Just came back from the now-weekly sports session of the Malaysian Soc. I find myself getting more and more competitive when it comes to matters like this - my innate desire to win is starting to sneak through; even though I know it's just a game and no one really wins anyway. Am now knackered, exhausted and nursing that recurring snag in my right leg. I sort of knew it was going to be uncomfortable anyway; but I didn't really want to pass up the opportunity. Main dulu, yang lain pikir kemudian. Memang aku sedar, aku tak reti duduk diam.

Anonymous Surfer

Saudara/i anonymous surfer ni banyak komen membina dalam guestbook aku. Banyak yang benarnya dia kata; dan banyak yang membuat aku terfikir sejenak dan dua jenak. Sebenarnya, dalam kehidupan seharian aku, aku cuba gak nak tunjukkan kat Mat Salleh cara kehidupan Islam yang penuh dengan kesederhanaan dan kemuliaan; cuba nak ubah persepsi diorang bahawa orang Islam ni tak kasar atau ganas sepertimana yang ditonjolkan oleh media. Berjaya ke tidak aku tak tahulah usaha aku ni.

Aku rasa diorang memang lagi kasar - just today ada mamat Cyprus yang lagak macam nak tampar junior aku, hanya sebab junior aku tanya dia kenapa dia potong line. Yang merusuh stadium sampai mati orang yang nak tengok bola sapa? Bangsa-bangsa Eropah jugak. Tapi memang orang Islam yang selalu dapat nama buruk.

Maybe sebab diorang nampak Islam ni pelik dan diorang takut. Jadi daripada diorang fahami, baik diorang burukkan. Cam kita gaklah; kalau ada mamat atau minah yang pelik dalam kelas kita ke; kita selalu assume macam-macam dan cakap macam-macam pasal dia; padahal mungkin dia sebaliknya.

Kenapa diorang nampak Islam macam pelik? Pada firasat aku, sebab diorang sekarang ni tak ramai dah yang ada pegangan. The concept of faith totally defeats them; it is not something they can relate to, and it is not something they understand. Sebab tu ada sorang secretary kat opis aku tanya pasal puasa; dia tanya, betul ke kitorang puasa, ke curi-curi makan gak? Aku mulanya nak terangkan kat dia konsep di mana kalau walaupun orang tak nampak, tapi Tuhan nampak; tapi malas nak bercerita panjang lebar. Sebab kalau dia familiar dengan konsep iman, dia takkan tanya pun soalan gitu. So last-last aku gelak aje, aku cakap kat dia, aku tak curi-curi, memang betul-betul puasa. Dia macam muka tak caya ajer.

Another piece of lopsided reporting today, courtesy of the BBC. On the 6 O'Clock News tonight, they did a feature about an Israeli father who lost his ex-wife and two sons when a Palestinian gunman ran amok at a kibbutz and killed 5 people. The interview was meant to show his pain, his anger and how he now feels hopeless; and no longer cares for co-existence.

What a farce. First of all, there was no proof that the gunman wasn't insane - at least not given in this report here. The difference is, that if he was insane, was that the attack was one of a madman; and all that is fate, really, although undeniably tragic. But most importantly, the bias I felt was that Palestinians live through that kind of pain every single day. Random Israeli gunmen kill innocent Palestinians on a daily basis - why is no one picking THAT story up? Or, more realistically, even if people picked that story up, would the TV stations show it?

When one wonders what goes through the minds of the suicide bombers; perhaps it would be easier to empathise when you think of how these people have seen their parents and family mercilessly killed by the Israeli army. What is there left to live for, in their psyche, apart from revenge? I'm not saying it's right, and I'm not saying it's justified, because technically, suicide is wrong anyway. But it may makes thing easier to understand why they chose to act in such a manner.

Masuk ke opis lambat sikit hari ni. Tu pun sebab ada meeting dengan Prof. Dharan pagi ni - semua budak PhD in Accounting wajib hadir. Informative jugaklah session dengan dia. Dapat sedikit insight dalam issue-issue terkini. Paper dia interesting jugak; pasal financial engineering and Enron. Tapi apa yang dia present dalam seminar takde kena mengena sangat dengan Enron. Aku nak tahu lebih lanjut pasal corporate accounting scandals sebenarnya; and it's aftermath.

Aku rasa esok dan seterusnya nak kena kerja kat bilik lah. Sebab sekarang kat office aku dah ada rakan sebilik; dan internet connection datapoint ada satu ajer. Kena share.. leceh gak sebab aku nak byk pakai internet sekarang; nak search, download and print paper. Baik kat bilik gini - kurang-kurangnya tak payah nak share connection. Tapi on the down side, aku kena gak tayang muka kat opis. Sebab takut orang cari. Entahlah.

Sekarang dah disiplinkan diri - kurangkan online dan chatting sampai siap report, jumpa topic dan start critical review. Ikutkan, boleh terbazir sejam dua kalau asyik bermain kat PC aje. Kena limitlah.. maybe sekali atau dua kali seminggu kalau masa office hours. Malam lain cerita.. heheheh.

Komen membina

Saya suka hujan sebab hujan tu best. Air memang best. Saya suka main hujan. Saya suka main air.

"When the rain falls down, I am suddenly surrounded by an aura of calmness. I feel as if it's just me - man and nature - the rain. The blowing winds adds to the charismatic feeling of solitude, of an aloneness that is beautiful; unexplainable in words. Every drop of the water is pure, as pure as nature itself."

I woke this morning to the depressing news that the London Met Police last night raided the Finsbury Park Mosque in London. The mosque, had, in the past, been subject to some controversy due to its outspoken cleric, Sheikh Abu Hamza. He today also faces expulsion as the imam of the mosque due to alleged misuse of his position by giving inflamatory sermons, among other things. (Now this latter piece of news reminds me a lot of home!)

What a start to a Monday morning. The picture on your left (or right, depending on how you think about these things), was taken at approximately 0855 hours from my office window. Let's just be glad I like rain.

Kalau kita mengambil erti literal - Bloomin' Sunday bermakna hari Ahad yang kembang/mekar.. tapi orang British ni memang sarcastic sikit.. jadi kalau dari segi slang, maksud Bloomin' Sunday tu - hari Ahad yang ampeh.

Anyway, enough of the English lessons already. Not a bad Sunday, really, because it all came together towards the end of the evening. At last I've got what resembles a set of research issues and a framework that could, potentially, constitute a PhD research proposal. Alhamdulillah.

Started the morning with a venture into Lancaster City (many who have arrived here question the rationale of naming Lancaster a city; a potential future discussion point) to buy a few things - literally dragged my right leg along, but it is recovering nicely, thanks to our local 'physio'. Got back and was lured to Bardsea with the promise of nasi lemak. Aku dah nak balik ke Grad dah time tu - sekali Mas kata, ada nasi lemak Kak Idlan. Tewas akhirnya.. heh heh heh.

Petang, Zieha datang dengan beg besarnya untuk melaksanakan Project Codename KK buat kali pertama. Harap tak segan nak teruskan lagi projek tersebut pada hari dan masa yang lain; ditemani juga rakan-rakan yang lain.

I ended up not going out tonight. I managed to aggravate a long-standing leg injury; so in view of the sports I plan to do in the near future, I though I'd give things a rest. Dragging my leg through Lancaster in the rain did not seem like a good idea.

Stayed in, watched Blind Date followed by Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway. I watch Blind Date for purely nostalgic value - the show reminds me a lot of my childhood in Durham, and as corny as it is, it's still fun. Ant and Dec's show also has some nostalgic bits in it - especially the Jimmy Didn't Fix It for Me segment. There was this show, when I was younger, called Jim'll Fix It, hosted by Jim Saville. The object of it was to get kids to write in with a special wish, and Jim would choose a particular wish and 'fix' it for the kid. A bit like B&H's Golden Dreams, but for kids. I remember a family friend getting onto this show - being princess for a day! The show was a massive hit ; a lot of kids wrote in - and obviously Jim couldn't fix everything.

Anyway, Ant and Dec would choose the letters that Jim did not choose to fix; and some 20 years down the line (or thereabouts), fix it for the now-adult kid. Outrageous stunts, thus far, include driving in a Lego car, dancing with the Nolans (yes.. who?) and sliding into a pool of mud in pristine white clothes. The pull of the show is that these 'wishes' were made almost a lifetime ago; and it was fun to see how prim and proper people turned out, and relate them now with the child within.

Decided afterwards to get some work done - managed to file and organise my papers, if that counts as proper work. Watched 'Life or Something Like It' on my PC - it is an Angelina Jolie movie, so even if it was crap, I'd still watch it, for the sheer pleasure of saying that I have watched most, if not all, of her work to date. The main plot - a so-called prophet predicts that an up and coming tv presented had one week to live; and how her life and priorities changed thereabouts. Again a subplot that struck a chord - the lead character (played by Jolie) and her constant plight for approval from her dad, whom, to her, has always approved of her better behaved, well mannered older sister.