Sunday, July 09, 2006

Goal

Wow! Words to express the intense atmosphere that envelope the streets of Bukit Bintang. The street was closed to make way for one of the biggest event in the world. Crowds of people flock to this meeting point in support of their favourite team, the Azzuris and the Les Blues. Flags were raised, chants were heard, faces were painted and sounds of blowhorns were some of the things that were emminent throughout the night. It was a mind boggling affair, an experience that left me breathless. The only regret I had in the midst of the event was leaving home without a camera or a video. This would indeed be a haven for photo or video enthusiast. The myriads of people and activity would indeed be picture perfect.

Jam packed. There was so many people at this Hotlink event. I had a choice to either watch the finals at Bukit Bintang or Asia Cafe where Tiger was sponsoring the affair. My inital plan was to sit down, have a cup of drink and enjoy the adrenaline that comes with watching the finals. Asia Cafe would seem a perfect choice. After much coaxing from Mat, I was in downtown KL with Kelvin, Mat and fellow revellers.

Prior to the game, there were many highlights planned for the night. We manage to get into the Hotlink zone upon purchasing Hotlink topup cards. Got myself a RM60 topup to obtain a dual pass for both myself and Mat. Kel got a 30. We made our way to the front to indulge in the events that were lined up. Jakeman and Skeletor were on stage to spin some tracks. It was unbelievable. The music was awesome as the DJs mix and match music that got the crowd in a "feng tau' mood. People were dancing and shaking their bodies. It was like being in a club, an outdoor one. The music did got me hype up for a while as I followed the rhythm and beats of the remixes. That lasted for just a while as tiredness slowly weared down due to futsal in evening. I immediately lost momentum when it was time for US band "Flipsyde" was jamming the stage. I just stood motionless for most of the time as I desperate seek to save some energy for the match, the reason why I was here initially. It seems like a good experience but I wouldn't want to come again. Despite the happening, I knew this was not my cup of tea. I would rather watch the World cup in four years time over a cup of teh tarik then to be surrounded by sweaty people and cigarette smoke. Its no wonder why clubbing ain't my type of activity. It's happening at first but I would soon get tired of it.

The match started. Ball began to zig zag around the field. The initial part of the game seem sloppy as each team tried to get the momentum going and organise themselves around the field. The Italians seems to settled much quicker. They were much the better team in first half. Yet, my support was to the French who were the underdogs going into this match. The half time lecture seem to do the trick as they control the game and prevented the Italians from any chance of shooting on goal. A header to Luca Toni would have sealed the match for the Azzuris but their attempt did not fool the linesman as the French kept their backline in place and an offside was shown. Leveled at 1-1 after a surprising penalty by Zizau and an unmarked Metarazzi header seem to bring the match to extra time. Penalties were looming near. Out of the blue, the midfield maestro did an unbelievable act that left everyone dumbfounded. The man who would sweep through oncoming defence seems to cast doubt over his ability especially when this would be the last game of his career. I was like "Why?". It seems like he was interogated. Some say he was intimidated, others say his nipples got pitch and there was mentioned of family that cause that the uproar. No one can say for sure but the two players. It was the end for Zizau as he left the pitch.

The wizard was in the dressing room. Can the French seal the game after a marvelous second half? Nope. A missed by Trezequet was enough to hand the cup to Italy. A wait of 12 years was repaid. I was disappointed yet applauded Cannavaro for his sublime defending, the best I seen in the tournament. Strikers or midfielders usually take centrestage but it would be a change as the defender safely obtained victory.

Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting
Picture courtesy from ESPN Soccernet

As we left to our cars, cars were zooming past us each shouting "Italia, Italia!" I felt that I was indeed in Italy. We celebrated the victory like true blue Italiano. Flags were waived with shouts of joy circulating the skies. Italy had won. You did well my dear French. Henry, you made every Arsenal fan proud. I was one of them.

Saturday, July 08, 2006

Twenty Four

A song sang. Candles blown. Cake cut. A celebration of another year. Another year of life on this earth.

A day spend with family. Relative from Kuantan stopped by at grandparents. It was great to have the family celebrating this auspicious day though Jess would have made in complete. Mom was the first to send her wishes. Messages buzz into my phone from friends. Amazingly it was friends whom I never expected would remember. Silence from my supposedly close friends. The irony of remembering which I am equally guilty of.

Spend the day visiting the Shell chairman house in Shah Alam. There was an occasion organise for a group of children from the orphanage. Quite a small group, 11 to be exact. It was a volunteer service I decided to participate after a collegue of mine which I meet at an orientation programme invited me. Curiosity was one of my main reason for my participation. Interested to know where the chariman stayed and probably get a chance to meet him in person.

As I reached the residence of Shell Malaysia Trading Chairman, I was surprised by the simplicity of the house he live in. My initial thought was he would be living in a grand house situated in a gated community similar with those found at Country Heights. As I entered the house, I was greeted with great hospitality namely from the chairman's wife, Betty Saw the supposedly famous chef in Malaysia. What was interesting was I got to savour Betty's cooking which was presented well as a buffet table with small cards indicating the type of food in display. There were many people present during that function mainly people from Mr. Saw' church members. It was great to see a Christian in Shell main leadership role. It was a really interesting affair getting to know people and also savouring great food. One of the highlight of the dishes prepared was safron rice where a pinch of safron, the most expensive herb in the world would cost around RM10-12. Imagine the number of pinches needed to prepare a dish.

Coming back to the children from the orphanage home, these group was slightly dfferent from the rest I visited. I believe this group was very well taken care of. Shima, Nora and myself entertain the group with myriads of games namely "Finding Chocolate" around the garden, "Mummy" (Toilet role wrap) and Shell logo bean art. It was interesting to see them enjoy themselves. However, time was short and they had to cut short their last activity. The short visit did remind of the wonderful experience I had in previous homes. I do miss them yet had not had the priviledge of going back and visiting them.

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As I set and recollected this day, I was brought back a year before where I was celebrating this day Down Under. It was this day I received an interview offer to Shell. The only interview for my only application. Seems like one of the best birthday present I had received and I thank God for his priviledge. It was also a time when I had one of the best encounter with God during the Hillsongs conference. How I miss those time.

Turning a year older, looking ahead of my future. Many thoughts overwhelmed me. The thought of building a succesful career, getting involved in things that are close to my heart, building a closer relationship with Him, meeting someone and getting married. It may seem abit too early for such thoughts but I do think of it. I do look forward for the day. The day where I will meet someone whom I can share my dreams and vision that will one day become a reality. Working together to help one another achieve one another's heart desire. Companionship seem to be a priority I seek to build upon. A life partner. As I began to mingle around, there are some individuals I had come to have a liking towards. Attempts of trying to build a relationship are often met with mixed responses. My actions are usually subtle unlike many who would just reveal their true intention openly or grab the attention of their suitor with various ways. Though my actions may not truly reveal my intention, my hearts does. At times I feel like a tortoise stuck in a shell slowly coming out from his hiding once I feel the environment is safe enough to. Fear often grip my heart yet I cannot let it grip me forever less the chances before me slips away. It takes courage and at times will pover to conquer one's fear especially when you come to a point where you meet someone whom you can find love, joy and peace with. I hope that when the time comes I do not succumb to fear like in the past and destroy the very thing I look forward to accomplish. Four more years to build a long lasting relationship. It may seem like a long time but at times time can pass you in a blink of an eye. Its a thought that still looms over me yet I'm still waiting. Waiting for what I wonder.

Happy twenty four. A courage to step out in faith.

Thursday, July 06, 2006

SAP

SAP. A name known by many. Many know it not because its a very powerful software but the prospect of being someone associated with it. Many who have ventured into becoming a specialist in this field are seen as one of the top earners in the IT industry.

The SAP Summit that was held from 5-6 July at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre was an event that I was looking forward to attend. I had heard many stories from collegue of this event namely the wonderfully deck buffet and the generous distibution of freebies from the various participating partners. Plus, it was free of charge.

There were many talks and forum organise thoughout the two day event. Saw many of my collegues from Shell attending the event as well mainly to catchup with the latest technology that SAP had to offer. One of the most interesting topic that caught my attention was the application that merges Microsoft Office and SAP. A product called DUET. A partnership from one of the two biggest software giants in the world coming together and presenting an application that would indeed change the way we work. I couldn't help by be dazzled by the uniqueness of the software that allow SAP users to access SAP via Outlook. Leave can be done via Outlook. You could even do your time writing while composing an email. Everything in a single interface. An interface that many are so accustomed to especially when emails play a huge part in our working life. Seeing this may not be that new to me as I am currently supporting a similar application in Shell that functions similarly to DUET which is catered mainly to the Sales people.

Besides this innovative software, I had a chance to see for myself how the next generation of SAP would look like. Visually SAP can really be very interesting especially with reporting where data can be translated into graphs and pie charts. Supporting version 3.1 to 4.6C, it was simply a breath of fresh air to see some pictures instead of the usual boring interface which I do not think is that user friendly. With the partnership with Microsoft, I believe SAP will be able to evolve into a more user friendly software which can be use by all even for those who had never seen SAP before.

As I sat and heard the various topic that were addressed during the two day conference, it does seem that the future of IT would indeed take a different pathway. As more and more companies start to invest in IT, IT has never been an investment to a company but a running cost. Companies have now seen IT as medium to obtain the correct information in order to make the right decision. As IT progresses, many companies would not want to concentrate on building the best IT infrastructure but the most cost effective medium that would generate profit for the company. Business is still the key area that companies should concentrate their attention to as this is where the bulk of the money will come from. In order to expand the profit, cost would most definitely need to be reduce.

IT would eventually be a victim of this cost cutting measure. Software will evolve in becoming a simple, powerful and user friendly tool whereby anyone would be able to use it. One do not need to be an expert in using a software. Out of the shelf software would be next in thing whereby company would just need to buy and implement it in their company without spending much money coming up with project and developing software by scratch. With the right know how, there would a less need to have much support and with less support there would be less people require to support the IT industry. A handful would just be sufficient to maintain the current system and make sure that it works.

As I look at the trend the market is setting, I sit and wonder where I would be in near future. Indeed I will not be a techie. Knowing this trend would indeed help in me in setting my direction in my career. Time will only tell where I would be in future. I only hope that it would be a place whereby I would enjoy working at and not dread having to wake up every day.