe nail, I’m considered as cacat

pss: I can feel both my toe pulsate. Hurts like bitch

psss: I shouldn’t have told you that I was going to write a short sappy story. Kills the element of surprise.

I’m not actually a big fan of Hamilton. Word of mouth says he’s snobbish, but at least he proved his arrogance’s worth. Me on the other hand, have nothing at hand. Oh boy, let’s not judge others ok?

I’m a big fan of McLaren though. Having said that, I don’t gave up on the sport ages ago. It’s so frequent, it’s no longer a privilege to watch on my good Sunday.

I remember in the old days when Hakkinen was the KGB of Formula 1. I memorized every single track, every corner, every chicane, hairpins and the ideal speed, entering and exiting corners. I could even draw you the tracks.

Thanks to Schumacher, all my tedious efforts went down the drain. He proved Ferrari and him was the perfect formula in Formula 1. Do you think it’s fun to see him win, over and over again? On some days, I had my fingers crossed hoping that he’ll slam into the tyre wall. What can I say, I’m a loser.

Since Schumacher, the FIA has been altering rules to ensure that everyone could compete equally.

Quick fact: the catering cost (they had lobster on their menu) for BMW was equivalent to Minardi’s funding on research & development.

V8 2.4 liter engine, no traction control, single tyre manufacturer, more track & cockpit models, bla bla bla, yara yara yara, Formula 1 is too ho-hum to follow. An old pervert like myself would have problem digesting these inputs.

Unfortunately, yesterday I had my eye on the sport. A very young talent, Vettel had me sunk deeper into my seat. At 21, he was pinching Hamilton, whom eventually was robbed of his fifth place.

Six more corners to go, Hamilton needed to be aggressive to secure at least a point more than Massa to clinch the world title, however he lacked pace. There’s no sign of him fighting for the spot.

Glock, who was 4th then, was overtaken by Vettel and Hamilton, a few corners before the finishing line. It ended with Vettel – 4th, Hamilton – 5th and Glock 6th.

That last 10 sec, showed what legends are made of, perfect timing and luck. Forget about the what if’s questions, Hamilton won fair and square.

Pure drama. That was the missing key to my Formula 1 addiction.

ps: Milk Coffee please!

While most of you are sure to bash on Lee Chong Wei‘s bad performance, I’d like to do the opposite. I’d like to thank him. Terima kasih Lee Chong Wei. You’ve inspired others.

• If he won, he’d bag home RM1 million of rakyats money and be a total crap thereafter.
• If he won, he might get a beating from the China crowd (it happened before ok!)
• If he won, BAM will be so proud of him and would march him everywhere.
• If he won, medias will have unlimited coverage of him. We, eventually will get sick of him.
• If he won, Ali Cafe and Sunway Lagoon will appoint him as an ambassador.
• If he won, we’d be complacent.
• If he won, no one will need to avenge for the next Olympics.
• If he won, he’d put his successor in distress (LeeCW can, why can’t you?)
• If he won, he’d make the Sports Minister losses more hair

So why did he lose? 2 Reason; Away and Stage Fright.

Let’s not forget, the Olympics is hosted by China. And obviously Lin Dan had the upper hand in every aspect, including ground, crowd and support. If they were hosted elsewhere, I’m convinced it’d be a different story. It’s like the tally for Thomas Cup 2008, where Lee Chong Wei beats Lin Dan.

If you saw the match, you’d wonder why is Lee Chong Wei so heartless, spiritless and demotivated? Easy. Because China supporters turned up in enormous number and filled the stadium with cheers and noise. It’s enough to give anyone a cold sweat. Although it’s no excuse to be unprepared (mentally), he is still a human and stage fright happens.

We cause people to reconsider their limits, to see what looks like a wall may really just be an obstacle in the mind. – Lance Armstrong

Lee Chong Wei, thank you for the Silver medal and better luck next time.

ps: Should I be unethical and ping PPS using Negaraku (automatically)?

I have a terrible sickness, hiccup. When it reigns upon me, it’ll last for a week (minimum). But that alone couldn’t stop me from working.

Today, I had a meeting with my client at Nilai. It’s an hour drive from my house. I made a quick pit stop for a mineral water, in hope that it’ll subside, provided I drank a lot of water. Unfortunately, no.

NoktahHitam: For this project *hick*, I recommend that *hick* we develop…
Client I: Sure.

At this point I’m sure the whole meeting room was giggling at my sudden gesture. F it. Thank God there wasn’t much to explain and my pen wasn’t working. So I sat there and paid extra attention to every detail they laid.

Hiccup bothers me a lot. I need a steady hand to draw something on photoshop. It also dents my effort to brainstorm on my projects. Even worst, it hurts (my diaphragm or ulu hati).

I’ve tried everything, hold my breath while drinking, scare myself on Youtube, I even did the hand stand (up side down position). But it won’t go away. I guess I have to live with it.

An old saying, ‘you’re growing when you have hiccups’. I hope ‘that part’ gets the end of the straw. *fingers crossed, haha*

ps: quoted from someone, I look like small boy when I have hiccups. Think again, I may have the following health problem  

What causes hiccups that just won’t go away?
anesthesia – asthma – cancer – fear – fever – foreign body in the ear glaucoma – heart attack – hernia – hysteria – infection – kidney failure meningitis – multiple sclerosis – personality disorders – pharyngitis sedatives – shock – stroke – trauma