Bed of Roses @ Floria 2007

Well, it was another public holiday and so, what did I do? Me and my wife jumped into the car and took a trip down to Putrajaya for the Putrajaya Flower & Garden Festival 2007.

What a sight of exceeding beauties and I believe it was creativity at its best. The exhibition was overflowing with an array of flowers that looked like a riveting sea of colors.

There was the Meadow, The Floral Pavilion, The Ceremonial Stage, The Floral Demo stage and one can just spend hours marveling at the spectacles of landscaping and creativity. I mean, there were floral sculptures as well....and, a floral sculpture of Chicken Little was there. I kid you not.

I really can't describe the feeling of serenity and the smell of the Jasmines, Orchids and Roses. You will have to catch the exhibition to enjoy the splendour of the moment!

It's just being Malaysianlah!

50 years of freedom

50 years of harmony

50 years of unity

50 years of history

50 years of roti canai

50 years of kuey teow

50 years of cendol

50 years of briyani

50 years of bannana leaf rice

50 years of holding hands

50 years of understanding

50 years of love

50 years of fighting spirit

50 years of keping it together

50 years of laughter

50 years of sorrow

50 years of arrogant driving

50 years of freindship

50 years of education

50 years of spitting in public

50 years of sound economy

50 years of financial ease

50 years of of neighbours

50 years of rainforests

50 years of success

50 years of pride

All more the reasons for being a Malaysian lah!

Happy 50th Birthday Malaysia!!

Bourne to Thrill

I have got three words for Jason Bourne......Slick, Sly and Smooth.

The movie The Bourne Ultimatum is truly engrossing and it moves at a fast pace. It makes you wonder how such a character as Bourne was created through the eyes of writer Robert Ludlum.

I remember reading his books on the famed assassin....The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum. The story of how Bourne hunts down Carlos the Jackal is well crafted in a deadly cat and mouse game that involves so much cloak and dagger it would give one an adrenalin rush.

The books were truly a roller coaster ride; a true Ludlum thriller (as all his other books). The movies are not dissapointing either with its equal share of suspense that will keep you at the edge of your seats.

So, brace yourself for a natural Bourne killer!

Old vs New

I woke up this morning...dazed as usual....went downstairs to grab hold of the newspapers (as I do every morning). And wham! Man....it was a different paper entirely.

No.....what I mean is it was the New Straits Times....just an older version......LOL. It was 50 years old. I shit you not. A very retro looking newspaper!

Puzzled? Well, the date on the paper read Sunday, August 25, 1957.....No, I didn't go back in time.....it's just that the NST has started publishing its newspapers as it was before independence (along with the its daily copies), for the next one week in lieu of the 50 years independence celebrations.

Gosh, newspapers in those days were horrifying....the fonts were so small you'd have to use a magnifying glass. And the entire paper is black....like it has been photocopied! My mum was all smiles while browsing through the old copy. She kept saying "It's beautiful! It's beautiful!" What can I say...Veterans!

Well, quite honestly, the old NST has character....and well....NEWS! So much you could spend the entire day dwelling into it.

So, grab a copy...and get a blast from the past!

Malaysia Boleh! "Foolosophy"

You know, there's one thing that Malaysians can never give up.....understanding the virtue of patience.

Just yesterday I was at the Bukit Bintang monorail station waiting my turn during rush hour traffic. There were hoardes of people waiting. Every train that pulled up was full to the brim and the moment the doors opened,......well.....need I say more? It was like "Shop Till You drop" and "Every man for himself!!"

The line lost its order and everyone was ramming their way into the entrance and I was thrown all around like a rag doll. The next thing I knew, I was shit out of luck and right behind the line. I mean....go figure?

Gosh! What has happened to civic mindedness? Have we lost it all? I mean, there were tourists and I can bet you that when they saw the crowd storming the trains, it must have been like a refugee camp in disarray!!

Now I know why my students complain when they have to commute using the rail links. It's like a war zone out there!

To Sir with Love?

One of the most satisfying aspects of lecturing at the college or university level may be found in the mentoring relationship that academics can develop with their students. A good mentoring relationship can be what is sometimes called a "peak experience" for both lecturer and student -- a sharing of something unique that no one else may experience in quite the same way. The student experiences an acceptance of ideas and contributions that may be unequalled in previous life experience.

The lecturer may experience, through the student, the closest one may feel to a professional immortality -- a feeling that the baton is being passed to someone worthy and that one's work will live on, not only on the yellowing pages of a journal somewhere in the stacks of a library, but in the mind and work of someone younger, more energetic, and equally committed to the task to which one's professional life has been so fully devoted.

A unique aspect of the mentoring relationship among professional relationships is that the student is, at the same time, a student and, well.... a friend. In a healthy mentoring relationship, the student is encouraged and expected to be candid in responding to the lecturer's ideas, methods, or words. Part of a mentor's role is to acquaint the student, not only with the specialized field that is shared, but also with the other leaders in the field and with the ways of professional and academic life. And yet, despite this closeness and sharing, the lecturer does remain a lecturer and the student, a student. The lecturer maintains certain evaluative responsibilities and the student continues to be dependent on the mentor's guidance and approval.

I have met many students during my stint as a lecturer...and I would like to say a very big THANK YOU to all of you .......Leonard, Luc, Izabelle, Jonathan, Keith, Lynnete, Sarah Liyana, Sarah Yung, Kit Mun, Nana, Sam, Ridzuan, Karen.... AND THE LIST GOES ON AND ON (Do not be offended if you are not on the list...you are in my heart). You guys and gals have redefined the student-lecturer relationship in many ways possible and best of all, you have made this job of mine truly meaningful.

Spaghetti Saturday!

One of my wife's specialties is ....well....making Spaghetti. And, yes.....it was another satisfying Meatball Spaghetti Saturday!

She can really cook up a sumptuous spaghetti dinner for the whole family....and the best part is, we can have different levels of "spicyness". Just ask....hot....very hot....or even...."Peri-Peri"......LOL!!

It all started on a trial and error basis...and now, she's good at it.....real good!

Well, I'm blessed am I not. :)

P.S. If you are wondering what the green bits are.....They are beans. :)