Migzitement 4 Life

Africans Liberate Zimbabwe

2008-04-01T17:25:00.002+02:00

As Bob Marley famously sang at Zimbabwe's Independence Ceremony in 1980:
"Africans liberate Zimbabwe..."

Ironically, the dawn of their independence from Great Britain was the onset of what turned out to be an era of the tyrannical, hamfisted rule of Robert Gabriel Mugabe. Africans liberate Zimbabwe indeed...

After 28 yrs of dictatorial wand-waving, economic rape & political manipulation - the last 13 or so of which have seen Zimbabwe plummet from being a potential economic African powerhouse to an inflation world-record breaker & a nation of suffering and despair (not to mention a pain in the ass to buy a beer, which cost Zim$1,000,000 as of December 2007) - the change is hopefully coming. After Zimbabweans went to the polls this past weekend, an opposition victory has been projected. However, suspicious delays in the announcement of the results of March 29th's election are giving rise to unnecessary tension, frustration and nerves (Juliet, thanks for a wonderful article - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7322727.stm)

My Zimbabwean friends here are probably gonna massively celebrate this weekend and I am planning to join them as they celebrate breaking free from the Mugabe shackles of oppression, ending the nightmare and heralding in rapid winds of great dreams, change, hope and a bright future.

However, an arduous journey of transition lies ahead. My prayer is that this road to recovery for Zimbabwe will be swift, progressive, successful and peaceful. I also hope they will not need to carry truckloads of notes to grab a cold beer at the pub.

"Every man got a right to decide his own destiny'. Well spoken, sons and daughters of Zimbabwe...change is coming.

Fall, Bounce...Get Up?

2007-09-17T20:40:00.001+02:00

Peeps, say "bonjour" to Denis Darzacq, French photographer extraordinaire. In addition to having a surname that every Scrabble player would love to plaster across a Triple Word Score, Denis has also introduced the world to brand of photography that has redefined and perhaps even confoundingly repositioned the imaginative locus of many a snapshot lover.

A few facts and thoughts on this:
- Denis was somehow inspired by the French riots of 2005, as well as "triggered" from the thought of people falling off the Twin Towers in 9/11 - to set off these series of pics, affably called "Le Chute" (The Fall)

- There is no Photoshopping involved in these pics, it's as real as it gets. Neo must be pissed that the guys from "The Matrix" didn't think of this before, instead of tying him up with all those cinematographic cables.

- These are actual "one shot per movement" takes of expressionessly-faced crazy Parisian streetcrobatic dancers "naturally" falling, leaping and hurtling themselves into and out of buildings, streets, concrete and roads. Whatever happened to taking the stairs down if the elevator was broken? I also have a feeling you don't get to choose your landing surface. Something soft and bouncy? That's so last season!

- As soon as you sign the disclaimer forms (which must be just a bit heavier than an obese blue whale), you also have to keep in mind that you will be featured in a sequel of blooper images in a series likely to be called "Le Crap, I just broke my ass in 2".

You can enjoy the entire breathtaking series of pics in the "Le Chute" collection here.

Lights, Camera, Action..and The Path

2007-07-01T18:19:00.000+02:00

I'm surrounded by good people, great food, a demanding but progressively exciting work environment, a melting cauldron of cultures & and a more proactively optimistic outlook on life. The Path has never been more exciting.

1.5 months after making the big move to KL - Malaysia, this old e-junkyard of random tales, images, thoughts and reflections needed to be dusted up *cough cough splutter splutter* and updated. Consider it done.

There's too much to put up in one post. Guess a summary will suffice for now. And more consistent ramblings to follow over the weeks to come.

Surrounded by a great bunch of people who have been supportive, helpful, annoying, loving, hilarious, random, fun....all at the same time. For having me on their couches & mattresses, to showing me the nightspots and great food spots, to supporting me in moving into my new crib, to being my new, cool apartment-mates, to random shisha sessions (with conversations ranging from Darfur to Islamic banking to fictitious YouTube videos of 4000 cockroaches moving a car & PopRoaches...), to whiling away on Sunday evenings watching the funniest movies, to staying up till 2 am at the movies clueless while watching "Pirates 3"...I may not scream it out from the mountain tops or say it out loud or wear a t.shirt to proclaim this, but I appreciate each and everyone of you. No doubt, y'all.

Work's awesome too: Working in a diverse team of some exceptionally smart people, working insanely hard to make our project a success. Will get to travel for work quite a bit across the Asia-Pacific region, which is definitely sweet. An massively great opportunity to grow and pack a plethora of experience & exposure as I get to work in an area that I am getting more & more passionate about as I walk in it each day.

The city and the country: There is still soooo much that needs to be seen and done in this hectic yet friendly and maybe sometimes puzzling city. The highlight is definitely the amazingly endless choice of food, available at pretty much any hour of the day. Why this amazes me is because where I come from (especially the Kenyan urban setup), we do not have a food culture. None. At least not compared to Malaysia and even to, say, a greater part of West Africa. Guess what I'm trying to say is....If eating was an Olympic sport, Malaysia would totally dominate it. Completely sweep the Gold, Silver, Bronze, Titanium medals. Hope to capture more of this in future posts, including visuals :-)

The Path: This adventure is continually teaching me a lot about me..the me that was, the me that is and the me that I want to be. As I continually walk through this excursion called life, I am becoming a greater believer in The Path. That which we walk, run, jog, sleep or just saunter through to get to where we don't necessarily know, but somehow want to get to. Making the most of our engagement within The Path defines where it takes us.

Only we can define what The Path will make of us, given all the factors that it presents. Good & sad times, tears & laughter, sleepless nights & conscious moments of daylight. Anthill-esque efforts at work & moments of just chilling. Friends & disappointments, music, noise and silence.

Lights, camera, action...

Some SMS Sugar!

2006-07-13T02:18:00.000+02:00

"this narrative belongs to sugar man
who is falling apart
his psyche is unravelling
all his elements
his archetypes
are manifesting
and turning against him
he is an inferno"

SMS Sugar Man is an insane concept...the world's first feature film entirely shot using mobile phone cameras (or is it camera mobile phones?).

Set in the backstreets of Jo'burg, South Africa on Christmas Eve, it tells - from the lenses of upto 8 Sony Ericsson W900i mobile phones - of the Sugar Man "...a pimp with principles, shepherding his flock of working girls from client to client..."

Check out the trailer here

Seems like some really tight and smart stuff from Kaganof and the rest of the production.

I guess this one will be vibrating off an MMS near you soon!!

Bonn Giorno!

2006-02-09T19:38:00.000+01:00

OK, before we go all mental on the messed up spelling of the greeting in the title, let me walk you thru it...

After a bunch of months chilling in good ol' Nairobi, Kenya - I finally managed to get my behind back into engaging my brain cells (after months of all that Tusker beer, I'm not too sure how many are left) into figuring out more than just what time it was.

The city of Bonn, Germany welcomed me with blasts of ice-laden winds that made me wish I had the ability to self-combust just to keep warm. Yeah, so that's where I be at...romancing the Rhine everyday to work, working on an extremely cool project with an even cooler team and staring down at my professional crystal ball to make out what the future holds for me.

And hoping to sort out all the language difficulties English speakers are bound to face here.

Especially when they scream "Bonn Giorno" thinking that it means "Good Morning Bonn!!"

80s Throwbacks!

2005-11-17T17:33:00.000+01:00

Flashback to the early 80's.
Queue the then fashionable and in-vogue ladies pumps shoes, floral print dresses, overused electric keyboards in every song, outlandish hair, not to mention clothes.

This snapshot was taken right next to the house I grew up in for the 1st 12 years of my life.

The background lineup is (L-R):
Can't remember her, sis Wanji, bro Sammy, Mum at the back, neighbour Donna, bro Fanaté, sis Anne.

That's me rushing to the cameraman, wanting a piece of the flashing action too.

Damn! I can't believe they made me wear red shoes!

of Bananas and Oranges: Referendum Ahead

2005-11-01T11:46:00.000+01:00

On 21st November, Kenya will be holding a National Referendum to give Kenyans the chance to accept or reject a proposed new constitution. This will be the first democratic referendum to be held in Kenya and this does bring an interesting, sometimes shocking and rather multi-dimensional dynamic to it.

The referendum has brought a huge divide in opinion and choice among Kenyans. The YES side supporting the new constitution is fronted as the Banana camp (symbolized by...yes, a banana) and the side strongly opposing it - the NO side - is the Orange camp (need I say they are symbolized by the Orange). The country's politicians are also split down the middle. Hardcore government supporters, led by the President himself, are Bananas while the Opposition and a collection of perennially rebellious government ministers and politicians are Orange "damu" (hardcore orange) .

Apart from sounding like a grocery store or a really crappy fruit salad, my biggest problem with this referendum is that is has been overly politicized. This mainly means that the referendum is being used a stage to flex political muscle while failing to address the content of the actual constitutional issues. Here are the highlights in the run-up to the big voting day:

- Right direction: In October, a televised debate was held to bring Banana and Orange politicians to one forum. This was a huge step in the right direction, but I still felt that they were a bit too politically inclined and it wasn't still clear in my mind what the issues of discussion vis-a-vis the constitution were. Another debate will be held with less than a week to vote and I hope that it will be more content-oriented and less of a political shouting match.

- Violence sucks: This past weekend, we saw the ugly side of the run-up to the referendum. One politician had his car burned to a crisp while campaigning for his side. Unnecessary and mindless actions from whoever was involved. Over the weekend in the highly politically charged Western Kenya, four people died when violence erupted in a referendum-related rally, with politicans on either side trading accusations and counter-accusations around this. There have been other acts of vandalism and backward-mindedness that I won't even give any time of day/night on cyberspace. I am sure a lot of the people making trouble have never touched a copy of the constitution in their lives (or can't even spell constitution) and need to do so before they think of shish-kebabing a Toyota Prado...or a dude for that matter.

- Edging on the ridiculous: There have been stories of people going to the extreme to show their allegiance to the Banana or Orange camp. At political rallies, politicians and people in attendance have been seen mercilessly eating bananas or oranges at their respective camps. There are stories of people not allowing oranges or bananas in their houses, depending on who they side with. A story is told of one guy who went for lunch and got served a fruit salad that contained a fruit he didn't side with. Let's just say that this guy went bananas when he found oranges in his fruit salad.

- Who do I side with? At this moment, I am still going through the pros and cons of both constitutions. I have chosen to blog on the lead-up to the referendum rather than take sides or share those pros/cons on my blog. At the end of the day, I am still very skeptical of whether majority of Kenyans will vote based on informed decisions around the constitution.

- Demo-crazy: This referendum, in my opinion, has been a reflection of Kenya's relative immaturity in democratic politics. Example? Some Banana proponents are calling for the President to fire the rebel ministers in the Orange camp for fiercely taking a stance against his. Come on! That's what a democracy is! And what fun would there be if everyone in the Government all got along? Everyone knows that some of the world's most exciting democracies are built on the fact that there are strong believers in extremely polar schools of thought and that does make it interesting for each of these guys every morning when they wake up scratching their heads...and for us every evening when we watch all their crazy antics on the news !

- What Direction? : The Civil Education campaign that was planned to ensure that Kenyans actually understood the content of the proposed constitution vs the existing one has been, in my opinion, very low-key and at worst a failure. This hasn't been helped by the fact that the referendum has been overly politicized. The media have made the effort to avail simplified copies of the proposed constitution in the dailies, facilitate live debates etc. Some workshops are being held around the country to sensitize the same. I'm also skeptical of how effective this campaign really is in effectively educating the public about the constitution.

I still feel that politicians have a big role to play in this, but they have been going about it the wrong way. In a perfect world, they should ideally ensure that Kenyans are initially educated on the issues that they will go to vote for come November 21st before taking sides and trying to woo Kenyans to these sides. Instead, both sides are using this referendum as a political vehicle and guess what will happen? A lot of Kenyans will vote Yes or No based on whether their favourite politician..or if the politician from their ethnic group sides on Yes or No...And not based on the fact that the decision they make is based solely on the content of the proposed/existing constitution that will affect their lives and those of generations to come.

Where I Be At...

2005-08-26T19:15:00.000+02:00

Damn close to this landmark...having the time of my life..

Updates continue...

UPDATE
Currently in Nairobi, Kenya (clearly nowhere near the said landmark...), where I have finally been able to get it together and start blogging a bit more frequently.

Look out for posts on Kenya's upcoming Constitutional Referendum, chilling out in this crazy city and some scandalous baby pix.....

Mad Chillin'

2005-08-20T13:39:00.000+02:00

Been a while since I was on here. Trying to capture what I have been upto over the past month is gonna be a bit dramatic, but I will try...OK, here we go:

Futurama: Trying to sort out futuristic issues, such as those that determine when I will be able to sustain my bills post-September. I will post on update when something concrete comes up.

Bumming! Spent an entire week catching up with TV, thanks to Winamp TV, easily the most frustrating but at the end of the day, rather rewarding way to watch marathon TV comedy episodes.

I'm now upto date with episodes of "Family Guy", "Scrubs" and "The Simpsons". They really helped me fill in my couch potato days, randomly laughing away humour at its best. Not to mention staying abreast with current affairs by watching clips from "The Daily Show"
Bart: I want to be emancipated
Homer: EMANCIPATED?! But don't you like being a dude?

Preparing! : As I head on out of AIESEC, it is great that I will be engaged in something that will help me connect to my roots back as an LC member, as well as bring my 5 years of experience into play. Oh! And have lots of fun chairing what's easily gonna be the coolest international conference ever! Spent time trying to get my mind into the conference. My last role involved developing the initial ideas for what AIESECers becoming alumni can do as the Head to the Future. This is a test run for me, as well as a good case of me practicing what I preached!

Marinating in thought: Trying to capture what my 5 or so years' experience in AIESEC has been, its impact in my life, the friends, the network, the changes in my perception of life as it were. This needs another posting so I won't even go on here.

Travellista: Got to visit Kenyan Scandinavian friends, as well as hang out with my cool sister & bro-in-law in Dublin (post on this coming up soon). Who can forget the crazy fast-tongued Tour Bus driver, obsessed by the legend of Molly Malone? Or the chilled-out nights at Lillies Bordello? Or enjoying pints of Guinness at the local with my sister, while we caught up on anything and everything? Or fighting to use chopsticks on a yummy Japanese dinner, drinking a bit too much sake and getting down to some good ol' karaoke at the Ukiyo Japanese place? Crazy. And I also met up with the Irish MC for a quick chat as I dropped by their office.

And more crazy travel updates coming up soon....

Urban Dictionary

2005-08-20T13:26:00.000+02:00

Someone sent me this link of the definitions of my nickname on the Urban Dictionary

1. migz
phillipino for king of bitches and hos

"Migz was pimpin hard last night"
Source: miguel, Mar 4, 2005

2. migz
A pure sexbomb. One who is up on the latest lingo and positions.

"You can't teach the skills of Migz, you're born with the intensity and hornyness."

Source: MAD, Feb 26, 2005

Hardly endearing descriptions of oh-so-innocent me...

Migz Against The World

2005-07-21T10:02:00.000+02:00

"Remember one thing
Through every dark night, there's a bright day after that
So no matter how hard it get, stick your chest out
Keep your head up, and handle it"

Listening to this helped to keep my head up. Safi basi!

Summer Olympics 2012 Host City Drama

2005-07-05T11:21:00.000+02:00

The drama..the last minute presentations..the lobbying..the anticipation..breaths held..fingers and all manner of other body parts crossed...

This is just but a brief summary of the things and feelings that are running thru the minds of the key players of the 2012 Summer Olympics bids and their respective countrymen and sympathisers as they all wonder..."Have we done enough to bring home the 2012 Summer Olympics?"

Get detailed updates..heck, Get LIVE updates here as the selection of the host city for 2012 Summer Olympics goes down tomorrow at 1330 hrs GMT at the 117th IOC Session in Singapore.

Anyone wanna guess who will take it?

Postcards of Hope and Goodwill

2005-07-03T01:38:00.000+02:00

Forgot to post this last week...but I will ignore the international time-related posting guidelines that have been set for all bloggers worldwide...

Rajiv drops by my desk and this is the day after I stopped walking with crutches (as I recover from a shattered ankle)

In the spirit of wishing me well, this clown drops this postcard by my desk

Need to figure out what this dude smokes before doing things like this...it might be the "clean" air that we live and breath in Rotterdam daily...

Soccerish Saturday

2005-07-03T01:28:00.000+02:00

Just got back from Utrecht, a city 1 hour away from Rotterdam. The Final of the World Youth Soccer Championships we on and in the final, Nigeria was to lock horns with Argentina. Naturally, Femi wanted to go and support his mother Nigeria team and I - despite being from a distant shore from West Africa across the expanses of lakes, tropical forests, villages/cities and some unexplored lands...yeah...being from East Africa - I couldnt help but support my "brodas". We trudged on to the Stadion Galgenwaard in Utrecht.

There was some massive drum-beating and the odd paradoxical delightful cacophony of drums, claps, boos, cheers, jeers, gasps and screams...all these infiltrating the air and were only rivalled in intensity by
- the Mexican wave which did a record 4 rounds unbroken in the stadium
- the skill of John Mikel Obi and his band of merry, talented and entertaining Nigerian youthy lads
- the overrating of Lionel Messi and a lacklustre Argentinian team
- the fact that the referee sucked muito ass in his decisions, much to the disgust of the crowd
- dancing to the original version of "Obiterere" (as opposed to the AIESEC Kenya-nized remix)...

Stirring...

2005-06-22T00:48:00.000+02:00

Little voice brings the drums
Little beats, Hold on..
Now clippity claps
Who cares if shes not here
She's never even been
But the rhythms, the jazz
Bring a belonging
A yearning
Damn
A stirring

Little text to bring the dance
Freestyling turns to rhyme
Feeling
Who cares about the seas
Digging
The soul she so possesses
Traversing
Virtual processes
A connecting
Goddamn
A stirring

Reminisce
Little beats that vibrate
Her whispers to touch
Jamming
On memories
Yet she's never been...

You'll Never Walk...ALONE!!!

2005-05-26T01:08:00.000+02:00

Liverpool FC...last having won a European championship and having come into the European Final as the absolute underdogs...have come off and done the unbelievable...printed the damn unthinkable in the Book of Soccer History...

The European Champions League 2005 Final started in absolute nightmarish fashion for any Liverpool supporter...an unlikely goal in the 52nd second by the most unlikely customer (Paolo Maldini) and that's when I walked into Albert's crib...holding my head in disbelief...and only to curse the gods of AC Milan at half-time as we were 3-0 down, enduring taunts from Albert, cursing cursing cursing....

Then the unbelievable happened....

The rally began

Minute 54...cross off the left wing from Norwegian left-back-turned-winger John Arne Riise found the head of inspirational and talismanic captain Stevie G. Gerrard...3-1...

Minute 56..shot off the top of the "D" from Czech international, Vladi Smicer...into the corner off the fumbling goalie...3-2...

Minute 59/60...cross into the box and Gennaro Gattuso of AC Milan fouls Stevie G in the box...PENALTY!!! Xabi Alonso takes it...its saved...rebounds to Xabi and he SCORES...3-3!!! What a final!!!

There are crazy moments somewhere in there, but I am hazed by the adrenalin blinding me, as I blurrily see Andriy Shevchenko get his double-pronged attack in the dying minutes of extra time thwarted by the timely theatrics of the Polish goal-tending maestro, Jerzy Dudek.

Skip to the penalty shootout...my nerves cant help me remember who scored what and when...but I remember Shevchenko of AC Milan - he who scored the winning penalty 2 years ago when AC beat Juventus in England in the final - getting his penalty saved by Liverpool's goalie, Dudek...

I have to admit...I let a modest-driven tear roll down my cheek..I have waited 21 years for this moment...to be part of a legendary Liverpool that won the most prized possession in club football...

This is the stuff that dreams are made of....

As the song and the belief in Anfield, Liverpool's home, goes...

YOU'LL NEEEE--VER WALK....ALONE!!!!

Oh? And this post is dedicated to
1. Aneesh, Albert and the rest of the AC Milan lovers...how you like me now!!!!

2. 'Pool believers! Letoya, Edmund Hillary, Eugene..and Sa, for the "well done" wishes...

Taking a Break...for real!!

2005-05-07T01:14:00.000+02:00

This is what I have been upto this week. If we MSN'd and I told you I was busy or away, I LIED! Well, let's just say I was trying to emulate too many moves from my favourite soccer club and ended up like this. Fractured and dislocated right ankle. I will be in surgery on May 9th and hopefully that will go well.

Meanwhile, I have taken the days off chilling at Kamil's crib [thanks dawg!] catching up with movies ["Saw" was great...though it got to a point of desperation, I even watched "Elf"] and letting the rest of my unbattered body take some due rest. Too bad I cant entertain the residents of the apartment building with my skilfull crutch movements and my graceful cast-on-leg pose that would land me on the cover of many a fashion magazine coz I have to stay indoors and restrict my movement. Like minimum minimum security jail, only with no jail. Hmm...minimum security apartment...

A hearty big up to the guys who have been here with me since the drama featuring the supporting cast [I just had to!] unfolded...Rajiv, Femi, Albert, Luis, Kamil, Gee-Unit...Thanks to all the people who have sent messages of good and bad will to me, and for messages to make my day - Yat, the response to your words of inspiration, hope and eternal preservation of world peace is on its way :-)

Will hopefully be back up blogging on Wednesday to delightfully recount my experiences of anaesthesia, nurses wheeling me around, scalpels and the universal smell of hospitals as embodied in my stay at the Sint Franciscus Gasthuis Hospital over the next few days. And I will hopefully get to chill out in one of those "guess whats under my gown" hospital gowns...

Yuppie Sunday Afternoon

2005-04-24T22:16:00.000+02:00

Chilling at home on a sunny Sunday afternoon [yes, the sun is benevolent enough to actually warmly shine on Rotterdam]

Look at this bunch of yuppies updating their blogs, checking their email and God forbid, working on a Sunday!

Anyway, I was really glad to receive the dude who will work with me on delivering AIESEConnect by September - my Hungarian friend, Gee Doszpod.

My housemate Monika is in the middle of the pic, figuring out the intricacies of managing her blog.

Needless to say, we all didnt heed to Miss Sheryl Crow's advice to Soak Up the Sun...tsk tsk

PostSecret - Expressing your deepest, darkest secrets

2005-04-23T09:51:00.000+02:00

Came across PostSecret, which is this amazing blog where people randomly send anonymous postcards expressing their deepest, darkest secrets on them. Extreme originality [in the postcards and expressionisms used], not to mention the fact that we all have deep, dark fears that we might want to share but we never know how.

Would you send your secret postcard [or is it postcard secret] to PostSecret?

Pope on the Web and good grief! where else? eBay??

2005-04-22T14:00:00.000+02:00

PopeDomain4Sale
Originally uploaded by Migzee.

Tuesday, April 19, 2005 - The world's attention was focussed on the emergence of the cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church from the Conclave and the subsequent election of the new Pope.

Skip over to cyberspace as we know it.

A group of faceless smarty-pants were getting ready for the world's most bizarre event, even without knowing they were in it anyway. Let's call it the Web Type-and-Navigationathon.

Objective of the Contest? Get the new Pope's Official Name, craft up a desirable domain name, type and register it on one of the many web domain registration services.

But that's not all...flip your web browser to ebay.com and put up the domain name for auction, which is what some smart-ass from Ontario, Canada managed to do fastest - registering PopeBenedictXVI.com in what could have only been a keyboard-assisted time of 90 seconds!!

The winning prize? More than 100 bids for the domain name, at the time of going to press (always wanted to say that!), the latest bid was for a cool US$16,100...with 7 days on the bid to go.

And who says religion isn't about the money...

The Label Reads "Dumb"

2005-03-29T17:28:00.000+02:00

The past Saturday afternoon finds me smothered by my bedcover...never had a blanketed bunch of feathers and acrylic [I think] felt so nice, so comforting, so inviting to laziness...yeah, laziness; it was 3-bloody-O'Clock and I was still in my bed! Then again, it was the official start of my week-long vacation so hey!

Procrastination; the dude we all love to hate; there I was mid-dream, wondering whether to go grocery shopping before the nearest supermarket closed or not. I took important 30 minute naps in between calling decision-making conferences between me, my willing spirit, my confused conscience and the two devils sitting on my shoulders [they got rid of the poor angel long ago...]. It was tough finally beating those two bastards [the devils, I mean..]

Fast forward to waking up and dragging my lazy self to the s'market...the last 5 minutes in the supermarket. I actually got there when they were making their closing calls and I was shopping frantically, like there was no tomorrow...chicken, spices, greens, cereal..the list goes on and on...I'm at the counter ready to pay then I realize what a fool I had been for leaving the most important thing on my shopping list..a 6 pack of beer! As though a red ant had vengefully bitten me where the sun dont shine, I dashed back to the beer shelf, grabbed a six pack, ran back to the counter, paid and lazily dragged myself and the really heavy bags home.

Yet another fast forward; The beer is chilled now as I am doing the same, enjoying some twisted but bold social commentaries watching South Park episodes. Hey, this would go well with a beer...or two...to the fridge! Beer after beer, the evening drags on. The 6 pack is over but wait! There is no effect, none...not tipsy, not woozy, not giggling at every inane, idiotic antics of Cartman, Kenny, Stan and Kyle [and their equally screwed up parents]...ok, I was laughing my head off but you get the point. Either I had developed a superhuman resistance to the mildly crippling effects of beer or the unmentionable had happened. Wait. I lift the can and it reads
"Amstel Malt: Alcoholvrij bier [Alcohol Free Beer]: 0.1%"

Some of the Flashes in the 5 second moment of silence:
1. Shouldn't they just call this crap barley and hops juice or something?
2. 0.1%? How many of these do I need to even start having a "good time"?
3. Ah! So THAT'S why the lady at the supermarket counter gave me "the look"...same one you get when you are at a bus-stop and you ask someone there "Is this where the bus stops?"
4. Isn't alcohol free beer the world's biggest oxymoron?
5. Arrrrrgghhh !!!!!!

Coach Carter asks "What is your deepest fear?"

2005-03-22T17:38:00.000+01:00

Photo courtesy of the official
Coach Carter Movie website

Last night, I watched an extremely inspiring movie based on a true story - Coach Carter - a tale of a US High School basketball coach who, against all odds, turned the fortunes and the lives of a losing team; and by so doing, transformed not only their hideous losing streak into wins but the players to winners on and off the basketball court. If you actually love basketball, it is an added plus [yes, you Maria]

At each game, Coach Carter asked his players what their greatest fear was. The team at this point had a majority of its members not understanding how a letter could be a number [its called algebra, dude!] and thus, this kept them from comprehending why the hell he kept asking that question. At some point later in the movie, one of the players gave a brief recital, inspired by the fact that he probably had never read a book in his life until that point:

" 'Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.' .....

We are all meant to shine, as children do.... It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine, we subconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we're liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

I found that this had held so much truth and meaning and searching for the full version of the recital by Marianne Williamson, I had a burst of inspiration today that I had to put down here.

Not to be so much afraid of what I cannot do [I think I have that figured already] but more so, to be able to conquer the fear of success, greatness and the unknowns that come with it. Hope this helps you move one step closer...in shedding some light to show you the path to vanquishing your fears for today and tomorrow.

St. Patrick does his thing!

2005-03-17T14:11:00.000+01:00

Well, thanks to some Leprachaun somewhere, its been a pretty cool day so far. I will highlight some reasons why:

1. It's St. Patrick's Day! That's reason enough to celebrate. A day when the Irish grant us the wish to party and drink free Guiness at your nearest Paddy O'Someones!

Seriously though, Saint Patrick's Day has come to be associated with everything Irish: anything green and gold, shamrocks and luck. Most importantly, to those who celebrate its intended meaning, St. Patrick's Day is a traditional day for spiritual renewal and offering prayers for missionaries worldwide. Those who don’t [I'm guessing like EVERYONE] just party like crazy and live it up, true Irish style.

I am part-Irish [my very cool sister is married to an equally cool Irishman...I am sure you see the connection, I'm sure you do!] and I will be very proud in celebrating with other more genuine Irishmen and women tonight at my local, Paddy Murphy's!

2. I got MSN'd by Aneesh, VPOGX of AIESEC in Norway, letting me know that they were considering asking me if I would chair their National Conference, NC3 on end March/beginning April.
I took a few moments yesterday considering what I thought would not only be a fantastic opportunity to visit one of my favourite AIESEC countries, but also an exciting challenge of chairing my first ever international AIESEC conference.

Aneesh called me earlier today to let me know that they had thought I was the most suitable person to chair. OK, thing is this will be smack in the middle of my vacation. But I said yes, with no regrets. Anything for my great Norwegian [and Norwegian/Indian] friends.My head is buzzing with ideas for inspiration, delivery of an excellent conference...need I say more...Norway, here I come!

3. I have been trying to call a very dear friend of mine for the last month or so, considering she was generous enough to donate her cellphone to Mother Nature over the December holidays and that her office lines never get through. Today, thanks to St. Paddy and his merry band of leprachauns, I managed to defy the evil spirits of telephony and talk to Nimo. It was lovely hearing your voice again. You managed to make me smile and add to my jumpiness in the office; like that of a 6-year-old, high on glucose from a candy cocktail.

4. Managed to clean out my inbox. Go Leprachauns!

5. St. Paddy never rests if the holiday is in the middle of the week. He will be with us uptil the weekend and so, may he shower luck on the Kenyan Sevens Rugby Team as they kick off their adventure in the Rugby Sevens World Cup [http://www.rwcsevens.com] in Hong Kong, this weekend. a-Kenya-aaaaayyy....a-Kenya-aaaaaaah!!!

Amster-goddamn-ing...

2005-03-11T17:40:00.000+01:00

In pursuit of travel to lands where my trusted passport needs one of those official fancy stickers [also known as "visas" in some quarters], I embarked on a journey to Amsterdam, home of many cultural highlights some choose to think of as evil things and vices...and oh! More importantly, home to the British Consular Section. Guess you now know where I will be travelling to soon. If you don't, stop reading this now.

Anyway, it was quite an experience. I first went through a rigorous check for metallic objects and other foriegn objects that are forbidden in this sacred office. I was quite surprised they didnt confiscate my pack of Sportlife extramint chewing gum...God knows what harm I could cause with that!

Enter the waiting room...people of all races, colours, hair colours, from virtually all walks of life...filled to the brim with eager faces...some knowing that the decision made behind the counter by some guy and his boss could make or break him, his desires, her dreams, their fortunes, his passion or her future. I am now tempted to call the visa section "Destiny's Lounge".

Waited for an hour...finally got my number beaming on the red sign. Walked to "The Man". Handed over my papers and paid my application fee. "Please wait", said The Man. I later got an interview for 2pm for them to take me to a small dark stuffy room and interrogate me on my real intentions of going to their country. OK, maybe I'm exagerrating with the interrogation. BUt 2pm it is.

I walked out of the office and wandered, looking for a place to fulfil my desire for food - necessitated by the cruel and thunderous rambling of my tummy. Finally found a cafe [not a coffeeshop, a cafe!] that looked good. cafe Lexington to be precise. After perusing through their menu, I finally settled for their Pasta Chicken - it being the most affordable...OK, OK...cheapest item on the menu. Let's just say that, the next time you are in The Netherlands, call me up and I will take you to this delightful little cafe. Their Pasta Chicken was over the moon..scrumptuous, delicious, the sauce...orrrrrgasmic...best serving of pasta I have had in a long, long time. Maybe this will only change were I to embark on an adventure to a little village in the southern part of Italy.

Time to strut back to Destiny's Lounge and see what information The Crystal Ball Dude aka The Man aka The Consular General wants to squeeze out of me. I am ready to withstand the pain. Bring it on!

UPDATE! UPDATE! UPDATE!
Destiny's Lounge turned into Hell for a short while there...the interview was long and intense...even with the chains and whips, I wasn't gonna reveal any state secrets [largely 'coz I hold none..]. Refreshingly, after 20 minutes of drilling and interrogation, I was a proud holder of the much sought-after "Destiny's Sticker".

Back to Rotterdam now with yet another victory for my beloved passport. We live to fight yet another day.

Delightful Memoirs

2005-03-07T17:12:00.000+01:00

Another one from the collection...Global Village at IC 2004 where this African/Croatian (?) dude was hanging out with Malta's finest... Now to get this photographic classic carved in stone...