Smiling Still

At least there was a piece of good news after the loss yesterday. Manchrster Citeh did not manage to capitalise on our slip. They manages to get themselves beaten by Sunderland. And to make it worst, by virtually the last kick of the match. The goal scored by a Korean!

Bliss. Now I can head to bed smiling!

Start to the Year

What a start to 2012? Being on call was no laughing matter. But being on call on a busy New Year's Day was clearly what I had planned to start the year. It was busy in the afternoon, but kinda quieten down by early evening. But the admission picked up again by midnight.

Finally I got things under control. Now trying to enjoying some down time before heading for bed. Happy New Year indeed.

Good Bye 2011

It certainly had not been a great end to 2011. My beloved United managed to get their collective underpants in a twist and got ourselves beaten by Blackburn at home. The squad was clearly ravaged by injuries but that should not have been an excuse as Blackburn was languishing at the bottom of the table, and were thumped 7-1 last season at Old Trafford. What a way to celebrate Sir Alex's 70th birthday!

So, it is half past eleven. 30 more minutes before 2012 enters the horizon, quite literally. 2011 had been a great year for me on a personal level. It was a year of transition. I had decided to take the bull by the horn and made some major changes in my life after a huge opportunity was offered to me. Those who knows me personally would be able to tell what I meant.

Right after the football match, I flipped through the movie channel - in frustration - just in time to catch the opening title of the movie "Watchmen". The some on the title was a Dylan classic - happened to be one of the late Steve Jobs' favourite song - "The Times They Are A-Changin'". An appropriate sone to end this transition year of mine I thought.

"Come writers and critics, who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide, the chance won't come again
For the wheel's still in spin, and there's no telling who
For its namin' for the loser now, will be later to win"

"The line it is drawn, the curse it is cast
The slow one now, will later be fast
As the present now, will later be past
The order is rapidly fadin', and the first one now will later be last"

Beautiful. Happy 2012. Alhamdulillah.

The Friday Sermon

It is not often that I blog about religion, or what my thoughts on religion for that matter. But I felt that I had to today. Why? Because I was a touch upset. I was upset with the Friday sermon today.

On Friday afternoons, I usually walk the 1.5 km from my clinic to a nearby mosque. And the the weather today was especially nice. The sun was shining brightly, but it was breezy. Perfect. I arrived there early enough to buy a glass of fresh coconut drinks at the stalls by the mosque car park. A long queue but well worth it. Especially in the sunshine.

Made my way into the mosque, and then it was time for the sermon. Before the athan, there were a few announcements made by the mosque committee. Essentially thanking the visitors for the money donated during the prayers especially on Fridays. What the money was used for - for good courses of course. Helping out new converts, helping out with deaths in the community etc. The gentleman also mentioned that some of it were used to service the mosque, which was fine. After all, the mosque was one of the unique ones, which is fully air-conditioned.

Then the sermon started. And it was about giving. In the latter part, the khatib - the gentleman giving the sermon - touched about how much one should give. But he overstepped the line when he insisted that all of us should strive to at least donate RM10 each - "duet merah supaya seining orang masjid nak kira" - so that counting the donation would be easy! Wow! You need more air-cond units? The congregation started looking at each other literally, and some were even shaking their heads!

For some reason, I was upset. I tended to give more that what was required, but now I felt that they had no rights to tell us how much to give. Is it a toll? Was kinda ironic especially when they mentioned about the air-conditioning as I never get to enter the prayer halls proper since the place were packed to the brim!

I just felt that the Mosque Committee were a touch insensitive. I know that they had a important role to play in the community, and I applaud them for that. But please don't insist on me paying for it, as if it is a fixed charge. Especially not after mentioning that the place is fully air-conditioned and all ……

Contagion

Steven Soderbergh. He is a mixed bag. But you must admit that he is certainly one classy moviemaker. One can't forget the slick Ocean's Eleven. Not exactly Tarantino-esque but certainly he knows what he's doing.

I had the pleasure of watching Contagion on DVD during the Xmas break. I was expecting a Medical Thriller ala Outbreak. But instead, it was a drama. And a good one too. A bit slow in terms of pacing but it certainly built up into a crescendo.

We had vignettes of stories which came together. Collection of lives being effected by outbreak of a virus which reached epidemic proportion. These stories formed the spine of the movie, rather than the virus itself. And in the end, I felt that the movie was trying to do too much. Trying to tell too many stories, spreading the whole theme too thin in the middle of the movie.

The acting were superb however, not surprisingly by the number of big stars in the movie. The main characters were Matt Damon, Lawrence Fishbourne, Kate Winslet, Gwyneth Paltrow and Jude Law to mention a few. No downer on this department although some of the supporting cast were given little to work with.

I must admit that the movie would not be to everyone's liking. But I found it enjoyable, not least because it was not what I was expecting. Definitely recommendable.