My Life So Far....

It's been ages since I've blogged.

Tons of events have taken place which prevented me from indulging in blogging. One in particular is my work. Fyi, I'm currently attached to a PR company which boasts 21 years of experience in the field.

One would expect that being attached to such a "well-known" company, your future is secure, and being someone the boss counts-on, you are much valued by your superior. This is however, not the case in my story.

My company has only 1 PR Executive - Me!


And dear old me is handling a myriad of accounts which include some of the big names in the corporate sector. I have no PR Assistant to assist me in the little trivial task such as calling up the clients, photocopying, follow-up on payments from clients, and hosts of other tasks. Dear old me is doing EVERYTHING. Overwhelmed with so many tasks, I am bound to miss a thing or two, no matter how careful I try to be.


Despite salaried with such a ridiculous amount each month, I am still loyal. I show up for work, I do the job. Does my boss appreciate me for all that I've done so far? Big fat - NO!

I joined the company in January this year. Since then up till this month, my company has lost-


1 Finance Exec, 2 DTP Artist, 1 very experienced Designer, 2 Personal Drivers, 1 Special Assistant to CEO & 2 PR Execs.

Surprised? You haven't heard anything yet. The Special Assistant to CEO has to drive the CEO's wife to pasar once every week....AND wash both their cars whenever required. I wonder whether that part of the job was in his job scope. He has left for greener pastures since, and he left abruptly without handing in a notice nor was there a phone call.


Well, he did call me to confide his troubles, and I advised him for his own good-to think about the future of your family & decide. Glad to see that he made a wise choice & left.


I've been working for 7 months and I haven't received a single payslip. NOT ONE! Weird huh? I have NO Socso deduction, so should I get injured (God forbid NO!) in the event of perfoming my duties, I am not covered & shall not be entitled to Socso. Nice isn't it?


My boss once mentioned about how international companies would simply fire/terminate staff without any compensation/benefits. Case in point was a local PR firm (I shall not mention the name) which was owned by a foreign party, who sacked the entire staff, took the money & left for their home-country.


My boss further continued that I was lucky to be working with him, saying that he provides me with EPF deduction plus Employer's EPF contribution of 12%.


Ummm...isn't EPF a RIGHT of every person working fulltime in Malaysia? Every individual working fulltime in this country is entitled to EPF! And the Employer MUST contribute their share (certain %) to the Employee!!! That's the LAW! So how can my 'smart' boss say that I'm LUCKY to get EPF from him? Isn't that stupid?


How do you react when your boss ask you (with a smirk on his face)...Are you affected by the recent petrol hike?"


My response (after staring blankly at his stupid face)..."What do you think boss?"


After I educated him on how much I spent on petrol & toll, his response was - "Hmm, maybe I should charge XXX company more since costs are going up nowadays"...


Bodo tak? Baik kau naik kan gaji aku yang ciput ni! Dah berapa kali aku sound-NAIK GAJI AKU! Bodo!


My boss makes tons of money from various PR assignments, if he were to double my salary, his company will NOT go bust. Many times he said that should I am unable to push this one particular client to pay their monthly PR Fee, he won't be able to credit in my salary for the month. I am just ONE Exec you moron! You can't afford to pay me ke?!


I'm currently scouting around for other job opportunities. Should any of you reading this hear of anything just leave a note in the comment box. I really appreciate it.


I need a much better job with better prospect & future because my son is coming in August...Insya-Allah. YIPPPEEE!!


I hope to be a good father....working with a better company....Wish me luck people :o)


Pictures courtesy of:
www.employeefactor.com

Oranje Power!

Because of work, I am unable to follow matches during this year's Euro Championship. What a waste. I can only catch highlights & repeats.

The thrill of getting up & watching a football match 'live' is what gets my adrenalin going, but alas, I couldn't do it this year.

However, I'm thrilled to see that my Oranje team is doing extremely well in this tournament. Whipping two previous World Cup winners looks like a breeze for Van Nistelrooy & co.

Hope that Netherlands will go all the way to win it this year.

Pictures courtesy of:

www.telegraph.co.uk

www.thesun.co.uk

EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS!

As if being English Champions is not enough, we beat Chelsea again...this time to be crowned European Champions!

Hahaha! This is the best sucker punch delivered to the Blues!

Although Chelsea played well, but luck was never on their side. I guess God is a Man.United fan.

Nevermind the fact that United won it through penalties, bottom line is we won! We are now the EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS! Too bad Chelsea.

Say it loudly...."CHAMPIONS! CHAMPIONS! CHAMPIONS!

EPL Champions!

Should've posted this long time ago.

Although it's long overdue, but I guess Man.United fans worldwide would never grow tired of this piece of news....Manchester United are Premier League Champions!

Once again we showed all the other teams in the EPL that it doesn't just take star players, or billions of pounds showered by their respective club owners, but more about experience, patience, humility & respect towards your opponents. These are equally important elements in making a championship winning team.

I guess Chelsea, and the rest would need to understand that Man.United became the best in the league through years & years of hard work.

Congrats again to Manchester United! My team & yours! Say it loudly..."CHAMPIONS! CHAMPIONS! CHAMPIONS!

"Yes we are the Special One!"

Red Army To Invade Moscow

22 May 2008 will be D-Day for United. It will be the day when Manchester United have the opportunity to clinch the biggest prize in club football.






















Who would've thought that an all-England final would take place?
























To me, this is the perfect night for Manchester United to show the world & all the Blues fans that just because your club owner is a mega-rich oil tycoon, does not guarantee you the Champions League trophy.


Wasn't that biased? Of course, I'm a Man.United fan through & through.


Frankly speaking, I'm tired of seeing Abramovich luring players to Chelsea by flashing his cheque book. And what does that say about the players? Well, don't they sound like football mercenaries?


I'm sorry if "mercenary" is such a strong word, but how many Chelsea players play for Chelsea because they love the club? John Terry is the perfect example. He's Mr.Chelsea. He's the "Keano" of Chelsea. What about the rest of his team mates? Do you think they love Chelsea or Roman's billions? Go figure.
















Anyway I can't wait for the final when England's Red Army sweeps Moscow and win the Champions League!


Pictures courtesy of:

www.fannation.com
www.soccerlens.com

We're Getting Closer...!

Another win in the bag!

Man.United took another crucial step towards retaining their Premier League crown by thrashing East Londoners West Ham 4-1, at Old Trafford.

















A brace from Portuguese wizard Cristiano Ronaldo, as early as the 3rd minute gave United a commanding lead inside the opening half-an hour.


Carlos Tevez's strike from 30 yards was simply unstoppable and extended United's lead.

















However, shortly before half-time United were reduced to 10 men when Nani was given his marching orders after tangling with Lucas Neill off the ball. The West Ham skipper pushed him, and the young Portuguese retaliated by head-butting. Both players fell theatrically to the ground. After seeking advice from his assistant, referee Mike Riley produced the red card to Nani.


I totally agree with the match official's decision. It was a moment of pure immaturity from Nani, and he will learn from his mistakes.


Right before the hour mark, Michael Carrick became the second ex-West Ham player to score against his old club when his low drive shot was deflected and wrong-footed the helpless Robert Green. United were 4 goals up and cruising. It could've been 5 up had Darren Flecther's side-footed shot not rebounded against the post.





















When the final whistle sounded, the entire Man.United squad did a victory lap to thank their fans for all the support given, as this was the last match played at Old Trafford this season.


United's last game of the season will be held at the JJB Stadium, home of Wigan Athletic.


A win at Wigan will guarantee Manchester United their 10th Premier League title.


Pictures courtesy of:

www.premierleague.com
www.news.bbc.co.uk
www.soccerlens.com

Despair....

What should've been a day for United to wrap up the title, turned out to be a defeat instead.

















I knew that Man.United were not going to win at Stamford Bridge the moment I saw the line-up. Why isn't Ronaldo, Scholes and Tevez in the starting eleven? And why is Giggs playing?


Don't get me wrong, I consider Giggs to be one of United's legends, but he has lost that pace to be a winger. Instead of fielding Ronaldo, Giggs was played, with Nani slotted on the other flank.


There was also no depth in midfield either. Scholes was missing, and his footballing brain and wit was needed to neutralise the strength and passing by Essien.






















Things did not look good when Vidic was taken off due to injury. On paper, Chelsea were the more balanced side on that day.


I think Ballack had a terrific game, and his display was the reason that Chelsea won. Nevermind that Drogba tried to brush the German captain with his ego, Ballack was just superb.

































Rooney's goal was a fluke, and it was really charitable of Ricardo Carvalho to hand United the equaliser. At this point, the game was level again, and United should've brought on Ronaldo and Tevez to beef up their side and match Chelsea.






















When United do decide to bring in the young Portuguese, he was clearly held, wrestled and obstructed by Ballack which should've been a clear cut penalty, but somehow match official Alan Wiley missed the incident, when replays clearly showed the offence.


This decision incensed Fergie and the entire United fans in Malaysia. And as if that wasn't enough, in the dying minutes the linesman flagged Michael Carrick for handball inside the penalty box, and awarded Chelsea a penalty instead! Replays clearly showed that it was ball-to-hand & NOT hand-to-ball. Linesman is soooooo BUTA KAYU!


















In my personal opinion, Fergie made a mistake with his selection for this match. Instead of fielding a strong side, he opted to rest several stars and paid the price for it.


















I was really disappointed.

Pictures courtesy of:

www.premierleague.com
www.soccerlens.com
www.goal.com

Red vs Blue

Everybody is waiting for this game. This Saturday, it's a head-to-head clash between the top two teams in the English League.


















League leaders Manchester United will take on rival Chelsea in an afternoon kick-off in London. United will be going into this match wanting to beat Roman's Blue Army at their own ground. While that is easier said than done, Chelsea have this impressive record of staying unbeaten at home since 2004.














Despite having a far superior goal difference over their opponents, United would love to break Chelsea's unbeaten run at home, while Abramovich's men need a win in order to halt "Fergie's Fledings" from winning the title.


Pictures courtesy of:

www.football-kit.org.uk
www.fifa-mra.com

Honours Even

Man.United and Barcelona drew 0-0 in the Champions League semi-finals played at the Nou Camp.


Although Cristiano Ronaldo could've nicked a goal as early as the third minute from the penalty spot, United looked a solid side as they neutralised the Catalan giants potent attack.
















With the stakes so high, both teams were happy keeping each other at arm's length and were very cautios in their approach.


In the first half’s final act, Ronaldo was again tripped by Marquez outside the area, and the Mexican was punished with a yellow card which rules him out of next week’s return leg. From the free kick, Ronaldo curled his effort a yard wide of the far post.


At the other end, Wes Brown was alert to block a goal-bound shot from the ever-dangerous Eto’o, while Edwin van der Sar comfortably clutched a low 25-yard free kick from Deco.

Into the second half, Xavi went one better just before the hour mark, hitting the target with a powerful effort from 20 yards, but van der Sar contorted well to hold the Spaniard’s low, deflected shot.

With United so resolute at the back, pot-shots were Barca’s best hope of establishing a lead. Substitute Thierry Henry and Iniesta both tried their luck from distance, but found van der Sar equal to their efforts as the game wound towards its climax.


With 90 decisive minutes to come in Manchester next Tuesday, however, it’s safe to assume that the second course will be a far tastier affair.


News source: http://www.manutd.com/

Pictures courtesy of:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/
http://www.football.co.uk/

Nou Camp again...

Did I mention that Man.United made it to the semi-finals of the Champions League this season?


Well, Man.United MADE IT to the semi-finals this season!


And we're facing, in my opinion one the best teams in Europe-Barcelona.


Despite the off-form of Ronaldinho, I still believe that Barcelona would be the most difficult opponent that United had faced this season. Forget how we beat Roma, that was not such a tough match.


But playing against the Catalans is a whole different game altogether.






















No Ronaldinho, no problem. Barca have Henry.





















No Deco, Barca have Xavi to pull the midfield strings.







































No Messi, Barca have teen sensation Bojan Krikic & Giovanni Dos Santos. Let's not forget they also have 'steel iron hardman' Carles Puyol to galvanise the team & lead the defence.























Believe me beating Barcelona is no easy task, what more trying to do it in Spain. But I'm confident that United can bring back an away goal for the return leg at Old Trafford.


I'm praying for another glorious night for Man.United. A repeat at the Nou Camp like it was in 1999.

4 more matches & we're there!

Last Sunday, Manchester United took another crucial step towards retaining their Premier League title, with a 2-1 win over bitter arch nemesis Arsenal. It was a killer blow which totally ended the Gunners' title race for this season.

















Arsenal started the match brightly with some fluid passing which is their hallmark signature over the years. United were finding it difficult to settle down & find their rhythm, despite playing before a full house in their own back yard.


The Londoners was clearly the better side in the first half, but were unlucky to register on the score sheet.


However, after the break, Arsenal's Emmanuel Adebayor found the net with a rather peculiar header, which replays shown to have come off his hands rather than his head. Arsenal was 1-0 up, and Old Trafford was silent.


















Lady luck was smiling at United when William Gallas was penalised for handball. Cristiano Ronaldo stepped up & scored his 38th goal of the season with such confidence despite being instructed to re-take his initial spot-kick due to players enroachment into the box.



















In my opinion, this penalty was the turning point for United to gather their strength & go for the win & kill off the game.















18 minutes from time, Owen Hargreaves curled in a glorious free-kick 25 yards from goal and sent Old Trafford into a frenzy, and Arsenal into a glump.


Manchester United 2....Arsenal....1


I guess this made West Londoner Blues cursed such profanity. Arsenal was doing Chelsea a favour by leading 1-0.


Even at 1-1 it was still a wide open title race.


But at 2-1 to United, the EPL title looks pretty much sure to remain up in the red side of Manchester.


But we're not celebrating just yet. Anything can happen with 4 more matches remaining. Until then.....GLORY...GLORY...MAN.UNITED.....!

Cheers! :o)


news source: www.manutd.com

pictures courtesy of: www.premierleague.com

Stupid Boss

What do you do when your boss doesn't understand that you have a family function to attend to?

What do you do when your boss scoffs/laughs when you tell him that you have a family emergency to go to?

What do you do when your boss belittles your family problems, and makes remarks like..."What family emergency? You are all young people, you should not have family emergencies, you should breeze through life easily...."

To me that sounds like a man who doesn't want to understand or just couldn't be bothered to understand.

You see my boss just wants me to devote my life 100% to work. Even during 11pm he would text message me asking about work.

He even asked me to accompany him early in the morning on one fine Saturday to meet clients!

HELLO?! It's a Saturday! My day off. If I have to work on my off day, then when do I get my day off? Mind you I'm very particular about my off day. I would NOT answer any text message, nor calls during the weekends regarding work.

Do you guys understand me? Do any of you have bosses like mine?

It's difficult when you're dealing with people who thinks that your problems are minor or trivial.

Vote for Makcik Maimun

OK, a little detour from the usual football post I keep putting up.


I know that the General Elections is over, but I just found out about this. Remember the makcik from Terengganu who contested? She has a blog. Fuyoo!




















And she actually introduces herself through You Tube too. That is featured in her blog as well. Have a look!

Hehe...!

No to Wembley...

Last Saturday (8th March) was a shocking day.

No, it's got nothing to do with the General Election results. Manchester United's FA Cup dream was dashed after losing 0-1 to Portsmouth.

Despite controlling most of the match, United was having a string of bad luck. In addition to that, the refereeing of the match was appalling. United should have had a clear cut penalty when Pompey's Slyvain Distin clearly made no attempt to get the ball, and body-checked Ronaldo in the box. However, referee Martin Atkinson waved away United's claim, a decision which left Alex Ferguson fuming on the touchline. The Red Devils can feel a deep sense of frustration, and injustice too.

Portsmouth would have been a goal down inside 20 minutes, but for some brave defending by Glen Johnson. Tevez broke down the right and put Rooney one on one with keeper David James, but Wayne was not quick enough to get his shot away and James saved. Tevez latched onto the loose ball and fired towards goal, but Johnson cleared off the line.


Shortly after United had a second penalty claim turned down by the referee. John Utaka bundled into Nani inside the area, though it was a far less clear cut than Ronaldo's incident. United had plenty of attacking opportunities in the first half, most frequently on the counter. But the final pass, decision to whether to shoot or not, wasn't quite right. United's crossing also wasn't as sharp as it needed to be against the towering figures of Distin, Campbell & Hreidarsson.

In the 78th minute, Pompey snatched victory through a penalty, which resulted in a red card for sub keeper Kuszczak. Yes, I do admit it was a foul, but it did not warranted a sending off, because there were still two United players defending & the keeper was not the last man. A yellow card was the correct decision.

With that outrages decision by match official, Rio Ferdinand pulled on the keeper's jersey & gloves, and took his place between the posts. Even though guessing the right way where the ball went, he was unable to stop Sully Muntari's powerful shot hitting the back of the net.

United then threw men forward in search for an equaliser to rescue their FA Cup dream, but it was not to be. Harry Redknapp's men managed to hold on the lead & claim victory at Old Trafford and a place in the semi-finals.

United's FA Cup dream was officially over for this season.


pictures courtesy of:

www.manutd.com
www.news.bbc.co.uk
www.football.guardian.co.uk

My precious...

This post should've been up weeks ago.

Yesterday against Fulham, Manchester United chalked up another win and secured another vital three points in the Premier League.


Fielding a number of understudies, United were still too strong for their opponents despite without several key regulars like Ronaldo, Rooney, Vidic & Anderson. United's 'Ginger Top Prince' Paul Scholes was playing, while Owen Hargreaves was his midfield partner.
















And in was the latter that broke the deadlock with a beautiful curling free kick in the 16th minute which gave United the lead, after Carlos Tevez was fouled outside the box.

Seconds before the stroke of halftime, Scholes supplied a pin-point cross which was headed home with great accuracy by Korean international Park Ji-Sung. It was his first goal for about a year.

With this win, United managed to cut Arsenal's lead at the top from five points to just one.

Pictures courtesy of: www.manutd.com

FIFA Ranking List 2008

Fifa released its latest ranking list.

African Nations Cup host Ghana went up to 14th place, while champions Egypt are now in 29th.

















Occupying the summit is Argentina, followed by Brazil, while World Cup winners Italy dropped to third.

Our beloved Malaysia dropped another place to 165th. "Adoi!"
















Pak Lah's dream of Malaysia winning the World Cup is best forgotten. We can't even beat Singapore, Indonesia or Thailand regularly.

We struggled. Yes you heard me, our footballers s-t-r-u-g-g-l-e-d to beat Vietnam & The Philipines during the SEA Games.

There was a time when I enjoyed watching our national team. There was Mokhtar Dahari, Santokh Singh, Soh Chin Aun "The Towkay", "Spiderman" Arumugam, Jamaluddin Norbit, Dollah Salleh, Azizul Abu Haniffah, and many more from the 70s & 80s.

But now, most of the players are young guns in their 20s, who are more interested in looking good while on the pitch while wearing the latest Nike or Adidas white/blue/orange boots. Yet, they haven't even mastered the most basic of football techniques. What's the point of having a specially designed jersey by Nike if you can't play properly?

Have you seen our national team in action?

The players can't even trap the ball properly when receiving it in the air.

They are incapable of passing the ball to a team mate who stands more than 10 feet away.

They can't dribble properly or take on defenders. "Malu man"

And this is the most common, the players can't score clinically even when the chance is clear cut. If there are 10 clear cut chances to score, our players can't even knock 5 of it into the net. "Seriously bengang to watch"

Did you also notice that our national players constantly run out of steam? They don't have the stamina to last for the full 90 minutes. 'Ginseng-powered' Park ji-Sung would be running circles around them.

Bukit Jalil National Stadium is supposedly our best stadium, along with the Shah Alam Stadium.


But have you seen the condition of the pitch? Try kicking a ball along the ground & count how many times it bobbles up & down. This does not do our national team any favours.

I remembered during 2002. Brazil came over and played a warm up match before they flew to Korea & Japan for the World Cup Finals. We hosted the World No.1 football team with sand filled-grass pitch at Bukit Jalil Stadium. What an embarrassment. Isn't there any allocation in the budget for maintenance of the grass?

By the way, Brazil hammered us 4-0 & went on to become World Cup Champions that year. They played with so much pride, passion & love for the colours of their nation. How I wish our national players would play with that much passion & spirit. It's not that our boys can't, they just aren't doing it.

I guess Malaysian football is destined to be in the doldrums for many many more years. Until FAM get its act together and the national players show improvement & change, nobody can blame me & thousands of Malaysians for opting to watch foreign football instead.

Malaysian football can only 'menang sorak' for the so-called 'Super League' & 'Premier League' but 'standard tak bole pakai'.

pictures courtesy of:

www.the-diplomat.com
www.nst.com.my
www.blog.kievukraine.info
www.football-wallpapers.com

Manchester Remembers...

Every Man.United fans' radar is on standby.


Tomorrow is going to be an an important derby match for the Red Devils as they will take on city rivals Manchester City.












































It will also be an emotional match for United, as there will be a minute's silence to remember the tragic Munich air disaster that took the lives of eight talented Man.United players that occurred on 6 February 1958 in Munich, Germany.


Apart from a minute's silence to remember the 50th anniversary of this tragedy, a special retro kit will be worn by the Man.United team.






















The strip, which has been specially designed without kit manufacturer or sponsorship logos, is based on the kit worn by the Busby Babes in the 1950s - in recognition of this week's 50th anniversary of the Munich air disaster.


Also abandoned are modern squad numbers, with United's 16-man squad set to don numbers 1 through 16 on Sunday after gaining special dispensation from the Premier League.


United's Chief executive David Gill said: "The sincere thanks of the Club go to AIG and Nike for their wholehearted backing for the kit change, and to the Premier League for allowing us to mark the event in a unique way."


Like United, opponents Man.City will don a retro strip, free of sponsorship, especially for Sunday's match. A black ribbon motif, bearing the words ‘Manchester Remembers,’ has also been incorporated as a mark of respect.


As a hardcore United through & through myself, my respects & condolences go out to the family members of those United players, staff & journalists.


I am from Malaysia, and I'm sure all Manchester United fans from here are with you.

R.I.P.

Geoff Bent
Roger Byrne
Eddie Colman
Duncan Edwards
Mark Jones
David Pegg
Tommy Taylor
Liam 'Billy' Whelan
Walter Crickmer (Club Secretary)
Bert Whalley (Chief Coach)
Tom Curry (Trainer)


Malaysia Remembers...


(Information source: www.manutd.com & en.wikipedia.org)

pictures courtesy of: www.manutd.com