Sudden...

...Silence


I was driving the other day with AKS#1 at the back.


Our conversation was as usual, with her mouth doing the talking and her fingers texting sms-es to God knows who (the frequency of her sms alerts could be quite irritating at times).


Then everything fell silence.


Why?


The rear-view mirror revealed the reason.



What could you do?


Just get the camera out and snap away...



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Iftar at Shahbandar

Today's Iftar was a new experience for mad redo1 and the rest of the gang. For the first time he broke his fast at the Taman Shahbandar together with a group of photo enthusiasts from the Facebook group: Fotografi Jalanan Terengganu, and also hundreds of other Muslims who decided to revel in the peaceful moment before Iftar.

Together with Linda and the AKSes we opened the spread on the grass and invited others to join in. The road leading to the park was quite jammed but after a while we managed to find a parking spot and made our way to the gathering area.

By that time there were already hundreds of people but luckily for us there were other members who had arrived earlier and loosely marked our area.

The sound of the artillery fire marked the end of the fasting time here in kT. It has been the standard practice since the days of yore and gives the city something unique. Of course, being out in the open it sounded louder.

Everybody got down to the serious business of eating though mad redo1 managed to snap a few photos of the moment when nothing else matter except filling the empty stomach with foods and drinks.

For mad redo1, a couple glasses of water would be sufficient enough and the heavy meals can come in later. However, it was easier said than done as it was quite difficult to say NO to the delicious spread that have been laid in front of you.

Perhaps it was a good thing the new experience coincided with mad redo1 celebrating his 42nd year on this earth according to the Hijrah calendar. Of course according to the Gregorian one, mad redo1 will only turn 41 in November.

The gathering lasted until the last food was munched down the throat. It was certainly a good experience and one that could be repeated again before the Ramadhan ends in just under ten days time.


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Official...

...Gooner

mad redo1 attended the first Arsenal FC Supporters Malaysia Annual General Meeting at the Kelab Golf Negara Subang last night. Thus now he is an official member of the supporters' club which could be traced back to 1999 when fellow Gooners got together to watch their team playing an end of the season friendly match against Malaysia at the Nasional Stadium.


Those who gathered at the Sunway Resort Hotel in the afternoon prior to the match then began organizing get-togethers to watch Arsenal matches and from there it went from strength to strength even not in an official manner.

mad redo1 however could only join the viewing party on rare occasions due to logistics.

Then this group of began seriously to get the club registered with the Registrar of Society and as a result of that the first AGM was successfully held last.

Congratulations to those who were elected as office bearers and may you serve with honour, integrity and dignity.


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Return...

...to the Lagoon

It was the weekend and the AKSes were pestering me to go somewhere. Thus we decided to go somewhere near where we could spent sometime playing together and of course, eating together.


Since it has been quite sometime that we last set foot at the Ibai Lagoon, we decided to have a picnic there.

With the weather being so good, it was an enjoyable moment especially with the Lisa being very active in the open space between the trees.

It was a good day and one we would like to repeat again and again in the future.


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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!

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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.

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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?

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