BBQ with fellow Malaysian Malays

The BBQ - Sunday 30/07



There are not that many Malaysian Malays studying here, at this university. Most of them are postgraduate students with families etc. As it is, as the work exerts greater pressure especially during term or outside term, we hardly meet each other. So, now the Summer is here and Khairul organised a BBQ at Darwin College (The Island).

It was a great affair to be together. I am not that close to these people since I do not have a wife or family to be a part of the society. LOL. On top of that, they meet more often than I do. Since most of them are doing Engineering anyway, so they tend to bump into each other at school or so. So put it this way, it was such a drag to go to the BBQ, but it turned out OK, not as bad as I thought it would be (although there was awkwardness). OK enough about that, there is nothing much to blabber about this. How fun can BBQ be anyway? Well, it can be when the crowd and mood are right. Well, the meat was great!

Leaving Downing College


Oh did I tell you that 31/07 was my last day at this College; Downing College. Well, I would move out effective from 01/08. I would be 'given' a room somewhere else. Not that far from the previous room and it is equally nice. There's so much memories living in this College. But, towards the end of my stay, the college had been very nice to me. The latest was the fact that I got the £64 to cover for my bill on the lock. I am due to get the £300* deposit when I leave the college today (thanks to the housekeeper for saying that I am leaving the room in order).

All I was complaining about the college was the fact that I did not get enough support from them. They tend to give greater attention to the undergrads compared to the postgrads. So my advice, if you plan to come to Cambridge, and you are postgrad, try to get yourself accepted in graduate college. One, it is easier to get in compared to old college like mine, two, they take care of you better.

Finally, allow me to bid farewell to the Downing College, for all it's worth, it has offered me the best of 10 months of experience. Till we meet again!

* Uh no, they deducted some due to the overstay by one night and also the internet connection. I do not know what to feel, at this time when I need money, they had the chick to do this to me. They said earlier that I could stay on one more night in my room, however, they never mentioned about associated cost - there is no such thing like free lunch, huh! Well, BYE BYE Downing!

My parents' trip to United Kingdom (Part 2) - London

London, Day 1 (23/07)

After the graduation on Saturday (22/07), I took my parents down to London. Yeah, London that was. Some of my coursemates said, hey there are much more to see in UK like Edinburgh, take them there. Like OK, draw a map to the logic here; My parents were in UK for the first time and they opted to go and see highlands and not LONDON? So I do not think that was wise, thanks but no thanks.

I decided to be in London for 4 days. Yeah, too many days to spend in London unless you think of camping in Harrods during the Summer Sale (which ended yesterday (29/07), LOL). The reason why I spent longer time in London, my parents are old and they have difficulty to walk fast and the idea of being surrounded by millions of other summer tourists and the heat-wave, made it almost impossible to manage. So I was right at spending longer time in London for them, it was for their own good.



London, Day 2 (24/07)

Although we arrived at Malaysian Hall (yes we did stay there, funny, they do not have rooms for couples, I can't comprehend this), we only started the tour on Monday, 24/07. We went to Buckingham Palace, and luckily I read the guide book that the procession for Change of Guards happens at 11 am daily, so I made sure that we'd be able to see that. So we were lucky, we got there on time and we managed to see it all (except the Queen, well I am sure there were 'queens' in the crowd that day, LOL)

We moved down to visit 10 Downing St where John Major used to live as PM (I do not know why I associate 'that house' with Major. I guess since I think the image of him signifies the importance of that house, as far as my awareness to British politics is concerned). We then walked along to visit Westminster Abbey and House of Parliament. My parents were amazed with the ancient intricate designs of all the buildings. I was lucky enough to have been in the House of Parliament and to get a tour on the House of Commons where Bills are debated etc. That is whole lot of other stories altogether.

London Eye was next! We did not go for the ride, it was enough from far. Not only it is extremely expensive, but to walk there and then made a trip back to the tube station was not entirely good for my parents. Instead, we took a slow walk along the Thames to Trafalgar Sq, and then went into the National Gallery to check out the paintings in Sainsbury Wing. It was fantastic. I managed to tell them the story about crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his resurrection since my mom was asking; "Ni gambar sapa ni?" ("Who is this man?"), after seeing way too many images of Jesus in the gallery, especially the moment he was crucified and then the resurrection! When we were around there, we were lucky since there was this tourist (a student in London), who were with us to take out photos. Since he was all alone, I took his photos too. So that was a bit of help when he could take photos with us three in it!

To be continued...

The Graduation Day - 22 July 2006

The event went on smoothly despite the weather forecast of rains and thunderstorm. Well it did take place, I mean the rain but I reckon it was good that the rain joined in since it was too hot a few days before. Wearing the hood, gown, suit, bow tie and all, would not be a pleasure in 37C day or something.

I was glad I was a part of the ceremony, I would regret it if I did not. The whole thing was done with lotsa traditional protocols observed. Started off with reception for drinks and mingling about. I was with my parents and my friend Luke. He was the photographer of the day really. Before lunch, the Pra-Elector described to us what was going to happen in the Senate House.


After lunch, procession took place. It was indeed an experience on its own. We were 'paraded' and we walked for good 15 mins to the Senate House where people were taking photos on the roadside and cheering with words of congratulations. Well, it was fun. But felt cheap. :) Yeah it is rare to see processions since it only happen a few times in the year and June/July are the peak months where grand congregations take place. In Cambridge, you can choose when to graduate (if you do not declare absent). Like the friend next to me, Steve, he has been away for 15 years and appeared yesterday to receive that in person.


In the Senate House, we took turn in 4 to approach the vice chancellor (VC). Before that, the Pra-elector would stick out his 4 fingers of his right hand and we choose (hold) one finger each and the moment we are released we approach the VC who is seated and we kneel on the stool and put our hands together and he would bless and confer us the degree in Latin by putting his hands around our hands. It was all handled in Latin, and all I could do was to smile! (Except I made a point for him not to mention the 'trinity' 'holy spirit' etc). I hope the photos would turn out good.


Then we walked around to take photos. Met some friends from my course (since I graduated through College, I was the only one from the course). There are bound to be more people of the same course had I been to a graduate college. I did not go to graduate college simply because, I thought, it'd be fun to be surrounded by undergrads as well (was I right? haha). Anyway, I am glad I have already achieved what I wanted to achieve all this while.

This was one of my ambition that I had planted in my head long time ago, it was like a dream to realise that I have realised it (Alhamdulillah, praise to Allah SWT, He knows how much I 'had to go through' throughout the process of completing this Masters). People ask, whether a PhD would be next. I do not really see that coming, at least not now (although I was interested in a subject/area that was offered by MIT in States). Till then folks, thanks again to all who have contributed directly and indirectly towards this fulfilment - family and friends!

Cambridge Congregation Day - 22 July 2006 (Sat)

Today is my congregation day at this university. I can't wait, not so much of the excitement. So much of getting rid of the anxiety like I am not graduating with my coursemates, rather my college people and then the ceremony would be in Latin, so I would just nod and imagine things so I will stay smily throughout.

After working my butt out for 9-10 months, finally I would hold that Masters Degree in my hand. Well, what makes it more special is that; my parents would be in the Senate House to witness it all. I hope the weather would be just nice, cool and comforting. Watch out this space for pics of my graduation (as for now, this is just a picture depicting the ocassion. I will take it off once I have my own pics).

Finally, thanks everyone esp. my parents, family and dear friends who have supported me throughout this course of getting it done and I realise I would not realise this dream/ambition without the support!

Be good.

My parents' trip to United Kingdom (Part 1)

Oh my, am I tired? It has been hectic and I will do some updates on the activities that me and my parents have done together for the past days. Anyway, let's start.

Day 1 - 17/07/2006 (Mon)

My parents arrived at Heathrow Airport (London) from Kuala Lumpur. I waited ever since 4.00 pm because I did want them to see my face first and not to get panicked or anything. The plane landed early and by 6:30 pm they were already at the arrival lounge. My dad hugged me. Well, he must be too happy to see me or to be in UK? Whatever that was, I was glad they were safe. I must thank MAS for the service, my mom was telling me (1000th time), that there was always a MAS person taking care of them throughout the journey. We took the coach to go back to Cambridge. It took us 2+ hours and then we hopped on a taxi to get to my house. They rested.

Day 2 - 18/07/2006 (Tue)

My parents at the The Leys School, the building at the back is King's Building where I used to spend hours learning Math.

The idea was to go back to my old school The Leys in Cambridge which is 5 mins away from my house. This is the school I spent 2 years at, doing A’ Levels. So the idea of bringing my parents to meet the Registrar, Mr MacGregor was great, so that he would go around the school explaining things, what I did, where I lived, the school food I hated and how much I liked to complain. Well, he did not really do that I guess. But I did remind him on something unpleasant done by Dr Jessop to me in the class - the fact that I could not answer one Mechanic question led to the delay of the whole class from having early lunch break! *ha-ha*

The wall was covered by drawings by this Hong Kong student at The Leys School, under the Art Scholarship. I think, his drawings are commendable and of high standard for A Levels.

My parents and Mr MacGregor, the person who used to take care of me for 2 years as Housemaster of Fen House, who was also my Chemistry teacher.

He covered almost all buildings from the headmaster's house, music school, pitches, humanity school to my old house - Fen House, which I was forbidden to go in since it is an all-girls house now. When we where in the Chapel, Mr McGregor did point out where I used to sit when I had to attend the mass/service every Sunday. We finished the school at about 12:30 and then we headed home since it was lunch time and we were all tired. I planned to take them out again, then I realised, they did not have the energy like me. So I planned to take it easy for them.

Day 3 - 19/07/2006 (Wed)

I read on BBC website that today would be the hottest day, with 37C to boil us all alive. I said to my parents let's start early, so that the sun would not be at its peak and there's be less people. True enough, there were less people and the sun was not as bright and fiercely shining.

We headed to Auntie's Tea for English breakfast where we had English Tea. Before that we stopped at Judge Business School since I needed to tell them that that's where I spent most of my time at. For breakfast we had scones and tea. Uh so much for the English Experience. The scone was great, that is the reason why I like to frequent the place. They enjoyed the breakfast.

Soon after that, we headed to Scudamores Punting Co by Magdalene College to start punting along the River Cam. The best part of punting with the guide was; he told us the history behind all the colleges. We passed St John's, Trinity, Clare, Trinity Hall and Queen's (I should have applied for this college! ha-ha). After we were done with the punting we did the college-hopping where I took them to St John's and it's famous Bridge Of Sighs (the bridge was replicated after one bridge in Venice connecting a prison and the death-sentence chamber. So the prisoners would pass through the bridge and "sigh" as they knew that that was the end. Similarly, as for St John's students, the students would "sigh" on their way to the examination block from their studies, as these two areas are separated by the bridge).

The ceiling at the entrance of St John's, I think it is simply amazing with all those intricate designs, and who'd notice that?

The college hopping went on, we checked out Trinity as well. My parents were so delighted to see such enormous buildings erected hundreds of years ago. And I managed to capture the apple tree that had inspired Newton to come up with his Newton's Law of Physics (gravity and the like). I would plan to take them to King's College and the famous Chapel, perhaps one of these days (this is is a must!). As for tomorrow, I plan to take them to Ely, as planned earlier.

My parents at St John's. On the right is Bridge of Sighs and on the left is another area of St John's (not the main court/quad).

Note: As I am updating this, it is 9:04 pm and my parents are fast asleep since 4.00 pm. I have adjusted the plan since they are not able to fight the jet-lag really. But I am happy that I have shown a lot of Cambridge already!

Reunion - After 9 Months

After 9 months being away, I was finally reunited with my parents.

I am glad that my parents are finally here in the UK to be with me for the congregation that is to take place this Saturday. They arrived in London, yesterday (17/07, Monday at 1810 hours). This is so meaningful to me; to be able to bring them here, to see different parts of the world. I have a few things lined up for them; things to do in Cambridge like - the punting, the colleges, the old school The Leys and many more. But I am concerned that my dad is not so active as before, he was panting on the way up to my room. I am concerned really!

Ely Cathedral 1

They will be here for 10 days and I would try my best to show them the best of UK. Well, then again, it has to be limited in terms of activities since it is damn expensive and time is limited. Anyway, I will try to. I plan to take my parents to a place called Ely, which is 15 minutes away from Cambridge by train. There is this old very famous cathedral called Ely Cathedral (hehe) that's worth a visit. Even Cate Blanchett shot a movie there, this summer. I am looking to going there with them, perhaps we will take the river cruise along the river as well. Speaking of river, I plan to take them punting which is a must if you are in Cambridge. I guess I won't be punting since it is such a challenge!

Ely Cathedral 2

Then, the graduation will be on Saturday. I am like anxious and I do hope that there are not too many people graduating with me, but last night Oli told me that there will be many - I hope he was referring to others from other colleges, which is very true. It is going to be hot. There is forecast of heatwave this week. Urghhh, just imagine that I need to wear the suits, the dinner shirt, bow tie, band and completed with the furry robe, I will be soaked in sweat!

Punting on River Cam, Cambridge. Look at that panoramic view by The Backs with King's College Chapel in the background

Finally, I will bring them to London on Sunday and stay there for a few days before leaving for Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday. I am so hoping that they will have a great stay here with me. OK, need to start getting ready, I have arranged with Mr MacGregor, my former housemaster at The Leys School, so that he would show us around the school so that my parents have some idea of the place where I spent 2 years doing my A Levels. OK, gotta have my shower now.

Camden Town, London

Apa-apa pun kena isi perut dulu, lapar la!

It has been a while since last entry. Today (errr... Sun, 16/07), again I found myself on Oxford St., London at unearthly hour of 11.00 am (unearthly equates to my incomprehension of shops are still shut at this hour). I was supposed to meet some people who'd helped me realising my thesis. Since I was early and I was hungry (not necessarily in that order), I settled for English Tea and Muffins at Selfridge's Cafe. The tea was nice indeed. There were not too many people at that hour. It was heaven to be on my own and enjoying the tea and look at things on sale (which I could still not afford, LOL).


Lampu bulat merah yang merona di letakkan di tengah-tengah ruang tamu, dilengkapkan dengan jam ala-Inggeris membuktikan pertembungan citarasa tetapi mampu menaikkan lagi seri hiasan dalaman mahligai yang didiami oleh dua teruna awal 40an ini (Ada gaya tak? Oh Anjung Seri, I miss you!)

Met Mr. K (and his wife) at The Hog and Pounds Pub at 1.00 Noon. After a 2.5-hr talk, mainly about content industry. It was not so bad to finally meet the person who I interviewed earlier. He was so into the stuff and kept mentioning what's going on in the industry back home. At 3 PM, I left for Camden Town.

Camden 1 - Apa yang aku fikirkan tatkala mengambil gambar ini?

The last time I was in Camden Town was in year 2000. It was good to lose myself in the manic crowd who were after all sorta things. It is really colourful indeed. I found that there were many more stalls now selling all sort of stuff, you just name it. I found this really nice shop selling frames and nice antique English style mirrors. When I was browsing the mirrors and frames, there were these 2 ladies who already decided on a large mirror and decided to purchase it. I guess a message sent to me (subliminally) - money was not an issue for these 2 people.

Anyway, I left the place after I felt sidelined, simply because I spent 3 hours decidind on £3.00 and the ladies spent £300.00 in split secs. So there was not much use attending to me right. Well, I am OK. I like to have my moment before spending my hard-earned £3.00. I was lost among the stalls and the noisy Vietnamese voices screaming to get the attenion of people to buy their Vietnamese food. It was pleasant experience. Until, I found this secluded second-hand antique shops.

Camden 2 - Best kalau dapat pergi lagi!

There were many Edwardian furnitures and fittings, and also old maps (they are damn expensive to begin with - why are they expensive when they were all stolen items!) and some architectural prints. I bought some with Cambridge motifs - those of Peterhouse and Clare College. They are not that bad. I stayed in there for hours (I was the last person to leave). By 6:30 pm, I left Camden Town.

I hate London during the weekends when there are numerous engineering works taking place and some TUBE lines do not work! But I was glad to be reaching King's Cross by 7:00 pm only to learn that the train was leaving at 7:15 pm. Phewwww... I got a seat and quite a number of people had to stand all the way to Cambridge - lalalalalaaa!!!

Can we think of other issues?

This is what I came across (among other things hehe!) when I was browsing 'You Tube' today. I was so appalled to realise the development of this issue on Mawi vs Ina thingy. Well, enough is enough. To me, this is just the stupidest way of handling the media (thank god for the module taught in the class - handling the media). Ina, you'd better shut up and let it be, the more you speak and use the media, the more stupid you portray yourself to be (well, how smart is she to begin with anyway? Who am I to judge.). Initially, you could well use the media to side with you by... err err by shutting up! Look at you, you are media-whore now and obviously the pity cap is worn by Mawi now. To the uninitiated, I will not give you a talk on "Dummies - Guide to Mawi-Ina Fiasco"!

I have this growing concern over the Malays in Malaysia. I am wondering whether this is it - our level of intellectuality is limited to discussions on Mawi, Ina, Siti, Datuk K and Akademi Fantasia. Well, it disgusts me (read: I want to know more than this, way more). I am not talking about burying our face in books by Salman Rushdie or reading the theory of blackhole by Hawking (Hawking, you know there is God almighty, admit it, damn it! Oooops, Sorry). But enough to admit that we need to find something more intelligent than these craps! Enough said. And I am sure there are smart asses in the industry who are using these situations to benefit them. Who these people are, OK to be honest, the people who would want to see the Malays would continue to pass the stupidity torch for generations to come. So wake up. (Mind you, I am not talking aboue Jews on the other side of the fence, go figure).

I was further surprised the other day when Noh Omar (one of the ministers) said that the students these days lack of general knowledge and not read as much as they are supposed to. And, he said that students (school leavers) do not even bother to know the ministrial line-up of present government. OK now, I must seriously oppose to the statement about the general-knowledge among students. Goodness, what has the government of Malaysia done to really bring the best of books into the national library, what have they done to encourage translations, what have they done to keep the prices of books cheap so we have access to good literatures, how many librarians are 'readers' themselves and how many town (or council) libraries there are in Malaysia (if there are a few, the state is so not inviting, mind you). So, now you have the guts to blame these kids of not knowing general knowledge. Do something. Rather than splashing millions on Kempen Membaca in July every year, they might as well order good books for all the libraries. After all, month of July is also Bulan Melawat Kamdar!. Don't laugh, you might well be surprised what Kamdar has in store for you! *hik*

The 5 Patterns of Extraordinary Careers

Wed, 5th July 2006 - What a day today! Not in a positive way really. I was anxious this morning when I had to wait endlessly for a phone call. To me; this is indeed a very important call. Well, the guy called me last Friday, despite me telling him that Friday was not good to talk as I was in the train and all that. He called and I was not in position to talk. So he said, OK I will call you when I am in Madrid next Wed. So, Wed is the day. But he did not call. What on earth is this? I seriously hate this kind of thing. Waiting is not really my forte.


Note: Should I start doing this, sitting infront of the cam for 3-4 mins and start reporting how crap my day has been! I am seriously contemplating! It'll save time writing, for sure. I have a 2nd thought, perhaps a cute face would help. Hmmm... KIV the idea.

Then while having dinner with Luke, the shipping company called me and the voice said "OK I will be there at 10.00" So, assuming that this is coupled with the email I got earlier, they would be here on a Thursday, it was reasonable to assume that they would arrive at 10.00 AM tomorrow. But NO, it has to be something SILLY, real SILLY. I got another call, "We are here already, on Sydney St. Where is your place?" I did not remember the voice uttering words within the region of "Hey I am on my way" or "I will be there in an hour"! Goodness! Can't people think straight anymore? What choice do I have? So I had to go to my friend's place on Sydney St to pick up my boxes, so I had to drag the three heaving oversize boxes for close to 20 mins to my room.

Oh before that, I was surprised to receive the final invoice of my college to me. It states, Room Rent for July 2006 GBP320 and Broken Door Cost; GBP64. What the...? I told them I was locked out because the latch was not working properly. They asked the locksmith to come to fix it and I have to bear the cost now? Of course, over my dead body! I will not pay a dime, honey. I wrote to my tutor, explaining that I will not pay and the college must bear the charge. After all, do not tell me, this is regular thing that a student has to go through and being charged for. Silly! Let's wait, what my tutor has to say on this. I remember my nurse used to say to me; "This college is not entirely rich like Trinity, but, they are not poor either". So they have the money, but, they are just stingy lot!

In a nutshell, today is not a good day for me. Out of the mounting frustrations, I took a Quiz on "The 5 Patterns of Extraordinary Careers". Well, to determine whether you have potential and all those craps. Here's my outcome: (something aimless that I did just to kill the time, before I head to bed).

Ais Kerim Goreng's Quiz Results
Your total score is: 57 points, High Potential

Your quiz score is consistent with a professional with High Potential.

Your score indicates a professional with promise. You have demonstrated career knowledge, and have put some of the knowledge into practice. Quite likely, you have experienced a good deal of success and your star is rising. With a dose of additional information on the patterns of extraordinary success, and the motivation to put these principles into practice, you may be well on your way to a career that is extraordinary.

Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room

I went to watch a docu-drama or docu-movie on Enron. I have been fascinated by this case since it was brought to public's awareness in year 2002 I think. I simply love this movie by Alex Gibney, in the form of its narration, snippets from actual preceedings, actual phone calls as proofs to support the case and the chronology of the whole 'lie' about Enron - what perceived to be the 7th largest company with asset of more than $70 billion (at one time), when in actuality, it was nothing more than a well orchestrated corporate lie!

I will not bore you with details. It was my first docu-movie in a cinema and I love it. The story-telling was all perfect with emphasis on details. What appeared to be misconception in my head into believing manipulation of numbers on the cashflow statement as far as this overwhelmingly cited case of Enron is concerned, it was an obvious display of greed, lie, deception, manipulation, irresponsible and unethical corporate practice. It was damn well planned when even their lawyers and accountants (Arthur Andersen) were well 'bought' into the whole lie-scheme that lasted them for years. Nothing stopping them. After all, they were run by greeds. Money rules. They aimed for more zeroes!

What fascinated me more is the connection of Enron (Kenneth Lay) who was supporting Bush (the first) for its political campaign. Ultimately, during the prepartion of Bush Jr., the whole legacy of deception continues in the name of power and money (in the movie personal videos were shown by Bush Sr. and Bush Jr., dedicated to a particular staff at Enron, bizarre!). It was indeed shocking when California faced the power crisis (what? 6th largest economic capital in world having power crisis?), it was the work of Enron and Lay - turning off the power grids resulting immediate cut in power, leading to skyrocketting price of Enron stocks - brilliant! In a bad way of course. It happened at the expense of social negligence - the casulties and death resulted by power cuts in California at that time. Money and power - no one can even think straight.

Well, I recommend this docu-film definitely. I have placed an order via Amazon for the book called 'The Smartest Guys in the Room' by Fortune reporter Bethany McLean. She was the first to discover the 'numbers do not add up' in Enron's cashflow; that set the end of Enron. She ignited the interest of 'asking why' to all figures reported, which in great irony, I reflected on Enron's tagline - ENRON, ASK WHY.

I am not a film critic or whatever, but, I love this docu-drama/film. Uh by the way, the Cambridge Film Festival will start on 6th July, as a matter of fact I have targeted to see one or two; depending on how much money I have left (now I wish I am connected to one of the former Enron's smartest guys).

Oxford - 17th June 2006

When I was in the UK before (1991-1996), I wanted to go to Oxford - to check out the town and what's so great about that University town. But I did not manage to. I can't remember why. Now that I am here again, I made a point to go there. Me and two friends took the X5 bus service, that costed us 5.50 for a day return (uh I just love being a student when there are numerous discounts and concessions).


Oxford, in many ways, is similar to Cambridge - after all Cambridge was set up by some students who ran away from Oxford (I heard they were pissed of something and broke the rules and ran off to Cambridge). Well, enough about that. In general I love that place, albeit being too big (bigger than Cambridge town itself). After wondering for a few hours, we sat in a pub and enjoyed out thirst-quenching mock-tails. So, the trip was brief but managed to unearth the curiousities that I have had for years about this land of knowledge and great brains.


But all in all, I still prefer Cambridge. The size being a small city gives that unrivalled personalisation to the people who live in Cambridge which are largely students and you can easily fall in love with the place. Things are so within reach and so personalised. The small cafes are almost at every corner, there is always a place for you to unwind (except the pubs, which are traditionally English and can be intimidating for people are not into them, BUT, alternatives are plentiful).


However, I do not like the roads being too narrow, but that is obvious signs of serious and successful conservation works done by British government under the heritage protection. Well, I am not gonna get into that and enough said... I prefer Cambridge to Oxford.