Thursday, 28 June 2007

Closure and coffee man

I spent more than an hour reading all the comments, truly incredible. And amongst all of them, I particularly like Helen’s comment. She said it’s a bit flawed to derive answers from the assumption that a rich guy can’t be nice and caring and that poor dudes are always great. I agree with her totally.

All girls do not wish to be generalised as materialistic. But in justifying themselves, girls conveniently generalise all rich guys as jerks. Don’t you think that’s a bit unfair?

Materialistic girl + rich jerks = serve her right

Not materialistic girl + rich saint = …ok… I think we have enough of it already. I sincerely hope that no readers will be placed in such predicament. But if you did, I would be very interested in knowing the result.

Right, it’s
hip-hop day today which means tomorrow is friiiiiiiiiiiiiday! And nope… no mind boggling riddle for today. But how about an eye exercise?

Try to find the coffee man in the following picture within 3 seconds. According to medical research (which zewt is unable to verify), anyone who succeed in finding the coffee man within 3 seconds has a ‘beyond normal’ brain.

If you take a minute, then your brain development is normal.

If you take between 1 to 3 minutes, your brain is not developing properly and requires protein intake.

If you take more than 3 minutes… errr… maybe you can have a shot at our local politics?

Right… here goes… this is not a joke, the coffee man is there… good luck!

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When the ‘if’ turns real

When I looked at the multitude of answers in my previous entry, I noticed a lot didn’t really answer the question, at least not specifically. Essentially, the question was directed to guys as to who they will fear “more”. As for girls, I was hoping you all will tell me whom should the guy ‘fear more’. The key words are ‘fear more’.

Many though… came out and talked about who they will ‘choose’. But of course, that’s very natural. In fact, it was what I expected. I know it sounds a bit absurd but I was really expecting a lot of “If I were the girl, I will choose…” kind of answer. And indeed, there many such answers.


I have personally encountered many such girls. Some of my friends, some are my friends’ girlfriends. To be honest with you, not many will say they are money-minded. And of course, I am not saying that they are. When they said they only wanted a man who is charming and caring enough to take care of them, I believe girls really do mean it. But then again, the term ‘take care’ is rather subjective.
Allow me to share some stories with you… very briefly…

2 of my friends’ girlfriend fiancés were privileged enough to be given the opportunity of being ‘the wanted girl’. And hey! What a co-incident… both couples were being attacked by a No.2 type of guy. Well, this is a chance for girls to actually show their noble self and say… I-will-choose-a-guy-who-cares-about-me or I-will-choose-the-guy-whom-I-want-to-spend-the-rest-of-my-life-with.

And you know what? That’s exactly what they did!!! They chose the guy who cares about them… the one whom they want to spend their life with… they chose the 3rd party. And I mentioned fiancé, no girlfriend. Cancelling a wedding is an unpleasant affair. Cancelling a wedding because your fiancé left you is a painful process.

I know… I know… I know… you all don’t even have to say it. I know it all. It was better right for my guy friends right? Better for them to know that their partner was actually a gold digger, and that it was a good thing that they didn’t get married… right? Rightttttttt… but you know what? If you’re in their position… let’s just say it is not as ‘good’ as you think. But anyway, that’s not the notion here.

So are the 2 girls money-minded-gold-diggers? A quick answer would be yes. But then again, maybe we shouldn’t be so quick to judge.

Girls… imagine everyday you caring bf comes and fetch you from work with his old rugged proton wira. He is even thoughtful enough to buy you your favourite dinner, knowing that you would be hungry after waiting so long for him to arrive. Well, he also happened to be a modern slave thus he usually don’t leave work on time which result in you having to wait for him. After savings for months, 2 of you brave through the crowd in a travel fair and managed to secure the best deal for a trip to Redang, one of the best domestic beach resort. Yeah, I am sure the holiday hunt was fun, probably romantic. During the trip, you have to spend according to budget and while it was an enjoyable getaway, you would have wanted more. After the trip, you are back to the trend of saving for the next trip… which means… tight spending again.

But now… imagine a guy waiting for you to finish work with this Ferrari… BMW… Honda Accord. He is there as soon as you walked out of the office because he works for his father and thus, he can always leave work early. And he does that everyday… everyday… just to fetch you. You’re not hungry yet because it’s still early so he takes you to a nice boutique not to do window shopping… but real shopping. You immediately put on your new outfit and he takes you to a restaurant of your choice for dinner. On a day you don’t feel like eating out, he bought groceries and conjured some nice dishes from your kitchen.

On a particular Friday, he picks you up as usual in his Honda Accord and send you home immediately to pick up your passport and some clothes… he just bought 2 tickets to Hong Kong. You had the best trip of your life without spending a single cent and when you return home, you realised you can spend all the savings you intended for your Langkawi holiday.

*inspired by real life event*

Friends, there is a very big difference in saying “If I am the girl…” compared to “actually being the girl”. A lot of things will look very different when you are actually ‘the wanted girl’. Because by then… it’s not about “if he buys me a Gucci or LV bag” but you are actually using the Gucci bag. Do you want a Gucci or LV bag? Also, some mentioned about the current bf having the potential of being rich. Again, “my bf WILL BE rich” vs “my bf IS rich”… read the ‘imagine’ part again…

So girls… if a No.2 type of guy come shows up… what would you do? Remember, when the ‘if’ turns real… you can't say “if I am the girl” anymore.

P/S: Anyone haven’t voted yet?

Tuesday, 26 June 2007

What's your answer?

This entry is potentially provoking so… brace yourself…

My entry titled “
with or without a reason” received thunderous amount of comments. The issue of love and relationship is often very intriguing, don’t you think? From the comments, one will be able to grasp the general understanding of love between the male and the female species… truly enlightening.

One comment however, highlighted an element that influences much in any particular relationship. That element is……$money$. Now, this is the part where it starts to get provoking…

Many of my friends, and to be more specific… male friends are of the opinion that most girls are money minded. Girls, is it true? Of course, many girls will disagree and hey… you are not alone. There are many guys out there who share the same sentiment. I do have a few friends who think as such. They are very adamant that girls are not going after their money. Reason being… they are not rich… and they are having nice loving girlfriend respectively.

Well, I really couldn’t argue with them. I mean… they are indeed not very well to do and their girlfriends aren’t exactly ugly. In fact, some of them are pretty hot looking too. I know… I know… all the hot babes out there must be cursing my name but no, I am not saying that all you hot babes are money minded. I am just saying that my friends believed that their girlfriends could have gotten a richer guy compared to them, but chose to stay with them. So obviously, their girlfriends are NOT money minded.

Naturally, I asked my friends why do they think their girlfriends love them? Many reasons surfaced such as “I am nice”, “I am caring”, “I am kind”… ya’ know, the usual reasons, but of course, money is not the reason. For discussion purposes, we shall take ‘nice’ as the attribute which represents all the non-monetary reasons why girls like them.

And I reiterate, it never occurs to them that their girlfriends are money minded. And this is the time when I will ask them this question…

"Supposed there are 2 guys who now appear and try to wrestle your gf away from you. Not a very pleasant experience I am sure.

Guy number 1… is a very sweet guy. He is not exactly very good looking, probably as charming as you. He is also probably as rich as you. He could afford what you afford. BUT… BUT… this guy is 10 times nicer than you and also 10 times more caring than you.

Guy number 2… is also quite a sweet guy. But then again, you are much sweeter. Also, he is probably not as charming as you and in the tender loving care department, you 2 are comparable. BUT… BUT… this guy is 10 times richer than you. Whatever you could afford, this guy beats you 10 times."


The question is… which guy you fear more?

All my my-gf-is-not-money-minded friends never really gave me answer. Most gave me a smile and the best was “how can you say like that?”…

Why not? And… what’s your answer?

Girls… any thoughts?

Monday, 25 June 2007

Blogging under the influence of alcohol

A friend asked me whether I am going to blog about a topic which I mentioned to her last Friday. Don’t think I am capable of such 'thinking' entry that today. Reason being… it’s already quite late and to top that up, my mind is still under the influence of alcohol from the wine I had during dinner. Wouldn’t want to drink and blog, I might just say something stupid… hmmmm… or you all prefer that to happen? Terrible…

Oh… before I forget, the answer of the riddle I posted last Friday is…

11 = 6 (6 alphabets)
12 = 6 (6 alphabets)

That’s why 1 = 3, 2 = 3, 3 = 5… the answer 6 was in conjunction of the imminent 6 month-liversary of AZAIG. The clue has been there all along… I bet not many managed to catch it.

Just some notes on today… made a trip to
StarHill as Jules’ mom treated me on a foot-spa there. It was absolute pampering of oneself. The treatment includes foot scrub, 30 minutes neck + shoulder massage and 45 minutes of foot reflexology. While it is absolutely marvellous, I wouldn’t recommend it was rather expensive and I think they are targeting tourists.

One thing I must say about StarHill though, the toilet is one place you should must visit. It is located on the “feast” floor. Oh yeah, all the floors are uniquely named, not the regular “LG”, “G”, “1st” floor kinda thing. If you have not been the toilet on the “feast” floor, you should go. Rest assured, you will be in awe. I have seen tourists taking pictures inside the toilet. Yes, I may be under the influence of alcohol but what I’ve just said is true. Also, toilets on other floors are free from cigarette smell, something you seldom find in a shopping complex.
Ok, enough about toilets. After my regular football session, Jules treated me to a romantic dinner at
Ciao. No… I am not telling you I am leaving, it is a name of an Italian restaurant. Fantastic pasta, one of the best I have ever tasted and the price is very reasonable. The wine was good too!

You must be wondering why I am so privileged today. Rinnah has been thoughtful enough to
tell the reason to the world. Thanks rinnah for your thoughtfulness. And to the rest who knows, a big word of thank you.

P/S: Anyone not voted at the poll yet?

Thursday, 21 June 2007

Good or bad, let it out

Some of the readers commented that the diet plan which I introduced last week only applies to men. In view of this, I tried to come out with one for women and guess what… I can't. I guess such diet plan is exclusively for male. Besides, I am sure twisting that diet plan will make it less… ‘appealing’, don’t you think?

Since there’s nothing to laugh at this Friday, why not put your brain cells to the test? I am sure some of you would prefer this. Here is a good one…

1 = 3
2 = 3
3 = 5
4 = 4
5 = 4
6 = 3
7 = 5
8 = 5
9 = 4
10 = 3
11 =
?
12 =
?

Last but not least, it’s 8 more days before A.Z.A.I.G. is 6 months old. Quite a milestone if you ask me. I am amazed by the amount of energy that I found to carry me through this blogging journey. In view of A.Z.A.I.G.’s 6 month-liversary, I would like to know what my beloved A.Z.A.I.G. readers think of A.Z.A.I.G. so far. May just help me in writing my 6 month-liversary entry. Good or bad, let it out! I am all ears.
This certainly sounds like some self gratification exercise but it’s absolutely not obligatory. It's entirely up to you.

Happy weekend!

P/S: Another pole poll is up… do vote.

A glimpse from the other side

Tomorrow is Thursday and I dread it. I have been having this resentment towards Thursday in the last 3 months. Yeah, it’s my hip hop day but it has never been the same. I wish hip hop class is 2 hours long so that I don’t have to go home so early… so that I will have a reason to stay away from her, stay away from my duty.

It has been tiring, much more tiring compared to blogging as every Sunday and Thursday, I am on duty. I will have to do prepare food for her as soon as I reached home tomorrow as she can only eat certain type of food. Thereafter, it’s feeding time. It’s hard as she can't really control the movement of her jaws. After feeding, then it’s time to check her diapers, so see if there’s a need to change. As she couldn’t talk much, she couldn’t tell me if the diapers need to be replaced.

Then it’s the part I hate most, I have to massage her all around and make sure all her muscles received some sort of movement. There’s also a need to hit certain parts of her body to help blood circulation. It has to be done at the right amount of strength, else I might injured her, and that means… more work… more worry… more stress, I wouldn’t want that.

Last, being on duty also means I have to accompany her and talk to her. But I have nothing to talk to her. All I have in my mind is just frustration, and the never-ending thought of how long will I have to endure this. I wish I can just run away form this responsibility so that I can have my life back, and not having to worry about my… paralysed mother.

It’s exactly 3 months ago today that
Mom collapsed. Many would know that she didn’t end up as being paralysed… she passed away peacefully the day after her stroke. But as I sit here and let my imagination go on an auto-run mode on what could have been, I can't help but see myself in the scenario mentioned above, if Mom was to survive her stroke.

Besides God, and possibly Jules, the person who knows me best is of course… me. If Mom did survived and ended up paralysed which then result in me having to take up the responsibility of looking after her for the longest time, I am not sure how long I will be able to take it. I am selfish, and if you are matured enough to admit it… you are not exactly selfless. We all want to live our lives; no one wants to carry a burden.

With the multitudes of ‘what ifs’, ‘what could have’, ‘what would have’, ‘maybes’ and ‘perhaps’, I can't help but think that what happened, happened for the best of us all. Mom wanted to go when the time is right, and she did just that. I missed my Mom a lot… and I mean a lot… but I am glad she left me with a longing feeling, a fonder heart. While I wish my mom is still alive, I am glad she did not put me in a position where my human weakness will be tested. Would you have it the other way round? Honestly, would you?

I know many of you are wondering why am I taking a walk down the memory aisle again. But if you were to recall my first few lines in my very first entry about my Mom, you will remember me saying… I want to remember that day. Indeed, it brings much hurt… it causes my eyes to tear even right now… it causes my heart to skip a beat… but it also reminds me of the loving mom. Besides, it's what she wanted...
to be remembered. And that’s exactly what I want because as humans… we tend to forget, don’t think?

Also… shedding a tear… feeling the pain… reminds us all that we are humans after all.


Oh mom, oh mom you went away
Three months ago exactly today
And now I have one thing to say
Your love in my heart will remain always

Wednesday, 20 June 2007

A Zimbabwean tale

Not many of us know about this country called Zimbabwe. Perhaps some may even find difficulty in pronouncing it. But if you have watched this movie called “Blood Diamonds”, you may have heard about this country one time or another. The main character in the movie, Danny Archer, played by the evergreen Leonardo Dicaprio, is of Zimbabwean origin. In the movie, he referred to Zimbabwe as Rhodesia, it’s the old name of Zimbabwe. Just like how Malaya is to Malaysia.

Zimbabwe has got a long history but 1999 marked a significant event, it’s the year the British obtained mining rights in southern Rhodesia. Yeah, the British just like to colonise other countries in the olden days. Now, they just have James Bond and of course, Manchester United.

Anyway, the mining rights led to an influx of whites into Rhodesia, mainly as farmers and soon. Of course, this pissed off the local blacks and they staged revolts, but they were unsuccessful. Soon, in the year 1922, Rhodesia became a self-governing British colony. It was all peace and quiet until 1953 where African opposition intensified in the wake of growing African nationalism.
Fast forward to 1965, a white man by the name of Ian Smith declared unilateral independence from Britain. Civil war broke out until 1979 which led to the signing of an agreement known as the Lancaster House Agreement between the British and the Rhodesian government signalling a true independence from Britain, and Zimbabwe was born. This agreement covers things such as independence constitution, cease-fire agreement, etc. Ya’ know, like the one our country signed in 1957.

The British rule ended and in 1980, elections were held and a local man by the name of Robert Mugabe won, and has won re-election ever since. Now, this Mubage man appears to be not a very nice person. He was accused of ethnic cleansing of the whites. But the whites can't do anything. Why? Because he is the… … government.

In the year 1999, a very significant issue cropped out. There were claims that the whites, many of which at this time; were born in Zimbabwe, which made up of only 1% of the population owns 70% of the country’s commercial viable land. This means the minority is controlling the wealth of Zimbabwe. This of course, is widely rejected by the people outside the government. Hmmm… Sounds familiar?

This racial imbalance in land ownership means the locals black population ain’t very happy and they complaint to the government. What did the government do? Well, Robert Mugabe then performed a redistribution of land exercise. This “
land reform” took place in the 1990s where the government will acquire the land, mainly own by white farmers for a “fair compensation”. Anyone unhappy with the compensation can go to court. Anyone want to answer who controls the court?

The height of the land reform took place in 1999 when the Zimbabwean government drafted a constitution which allows them to compulsorily acquire land for distribution without any compensation! This really pissed off the white farmers, many of whom were born in Zimbabwe herself. The population of white farmers thus dropped from 4500 to 300. Such expulsion led to food shortage with 45% of the population suffering from malnutrition.

With this, the white population dropped from a peak of 275,000 in 1970 to possibly 120,000 in 1999, and was estimated at no more than 60,000 in 2006, possibly much less. Most emigration has been to the UK, South Africa, Zambia and Australia.

The campaign to seize white-owned farms plunge the country into starvation and near economic collapse. I wonder how long will those 60,000 whites stay in Zimbabwe. Imagine being born in a country that indirectly ask you to leave. Will you leave?

Interesting read
here.

*This entry was done purely based on the author’s personal research and understanding. Readers are advised to read with discernment.*