"Excuse Me, Can I Have Another Fork, Please?"

One of the compulsory courses I had the pleasure of attending while in the judiciary was the etiquette course held at Intan. We had a couple of trainers who taught us basically everything about dining etiquette, formal wear dos and dont's, how to converse with dignitaries etc. 

One of my colleagues from the AG chambers really took the course seriously cos he believed that one day, he would actually be dining with the Queen.

But it was a really interesting couple of days learning how to eat soup the proper way, and knowing which fork to use for every course. And oh, if we're offered alcohol at these functions, just say "no, thank you" politely; no need to be apologetic about it. 

But no, my ex-colleague never quite had the chance to dine with the Queen of England, as far as I know 😅

A Chinese Boy Who Truly Made My Day...

A Chinese boy (probably 4 years old) just really made my day! 

I was in the lift going back to my place, when a Chinese family entered. The boy pressed level 2, then remarked that they're on 2 and I'm on 3.

THEN he asked me: "Are you Malaysia Madani?"

I was stunned but I smiled and proudly replied, "Yes, I am! Wah, that's a very good question."

His parents just smiled sheepishly. 

Then the boy said, "I know because you're wearing this... (he made a sign like a songkok on his head)."

I just laughed and said, "That's very good. I AM Malaysia Madani."

But before I got to ask for his name, the lift reached the 2nd floor and we parted ways. 

And I still can't stop smiling 😁

1-6, 6-1 -- Revenge Is Sweet!

I travelled from JB to KL with my late father in a packed van to watch the 1986 Malaysia Cup final. It was my first time tengok Tugu Peringtan, and pergi Pertama Complex and Merdeka Stadium. But then, Johor lost 1-6 to Selangor. We got booed at the stadium. I was heartbroken and don't even remember the journey home. 

BUT a couple of months ago, I was part of the 80,000 people at the Bukit Jalil Stadium to witness the FA Cup final between JDT and Selangor. 

And the final score was... JDT 6 Selangor 1! Revenge is sweet, I tell ya! 

Alright Stop, Collaborate, And Listen!

 

So, we were talking about poetry when I told my daughter Tia this TRUE STORY:

It was in 1990/91 at the IIUM Matriculation Centre in Lembah Pantai (see photo). This was IIUM back in the day. Everything was pretty much segregated and still very, um, conservative.

So one night, our law faculty had a Malam Puisi at the main hall. The project head had earlier called for performers and quite a handful volunteered, including myself and classmate/roommate/bandmate Fino.

On the fateful night, the first guy stepped up, and he went, "Kacaaa Kacaaa Kotaaa..." So puisi. So dramatic.

A few others followed suit. We had sajaks, gurindams and guys who syair-ed the night away. 

Then it was our turn.

Fino and I stepped on to the stage and into the spotlight. I walked up to the microphone and said: "We're going to present something different. But this is ALSO poetry."

Then we proceeded to rap "Ice Ice Baby". 

Jaws literally dropped. 

Of course, we also had to change some of the words. Art is art, but we didn't want to risk suspension or expulsion for the sake of freakin' Vanilla Ice!

We finished the performance and literally ran out of the hall. 

We were then told that the supervising lecturer wanted to see us. But we never took up on the invitation. 😅

THE END

Sunsets!

I was going thru my IG archive and came across this video taken at Cottesloe Beach, Western Australia. So, here's a bunch of other sunset vids/pics in my collection. Masya Allah, they're so beautiful ❤️ 

Cottesloe, Western Australia

Miri, Sarawak

Cambridge, UK

Ipoh, Perak

Bukit Jalil, KL

Pantai Minyak Beku, Batu Pahat

Sekinchan, Selangor

Dubai, UAE

Hyde Park, London

Morib, Selangor

Singapore

Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan

A B*B* Story

The first piece in the 1997 book "Generation" that I'm currently reading is by Amir Muhammad and is titled "A Khinzir's Eye View". It's about how, one day, the word "babi" was thoroughly replaced by the more polite (and "almost glamorous" according to Amir), "khinzir", in our local media. 

This reminded me of something that happened years back when I was hosting Malaysia Hari Ini on TV3.

It was an episode near CNY, and my co-host and I were talking about what animal year it was according to the Chinese calendar, and what it meant for the people who were born in the year of that particular animal. 

Then, my co-host (who shall remain nameless) asked me, "MZul lahir tahun apa?"

I just smiled and said, "Tak perlulah tahu."

But she didn't give up. "Alah, ceritalah. Mzul lahir tahun apa?"

"Takpelah, nanti saya cerita lain kali."

She refused to give up. "Ceritalah, penonton semua nak tahu."

I didn't know what else to say, so I went to: "Ok, kita rehat seketika, jumpa lagi selepas ini."

As we went into the commercial break, I turned to her and said, "Alah you ni, I lahir tahun Babi lah."

The End 🤣🤣