Of Arguments

I never make the mistake of arguing with people for whose opinions I have no respect.

~ Edward Gibbon

The people to fear are not those who disagree with you, but those who disagree with you and are too cowardly to let you know.

~ Joe Moore

and, my favourite one being :

Whoever fights monsters, should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And when you look long into an abyss, the abyss also looks into you. ~ Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

two things can be derived from this particular fav quote of mine:

1. kalau something or someone is so bad, kalau kita nak fight pun, janganlah sampai kita jadi teruk cam benda atau orang tu. so in fighting/arguing, kita kena careful.

2. kalau kita tengok/judge sesuatu atau seseorang, benda tu atau orang tu pun pandai gak menilai kita. it follows kalau diri tak sehebat mana, jangan simply nak show-off.

I found this in a book The Abyss along time ago. There's one movie with the same title. Buku tu la yang diaorang buat movie tu. I love the book and the movie. Memang accurate quote tu dengan movie tu.

Still on argument, the following is quite funny and cute, but in some ways, very smart:


After a heated argument on some trivial matter, Lady Nancy Astor shouted, If I were your wife, I would put poison in your coffee! Whereupon Sir Winston Churchill answered, And if I were your husband I would drink it.

Be Nice To People

Dia selalu kata "Be nice to people".

Yeah, I just picked up the house line. It was a call from a rather well known florist in this city. Something about the flower arrangement for the wedding.

One can always tell if a person is classy or not. And in this particular case, the person calling was indeed the daughter of the owner of that business. She was looking for my Mom. But the way she spoke, though simple, told it all. She was courteous, polite, humble yet she sound so classy.

I mean she could have been arrogant, or proud, or anything. You could call them the florist to the Crown here. They are in charge of royal functions, too.

But no, they are nice people, despite the fact that they own a well-known business.

That's what classy means. Virtuous. Some people may look classy, but the moment they speak, it's all rubbish. What a tragedy.

Virtue is the truest nobility ~ Miguel De Cervantes

Who Cares

Exactly. Who cares? That which does not kill you, makes you stronger.

She may be a girl lost in the debris. Like fallen soldiers. And you may not be there. But she survives.

Yes, she doesn't care.

Entry Buat Cik Mimi @ Glasgow

6, 26

7, 27

Ini suatu kebetulan yang menakjubkan, sebenarnya. Makna angka-angka ni? Rasanya, hanya Cik Mimi yang dapat menafsir significancenya. Nombor 6 dan 26 belum tentu dapat memahaminya. Kan, Mimi?

By the way, Mimi, I have checked the calendar for this year. Isn't it amazing that for 2008, the above numbers would fall into these days:

Sunday, Saturday

Tuesday, Monday

Elok la tu.. sebelah menyebelah lagi.. hehehehe... ;)

Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough

Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough (Patty Smyth & Don Henley)

I don't wanna lose you,

I don't wanna use you

just to have somebody by my side

And I don't wanna hate you
I don't wanna take you
But I don't wanna be the one to cry

That don't really matter to anyone, anymore
But like a fool I keep losing my place
And I keep seeing you walk through that door

But there's a danger in loving somebody too much
And it's sad when you know it's your heart you can't trust
There's a reason why people don't stay where they are
Baby sometimes love just ain't enough

Now I could never change you
I don't wanna blame you
Baby you don't have to take the fall

Yes I may have hurt you
But I did not desert you
Maybe I just want to have it all

It makes a sound like thunder
It makes me feel like rain
And like a fool who will never see the truth
I keep thinking something's gonna change

But there's a danger in loving somebody too much
And it's sad when you know it's your heart you can't trust
There's a reason why people don't stay where they are
Baby sometimes love just ain't enough

And there's no way home
When it's late at night and you're all alone
Are there things that you wanted to say
Do you feel me beside you in your bed
There beside you where I used to lay

And there's a danger in loving somebody too much
And it's sad when you know it's your heart they can't touch
There's a reason why people don't stay who they are
Cause baby sometimes love just ain't enough
Baby sometimes love just ain't enough

Note : One of the most meaningful songs for me, where he is concerned.

Children Learn What They Live

If children live with fear, they learn to be apprehensive

If children live with encouragement, they learn confidence

If children live with tolerance, they learn patience

It was with these words repeated in my mind that I spoke to my youngest brother earlier this morning before he left for his two months National Service training.

I just told him that two months - not a long time! Before you know it, you are gonna be back home. But this is going to be something new, so while you are there, savour and enjoy the moment. Learn as much as possible, because you will never know when you are going to need the knowledge and expertise. There is no telling.

Yes, this is the first time he will be away from home for a long time. But by nature, he is cool and independent for a youngest sibling. And he is the first from our family to go to the training. Nobody from our family, no cousins from both sides have ever been called up. And I told him he was lucky, although he didn't really agree with me.

A few days ago, I gave him some tips to polish his military boots. Wonder where I got that from? Yeah, well from my university days. I was kinda pushed to take the extra curricular subject. Entah macam mana, our names were registered by the seniors to join it. Kejam betul. We, being the freshies had no choice but to join it. But yes, there's a blessing in disguise. Though we were (cruelly) labelled as "Bintang Tiga" every Monday as we were marching along the campus, the skills that we've obtained were too many.

Back to my story, so I shared with him a few more tips, like how to straighten the bedsheet so that when the person-in-charge yang periksa your bed, in case dia baling duit syiling 5 sen, the coin will bounce back. (just in case they use such method). Lucky him, because almost all my siblings have such training in university, so he would get the tips and know what to expect.

Yeah, I reminded him to remember Allah all the time, and berdoa. This is very important because praying must be wholehearted and not just a routine. I told him stay close to people.. kalau ada anything important don't wait for too long. Cepat-cepat alert instructors. Or, call the many 'talian hayat' kat rumah ni, if they let you use the phone. Nanti mana-mana "commando" kat rumah ni akan buat follow-up and rescue mission hehehehe. Just kidding.


But I have read about the modules of the National Service and I found them very good and useful.. So, Best Wishes, bro, we are going to miss you. Be safe. And hope you will have your CNY break.

My 007

Alright, I mengaku I ada jealous sikit tengok the above photo - Tim Dalton, his wife and their son. Tapi sikit saja la. And yes, even until now I have to admit he is still handsome. Been watching an interview with him on his latest movie, Hot Fuzz. Must go and get the DVD.

Anyway, one thing for sure, I cannot be his Bond Girl. Why? Yalah, nanti it will confuse people and will make him looks bad. People will say eh, kenapa Bond Girl lagi terer daripada Bond? Siapa yang jadi hero sebenarnya?

My favourite lines :

- "Whoever she was, I must have scared the living daylights out of her"

- "It is always nice to be missed"

- [struggling with Kara's cello] James Bond " Why didn't you learn the violin? "

For My Jedi Knight

Pada Syurga Di Wajah Mu

(Nash/Lefthanded)

Tuhan sengaja menduga kita

Di mana kesabaran manusia

Engkau isteri yang ku sanjungi

Lambang semangat cinta dunia

Pasti engkau terkenangkan

Peristiwa semalam

Saatku menggadaikan cinta

Pada onak dan duri asmara

Entah di mana akal fikiran

Hingga sesat di jalan yang terang

Ini suratan yang diberikan

Menguji kekuatan jiwa

Waktu engkau ku lupakan

Dalam kemarau cinta

Betapa hatimu rela

Demi melihatku bahagia

Kau menahan segala siksa

Di hati hanya berdoa

Mengharapkan aku kan pulang

Agar terang cahaya

Ku yang hanyut di arus dosa

Di laut ribut melanda

Dan berenang ke pelabuhan

Kasih sayang sebenar

Air mata cinta darimu

Ku menjadi rindu

Pada syurga di wajahmu

Tiada tanda kau berdosa

Biar aku cium tangan mu

Membasuh lumpur di muka

Ku yang hanyut berarus dosa

Di laut ribut melanda

Kau menahan segala siksa

Di hati hanya berdoa

Ku berenang ke pelabuhan

Mencari cinta sebenar

Kan ku tahan apa hukuman

Di hati hanya berdoa

Biar aku cium tangan mu

Sekali lagi bersama

Bukan sekali jalan berduri

Hanya Tuhan yang pasti

Mengerti...

And this one is for you, Jedi Knight hehehe. You tak boleh marah, you kena bersabar. Tuhan sentiasa menduga kesabaran manusia. Tapi kan, kalau you marah pun I tak takut. Look at the lyrics...applicable isn't it? Upps.. maaf zahir dan batin.

I also love this...

From today's The Star :

SCORPIO (Oct 24 - Nov 22) Unusual conditions involving faraway places or people make this a lively day. You get something you have been hoping for.

I don't really read the Starscope everyday. But I just finished re-reading The Best Laid Plans by Sidney Sheldon. So I decided to take a glance at today's Starscope and tadaaaaa! I like that very much *grins*.

Him : Another You Part III

You are doing fine.. improving even better.. I am pleased with you now...

But please stop playing games.. because you do not know that i MAJOR in playing games... you may be way older, but I am way, way wiser.. FACE IT!

See, I know that it only took a little persuasion to put you right on track.

Just that, don't boast too much.. because where I am concerned, he who boasts will definitely eat his words back later.. *wink*

But still.. The Best Is The One. I dare to say this because I know you cannot read this, haha!

Wish I could publish your photo here.. but.. noooooo... too many prying eyes... so NO!

Yeah I dedicate the song Sometimes When We Touch To You, though.

-to be continued -

Him : Another You Part II

this is sincerely from me to you..

boleh tak jangan mengada-ngada.. tak payah nak prideful boleh tak? (how I wish you can read this)

I am tired of playing games.. you tu mengada-ngada sangat.. you need persuasion constantly and i am not in the habit of constantly persuading people.. I bukan jenis mengada-ngada.. i don't like to persuade nor do I like to be persuaded. RIMAS!

my yes means YES, my no means NO.. capisce?

what are u trying to prove? that you are hot properties? well, you don't say.. the only 'hot property' that I acknowledge is now in England... oh, that one is really hot.. so hot that he had to cool himself down in England hahah.

yeah, why should I lower down my guards with you? sorry man.. kalau you banyak cerita sangat, you boleh jalanlah.... I peduli apa.. I have known, seen and been with The Best. You are so fortunate that I did decide to entertain you, even as a friend. Even more so fortunate to get my mobile number. But you tu tak reti thankful.. The Best one tu pun tak cocky like you.. down-to-earth lagi ada lah..

From now on, it's always The Best. I will not consider anyone else. Only The Best. The One And Only.

Dendam Kesumat : Addendum

like I said, there were sparks between us. but hey, he has gotten so thin. could it be because he is suffering from a terminal disease? Is he broken-hearted? It's like he has lost the will to live. I am so going to find out. Oh yes, I will. I strongly sense that he is unhappy. Semoga dibukakan jalan untuk I find out. Amin.

Eventful

A very eventful weekend for me this time...

Let me begin updating by telling you briefly about the accident. On late Friday night, I just got back from somewhere with my SIL and niece... and I decided to stop at a food court nearby our house to buy food. We haven't had our dinner yet, so I stopped to buy something for the two of us.

Barely 5 minutes I left the car, I saw people running towards the road. I suspected there must be some accident. Then I heard people said "dah lari, dah lari". Since I am not the kind of person who likes to run into a crowd to know about things, so I ignored them. Thinking that it was another hit and run accident. What's more, they were focused at a Vitara not very far from where I was sitting. My car (my Mom's actually) was parked further down the road. So I thought it can't be mine.

Then there was this boy who worked at the place where I ordered food ran to me and said "kereta kakak kena langgar" . It was then that I ran like mad towards the car, thinking about my SIL and the baby. There she was, standing beside the car, hugging the baby tightly to her.

Alhamdulillah both of them were safe. She told me that a red Proton Saga, with 5 men inside, hit the Vitara which was parked behind our car. Nobody was inside the Vitara. The Vitara was hit so severely that it moved forward and hit our car. The bumper was quite damaged , but not too bad. She managed to remember the licence plate, though.

Apparently she had called my Dad and a while later he arrived to deal with the situation. I regretted the fact that the owner of the Vitara, who happened to be a police officer, refused to lodge a police report since his car was not affected. Sudahlah awak tu polis, tak mahu ikut procedure undang-undang, boleh ajar pulak kita ni menipu. Ada ke patut dia suruh I report yang kereta I yang dilanggar Proton Saga tu and not his car. LIKE HELL lah I nak buat begitu. I sensed that something must be very wrong with that man.

Apapun I am so thankful that all of us were safe.

OH NO!

and I HAD to have the exam on that day? argGGGgggghHHHHHh!!

NNNNNnnnnnnnooooooooooooooooooOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Body Exchange : Part II

I asked my friend regarding The Body Exchange concept.. well, discussed was more like it.. a wonderful man, aged 45 (not my ex-boyfriend). He admitted that he used to 'play the field' too. But slowed down when he found a steady. Yes, I am certain that he was quite a player in his days. How I envy the girls... hehehe kidding...

So I asked him whether he had an 'occasional sliding' after marriage. He said, that's quite normal, plus it would be accompanied with guilt afterwards. I told him that, in my case, of course, I am prepared to make allowances for 'occasional sliding'. Old habit dies hard, after all (see, i am very cool and understanding). Just that it is difficult for me to comprehend the act of men who keep on doing it even after marriage and children, not to mention collecting sluts. I guess the only possible and plausible explanation would be that it is done as a hobby, a favourite pastime, a habit.

He told me, "There is no such thing as 'hobby' in this matter. If one does it too often, then it is not a hobby, it is a sickness. It could also mean he is having a mid-life crisis "

I was all smiling. I said "but in my case he hasn't even reached the middle age yet. So it must be a whole-life crisis".

The Body Exchange

as I was driving back home this evening.. i thought of this concept : The Body Exchange. Why, we used to have the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (now Bursa Malaysia), a place for trading shares. So let's talk about another form of exchange here, shall we?

The Body Exchange : Men, especially married men, who are playing the field in full throttle, sleeping around religiously, accumulating mistresses relentlessly, cruising from one girlfriend to another, exposing their wives to STDs. In short, their bodies are like a 'trading' exchange for an endless succession of women (or sluts, depending on the case).These men are not that different from them sex workers (alternate word for h**kers). Ah, but even sex workers do quote a price. They get paid for services rendered. These men, however, along with trading their bodies FOC, they will be the one generously compensating the sluts they are sleeping with. Money, property, gifts - all acceptable.

Appealing, isn't it? Freely available plus money and property and gifts. Verry irresistible package.

Many, many blissful years ago, the higher the education of the bride-to-be, the larger the figures of the hantaran for her. But hello, these days the going trend is : the richer the man, the more obscene the amount of hantaran will be charged (not to mention the acquiring expenses (or shall i say courting?), irrespective of the nature and character of the bride-to-be, whether she is educated, or slutty, or scheming, or of a perampas nature. Love is really blind, yes. *wink*

imagine when one wants to buy a magazine : it's most natural if he or she chooses the brand new, fresh-looking ones, and not the dog-eared ones. Rasa macam tak best kalau beli yang orang dah buka-buka, dah terlipat here and there. Macam beli 2nd hand mags. Now, consider this: how if one of you ladies is unfortunate enough to be married to a man who carries The Body Exchange label. Bukan satu, bukan dua, bukan sepuluh... berpuluh-puluh perempuan have been 'traded' at the body exchange. EYIKESSSS!

but when it comes to choosing a lifelong partner, these men opt for the untouched, the holy virgin, the noble ones. So let us remind them of something which they have conveniently forgotten:

"The fornicator shall not marry any but a fornicatoress or a mushrikah, and none marries her (fornicatoress) except a fornicator or a mushrik : such are forbidden to the believers".

[An-Nur : 3]

Favourite Quotation

Love is patient and kind;
it is not jealous, or conceited, or proud.
Love is not ill-mannered or selfish or irritable;
Love does not keep a record of wrongs;
Love is not happy with evil, but is happy with the truth.
Love never gives up; its faith, hope,
and patience never fail.

(can't remember from where I got this one)


~ here's one of my favourites...
~ yeah, I'm happy with the truth..
~ i don't keep a record of wrongs.. tak kuasa ;)

Everyone deserves a chance...

Reading the news of the Virginia Tech massacre, I couldn't help but felt sorry for the 'gunman' Cho Seung Hoi.

What he did was totally unacceptable, inhuman and sickening in every sense.

But clearly, he is a victim of rejection, of ignorance. That was what's driven him to snap.

This is an excerpt quoted from The Salt Lake Tribune:

BLACKSBURG, Va. - Long before he snapped, Virginia Tech gunman Cho Seung-Hui was picked on, pushed around and laughed at over his shyness and the strange way he talked when he was a schoolboy in the Washington suburbs, former classmates say. Chris Davids, a Virginia Tech senior who graduated from Westfield High School in Chantilly, Va., with Cho in 2003, recalled that the South Korean immigrant almost never opened his mouth and would ignore attempts to strike up a conversation. Once, in English class, the teacher had the students read aloud, and when it was Cho's turn, he just looked down in silence, Davids recalled. Finally, after the teacher threatened him with an F for participation, Cho started to read in a strange, deep voice that sounded ''like he had something in his mouth," Davids said. ''As soon as he started reading, the whole class started laughing and pointing and saying, 'Go back to China,"' Davids said.

You could read all about it at :

http://origin.sltrib.com/ci_5702815

Don't you think that's really mean? Don't you feel that had Cho been given more opportunities to open up, to feel that he is indeed a part of a group, not someone so alien, this Virginia Tech incident could have been prevented?

On countless occassions I have witnessed situations like this. People simply pick on someone whom they think is weird, or poor, or stupid, or ugly.

This, is one of the reasons that I stay away from belonging to any groups. This way, I am free to talk to whomever I wish. I am not someone who would pick on people simply because the majority says he is weird, or ugly, or poor, or stupid.

I really like this particular comment :

guitarboy: 4/19/2007 11:50:00 AM

Guns don't kill people. People kill people (except in uncommon cases). Some people in Cho's position have committed suicide, but without hurting anybody else. Cho's terrible, horrifying and unjustifiable decision to take other people out with him have complicated this terrible disaster. He cannot be escused from that decision.

Having said that, the effects of teasing are undeniable. We can say "yeah but he might have had clinical depression, that's the reason," but that must not be the reason. Plenty of people with clinical depression do not gun people down. I'm pointing to the teasing factor. The fruits that we have reaped as a society by teasing, belittling and tormenting this quiet foreigner, are not the first time the fruits of suicide as a response to teasing have occurred. This time, the results were even worse. Why do we tease? Have any of you teased people when you were young? I have. I regret it. I confess it. I point to it as part of our society's problem. I never teased anybody relentlessly, day after day after day. But I still contributed to the culture of teasing in this country, when I was in school. How many of us are guilty? Let us point that portion of the blame at ourselves, those of us who are guilty of teasing.

Teasing in school yards constitutes intentional inflinction of emotional distress, and in some cases, a reasonable apprehension of a harmful or offensive touching. Both are violations of tort law (and one is a crime), which are prosecuted when commited by adults. But...we don't prosecute it when it is commited by children...we just have teachers or parents who sometimes ask the children to stop teasing, sometimes keep them in from recess. But...the teasing, the bullying the bigotry does not stop. The harm that is caused when done to children is usually much more damaging (because the recipient is in a formative stage) than when the similar wrong is commited by an adult against an adult and for which the problem adult can get sued or prosecuted. Interesting that greater damage can occur in the school environment, student against student, that we cannot prosecute and have failed to solve or resolve.

Our society continues to produce every year a new class of people who bully, tease and demean. It is a learned behavior in many cases, other times it is the result of an early independent behavior that goes uncorrected. In either case...

...teasing is clearly not the only factor here. But it appears to have been a major, primary one. It is possible that the teasing our society committed is a key causal connection in this murderous rampage, along with other causal connections.

This is a terrible murder, a terrible crime. I wish we would not tease, delittle and demean people relentlessly. If we would stop, as a society, less people who snap into suicide and, in worse cases, murder. It would not fix everything. It would be a good start.

Everybody deserves to have a chance, do you agree? To live, to speak, to be heard, to participate.

To say it in Malay, "Berilah dia peluang.. dia pun nak hidup juga".

Is that too much to ask for?

Courage

Courage is not the absence of fear. Rather, it is the judgment that something else is more important than fear.

The brave may not live forever. But the cautious never live at all.

Arrogance

In appropriate amount, arrogance is admirable, respectable and can be an asset to a man.

Excessively, it would be boring, annoying and disgusting.