2007 - 33

Okay..How shall I start this? First, Salam Aidiladha to all Moslems from all around the world. May God grant me the chance to perform my Hajj one day. InsyaAllah, If God permits. Just a few days ago,almost three days ago, I was celebrating my birthday. Now, it is already the new year, 2007. The best thing of having your birthday near the end of the year is that, it brings about a lot of merry and joy as it gives the person new hopes for the new year and not forgetting, his or her new age.

As I mentioned before, I am 33 years old now. I am not ashamed about it or face the peril of getting older as the years go bye. No, of course not. I am quite contented with the idea of being more experienced with life as the days go by. People may say many things about it. I will just smile and ignore the unnecessary remarks. Anyway, I have to say my humble thanks to many of my friends who had either called me, message me or went out with me to either wish me or celebrate with me on my birthday. I felt so honored and happy with your warm salutations. I am blessed to have many great friends and buddies. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. With the new year, I am not going to spell out my resolutions at all.

Why is that so? It is simple logic. I have yet to accomplish my previous resolutions from the previous years. In fact, I am wondering on how does the term, " new year resolutions" come about? I see it as just another hoax of wanting people to have hope or certain targets to achieve.To me, I have given up on making new year resolutions. On the contrary, I will rather make new prayers or wishes to God to make it happen.

Let us put it this way. To err is human. If I have made a lot of mistakes to people, I apologize.

I yearn to be a better man as I grow mature.
I yearn to see the world be a peaceful place for all humankind to live in harmony among each other without racial discrimination or religious profiling.
I yearn for a better life full of love and peace.
I yearn for the best for my family and friends.
I yearn to shower those who needs my help based on my capabilities.
and I yearn to seek peace and serenity forever.

Goodbye 2006. Goodbye 32. Welcome 2007. Welcome 33. The odd numbers of my life have come again since I celebrated my 22nd birthday 11 years ago. Perhaps the year 2007 will be a good year for my family, my friends and myself indeed. InsyaAllah..If God permits. What will ever happen in 2007? Only God knows. Reality check - I have only left with one week before I start to work again. How time flies....

The Odd Numbers

I have always waited for this day to come. It is the day when I am able to feel the double odd numbers of my life which is, 33 years old. Time flies and today is my birthday. The thing about this day is that, it comes once in every decade of a human life.

Look at it this way, you will only be able to experience it first when you reached 11 years, followed by 22, 33, 44, 55 and so forth. What are the odds of that? It takes another 11 years altogether. It is just a simple theory which I believe that something good will happen when the time comes. I can foresee myself settling down by this year. Hmm...wait..that is too drastic. Perhaps I shall be able to face happiness in many ways. A new resolution is made everytime when my birthday arrives. This is cool when it happens to coincide with the new year. Now, isn't that cool to know that people from around the world is celebrating the coming New Year with your birthday,just around the corner? Haha..cheap thrill.

I had just returned from a very touching celebration done by Frodo and his friends. They tricked me to go to Vivo City, a new shopping centre in Singapore, and bought me a birthday cake with 6 candles symbolising 33. I was so touched and honored by it that I smiled and blushed continuously. Put it this way. It has been long since I celebrated my birthday. It has come to a point where I am beginning to ignore it whenever it arrives yearly. Well, at that point of time, I thought it is just another typical creation by people who loves to be reminded about how old they are getting each year. I do not like birthdays. To me, it is just another number. Why do we have to keep thinking about how old we become from time to time right? Well, I may be wrong to think that way. Some people cherished their birthdays. I just happen to think otherwise about it. In the end, birthday celebrations are more meant for your friends who want to see you happy for the day right? Absolutely correct.

Anyway, today by 2.15am, I will be 33years exactly if I were to be really precised about the actual day and time when I was born. Hey, the party just started. I will be on a date tommorow with my latest girlfriend whom I had met recently. Girlfriend? Now, isn't that something new for my life? How long has it been? 3 years after my last break up with my ex-fiancee. I am sure all of you must have been wondering on this newcomer in Max Muchacho's life. Questions such as " Who is she?", "Where do you meet her?" , " Where is she working?" will always be the common questions from my friends. I have the answers for that now..

I met her by God's will. Alhamdulilah. Praises to Allah. Hopefully, this time, it will work for me. I keep telling myself many times, recently that, I got to make this relationship a success. The best think about her is her patience and sincerity. She got the looks, she got the career, she can think, she can smile, she can dress, she can make me happy and she can...I can go on and on with the list. Is this love? Is this even a relationship? Is this the one? Is this the final countdown for Max's search for love? We have yet to see that.

Well, like what Frodo said, " Do not think too much on it. If there is chemistry, just work on it." He is correct. InsyaAllah..it will last forever this time. It is time for me to open up my heart to accept new love. It has been sealed for a long time indeed.

Oh yeah, before I go, after the date, my buddies and I will be partying in a club of my choice. Let me see. I will figure that out later. Till than, take care.

Wishes That Are Not Meant For Me..

Yesterday, I went to my classmate's engagement ceremony at her house. It was quite a joyous event for her and all of us were very happy for her. She looked like a princess for a day except that she is now engaged to her longtime boyfriend. This brought down memories of my engagement that occurred three years ago. No worries, I was only thinking of the good part and not the bad part of it.

The worse thing is not about refreshing my mind on my ex-engagement. It began when one of my classmates started to tease me consistently to let go of my friend and avoid mixing with her as she is already engaged. Wait a minute...There is nothing going on between me and her. What is the matter with him??

Oh no..not again. The teasing started to increase from minute to minute. I do not know why on that spur of the moment that I tend to ignore his comments or remarks on my so called "illicit affair" that I had with my engaged lady friend. Perhaps I was just so happy that I cleared my examinations and I am in my dreaming world right now since it is my holiday. His deragotary comments were irrelevant. What happen after I ignored him? He got irritated eventually. Perhaps this is the part where I realised that this bloody guy has always been eyeing on my success of life and I will rather say that he is not pretty happy with what I have.

He mentioned a lot of rude comments on my life. Even my other friend was surprised to hear that and was shocked to see me reacting quietly about it. I told my other friend that there was no point in arguing with him on his pathetic remarks. There is no truth in any of it. It is just going to be another waste of breath.

Well...life goes on. But if I were to encounter him doing the same thing again, he will get it from me...than he will know what it is like to be condemn from someone who is older than him. For God's sake, he is 6 years my junior...

Some people are just ludacrous.

Results, The Aftermath Of The Post Examinations

I am filled with excitement. I had passed all my examination and the results are not that bad either. In fact, the fear of me not passing my Mathematics subjects, has haunted since the start of the holidays. Imagine this, the whole cohort could not complete the exam paper and it is one of the toughest as compared to the previous years.

Well, some of us were disappointed with the results. Some had a bigger GPA than me and some had lower than me. It does not matter at all to me. In fact, the fight to compete with the rest of the students had entirely diminished to me. Why? I see no point in doing so. Why must any students fight with one another to maintain a certain grade so as to be the best amongst all? Perhaps it is the quest to proceed to the next level of education but there will be a quota for that.

On the contrary, in the end, if any of the students, failed to win, wouldn't that be disappointing? what I will advice is to do your best in the examinations and do not have the urge to compete with the rest. It is not emotionally good for the heart if we are going to be envious or jealous of others better than us. Yes, it is good to have someone to admire upon but it is not good to try to be someone who can score well when in the end, we know our maximum limits. Just try your best and if you studied well enough, I am confident that passing is just a breeze to anyone. Getting distinctions are just an added plus to your hardwork.

Never compare. Study hard and play hard too. Anyway, as for me, I am already on the verge of exploding to smithereens. Do not get me wrong. What I meant here is that I am already at my peak of excitement as I can now enjoy without fear. Till January 10, 2007, when school reopens, I will party to the max.

And ...did i tell you something? I had found my match for a girlfriend. I am seeing someone right now. Pray for me that this will work. Tell you more on that on my next blog. Adios...

A shocking image

Just a short one, remember when I said that I had a very short hair cut? I thought that I am crazy to do that now but after my trip on the train this afternoon, I realized that I am not that pathetic.

This is because I saw a couple of young teenagers who had a hair cut with some funky outlook on their heads. Now how do I describe this. They did some line designs that look like a zebra crossing on the road by the sides of their head and make some spiky hair on top of their head. Some have designs of an unknown picture at their back of their heads which reminds me of the punksters in the 90s where they will have their long sharp and spiky hairdo on their heads and roamed around aimlessly in town for attention.

Oh dear. These teenagers must have mimicked that fashion and they are trying to revive that era again. To be honest, it is a mockery to their image. The difference between that time and now is that, these teenagers nowadays do not have their style on their own as compared to those kids in the 90s. I got to admit, those confused kids during the 90s with their spiky hairdo, had created their image of their interest in a certain music or culture. The teenagers nowadays are just following the past. Sigh.

Anyway, be it cool or not, it is still silly to me. Why do you want to have a porcupine head and show off to people? Shouldn't they just become a clown in the circus? I rest my case.

A Bonus To All

Hey, today is a good day for all civil sector's servant. We have just some bonus from the government and indeed it has been a long time since I have acquired such plentiful some of money.

I mean, it is not that much really but some extra cash will be good for the soul, don't you think? It had been a long time eversince i did a career swap from a Network Engineer to a Teacher and this has been quite a meaningful day for me, my first bonus from my new career. It brought about some good memories that I used to perceive during my previous profession.

What did I did when I get my first bonus? Indeed, I shop till I drop. Exactly Not! I managed to pay off my bills first. Than, I decided to go out with Faz, my colleague for a rocking good food in an Indonesian Restaurant known as Desa Kartini, which I believed, is the best Indonesian Restaurant in Singapore. Than, we watched a movie known a Dejavu, a definite fantasy movie about going to the past to save someone's lives. Oh yeah, the night before, I went out with some other friends of mine, Frodo, is one of them, and watched the movie, Saw part 3. This movie is a continuation of the movie, Saw and Saw part 2 and I think this is the movie gruesome movie I have seen for the year.

Well enough about movies, Faz and I continue to purchase some gift for another colleague of ours who is going to get engage this 24th December. Well, this is a problem. Both of us are men and we are not sure on what to get for our friend, Fiz, a gift. In the end, after much patrolling around the shopping centres in Orchard Road, we came across a splendid box with some body lotions and bathing stuffs in it. Thanks for the Christmas sale, we got a good bargaining price for it. This is funny. We men, will always find ourselves in a dilemma in getting a lady, a present. I mean, for men, it's easy to buy them a present as compared to our female friends. I believe women, will be a bit sensitive on the type of gifts that they will receive from their other friends. In the end, I told Faz that, the gift has to come sincerely from our hearts and I am sure she will appreciate it. I hope so..

In the end, we chilled at a cafe in town and talked about our greatest nightmare that we have yet to face in future. Our maths results! Well, like most of what my friends have said, it is now in the hands of God. We hope and pray daily to clear this horrible maths exam paper in order to move on to the next semester. The funny thing about this, I have yet another three more weeks of holiday and I reckon that I am going to do tonnes of stuffs which I have forgotten to do during my examinations period. The problem is, to do that, I have to recall what it is.

To conclude, perhaps I will only do it when I remember what the heck I am supposed to do during these long breaks. Till than, I will just relax, figure out my next travel destination, figure out what to shop like buying a DVD recorder and party till i drop. Hmm...maybe I should rekindle the idea of socialising with other women. Let me see, ah..let nature takes its course than. I am so free now and when that happens, I ended up having an army style hair cut. Can you believe that? Sometimes I ponder on the crazy things I will pursue when I am that free. What will happen next? Stay tune..

Returning from the holidays

What an excruciating feeling to return from Sabah, Malaysia. That is where I was from before returning to Singapore. This time, the trip was a meaningful experience as I have learnt a lot on life itself and also on another country's culture. Sabah is located on the eastern side of Malaysia and its people are mostly indigenous as compared to the mainland Malaysians who are mostly Malays.

The intriguing part of this trip is mostly made up of my understanding of how Sabah and Sarawak and Brunei are joined together. I have not known this until I am actually there to witness it. I used to think that Brunei is an island off Sabah but the truth is, it is in the middle between Sabah and Sarawak. Sabahans or Sarawakians have to drive through Brunei in order to reach Sarawak and they have to bring along their passports even though they are not travelling abroad. Aha..That is another interesting thing. Since I came from Singapore, a very tiny weeny small island at the edge of the Malay Archipelago, travelling inter states never existed at all for me. The only way to experience that is to go overseas such as in Malaysia. Therefore, Malaysians and other bigger nations have the experience to go inter states without using passports. I find it weird as when we took a domestic flight from Kuala Lumpur(KL) to Sabah, my KL friends did not have to bring their passport as they are locals but as for me, I have to, as I am a foreigner.

Isn't that great? Anyway, let me summarize the trip in brief here. I travelled upwards to KL via a bus and it took me around 6 hours to reach KL. Usually it will take shorter than that but due to the traffic jams that occured, the journey was extended to another hour. Once I reached KL, I rang my friends up. One of them happened to work in Exonmobil which is actually just across KLCC Twin Towers, Malaysia Tallest building and shopping centre. I will say that this one of Malaysia's prominent landmarks. I waited for him to finish work at 5.30pm and off we go for a dinner in one of the shops to eat noodles. This is the best thing about Malaysia. I can eat almost anything there without a worry. It is all Halal though I normally will not bother much about it while I am in Singapore. To me, as long as it there is no pork, the food is edible.

After our sumptious meal, I head on to my friend's place for a night before we fly to Sabah via a budget airline in the newest Low Cost Carrier Terminal, next to Kuala Lumpur International Airport. As with all budget airlines, the service is budgeted too. We have to queue up for almost an hour to check in. The seats in the plane are not catered for big size people like me. The food has to be bought and it is expensive and not worth it. The plane is undeniably scary at times especially when it hits a couple of turbulences on air - well this is normal for all planes when it comes to turbulence. Well, I shall not complain further as it is a budget airline.

We touched down in Kota Kinabalu and I booked reservations for a three day stay in Hyatt Regency which is situated right in front of the sea. I manage to get upgraded to a King Size bed due to lack or rooms at the time of my hotel check in. The room is perfect with a balcony, big living room and great facilities for me to choose if I decide to stay indoors. However, I stayed the firt two days in my friend's place which is in Tuaran, 30 minute drive from Kota Kinabalu. What an astounding experience when I came across a town which is very relaxed and stress-free. Imagine that there are no big shopping centres in Tuaran, just old shophouses. Flora and Fauna is abundant there. Practically, the entire Tuaran is covered with many trees and undeveloped lands. Cattles and many farm animals can be seen wildly roaming around the villages. My friend told me that the cows managed to outwit the farmers by opening up the fence and it decides to roam around freely by the road side. Imagine this, sometimes when we drive we have to wait a cow to move along to the other side of the road. This is funny. I will make funny sounds to the cow with my friend horning it with his van and the cow will slowly take his time mooing and moving across the road. The best part it will leave behind its fertilizer in the middle of the road. I told myself, this is back to nature for me. :-)

I met my friend's mother who was an ex-teacher and we chat about everything. The two days in Tuaran was so comfortable and stress-free that time passes so slow. We went to all the resorts to take pictures and I manage to take a picture of Mount. Kinabalu from the road. I decided to have a return trip with a couple of friends in future to trek the mountain as the trip up to the mountain will require at least four people and plus, it is a four day trip. Well, I shall take a pass for now thinking of the stamina, courage, persistence and patience I need to have before I make my move up. That requires planning and simply not on an abrupt manner indeed.

In fact, if I want to talk about wanting to be close to nature, I am already surrounded by them. My friend brought me to view the countryside of Sabah, and mind you, the humidity level was extremely hot. I was perspiring constantly while I was in the van. The air-conditioning in the van was spoilt. Imagine that. No complaints still as it was a free ride. Oh yeah, the food in Sabah was delightful and fulfilling. The sabahan tradition is that all food there must be tag along with soups. Well, you can imagine all the different soups that I tasted when I ate my lunch and dinner there. I have also learnt that my friend is a Kadazan, a Sabahan native tribe and I noticed that most local natives in Sabahan has disctinctive features almost similar to any other natives found in South America and so forth. They are indeed good looking people. There is something in their face that glitters away when we look at them. Isn't that interesting?

Shopping in Sabah was exciting. Imagine the costs of items in Kota Kinabalu is half lesser than the price in Kuala Lumpur. Being a Singaporean, I go beserk with the idea. I ended up shopping like a crazy maniac. that is our dollar currency is 2.33 times as compared to one ringgit. Hmm..that is a good feeling to shop. Everything else in Sabah is cheap. The entire trip was so relaxed that I don really bother about my next plan or destination when I finally checked in the hotel two days later. I went swimming by the pool, sun tanning, walking around Kota Kinabalu to try various foods and deserts, shopping little things in the Filipino Market( An arts and crafts market filled with Fillipinos from Mindanao, drinking and watching cable. I've met a couple of beautiful Sabahans ladies and we chat and do many things. :-)

That is life. I almost forget that I have school to attend to when I return home. Hey, that will only be by 10th January 2006. I still have more than a month to enjoy at home. I am practically so in peace now, that I can do anything. Perhaps I should go and travel further next week. Let me see my budget anyway.

Well, we returned to KL on the 4th December and the next day, I make my way back to Singapore by bus. The whole trip was awesome. My friends in KL brought me to best dining places which are so cheap when I returned from Sabah to KL. I almost feel like staying there for a couple of days but I remembered on my commitments back home. It was indeed a mind soothing trip for me which I wanted. I managed to get it at last.