Why I Write ...

Purely as a form of expression to the emotions that run riot in my life at different junctures. This blog has seen several title revisions that also reflect the state of being and evolution I am constantly in. If one were to remain stagnant in hope of never changing their temporal present, one will awaken someday to much regret. Life is about living, evolving and adapting to the constant changes all around us.

My spot on the web is essentially a journey along with my monologue ramblings of my coherent mind accompanied by the incoherent thing called life. Read me if you like ... if you don't it is not the end of the world. I am at the very least a believer in humility lifts us further than pride.

Happy trails

4 November 2008

Opps Extra Passenger What Do We Do??? ... Nov 04, 2008

I really have to ask here - who the fook comes up with these ideas because doesn't anyone in the fooked up Government that we have ever think things through before they make a big wasted hulabaloo about something only to as the time gets closer to implementation realise ALAMAK!!! we've got some people in this country whose only passtime is increasing the population.

I mean the minimum number they aspire to bring forth is 5 and the last I checked sedans comfortably seat with rear seat belts ONLY 3. Seeing that most of these amazing children creating machines do not stop at 3 or even 5 but go on with at least an average of 2 spouses and 5 or more kids and the average virile male here can usually at best afford a Kancil, Kelisa or worse still ugly Rusa - you can bloody well bet your bottom dollar that aside from blaming the Almighty of mishaps along the way, they are soon going to be expecting the government to subsidise the purchase of their mini-buses and also cover the costs of installing seat-belts as an added bonus.

Can you then imagine the chaos on Malaysia roads??? Come festive season gone will be the days of the 10 mangled bodies from the ant sized Kancil but we can go ahead and kill the whole family in these family mini-buses!

ARRRRGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I've fooking spent a great deal of time reminding people, lecturing people on the simple responsibility they have in buckling up and ensuring that their passengers are also duly buckled up i.e if you own a sedan that's about 5, if you own one of those SUV/MPV/APV whatever else V there is in the market at most its anything between 6/7/8 who can be safely buckled up.

Now when I say buckled up, we also mean all those babies and toddlers too. They should be in their baby or booster seats safely buckled up - not freaking bouncing off the interior of your vehicle as you hurtle along at suicidal speeds zid-zagging between lanes.

Come on people is it so fooking hard to just be safety conscious??? I mean half the people I see on the roads even the front sear passenger leave alone the driver are NEVER buckled up. If they know there's a JPJ/Police roadblock ahead every snaps on the belt to avoid a summons but otherwise apparently safety is the last thing on their minds.

Since prior to Eid, all radio stations have been reminding reminding reminding for back seat passengers to buckle up.

A recent survey showed that although 80% of Malaysians were aware of the Buckle Up Behind drive, only 60% intended to do so AFTER the ruling comes into full effect 1st January 2009. The other 20% I assume could care two hoots about buckling up at all. 20% of Malaysians were UNAWARE there was even such a move.

Because I am a confessed speed fiend - who religiously pays my summons if I get them, some people think my asking them to Buckle Up is hypocrasy ... well, I keep telling them, I speed in access of 140km/hour on roads that are in favourable conditions and usually devoid of traffic. When I hit all the typically bumper-to-bumper crawls, I become an extremely defensive driver using all my mirrors and my indicators so as to avoid the maniacs who seem to think doing 140km/hour when people are 1" from the car in front of them is apparently great show of their driving skills - which inevitably leads to lane changes with no indicators, driving between lanes even if they own one of those monster type vehicles under some delusion that they are Kancils.

So yes my speed addiction is no excuse. I admit so, but I'm belted up, I'm alert, and I sure as hell have better anticipation of the other morons on the road and that's probably why I am highly stressed. I have to cover the 200kms distance in half the time people who live next door to the office and still appear late, whilst I've managed to clocking 30mins at the least sipping my office brewed coffee. Because despite the distance I have to cover, HR finds it amusing to ask me why I tag in late. To avoid such nit-picking, I make it a point to be in before 8:30am - and so I speed on the empty freeways.

I have gotten me kids to buckle up. And if they refuse to or don't, I clearly tell them that I will pull over and they can get down and walk. A rule is a rule they have to follow - that is probably why no one wants to get into my car anymore - no one wants to have to buckle up heehehhe - imagine .ani with the school mam look and cane in hand!

So coming back to the point that has irked me. I read in the papers, that the authorities have not decided how to address the extra un-belted passenger in the back. LIKE HELLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOO how do the other countries address that??? There is NO extra passenger allowed!!!!

Simple. If you got more than 5 people, take the damn public transport or put in your application for that specially subsidised mini-bus for your family. (No it's not out just yet but I am SURE it's part of the next budget and NEP revision)

I remember visiting my friend and her family in Sydney some 2 years ago. My daughter and me, and the 3 of them, if we ever wanted to go out, we took the bus or we ordered a mini-van cab which all of us were belted up in. There was none of the Malaysian nevermind squeeze squeeze. People take these simple life saving rules very seriously.

Yes of course if you ram into the back of a trailer or lamppost or divider at 160km/hour - the seat belt is not really going to help save too much of the driver's life, but it could considerably save the lives of the backseat passengers. If that's a choice you cannot make, then well we can keep on blaming the Almighty and fate when really the lives of your loved ones is really in a simple rule - buckle up both front and rear.

I cannot stand to read the deaths of children because of such unthinking stupidity of the adults in the vehicles.

Start now, it's a simple exercise, and it goes a long way in a time of emergency. Think about it. My kids are safer now than if they weren't buckled up. And I'd take that anytime that having to think what if I slam on my brakes now will they go flying - I drive with one less stress now knowing they are safe in the backseat.

January 1, 2009 ... please start now not wait till then and dice with tragedy.

Geoff Byrd ... hmmm Nice ... Nov 04, 2008

Thanks to facebook and iLike I chanced upon Geoff Byrd and not only is he cute, I like how he sounds and his songs are really pretty good. It's not death metal type yeah so I know some friends who might break into hives listening to Geoff's music.

If you would like to get a sampling of this songs (since I cannot upload the free MP3's that I have) please visit this link for Geoff Byrd's Songs.

Come back and tell me what you think of his songs ... my favourites are Elusive Butterfly, Frozen and Before Kings :)

Enjoy ...

p/s: I wrote to his email address expressing how much I like his music and within an hour I got a reply that looked fairly personally replied - not one of those standard "thank you blah blah" type you usually get from celebrity sites. Talk about fan management with a personal touch!

So me think Geoff Byrd rawks!!! he's got a fan in me ... all the way from Malaysia (hope the boy knows where that is on the map ... not like we're famous for too many things except for 'sandiwara' theatrical government!! hahaha)