Da’ KRUsader’s Manor™

I have not disappeared. I am still alive and kicking as we speak. But I have lost the zest to blog especially now that we’re in Ramadhan and not much comments and criticisms can be aired out of respect for this blessed month, knowing me the proverbial critic who can’t shut his mouth whenever he sees things to his disdain, and there’s quite a few stuffs I had actually wanted to talk about these past few days but chose not to, to preserve the pristine state of the month and what I have diligently turned myself into. Alhamdulillah it’s been good for me so far, been losing weight, being at peace with myself and having that extra bit of patience when 11 months in a year, my short fuse will air its ugly head. Wifey said that Ramadhan should be everyday for me, and I couldn’t agree more…

Speaking of wifey, we celebrated her 30th birthday on Saturday 30th August 2008. You guys must be surprised at how old she is and looking at her in terms of physical size and outlook right??? We celebrated the event by having dinner with family at TSC Restaurant at Changi Airport Terminal 2, followed by a walk down Terminal 3. A pity my camera’s battery went flat on me, so I was not able to take any photos of our dinner. But what’s a birthday without a birthday cake right??? I’ve been contemplating whether to upload photos of the birthday cake but have decided against it for the time being till at least Ramadhan is over. Later on when you see the cake, you will understand why I have reservations uploading it in this blessed month. But if you guys can’t wait, then please click here.

I don’t think I need to declare nor reaffirm any vows I’ve made to her. I just want her to know I love her even more as the days go by and appreciate whatever things she has done for me and for the family. Other than my mum, she is the other queen of my heart. May Allah shower her with more blessings, good health, sustenance and may she continue being the best wife anyone could wish for…

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Earlier on the same day, we went to my best friend’s (Nizam) place to have a surprise advanced 30th birthday celebration for him. His birthday actually falls on 26th September 2008 but I believe the event was brought forward since Hari Raya visits will take up a lot of our time in October if we were to celebrate it then. It was a well-planned event and the “birthday boy” was caught by utter surprise when he walked into his apartment, only to be greeted by a group of people screaming “SURPRISE!!!” and popping the party poppers at his direction. The first thing he quipped when he caught his breath and regained his composure was “I’m too old for this!!!” But it was that classic shocked look on his face that still sticks in my head.

He actually jumped out of the door when we screamed “Surprise!!!“…

The party too was a nice surprise for me as we had a lavish spread of Canadian Pizza. I had actually planned to have a hearty pizza meal prior to Ramadhan and it could not have come sooner enough than that!!! A pity because of the dinner later on at night, I only ate a bit, but it was enough to satisfy my craving for pizzas. Talk about stocking up before Ramadhan. Heh!!! Anyway, we bought for Nizam something which is dear to him, a red Adidas non-Carlsberg Liverpool T-shirt. Even though he’s a fan of the team I despise, he doesn’t like to wear the jersey because of the beer brand on it and I for one applaud him for making such a stand. Yeah we might be rivals in supporting clubs known to hate each other, but there is a mutual respect between us and I for one didn’t mind buying him that, even if others might wonder if it makes me feel dirty to do it. For my bro, I don’t feel anything dirty or sinful buying it for him, even if deep down I had half the mind to buy a Manchester United Double Winners t-shirt just to remind him who are the team to beat currently…

Apologies if you are reading this entry in the day. Don’t mean to tempt your tastebuds…

P.S. Thank you to sis Ian for inviting us to the party and involving us in that big surprise. I think I would have cried if I was in his shoes seeing the people that matter to me in my life celebrating my birthday like that… And the kids definitely enjoyed themselves that day as the photographs below testify…

Eshaan certainly enjoyed himself just by looking at the state of his hair… LOL!!!

I have to admit, I’ve been facing a bout of writers’ block lately and that wee bit of laziness thrown into the mix. That should answer why I’ve not been updating this blog for the past fortnight. Anyway, life’s been rather mundane and routine, so nothing much is worth updating except for what happened over the weekend.

This past weekend, even though it was raining almost throughout, I still managed to spend quality time with family. And what better way to spend it whilst watching the beautiful fireworks by the One Fullerton mall??? The annual Fireworks Festival went on on Friday and Saturday (22 & 23 August 2008) and as you all know, being the fireworks suckers that we are, it wasn’t an opportunity we were about to miss so easily. Anyway, this could be our last Fireworks Festival as we’ll be taking a break for about 4-5 years down the road, seeing that Ramadhan is slowly making its way into August. Unless the event happens before Ramadhan next year, I foresee that we won’t be able to enjoy them till Ramadhan ends before National Day. As they say, we’re just enjoying it while it lasts…

Anyway I don’t understand the rationale behind paying $25 just to sit by the floating platform at Marina Bay to enjoy this event, or spending $50 at Esplanade just to qualify from a lucky draw to watch it from its rooftop. The best things in life are meant to be free and this definitely ranks as one of the best in my life. The incessant downpour turned out to be a blessing in disguise. For one, I believe, it turned off many people from coming over to view the fireworks display. Surprisingly too, when I scanned my eyes to look at the crowd, it wasn’t that many as in previous years when even Esplanade Drive was closed and people would pack all the way to the Padang just to view the fifteen minutes’ display. Sure, people stood along the pavements of Esplanade Drive but traffic was still flowing and the road was not closed to the public. Maybe it has lost its essence???

The first night, only Aida, Syahindah and me went. It was a great experience for me as I have not taken the MRT along the North-East line for a good 2 years now ever since I had a car. I seemed to forget how fast and efficient it is to get to the city minus traffic jams and ERP gantries. I think I should do this more often so I would save on petrol and rising car park fees, not to mention the ERP as well. Syahindah seemed to attract a lot of attention from train commuters. They can’t help staring and smiling at her, and she was just being her, sitting quietly on her stroller. The fireworks??? Beautiful!!! But we had to wait for 25 minutes or so before they were fired into the sky. Naturally, Syahindah grew afraid during the display due to the loud booming sounds emitted, but she still enjoyed it and clapped when the crowd broke into applause the moment it ended.

We went again on the second night, this time joined by my parents-in-law and maid. Syadiyah was left behind at my parents’ place as it was raining, even when we left home. This time I drove instead of taking the MRT. Thought of parking at the Esplanade but it was already full, likewise at One Fullerton. As it was drizzling when we reached, I dropped the rest at One Fullerton before moving off to park at the NTUC Income building further down the road. There were a lot of parking lots available, even the view to the floating platform was clear, had it not been blocked by the construction works next door. This time round, we came armed with a picnic mat and Pizza Hut delivery menu to while the time away. It was about 8:20pm that we reached the place (the fireworks came on about 9:10pm), so the time spent was best used to have dinner. Syahindah was still quite afraid this time but not as bad as the previous day since she had her grandmother carrying and cooing after the fireworks with her. The good thing was, even though she was afraid, she did not cry or bawl like other kids around us. Maybe it’s in her blood already to appreciate one of the beautiful things in life and she’s had ample training when she was still in her mother’s womb.

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Sunday morning was spent with my maternal family. As I had mentioned a few entries ago, my cousin Ezaad had a supporting role in “Kallang Roar The Movie” currently being shown in local movie theatres. So to lend him our support, we had a family outing just to watch the movie at Downtown East. There were about twelve of us plus two others in the theatre (it was a 10:50am show), so literally we had the cinema to ourselves. I told the rest that when the scene where Ezaad, who acted as Nasir Jalil, scored the equaliser for Singapore, we should stand up and cheer and cheered we did. I jumped up and down my seat and went over to rub his cheeks. The stranger behind us could only watch and grin.

So how did I find the movie??? It was certainly an eye opener for me on what actually happened all those years ago, how our footballers played for the country with pride, without thinking of cash and fame like how certain professional footballers go about living their lives these days. One does not need to serve National Service to feel pride and patriotism, hearing the inspired speeches by Uncle Choo Seng Quee (played by Lim Kay Siu) being delivered were enough to make tears welled up in my eyes. All the more when he gave those speeches knowing he had gangrene. The cast was a riot and even if certain parts were exaggerated, the movie’s substance and essence were kept intact. The intricate homework done by the director Cheng Ding Ann was admirably applaudable. Who would expect him to relive the way the late Dato’ Mokhtar Dahari (played by Rafaat Hamzah) used to celebrate after scoring a goal in this movie or included the Milo tin as a poignant reminder of how Milo was a proud sponsor of the national team in years past before a certain beer brand came along???

Us conquering the theatre… And that’s the star giving us the peace sign…

Anwar Hadi, my junior in polytechnic, did a tremendous job acting as my uncle Dollah. Even if I didn’t know that my uncle was such a joker as portrayed in the movie, the physical resemblance was simply uncanny. In the words of my aunt Faridah, his wife, Anwar really looked like Uncle Dollah back in his heydays. Come to think of it, when Ezaad was much slimmer, me and my friends used to call him “Saiful Apek” and Anwar himself looks like Saiful. Both Ezaad and Anwar can easily pass off as brothers, but of course you can tell the difference.

After the show, we all had lunch at Fresh Bulgoggi, a Halal Korean restaurant situated on the first floor of the new E-Hub Downtown East building. While I did not enjoy the food, the company was great. Aida and I shared the same table as the new star in our family and his wife Julie, who incidentally also had a non-speaking role in the movie as Samad Allapitchay’s wife and their son Eshaan appearing as Samad’s son. It was kinda surreal to see the guy I grew up with being a movie star now but his down-to-earth persona made sure that his feet are kept firmly on the ground. Ezaad interviewed me and Aida and asked what were the unbiased and biased scenes in the movie for us. The biased one for us was definitely the pep talk given to him by “Uncle Choo” as it made him one of the leading players in the movie, even though he was not one in the first place. He said that scene was inspired by watching all the World Wrestling Entertainment shows. You should watch the movie to get an idea of the facial expressions he did in that scene. See, who said wrestling was all negative??? As for the unbiased scene for me, it had to be all those powerful speeches being delivered. Felt as though the dead man came to life to inspire us all over again. Over lunch, Ezaad and Julie also shared interesting anecdotes and experiences filming the movie. It was most definitely a learning experience for both me and Aida…

Julie ordering food from the touch screen… Cool…

P.S. I would like to take this opportunity once again to thank sis Nona Kirana once again for taking the time to interview Ezaad on RIA 89.7FM last Thursday when she was on duty, in turn helping to promote a local-made product. Me and my family appreciated it very much!!!

Surprised by my sudden interest in fashion showcases??? Don’t be, cos I’ve always been intrigued by such events, not for the models though, but the constant creativity that fashion designers are able to churn out with every design they create cos there seem to be no end to that. Anyway, I am just helping a friend out promoting this event to my kind readers out there. Reading through the press release, it kinda interest me to attend the event, moreso since I had received an invitation, but alas prior plans made with the family for this Sunday takes precedence. Still I hope you guys reading this would be interested to go and support the event, since afterall, it showcases part of our rich Malay heritage on the runway…

If you are interested, and the info above is kinda vague due to my unprofessional editing (and I sincerely apologise for it), basically you need to get in touch with:

Contact: Syed Muhd Hafiz (Co-Event Director & Marketing)

Mobile: +65 9489 6495

Email: syedmuhdhafiz@gmail.com

or

Contact: Muhammad Lutfi Bin Abdul Ghani (Co-Event Director & Sponsorship)

Mobile: +65 9060 4434

Email: mlutfi2006@business.smu.edu.sg

HURRY!!! SEATS ARE LIMITED & RUNNING OUT FAST!!!

Have you ever had a friend you have not met or contacted in a long time suddenly appearing out of the blue and asked to have a meet up, to the point of planning your meeting time etc??? I’m sure some of you have. Do you suspect anything fishy, like why the sudden interest in the meet up or you just think of it as a sincere reunion of sorts to catch up on old times???

This past weekend, a childhood friend of mine whom I’ve not met in ages and not have any close contact since school days, sms-ed to say that he wanted to meet me to catch up on old times and *quote* “to discuss something” *unquote* with me. Out of friendship’s sake, I didn’t mind meeting him but I felt kinda disturbed by that second part about discussing something. More often than not, when people say something like that, they are bound to discuss some multi-level marketing or sideline business with you. If they are financial planners, all the more I will not waste my time hearing them out as I’ve already have my policies in place.

So I replied back and said as bluntly as I could that there must be a catch somewhere if he wanted to meet me out of the blue. I added on and said that I did not mind the meet up but I am not keen if he wants to share or sell anything, if that was part of his agenda. True enough, he replied and said that he agreed with me that whenever an old friend wants to meet, it is usually to his benefit, and that I can stop him anytime if I find the conversation not beneficial.

Even though I was feeling peeved by then, I still tried to remain cordial in my subsequent reply. I told him that I have principles and one of them is never to use my friends, no matter how close I am to them or not, for my own benefit or leverage. Subsequently I apologised to him for stopping even before we’ve started any conversations.

I have this thing about being very protective of the people in my contact list, no matter how close I am to them or not. Personally I am the kind of person who hates multi-level marketing or whatever stuff that pertains or is associated with it. That is why perhaps I am not cut out for a job in sales and marketing. For me, if you say you want to meet me to catch up on lost time, I will be more than glad to accede to such requests, but if you have other agendas up your sleeves, then I suggest you keep it to yourselves. And if someone were to ask me to ask any of the people in my contact list to support their businesses, all the more I will not give as I do not want to make use of my friendships with them for others’ benefits.

This was not the first time that I have experienced such scenarios. It made me think how far would a person use friendships for his / her own personal advantage. I know that in this day and age where businesses and sideline incomes are sprouting everywhere, such scenarios are common place and that my rants are misplaced. Some of you might even think I’m being uptight and aloof. Honestly I don’t mind if such promotions are done on a public basis, like an advert or in a blog rather than a one-on-one affair, since afterall, you have the liberty to buy or not. A one-on-one affair usually means that person has high expectations that you would part your cash out of supporting an old friend. It kinda leaves quite a sour taste in the mouth thinking that you’re being made used of for someone’s own monetary benefit and that to me makes sincerity thrown out of the window and friendship a mere decoration in name…

In life, there is a tendency to overlook things and making that odd oversight from time to time. Going through the Malay papers today jolted me out of my slumber when I saw the various advertisements on celebrating Nisfu Sya’ban this coming Saturday night, 16th August 2008. My initial plans to attend the Rentak Singapura concert at Downtown East on the same night suddenly didn’t look enticing anymore, even though I have good seats and considered premium ones.

I am not religious, neither do I claim to be one but, between earthly matters and preparing for the Hereafter, I have to draw the line somewhere and show some respect for this blessed night. One can attend entertainment shows anytime down the road but one also can’t say if he is fortunate enough to meet the next Nisfu Sya’ban, since Death waits for no one. Which is why I have decided to pull the plug and not attend the event, even if it means wasting the two tickets that I had already bought sometime in May. So for those who will be looking forward to another review by me, I apologise in advance for not doing one.

If anyone thinks that I blame the organisers for not doing their homework, no, I believe they might have been in the same spot as myself and overlooked the date. I still remember how APM2002 was brought forward as the original date to hold it clashed with Ma’al Hijrah. Maybe if this event was to be brought forward to Friday, then perhaps I might be able to make it, but I’m not expecting any last minute changes at this short period of time.

Yes, I still do support local acts, and I really really do want to be there to lend my utmost support for them, but I really have to apologise as I am unable to compromise my own principles…

Apologies for being away a little longer than expected. I have been busy with work and contracting the flu virus from my daughters. Which explains why I felt extremely lazy to update my blog, even after my reservist had ended. I was a little surprised that my blog statistics jumped at the beginning of last week, wondering why the sudden interest in this blog since I did not make any reviews of late. Then it dawned on me that we just had THE Wedding of the Year (no prizes for guessing whose), therefore it was natural that people would look up this blog in case I updated anything on it or simply cos search results would reveal that the couple’s blog link is linked to mine. Nope I was not invited to the wedding (cos we dunno each other on a personal / working basis), so many apologies to those who had hoped to get some scoop on the event. Hoped that other blogs or sites would have painted better pictures for you. Anyway, here’s wishing the newly-weds all the best as they embark on their journey and new chapter in life as husband and wife…

This recent reservist call-up I had, was considered the best so far, simply because I was excused from going outfield. Which means, I did not have to control my bowels and not bathe for three days!!! It was heaven sent, even if I had to endure some pain along the way cos I re-injured myself the day before we were supposed to move out, straining my right shoulder where I had done a surgery on it back in 2001. Made some new friends along the way, most notably Had (or should that be SSG Had???) of Rancour fame. Didn’t realise he was posted to my previous company till we started conversing at the cookhouse. Word from the horse’s mouth is that their album would be released next year. So for those of you who are waiting for the group to come out with their debut album, that’s news for you…

Enough for now… Later…

As of today 21st July 2008, I have officially sold my soul to the nation all the way till 1st August 2008. So any updates on this blog from now till then will be either minimal or none at all. Apologies then to those who hope to read something interesting about what I do over the next fortnight or the past few days, only to find yourself faced with this entry. I hope something interesting beckons sometime in between, especially since I am hoping to catch the Brazil Olympics football team in action. Actually there is something I want to show you guys but I simply have no mood to update this blog on it. Even wearing this grubby uniform feels like wearing Kryptonite. It just saps your energy and morale away. I’m hoping time will fly by cos there’s just too much work at the office that needs my attention and I can’t do that while I’m away. Bummer…

I recently got wind about three hours before I typed this entry, that the Malay entertainment journalist’s position over at The New Paper is currently vacant / looking for new blood. As regular readers of this blog can testify, I’m sort of like a bonafide reporter to all you people out there craving for reviews on shows, concerts, plays etc that I attended. It is a job that if I were to apply for and be accepted to (provided I am), would raise my profile as a genuine writer without having to hide behind this nick.

As a good friend had suggested in an sms to me a few months ago, when your profile is raised and your works are recognised or if you’re doing it for a living, it would mean having to enjoy several perks like having free access to shows, be invited to post-parties without feeling guilty of “gatecrashing”, meeting and interviewing personalities, attending media conferences, travelling and what-have-yous, just to provide the latest scoop for your daily readers. Take it this way, your readership will no longer be in the hundreds, but in the thousands and you’re paid to do what you like to do. And I’ve always wanted to do something like this, pertaining to the entertainment industry, ever since I was in school.

However, I have a few reservations. Especially when I received news today that a pay hike at my current workplace is very much in store somewhere down the road. Plus I blog at my own pleasure, without being pressurised for any datelines. Likewise, as a blogger, I have the liberty which shows I want to attend and which ones not to go, especially now with two kids, I am very much picky of the events I want to go to. I dunno if an entertainment journalist also have this kind of liberty on which ones to go and which ones to avoid. All I know is, it would take a lot of my time since most events happen from 6pm onwards. And that to me is critical as I would have to sacrifice time with my family since the wife is working office hours and how important it is to see your kids grow in front of your eyes. Family time for me is paramount.

Well I’m only saying this from what I observed on the surface and without doing any research nor homework on what an entertainment scribe does. So please don’t sue me if I get my facts wrong since I know quite a few entertainment hacks drop by my blog to see what I have to say on certain issues. Maybe this job is more suited for those who are still single and carefree. But if anyone from SPH is reading this and thinks I was sprouting nonsense in the above paragraph or to put it nicely, that I fit the bill, do drop a comment in my comment box.

P.S. Oh, a starting offer of 3k would do nicely… LOL!!!