2018 - How I Made It Great!

Mentakab, Pahang

It was the end of 2017 and as usual, concerns and worries for the new year arose from reading zodiacs and horoscopes. I approached 2018 with trepidation, with a predicted bad year ahead. However, I can't remember a year when there wasn't a warning of impending bad fortune. It's our Life and we have control over it, or do we? The fireworks fired away in the early hours of the year 2018 and so, it arrived with a bang! I swore I'll make 2018 a good one so, read on!

Jackie Cheung Concert

January - The first event that kicked off the year came in the form of a Jacky Cheung concert held at Axiata Arena. Having listened to his recordings all these years, it was our first time listening to the great showman live on stage. He held us in awe for 3 hours, with nary a rest in between songs, crooning his famous ballades and maintained good interaction with the screaming crowd. Best of all, the concert tickets were free! Truly grateful for the experience.

Ducati - Dare2Ride

February - Having passed the B (above 400 cc) motorcycle license last year, how best to celebrate it other than participating in the Ducati Dare2Ride event. A 342 km trial ride on the new Multistrada 950 model, carving through the hills of Kuala Kubu Baru, up Fraser's Hill and the night was spent at Caravan Serai in Bentong, Pahang. A BBQ dinner awaits us after my bath in my first glamping experience. Getting to know this group of riders, makes me feel small as they're in a different league from me. Business owners with BMWs, KTM, Kawasaki riding experience to share, with both funny and dangerous anecdotes from their world travels. For the first time in my life, I touched 200 km/h and I now understand the feeling as bikes fly past my car on the highway.

Wing Chun Class

March - If not now, when? The interest in Wing Chun started many, many years ago as I'm a fan of the great Bruce Lee. Reading about the technique from books doesn't do justice to the real stuff. Held on Monday nights, I really sweat it out and endured pain from the hand conditioning exercises. Before that, I scraped my knuckles bleeding from the 200 punches on the bean bag. Got to know great people and added more friends to my list. It's fortunate that I joined this class because I've at least 8 months of Wing Chun before Sifu Wong ended the class in November due to work commitments. Monday nights will never be the same again but perhaps there's a continuation to the classes. We'll see how.

GE14 - Nomination Day

April - The anticipation and will of the people to get rid of the government led by a thief and his bunch of corrupted clowns was an emotional one for the country. The events of the greatest political event of the century were shared on social media as the corrupt controlled the mass media. Malaysians were really serious in their concerted effort to have this worst government replaced this year. Nomination  Day was held with a lot of noise and banter as we united to drown the supporters of the country's biggest thief albeit peacefully.

GE14 - Pakatan Harapan Wins!

May - In our concerted effort to rid the country from the thief and his bunch of corrupted clowns, many of us bandied together and attended PACA (Polling Agent, Counting Agent) training to ensure we know our duties on Polling Day. The unity amongst various races was reflected in our camaraderie to achieve Change! in GE14. Although the thief delayed the results till 4.30 am the next morning, the result was inevitable - we have achieved Change! The losers had their tails between their legs.

Beautiful Chongqing

June - What better way to celebrate Change! than a holiday abroad to Chongqing, China with the family. My first step on China land and I'm truly taken aback with awe at Chinese culture, numbing hot food, natural beauty in gigantic proportions and warmth of the people despite their busy lives. China isn't too bad after all. It's the next master of economy after America and it's a privilege to appreciate it. Like ants, the Chinese are always on their foot, busy everywhere.

A New Friend

July - Itching for a long ride and so did that one Saturday, to Malacca. It should've been a 2 hours ride, if not for the rain. As the wind was blowing a hurricane, I decided to stop at the rest area while waiting the rain out. Then came this lady, soakingwet from the rain. I was quite comfortably warm in my rain coat and riding jacket. Offered my rain coat but she declined and continued to enjoy her shiver? I thought that was that, until her bike refused to start. The gentleman in me, decided to help her kick start the reluctant bike. After 20 kicks, it struggled alive and I followed her to the next highway exit. Surmised that it could've been water splashing into the engine air intake, causing the initial reluctance to start. Continued my journey after making sure she'll be alright. A new friend added.

More Friends

August - After applying through 60 possible job vacancies, landed myself in a new working environment. The camaraderie among the production team made me felt like family. It was instant fascination with this close knit group of employees, almost like family. As long as I portray an outwardly positive attitude and gain their respect and trust, I will survive well here. And every day, I look forward to going to work, to meet friends, not colleagues. What more can I ask or is there?

Steamed Patin Fish

September - Weekends are not without adventures or should it be that way? Well, we found ourselves in Mentakab, Pahang for a night's stay in this small and quiet town. It's about 3 hours drive, to this town famed for it's patin fish offering. And we had both styles - steamed Chinese style for lunch and tempoyak Malay style for dinner. Most tourists flock to the railway track for a shot at photography and followed the flow. There were 2 couples taking their wedding shots in the warm,evening glow of fading sunlight.

Penang Ferry Ride

October - Made our way to Penang for the annual pilgrimage to my mother's hometown, to attend the convocation ceremony of niece. Took up my role as cameraman and enjoyed the shots at laughter and merriment of the moment, as graduates posed for photographs with their family and friends. Penang being Penang, we got our share of delicious local food, including the pure nutmeg juice, freshly blended. Can't get it anywhere else in Malaysia except at Balik Pulau, Penang.

Adieu, Cuz!

November - It was in July that you gave me a call one Thursday afternoon, and was sobbing on your side. You told me you had leukaemia. I immediately went to visit you at Ampang Hospital the next day and had one of the most lengthy conversation with you. All these years, it was mostly hi and bye during CNY and Ching Ming. And then, visited you in Malacca in October and also had a good, cheerful chat together with my parents. But now that you've left us, I'm glad I made the effort to visit and chat. Hope you're doing well on the next journey of your existence. With your blessing, I received my renewed Green Book the week after your funeral. And strangely, my shower head which was defective (slow to stop) for quite a few months already, became ok again. Hmmm...

Wedding Of The Year

December - The event finale for the year would be this wedding of a lovely couple who's almost always travelling and enjoying Life every moment. Friends, both bride and bridegroom. The cheerful atmosphere as old friends met up, laughed over their experiences made the dinner gathering seemed too short. I'll be spending the year's end in Singapore, a place I've left 15 years ago. Not to forget my first MMA championship as a spectator, sitting at the VIP section and best of all, it's a free VIP ticket! Real life grappling and punches, with cracked eyebrow and broken noses, and blood all over. Ah, it's certainly been a wonderful 2018 for me.

A time to reflect on 2018 before 2019 approaches at my doorstep. I'm very sure I had a blast of a year and 2018 is full of good memories. And that's because I swore I'll make it great. Hope you'll have a relaxing year end break. Merry X'mas and may the Yuletide season unite us Malaysians, as we continue to make the country better with good proposals and actions, despite the challenges and hope that the naysayers would be proven wrong in the next 4 years.

Have A Great 2019!

A Batch Of New Friends

MMA, Axiata Arena