S P E L L C H E C K

An End to Something is a Start to Something Else

noreply@blogger.com (Syazwan Rosli) — Fri, 19 Jul 2019 12:30:00 +0000

13 years ago, on this day, I started this blog out of boredom and some peer pressure. It started out well as it became a place where I communicate with my friends in the comment section. Sometime, it kept me sane in the bleak winter days in Germany.

However it lasted only during my days in Germany. As I left my second country, I found it harder and harder to maintain writing. Once a week became once a month. And worse, once a month became once a year.

As we grow older, it takes more work to commit to something. It takes more work to maintain friendship. It takes more work to climb a stair. It takes more time to recover.

3 months ago, I married the love of my life. I would like to give it my all to this new commitment. Thus, I would like to end all my unnecessary commitment, including this blog. I won't delete this blog, as it was a part of some of the best time in my life.

I hope you all have had some fun with this blog. I know I did. So, I depart my a final quote of the day.

Final Quote of the Day

"Sometimes it's the journey that teaches you a lot about your destination." - Drake

Kehidupan

noreply@blogger.com (Syazwan Rosli) — Sat, 10 Oct 2015 02:00:00 +0000

Sometime it is good to write in my mother tongue. We were playing around in our WhatsApp group and this is the result. Enjoy (",)

Kehidupan

By Faizul Rahman, Fairuz Razali & Syazwan Rosli (Bumi Allah, 2015)

Kurasa bayu malam

Meresap ke sanubari

Ku menantimu dalam kelam

Berharap ianya pasti

Ingin kuselami erti kehidupan

Ku dengar hingar tanpa mu disisi

Di tengah tasik di dalam sampan

Di sini aku terpaku sepi

Aku tidak pernah berurusan denganmu

Dengan sesuatu yang lebih sukar dari hatiku

Adakala ia bersamaku

Adakala ia menentangku

Gerhana di langit amat menawan

Gerhana di hati siapa yang tahu?

Kalau Cik Adik sudi dan tertawan

Mahukah Cik Adik disuap madu?

Kerdip kerdip bintang

Kuharap ia gemilang

Hatiku berasa sangat genting

Berjumpa si gadis Peking

Menyembah, tunduk dan ibadah

Bagi yang beriman adalah riadah

Dibuat tanpa riuh

Bukan untuk menjadi jaguh

Menyembah Tuhan yang esa

Di dalam suasana desa

Bersama para satria dan laksamana

Wira nusa dan bangsa

Quote of the Day

"This universe can very well be expressed in words and syllables which are not those of one's mother tongue." - Tahar Ben Jelloun

Eine Insel der Glückseligkeit

noreply@blogger.com (Syazwan Rosli) — Sun, 06 Sep 2015 00:30:00 +0000

When you're down for whatever reason, it is very natural for us to go back to our best time. Our most precious memories. Well for many reasons, I'm in this particular situation and I miss the time when I can walk to forget my misery. The condition here is not condusive at all for walking. It adds more stress *lol*

I can't believe it has been 10 years since I first started my class in FH Bocholt. To be honest I was scared. The rundown train station, the journey that felt like going to nowhere and the constant honking to not smash cows to smitheren contribute to this feeling.

However, I fell in love with this city. It was the best 4 years of my life. I love every minute of it.

I love my friends there that felt like family.

I love the lake that I can walk around.

I love the city centre with the constant cinnamon smell.

I love the small city charm.

I love the gelato in the middle of summer heat.

I love how we fell while riding bikes during winter.

I love seeing the autumn leaves.

I love the spring, all of it.

In remembering my decade there, I would like to share some videos about the city and university I love.

Sorry they are all in German *lol*

How I wish I can go back there.

Quote of the Day

"One day you will ask me which is more important? My life or yours? I will say mine and you will walk away not knowing that you're my life." - Kahlil Gibran

Heaven on Earth

noreply@blogger.com (Syazwan Rosli) — Sun, 14 Sep 2014 18:00:00 +0000

I write this, hurmmm, thing (I don't know what to call it) about 2 months ago. There's many things on my mind and I was feeling a little bit melancholic at 2 in the morning. This is one of the times that I cannot sleep. Usually I just put my head on the pillow and within 1 minute I will sleep like a baby. Hope you guys like it =)

Heaven on Earth

By Syazwan Rosli (Sentul, 2014)

It starts with a raindrop
His other friends soon follow suit
Soft wind blow my favorite wind chime
Waking me up from an afternoon nap

With a cup of hot lemon tea
Fulfillment engulfs my face
I wait for it to stop
While taking in the smell of the rain

It starts and it stops
Sunshine shyly shows itself through the cotton clouds
A double rainbow appears
So majestic, it makes me smile

I wonder what can be found at the other end
As the seed of dandelion starts to bloom
Come let's see them surf the soft spring wind
The most free of the Earth spirit

Laying in a dandelion field
In the midst of unseen music notes
Now, this is heaven on earth
Dandelion, rainbow, hot lemon tea, wind chime and rain

Quote of the Day

"Only the wind knows where it will carry our dandelion souls." - A. R. Asher

Rindu Ramadhan

noreply@blogger.com (Syazwan Rosli) — Sat, 28 Jun 2014 12:15:00 +0000

Rindu Ramadhan

By Syazwan Rosli (Sentul, 2014)

Bagai terubat rindu kepada pantai
Tatkala mendengar deruan ombak yang kuat

Bagai terubat rindu kepada hujan
Tatkala malaikat turun bersama air rahmat

Bagai terubat rindu kepada keluarga
Tatkala di dalam dakapan ibu dan bapa

Begitulah terubat rindu kepada Ramadhan
Tatkala bergema azan membelenggu syaitan

Quote of the Day

"The only lasting beauty is the beauty of the heart." - Rumi

Cendol Moment

noreply@blogger.com (Syazwan Rosli) — Mon, 15 Jul 2013 02:35:00 +0000

About 2 years ago, I went to Tioman Island with a few of my very best friends. Thanks to my boss, we got a good deal. Check the resort out guys! This picture is the most legendriest of the trip hahaha

Work has been hard. The load increases while the manpower decreases. I can barely cope. Today I went to a meeting for Project "A" while bringing the folder for Project "B". Frankly, I'm overwhelmed. I wish I can go travelling again ... Just like the song below ...

Enjoice!!!

Quote of the Day

"Coffee should be black as hell, strong as death and sweet as love." - Turkish proverb

Time for Yourself

noreply@blogger.com (Syazwan Rosli) — Sat, 03 Nov 2012 06:43:00 +0000

Time for Yourself

By Syazwan Rosli (Kota Tua Jakarta, 2012)

Dear Me,

To walk alone is to find yourself time to think quietly about many things
To walk alone is to give time for yourself to figure out things
To walk alone is to let your mind wander and be free
To walk alone is to see the people all around you

Dear Me,

Please do this more in the future
Wandering in the street of Cologne
Basking in the calmness of Bocholt
Sitting along the Kerian River

Dear Me,

Take time for yourself
Meet many different people
Give forgiveness to yourself
And see that you will be free

Quote of the Day

"No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man." - Heraclitus

Paintball in the Forest

noreply@blogger.com (Syazwan Rosli) — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 06:00:00 +0000

Damn tired. Just woke up from my slumber. Purple bruises all over my body. Quite painful. Inilah penangan paintball.

What is paintball?

Paintball is a combination of the childhood game tag and hide and seek, but is much more challenging and sophisticated. It is a sport where players eliminate opponents from play by hitting them with dye-filled, breakable, oil and gelatin paintball, or pellets, usually shot from a carbon dioxide or compressed air (Nitrogen) powered paintball marker.

So I saw a Groupon offer on its website. Holler some friends and wallah, we're playing paintball in the forest. Good turn out. Good exercise. Made new friends. Pictures below:

Hopefully we can do this again *finger crossed*

Quote of the Day

"The best revenge is massive success." - Frank Sinatra

26

noreply@blogger.com (Syazwan Rosli) — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 15:00:00 +0000

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR SYAZWAAAAAAN

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!

*clap* *clap* *clap*

As my birthday falls on a weekday, it is quite hard to celebrate my 26th. Nevertheless, celebrate we did. I have great friends in Perodua. One year has fly by so quickly since I joined this great company.

Hopes our friendship last forever even though we might not stay in the same company later on.

Quote of the Day

"Intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death." - Albert Einstein

Melancholy of a Returning Boy

noreply@blogger.com (Syazwan Rosli) — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Flow

By Syazwan Rosli (Düsseldorf, 2010)

Ancient is our home

Still the sky is pristine

Still the leaves are green

Constant is our home

Rain falls and vapor rises

Sun wakes east to west

Ever-changing is us

Cutting down peaceful trees

Hunting down prideful beast

But change drive progress

So let's hope for a better brood

So let's hope that bad become good

Quote of the Day

"Silence is ever speaking. It is the perennial flow of language." - Ramana Maharshi

Weihnachtsmarkt in Oberhausen

noreply@blogger.com (Syazwan Rosli) — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 05:30:00 +0000

It's winter here. Christmas is near. I love Christmas as it has that cinnamon smell in the air and candles are everywhere! If there's snow, it just left you speechless. And there's the Weihnachtsmarkt!

Here are some photos of our outing to the Weihnachtsmarkt in Oberhausen. It was fun meeting with Peyung and Labu.

Labu, what are you thinking in that last picture? *lol* Oh, me and Peyung wrote some mixed poetry thingy hahaha. Here it is:

Weihnachtsmarkt

By Faizul Rahman & Syazwan Rosli (Oberhausen, 2009)

Dig your own hole

Leave an empty soul

Here you are sole

Sing yourself a cajole

Leute lieben Liebe

Liebe macht Leute verrueckt

O Gott scheint uns die Wege

Wir gehen zu Dir zurueck

Quote of the Day

"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower." - Albert Camus

Invictus

noreply@blogger.com (Syazwan Rosli) — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Back in my high school days, I played rugby actively. Here, I play it ... ab und zu, as the German people would say. Nevertheless, rugby has always fascinated me. From the weird shape of the rugby ball to how big, burly guys can listen to the umpire without fail under every circumstances. A gentleman's sport indeed.

So, when I heard about the movie Invictus, I was really looking forward to watching it. Somehow I manage to watch it and I really like it. However, it is not a typical all-action sports movie. The movie has a heavy dose of politics infused in it. And the movie is kinda slow, so it is not for everyone.

Well, all is good but what I really want to highlight is the poem I got to know in this movie. I do not need to explain a lot about it. Read for yourselves. Feel the shiver down your spine. Feel the warmth of your soul. Feel yourself rising up.

Invictus

By William Ernest Henley (1849–1903)

Out of the night that covers me

Black as the pit from pole to pole

I thank whatever gods may be

For my unconquerable soul

In the fell clutch of circumstance

I have not winced nor cried aloud

Under the bludgeoning of chance

My head is bloody, but unbowed

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

Looms but the Horror of the shade

And yet the menace of the years

Finds, and shall find me, unafraid

It matters not how strait the gate

How charged with punishments the scroll

I am the master of my fate

I am the captain of my soul

Quote of the Day

"Forgiveness liberates the soul. It removes fear. That is why it is such a powerful weapon." - Nelson Mandela

Leisurely Birthday

noreply@blogger.com (Syazwan Rosli) — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 15:30:00 +0000

Hi Mitch. You're 24 today. Congrats!

I spend my birthday today by visiting a part of Krefeld I never visited before. It was such a lovely day. I just took a leisurely stroll with Aneem (known here since 1998) and Jessnor (my senior from Sued). He visited Krefeld and knowing his fondness for photography, I took him to a place with good photo potential.

Well I guess, because of their visit I did some research and get to visit this place; Museum Burg Linn. Thanks guys for spending the day with me. Had lotsa fun!

I'll let the picture do the talking.

Quote of the Day

"I believe in the religion of Islam. I believe in Allah and peace." - Muhammad Ali

No Rain No Rainbow

noreply@blogger.com (Syazwan Rosli) — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 17:22:00 +0000

I was watching Naruto Shippudden Movie 2 today because it was raining outside. In the ending theme, the lyric has a part that says "no rain no rainbow". Kinda cool, because I've only heard until now "no pain no gain".

Was waiting for a rainbow after the rain ... Wondering whether the gloomy clouds will go away.

Quote of the Day

"Try to be a rainbow in someone's cloud." - Maya Angelou

Bread

noreply@blogger.com (Syazwan Rosli) — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 09:17:00 +0000

When I was in Malaysia I really like to eat the Gardenia bread. You know, with Uncle Slocumm's recipe. Gardenia's bread selling point in my eyes is their softness but of the bread. Eating it with pandan kaya for breakfast is absolutely the ultimate breakfast (along with the long ultimate breakfast list we can find in Malaysia).

When I was in school Gardenia taps into a known territory which is the small and already-filled bread and makes it even better. Nowadays we can find a variety from this type of bread. From kaya to red beans, from chocolate to vanilla, from sambal ikan bilis to kari ayam, they have it all. This was quite the popular choice when people want to tend to their hungry pangs.

I don't know when but then came High 5. I guess they do what Gardenia does. We can literally see the similarity in their product line up. Maybe they think they are rivals to Gardenia. But frankly, do Gardenia's people give a flying monkey's fart about High 5? Must ask their marketing people.

Fast forward to 2009. Now I always shop at PLUS despite its status as the more expensive chain among the cheap groceries store. Why? Because it's the nearest to my current house. However, I don't really mind. Once I saw a documentary on the idiot box. They compare they price of 30 things people usually buys as their weekly groceries at 4 of these stores; PLUS, LIDL, ALDI and PENNYMARKT. The result was; PENNYMARKT won the race by a humongous 50 cents, ALDI and LIDL have exactly the same price at second place and PLUS came in last by the extravagant sum of, I think, 23 cents or something. Haji Bakhil also don't mind that kind of money.

Oops, got off track. Anyway since I started shopping at PLUS I began to buy their breads and their breads is so soft. Genuss I tell you, genuss! Put little bits of margarine and sugar on top of it. Bake for about 10 minute. Great stuff.

But you know what, nothing beats celuping (dipping) biskut lutut into piping hot coffee on a rainy days watching the raindrops in Malaysia. Now don't ask me what biskut lutut is.

Quote of the Day

"Man cannot live by bread alone; he must have peanut butter." - James A. Garfield

Dusty Update

noreply@blogger.com (Syazwan Rosli) — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 13:30:00 +0000

Snow

It snowed yesterday and despite my almost 5 year stint in Germany, I still feel batak whenever I see snow. So I woke up and went out to snap a few pictures and a friends ask me to post it. Nothing much but here they are!

Frischmarkt

Can you see the snow on top of the pile of broccoli there? It was cold enough for the snow to stay on the surface for a few hours. By the way, this picture was taken in the Frischmarkt or like pasar tani in Malaysia. One thing though, they have different place to make business for vegetation, meat and fish. So it doesn't reek of meat and fish if you go only to the vegetation segment. They got vegetables, fruits and flowers. Walking through the market is somewhat therapeutic for me. Makes me remembers the countless trip to the market back home with my mom.

Ah, and Shareen ... If you still read this dusty blog; "Mane gambar kita main snowball dulu? Dah setahun aku tunggu!"

P/S: I feel like this post has no continuity whatsoever. That's what you get for being lazy.

Quote of the Day

"The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls." - Pablo Picasso

Maria

noreply@blogger.com (Syazwan Rosli) — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 12:10:00 +0000

Date: 5th of July 2008

Location: Torre del Pozzo, Caglieri, Sardegna, Italia

This fateful but unfruitful encounter happened when we (read Pek U and I) continued our road trip in Sardegna, from Bosa to Oristano after getting our "stolen" petrol back. That happened thanks to an ancient system of pumping petrol.

Anyhoo, we passed mountain settling of Magomadass and Medolo, which has kick-ass scenery. (Gosh, I think the word "breathtaking" bored me already!). It's different from the mountainous scenery in Malaysia. The green bush looks like it sprouted out of the limestone. They looked like green scattered face hair of a boy who just reached puberty.

On we go and we reached the city of Caglieri after driving along the coastal road. Caglieri is a very small city hidden between the hills and the ocean. It's a no-brainer why we can find a lot of beach here. But since we practically had ocean all over us, we didn't plan on stopping here until ...

I saw a wonderful back of a young Sardinian (17, maybe 18) through the viewfinder (How ironic?) of Pek U's video camera. Immediately I said to Pek U, "Pek U, baju merah tepi tu smart, blake la tapi. Tgk muke smart dok ...". We turned around after we passed her (Pek U forgotten already that he's supposed to drive.) and our blood shoot up! We go like "ZOMG! ZOMG!" because she look way better from the front. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better. From the cloth she wears, I guess she's going to the beach and we're gonna have a field day.

Needless to say, we change our plan and stop at the beach where Maria is headed to (Pek U conveniently gave that name and I don't know why. After that we sang "Maria Ave Maria" from the Korean movie 200 Pounds Beauty for one full day). And "Yes!" we said to ourself when we saw her there lying elegantly with a book and doning a white two-piece with pink tribal motive to make the bikini looks cute. A comical Japanese would have nosebleed right away.

With a sight like that, what else do young men to do but other then making a fool of themselves and walk from one beach end to another many, many times. After we figured out that it's too obvious, we did a sightseeing of a cliff nearby (If only I have an army binocular, I can skodeng from there some more *lol*) and as a result we lost here. Feeling down, we headed to our Twingo to continue our journey to Oristano.

And yet again Maria appeared looking tanner and still stunning. We lost her because she was going home. That makes sense. And again Pek U missed the scene. Not satisfied with that, he made an emergency u-turn (With screeching and stuff) but by then Maria has made a turn for her house. We lost her again and Pek U moaned about it for the whole damn trip.

Maybe we'll see her again in our dream, our Mediterranean beauty.

P/S: Sorry about the lateness of the post. I'm procrastinating to da max!

Quote of the Day

"Just another Plain Jane. Now where's my Orlando Bloom?" - Shareen Azua

Sardegna - Land of Mountains, Meer and Maria

noreply@blogger.com (Syazwan Rosli) — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 07:11:00 +0000

It all started at the beginning of the last semester. I was bored to death and learned non-chalantly. What do you expect when you only have one paper? So after Pek U informs me of the "TUI All You Can Fly" ticket, the travel bug in me bought those damned ticket.

The ticket first take me to Sardegna, an an autonomous island of Italy. It is a big island with only about 1 million inhabitants. They hardly have any big cities.

In one week when I was there with Pek U, we only bathed with normal water twice. Otherwise, we bathed in the numerous and beautiful beached available on Sardegna. We just drove around and bam! A beautiful beach here, a Maria there *lol*

We practically have crystal salts all over our bodies in this particular week. And boy was it hot there. I bought some instant noodles to save our budget and did not even need to have boiling water to cook it. Just unpack it, put some mineral water and left it in the back of our car. The Sardegna sunshine, concentrated by the untinted backdoor glass cook them instant noodles.

Sardegna is just a slice of heaven on Earth. Never in my wildest dream did I expect to be here. So, adik-adik, ade baiknya belajar rajin-rajin hehe.

I came back with a serious tan. Thanks Pek U for being a marvelous driver and travel companion.

P/S: About the title, Meer is sea in German. Not my friend or kapal, Meer. Maria will be explained in the next post *wink*

Quote of the Day

"I'm definitely looking forward to the day when I stop working. If I ever stop working. I like the idea of keeling over in my tomato vines in Sardinia or northern Italy." - Anthony Bourdain

Balance

noreply@blogger.com (Syazwan Rosli) — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 13:51:00 +0000

Ever heard people say the world is unfair. Of course, isn't it?

But frankly speaking, if you open your eyes wide enough and give it some time to think, you'll see that the world is fair indeed.

Okay just let me give you an imaginary example. Say in a class, there were a NERD and a TREND SETTER. TREND SETTER was always mean to NERD. Sticking gum at the seat of NERD, sticking pages of NERD's book with glue and hitting him here and there to get some money. You know, the usual bully stuff. Now, NERD was a bright student but given the age, cannot think far enough so he always thought that God wasn't being fair. 15 years after that, fueled by his passion of physics and adrenaline rush, NERD becomes a roller coaster designer, creating many things for amusement park around the world. TREND SETTER has become an average guy with an average job. Not really a trend setter anymore. He always bring his kids to the amusement park that has the NERD's roller coaster.

Now, this example maybe a little bit far fetched but my point is, the world is fair. You must give it time and think about it. The 3 or so bucks NERD gave when TREND SETTER hit him back in their schooling day are given back to him in multiple in the form of admission fee to the amusement park. No need for hitting or taunting.

If you're feeling that the world in unfair or you're being treated unjustly, be patient and see the world from a different perspective. Maybe you'll be feeling a whole lot better.

Quote of the Day

"I'm the biggest nerd. I love comic books and stuff like that! I don't have any friends who are actresses. I only had one girlfriend when I was growing up. Most of my friends were boys. I was such a tomboy. I enjoyed doing guy things." - Megan Fox

Falling Down

noreply@blogger.com (Syazwan Rosli) — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 09:50:00 +0000

I woke up to falling snow.

I, for one, was always a fan of watching things fall down. Back in Malaysia I enjoyed watching rain (From inside the warm safety of a home or room, obviously.) and hearing the sound of raindrops crashing to ground. There's also a distinctive and particular smell during rain pour. All those combined and minus the mosquitoes searching for safe haven make me feel calm and comfortable. Add a wind chime to the equation, it can be a blissful experience engineered by nature. And after all that (And maybe after some piping hot fried rice or a cup of Malaysian mix coffee and biscuits, the rectangular one ...) maybe a rainbow will appear to make a grand closing to a great experience.

In Germany, it rarely rains so hard. Rain always come in an unmotivated trickling. So I rarely get the chance to enjoy a heavy downpour. But in winter, sometime I do get to enjoy snowfall. Now snowfall is another experience all together than rain. Snowfall (Not snowstorm!) is a calming experience. All about it is calming. First of all, the air becomes sort of cleaner and a pure bliss to breath in. You can lose yourself in the slow and random motion of the snowflakes. And after that, snowfall will leave your surrounding white making you feel pure. Okay, don't be so curious like Rawai or you won't be feeling so pure *lol*

So people, enjoy the force of gravity =)

Quote of the Day

"Advice is like snow. The softer it falls, the longer it dwells upon and the deeper it sinks into the mind." - Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Wasting Time

noreply@blogger.com (Syazwan Rosli) — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 09:36:00 +0000

OMG ... Why am I wasting time managing my music folder and making playlist in Imeem and updating my blog and making banner for my blog?

And watching 2 seasons worth of Top Gear? Why?

Gear 1. Rev up. Study. Please.

Quote of the Day

"All I could do at school was paint and draw and that was the only time I ever passed any exam. It was the only thing I ever got right at school." - David Bailey

Sunshine Through the Leaves

noreply@blogger.com (Syazwan Rosli) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 12:46:00 +0000

Nature is beautiful. Today is a cool but sunny winter's day. The sun shine brightly, hushed wind in my face as I stroll near the Aasee. This place makes me like walking.

I found a nice tree trunk to sit. After a while, the leaves moves a little bit because of the wind and I can see sunshine through the leaves. As my eyes squint, I thank God for the beautiful scenery. For sure I will miss this place dearly one day.

On a side note, I can't wait to go on our Spain trip this coming Friday. Alia is coming to Europe, so does friends of Amira.

It gonna be sooooooooooooo much fun (",)

Quote of the Day

"I would sooner be a foreigner in Spain than in most countries. How easy it is to make friends in Spain!" - George Orwell

Dari Benelux ke Bingen

noreply@blogger.com (Syazwan Rosli) — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 03:00:00 +0000

Four of the Bocholter Pirates was bored and decided to rent a car and go on a spin. It was a spontaneous trip. Well, people say spontaneous trips are the best of trips.

It has been a week since the trip, so here are the pictures. Don't think I will write much about it because the places we go don't really exists in guide books. We just drove and stop when we feel like it. Alasan.

We were being cheeky in this trip. I think we will have a good laugh seeing this post when we go back to Malaysia and become salary men later *lol*

Quote of the Day

"A best friend is like a four leaf clover, hard to find, lucky to have." - Anonymous

Malaysia and Malaysian Mentality, Merdeka?

noreply@blogger.com (Syazwan Rosli) — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 03:42:00 +0000

I bet lotsa bloggers, Malaysian bloggers, blog about Merdeka. Well, I'm now, though it's a bit late.

I've been in Germany for 2 and a half year give and take. Therefore, it's inevitable that I take some of their habits into account. When I first arrived in Germany (Particularly Cologne/Koeln) my daily spending are converted from Euro to RM. Now, when I'm in our beloved Boleh-land, I tend to convert RM to Euros. Eating at posh places doesn't seemed that posh anymore.

Malaysia

and Malaysian Drivers

Wonder why my introduction seemed like "Heh?". Figures. When I first arrived in Germany. One of the first things I realized about their habits is obeying the law, in particular when they are on the roads. Their zebra crossings is usable (Read = Doesn't need to look left-right-left). In comparison, if you do that in Malaysia, you will be dead meat faster the you can say "Zebra crossing".

The funny thing is off the road, Malaysian is very courteous. They even talk about "other" people on the road who drive recklesly, queue on the yellow box and many more. They shake their heads, sigh about it and say "Taktau la depa ni." (More or less means "What are gonna happen to them ..." in northern Malay accent). But ... A very big BUT, this particular group of people is the one who doesn't abide to the road safety measures and law. The drive and ride like they have cat's nine lives.

So, I think government sarcastic and sometime very real approach in campaigns are very good. But then, maybe Malaysians have skulls with the thickness of lead.

Think about it.

Love-Hate Relation Between Teachers, Students and Parents

Both my parents works in the education field. My mothers works as a teacher and my father works in the office. So talks during tea time or driving often circulate around the education topic.

During this holiday (For us German student who are on a summer break.), one of the hottest news is about students being punished by their teacher by asking them to stay in a pond near their hostel. After some hot media coverage, they eventually reconcile. But along the way, the reputation of this noble profession is being tarnished. I can't help to pity the teacher. It's like I pitying my own parents. Parents who aren't teacher expect too much from these teachers and give so little. Why? Firstly, how many go to the PIBG meetings? Then, how many monitors their children outside of the school? They expect the teacher to know everything, literally everything. I don't think it's on their job description. And they do more than their paycheck value. Free extra classes for the public-exam students are a great example.

However, teachers are not angels. They're humans. They do makes mistakes. And sometimes mistakes reads as laziness. They don't go into classes. And students being students wouldn't even care for a bit. Not all teachers do this but these things do happen. Remember I have "insider tips". If teachers don't go into class, how are the students going to get knowledge? Although the government are pushing hard the KBKK value, I personally think schools are the place to spoon feed the student. Let's leave the KBKK part to high school or maybe, more appropriately, the college.

Sometimes mistakes reads extra income. Ever heard of side business? Some teachers say their paycheck is small, so what's wrong in making a couple of extra bucks? MANY!!! You won't have the same amount of time anymore to do your "main business" when you do side business. Planning for classes, looking over exercises and marking exam papers are all on the job description, I think and they all are usually done outside the school. You won't have the same motivation anymore because a mind is preoccupied with extra bucks, new customer and new down line.

In these cases I think parents has the right to be angry. However anger must be channeled to the right place. The when-I-switched-TV-XXX-on-I-see-problems-about-our-education-system situation is not the right one. It'll just create more rift between school and home, the two places kids grow up. See the class teacher, counselor (Give him some jobs, please!) or pengetua/guru besar. Don't be glamour freaks or you'll end up like participants who goes to the AF audition and knows the have the lovely voice of a frog.

Record Breaking Malaysian, the WOW-Buildings and the DUH-Administration

Malaysians have some weird gusto when it comes to breaking the records. Forget the Guinness World's Book of Record, we have our own friggin' book. I respect some attempts, for example climbing the Everest or swimming across the Malacca Strait. I despise something like building Jalur Gemilang from, say what, pop corns? Better give free to movie goers.

Malaysian have many WOW-Buildings that obviously makes people go WOW. You knows it: KLCC, KLIA, the various building in Putrajaya, Sepang International Circuit etc. I'm very proud of em, really. Even old folks in Bocholt (A small village in Germany where I live and study) knows about the twin tower. But we have to take an Australian to manage Suria KLCC and give hell to bumiputera who try to make a living there. Shitty stuff.

Despite all that, I never found a Malaysian who say he/she doesn't love Malaysia. Our country is truly unique. We all love our country (Who doesn't love a country which is the home of teh tarik, roti canai, kari, nasi lemak and char kuey tiaow?). The problem is, after 50 years of independence are we truly free? Are our mentality as high as the tip of KLCC? I hope I can live long enough to see Malaysia celebrate it's 100th Merdeka anniversary. By then maybe we can cross our zebra crossing without looking left/right and maybe, just maybe, see the Malaysia football team in the World Cup.

Quote of the Day

"Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth." - John F. Kennedy

Sommerferien 2007

noreply@blogger.com (Syazwan Rosli) — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 01:37:00 +0000

I've been doing a lot of travelling lately. Maybe I've taken the "Visit Malaysia Year 2007" spirit rather too seriously.

Kedah

I've been to Kedah. There I'm keeping my mother company while she took some government test. Wanted to eat the famous cendol pulut there but I'm too lazy to drive there, so wth, I just laze around beside the Darul Aman Stadium.

Penang

I've been to Penang, countless times. First reason: Parit Buntar is located at the border of 3 states. So, sometimes I woke up in Perak and have breakfast in Penang. Second reason: Went to Seberang Perai for banking business as Parit Buntar doesn't have Citibank, yet. Third reason: Li Tinh's concert. For my 1st experience, it was a blast. The Symphony No. 7 was performed superbly by the young members of the orchestra. Thanks for the complimentary tickets and for that you get a praise: You looked gorgeous in the black, one-piece dress. Rugi never took picture together with you *sigh*

Kuala Lumpur

I've been to KL, obviously. Went to Berjaya Time Square for the 1st time. Nothing much there so I just marathoned 2 movies, Rush Hour 3 and Transformers. Both were very good, though the former is a bit typical. Nonetheless, both were good in their own genre. Then went to Midvalley with Rob to wait for my cousin. My favorite teppanyaki place at the food court there is no more there!!! Luckily my cousin brought me to a cool place to eat later on at SS15 before heading back to Kelana Jaya. You guys should try the place. I think it's called Asia Cafe. Also went to KLCC to teman Sean to submit his medical check up and some stuff at the Petronas HQ. Watched Simpsons the Movie there. Spiderpigs! Spiderpigs!

Port Dickson

I also went to PD for my school reunion. I haven't seen some people there for half a decade, OMG! It was so much fun, I don't know what to write ... I'll just put up some pictures. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, innit?

Next Trip

Now, I'm planning to go to Langkawi. Gosh, I must save some money for souvenirs.

Quote of the Day

"Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend." - Albert Camus