104. Reality

Personal

Nothing is real. No one is. Everyone is just pretentious. Even me myself. And the rest of the whole world. 

You have to hide certain feelings. For good and for bad. Some neutral. 

We don't feel or see the true motives anymore these days. Good or bad, we all have our very own agenda. Our own objectives. 

Unfortunately, I don't have much to post nowadays. No progress in music making. Just simple sound recording using the phone. As I age as I mature I seem to keep more words to myself. More thoughts come to play which come into conflict with to-be spoken words. They leaked out of the brain halfway only to be swallowed through the mouth and throat. Gulp.

More things to take care. More issues to solve. More agenda to accomplish. Less time to spend.

Only natural. Manageable by only those who are strong enough to stand on a pair of legs.

I will just do with what a pair of legs can do.

103. Up and Down the Road of L

Personal

Previous post was written on the 14th of April. Let's just say 10 months ago. Felt like it'd been ages since I log in here to write something. But then again, looking at the date and the number it seems like only 10 months ago. Not even a year ago yet.

But in these 10 months thousands of hair strands have dropped. I think hahah.

Many things have had taken place.

I was only doing an industrial training at MAS. I am employed already as an aircraft technician at AirAsia. Hi Tony.

Several other things have changed. Physically not so. Emotionally a lot.

Feelings come and go. But certain feelings stay. And if you work hard enough and put faith into them they become everlasting. Certain maturity comes into play.

{Digress a little...just like how you support a football club for years or forever aha}

You just never give up. What drives you not to give it up? Maturity, conscience and (at least) an eye for everlasting love in life.

This living is a life in which we're living in. Time is ticking. The time starts moving since we're born into this world on planet Earth. It never stops. We never stop, breathing and living. So we're living it. We're living this time.

It stops ticking the moment our life ends. That's when we stop living.

Whatever we do, they are in this time. Spending time. Filling up the living.


Couldn't find the original song in youtube. So I link to someone's cover on Bob Dylan - I Feel A Change Comin' On

Till then.

102. Football Spirit

Ideals/Personal

It's burning! It's your favourite team/club winning! It's a goal!

It's footballllllll. In the US, they call it soccerrrrrrr.

This post is an ideal concept conceived as perceived by me in view of the current style of supporting-your-"(favourite)"-football-team/club.

A fellow football sports fan/supporter once talked about something similar to what I intended to write on here. He talked about why certain people support or become fan of certain football clubs - one of the critical reason is seeing your favourite player playing in it. Fair enough, a lot of us football lovers have some kind of heroes in the game to look forward to in watching the games.

Here in this footballing post, supporter is approximately equivalent to fan. Fan is defined here as someone more loud and hardcore as compared to being a supporter who merely supports the sports and the games. I, myself is a football and an Arsenal supporter (slightly fan). I enjoy any football games but only reserved time mostly to watch my favourite club play. I love the footballing spirit. I genuinely find footballing is a great sports activity and a team-based game altogether.

Tell me what you know about footballing when you shout, "MANU ROCKS! CHELSHIT GO TO HELL!". Nah, don't tell me about histories or how the ball came into play.

And corruption spoils the game totally. Especially the spirit. People with money and power to manipulate games really put the game in the limelight of disgrace and disappointment. I believe most football players hate game fixing They may lost all the games they play in their life but buying your way up the podium is just not football. You may as well go to the casino and gamble or fix your way through to earn cold hard cash.

So do tell me about how the teams play strategies or how the player play the ball the next time you shout, "ARSENAL FOR THE WIN!". There must be a reason why they put up the banner, "Giggs has been tearing you apart since $%^&*". Sorry, fellow Arsenal fans I support football totally so any team which plays well I'd like to watch and savour.

Let me brief you on the types/styles of fans in my opinion generically. It's typically EPL teams or Barcelona.

(not in any order of atrocity)
1. Die-hard fans good version - These are the fans who support fully their favourite team since whatsoever age for whatsoever reason. They do not condemn other teams. They concentrate only in their favourite team.

2. Die-hard fans bad version - Ditto the first sentence of no. 1 description. They condemn the other teams because they only love their favourite team. They only support the other team when that team is playing to bring down an opponent team which is a major threat to their favourite team in the standing.

3. Bus-thirds - So-called fans who only expressed their support to show that they are supporting the correct team which is usually the team which wins a lot. Who does not really watch football. Non-sensical actually, omit this but situation exists.

4. Common bus-thirds - Fans who picked the best team which is usually the team which wins a lot - ok kudos for knowing the history and so you picked an all-time winner team. And watch not much of football. Reason slightly similar to no.3 which intention is to be "correct" in choosing a favourite team.

5. Footballer fans - This is rather a subcategory for no.1 and no.2. These fans they play football. They know football. They enjoy football. Their reason in choosing their favourite team depends on the no.1 or no.2 category they fall in.

6. Non-football fans - This accompanies no.5. They do not play football. They may or not know about football. But they enjoy football, because this falls under either no.1 or no.2 ~diehard.

7. Neutral creeps - They might still be analysing on which team to pick and make it their favourite. If not, then they are just enjoying the game. Good thing these people do not make a fuss when watching. Everything looks normal or cool if there is a goal.

8. Neutral creeps version 2 - They analysed and they picked the team which they think plays properly or skillfully or amusing. They join in the fun of supporting spirit. Other time, they remain nonchalant.

(this categorizing and condemning of fans are based on my observation opinionatedly - come on I don't have the right to say you don't have the right to support I just think your football spirit and mine are different)

I reserve no. 9 and no. 10 to be described shortly after this brief intermission. No.9 and no.10 have good football spirit but not necessarily the best because die-hard fans hold their spirit highest among all.haha. And no.9 and no.10 are description-modified versions of no.1 and no.2 die-hard categories. I mean they could be die-hard too but their reason are defined precisely.

9. Experience-based - One might have went to watch the to-be favourite team play before. Or met any of the players before. Or just that the TV somehow seemed to show the particular team play when it is switched on. This could be due to his/her die-hard fan father or brother. So this know-nothing person picks up from there. Or by playing video games. These are also basically results of luck.

10. Player/material-based - Handsome player. Handsome coach lol. Good samaritan player. Beautiful jerseys. Amazing advertisement. ok la super skillful player. Very subjective. Definitely not of pure football spirit but surely somehow or rather, develops into it.

Hopefully that's all. ~"bola sepak - raja sukan".


About my style of supporting: I'm a combination of no.9 and no. 10. A bit of this and that from them. This is how I come to supporting Arsenal FC as I can remember. On experience-based I agree with my brother claiming that somehow we just chose that team to play in a video game. Ok respect, Winning Eleven it's a good football video game. So from there, we learn the names of the players and associate with their football matches we watch occasionally on TV.

Let me recall, there are Pires, Kanu, Wiltord, Ljungberg, Bergkamp, Seaman, Henry...a handful of great players which I can recall. Notice that these players I just mentioned are not in the club anymore.

Henry is great. And then before World Cup 2002 I heard that Zidane is great. So I became a fan of Les Bleus, the France team. This is no.10 style of football spirit.

These players are not performing anymore. At least not for Arsenal or France anymore but I still continue to support them. This has become a result of development of footballing spirit. A reasoned and seasoned one. I really respect people who tell me about how good Manchester United players play their spirit and their winning legacy and they are downright the most rightful fans of Manchester United. And because I was and still is partially a Red Devil supporter. How these people came about to support the Busby Boys are not generally important anymore. It's the spirit.


To be honest, I'm never die-hard. I just might sound like one because supporting becomes interesting and exciting during get-togethers for football watching.

ok there had been countless mentions of the word "football spirit". That is it.

Do you know who this player is? He is Jared Borgetti who plays for Mexico.

[photos taken from googling]

101. Kickstart Fitness + The 4th String Ensemble

Personal/Ideals

This post is supposed to be written a few weeks ago or so in the month of January. But it's mid-February already. Doesn't matter so much. But the feel is lost a little. Mundane.

So there are ambitions there are dreams there are daydreams there are goals and targets. We all have one or more. I have all but I am flexible about how I achieve. With bad discipline and irregular consistency. Wise man says, "you can't go far like that". But I want to enjoy as much living in my own most interesting ways. Successful people might say, "you ain't enjoying like that because you ain't achieving - you're just playing around - no commitment".

I was plain and goalless. I only breathed and functioned like fated. I realised fate is just a word to convince the unfortunate that someone out there caused the unfortunate. It's still a practical word but I rather not live on that. I stood up and grabbed my own puppet strings and orchestrate me myself.

But this current living ~ the 21st century modern civilisation on Earth is fast and competitive. I just started to like a couple of things/activities and it seems that the best thing for me to do now is enjoy the passion, support and take them as hobbies only. I succumbed to a lot of these lost dreams.

I would also say to myself that it's never too late to start. Yes it's never too late to start and be good in it but never in the top level. Cos like I said this current world is fast and competitive. At my age, I'm no more of that productivity/standard-be-able-to-achieve level of performance.

Cos I just started liking them it's like new found passion. But yes, it's never too late to take them up and for practise. But not of competition level anymore. I will leave that to my dreams or start my children young on them great activities. I don't want them to be idle like how I used to be some 5-10 years ago. I don't blame my parents. Parents are not to be blamed. The best thing for them to do is exposure and encouragement and that's only if they are aware of it. They are not wrong at all. The negative part is when they force, that is when they are overzealous in seeing their kids doing what they want to see the kids doing. Thumbs down.

But thumbs up for my parents for the average living (in malay, we call it kesederhanaan) I was brought up in. I get to explore by myself albeit a little too late or slow for myself. But I enjoy it nevertheless. I think having fun is the most important factor no matter what people say. It's a personal level. But let there be some knowledge and genuine passion. Not as a means.

What I meant, I really love:
1. Football / Sports
2. Playing music

I am very interested in:
3. Mixed martial arts

I am keen on/I can do it:
4. Bodybuilding - fitness

But I ain't like competing in no.4 - but Arnold is really bizarre.

Marathon is the new entry in to the category of no. 1. These are all really motivation-based activities.


Usually these activities are not to be done alone because results are vital and it's natural to compare either to a standard or your partner only we see and encourage improvements.

So yes, I will expose my future children to sports. It's a must... it's healthy and always good. Music, it's healthy and always good - certain music must not apply. Martial arts, always healthy and good. Bodybuilding, it's up to him/her after I show him/her my body lol gyahahaha.

This is the self-recorded and self-standard physical status record.

Height: 164 cm
Weight: 55 kg
Chest: 34 inches
Biceps: 11.5 inches
Thighs: N/A (nah don't really train on this - only running and simple weight curls)

Run
Distance: 5 km
Time: 29 minutes
Average speed: 10.2 km/h

Presses (for chest) - 10kg each arm
Curls (for biceps) - 7.5kg each arm
Push-ups (flat) - 21 times

(As of starting of the year - January/February 2011)

I did 1.5km runs too. The best I did during school days was about 9-10minutes. A recent record during the training for marathon I did about 8 minutes. And the most recent which was a few days ago I did ..the handphone application screwed up.

fakaladingdong it was about 7-8 minutes already after a distance of 1.4km so I pushed faster to get a better time. I swear to whatever freaking god out there I ran 300 metres already the distance still shows 1.4 and it's past 10 minutes.

I believe the application lags sometimes in the update of number. It might update when the distance becomes 1.6 or so in line with the time recorded. It's just that I want the time particularly for 1.5km it disappointed me.

This was probably my best record so far http://youareinmydream.blogspot.com/2010/11/98-progress-run-3-rekindled.html

My 2 hours and 58 minutes in my first 21km marathon is satisfactory but I am very disappointed that I took a freaking 1 hour 20 minutes for the 9.3km mark. Shame wei..own training record was so good at about 30-40 minutes for 6-7 km. It's like another 3km took another 40 minutes.

Ok end of fitness. Next up, my guitar.

I left my guitar at home since going down to KL so I've not played it for 4 weeks. But I found guitars everywhere in almost every crew room at my workplace. So, I get to play a bit of acoustic.

My thinnest string snapped and broke just after 3 days I resumed playing (got it back down here at KL after the cny fest). Got whipped while I was tuning it. Duno why maybe that part which broke was corroded thin already or just weakened by extensive bend of the part of the string.

And since I don't used to change one string only at a time I decided to change the first 3 strings instead of changing all of them since my 4th, 5th and 6th strings are still in a very good condition and I like em gauges 30 44 and 52.

So, I got this...

Dunlop Med/Heavy - Gauges 11 14 17 28 38 50

It's the first time my 1st 3 thin strings increase in gauge. I had been using 10 13 17. So I combine them old GHS Boomers GBTNT 30 44 52 and Dunlop 11 14 17 and give it a reality check.

Result:
I love it.

A broader and slightly mellow tone is produced. This in my opinion is the result of a complete heavier range of string gauge. Standard range is 10 13 17 26 36 46 I think which is quite thin compared to the ones I am using.

The mellowness is ideal as I love to have lower muddy tones in my playing, be it upbeat or dark songs. Especially metal or metal-based style of songs I like to play them in more crunchy and juicy tone. So in my opinion I can get that sound with heavier gauges.

Cos my Tele tone is already naturally thin, I get these thicker strings to beef it up. It works, at least to my ears and heart haha.

I mentioned slightly mellow because I still feel that it's quite bright which is not bad because it still sounds great in any kind of songs I try to play.

So, that's all about my 4th purchase of strings set.