Malaysian Mobile Telcos: The Real Situation

A question that's been plaguing me is why aren't Malaysian telco providers providing better service than this? Think about it. How many conversations have you actually had lately that didn't involve the following phrases:

• "Hello? Hello? Helloooooooooo... Hello?"
• "Sorry, what? I can't hear you. Wait ah, let me find better service"
• "You go straight, and then -Do-re-mi tone- hello? hello?"

I've always stood up for Malaysia when people said Malaysians are driving the country into the ground, and I was always adamant that Malaysia isn't as bad as people make it out to be. I'm on the verge of changing my mind.

During my 4 years in Australia, I barely had any problems with my mobile telco service provider. I barely even had to call them. Can't even think of any times I couldn't get through to someone, or had a dropped call.

When I bring that up, most say, "You can't compare us to Australia". I ask, "Why not? Many companies say their lack of infrastructure is due to low transaction volumes in Malaysia, but that doesn't apply to Australia. They have less people!"

Facts:

1. Malaysia has a larger population than Australia.
2. Australia is physically more than 25x the size of Malaysia.

Still, Australia is able to put up the infrastructure to cater to its widely-spread population, but Malaysians have trouble reaching the interiors of Sabah. Granted, their GDP is higher and that would affect how much they would have to invest in infra, but Malaysia has lower labour costs and is much closer to suppliers in China, reducing significant transportation and logistics costs, on top of being much, much smaller. In other words, logically, it should be cheaper to set up a network of cell towers in Malaysia.

With some research, I've found that I'm not the only person complaining about it.

Source: Industry Performance Report 2009, Suruhanjaya Komunikasi dan Multimedia Malaysia (MCMC)

NB: CAGR means Compounded Average Growth Rate, i.e. the effective growth rate each year for the time period in question

• In 2009, 6,178 people filed complaints for fixed line and mobile phone services, up from 178 in 2002. This is an increase of over 64% annually.
• Of the 6,178, 2,846 (46%) were complaints pertaining to poor service.
• In 2009, there were 30.4 million mobile subscribers, up from 9.1 million in 2002. This is an increase of just 19% annually.
  

I'm pretty sure that if the number of subscribers is only growing at 19% YoY and the number of complaints are going up 64% YoY, something is wrong somewhere. I'm pretty sure the number is also not reflective of the true situation as most wouldn't bother to report a dropped call.

So what's going on? Haven't the telcos been investing in maintaining and adding on to their infrastructure to cater to increasing demand? Apparently they have.

Sources: Annual reports

*CAGR for Axiata is for 2005 to 2010 only

The table above shows the Net Book Value for Telecommunications Network Equipment for Malaysia's 3 largest mobile telco service providers. According to this, they have been continuously investing in infrastructure since 2002. In RM values, their investments have outstripped the growth of mobile subscribers to 2009.

Again, the question remains: What is going on? Telcos have apparently been investing in infrastructure, but the sheer volume of complaints coming in pertaining to poor service and public debates on the issue of poor network service indicate that it isn't enough.

So, what is the role of MCMC in the whole issue? Their mission includes:

• Ensuring consumers enjoy choice and a satisfactory level of services at affordable prices;
• Providing transparent regulatory processes to facilitate fair competition and efficiency in the industry;
• Ensuring best use of spectrum and number resources

I'm not sure they are doing so, given the state of our telco mobile networks, but that is just my opinion.

I'll stop short of accusing people of things because, let's face it, I'm Malaysian and subject to tyrannical laws on freedom of speech, but take the time to educate yourselves. Don't accept sub-standard services.

• You can find the General Consumer Code of Practice outlining our telco's responsibilities to its users here.
• They've also released the Mandatory Standards for Quality of Services (MSQoS), which came into effect in 2003. The standards can be found here.

You'll note that the MSQoS rates each telco based on reports and complaints filed. Not to whinge, but there is a benefit to complaining.

I'm Tired

What happens when people get tired of fighting for something better; of fighting for principles, for rights, for chivalry? What happens when a society languishes and lets people take advantage of its apathy by feeding off its loopholes? Because that's what I'm dangerously close to.

I know what I sound like: a diva, one of those people who complain about everyone and expect people to jump when I complain. I'm fine with people thinking of me that way, because to me, I'm trying to create a world that I want to live in and be in.

Is it right for telcos to provide sub-par service? No. Is it right for office buildings to provide insufficient parking lots and close it all day to non-season parkers? No. Is it right for our Ministry of Tourism and whoever is in charge of our environment to sit quietly while our coral gardens are being irrepairably damaged? No.

But goddammit, I'm tired of being one of the few who are willing to do anything. Everyone else sits there and complains but is too lazy or can't be bothered to do anything. I want to make my little corner of the world a little bit better, but it's not easy doing it alone.

It's even worse when there's resistance and people look at you like you're crazy because you're asking for a safer parking location, or for pamphlets educating visitors and locals on how to care for corals, or for a telco that won't have dropped calls for every 2 out of 3 calls made. It's the worst when people won't even try to help you. They won't even try.

I'm tired. That's the gist of it. I'm tired. I want to be a better person in a better place, but I'm too goddamn tired.

The Myth of the High Standard

It being Valentine's Day, I think it's only natural for the mind to turn to coupling. And, of course, the eternal question, "Where's your boyfriend?". The assumption by most is that I have high standards. Do I really? Honestly, I don't think so. I may talk the talk, but I don't really expect my boyfriends to spend lavishly on me or to take me jetsetting. I don't really expect very much. Yet, here I sit, boyfriend-less. Do I really have high standards?

The Standards:

1. My boyfriend won't lie to me (at least when it counts), because I wouldn't lie to him.
2. The girlfriend isn't outranked by anyone except family. Don't forget, we're talking about a long-term relationship here.
3. My boyfriend will remember my birthday. It's not that hard.
4. When I'm angry or upset, my boyfriend will hold me and tell me that he loves me. Same goes with when I'm insecure, hormonal, depressed, etc. It's a failsafe that works for all occasions. You know why? Because not one ex-boyfriend has ever done this for me.
5. My boyfriend wants me around.

When I tried to list that down, it was pretty hard to come up with 5, but there it is and I think the list is complete. I can't speak for other women, but I personally don't need anything more than these 5 things from my partner.

I don't think the standards are very high. They're not high expectations for anyone other than a child or a family pet, but still the only person I've ever met who hit all 5 wasn't even a boyfriend. Maybe that was my mistake.

A Flurry of White

I'm so confused about growing up. It's as if growing up was always this secret mystical place far away, perfect in its ideals.

And then I arrive and find that the glow has dulled, the streets lay trodden and broken by those that had come before me, the wind is stale, and the sun doesn't shine quite as brightly as I'd thought. The stories I'd been told during the journey had been shined and polished more often than an army chief's boots.

What else is there to do, but to roll up my sleeves and try to make it better.

posted from Bloggeroid

Maybe I'll Never Be

Maybe, I'll never be perfect. Maybe, I'll never be the person who says exactly what needs to be said at exactly the right time. Maybe, I'll never just be content with what there is at that moment. Maybe, I'll always expect too much from other people. Maybe, I'll never be okay enough for you, or open enough for you, or trusting enough for you. Maybe.

But I am me, and as much as I try to grow when life calls for it, I'm still just me. A little weird, a little funny, a little aloof, a lot guarded. I can't change that. I can't change me. This is me. Leave me be.

Some days, the memories remember you

I don't think I think things through enough before I do or say things. I really should look at that in myself.

Most of the time you remember the memories. And just sometimes, some days, you can't control it and the memories remember you. Those memories for which you've worked so hard to say, "this is the past, and that coming up right there is the future".

2010 Round Up

Another year is coming to a close, and I will be spending it in what I hope will turn out to be a most spectacular way. Like a broken record, I'd like to say that this year was like totally ridiculous, and I'm just glad it's over. If I ever get around to printing that "I survived 2008" t-shirt, I'll have to amend that to "I survived 2008-2010".

I mean, is it just that those years were exceptional, or is adulthood really that hard? People around me seem to be happy and carefree. Is it just me? Am I expecting too much?

I do know that I've learned a lesson after 3 long years: Don't trust people so much that you end up being vulnerable. I ventured into the adult world with a certainty that people were inherently good and that if I gave them a chance, surely they would afford me the same respect. Needless to say, I got screwed over.

Now most of my time is spent being upset at the injustices and indignations that I and other people have to suffer, and I vowed to stand up for myself. Why? Because nice guys finish last. On the other hand, being happy go-lucky also means being jaded enough not to care. So either I finish last, or I'm jaded.

This is going around in circles. Let's just say that 2010 was a bitch. I don't expect much more from 2011, but at least I'll be prepared. And probably mostly jaded, so that'll help.

The Passage of Time

Somebody watching Charlie Chaplin movies intently have found what they call proof of time travel - a person walking in the background while holding a hand to the ear and talking, as if it were a mobile phone.

Catch the video at http://bit.ly/hELzwR .

I've seen it. I still want to try and rent/buy the movie on DVD or something so that I can have a proper look myself, but it's entirely possible that the video is showing a person talking into a mobile phone during the 1920s.

Honestly, I'm really not sure what to make of it. I can't say that I don't believe in time travel, because we're advancing at accelerated speeds and are achieving things that couldn't even be dreamt of in the '20s.

I can say, however, that if time travel is possible, that nothing good will ever come from it. Changing history or the future is never a good thing, even if it prevents millions from dying, because you never know what will happen after that.

Customer Service Review: The Maybank Malfunction

What Happened: On Monday (25th October 2010), Maybank experienced a nationwide system failure. All ATMs and Maybank2U ceased to function, and Maybank2e payroll functions were affected. Some got paid 2 months' salary (only for the extra 1 month to be taken away again, sadly), and some didn't get paid.

The Situation:

• Mistake #1 - I went to the ATM to withdraw money, which I needed seeing as how I only had RM10 in my wallet. The ATMs were not working. I asked the concierge what other options I had to withdraw money. She sent me back to the ATMs to try again.
• Mistake #2 - After I had tried 3 more times at the ATMs, I called the call centre and found out that I can withdraw money over-the-counter (which the concierge failed to mention to me), I waited in a growing line of people. Only 2 out of 6 counters were open. 1 person was served in 15 minutes.
• Mistake #3 - After scanning headlines on Tuesday, I found no mention of the Maybank nationwide system failure. As if it were some kind of dirty secret and ignoring it will make it seem like it never happened.

The Result: I have no idea what happened on Monday. I don't know whose fault it was and what steps Maybank is going to take to stop it from happening again. I no longer have confidence in Maybank to safeguard my money and will have to place my money elsewhere. I can only imagine that other people feel the same way. I mean, we're trusting this system that failed epically to safeguard our money.

The Aftermath:

Number of complaints made - 3.

Follow ups - 2.

Maybank has promised to get their IT people to call me and explain. I think they've missed the point that I tried to make repeatedly, which was that they need to inform their customers or they're going to lose them. Nevertheless, I will be one of a small % of people who will have an explanation about what happened to their system, which I will post here in case people go online to look for it.

Just for fun, a lifetime of firsts

The first time I

• Walked into a new school, I hated it and spent every day pretending I was sick so I could go home.
• Got a job, I was a barely 16, a bit nervous, and wondered if that was the start of the rest of my life.
• Drank, I got absolutely wasted and had to be carried out of the bathroom by my sister and cousin. Fun times.
• Found out my parents were human, a part of me died a little bit.
• Drove a car with a valid driving license, I drove it like I drove a go-kart because that was the only thing I knew how to drive.
• Walked into a university tutorial, I was intimidated. I made up for it by talking too much and making a fool of myself.
• Had to live without my parents, I still knew they were taking care of me and that made me feel completely at home, regardless of where I was.
• Fell in love, I knew it wasn't forever, but I loved every minute of it.
• Felt the fear of possibly losing somebody close to me, it was almost too much to handle.
• Was expecting a nephew, I spent the night on eggshells waiting for the call. When it came, it was incredible.
• Graduated from university, I said goodbye to the only life I'd known and ventured into the new world not knowing what to expect.
• Entered the corporate world, I vowed to be true to my pedigree, climb the corporate ladder quickly and make a name for myself.
• Made friends with my colleagues, they became an integral part of my life.
• Met him, I knew for absolute certain that I could spend the rest of my life with him. And it could have been a love story for the ages.
• Switched jobs, I tried to be better at what I did. I'm still trying.
• Really, truly opened myself up to those that cared about me, they shut me out and closed the door. And I made myself comfortable with what I had.
• Had chicken after going vegetarian, it tasted like disgusting fat.
• Felt really and truly alone, my family stepped up to the plate. They're still here.
• Started this blog, I didn't know what it was going to be or what was going to be on it. Now I do.

The Day That Started Out Well

You know what's incredible? I've discovered that most of the things that I thought were a weird thing that I do is actually something that many people do.

Par example, one day I told someone that I had this thing where if my mum reminded me to do something (this was a while back), I would put it off a bit longer even though I was just going to do it, just to prove that her reminding me wasn't what made me do it. Apparently that happens to other people too.

Then there's the other thing that hasn't changed since I was a kid: a small sign from God in the morning on the way to school/work that the day was going to be a good one. It could be anything, from a favourite song coming up on the radio to the light that's usually red being green to buying your favourite nasi lemak for breakfast. Just a small sign from God, and you start having high hopes for the rest of the day, thinking, "Yes, today is going to be a good one".

For me, though, more often than not the high hopes usually come crashing down. Probably because the expectation was too high, and the day that started out on a high note becomes, well, a day that ends with drinks. Guess I really need to stop expecting so much. But that's a part of life, right? The ups and downs. There's always another day tomorrow.

Weekend Epiphany

I had an epiphany over the weekend. Yes, I'm only typing out the entry now because, well, I've just been that tied up.

The epiphany was that anything worth having will take some hardship getting. I.e. I may be going through a whole lot of shit right now (and the past oh, I don't know, 2 years?) but whatever is waiting for me at the end is going to be worth it.

I've always thought that anything worth having is worth fighting for, and that those people who say, "If it's meant to be, it'll happen" are idiots. Do you really think that things happen for a reason? That those kids starving in Africa are starving for a reason? The reason is because people think "things that are meant to be will be". I think it's easier for people to say, "If it's meant to be, it'll be" because then no one will expect them to actually grow a pair and fight for what they want.

But I digress. My point was that I'm not having the best time of my life right now, but that's alright because something better is meant to happen. I can't lose myself in this, and I can't depend on anyone else because obviously that didn't work out very well. Just wish whatever it is would hurry up already.

Drowning In Mediocrity

Has anyone ever wondered what happens to the average and the mediocre? Think about it: movies, songs, books, stories are told about those who are the incredible, the outstanding. The bards spin stories of heroes and seemingly average people who go above and beyond expectations, overcome all odds and achieve their goals. They even tell stories of those who are outstanding because they're so deviant - those who murder in seemingly inhumane ways, those who are cunning in their arts.

What about the average? Those people who may never be considered anything other than "well read". Those who, rather than being "detail-oriented" are "absent-minded" or "careless". Those who, while not lazy, aren't driven enough to be called "married to their job". What about those who live their lives in the middle class, who never date anyone extraordinary and end up marrying another average person, who pop out a couple of kids and live in an average sized family home in an average neighborhood driving average cars? What about those who only go on holidays in average places on average tour packages, those who dream of becoming a millionaire by age 30 but in reality never come close, those who never make it past middle management?

The average and the mediocre will never make headlines. They will never be exceptionally popular. They're never really good enough at anything to be called "great at xxx" and they'll never be too outside of the norm that people will say, "(s)he's so xxx".

When they die, their graves will be frequented every so often - probably once a year - by those who love them. But there will never be too many. Over the years, probably in less than ten, people will stop visiting and bit by bit nature will reclaim the grave, growing weeds in the place of artificially cut and placed flowers, leaving no trace of them but their names in high school yearbooks or in somewhat visited websites on the internet where their comments on articles blend in with hundreds of others.

Egad, it's no wonder so many people commit suicide.

Always Single, Happy That Way: Shut Up About It! The Synopsis

There have been several responses to my previous entry Always Single, Happy That Way: Shut Up About It! to the tune of, "that article is talking about 45 year old women and you're only 26 so you can't possibly be comparing yourself to 45 year olds, right?"

Wrong.

The point of the article, and since it clearly went way over most people's heads, are as follows:

• I choose to be single
• I choose to be single because I do not want a partner
• Most people view single people as somehow less of a person or people who have less complete lives because they are single
• My life is no less complete than yours just because I am single

In conclusion:

• No, I don't want to be set up today or when I'm 45
• No, just because I'm having a conversation with a male, it does not mean I have the hots for him
• No, just because I'm the only single girl in the group it does not mean that I want to go out with the only single guy in the group

Get your heads out of your collective asses, society.

Always Single, Happy That Way: Shut Up About It!

The following article should be read by the whole world, and should by all means be used to assume that I feel the same way.

From The Star: Always Single, Happy That Way: 'Shut Up About It!':

NEW YORK: Not all older single ladies want a ring on it, and they have a message for relatives, co-workers, neighbors, friends, acquaintances and life's random buttinskys who think they need one: Shut up already!

They have other messages: We are not all sad. We are not all divorced, unlucky in love or unlovable. We are not all gay (and even if we were, have we not evolved as a culture, even just a little, to stop making that assumption? Don't answer that.)

Singledom and a massive case of "singlism" are red hot right now as short hair, softball and being single at 50 swirl around Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan, and Samantha Jones cracks menopause jokes at 54 as she romps in the desert with her three fab friends in "Sex and the City 2."

For women, say 45 and up, who are living single and always have, it is a chronically sizzling subject as they face down the seemingly unstoppable tangle of stereotypes that has plagued them forEVER: Old Maid. Desperate. Quirky. Cougar. Incapable of committing. Workaholic. Bitter. Damaged goods.

"There always has to be something wrong," said Rose Clayton, 48, who works in the tasting room of a winery in Alexandria, Virginia, and always has been single. "It's always, ohhh, what's wrong? I always go, 'With me you mean? Or other people?"'

Imagine being happy and nobody believes you, she said. "I have plenty of friends, family. I go out and do things. I travel, go to dinner and parties, socialize."

Social psychologist Bella DePaulo is 56 and happily an always-single near Santa Barbara, California. She has been trying to turn off the stereotypes and end the stigma, first through a book, "Singled Out," and now a blog called Living Single for Psychologytoday.com.

Older, single women often are painted as what DePaulo called "quirkyalones" when really they're "singles at heart" and wouldn't have it any other way.

Even more important, perhaps, she asks why we're still desperately trying to suck them into the "Matrimania" vortex?

"The single at heart are not looking for long-term coupling, whereas quirkyalones still romanticise the quest for The One, and that makes the quirkyalone less threatening, easier to understand," DePaulo said.

Over-the-top hyping of marriage and coupling, including "wedding porn" that includes TV ads selling everything from muffins to motor oil, was not necessary back when everybody got married, when they divorced less and when women had little opportunity for financial security or having children outside of marriage.

In 1970, 28% of the U.S. population was divorced, widowed or never married.

By 2008, it was 45.2%, with single women 45 and older 27 million strong across those categories.

According to a 2009 census report, 11.5% of women between the ages of 45 and 49 had never been married, up from 10.7% in 2005. For women 50 to 54, it was 10%, compared with 8.7% four years earlier.

Negative assumptions about living single and older do not pack the wallop of other "isms," like racism, DePaulo said. "There's no consciousness raising. The stereotypes are so rarely challenged."

Betsy Robinson, 59, is madly in love with the single life she's always had.

"I remember really lighting into my grandmother when I was in my 20s for referring to a time when I was going to get married," said the writer in New York City.

"I told her never, and I think she went into shock. She was the sweetest person in the world, and I got really mad at her."

Not so much has changed in nearly four decades, said Robinson, who has been following media coverage and commentary on Kagan's single status and coded speculation about her sexual orientation.

Former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer (the one who resigned over hiring a high-priced hooker) is Kagan's friend from Princeton University. He went so far as to tell Politico, a Washington insider political newspaper: "I did not go out with her, but other guys did."

Living happily single without hunting for a mate, or living happily single while dating, especially outside one's age range, the stereotypes never end.

Take the cougar craze. Kim Cattrall, Samantha in the Sex and the City movies, recently questioned the term, for herself and her character in the movies.

"I think cougar has a negative connotation," she told Extra, a show biz television show.

"I was asked recently by a significant magazine for women over 40 to pose with a cougar, and I refused to do it because I felt it was insulting. They took away the cover because I refused to do so."

DePaulo said friends, family, colleagues and the world at large sometimes can more easily get their minds around an older single woman interested in younger men, or any man, than a woman who makes it clear she is not and really likes her life without that goal in mind.

"I think there's really a belief that if you get married you are actually a better person than a single person," she said.

Like Cattrall's Samantha, 45-year-old Lori Goodwine in Las Vegas, Nevada, has her own public relations firm.

She loves how her life is "really focused on me," but falls somewhere in the middle on the issue of a long-term relationship.

Ideally, she said, she would love to have "a great guy around," so long as he does not live with her.

"If I hear one more time, 'You're not married? You don't have a kid? Are you gay?' I'm going to scream," she said.

"My life is pretty fabulous, a 'Sex and the City' story with the occasional pair of $500 shoes that I get on sale. I feel great about my life."

Retail Therapy

The first half of the year has been different, to say the least. I lost my grandmother whom I loved very much, my cat who we've had for 18 years, various things happened, etc. It may seem crude to some for me to list the loss of my cat with the loss of my grandmother. I can't really compare them, to be honest. The loss of my gma was pretty paradigm-altering, but also the loss of my cat was the loss of someone who sat with me when I was happy or sad, was (usually) always there for me, and just generally made me feel better.

Anyway, the past couple of months has been an exercise in clearing her things slowly, and there've been a couple of days of goods distribution so far. There will definitely be more. Sorting through the things that I've been bequeathed brings back so much of her to me. None of them are expensive - far from it. So far all I've got are some textiles and assorted kitchen items, but they so remind me of her that it becomes overwhelming sometimes.

Finding a cendol maker is like finding gold, and suddenly having her kitschy cat-decorated kitchen towel holder makes me feel like she's in the kitchen telling me exactly what to do and scolding me when I make too much noise. I suppose this is what makes me suddenly want to pay more attention to my surviving grandmother.

On the Dangerous Topics of Islam and Translations

Those whom I follow on Twitter can quite easily be categorised.

1. News sources: @reuterskl, @staronline
2. Humour and merriment: @ichcheezburger, @qdb, @aaronkaro
3. Entertainment: @thesuperficial, @junkonline, @klue
4. Hoping for good deals/freebies: @airasiadotcom, @digi_telco
5. Friends

And then there are those that even I don't know why I follow, like the subject of today's blog post: @EvilBibleQuotes. I want to say that it's a source of humour and merriment, so that I can laugh at those idiot heathens (j/k... or am I?) and their silly ways. Like in this tweet:

American Family Assoc.: Exodus21 demands executing whale and SeaWorld director after whale "murders" its trainer. http://bit.ly/954YOK

Pat Robertson: "Waving those [Gay Day] flags in God's face... will bring earthquakes, tornadoes and possibly a meteor." http://bit.ly/58vQry

The last one is fun because it reminds me that it's not only Malaysian dignitaries that make stupid comments.

But the fact is that @EvilBibleQuotes doesn't just quote the Bible. They (quite rightly, I might add) also quote the Koran, the Torah and I assume other bibles of other faiths.

It's actually a bit disturbing, some of the quotes that come up:

Men are in charge of women...for those women who you fear may rebel, admonish them and banish them to beds apart, and beat them. Sura 4:34

Gentiles who study the Torah deserve death, for it's written: Moses commanded us
a law for an inheritance-it's ours, not theirs. Sanhedrin59

And the last, the one that prompted this post:

O Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, so kill him. Bukhari 52:256

That one set me thinking: it's unlikely that the Koran would have propagated such a thing, because in all technicality, Muslims are allowed to marry the people of the 4 bibles - the Koran, the Torah, the Zaboor and the Injil (the original Christian bible) without them converting because all are recognised to be people of God. In fact, in all technicality, a Muslim can marry Orthodox Christians and Orthodox Jews without them converting.

So how can it be that the Koran advocates the killing of Jews - the people of the same God? Could it be due to a mistranslation due to the current political headwinds of the time? Don't forget, up until a few hundred years ago, reading was not a right - it was a privilege and a hobby for the rich because books were difficult to print and thusly expensive. In fact, it was only in the 1400s that printing books became efficient enough to be cheap and done mechanically.

Most books printed before the invention of movable type were actually copied out by hand, slowly and painstakingly by scribes who played a very important role in civilisations. Obviously, mistakes were made sometimes, though scribes prided themselves on accuracy and speed. And just as obviously, it was easy to subject the translations to the interpretation of the times due to political/religious warfare. And we all know how that ends.

How is it, then, that the Koran advocates the killing of a Jew?

Various Disclaimers:
I've read the Koran in Arabic a few times but I don't speak Arabic so I don't pretend to know what it means. Also, this is pure speculation on the part of someone who's not educated in any of these fields other than everyday Islamic tenets. And also, if you flame illogically, I won't post your comment. And this post was not intended as a flame for @EvilBibleQuotes. I don't think they're doing anything wrong. They could actually be perpetuating mutual understanding.

All The Wrong Choices

I've just realised that I have this uncanny ability to make the wrong choices. Sure, most think that I have a great life and not much to complain about, which is essentially true - me complaining would be like ridiculous. I'm way too careful about the big decisions like career and stuff to make a mistake.

It's the other things that you think don't matter that get past you. Sure there's stuff like always choosing the wrong lane in traffic jams. And then there are the things like men and love, which TV and movies made me believe would "just happen" because "if it were meant to be, it's meant to be". That true love would never hurt and love means happily ever after. Bullshit.

In this case, my choices are always like getting caught in traffic. Whenever I switch lanes to one that I think will get me there faster, it stops moving. Whenever I stay my lane, people cut me off. I just want to stop and get off the road until there's no more traffic. And if it feels like home, then that's home.

Written on my Archos 5

Hello, 2010!

A little bit delayed, but as usual, here's the post-new year analysis of the previous year and an overview of how I'm going to tackle the next one.

What I'm glad for in 2009:

• I didn't watch 2 girls, 1 cup
• I discovered Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother and Andra & the Backbone
• I got my house all set up and moved in
• I got an awesome job offer
• I got over you and you
• I survived
• I really bonded with my workmates and I can now call them my friends
• I went from yellow belt to green belt in kickboxing
• Syria

What I'm looking forward to in 2010:

• An awesome house (thanks, Mom & Dad!)
• Good food, good drinks, great friends
• Starting a new job
• Getting my motorcycle license

Here's to the night we felt alive.

Things Worth Fighting For

For those who are not in the know, whoren and I went to Koh Lipe, Thailand over Hari Raya Haji weekend and, dear god, was that an escapade.

It went like this. We didn't book ferry tickets for Langkawi - Koh Lipe in advance, so we shouldn't have been surprised when we got there and they were fully booked for the whole weekend. Deciding to wing it, we ran over to Kuah Jetty where we got tickets for Satun. From there, we hopped on a tuk-tuk which took us the 1 hour to reach Pak Barra, and then hopped on another ferry to get to Koh Lipe. It was about a 4 hour journey, I think.

By that time we felt pretty adventurous, winging it and all and figured that the worst was over. We chilled and illed by the beach, I went diving and got sick and got waited on hand and foot by men on the boat (I love being a girl), and had crazy awesome Thai food. We don't know what it is about Thai food but it's like they put something in it that makes it awesome. Also, we got super tanned. Basically it was just what both of us needed, despite the inherent Phuketness of the beach.

And then on Sunday, we left Koh Lipe on the 1.30pm boat back to Pak Barra hoping to catch the 5.00pm ferry from Satun to Langkawi. Unfortunately, we got the times wrong. The last ferry from Satun to Langkawi was 4.00pm, which we missed by 30 minutes.

Panic.

No buses out of Satun until the next morning, nearest airport was Had Yai to which taking a taxi would have been too expensive.

We begged and chartered a longtail (think sampan) to take us the 1 hour over to Kuala Perlis like illegal immigrants. From there, we ran to get tickets to the last ferry out to Langkawi leaving at 8.00pm which would have gotten us to Langkawi by 9.00pm in time to see if we could catch the last 10.40pm flight back to KL, all the while calling Air Asia's hotline (who refused to pick up, by the way). They told us the flight was fully booked.

Panic.
Pray.
Hope.

Ferry delayed by 45 minutes. Docked in Langkawi at 10pm. Reached airport at 10.20pm. Ran to counter. Begged guy to let us on the flight. He gave. Again, awesome being a girl :) Also, we were allowed to board because flight was delayed and the plane wasn't even there yet, and 4 people didn't show up, leaving 4 free seats.

We finally reached KL at 1 a.m. and home at 2 a.m. after 12 hours of travel and taking 3 different modes of transportation. What an escapade. Guess it just goes to show that good things aren't always easy, and things that you really need are worth fighting for. I wish more people realised that.