Drunk before dawn For free

Well, it is quite boring this few weeks. I have no money and all the thing I do is only study. It was very boring when your laptop’s DVD-ROM damaged. Nothing to do with it. I feel so boring. My life was not interesting as the last semester. Maybe because the new year is coming so this is the end of the year. So I just hoping that the next year will be better for me.

Until one night, around 11 pm, Sunday, I received a message from my friend inviting me to watch a musical drama entitled Drunk Before Dawn. I don’t know how but he manages to sponsor me a free ticket for the show. At first I was just yes or no, no big deal. He even ask me to ask my other friends whether they want to go to the drama or not.

Well, when I ask some of my Malay friends, they did not show any interesting response about that show. So I think the show was only another boring fund raising show held by a secondary school or something. But when I asked one of my Chinese friends that originally come from KL, he was surprise that I have free tickets to go the show cause the show was quite popular in KL last year. I was a little happy that time cause now I know I really get something interesting to do.

In the beginning there were around 20 sponsored tickets but at last, only 5 were given to me on Monday. I was a little sad about it. But still, I can bring 4 of my friends to go the show. So who to choose? It was a very hard thing to do because in the end, everyone were interested on going to the show. Now everyone feel like going. But only 4 will have a great opportunity to go there for free.

After all the trouble of choosing only 4 of my friends when there are 11 of them that wanted to go, I manage to bring 4 most qualified persons. But I think my choosing is not that good. Maybe I was wrong choosing one or two of them. But I don’t care. It was very hard for me also to get the ticket. Have to go to KK at night searching for it, and have to be blame for only getting 5 tickets, not 20 as I say to them earlier.

I don’t care about it. What I care is I one to watch a live musical drama. It was my first time. I have watched a theater before entitled Puteri Gunung Ledang in KL but a musical drama, I never watched this kind of genre. So I hope this how will give me a good first impression.
So, 21 December 2006, I went to the venue with my 4 friends, and sit in that auditorium for 2 ½ hour watching a very interesting show. The show was organized by SIB church KL and it is basically about how Christian established in Sarawak during 1930’s. It was based on a true story and the story was simple and plain. But what is interesting about the show is about the song, the music and the way the performed on the stage.

I enjoyed my 2 ½ hours show. I was mesmerize through out the show. I love their voice very much. Very live. Very beautiful. I did not believe that they are really singing and acting live on the stage. After the show, I feel satisfy. Maybe if I pay RM30 for that ticket I won’t be that satisfied but because it was free….. of course I’m satisfied with it.

Anyway, even though sometimes I feel that my life is boring, but suddenly there will be something that will happen to me. Something that I never ever planned to do. This is what me and Kimy ( my old timer best friends) philosophy said : ‘Unplanned hing usually happen than the plan one and it is usually more interesting rather than planning to do something interesting and it wasn’t that interesting as planned.’

P/s: One of my girlfriend was very afraid to go the show because he scared that the show will turn her into Christian. It was the most funny reason I ever heard.

p/s: The drama really is about Christianity but I never understand what they wanted to say because I was enjoying the music and the way the actor act on the stage and I accidentally ignoring about the contents of the show.

p/s: In the auditorium, I think only me and 2 of my friends were muslims and the other were Christian. So why we are there? Because of the free pass we get obviously. I will never reject a free things like this.

p/s: I know already that the show is about Christianity but my friends already told me that the story was actually more on History of Borneo. The only things is it was organized by the SIB church and the song was all like a church song. But play in a different way.

p/s: I’m happy in the end. And enjoyed myself. Thanks to my best friends Lee that get me the free pass. Thanks also to my friends that accompany me to the show. Izwan, Emee ( she does not turn to Christian in the end), Connie ( my hometowner) and Yong guang ( the one who brief me about the show and what is the show all about. And the one that tells me that this show was popular in KL last year).

The next things to do is… to find a free pass for a rock concert that held in an auditorium like this. Haha. In the future….

A Day For The family

A DAY FOR THE FAMILY (CONGRATZ SCHOOL OF MEDICINE FAMILY DAY 2006.

School of medicine family day. One of our school important annual events. Or maybe our MedStas most important activity. So as usual, the family day was held again. Bringing unforgettable memories to me and to the whole school. In this entry, only unforgettable memories of mine will be stated. I would not make this entry like a report for this family day.
9 december 2006, Karambunai Resort Kota Kinabalu. RM10 per entry for this Resort’s lagoon so each of us have to pay RM10 for this family day. I did not know anything about how they organize this events because I did not join the committee members. Or more specifically I never been invited to be in the committee even though I am glad to do it. At first they asked for my help but I seems feels like that everybody just using me because I have car. Just like a driver so in the end, I did not really gave much attention on how my colleague organize it.

Last year when I was still in first year and of course at that time the second years were the one who organized this such events. At that time, my family day was just an event where I was asked to do that, join that game, do this and end up becoming the best team for the last family day that also took place in Karambunai resort’s Lagoon. Not that all, I also end up with sun burn and extreme blackening of my skin. Expose me to basal cell carcinoma.

Did I enjoyed last year family day. Maybe. Because at that time I’m only a junior that do anything ordered to me. So this year family day I asked the committee earlier on what is fun this year. And the answers is lots of GAME. Again!

I’ve been in lots of beach party, picnic, family day like this before. So what is fun in this kind of party. In my experience, the game is not the most fun part, what fun is about the environment.
When I went to my father’s workplace family day, the fun things to be there is of course the food and drinks, the music, and the people that have story to tell. Is there so many games around? No rather than just a simple game like field bowling, lucky draw (of course), guessing peanut in a bottle, etc, and the fun part is the prizes. Great prizes for simple game. Sports game is less because if you had a lot of sports game people wil get boring and tired of it.

In those family day, I usually taste every food serve and drinks a lot. Sometimes play pool or snooker that was provided, meeting friends and listen to the live band or play that simple game or just relax with other friends.

Here in School Of Medicine family day, it was different. Very different from other party that I have ever attended. This party started with speech. Yes academic speech by our deans ( this is what school of medicine is all about I guess). And for the whole day, the only games that was held was based on sports. Games that need to use strength and patients to be standing under the 40oC sunlight. I didn’t feel like I’m in a party at all. It was a school’s family day anyway.
7.00 AM, the bus from my college leave to Karambunai and I woke up at 7.30 AM. I was very lazy to go there. It was so boring if you have only a sports game with no great music and great food. To think that it was organized by my colleague (even my roommate) and it was my school only activities where academic is less important, so I force myself to go there. With my friends Nadrin and Sheehan, I decided to drive my Nissan there and we reached there late as we suspected.

I do nothing there at first. The first activity that I do is having the free breakfast. Fried noodles with boiled egg plus chilies. Well, maybe this first activity is fun ( haha). I missed the aerobic session because I was having my breakfast at that time late with a few colleague that also came late. Nothing special with the aerobic sessions because I found that the music use did not have enough energy to get the party started.

Okay then. Start that sport activity. Starting with female football. A little attracting me to watch. It was fun to watch cute and big breasted women playing soccer but this is not what the fun is all about anyway. Don’t know why male like this kind of things (sexy women). I’m waiting for a far more extreme fun for that day. The sea. I want to be the sea….

After that, the pulling rope competition ( Tarik tali) was started. And I have to join it. Just because I have a big body then people cannot accept if I did not join. But honestly I say, maybe this time first year ( my junior) all come from a rich family or maybe live in a city as they did not know how to pull the rope to win. Not like alst year where we seriously put all of our effort and strategy to pull that rope. My group was beaten easily. We have some big size person in our body but there is no rhythm during the pull. So, we lose.

In Labuan, every year there will be activity like this where beach sport event was held for all the people in Labuan ( that’s why I did not really enjoy myself at the beach because beach and beach sport, watersport, anything related to the sea is my life for 20 years). Tarik Tali is one if the must held event during Labuan Watersport carnival every year and even I did not join there, but as an audience, I know how they do it to win. Have strategy like last year family day where 1st year battle against senior on tarik tali competition.

This game did not really attract my attention. There is something that really get my attention there at the sea. Something big floating over there. The sea……

The game after tarik tali was a little interesting. I don’t know the name of the game but it was really creative. But I don’t want to join because it was really hot that time. Want to get sun burn ka? Aiya. Lunch time, the events that I like. But the food is worse. I eat half of it and I can’t eat it anymore. Maybe because it was horrible or maybe I’ve interested on something else. The sea. We have asked the lifeguard there already about the big floating things on the sea and was that thing free to try. And he said it was free and just put on your life jacket. Shouting to Ekeng and Saiful my senior to take a life jackets first, then we ourselves took a life jackets each and then. Poof… splashing into the water moving straight for the big floating platform in the middle of the sea where there were a spring deck on the top where you can jump and also an big iceberg where you can climb it hardly. This is what I wanted to do in a family day like this. Playing something with water and enjoy ourselves without really sticking ourselves to the rules like the game that was held. There on the water, we do not have rules. If you want to jump then jump, swim than swim, pushing each other down the water. And it was so much fun about it. A memorable memory for me for this family day.

As a conclusion, even though this time family day was as boring as I expected, but I enjoyed myself in the end. With other colleague, senior and junior who swim around and climbing that damn plastic iceberg, I’m sure all of us having a good time. This party was successful even the food was sucks and the music is better-dont-play-the-music.

We all have our own memories for this time family day. And I will not forget the fun things to be on the floating plastic platform in the middle of the sea where I realized that sometimes rules is not fun at all. Jump, swim, shout, jump again. Just like a primitive man, but that is what fun is all about.

I really respect the committee members who put a lot of effort to organized the party and it was great man. Everyone should be having a good time there.

I also having a good time but I leave the party early because I feel uncomfortable after soaking my body in the sea water and also I know that the weather will turn bad in the evening. So better went back before the rain falls.

Next year. I expect something better from our junior to hold this kind of party. Just try to make something simple that did not really stick to the rules.

Congratz for the successful UMS school of medicine family day 2006!

Originally taken from Rise46 Ascap23 entry.

I've Been to Rufaqa' before

I was pretty excited or shock a little about what is hot in the news today. About Rufaqa’. A group that was founded by the person who create al-arqam a few years ago. The lost side of Islam. I do not really give much attention to the other ‘ajaran sesat’ things but this one really special for me.

Not because I follow or like this group but because I’ve been to their centre once a few months ago. At that time this group was still unknown by the media. My last Health Promotion project group must know about this and maybe we can smile again to think about our experience there.
Basically the story goes like this. When we planned to do a health promotion in Kedah last June, we try to get help and support from the local authorities or maybe try to get a sponsor but technically we did not get much. About our accommodation and transport there, we try to get some sponsor too and we get a little help from this group called Rufaqa’. There provide us with transport and also give us 50% discount to stay in their local motel. Well, that was enough for us to stay there in Kampung Putat, Jtra Kedah.

When we stay there in Desa Putat, I actually start to realized that that place was build by this group consist of a motel, a hostel like houses, a mini market, and also a food court. It was a small community staying there.

For around 2 weeks staying there, we are brief much about this Rufaqa’ activities and also I learn much about what is going on with this group. Even there was one day when all of us were called by a important person there ( I forgot his name) and we are briefed about Rufaqa’.
He told us that is was a big group founded by the same person that founded al-arqam ( he was throw to Labuan and stay in Labuan so Labuanese must know him) and we are told so much about this group activities such as collecting teenager and train them to do business, music and of course teach them religion.

From what I’ve seen, there is no problem with this group at first because there were doing the good thing and they did not hurt anyone or try to do something that goes against Islam. Only when the professor that brief us told us about Doctor Langit that make me smile a little bit and give me a taught that there is something wrong with it.

Day after day there, I feel uncomfortable about everybody there. There is something wrong with the way the group goes. Not really showing that there are lost (there are okay, doing what other muslims do), they do business well and the group were expanding here in Malaysia and also overseas ( this is what have been told to us). They said that they hav more than 700 000 branch here in Malaysia ( haha I remember this), and also overseas. They said that they are making an Islamic city of their own. That is great. Maybe they are really good in giving a new breath to Islam but still I feel something wrong that day. Until our Supervisor whisper to us in one day that the group was warned by the government to not doing something that goes against the real Islam.

I know it from the beginning that there is something wrong with this group. Why must you go underground when doing something good? That is my first doubt. And why you must collect teenagers all around Malaysia to enter the group and then isolate themselves from the community? Why must they build their own community?

Now my doubt clear when their activities were published in the media. But now my doubt is about whether this group really teaching the wrong Islam? Because in 2 weeks we stay in the centre of the group where he gather all the teenagers, I never saw them doing the fake Islam. They are doing the real thing, the good thing but just isolated themselves from the community. Training their own student and trying to expand their group. But honestly they are too extreme in religion. Young teenage that was younger than us but look like a Religious teacher already.
They maybe hiding something in their activities, they maybe did not show us the other side of the group. But I let the government and the authorities to investigate it. Investigating is a good thing to do because I smell something wrong with the group.
Lastly,…. We have fun there in Kedah. Without the help of Rufaqa’ our Health Prom

otion will not be going right after all. Without them we cannot go touring aroung Kedah. Without them we don’t have PA system. Without them we cannot stay until 2 weeks in that place for our project. They really help us a lot in our project. I will never forget the experience of our Health Promotion there. Experiece of a successful health promotion. And an experience of being in the centre of Rufaqa’ that was so controversial today. Haha.

p/s: After the briefing of Rufaqa’ there, my Chinese colleague whispered at me saying that what is there really any doctor Langit in Islam, and I said “I don’t know, this is a different Islam maybe”. Haha.

P/s: I never eat Ikan keli before and the first time I ate it there were sponsored by Rufaqa’. They have a big Ikan Keli industry there.

p/s: I remember my Chinese colleague do not like the nasyid song that was played everytime we ride the rufaqa’ van. But the song is not bad at all. Just if you play it too much you will feel a little boring because they were repeating the lyrics again and again.

p/s: I remember when Akademi Fantasia were visiting house of the orphans, they actually invited Rufaqa’ to do a show thre. I remember that when I watched them in TV.

P/s: There were a restaurant that was supported by Rufaqa’ here in my hometown in Labuan and I never realized it until after the briefing in Ru