Dilemma I

Davydenko lost to Federer in the quarterfinals. That's gives me a good reason to continue watching the Australian Tennis Open because I'm a fan of the latter.

I wonder if Yik Sheng who is studying in Melbourne is attending one of the matches. I hope he's not too disappointed though because lately Andy Murray had beaten his favourite player, Rafael Nadal. I actually would really like to see another showdown between Federer & Nadal in the final stages. It's always nail biting to see these two great players compete against each other but never mind lah, next time next time ~

Blue is his lucky colour. "Yes," Optus agreed

I'm abit uncertain about the future. A sports related course is something I clearly wanted to study after my Sixth Form. But the question is, mana? There are actually very few, & I seriously mean very few institutions that offer such courses locally. After doing some research, these are the options I have as well as their benefits & drawbacks if I were to choose of remaining here in Msia;

Open University M'sia (OUM) - B.Sc. (Hons) Sports Science
Pros
Students have the flexibility to graduate on their own pace. I can also study almost anywhere as lectures & tutorials are conducted through online. With such conveniences, I can work part time to earn some income.

Cons
The university doesn't have a campus. The only thing they have is a learning centre & library. How can I enjoy my university years if there is no campus life?

Lim Kok Wing (LKW) University - B.A. (Hons) Sports Management
Pros
A university which heavily promotes multiculturalism. You won't feel like you're in M'sia anymore with the diverse community of students coming from various parts of the world. Since it's LKW, prospective employers recognized the quality of their degrees.

Cons
Only the rich can study here. Their tuition fees alone will cost around RM50k+. In fact, even a church mate studying there advised me not to consider LKW because of their poor administration & organization. Imagine the fuss I have to go through during official matters or paperwork procedures.

Public universities (UM, USM, UMS & UPM) - B.Sc. (Hons) Sports Science
Pros
Tuition fees are very cheap as they are heavily subsidized by the government. Quality is assured depending on which university. Anywhere besides UM or USM memang considered teruk.

Cons
Wah alot lah actually but I'll just note down two of them. Their main problem is the graduates inability (generally speaking) to master the English language which subsequently lead them to difficulty in securing employment at executive level. Another turn off is despite a variety of clubs & societies being set up in their campus, the students social development is still hampered due to their rigid environment where academic excellence is above everything else. In other words, if I'm going to study in public universities then the only people I can expect to hang out with are 'parrots' (literally).

Cyberlynx International College - B.A. (Hons) Football Studies
Pros
Almost everything I will learn are directly related to football. Involves alot of practical coursework including technical training among other aspects (great opportunity to get noticed by talent scouts). The awarding body is Bedfordshire University which is a well known institution in the UK.

Cons
Like LKW, I'll have to fork out around RM 30-50k for tuition fees alone. Their website lacks vital information, not to mention also outdated which made them very suspicious. Mom & dad strongly disapprove against me of studying in such places that like to keep secrets.

Tunku Abdul Rahman College (Tarc) - Advanced Diploma cum B.Sc. Sports Science
Okay wait a minute! Am I fucking serious of going back to Tarc? During my time at Tarc, I had a very bad experience with the Chinese educated students over there. I would bashed them till kingdom come & now I am thinking of going back to that place? Okay before I go even further, let's see what are Tarc's strengths & weaknesses first;

Pros
Their library is good I guess. Passing mark is strict therefore one needs to be consistently diligent in their studies. Their sporting facilities are well equipped & they have an organized transportation system. Affordable tuition fees, thumbs up.

Cons
Stepping into Tarc is like stepping into Chinatown. English is almost useless here unless I take up some Mandarin courses in order to help myself survive. The students (again, generally speaking) have a poor level of emotional intelligence when it comes to communication, interpersonal & critical creative thinking skills. Just like their counterparts in public universities, anyone coming from the suburbs will have a difficult time mixing around with these urm.......Apart from that, the location (Setapak) is extremely far for me which eats up two hours of my time when travelling back & forth through public transport.

Anyway, why Tarc would be an option?
Firstly, a good friend of mine has decided to study Sports Science too & Tarc was he preferred destination. At least with him around, I won't feel so lonely as we have each other's backs. On top of that, I can earn an Advanced Diploma plus an American degree simultaneously all within the span of 2 years rather than a normal route of 3-4 years. This will give me a chance to catch up with my peers as I had wasted one whole year doing a course that was alien to me.

However, I also have another side of me that wants to go overseas. At the moment, the future of sports industry in M'sia still appears to be bleak. I feel as if like I'm digging my own grave if I choose to stay here. In addition, the perception of Asian parents towards a sports career has always been somewhat negative. In my case, my parents are not supportive in what I do because of their sceptical views about the prospects of a sports career, which is why I have a strong urge to leave M'sia. By doing so, only then my future will be liberated.

I mean c'mon, what's the point of staying when nobody appreciates your talents & gifts? If my parents doesn't approve in what I do, what makes the others so different? That is why I need to find a new place where I can truly call it my home. A home where people will recognized me for what I do & love me for who I am. Sounds cliche, but isn't that what everybody wants in life?

But then again, who has the money? Coming from a typical conservative Chinese family, surely you can guess what is the answer my parents would give when I told them that I wanted to study overseas. "No" is not the answer, instead;

"You can, but only as far as Singapore."

I really don't understand, why Singapore? In countries like the US, UK & Australia, these are the places that excelled in sports. Since when Singapore ever prided itself when it comes to sports? Almost every institutions in the countries mentioned above offers courses that are related to sports. Just look at their prospectus, they like to brag about their sporting facilities of being world class! But Singapore? This country doesn't really emphasize on the importance of sports development & science. Their mentality is no different from M'sia!

So you see, I'm in between a rock & a hard place. When my STPM results come out in March, I'm definitely gonna have trouble deciding on what's the next step to take. Sometimes I wish I can just shake hands & make a deal with the devil rather than allowing my future to be dictated by my parents. Singapore, are you kidding me?

Road not taken. The journey is tough, lonely & ultimately, it sucks

Playsafe Condoms

Why Canadians are proud to be Canadians? I know the answer. It's because of Terry Fox!

Beacon Hill Park in Victoria, British Columbia

Last week on a Tuesday morning, I was finally being discharged by the hospital (SJMC) for food poisoning. Even so, I felt discomfort whenever I try to eat something. The wind inside my stomach still made me feeling nauseas. To make things worse, I have an upcoming marathon (10km) on the same week, which is Sunday.

Since I only had four days left, my dad strongly objected my participation in this competition. Proclaiming himself an expert in the health industry, he said that I have a high likely risk of collapsing during the race because my body is not 100% fit yet. He even dare to call up his friends whom are also in the medical profession for their opinions to back up his statement that I'm crazy for wanting to join this marathon!

Now I know what Terry Fox must have gone through with his parents when he told them, "Hey mum, dad, guess what? I'm going to run a 8000km marathon, with just one leg!" Imagine what was his parents reaction when he wanted to do the impossible. The purpose of him running across Canada is to raise fund for cancer research as well as instilling awareness among the public of the disease.

8000km within 185 days, that is like running 42km a day. For me running 10km is already exhausting enough, what more of 42km? Terry had done that, & he did it with one healthy leg & another one with prosthetics. If it take days for my legs to recover from cramps & sores after running 10km, what more of 42km? Terry done that, & he did it almost everyday.

I really don't understand, why M'sians like my dad are so pessimistic & realistic all the time? Instead of viewing things as they really are, why can't M'sians look beyond at what things can become of. How can you expect to achieve success if you feel the risks involved are not worth taking them. For crying out loud, stop wearing the bloody Playsafe condoms!

Risk is like gambling & gambling is like taking a risk. I'm not sure if the bible forbids gambling but I do know that sometimes sacrifices have to be made when taking risks. In my case, I have to sacrifice my unfit body to finish the race even if I have to risked myself getting injured or collapse along the way like my dad predicted.

Whether if I'm a resolute or just a stubborn person, I certainly did not regret for sticking to my own personal beliefs, which is to continue fighting even if the odds are stacked up against you. Sorry dad, I know you're being concern for my well-being, but this son of yours just doesn't know how to quit. It's always better to be a failure rather than to be a coward;

The sweet taste of medal. Silverlishly yummy ~

Ni Hao, After That Stuck!

After measles, now it's food poisoning. God why am I so prone to illnesses nowadays? Various sporting competitions are coming under way & I have to prepare for them soon. How am I gonna resume my training regime if I keep falling sick like this? Arghh! The mind is willing, but the body is weak ~

While awaiting my STPM results due in March, I've been trying to find a part-time job either as an instructor or supervisor in fitness centres & health clubs but to no avail. Almost every places I've applied to rejected me, simply because of my inability to communicate in Chinese!

Can you believe it? Even in work places such as these needs proficiency in Chinese. Now I'm beginning to see how really important it is to master your mother's tongue. That is why I made a bold new year resolution for 2010, which is to possess a decent level of Mandarin. I'm optimistic of achieving this goal, at the same time I'm afraid too because of my bad past experiences with Chinese native speakers.

At the end of 2010, I hope to be able to speak like this guy;





I actually regretted for not having the chance to enroll into vernacular primary schools like Lick Hung or Chung Hwa. But then again, it's not my fault because it is my parent's decision to put me into a government school in the first place. As a result, my mothers's tongue suffered & now I couldn't even form a simple sentence in Chinese. Thanks alot mom & dad!

My Chinese speaking classmates in Sixth Form said that they envied me because of my good command in English. That is bull mother shit! Why would you want to be envious of a guy like me who can only converse in Malay & English when you guys can speak in four languages instead which consist of Malay, English, Cantonese & Mandarin? In the job market, you people will definitely have the advantage over me in securing employment because of these four languages. Therefore it is I who should look up to you, not the other way around.

I'm not the only Chinese 'banana' because I also know a few Chinese friends around Subang whom are likewise, only able to speak in either English or Malay. One thing I don't understand about these people is why they are ignorant about the importance of mastering their mother's tongue. Is it because they are afraid of being labeled as 'typical' Chinese, Chinaman, lala zai, etc? I can understand if you have tried Mandarin courses like me though unable to speak well but to have never tried at all to overcome the language by saying that English is everything, it's just an excuse for you of being a coward.

The siege mentality as well as blind pride that the so called English educated are better than the Chinese educated, it will never end until they start venturing into the working world. I hope reality hits you real hard in the head when your future employer starts to ask you;

"Can you speak in Chinese?"

Ya Allah

I'm feeling much better now these days. My rashes as a result of the measles that I'm contracted with has been reduced significantly. This is the second time that I'm infected measles, the first one when I was only two years old. I know it's weird but, how on earth can a person be infected with measles twice?

There is a possibility actually because there are two types of measles which is the German measles & simply, measles. German measles is caused by the rubella virus while the latter is caused by the rubeola virus. Therefore, you will not get the same type of measles again although it may not protect you against the other type because both of the viruses are not the same.

Yeah I know alot of facts about measles after doing some reasearch on Wikipedia & other health articles. I tell you science is such an interesting discipline. The discovery of how things work, it just makes me curious in finding the answer. By the way, my second time of getting measles was the German measles, so thank God because it is usually mild compared to the more serious complications caused by rubeola measles.

Speaking of God, recently there's this news article that really caught my attention. The headlines was about three churches (latest now is four) being attacked by arsonists. I believe that many M'sians, not just Christians are deeply saddened by this scenario;








In the second video, you can just see how ridiculous these narrow-minded people really are. I mean c'mon it's not like we're defaming God's name or something. The Catholic weekly Herald is just using the Arabic term for God in it's publications. What's wrong with the usage of God's name in other languages besides English? If I were to call out God's name in Chinese (Shangdi), don't tell me you're gonna make a brouhaha about it by protesting at the streets? Like Peter Chao said, you don't make any sense!

According to Wikipedia (man you gotta love this website, all the free wealth of information & knowledge at your fingertips), the word 'Allah' are used by Arabic speakers of all Abrahamic faiths which consists of both Muslims, Christians & Jews. The Christians in Sabah & Sarawak has been using Allah ever since the early days of pre-independence. So how can M'sian Muslims justify themselves saying that Christians cannot use Allah when Arabian Christians in the Middle East are also using Allah? Like Peter Chao said again, you don't make any sense!

The reason given for their demonstrations is because Muslims can get confuse if other religions use the term Allah. First & foremost, if you have never done your homework on research, make illogical & immature statements as well as burning down religious places of worship, then of course you are one bloody confused faggot. The attacks were purely un-Islamic. If you think you have glorified God's name through your actions, then rest assured you are not confuse but plainly retarded ~

NEVERTHELESS, I truly believe that not all Malays are like that. No doubt that the actions of these people are despicable. However, they do not represent the views of the majority of Muslims here in M'sia but only a few minorities;

Leaders of the Islamic Party of M'sia (PAS) visiting one of the churches

If I have to blame someone, it would be the culprits behind the arson & not Islam. So to my Muslim friends, don't worry. We Christians are not upset with you. We sincerely believe that there are well educated & peace loving Malays out there. Thank you for being the better person by not adopting to their ideologies of 'Ketuanan Melayu'.

Fcuk

I'm infected with measles, what a good way to start 2010 ~


Stigmata?