Hari Merdeka Malaysia = Malaysia Independence Day

MERDEKA!!! MERDEKA!!! MERDEKA!!! MERDEKA!!! MERDEKA!!! MERDEKA!!! MERDEKA!!!

*1 Second Later*

Tanggal Tiga Puluh Satu
Bulan lapan lima puluh tujuh
Merdeka Merdeka
Tetaplah Merdeka
Ia pasti menjadi sejarah

Tanggal Tiga Puluh Satu
Bulan lapan lima puluh tujuh
Hari yang mulia
Hari bahagia
Sambut dengan jiwa yang Merdeka

Mari kita seluruh warga negara
Ramai-ramai menyambut hari merdeka
Merdeka !
Tiga satu bulan lapan lima puluh tujuh
Hari mulia negaraku Merdeka

Malaysia ushered in it's 48 years of independence in style. At 12 AM sharp on 31st August 2005, tonnes of fireworks shot up unto the sky; patriotic songs were played in every cafes, pubs, restaurants and all open fields nationwide; Tens of thousands of people gathered in open fields to join in the celebration, but most importantly above all these, is the 7 shouts of “MERDEKA” shouted and led by the Prime Minister at Dataran Merdeka. The 7 shouts , together with the echoes of people together joining in unison were thunderous. The nation once again, irrespective of race and religion came together as one to celebrate Malaysia 48^th Independence Day.

I was at Sri Hartamas 17 minutes before the clock struck 12, an prior to that, I attended my company's (Merdeka) BBQ party cum birthday party for a staff in Damansara Heights. I had loads and loads of fun eating and mixing around with my fellow colleague, and i got to know more about my boss :P The BBQ session lasted from 6.55PM, when the eaters(Me) arrived , right up till 11.30PM. Then one of my colleague suggested to go to Sri Hartamas for the countdown. 9 of us adjourned from the house in 2 cars, headed towards Sri Hartamas. Little did we know, that Desa Sri Hartamas is different with the actual Sri Hartamas, and one car got lost driving along the streets of Sri Hartamas. I'll come back to them later

Meanwhile, the car that i was in reached the place 17 minutes before midnight, and we walked and walked trying to find the place to see fireworks. 5 minutes before midnight, i was standing in front of a pub which don't know what the name is, and the countdown was about to began. I looked around the place. It was exactly opposite Plaza Mont Kiara, with open fields which had been converted to car-parks. It cost my friend RM4 per entry, after some 1 minute u-turn-ing around in the field...Oh...Sakit Hati... (HeartAche)

10...9...3....2...1... And so the countdown began. I was anticipating for some kind of majestic fireworks shooting up from nowhere into the sky, and also the cheers from everybody around me (I was standing infront of the pub) . But all i could hear and see were the sights and sounds from the big plasma TV, showing the live telecast from Dataran Merdeka. MAN, thats the biggest letdown I've ever encountered during countdowns (not that I've been to any countdowns before, except for the millennium countdown in KLCC)...Bah...

After waiting for 45 minutes or so, we all gathered together to play pool. Unfortunately, one of our member didn't wear long pants as stated in the dress code rules, and therefore forbidden to enter the premise, Bummer... we all laughed our heads off. , and so our friend decided to drive back home and change to a more decent wear in order to enter the pool center.. WOW, driving back to PJ on a Merdeka night just to change???, it will take most probably more then 4 hours to and fro Sri Hartamas from PJ... After what seemed to be 10 minutes of contemplating for the best choice, 'Keep Walking' was the decision made, and after another 15-20 minutes of walking around looking for pool center (which doesn't require long pants/shoes), we finally reached a place called... (name forgotten), and off we went, all 9 of us up the stairs and into the place.

Upon reaching the place, it had 6 pool tables, and 4 foosball (Table football) table. We started with foosball, and i was addicted to it. In foosball, instead of using your leg to kick the ball, you use your hand to turn the rod-like bar on the table, which turns the minature 'people' connected to the rod. (Picture is available below) i played more then 10 rounds on the foosball table, with the remaining time spent on pool. We spent a total of 4.5 hours in Sri Hartamas, and by the time i went back, it's already dawn. Hehehe....this is how i spent my Merdeka morning.

By the time I woke up on Merdeka Day, it's 2PM :)

CHEERS

Happy 48^th Independence Day, Malaysia

*The colors of the Jalur Gemilang....... How nice, How Patriotic... :P

Happy Anniversary...

This month marks the 1st Anniversary of my blog "Welcome to Jowen's Page"

Gong Zho Nei Shang Shan Yi Tin Chai
Zhu Ni Sheng Re Kuai Le
Happy Birthday to "My Blog"
Selamat Hari Jadi

*sing to the tune of Happy Birthday

*Stay tune for more FIRST year update

Eye Opener...WHOA...

Me and 'The Red Baby'

Realization....

Hey peeple...I'm back again, this time with another article to share.

Things had been going pretty smoothly for me this past week or so, with a prototype completed and submitted to LHDN(Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri). I am so happy upon project completion. This achievement came with a price to pay, that is on the night before presentation day on Friday, i stayed back in office from 9PM Thursday till 7AM Friday. YEA, my first experience working 'extended OverTime' in Pilot, and my 'SaCrIfIcE' paid off.

On Saturday, I had company lunch with my colleagues in the Royal Selangor Lake Club, Kuala Lumpur. Prior to lunch, I attended the company's staff meeting, where fellow staffs from Infineon (Semiconductor Company) attended the meeting. The agenda was to get to know the staffs as well as the company better. It was an eye opener for me, as I to know much more about the company and its operations.

It was a rare sight for me at the club, where i saw a red Ferrari parked at the basement area. Jakun (Coming from the jungle), I am, and so quickly snap a shot of myself posing with the red 'baby' . Picture(as proof) will be made available in my next post. It was indeed a rare chance to spot a Ferarri in Malaysia. Oh well, at least i saw the real car, and not from TV :P

I am glad that the haze had cleared off in areas around Klang Valley, places with API exceeding 500, dropped to <100 within a day, I've read several blogs which provides real time updates about the haze nationwide, and also I've been updating myself daily with the printed news. It's terrible for the past 10 days. I guess the right song to be play in all the radio stations will be “Smog gets in your eyes“

The events that happened the past week inspired me to think a lot. It draws out that 'thing' which is in me to realize that my life is governed by time. I did a posting on time previously, which is here, but then the realization didn't come till now. I believe that now is the time to get changes to happen, for my life as well as for the rest. I believe that now is the time to get serious with what i am currently pursuing, and to complete the race of eternity :P

Realization...

To realize
The value of ten years:
Ask a newly
Divorced couple.

To realize
The value of four years:
Ask a graduate.

To realize
The value of one year:
Ask a student who
Has failed a final exam.

To realize
The value of nine months:
Ask a mother who gave birth to a still born.

To realize
The value of one month:
Ask a mother
who has given birth to
A premature baby.

To realize
The value of one week:
Ask an editor of a weekly newspaper.

To realize
The value of one hour:
Ask the lovers who are waiting to Meet.

To realize
The value of one minute:
Ask a person
Who has missed the train, bus or plane.

To realize
The value of one-second:
Ask a person
Who has survived an accident...

To realize
The value of one millisecond:
Ask the person who has won a silver medal in the Olympics

Ultimate realization...

To realize the value of a friend:
Lose one.

Thanks for being my friend....

So Blessed...

If you woke up this morning
with more health than illness,
you are more blessed than the
million who won't survive the week.

If you have never experienced
the danger of battle,
the loneliness of imprisonment,
the agony of torture or
the pangs of starvation,
you are ahead of 20 million people
around the world.

If you have food in your refrigerator,
clothes on your back, a roof over
your head and a place to sleep,
you are richer than 75% of this world.

If you have money in the bank,
in your wallet, and spare change
in a dish someplace, you are among
the top 8% of the world's wealthy.

If your parents are still married and alive,
you are very rare,
especially in the United States.

If you hold up your head with a smile
on your face and are truly thankful,
you are blessed because the majority can,
but most do not.

If you can hold someone's hand, hug them
or even touch them on the shoulder,
you are blessed because you can
offer God's healing touch.

If you can read this message,
you are more blessed than over
two billion people in the world
that cannot read anything at all.

I got this off an email from one of my buddies, and it speaks on how blessed we are. So much had happened in this world recently, from the shocking London bombings to the increase in world oil prices. Things are changing at a pace far beyond what can be comprehended. I pray that those of you who read the above excerpts, will feel blessed, and may the grace of the Lord fall upon all of you, dear friends. I have alot more to say, but I'll keep it for later. :P Take care and I'll be BacK...