The Wheels of Life...

...The Down.

When you find out that there is something lacking in your surroundings, as a human being with a functioning brain you will try your best to complete the picture. After the success of the Darul Iman League, mad redo1 had planned for another event.

As the requirement for the Darul Iman League team to have at least a 'C' Licensed Coach at the helm could not be enforced due to the lack of numbers, thus it is a logical step to produce more local coaches with the qualification.

So, we came to the next project on mad redo1's calendar. The 'Basic Course for Coaches' conducted by an instructor from the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM). It was a short course over four days and by the time the registration closed there were a strong list of 23 names of aspiring coaches.

Or, that was what he thought.

The morning of the course saw just eight participants arrived and registered with the Secretariat. The embarrassment was enormous to say the least. By the time the first lecture started, there were only 13 and for the practical session the next morning there were just ten.

The instructor had no other choice but to cancel the whole thing.

However, the cancellation does not mean it will be the end of the Coaching Courses in Terengganu but merely serves as a wake-up call for mad redo1 that there are a lot to be done to make sure it will be a success next time around and the number of qualified coaches in Terengganu will increase in order to help the development of football in the state.

Come on mad redo1!

...

The Wheels of Life...

...The Up.

mad redo1 was one happy man after the Darul Iman League 2009 reached its conclusion on Wednesday, 12-08-2009. Kuala Terengganu 'A' defeated Besut 3-0 in a closely fought contest which was decided in the capital's team favour after the team from north of Terengganu began to tire.

Why I was so happy. Because the tournament saw the return of proper state league football in Terengganu. For a number of years now a number of tournaments had been held which saw similar meetings between districts in Terengganu but it was not really organised by the Terengganu Football Association.

But this year, the association with the assistance from the state government launched the Darul Iman League which was launched on 02-07-2009. Since then 27 matches had been played at various venues around Terengganu with the culmination of the final match above.

What I really hope is that it would not be just a one season tournament but will be continued as a perpetual event that will help unearth football talents and serve as practice grounds for those involved in the sports.

Will mad redo1 be blogging about the 2010 edition? He hopes he will.

...

An Aggravated...

...Encounter.

Obviously I have cooled down when I am typing this piece.

But the experience that I had while doing a little bit of shopping at Giant Hypermarket with Linda and the AKSes had left me in a bit of an aggravated state.

We came to get just a few items which totalled less than ten. As we were in a bit of a rush, we chose to use the fast lane that stated “ten items or less”. There was another shopper in front of us buying just two bottles of soda drinks. While in front of her was a couple with a trolley of goods.

As they were emptying the trolley onto the cashier’s register, I began counting their items and they were more than ten items.

The guy must have heard my count and he turned around and audibled something which did not register in my head, perhaps justifying why he was using the fast lane when he was not supposed to do so.

“Obviously you cannot read then.” That was my reply.

Then came a tirade of words from him and then the lady he was with joined in.

“You want to show you are smart.” Yes, I am really smart in counting.

“You want to show you have power.” I am I giant when shopping at Giant.

“You want to fuss over petty things.” Yup, this is included in my many pet peeves.

“There have been others who did this kind of thing and I just let them. Why can’t I do the same thing?” Then it is okay for me to slash your head just because others have done that before?

“Jangan jaga tepi kain oranglah.” But do you expect me to keep quiet when your stinking ‘tepi kain’ kept brushing my face?

“Take care of yourself first.” What do you think I am doing?

“Jaga baby tu dulu.” I hope there will be no hellspawn from both of you to create more havoc on this earth, we have enough of that already.

By that time our verbal joustling had attracted quite a large audience. Then when I stated that I just wanted the rules or laws to be adhered to, the woman with her finger wagging said:

“The law? They are just bullsh*t!” So you think ISA is good for you then...

By that time the scene was nearly over with the two of them mumbling something as they walked away and with me mumbling something of my own. One thing for sure, they will be categorised under the same label as the 'Pakcik' who ran me and Mortimer down not for away from Giant.

Back at the counter, the woman who was in front of us just now agreed wholeheartedly with my action and reprimanded the cashier herself for entertaining those with more than ten items using the fast lane.

Unlike the other hypermarkets such as Sabasun and M*dyn which had a strict policy in regards of the use of the fast lanes, Giant staffs seemed to be lacksaidal in their policing of the matter.

I wish my path will cross with the couple again, especially while queieng since they said the law is bullshit. Then I could just cut in front of them and see whether there will be any reaction from them or not.

What do you think?

...

The Last Bites...

..in July.

The Darul Iman League 2009 saw mad redo1 travelling up and down the state of Terengganu, overseeing the technical aspects of the competition on match-days. Today he was down to his favourite town, Dungun where the home side took on the team from the capital ciry, Kuala Terengganu 'B' at Padang Dewan Merdeka.

This venue used to be known as 'Padang Zink Merah' or loosely translated as the Red Zinc Field; due to the red coloured zinc used as the wall to the pitch. This was where important football matches were played in Dungun such as the final of the Inter-Schools football competition. mad redo1 played quite a few times there when he representing his school during his younger days.

The wall had since been taken down and it is open to the public.

The match itself was a closely fought one but the visitors hit the home team with two quick goals inside the first three minutes. Dungun managed to reduce the deficit in the last minute of the first half. Both goalkeepers did not concede any goal in the second half as the capital team recorded their first win of the season and opened up the race for the semi-final places between them, Dungun, Setiu and Hulu Terengganu.

Linda and the AKSes tagged along this time but of course they preferred to go somewhere else than being stuck at pitchside with mad redo1. After the match was over I found out that they and a friend of Linda have gone to a beach cafe in Paka.

So, after a twenty minutes drive mad redo1 arrived at 'BITES' which was located just a shout away from the Residence Inn, a popular hotel in Paka. The owner of the cafe is another friend of Linda, a sweet and beautiful lady who goes by the name Min.

The ladies (mothers and daughters) already had their share of 'tucker' thus leaving mad redo1 having to eat alone. But Berg, showing she shares the same gene pool of food lovers in mad redo1, ordered a bowl of 'Mee Jawa' to accompany his daddy's Chicken Chop. Before mad redo1's arrival they already had a bowl of 'Assam Laksa' and Nina had Spicy Lamb.

The portion of the chicken was quite generous though mad redo1 found the sauce a bit too little for his liking as he prefers to have his chicken chop 'drowning' in the sauce. But the taste of the sauce was spot-on. The bowl of 'mee jawa' quickly made its way around the table and despite the thick sauce it was still enjoyable.

Then as we were about to leave BITES, Min handed the AKSes 'Ais-Krim Goreng' which the 'Quarelling Duo' finished in no time at all.

It was another enjoyable day and mad redo1 hopes there will be more in the Independent Month of August.


...

The Passing...

...of the Storyteller.

I was together with Zaleha Khairene Ismail in my living room (she of course on the other side of the screen) when she conveyed the sad news to the rest of the nation that Yasmin Ahmad had passed away.

Of course I do not her personally but she had been tugging the hearts of many Malaysians through her memorable works which somehow had endeared her to me like I have known her for real. Then the words she wrote sharing her feelings with visitors that came to her pages enabled us to 'feel' with her the ups and downs of Yasmin Ahmad.

As it is in life, she was not everyone cup of tea, and I disagreed with a few things coming from her but it cannot be denied that her works really opened up many Malaysian minds, especially with the controversial 'SEPET' which I would say became the benchmark of how I would rate local films for the next few years.

Living in kT denied me of catching her theatre releases but I would try my best to get my hands on the original DVD of 'Mukhsin', 'Gubra' and hopefully 'Muallaf'.

Those who had the opportunity working with her must be a lucky group of people. For them her passing would be felt much more than by us whose interraction with her were limited to her work or appearance on the screen, but all the same it a sad day.

The grey sky over kT seems to be mourning the passing of The Storyteller.

And so are we... rest in peace; Yasmin Ahmad.


Al-Fatihah.


...

A Round Trip...

...on the Bas Bandar.

Since the 'Bas Bandar' service was launched more than a year ago mad redo1 and the AKSes have been planning to get a ride on it. Unfortunately there were always reasons for the plan not going accordingly.

But on Monday, we were determined to get ourselves on the ride, which is still FREE as the fleet of buses has not been approved by the Commercial Vehicle Licencing Board to be used as a commercial vehicle due to some features on the buses which do not meet the board's guidelines.

Since it was a holiday in kT we had ample time. First, we came quite early when the bus driver informed us that the next service would be at 1.30pm. Thus we went to the Delima Kuning restaurant at Giants first to fill our hungry stomachs.

Then there was the kT Autoshow at the Terengganu Trade Centre, showcasing a number of latest edition cars, SUVs, trucks and bikes from almost all car-makers. A cool RM88k would see mad redo1 travelling up and down the country on a HondaCBR1000, which is something that he really wants to do someday.

Berg on the other hand, wanted to buy a 4 ton truck manufactured by Inokom. Not that she is interested in trucks or vehicles of that kind, but because the purchaser of the truck will be given a free 32" LCD TV. For her, that was a good reason enough to buy the truck.

We knew that by hanging around the autoshow meant we missed the 1.30pm bus trip. Thus we settled for the 4.30pm which gave us abundance of time to hang around for quite a while more.

Finally, we got onto the bus. Of course this was quite different from the normal buses with all the decorations and pictures are meant to put Terengganu arts and culture to the forefront.

There were quite a number of people taking advantage of the free ride to go around and it would be much better for tourism if there is a schedule of the bus service and the route it takes, together with interesting places that it goes through.

Despite the 'park bench' like seats, it did not stop the 'pakcik' from enjoying immensely to the extent that it took him to dreamland. The AKSes could not help themselves from having a giggle after looking at the 'pakcik'.

The bus that we took went through the Waterfront that faces Pulau Duyong, Chabang Tiga and then straight to the Terengganu Muzeum and the Islamic Civilization Park (TTI) on Pulau Wan Man.

The bus stopped for a while at the TTI which gave some of the tourists there the opportunity to take their pictures with the unique bus much to the amusement of mad redo1. But on the other hand, mad redo1 would also photograph himself with the old double decker buses in London if he is given the opportunity.

Then it was time to go back. Berg enjoyed herself very much and certainly the recently added cushion on the bench gave the ride a bit more comfort than I imagined it would be when it first came into service.

The Bas Bandar service offers two routes: to the TTI via the places that I mentioned above and the other one is to Chendering where it will go through Batu Buruk Beach, the Terengganu Palace, Masjid Terapung and Noor Arfa Craft Complex (NACC).

Enjoy the ride!

...

Hunt for Sunglasses...

...and a Few Other Things.

If you had followed 'pekebende' over the last few years, perhaps you will be familiar with this friend of mine who currently earning his 'rezeki' in the middle east. Well, he is back in town for a few weeks together with his family. Last year he came back to look for a reliable pair of sunglasses.

Would you believe it that the first agenda after coming back to town is embarking on another hunt for another pair of sunglasses after losing the one bought last year at a mosque while doing the 'Umrah'.

That was what we did and again we went to Penney Pang located at Jalan Air Jernih. His experience in using Ray-Ban propelled him to the brand's showcase but after trying a number of models none managed to really tug his heart.

Then mad redo1 who was browsing through at another showcase suggested that he should give the 'Rudy's Project' collection a go, Hilmi did just that. Wallah! He found the sunglasses that fulfil his requirements. The price was nearly RM700 but a 30% discount brought it down to just under RM500.

During his browsing too mad redo1 found the one that really tugged his heart but with a price tag of well above RM700, despite the pretty persuasion by the girls at the counter mad redo1 decided to let the head ruled his heart this time around, though he made a silent pledge to have it one day... better yet, if anybody out there is generous enough to buy one for him, eh? (Dream on, mad redo1...)

However, after concluding the business at the optometrist, our sight was caught by the newly opened al-Ikhsan store, the second one in kT. Initially there was no intention to purchase anything but merely to feel the environment of a new store.

Unfortunately, mad redo1's attention was caught on the price tag of the Arsenal away jersey for 2008-09 season which had been marked down to just RM129. This was the result of The Gunners having released a new away jersey for the upcoming season. This time the heart ruled mad redo1's head.

Now, there will be a few photos in the future with mad redo1 wearing the above attire.

Then in the afternoon, mad redo1 together with Linda and the AKSes brought the youngest AKS to the clinic for another scheduled shot. She tipped the scale to a 6.4kg mark, which was still alright for mad redo1 to carry her around.

Then when it came to the shot, just a short cry and after a few moment of rubbing her tender and soft butts everything was okay again.

That was quite a day for mad redo1.

...

Kuala Abang...

...Waving!

On Friday mad redo1 had an assignment in Kemaman. Together with the AKSes and Linda we departed from kT around noon and after an hour on the road our stomachs began sounding their hunger bells. Of course mad redo1 already had a place to stop for a quick picnic on his mind.

It was a place in Kuala Abang, Dungun. For those who do not have the slightest idea of this place, it is just three km away from the famed Rantau Abang and around the same distance to Tanjung Jara. On a warm afternoon the place is just perfect to catch a nap or two (though there is the inherent danger of the nap becoming a long, long sleep).

Luckily the place was quite deserted when we arrived, perhaps due to the fact everybody was at home having meals or at the mosque performing the Friday Prayer (mad redo1 took the musafir option).

The planta rice with tandoori chicken prepared by Linda was heaven. Berg helped herself to at least three servings. It more or less confirmed both of us share that common strand of DNA. Even though he would like to have a bit more but a full stomach could be a hazard for drivers and mad redo1 was not willing to risk that.

So, if you are ever in that area, look out for the place and who knows, it might be the first of many visits there.

...

Hello...

...Everybody!

It seems just like yesterday that she joined us in this world, and right before our eyes she has grown quite substantially. Today she is 5 months old.

We pray for your health and happiness, and we will try our best to be there for you all the time.

...

The Year's...

...Lowest Posting!

The month of June saw the lowest number of posting this year. It was ironic since there were quite a few activities worth posting on these pages. Unfortunately, mad redo1 could not balance his life in order to write a few lines over here.

But, rejoice people!

mad redo1 is back, though not with a vengeance his spirit certainly in the up. Thus, it is my wish to see at least ten posts for this month on 'pekebende' and of course the more the better.

Where do I begin...

Why not with one of my pet peeves; inconsiderate road-users.

I was sitting in my parked Cik Mat along the Jalan Tok Lam Road waiting for my mother who went to a clinic there to get her medications. Suddenly a white four wheel drive came from the opposite direction, came into this side of the road and the driver parked his vehicle in the lane, making a double lane road a single lane.

The driver alighted from the vehicle and non-chalantly walked into the 7-11 store forcing other road-users to maneuver their vehicles around his. He came out nearly five minutes later having purchased the thing that he wanted at the 24 hours convenient store.

Once again, I was wishing to be driving a tank that I could just run over the vehicle while the driver was inside the store. When he came out only to find his vehicle was crushed flat .

Now, that would certainly made up my day!

...

D-Day...

...in Kuala Terengganu.

Following the collapse of the roof structure at the RM300 million Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium in Gong Badak, Terengganu football teams have no choice but to go back playing at the old Sultan Ismail Nasirudin Shah.

The stadium which has seen so many memories in the past, went into a small re-construction when the steel structure supporting part of the stands were removed for safety reasons. This reduced the capacity of the stadium from 20,000 to around 15,000.

The Football Association of Malaysia have provisionally approved the usage of Sultan Ismail Nasirudin Shah Stadium as the home ground for both Terengganu and T-Team during their Malaysian League campaign for this season and most probably next season too.

However, there have been a number of complaints in regards of the state of the pitch and also the flood-lights which according to certain quarters do not meet the required standards. In addition to that, the stadium pitch also has seen a number of non-football activities being held there.

There was the Search 'Di Awan Biru' concert and recently an equine event, The Sultan's Cup pre-launching ceremony was held there. The latter especially would take a heavy toll on the already bad pitch.

This has prompted the Kuala Terengganu City Council to carry out improvement works on the stadium by replacing the bulbs of the floodlights, patching up certain areas of the pitch and re-installing the security fences around the ground.

Whether these actions would satisfy FAM technical delegates will be known after their visit to the stadium on Sunday.

For the sake of football in Terengganu, mad redo1 hopes they will.

...

Bekang...

...anybody?

It is another Terengganu delicacy which I remember having for the first time when I was eight years old in Pasir Panjang. It was during a school holiday and I was staying at a relative's house to prepare for a function. It was quite vague but I remember lining up before this old lady who had a reputation as the best bekang maker in town. If not, why the line was so long with people waiting patiently to get their hands on the bekang.

The bekang comes with two sauces, the sweet sauce and cream sauce. My preference is the former. The sweet sauce (above) is brown in colour, most probably due to the use of brown sugar while the cream sauce is white.

The bekang basically is made from rice flour and eggs. According to my mother, the bekang will taste perfect if the right mix of the two ingredients is achieved. However I found the current makers of bekang tend to hold back on the eggs which makes the bekang a bit less tasty.

Nowadays, the place is no longer there. The old lady most probably has long gone to meet the Maker. We can always look for the current version but it is not what it used to taste like. Then again, we always think that foods from yester-years taste better than their counterparts today.

...

Surprised...

...I Was Not.

I was on my way to the office when calls and text messages started to come in on my handphone conveying the same message: SULTAN MIZAN STADIUM COLLAPSE!

When the first call came in I thought it was referring to current work being carried out at the Sultan Ismail Nasirudin Shah Stadium. However when more and more messages coming in then I decided it was best to check it out myself.

On the Sulltan Mahmud Bridge the wailing of the siren a police car more or less confirmed something bad had taken place. Perhaps it was still quite early as the traffic was smooth all the way to the Gong Badak Sports Complex.

As I approached the area I could see from a far the extent of the damage. The whole structure was still intact except for the roof which now has been reduced to an unrecognizable heap of steel and concrete. The crowd was getting bigger as news began the get around about the unfortunate event.

At the time the police line was still quite near to the stadium and the crowd was able to get quite close to the stadium. As I began to walk away after taking a few shots of the place, the Civil Defence Team personnel began to set up a new line to ensure the public would not be exposed to any danger.

The funny thing about the whole event was that it WAS NOT UNEXPECTED.

A year ago during the construction of the stadium the roof had collapsed once but it was not widely reported since there was no life lost and it would be a very bad publicity to the state which was about to host the SUKMA Games.

One interesting thing was an engineer who was involved in the construction of the Indoor Stadium advised me that if I have the choice, do not sit at the grandstand. It was something that immediately came to my mind upon seeing the extent of the damage.

This event certainly triggered a number events. As for mad redo1 it means a number of things that has to be done pronto in order to find a new home for the Turtles before the Super League resume on 16 June with a match against kL PLUS.

The best of luck to me then.

...

An Evening...

...with the Kambengs!

It was not really out of the blue as Milla already texted me they (she and Mr Kambeng) will be holidaying in Terengganu.

Today she gave me a call when they were about to leave the island. We picked them up at the kT Bus Station. I was caught by surprise with the large number of people in town today, but there were quite a number of things going on actually.

The road in front of the Paya Keladi Business Centre leading up to Pasar Payang was closed and they opened stalls a-la 'upmarkets'. Over at the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium, a President Cup match involving T-Team was underway.

Of course, there would be the Search's 'Di Awan Biru' concert at the Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah Stadium in the evening.

We saw them walking and promply picked them up. Without any specific place to go we just drove around to the Batu Buruk Beach where, you can guess it; there were more people there. So we just proceeded to the Tengku Tengah Zaharah Mosque or more famously known as the 'Masjid Terapung'.

After a few snaps, our stomach began to growl for dinner. To make it more convenient we decided to have it somewhere near to the airport. Of course it would not be the usual 'tom yam' place which sprouted all over town.

Instead we took them to a place where they have this 'Air Buah Gelas Besar' (fruit juice in large glass) in Seberang Takir. But before reaching the place mad redo1 decided to make a detour to Pulau Duyong and we snapped a few shots at the Ri-Yaz Heritage Resort & Spa.

 

Only after then we proceeded to the 'makan' place where Milla had a plate of Nasi Minyak while Mr Kambeng had a bowl of 'laksam'. Of course in between there were quite a substantial number of 'keropok' passing through our esofargus.

With Milla's low tolerance to hot food she had to decline from trying eating more delicacies though in reality it should not be the case as Terengganu food is not known for being hot.

Mr Kambeng was quite good with children and that was the case when he entertained Nina in wrapping the hot 'keropok'. As Yoda would say: "A good father he will become."

Then after filling our stomach to the fullest (well, that was the case for mad redo1 at least) we finally made the move to the airport which was just five minutes away.

Hopefully they had a good holiday over here and meeting us would not diminish the experience. Come again in the future, you all!


...

A Cry...

...for No Reason, Not!

The other night mad redo1 had supper with a friend at Pak Wan Kopitiam in Gong Badak. We were so engrossed in our conversation that we totally lost the track of time. It was the sound of 'Nightline' coming on air that mad redo1 realised it was already midnight.

After parting our ways mad redo1 went to pick up Linda and the AKSes at her mother's house. We were about to enter the car when a neighbour who was on his way home passed us by and said 'Hi'. Of course we returned the greeting, at least I did as everybody else was already sleepy.

We arrived at home safe and sound.

Linda was looking forward to a good night sleep when suddenly AKS#3 began to wail. It was not a situation that we could not handle. Or so we thought. Despite feeding and cuddling her, AKS#3 simply refused to stop crying.

The next thought was she was suffering from stomach ache and Linda rubbed the usual ointment that we used. It worked and for a short while were relieved. Suddenly we heard the sound of her passing wind followed by the liquid sound of she relieving herself.

We took the necessary actions and suddenly when we tried to put a fresh diaper on, AKS#3 began to cry again, and this time at the top of her lungs complete with her body flailing about. It went on for a while despite our best intention to make her quiet.

"This is all your fault!"

Suddenly Linda said to me in an accusing manner.

"Why is it my fault?"

"Because you greeted Pak A*** just now..."

I could not believe what I heard. Of course there were rumours around the village about the old man that said 'Hi' to us has some sort of 'companion' with him. How true the rumours, so far could not be proven.

But now it could be a contributing factor to the non-stop wailing of AKS#3.

I went out of the room to clear my head. After a while Linda came out with a sheepish grin and AKS#3 had stopped crying. I could not help from noticing the baby's naked butts. They were quite red in colour.

It turned out that Khalisa Shukriah was suffering from a case of rash on her butts. We had a good laugh about it with Linda getting her face red for so quick in her diagnose of the situation.

It had nothing to do with a certain someone and his 'companion'. If it is true he has one.

It makes you think, right?


...

Abandoned Baby...

...Not Here!

Have we become a cruel society?

Or,

we have always been cruel all this time but due to the advancement in technologies, the coverage by media is wider than before thus we are being fed with so many news of cruelty in our society.

Bohsia, bohjan.
Mat Motor, Mat Rempit,
Unwanted pregnancies and abandoned babies.

More and more social problems for us and the next generations to face.

I sincerely hope that I would not come across any abandoned baby and I certainly pray that I would never become a person that would have the heart to abandon anybody, let alone a helpless baby.

So, AKS#3 above was certainly not abandoned but merely mad redo1's effort to make sure she is getting enough exposure to the sun...

...

Lets Bludaa...

...Everybody!

Ever since Awang Goneng mentioned the name 'Blu-daa' in his account of 'Growing Up in Trengganu' the traditional 'paun' has been making some sort of comeback, and a successful one too. Now it is quite easily available at markets such as Chabang Tiga and Pasar Payang though I have yet to see it on the shelves of Giants.

mad redo1 has his fair share of 'blu-daa' since and I must say, it is quite fulfilling (who won't after consuming ten of them!)

So, why don't you have one too... the next time you find yourself in Terengganu.


...

And the Award Goes to...

...Cristine Ronaldo & The DOGba!

It is not a good week to be an Arsenal fan.

Losing to manure in the Champions' League semi-final ensured another season without trophy, after being knocked out by Chelski at the same stage in the FA Cup earlier.

After a reasonably good season previously, I half expected for another assault on all front by Arsene Wenger's boys. They did just that only to falter at crucial stages again.

One thing for sure was we kept suffering at the hands of actors at those crucial moments.

Last season it was the fine double Dutch performance by Dirk Kuyt and Ryan Babel against Liverpool in the Champions' League quarter final stage. This season it was the turn of Cristine Ronaldo when he felt the breeze of an Arsenal player and thus had to make his obligatory dive, earning a free-kick which he scored.

Then another fine act by Dogba at the Emirates today led to another free-kick which Alex scored against the run of play. Sometimes I really wish we have these kind of actors in our squad to earn us free-kicks and penalties that would help us winning more matches.

Not since Robert Pires left for Villarreal anyway.

Seriouly though, we need more experience in our squad and a more clinical finisher. It was a pity that Eduardo missed a large chunk of the season after surviving the murder attempt by Martin Taylor on that fateful day at St Andrews. In his few appearances this season, the Croatian striker showed what we a good player we have been missing this season.

Cesc Fabregas was a shell of his former self and did not command the pitch as much as his talent demands. His long term injury also robbed us from his service though for me it was a welcome one as he needed the break after playing football all year round previously.

After a productive first season post Thierry Henry, Manu Adebayor was courted by almost all the big guns in Europe, which in effect turned my support against him. Right now I will be very glad to see the back of him given somebody give Arsenal a large amount of dough.

What else to do for us Gooners than to look forward to next season.

Hopefully there will some moment of joy that will see our name written on any one of the major trophy next season... provided we win it without having to resort to award winning acting in our part.


...

Moron...

...on the Road.

There is nothing much enjoyable than taking a ride with Mortimer on an open road. However, when the road become a bit jammed with traffic I have to be extra careful as Mortimer’s body is not as nimble as the ‘kapchai’ and scooters dominating our road today.

Malaysian motorcyclists are known for their daredevil attitude on public roads with numerous clips on the ‘youtube’ about the exploits of our ‘mat rempits’.

We as the public rely on the enforcement by the relevant authorities, namely the traffic division of the Royal Malaysian Police and also by the Road Transport Department to stem the problem caused by this ‘mat rempits’.

We also bank on these authorities to set good examples to the public when it comes to road safety. Then there are also motoring and biking clubs that most of the time will work together with the authorities in promoting the same agenda.

Unfortunately when they are not promoting safety some of these motoring and biking clubs are happy to promote unsafe driving and riding habits, and sometimes aided by the authorities too.

Why am I saying this?

The recent Labour Day holiday saw an extended weekennd for many in the West Coast and many took the opportunity to have a trip to Terengganu. As usual this will result in a bit of a jam in kT, especially on the Sultan Mahmud Bridge.

On my way back from a futsal match I was stuck in a jam on the bridge. Suddenly a loud horn was heard from the rear and in the rearview mirror I saw a number of big bikers riding bettween the cars to get themselves to the front.

Now, it is normal for the ‘kapchai’ to do that and admittedly I do that with Mortimer though not all the time. But sounding your horn, telling people to give way to you was just plain rude.

It is YOUR choice to buy the big bike and if you come stuck behind heavy traffic then you don’t go sounding your horn telling people to give way for you.

What irritated me more, there was a biker with the word ‘POLIS’ pasted on the back of his vest wagging his finger to me. How I wished he could see which finger that I wagged at him.

C’mon, you are the one who should be telling these bikers not to ride dangerously, yet you are the one who promoted dangerous riding habits to them.

...

Labouring Day...

...in Sports.

It was the labour day and mad redo1 found himself struggling to catch his breath as he participated in two sporting activities.

First of all was a futsal match at the Sportsplanet.

According to the organiser, it was supposed to be a friendly tournament between MyViT (Terengganu MyVi owners' club), ViVA Team and GanuSoccer.Net. Unfortunately the Viva Team did not turn up and it became a two hour futsal match between the two remaining teams.

Two hours!

Luckily both teams brought enough players to last the whole match. In the end, I did not know the actual scores but there must be thirty odd goals scored by both teams. After all, it was just a friendly match, right?

Then right after futsal mad redo1 proceeded to the Diman Bowl to join Linda and her siblings for a couple of rounds of bowling. It seems this bowling outing is fast becoming a routine for us.

For mad redo1, he would not be complaining that much. Despite having played futsal earlier, he managed to enjoy himself and kept away from the 'longkang' for most of the time. A bit of improvement though he needs to work more on getting the spares which could bring a bit more difference to his pinfalls.

Anyway, it was an enjoyable Labour Day though for most of us in Terengganu it was not really a holiday as it fell on a Friday, which in a circular by the state government deemed not to be carried forward to the next day.

Pity us, Ganuans!

...

A Birthday Wish...

...for Someone.

It is the last day of April and there are a couple of people I know celebrate their birthday today.

To Azlee and Bu'Ain, enjoy your day in the sun!

...

Time Flies...

...so Fast.

The saying applies when you are spending time with your loved ones.

Don't you think so?

That what mad redo1 feels as he realises that Khalisa Shukriah has been under his care for more than two months now. How he feels it is only yesterday that he is reciting the Adzan and Iqamah at her ears after the safe delivery by Linda.

She was so small, fragile and with a lot more hair.

Today, she has grown so much and lost a bit of her hair. As mad redo1 stares at her face, he is reminded of his time with the older AKSes when they were at the same age.

The looks were almost the same.

Khalisa has begun responding to her surrounding and it is a treat for both mad redo1 and Linda when she smiles and lets out small cries of joy.

How he wishes that she will take her time growing up.

Coincidently, the eldest AKS, Berg is spending the weekend away from the family for the first time in our life. With the UPSR looming in the horizon, she is attending a camp to prepare her and her friends for the exam.

It is a bit weird not having her around though it is something that will eventually happen when she leaves the nest to further her studies.

It may seem to be a long away still, but I believe ten years in the future I will be saying the same old thing again:

"How time flies..."

...

Blown Away...

...at Anfield.

Going back ten years ago to the month of May, Arsenal fans congregated on the away section at Anfield to watch The Gunners taking on defending champions Liverpool in a match that will decide the destination of the First Division title.

Two Scots were at the helm of both teams, Kenny Dalglish for Liverpool while Arsenal were coached by George Graham. Both were legends at their respective clubs during their playing days.

Liverpool were the favourites and they needed to draw or in the worst case scenario, just a single goal defeat which seemed very unlikely as they were unbeaten in front of the Kop all season long.

Alan Smith glancing header from a free-kick put Arsenal ahead. However it seemed Liverpool will settle for the 1-0 defeat as it meant they would be crowned champions again. Steve McMahon famously indicated they were just one minute away from achieving that objective.

However, with just moments to spare Arsenal managed to break down another Liverpool attack and John Lukic threw the ball to Lee Dixon who played it directly into Liverpool's half. Smith laid the ball into Michael Thomas's path, aided by a deflection suddenly found himself with just Bruce Grobelaar to beat.

He kept his cool and prodded the ball past the goalkeeper and as the ball hit the back of the net, Thomas just lost control in wild celebrations with his team-mates.

That morning, I aced my economics paper.

Then yesterday another thrilling match was played between the two with Liverpool needing to win in order to push Manure all the way for the Premier League title.

True to script, the home side banged on Lukasz Fabianski's goal throughout the first half but to no joy. The young Polish goalkeeper who had a match to forget against Chelski on Saturday displayed the reason why Arsene Wenger brought him to the Emirates in the first place.

Then against the run of play Arsenal took the lead. Andrei Arshavin finished smartly as the Gunners capitalised on an error by Javier Mascherano and went off the pitch at half-time one goal to the good.

Unlike their predecessors in 1989, the current Arsenal defence are more vulnerable and against Liverpool there was always the possibility of them conceding.

True enough, ten minutes into the second half the home side was already leading 2-1. At that time I did not see us coming back but Arshavin certainly proved me wrong.

 Calm and composed he drilled home the equaliser after Fabio Aurelio gifted him with the chance in the 67th minute. As it was previously, the lead did not last long and a well taken goal by Torres five minutes later brought the score level again.

I thought the match will end all square but when Fabianski's punch found Walcott, whose pace brought him into the Liverpool area, I thought we could find ourselves winning the match. The England youngster found Arshavin whose left foot shot showed the quality that he posseses as the Russian beat Pepe Reina for the fourth time in that match.

But when it was announced that there would be five minutes of added time, I knew that we would concede again. Sadly, I was right but it was such a match that a draw was the right result for me.

How I wish our local football could be at that level.


...

A Happy Evening...

...for mad redo1

Why?

Because today the scene that I wanted to see unfolded near his place of resident. It was the weekend in kT and usually the 'mat rempits' will travel in large group and use the straight road as their race circuit.

These suicidal racers made illegal u-turns before revving up their bike's engine and went the opposite direction in their familiar 'Superman' style.

Today, while attempting to make the u-turn, one of the bikes were hit by a car, sending the rider sprawling on the bitumen. The driver of the car made the right decision in driving away as he/she could be in big trouble had the 'mat rempits' manage to get their hands on him/her.

But mad redo1 could not help but jumped with joy at the sight of the damn 'mat rempit' lying on the roadside. But there were some of us there who were more human than mad redo1 that helped carrying him into a car that stopped by choice to take him to the hospital.

The motorcycle he was riding was gone in a matter of seconds and none of his racing mates were willing to accompany him to the hospital.

In the end he was taken to the hospital alone by the good samaritan. Judging from the scars on his body I believed that this was not his first time having intimate time with the road.

I do not think this incident will put some sort of fear into the 'mat rempits'. They will be back again next week, and the week after, and the week after. But it is moments like this that give us the long time sufferers a sense of victory, even though it is a small one, the taste is as sweet.

for mad redo1, he will continue hoping the 'mat rempits' will die a terrible death but the moment they decide to stop then I will pray for success in every good thing they do.

...

Bowling...

...at Diman.

On Friday mad redo1, Linda and the three AKSes were joined by Linda's siblings at Diman Superbowl for a couple of rounds of bowling. The biggest bowling alley in Terengganu certainly has the capacity to accommodate the weekend crowd that come to have some fun with friends and family members.

It seemed that without much practice mad redo1 managed to get a few strikes here and there though he was disappointed with his inability to get the spares when it seemed like the easiest thing to do.

In a typical mad redo1's style, he blamed it on the ball. (Yeah, right...)

mad redo1 was proud with Linda, and at the same time a bit concerned when she began picking up the bowling ball, fearing that there would be reactions to her body which still is not in the best shape.

Well, good for her as she did not exert herself too much though later as expected there were a few minor complaints about muscle pain here and there, nothing that a few rubs would not help.

After a satisfying outing at the lanes we went for dinner.

Where? Find out here.


...

Shootout...

...at Sultan Mizan!

The other day during a conversation with Terengganu Head Coach, Ken Worden; mad redo1 mentioned that he used to play as a goalkeeper. Then he went on asking a question to the Pomme:

"How many goals can you score past me from the penalty spot?"

"How many attempts do I have?"

"Ten."

"Then I will score ten."

That conversation led to the event that unfolded at the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium this afternoon before Terengganu training session begin. To make things more interesting, Worden also baited his assistant, Mohd Nik into the whole thing.

Both men were confident of getting a perfect score of twenty between them.

So mad redo1 put on his boots and donned his gloves as he faced the former Malaysia, Selangor and Sabah coach.

What do you know... I managed to keep one out (above pic).

Then it was Mohd Nik's turn, and mad redo1 got his hands to the ball, again...

...and again while the other one flew high over the bar.

Of course most of the time the ball did go past mad redo1 as he went the wrong way.

But keeping five out of twenty penalties was good enough reason for mad redo1 to celebrate, especially considering the lack of training on his side and the extra kilos by his sides.


WUHOOO!!!


...

Shocking...

...Death!

With much of the country under cloudy skies for the last few days, mad redo1 began to feel the effect and eventually came down with a bout of flu. Coupled with a looming deadline for a presentation his body sent the signal that it needs to rest.

Thank God, the presentation went smoothly today and there will be another one within the next fortnight. It will be interesting to see the outcome of this opportunity that does not come often in one's life.

Well, I will talk about this later and hopefully it will be something of a positive post.

Unfortunately, this post is about a piece of sad news that mad redo1 received on his fB. His friend during secondary school passed away after being electrocuted while carrying out a landscape assignment.

I cannot remember meeting him for the last time but I am sure it was during one of the reunions that we have from time to time.

It is certainly a reminder for us all that our time here could end just like that, without any notice to the soul such as: "you need to vacant this premise within fourteen days" or things like that.

Though as Muslims, we are told there are signs that will come to us about our impending death in intervals. If my memory serves me right, it is a hundred days prior to the big good-bye, then forty days and the last ones within days of the visit of 'Malikil-Maut'.

I cannot say that I am ready to die but one thing that I pray to Him that I will die as a Muslim. There are so many tests when we are about to go to the Alam Baqa' that could change our final destination they we pray for that is Al-Jannah, and found ourself heading for Jahannam instead (God forbids!)

To Hulaimi, Al-Fatihah.


...

Supper...

...at the Beach.

It has been a while since the four of us go out for supper. So, last night mad redo1, Linda and the AKSes went to A&W at Batu Buruk Beach. This was the first time Khalisa Shukriah joined her elder sisters for a 'makan-makan' session.

It was indeed a good supper for all of us.

...

One Way...

..Street.

Effective yesterday traffic flow in Kuala Terengganu has been changed into one way streets in order to make it smoother as the number of vehicles coming into town keep increasing by the year.

The City Council workers has started working in converting the streets a few days before the end of March and managed to complete them by the time the new flow came into effect yesterday.

As always, it will be a while to get used to the new flow but I hope it will work to ensure a less stressing drive into town though even at it's worse it was nothing compared to folks in other cities such as kL, Penang, jB; have to endure on daily basis.

But as long it is making mad redo1's life easier, why the heck should he be complaining, right?

The new traffic flow is illustrated in the map below.

Happy driving.


...

The Fools' Day...

...it was Not!


There are several people I know who first breathed the air of this world on this Day of the Fools.


Of course all of them proved they are smart despite the association with the day, many are leading successful lives of their own.


So, Happy Birthday you all!


...

Diseases...

..Galore!

The last day of March.

Che Mat is still a long way from making his full recovery. Almost all the parts required for his surgery have arrived. However mad redo1 was told by the workshop that they are unable to find one important component, that is the airbags.

With Linda going back to work in the middle of April, we are going to need a car pretty soon. Does anybody has a spare one for mad redo1 to use for the next three weeks or so?

Anyway, despite not having a car we still went around.

We 'lepak' at the Shahbandar Park the other day when we came across this incident. It seemed that the driver of this 'Kancil' was suffering from 'lackus-perceptimus' when he perceived his/her car needed two parking bays to accomodate the vehicle.

Perhaps he/she also suffered from 'pedulis-apakus' desease that renders the patient unable to see that he/she is causing others to suffer 'darahu-mendidihikus' which sometimes would lead to unpredictable violent behaviour to the sufferer.

But of course, the sufferer of 'darahu-mendidihikus' could be treated with a bowl of colourful ABC such as the one above.

Alhamdulillah, AKS#3: Khalisa Shukriah is in healthy condition and with regular charging by solar throughout the day has seen her being really active during the nights, which in turn caused mad redo1 and Linda to suffer from 'Lackus-Tidurus' desease which is quickly cured upon seeing her smile.

To a better April people!

...

Fizzed Out...

...Month.

In terms of blogging this month is a really bad one as so far there are only three posts prior to this one.


Why mad redo1?


Why?


Do you really care enough wanting to know?


Maybe I could just put it down to just the normal 'mim-alif-lam-sin'.


But that would put me in a bad light.


The truth there have been several interesting events happening over this period of time and I was excited to put them on 'pekebende'.


Unfortunately, as soon as I seat my bums on the chair, the fizz just evaporated and I ended up surfing junks rather than posting my presumably interesting life for all to read.


C'mon mad redo1, get you fingers tapping the keyboard again and hopefully there are still visitors will come over and read the output.

...

Counting...

...the Blessings!

First of all, mad redo1 is apologizing to everyone who might have kept looking forward to attending the 'Aqiqah' for AKS#3. The ceremony was held on Saturday, 14-03-2009.

It was done on a short notice that there was not enough time to send out the invitations.

Once again, mad redo1 apologized for that.

As it is, when a daughter is born into a family, the aqiqah is done by slaughtering a mature male goat or lamb and feed fellow Muslims with the meat. The one chosen for this purpose was a beautiful white one.

The slaughtering process was over in less than five minutes and the process to clean it began with the de-skinning. Air was pumped to ease the process.



After the de-skinning process was done, fire was used to ensure no more hairy part left on the body which was earlier covered with turmeric. Then it was cut into smaller portions to make the cooking process faster.

The 'Aqiqah' ceremony itself started after the Dzuhur prayer with 'zanji' or praising God for His Greatness and Generousity. Usually this is done by a 'Berzanji' group either male or female. There was no mixed group.



After a while, the baby was carried out and a few strands of his or her hair were cut by the elder members while the rest of the group will continue saying the 'salawat' or praises for the Prophet (PBUH).



It is normal for the ceremony to be shared among a few babies and on this occassion Khalisa Shukriah shared the event with two of her cousins who were born much earlier than her.



Linda and Khalisa Shukriah posed for photos with their respective sisters and cousins. Berg and Nina also carried out their roles to perfection during the ceremony and mad redo1 was really proud of both of them.



It was indeed a tiring day but at the same time we felt very happy to be able to show our gratitude for being blessed with this wonderful gift from Him.



Speaking of gift, Khalisa Shukriah was very happy to be receiving this stroller/buggy as her Aqiqah present that she slept for hours in it.

Hopefully, I would be able to invite all of you for the first birthday of AKS#3.


...

Three Hundred!...

...Just Three F**king Hundred!

It has been more than a month since the fateful day that put Cik Mat out of commission. The police has came out with the result of their investigation and found the driver of the Suzuki Swift guilty for causing the accident.

As the result, he was fined RM300.

What?

Just RM300 for causing thousands of Ringgit worth of damages and not to mention the trouble that he caused everybody to endure. Ferrying the AKSes to school with Mortimer is not the ideal choice but in this case, do I have a choice?

Looking back, I should have smashed his face with the many vases that were there inside the compound.

But that would have brought me more harm than joy.

He did not even have a driving license and what made me really 'bengang' was in his report, he stated that he 'swiped' into a stationery car on the road-side.

Stationery by the road-side?

How I wish I could shove that piece of report up your @$$ where it belongs.

It will be right at home with you and your kind.


...

A Smoking Afternoon...

...in Kuala Terengganu

mad redo1 was on his way home from a wedding assignment when he noticed the sky was getting dark. But as he cast his view to the horizon he noted the dark cloud did not look right. Then he realised that the 'cloud' that he saw was actually smoke.

Like 'a moth drawn to the flame' mad redo1 immediately set his direction towards the location of the smoke originated. His hunch was it could be somewhere near the Shari'ah Court. Worse case scenario, it could be the court itself.

His hunch was proven to be right. It was a supermarket belonging to the Phua family, which was around 100 metres from the Shari'ah Court.

As always, the public would be drawn to this kind of incident even though the risk of getting hurt in a sudden explosion was there (including you eh, mad redo1?).

The heat from the fire must have been intense to an extent that any vegetation nearby seemed to suffer from de-hydration.

Unconfirmed eye-witness account told mad redo1 that the fire started when sparks from the welding job to extend the back portion of the supermarket fell on some flammable materials. This caused a fire which almost immediately spreaded to the whole of the supermarket.

The Fire Department which managed to bring the fire under control had to do it with low water pressure at certain times but they did a good job in preventing the fire from spreading to the nearby houses.

The fire caused a massive traffic jam as traffic was diverted from Gong Kapas Road to the Bukit Kecil Road.

For mad redo1, it was an eventful weekend with TV9's Sua-Rasa was in town. But he decided to give the event at Shahdandar a miss.

So, remember people; be careful when playing with fire!


...

Beautiful...

...Kuala Terengganu.










Just a few shots around Kuala Terengganu.


Enjoy.



...

Maiden Trip...

...to the Double Arches.

"Kechik-kechik dah ke McDonald's"

Maybe that is the right phrase to comment about AKS#3's first trip to the only (so far, heard there is going to be another one near Giant soon) McD in town. In reality, the trip was not about her but more about the first two AKSes who mad redo1 has promised to bring to the fast food joint before the month is out.



Linda was glad to be out of the house, confinement was not strictly observed this time around. Well, it was good to go around once in a while though many elderly folks would frown upon this.



Nina was excited with this trip, but then again any trip for meals is exciting for her.



Berg with her Double Cheeseburger which mad redo1 thinks would not be on her list ten years from now after she has grown into a young woman who has to think about what she eats.



Oh yes, the trip was after mad redo1 has completed the registration process of AKS#3 at the National Registration Department.

So everybody, meet...

...Ainnur Khalisa Shukriah.


...

Of Cakes...

...and More Cakes!

Linda's birthday is on the 19 of February.

For some, she already received the best birthday gift that she could ever wish for, that is the safe arrival of AKS#3.



But a birthday is still a birthday, and usually it means having cake and drinks after a good sit down meal with loved ones. But due to her confinement, all those celebrations had to be put on hold and mad redo1 has promised her room-mate that she will have her sit down dinner together with cakes after the completion of her confinement period.

It is a good thirty three days away.

But still, a birthday is a birthday and usually it means having cake.

Alas mad redo1 got the hint and last night Linda finally has her cake.



Two slices of plain cheesecake and a piece of chocolate cake courtesy of the friendly waitress at the Primula Hotel.

Awak, enjoy your cake and I am looking forward to the dinner that we will be having soon.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!



The best birthday gift a woman could have wished for.


...