What's it like to be a grown up.

I remember when I was 17, before I got my driving license, walking back from school with Mat and Mamu, I'd be looking at the sky and wondering when will I ever grow the fuck up and be an adult. Earning my own money, doing what I like, going where I please. I could not wait to "grow up". I wished that time would fly.

Nearly 8 years down the road I'm finally (albeit barely) here.The freedom I yearned for, the feeling of being independent (almost) that was always an enigma to me has finally arrived. Lo and behold, I hereby declare that I am an adult. I quasi-earn my own money (still chambering). I do as I please (almost) and I go out with anybody at anytime of the day without my parents calling me to balik rumah tidur tak elok nanti kalau jiran nampak.

I wish I could say how much I love being an adult. Problem is, I cant. Being a carefree kid/teenager was the best period of my life. The FUCK YOU I don't care approach I've been using all my life until now when dealing with difficult people and problems can be used no longer. I am now not allowed to walk away from any shit that comes my way and let someone else sort it out for me. My shit Is my own shit.

Of course my mom and dad/family/friends will always be there for me but you get my point right. I have to figure out how I'll be paying for this and that. I have to learn how to not ask dad for every single thing and ask mom for...well every single thing. Back in my final year in university, my parents still did/paid everything for me. Now as I am approaching the end of my chambering period, I could feel the Ghost of Responsibility quickly catching up, breathing down my neck and releasing unto me the evil spirit of havingtogiveafuck.

If I had the ability to go back in time and give a piece of advice to 17 year old me, it'd be this:

"Find the fountain of youth or just kill yourself in order to rid you off this horrible curse of aging".

Ok la,no. That would not be what I'd advice me. I'd advice me to stop wishing I was 21 so that I'll be "legal". I'd advice me to wish that instead of wishing time flies, why not wish time stood still because as an adult, you'll grow up and mature enough to see and realize that 90% of the time when you smile alone when no one is watching, it'd be because of a memory.

I wish time stood still on the 7th of August 2012 for me to tell my beloved Opah how much I love her and how much I'll be missing her come the 8th of August. She passed away on that date.

What's it like to be a grown up? Simple. It's not half as fun as when you're still a kid.

My two legs, MNG Melaka and Fiona.

I own two healthy legs. I take them out for the occasional jog...I use them every day to go to work, walk up a staircase, to gently push away a pet or two....and the list goes on and on. I love them. In fact I love them so much, I never abuse them by using them for unnecessary tasks such as....shopping. *shudders*

I am not a big fan of shopping. I never was, and never will be a big fan of shopping. However, I am in a relationship with a sweet young thing by the name of Fiona, whom I most dearly love and she...........enjoys. No wait. She breathes...shopping.

Its a good thing that she's not a big spender. She's still a green vegetable in the world of shopping, often settling for a RM5 hair clip and feel good the whole day. This is good because I do not have any money...as of yet. Its not like she asks me to buy her stuffs...but as a boyfriend..there is this invisible voice inside of me that yells PAY!! everytime she opens her purse to pay for anything....

Anyways, one fine day we went to MNG @ Dataran Pahlawan, Melaka. We went to get a bite for lunch..watched a movie...drank overpriced coffee. It was fun. I was a bit tired. We were set to go home. All was good and well.

And then...MNG happened.

There was a sale and Lo and behold before me was a 20 year old girl. I knew at that point in time...we weren't going back. Oh no. We were going to stay.

As she dragged me into the shop, her eyes widen with excitement. A smile formed. Her grip on my hand tightened. I have entered into MNG, and there was a sale.

My legs were giving away. My knees were wobbly. I followed her throughout the entire shop, trying to give the best opinions and suggestions. I was tired. I wanted to lie down and play dead. But for my love, I pushed on through. I was feeling very proud of myself. I am a warrior prince who is fighting in this battlefield of love for my princess. But alas......I began nagging.

She felt sorry for me..so she wanted to leave. But me being the hero I am, refused. We shall stay and shop I declared . She smiled and continued to look for..er..whatever that is for sale at MNG. Then I saw it. It was there all along.

There was this podium..this podium served as a seat, a resting ground  for my fellow brother warriors, many of them looking tired and sleepy. I strode across the shop..and took my place among my equals. I have found the boyfriend depot.

I remember smiling a smile of relief when I finally got the chance to rest my two legs. Thank you MNG Dataran Pahlawan, thank you so much for the boyfriend depot.

After a while, my better half was done. She didn't by anything mind you, she was only there to window shop and look at new arrivals. We finally called it a day.

If there are any ladies reading this, I hope you appreciate your partner's legs because in all actuality, he gave up possession of them a long time ago, from the moment he said I love you to you.

I know my legs will never be mine again as they, along with my heart, now belong to a sweet young thing who goes by the name of Fiona.

SAMSUNG vs APPLE or APPLE vs SAMSUNG, depending on your "allegiance"

The never ending war.

A few people I know keep on saying Samsung copied Apple. Samsung is a copycat. Apple is the real deal bla bla bla.....

Well, in that case I guess every car manufacturer copied Karl Benz's idea of an automobile. I hereby declare  Ferrari an impostor. It is not the real McCoy.

Apple fans will probably be mad at me. I do not work for Samsung, I have nothing against Apple, I am not anti-capitalist and I am not a sad case of a poor guy who cant afford an Apple product.

I just loathe the hoards of fanatical Apple devotees out there who keeps on dissing other brands because according to them, EVERYONE copied Apple. Who copied who and what was copied by who can be very subjective and is based purely on your own goddamn opinion.

You see, a person can only claim copyright for the realization or tangible expression of an idea but not the idea itself. For example, if you come up with the idea of inventing a machine to transport people from point A to point B, your realization of that idea in the form of a beautiful Ferrari 458 Italia is your right and yours alone. But you cannot say Proton is a Ferrari wannabe by manufacturing a Proton Preve for having the same idea as Ferrari i.e. inventing a machine to transport people from point A to point B.

If that was the case, Karl Benz's family would be the richest family in the world as everyone would have to pay them for the right to use Karl Benz's idea of a car.

Apple had a bright idea in the form of the iphone and ipad. They realized that idea in the form of the iphone and ipad (I read somewhere saying that the tab was actually on the drawing boards way before the ipad became a reality but I cannot verify for certain that this piece of info is true so I'll omit it).

Samsung thought hey that's actually a good idea. So they came up with the tab and galaxy range of phones a.k.a their own way of realizing that idea, without stealing Apple's technology.

As a conclusion, If you are willing to pay royalties to the families of Karl Benz and Alexander Graham Bell for driving a machine that is based on the former's idea and for using a machine to communicate based on the latter's idea than by all means, please praise Apple and worship the damn company. If you are not willing to pay them royalties, I suggest you stop dissing other manufacturers as copycats.

I'm not saying Apple's product are better and vice versa. That's entirely up to you to decide. My only point here is this, the idea of an intelligent touchscreen phone and computer tablet does not belong to them exclusively. The expression of that idea is, but not the idea itself.

That's just my opinion :).

How to deal with the death of a loved one

My dear grandmother, Hajah Zabaidah bt Ismail passed away at 4.15am on the 8th of August 2012.

Naturally after losing someone so dear to me,I cried....and cried....and cried. I cried till my eyes were painful. I cried until there were no more tears left. My eyes are still watery as I write this, about a week after her demise.

At home, my family comforted each other. We hugged,we cried and we laughed together in appreciation of the memory of my dear Opah, who had been a single mother for 32 years.

We prayed to Allah SWT for her soul and recited Al-Fatihah and yassin for her. Even in death, she brought us closer as a whole extended family.

At home, I finally came to terms with the death of my grandmother. However, I wasn't prepared to be left alone to deal with my grief. That happend when I returned back to work.

When I reached my office, business was as usual. I received a few condolences and that was it. My traumatic experience was just another day for the rest of the world. As ridiculous as this may sound, I asked myself why are they not sad about my dear Opah's death.I want everyone to be sad. But that's not going to happen.

I walked to my cubicle and sat down. My co-workers were doing their jobs like nothing was wrong. Some were even laughing (not at me mind you) for god knows whatever reason. After sitting down, I felt an instant Pang of loneliness. I needed support.

What I did was I texted my mom. I texted my girl. I texted my cousin. I texted my sister. That made me feel better.

The only way to deal with a death....is to live. To appreciate life and those you still have with you. My definition of a life worth living is a life full of love. It is this life that is giving me strength. The love from my family, my girl and my friends.

I miss my grandmother so much. I will always remember her love for me,my stupid jokes, her cooking and her trademark daily doa:

"Ya Allah ya tuhanku, ampuni segala dosa-dosa aku, dosa-dosa suamiku, dosa-dosa kedua ibubapaku, dosa-dosa anak-anakku,dosa-dosa cucu-cucuku. Tetapkan Iman di hati mereka........"

My grandmother recited that doa for the last time on the day she died. She was suffering from Alzheimer's but she never forgot me in her prayers.

I will never forget her in mine. I love you so much and I will miss you for as long as I live.

AL- FATIHAH

Criminal or Civil Lawyer?

So I am at a crossroad. I am a few months into my pupilage and now I am asking myself what I want to do. Generally I have 3 options.

1. Criminal Litigation.
2. Civil Litigation.
3. Conveyancing.
4. Corporate law.

Okay, come to think about it, cross out number 3. That is not going to happen.

Okay 1 and 2. Criminal or Civil Litigation. Yes, I'll most probably end up doing a bit of both but you see, in a normal non-sole proprietor law firm, one partner will have one specialized area of practice. Therefore, if I become a partner of any law firm, I would very much like to have *xxxxxx* as my specialized area of practice.

Now the question is Criminal or Civil/Corporate.

Criminal:
1. I get to be Dylan McDermott.
2. I get to be Harvey Specter.
3. I get to be Hrvey Dent.
4. I get to be *insert any famous 100% fictional lawyer of your choice here*
5. You get to make a difference.

Civil/Corporate:
1. You get to ......errr
2. You get to......ummm
3. You get to.......hmmmmmmmmmmmmm
4. You get to give a rich guy his money back.
5. Things that are similar to number 4 above.

I have no idea what area of law I want to practice in but judging from the lists above.....I think I may have a rough idea. Civil litigation doesnt sound so bad. Neither does corporate. But you don't change lives by giving back a rich guy his stolen money. You don't change lives by successfully brokering a merger between two companies.

Dilemma continues...

Chambering in Malaysia : STAR WARS-ish?

F.I.N.A.L.L.Y.

I am done with law school. I graduated top of my class, the only first class honours student and now I am chambering at the largest law firm in Malaysia. I will be flying off to Oxford University after my chambering to do my LLM. My firm has agreed to sponsor me. 

Pure Bullshit.

Okay so this is what really happened. I made it through law school but nowhere near first class honours..or second upper for that matter. It is by the grace of god and also the good heart of my master and my dad's connections that I am chambering at the place I'm chambering now.You see, as I see it, chambering students should thank their masters for providing them a place. Its him doing you a favour, not the other way around. 

CHAMBERING IN MALAYSIA = STARWARS 


Why?

1. You call your boss your Master......that's what Anakin called Obi-Wan.
2. The Malaysian Bar Council Building....its a building dedicated to Lawyers...it reminds me of The Jedi Temple.
3. The Bar Council...The Jedi Council.
4. The Dark Force....Political Parties in Malaysia? haha
5. Master Yoda...Bar Council President.
6.Jedi Robe....the robes lawyers wear @ High Courts
7. Jedi principle: We are neutral. We don't get involved in Politics. Bar Council: We are neutral. We dont get involved in Politics.

Hmmmm...no wonder I took up law. Being a StarWars freak/geek that I am, this is only natural.

May the Force be with you?

Lame. haha.