Pay Royale

Just read in a newspaper article that 10 months into 2006, the resignation rate in the Singapore Civil Service is 5.2%, compared with 4.8% for the whole of last year. And graduates are the top contributors to the attrition. Why, my fellow graduates? I thought the pay was pretty good. OK lah, not everyone can tahan the bureaucracy. To survive, you just have to flow widdit, yo.

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I think Casino Royale is darned good, and Daniel Craig is pretty bloody good as Bond. It's not a typical Brosnan franchise, this Craig version looks all set to follow the angsty pangs of Batman Begins. The actions bits are short; the acting and conversational bits are hefty. The really good moments were when the camera just focuses on one or two characters at a time, letting the gravity of the situation sink into the audience. It really does the Bond franchise a lot of good, I hope they can continue the good job. Watch out for the last scene where Bond is Born. I just thought the movie dragged on for a little wittle bit more than it should have. Unfortunately, folks in Tamil Nadu, India, think that Bond should be more Rajni and less Kamal. Their tepid response to Casino Royale has resulted in the Indian distributor deleting the major poker scenes, which no one seemed to understand (neither did I, but hey). Now the movie's shorter and "racier" in Tamil Nadu, and everyone's happy.

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This has nothing to do with Bond, but I also managed to catch Thimiru after so long. Vishal looks as moronic as ever, and it surprises me to no end that all of his 3 movies have been hits. To be fair, the movie was ok, made more bearable by the stylish background beats of Yuvan. But it was the normal One-Quiet-Man-Having-An-Unimaginable-Past that ended up being quite unimaginable in the wrong sense. Pretty Shreya Reddy thought she had given her best, but she was over-(re)acting. You can watch Thimiru if you want to spend some quality time with your mother if she insists on watching Thimiru. It's definitely better than the damned-in-hell mega serials.

Worried Bush

I just came across the story of a man who I think is probably one of the most tortured arses around. This man, a country's leader, performs public faux pax-es like a master artist, causing diplomatic chuckles and domestic embarrasment. This man riles up the conservative crowd, because he's a Man of God who Was Sent By God. He ordered a very unpopular attack and subsequent occupation of a middle-east country, which now lies in the ruins of anarchy and bloodshed. (He recently asked the main person behind the orchestration of this occupation to resign.) His popularity is at an all-time low, and his countrymen don't have confidence in him. There are many people out there who want his head, and he's a man who is surrounded by folks who fear that someone might send him to aakhira (the hereafter).

And now, roads are being closed in Singapore, some exams (O Levels, mind you) are being pushed back and everyone in the Singapore security circles is getting a cold sweat because this man is visiting Singapore for two days.

Mr George Bush is a tortured soul, and for that I sympathise with him. But no man should cause, and no authority should allow, the delaying of exams and closure of roads because of that one man's fear of dying.

This may come as a negative, nay-saying, party-pooping, poop-filled, poopy-doopy line, but the truth is we're all going to die someday. It is as inevitable as our birth was. Death is not a punishment or a trial to be scared of. It is a real process/event that requires a lot of practical thinking and preparation.

Which is why I find it very wierd that people find it offensive to say the famous adage, "You go an die lah!". Aren't we all going to? It's just a matter of when and how. It can be today, or it can be next year. It can be painless, or it can be painful. That is why you see advice in books about "chicken soup for souls" to live your life day to day, or to treasure everything in life. All that jazz comes circulated in chain emails only to be forgotten by everyone in 2 seconds.

Allah says in the Holy Qur'an that "Every soul shall have a taste of death..." (3:185) and again says that "Wherever you are, death will find you out, even if you are in towers built up strong and high" (4:78). Our own reason also informs us that death is inevitable, so preparation for it is the wise thing to do.

The bottomline is that we shouldn't take death as something negative, dark and foreboding. It's just a fact. The negative part about death is when we lose someone dear to us. That, I must agree, is where the bulk of the pain and negative associations arise. The very thought of a loved one not being with us hits home quite sharply. But we see people getting over death in time, and we should pray to Allah to strengthen our hearts to this extent.

And so Mr Bush and his security aides should take it easy, and let nature run its course. Even if a person were to close roads and delay exams to save his life, what can prevent him from falling in his toilet and breaking a bone in the middle of the night when everyone's asleep?

Transformed

I got sick of my old Blogger template, and so, I present to you: the New Green Coloured template. It's so exciting that... that... ok, forget it.

And something else: to help any Muslim folk who might be Tamil speakers, and happen to hang around Singapore, and happen to like to go for talks at mosques, I've put in a section that will inform the humble reader of all the talks and events taking place (accurate as far as my inadequate knowledge allows).

If you know of any more events and they're not listed here, just drop me an email and tada! I'll update "Hear Ye!".

Summary

I knew I hadn't been writing for a while, but I got a shock in my socks when I realised it's been 6 bloody months since I last wrote an entry. Sheesh.

From then till now, too many things have happened, dear reader. Let me start off from where my last post ended, on tarannum.

The classes finished, and I was told to look for another Ustad to further my education in vocal gymnastics. I decided to take a break from tarannum for a while, and focus on other developments in my life which I will detail now.

Just around this time I received a job offer, and I quickly took it and yelped for joy.

After that, very quickly, I had my convocation and got a pretty decent honours grade, much to the yelping of family and friends and myself. (Photos at Flickr, if you may).

Then just as quickly, work started, and I was plunged into the world of the Civil Service. It's pretty challenging and I've never experienced anything like it in my past 25 years. New and mind-blowing experience, dudes. It's action non-stop and the only predictable thing is unpredictability, leaving me in constant predicaments.

But life goes on!

Then at the same time, as per my Grand Plan formulated in 2004, I decided to get married, and the following comments and my unspoken thoughts ensued:

a. "You're too young to get married lah." - OK, I'll wait until I've experienced 34 failed relationships, "find out who I really am", and at a young age of 34, I shall start looking for an Indian bride who cooks and cleans her pet rabbits.

b. "Wah, so fast? Why so fast? I'm so shocked that I feel I have a heart attack." - Just die, you sucker. I can't live by your timelines.

c. "Good, I admire your lofty ideals." - What are my lofty ideals, may I ask?

d. "Eh, got enough money or not? Think about these things. You don't even have a car yet..." - Oh ya, I forgot I had to marry a car first.

And some others I rather not remember. But my plan was simple: to officially announce my intention to live with my choice of life partner. Many folks surprisingly can't seem to understand this. "Marriage" and "Wedding" are expensive, life-threatening and mysterious mammoths that are better left deal with later. Of course no one knows when this "later" is. But the truth is - no. None of that. When you got a job, you can sustain yourself and your partner, and you think the time is right, just go for it. It doesn't have to be a wedding fit for the Brunei Sultan.

Anyhow - my folks are happy, that's what matters. The wedding prep is underway and it's Coming Soon in Jan 2007, Insha Allah.

Then there's the issue of lodging after marriage? No problem, the flat is under some administrative pencil-pushing by my fellow Civil Servants at HDB, I hope to confirm it soon.

In between, I was given the good opportunity to receive some awards for doing well in studies, Alhamdulillah. The Singapore Indian Education Trust, Mendaki and SINDA all thought my grades were better than normal and I went on an awards spree. I must say I did not expect to receive so many accolades in so short a span of time. Nothing would've been possible without the Almighty, the Most Merciful and the Most Beneficient, All Praise be to You. I seek Your Forgiveness and to You will I return.

And now we're in November, my dear reader, and things are continuing to happen in a fast fast pace. I hope to post more regularly, even though my readership maxes at 9 on a good day.

Until then, enjoy the weekend!