Random Rants - Basketball Weekend Warrior's experience

I play basketball every Sunday over the past 22 years and I started to miss some of the weekend as I am either down with injury, personal home commitment or some other issues. I certainly love the sport and enjoy the game with a group of guys who (like me) frequent the same court every weekend. Over the years some people come and some go, but the main core of the group is still around, and when the group become really small, we combine with some other groups and continue with the sport.

As I am not tall, and not really gifted in any way, my only weapon, so to say, is being fast and try to be faster. That is the key to my games. I remembered on one occasion probably like when I was in my late 20s, being full of energy, I hassled one of the boys that played until he was so frustrated that he called me 'monkey boy'. He was really upset, but again, I wasn't aiming at him, I was aiming to snatch the ball. I did that on and off and it happened to me as well, when someone tried to snatch the ball from me. Give and take I do it on others, others do it on me. And that was one incident that got a bit out of hand until recently...

I was playing last weekend, and I was marking a guy I don't think I am familiar with. And so it happened he turned on his back to me and I hassled him for the ball. He made a mistake and the ball went out of play. So I won the ball back. I didn't give much thought on it. And when I start the game, he said to me that his hand was injured and don't play so rough. I don't know how I looked at that time, well to me I thought I would have responded with a 'well, sure' expression.

That next start of the ball, he got a bit heated and he told me more, he said he got injured, he just got back and he wanted to have a good fun game. I can't see my face in the mirror, but I thought to myself, ok sure, no problem. But as the game got on, he seems to get more and more pissed. Honestly, I do not know what seems to piss him off, really. To me, what is done is done. Don't like it, call a foul. So the next shot, he tried to block, and I call a foul. And he was arguing with me that isn't a foul. Which is fine, I think it is not, but I have called it and no one else was disputing that except him.

His friend ask him to cool down, and the game went on, he got pretty pissed by now he started speaking loudly and then jump around me and check me with his chest to my chest. As the attention starts to make people gather around, I told another team mate to shift marking opponent with me. That still piss him off until the game ends I think.

He talked some stuff, but later when his friend was talking to him, I went over and apologize and share my view, so he says I am arguing with him and he doesn't like argument. He just asked me to sod off and he said he needed to be quiet. Sure, no problem. And then he got cooled down and starting talking to me again, and he said that why I am doing this to him, and not doing it on others, and he's just trying to have a good game etc... and I told him he was elbowing me and stepped on my foot. So I just responded with being a bit more physicality (not even thinking of fouling him actually). So he just said I am wrong, and I told him you can think what you want to think and call a foul if you think it is a foul. So that ends our conversation.

My take of things, this guy is so emotionally unstable and lashes out, and feed on his own anger. Does he even have a family, and what would he be like with family? It is a basketball game and it is a game with rule. Call for a foul if you think a foul has been committed. What's the story of don't be so rough. Seriously I don't think I touched him, but I managed to make him lost the ball in his hand. He was pissed with that I think. His thinking is of another level, not sure what, but surely full of himself. I think in a court, there is only court rules and nothing else. If you can't take basketball rules, don't play.

In the final moment of the final game he played, he showed me his middle finger and probably he wanted to tell me that he hurt his finger. Funny, I don't know I hurt his finger or someone else did. He is emotional, and after the initial challenge on him, he seems to feed on anger and it all keeps adding up. He even blame another guy for hurting him last time and he has to spend RM300 on his fractured hand which he was wearing a protective gear. Well you wanted to play basketball, I'm not sure if anyone really pushed him down or something, I don't remember that or maybe I wasn't there.

This has left me a lot to ponder, but in case you are that guy whom I pissed off, no I wasn't troubled by you. I was just having time to think of the kind of reaction a person can give and the kind of emotional stability which is so important. If we don't have that, they'll be much trouble for people around you because others now have to behave in a way to make sure you are not offended. And a last note, when I was resting and he is playing, he made 2 shots (I think). And on the first shot he made, I think he looked at me, but I wasn't trying to look back at him. He wanted to tell me 'I'm good'. I was looking elsewhere and although I felt that, I didn't want to look back at him. Still thinking, why he need to prove anything? He just got to look at himself. He might have made 2 shots, but, don't think anyone there is going to want him to be there again.

~~~ Life is an adventure where we search for the meaning of the outcome.

How to take on the World!! A Collection of Wisdom and Guides

At times when I feel burned out and asked the question like, why is this happening to me, why ONLY me, does this happen to other people, why it doesn't happen in their lives, why God is so unfair, why, why, why. All this questions enclosed myself in a situation of self doubt, self limiting and self defeating rant to myself (at least in my own head), and discourage me until I lose my way.

Well I was thinking this has to stop, especially now that I am playing many roles, not just as a friend, a colleague, more importantly a father, a husband, a son, a leader etc. It not only dis-empower me but also the people around me and the people who look up to me when they are in situations. I am quite sure I am mature enough not to do a scene in public, but those thought in my mind will eventually be sensed by those around me.

True enough, some people do ask if anything was wrong with me, especially closer friends. Well I try to tell them what the problem is but I cannot pin point the problem. That leads me to begin to think, what is wrong in my head... Well there is no real problem actually, but the combination of repeating the same things day in and out as well as negative thoughts being repeated in my head causes me to not see the richness of life which I already enjoy on a daily basis. It is time I wake up and take on the world, as the title of this post says it.

Here are a few lines I'm sure I will take a look every morning from now on to ensure that the negative thoughts will not distract me off my awesome life.
1. God made me special and awesome :) Stop comparing my life with others. They're probably not as awesome. (By no means I am putting anyone down, it is just something to appease my competitive spirit inside so that I feel better than others, haha, no friends or family are hurt in the process)
2. Misfits will do what misfits do best - Not try to fit in with the rest of the world. This one is from a friend, I read it and liked it immediately.
3. I decided that my life IS extraordinary. Therefore I have extraordinary problems as well, don't look at others and say 'why it happens to me'. My reaction to problems in life will be extraordinary. Bring it on!!
4. Problems are my best opportunities.
5. For anything to happen, I have to take action, not anyone else.

Well that is at least how I motivate myself. I hope you guys have your own ways as well. Have an awesome life, friends.

~~~ Life is an adventure where we search for the meaning of the outcome.

Board of Computing Professionals Malaysia Bill 2011

I cannot fully comprehend, why the IT industry that is thriving so well, need a body to regulate them. So here is my point on why the bill is not necessary, in fact, redundant.
1. Why do we need to be registered to have something to do with IT? Does users of IT system need to go through the registration as well?
2. What if we get an expert from overseas to come to Malaysia to solve some critical IT issues? Is it illegal for them to touch the keyboard since they are not registered? Can he check in his code or fixes, OR, he will be locked up by the police?
3. What if the registration board finds someone they don't like and fail to register the person? Would it be that this person would better start to look for a job that has nothing to do with IT?
4. So, there would be Certified Professional Software Developer, who has all the certificates or connections to get him or her registered, but he or she does not know how to code at all. AND, there is this young genius student who is still studying and has no cert. So the poor student would have to give or sell all the codes/solution to this registered person? Starts to sound like accounting industry.
5. And how about fees? Would I be subjected to pay like I am a professional accountant or something?

All this crazy scenarios sounds so crazy. And I guess it definitely turn people off, not that they are not already turned off right now. I think the group of people pushing for this bill is trying to make themselves more useful, unfortunately, they got the opposite effect. I'd say, if you stop thinking about how to make money out of it and really do more in educating the wider Malaysia (especially the rural) on IT, it would have been much more practical. I don't buy this crap, really...

~~~ Life is an adventure where we search for the meaning of the outcome.

Annoying

I can't help it but sometimes find myself annoyed when someone come up and say, hey, we are keeping tab, looking into, planning to do some censorship on the Internet. Why so concern about something that you cannot fully control, and then have some half measure of censoring selectively. All this while, the MSC bill guaranteed that no censorship of any kind seems to take the back seat now.

Well anyway, I am not against the view of improvement, but I am against the view that something that is more important that need to be done that was not taken into consideration. Take for example, green house effect. Did you just take a look at the video 'Inconvenience Truth' with Al Gore narrating and presenting almost the entire documentary. Well that is how bad the environment have been and if they want to do something 'big' like censoring and keeping tab on the Internet, why not
1. Have everyone in Malaysia (or at least college student), to watch Inconvenience Truth, understand it and take an exam. Easier than censoring Internet but much much more important.
2. Invite Al Gore to Malaysia to speak to our leaders and business leaders - repeatedly if it is necessary. Easier than censoring Internet but much much much more important.
3. Impose an even tough environmental control against depleting our natural rain forest and carbon emission by car, factories and machinery. Have regular checks and audits to ensure and enforce of such implementation. Easier than censoring Internet but much much much much more important.

I am not sure, but this is our only earth and we have to take care of it. God has given us only this earth to dwelve in and if we do not take responsibility, than who else? If earth is gone, everyone will be as well. Censor Internet, give me a break...

~~~ Life is an adventure where we search for the meaning of the outcome.

Absolute Power - Corrupts

Interesting point to debate, some people say:

Sometimes I understand why Mr Lee Kuan Yew did what he did to raise Singapore from a 3rd world country to its current developed nation status. He had to remove dissent for the greater good of the country.

What I think:

One will never foresee what is a greater good of a country. Well I think LKY has done good in the short run, but it is yet to be proven in the long run. Well I suppose LKY is very sensible and has not succumb to the power, because absolute power corrupts. LKY may (or may not, because I can't be sure) be righteous and one hearted in creating a better future for Singapore, but, truly, a lot of others have failed such as Hitler, Suharto & Thaksin among the more famous ones. They may not have actually failed, but according to text books and article, they are branded ranging from notorious, corrupt to many other names. If we just use wikipedia and search for the work corrupt leader, tonnes will appear as search result for you.

I believe in free speech as well as openness and transparency. I believe in equality and justice. I believe that no one opinion should be greater than the other and all shall be heard. What say you?

~~~ Life is an adventure where we search for the meaning of the outcome.