Change is in the air

So after nearly 5 years since I started this blog, I have made the monumental decision to shut down this blog and start a new one using a new platform.

So, why do I want to close this down and start afresh using a different platform?

• I have outgrown this blog. I started this when I was 16 years old. Now I am 21 years old, and I am only going to get older wiser and smarter. 
• And no, this has nothing to do with the URL of my blog. 
• I like change. Especially effortless constructive change. 
• My writing style is now different, and (hopefully) better. Over the years, even my content has changed. In my opinion, a new blog is necessary.

I have decided to switch to Wordpress, but have not decided on the name of the new blog. However, you can bet it will be nothing like my current one. Once I have decided, I will make one final post on this blog. 

It's back!

Few of us spend weeknights like I do, as I get the chance to sit down, grab a cuppa, point the finger and laugh as I discuss the puzzling, the mind-blogging and the downright outrageous. This time around, EPL (football), Bersih, same-sex marriage and Melbourne employment blues gets the limelight. 

Man Utd get the blues, Everton loves King Kenny, Blackburn's feathers ruffled 


Possibly the wackiest season of the English Premier League came to a nail-biting, hair-pulling, ear-eating end. Manchester City, who started the day in pole position to claim their first English tittle in 5 centuries, almost choked against ten-men QPR.  With the tittle seemingly heading back to the red half of Manchester, up popped two goals in injury time for Man City to seal a 3-2 win. As a Man Utd fan, I personally find it galling that Man City pulled off a 'Man Utd' to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Nevertheless, congratulations Man City, your $500000000000000000000000 investment into mercenaries players finally paid off. 

'Yep, now our return on investment is 0.00000000001!'

(To balance things out, I am gonna bluntly say that Man Utd only got themselves to blame for failing to clinch the tittle. Definitely one of the worst squads in awhile, need some fresh blood, and give the Glazers the boot.If nothing is done, slowly but surely Man Utd will fall behind.)


On the other hand, Tony Fernandes must have breathed a huge sigh of relief after seeing QPR narrowly avoiding relegation. Talk about a boom in your investment. Speaking of booms, you might want to reconsider changing the captain of your club, Tony, because lately he has been more interested in blowing his top and attacking opposition players. But surely that cannot be compared with dabbling in the messy affairs of MAS right? 


And what discussion on football is complete without poking fun at Liverpool? By the way, this has nothing to do with me feeling sore that Man Utd didn't win the EPL. This season, Liverpool are suffering the indignity of finishing lower than their neighbours Everton, despite spending $10000000000000 on players like Henderson, Downing, Adam and Carroll (admittedly Carroll has improved of late). What have Liverpool won? The least of the domestic cups, aka the Mickey Mouse/ Milk/Beer Cup. Champions League football? Nope. Close to even finishing in the top six? Nope. Played an exciting brand of football? Nope. Mediocrity? Check. Delusional manager and fans? Check.Even Everton fans are openly calling for King Kenny to stay at Liverpool. 


This was written before Kenny Dalglish was sacked

Gold

The Amazing Downing: 36 games, 0 goals, 0 assists

Blackburn Rovers, already the butt of many chicken jokes over the season, suffered the ultimate embarrassment in the form of relegation from the top coop flight. The writing was on the wall when Venky's, the club's clueless owners, fired Sam 'I-can-manage-Real-Madrid' Allardyce and replaced him with the equally hopeless Steve Kean, who predicted 'exciting times ahead' after seeing his side getting relegated. Football followers are already calling Venky's and Blackburn an embarrassment to chickens. On a sidenote, Yakubu, who probably never say no to an extra helping of dinner, looked almost gleeful while trying to chase the tasty-looking chicken that invaded the pitch during the Blackburn-Wigan match. 

Yakubu: 'Don't worry mate, I got this!'

In other news, Robin van Persie FC Arsenal and Tottenham finished 3rd and 4th respectively. 

Bersih, for better or for worse?

Ah yes, it is inevitable that I will talk about that Bersih rally. I will admit it straight away: I want a clean and fair elections, and I support Bersih's official aims. I maybe biased and unfair towards the government, but has the government been fair to the rakyat? 

As expected, both sides (Bersih and the government) has resorted to blaming each other for the scenes of violence in the Kuala Lumpur rally on 28 April 2012. In contrast, Bersih rallies held elsewhere (such as Penang, Melbourne etc) were peaceful. This makes me wonder, if the Bersih rally was allowed into Dataran Merdeka for their 'Duduk Bantah' (Sitting-and-Protesting) in the first place, surely it would have been peaceful? 

At the very least, one lesson that can be learned from the whole episode is that you can never trust the Malaysian mainstream media. It is an open secret that the government has an iron grip over the media, and will not hesitate to paint any opposition to the government in a bad light. News coverage for Bersih were no different, and some of them were blatantly biased. 

Another thing that caught my attention is that the huge number of policemen on the streets on the day of the rally. I never knew Malaysia had that many policemen so eager to maintain peace and public order. Perhaps the PDRM (police force) should concentrate on dealing with crime instead of firing tear gas and water cannon at Bersih supporters. 

I am not saying that the Bersih organizers and supporters are blameless for the chaos in the KL rally. But I question why the government is so hell-bent on discrediting and stopping Bersih. If the election is as fair and clean as the government says, then they have nothing to fear. Instead, the government claims that Bersih is politically motivated and wants to violently bring down the government.The basic demands of Bersih are not unreasonable. By going all-out in halting Bersih, surely it will bring a lot more unwanted attention (domestic and international) to the government? But then again, I never expected the government to have foresight and think things through.

Small groups of people have staged burger and butt exercise protests (yes you heard me right) in front of Bersih co-chairperson Datuk Ambiga's home in the aftermath of the rally. According to our dear deputy Inspector General of Police, it is not against the law to do so. Does that mean I can stage my own noodle protest or something of that sort in front of PM Najib's home? 

For more on the Bersih related issues, refer to 'Can you believe it?'

Same-sex marriage

It is definitely one of the most politically and socially sensitive issue at the moment. Same sex marriage is legal in countries such as Argentina, Belgium, Canada and the Netherlands. Recently, Barack Obama declared that he supported same sex marriage. Obama's (likely) presidential election opponent Mitt Romney's position on same-sex marriage is unknown. Don't be surprised if this plays a huge role in the upcoming American elections. In Australia, both Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott don't support same-sex marriage.

I am a firm believer of equality for everyone regardless of race, religion and gender. We should not discriminate against someone just because he or she speaks differently or have different beliefs. I lament when I see someone get preferential treatment because of his skin colour or social status. If I don't support same sex marriage, does that make me a hypocrite? I don't support same-sex marriage, mainly because of my definition of marriage and the after-effects, but that does not mean I am against it either. Personally, I am pretty divided on the issue. 

Same-sex marriage advocates argue that everyone should have the right to marry the person he/she love. I partially agree: you should only marry the person you love, but I believe that marriage is between a man and a woman. Why? Ultimately, marriage (usually) lead to kids. Same-sex couples can artificially conceive, thanks to technology. But think about the 'kids'. A child between a same-sex couple could could be discriminated against by his/her peers because of her 'parents'. The child could be bullied, teased, ignored. In other words, the child suffers. Unless of course everyone by then is unbiased, and fair to everyone, or the couple don't have kids; or same-sex couples is considered 'normal'. Remember, shifting human perceptions is no mean feat. Even now, we still hear incidents involving racism. 

That's one of my many reasons against same-sex marriage. Another reason is the social stigma involved.  I could go on, but I can tell, I am going to get 'flamed' by liberals and equality advocates. Sorry, I for one am not ready for the acceptance of same sex marriage. 

Wanna get hired? 

Have you ever tried landing a full-time job in Melbourne? You better get familiar with the three scenarios below. 

Scenario One:

Prospective employer: So, you want to work with us?

Me: Yes. I believe I can contribute positively to the firm.

Prospective employer: Your CV looks rather impressive. Unfortunately, we can't hire you at the moment.

Me: But..why?

Prospective employer: We feel that you are not suited to the firm. I also feel that that your experience are not relevant.I am looking for local experience in this field. 

Scenario Two:

Me: I am interested in applying for the position. Can I send in my CV?

Prospective employer: Hmm, let me see. Are you a current Nobel prize laureate?

Me: Er, no, but I was the finance officer for this...

Prospective employer: Oh I see. Are you the Australian Young Person of Year?

Me: What? No..

Prospective employer: President of the university's student union? Youth representative for UN Australia? CEO for hot start-up Airtasker? Perfect academic grades from uni?

Me: No, but if I send you my CV, you can see that I have relevant experience in..

Prospective: Okay. Thanks for your time. Unfortunately, your application will not be pursued further at this stage.

Scenario Three:

Prospective Employer: I have looked through your application. Unfortunately, we are only hiring those with local experience.

Me *throws chair at prospective employer*: HOW DO YOU EXPECT ME TO GET LOCAL EXPERIENCE IF EVERYBODY WON'T GIVE ME A CHANCE! 

Sure, I exaggerated just a bit, but that's how I feel. Either they don't really give a reason (Scenario One), or they want you to be the best person in the world (Scenario Two), or they are just being a complete b****.and say that you don't have the koalafications or local experience (Scenario Three). 

Can you believe it?

1. Astro censoring BBC's news coverage on the Bersih rally

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpG0zUExoeQ

2. Burger protest outside Ambiga's house 

http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/197931

3. NST falsifying what an Australian senator said

http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/political-news/xenophon-verballed-in-malaysia-20120502-1xzpd.html

4. Stewart Downing is included in England's squad for the upcoming Euros! 

At this rate, I might be in of a chance of getting called for the England squad 2014 World Cup as well. Oh wait..

5. Butt exercise protest?!

http://www.freemalaysiakini2.com/?p=29570n

6. Google getting sued by.........Iran?

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/5/18/worldupdates/2012-05-17T200311Z_2_BRE84G19I_RTROPTT_0_UK-IRAN-GOOGLE&sec=Worldupdates

Community Announcement 2

Seeing that I lack inspiration to write a full-fledged post, it's time to pull out 'Community Announcement 2' from my magic hat of blogging.

If you have been following this blog (and that means this sentence will apply to no one but myself), my first ever community announcement post was entitled 'Community Announcement Episode 1' and I blabbed about how I won't go into vlogging etc. Now, I dropped the word 'episode' because well, this isn't a TV show of any sort.

You just realized the last paragraph wasted 2 minutes of your life, didn't you? 2 minutes that will never ever be recovered.

Anyway, back to the announcements:

• There will be very few posts from now till June. This coincides with the second half of my semester, where I must play more Starcraft work harder. 
• I am considering shutting down this blog, perhaps starting afresh. No, this has nothing to do with the URL of my blog. Okay, maybe just a tiny *fill-in-some-gibberish-word* bit.

Weeknights Wonder

Few of us spend weeknights like I do, as I get the chance to sit down, grab a cuppa, point the finger and laugh as I discuss the puzzling, the mind-blogging and the downright outrageous. This time around, Rudd-Gillard, Liverpool (again), Arsenal, Chelsea, Lynas and the new section called 'Can you believe it?' gets the limelight.

Rudd and Gillard 
Recently, the battered image of the Labor goverment took another blow after the protracted Kevin Rudd-Julia Gillard saga. Rudd, the ex-PM, attempted to axe Gillard after being axed back in 2010 but ended up as the ex-Foreign Minister and demoted to the backbench after Gillard won the leadership ballot. Ah well, at least nobody said you didn't try Kevin. Ever since Rudd has been elected as PM, public opinion on the nation's top leaders has been as volatile as my horrible Malaysian internet connection . At one point, Rudd had a pretty high approval rating, but plummeted soon after. Even last year, the public was divided on who should lead the country during the federal elections, with approval ratings changing virtually everyday. In the few days leading up to the leadership ballot, a lot of people (normal people,mind you) actually backed Rudd to be the PM again. Talk about being fickle-minded.

Classic

Liverpool van Persie-ed, Villas-Boas get the 'boas-oot', and Torres (sorry can't resist)
So, congratulations Liverpool for securing your first silverware in quite a well (although the same can't be said for Arsenal). Even though it was only the Mickey Mouse Cup aka Carling Cup, a trophy is a trophy. Don't worry, Man Utd can win a record 20th English title in meantime. I must say, Liverpool, being the underdogs against Cardiff, fought valiantly and held off the mighty Cardifff to scrap through after Gerrard's cousin Gerrard (hurhur) gave Liverpool a helping hand (more like a helping boot) after missing his crucial penalty. Or did I get the underdogs part mixed up? 

'Sorry mate, maybe I bring the Cup around for dinner next week?'

Speaking of Arsenal, Liverpool followed up a positive result in typical Liverpool fashion, that is by losing the very next match to Arsenal at home (Arsenal?!). Despite having Suarez dived (doing his reputation no harm at all) and having heaps of chances, Liverpool somehow let Robin van Persie FC Arsenal post a smash-and-grab win, thanks to talisman Robin van Persie. It's okay Liverpool fans, at this rate a Roy Hodgson-led West Brom can finish above Liverpool. Talk about rubbing salt into the wounds eh?

Who needs Batman when you got Robin

           

Let us all observe a minute of silence for Andre Villas-Boas as he will not grace us with his sidelines antics for the foreseeable future

Let's move on to the poisoned chalice that is the Chelsea managerial post. Roman 'trigger-happy' Abramovich reinforced his reputation as the best football club owner to work for after firing a hapless Andre Villas-Boas less than a year into the job. At least Villas-Boas can take solace from the fact that he joins the illustrious list of former Chelsea managers under Abramovich's reign such as Ranieri, Mourinho, Grant, Scolari, Hiddink and Ancelloti. Sure, Villas-Boas didn't do himself any favours in his puzzling media conferences, terrible tactics and inability to get the best out of an ageing Chelsea squad, but the Chelsea old guard of Terry, Lampard, Drogba, Cech, Cole and co. must be blamed as well for failing to adjust to Villas-Boas's methods and whining about it (that's you Lamps). Let's put it into perspective: a team of consultants is performing poorly at a prestigious consulting firm.The consultants have been given plenty of opportunities to perform but continue to flop and even make excuses for it. Who is more likely to get the sack? The manager or the consultants? I think the answer is pretty obvious. And that is something that probably won't be adjusted at Chelsea anytime soon. 


And what football discussion is complete without poking fun at the hapless 'Flop-nando' Torres? What happen to the once-deadly El Nino who seemingly bagged goals for fun? Heck, even Yakubu from Blackburn and Long from West Brom has scored more goals than him this season (never heard of Yakubu and Shane Long before? Exactly). Torres is playing so badly, he might actually make me look like a world-class striker. Hey by the way, did you hear? Torres just broke David Blaine's record of standing in a box doing nothing for 40 days. 

It might happen y'know

(Since I am on a roll, here's another one)
Worried about her son, Torres' mum send him to a career advisor. All is well until Torres was asked: 'What are your goals?'. 


Oh is it still 'Arry for England' after 2 back-to-back losses to quality opponents for Spurs? The English national team is still in deep merde. 


Lynas
One word: Ridiculous. If the government expects the people to quietly accept a plant that processes radioactive substances to be built on Malaysian shores after the highly publicized nuclear disaster in Japan, then the government is delusional (yes I like that word). Poor Lynas, an Australian rare earths mining company, can't seem to catch a break. Website attacked by protesters, protests by thousands of Malaysians and shares dropping, you name it. Personally, I find it hard to believe that Lynas can dispose of its radioactive waste safely and without harming the environment. After all, Lynas can't even get approval from the Australian government to built the plant in Australia. 

Furthermore, if the plant is built, can it be maintained and taken care of properly? I highly doubt it. If the Japanese can't do it (it's an unfair comparison to be honest: the Fukushima nuclear disaster was caused by natural disasters), I don't think Malaysians and Lynas can do it. You don't want the plant to explode just because one worker took more cigarette breaks than he is suppose to. 

General interpretation of Lynas by anti-Lynas supporters

It doesn't help either when many are convinced the government received 'bonuses' to approve the Lynas plant in Kuantan, Malaysia.  Like I said before, the government only got themselves to blame for having such a stellar reputation. Likewise, I am not comfortable with the notion of Lynas of opening a plant here because of lax regulations here (compared to Australia). To further exacerbate the issue, reports of UMNO and Perkasa members behaving aggressively and chanting racist remarks at anti-Lynas Himpunan Hijau 2.0 rallies certainly didn't help. However, what really disappointed me was how the pro-BN media reported the issue. The bottom line is, it doesn't matter what is your political alignment, your race, religion, beliefs, Malaysia is just not ready for a rare earths plant. 


Can you believe it?
1. The Thai community in Malaysia has been assured of their bumiputra rights by PM Najib
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/2/26/nation/10809464&sec=nation


Wow. Thais are entitled to bumiputra rights, while Malaysians of Chinese and Indian descent are still treated like second-class citizens. Aren't we all Malaysians? Well, good luck stopping the brain drain TalentCorp.


2. Rosmah bestowed yet another award
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/3/4/nation/10852476&sec=nation

Stevens Institute of Technology, a US-based university, has awarded Rosmah Mansor its highest honour: Distinguished Service Medal for her public service. And this is just right after the Curtin outroar (read it on my previous post entittled 'Delusional', or just Google it).

3. Hilarous: Despicable Me 2 Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuzyODgWRp4

Ba ba ba ba ba nana... Ba ba ba ba ba nana... Oh!

4. Hilarous part 2: Rudd getting rude (hohoho)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkZsif8md_Q

5. The Robin van Persie 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFaTCA3TCXw


Excuse the excitable commentator. 


6. Fiesta Malaysia Melbourne 2012 is happening *gasps*
http://www.fiestamalaysia.com.au/

With me in charge of finances, it's a wonder it's still happening.

Community Announcement Episode 1

My first ever announcement post!

Notice that despite having 'episode 1' as part of my tittle, I will not be posting any video of any sort here. In other words (I am trying my best to appear sophisticated), I am not vlogging (video blogging). There are a couple of reasons why, and I am going to list them. My psychologist did say that listing whatever is on my mind will help 'un-clutter' my mind.

• I am not exactly Martin Luther King Jr. (I did say I want to appear am sophisticated). Talking and Jeric usually does not go well, although I heard soya bean drink does. Based on my extensive knowledge of probability, I think no one would tune in and watch me blabber & stutter my way through a video.

Soya bean-*drools*-great, now I have to wipe my keyboard

• My face is too awesome to behold

I am awesome!

• I much prefer writing, and remain the faceless blogger who pokes fun at hapless people and organizations.

So, back to the announcements, seeing that I was sidetracked. Wait, now you want know why I used the words 'communnity announcement' in my tittle? Because I would like to make  a couple of blog-related announcements, although admittedly I don't have much of a blog community.

You see? I was sidetracked again. Anyway, I am going to list out my announcements (remember what my psychologist said?) :

• I am considering changing the URL of my blog to something more sophisticated (ahem), or I might just start a new blog. I am considering using www.pinkbunny.blogspot.com or www.jericisawesome.blogspot.com
• I am thinking of introducing a free writing review app into my blog. Tentatively, anyone can submit an English piece of writing (essay, report etc) that is less than 500 words for a free review. 
• Just a head's up: if I have time, I will be experimenting with different blog features over the next few months.
• I am considering introducing third party functions into my blog as well, where I am not the only one with access to the blog. More details at a later date. 
• My next post will include the Rudd-Gillard leadership chaos, football, the Malaysian LRT system, Lynas and Malaysian politics (of course).

Delusional

Delusional: A false belief or opinion held with absolute conviction despite contradictory evidence. That's right, it is today's theme. Sounds delicious? Because today's menu will involve frying childish footballers, toasting delusional organizations (Liverpool, English FA, Barisan Nasional), choking on Rosmah's honorary doctorate, and tasting Australian tertiary education added with a pinch of worklife. 


I, as the responsible faceless netizen, can be total hypocrite and blast those who has irked my wrath. And by the way, I am the epitome of awesomeness. 


1. Liverpool, Luis Suarez, Patrice Evra and the English Football Association (FA)


Alright, let's talk about the issue in English football that was most blown out of proportion since the England national team, well, plays a match. First of all, as a Man Utd fan (oh dear) I would like to equally condemn both Suarez and Evra for acting like immature teenagers (heck, even my brother can behave better). I won't go into details, but keywords like 'racism row' and 'non-handshake' should help your search in Google if you are curious. 

No, Patrice, don't go overboard...too late.

Likewise, I found it amusing that after refusing to condemn Suarez since that incident in October, Liverpool came out with a triple apology (I definitely need to buy a lottery ticket) from their MD, manager and player soon after the latest farce. And that's after their sponsor, Standard Chartered, contacted Liverpool voicing their concerns. Well, if I had invested millions into a delusional child that started to behave even worse than usual, I would be worried too. And don't get me started on a section of delusional Liverpool and Man Utd fans trolling in the forums.

King Kenny, aka PR disaster man

Somehow, I get the impression that the English FA is doing all the wrong stuff in ensuring that England remains transforms into a genuine contender for the championship to come, the Euro 2012. If the FA thinks that by having no captain, no manager and no half-decent players just months before a major tournament will spur (geddit?) the national team to greater heights, that's delusional for you. And the FA will never listen - England will forever remain mediocre unless they enforce drastic changes in their grassroots system. But hey, I am not English, who says that I have the right to have a say in this. Of course, it applies to Malaysian sport as well. 

The only hope in Malaysian badminton

2. Rosmah awarded honorary doctorate - wait, what?


Rosmah, Najib's wife, was awarded a honorary doctorate from Curtin University, Australia, for her work in 'early education'. To say I am surprised is an understatement. Apparently, Curtin was impressed with her dedication to community work (Permata project). That's ridiculous. Didn't Curtin do their research on Rosmah's background before awarding the doctorate? Well, based on what is said in online forums, Curtin isn't exactly known for their high quality education and graduates either. 

FAIL!

As expected, there are plenty that objected the award, saying that Permata abuse taxpayers' money (what else?). All in all, I am pretty sure there are many more people out there that deserves this honorary doctorate. No, I am not suggesting myself - I am not that delusional (I can imagine my sister chuckling). 


I guess anything Barisan Nasional-related is deemed to be dodgy. Barisan Nasional, it's your fault that everything you do is dogged by corruption claims. Our forefathers will turn in their graves if they knew the state of Malaysia right now.

DOUBLE FAIL!

   


Oh by the way. did I mention that I am awesome?


3. Australian tertiary education


Yep, the Curtin-Rosmah issue reinforce this notion: Australian tertiary education isn't that fantastic. And yes, I am going into my third year this year in Australia. Note that I didn't say 'terrible'. I reiterate: Aussie unis are good places to further your studies. I just feel like it didn't meet my expectations. Maybe it didn't help that during my SAM-Taylor's days, I was constantly being bombarded with the awesomeness of Australia as a study destination. Or maybe I am someone who didn't make the best out of overseas education. But since I am awesome and not delusional, the latter point must be inaccurate. 


So why do I find myself a little disappointed?

• Too used to Malaysian education system: The difference in education system is telling. In Australia, it's pretty much 'go to class - learn the surface of the content - lecturer dumps a heap of work at you - figure it out yourself''. Minimal spoon-feeding, with heaps of flexibility - which is actually great, but for the money paid and hype believed, I felt short-changed. There are channels to get academic help, but there's always room for improvement.
• People in Melbourne: Generally, the Aussies in Melbourne are great (notwithstanding a few bad apples). But I can't shake off the nagging feeling that Aussies (whites and Australian-born Asians) look down on me. Maybe it's just me, but their demeanor towards me changed when I communicate with them. Just because I speak English differently from a typical Australian doesn't mean my English is horrible. Heck, I like to think my English is way better than most of them. 
• Cost of living: It's ridiculous. Melbourne is the eight most expensive city to live in. Read on:  http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/think-melbourne-is-expensive-youre-right-20120214-1t3em.html

Aussie unis, why u no awesome?

4. Study life >Worklife

I can now say that study life is kinder to the soul. During my time as a lowly intern at Great Eastern Life Malaysia, I witness my colleagues toll away late into the night, while I happily leave the office between 5.30pm and 6pm. (You might ask how I know that when I left earlier, but for the sake of my awesomeness, just ignore it). Even though I am not exactly doing heavy work, I still return home exhausted (in my defense, the 1 hour journey to work and another hour back doesn't help) Thus, working is no stroll in the park, unless you are Paris 'typical-blonde' Hilton or Kim 'marriage-is-nothing' Kardashian. 

'Hey at least I know how to count! 2+2 = 22 !'