November comes to an end

It has always been cold in November, as cold as the rain.

Biasalah bulan November tak banyak aktiviti-aktiviti yang hot, yang mengancam. Even raya haji weekend lepas pun, tak rasa macam raya bagi aku. Mak-Pak aku beraya di rumah abang aku di Ampang so aku ke sana kejap di pagi raya tu. Lemang pun tak banyak yang aku makan. Tengahari Sabtu hati aku dah memberontak nak balik ke Shah Alam. Nasiblah jalan balik ke JB malam tadi tak jem.

Entahlah raya haji macam dah tak serupa raya. Yet, people are still obliged to balik kampung causing traffic jam on highways. Time tu lah masing-masing sibuk nak jumpa mak-bapak, macam time lain tak boleh jumpa. Rasa macam tak fair pun ada, asyik nak raya je kita ni. Pastu bila dah raya, makan banyak, duit banyak habis, all those things lah.

Sampaikan waktu aku kat masjid time solat raya pagi tu, aku rasa macam sick je dengar takbir raya kat Malaysia yang mendayu-dayu. Tak bersemangat langsung nak menyambut kemenangan. Raya hari tu aku lebihkan tidur je lah daripada buat apa-apa. Heheheh...

Weekend sebelum raya haji tu aku ke Genting jalan-jalan. Best gak, walaupun time kitorang sampai pagi Sabtu tu, rides banyak yang tutup sebab kabus tebal dan hujan renyai-renyai. So, banyak naik rides indoor je. Kitorang lepak kat Awana, petang tu naik semula ke atas, barulah rides dah bukak walaupun masih sejuk dan agak berkabus. Tu yang time Maghrib pun naik rides lagi sambil menjerit-jerit. Aku jerit "Oh my goooooooooodddddddddddd oh my goooooooddddddddd...." Ok apa? Ekekekeke....

My session kat the Emerald company hari tu masih takde followup. Kalau ada, adalah. Kalau takde, takpelah. My current boss pun has some plans for me.

And now, am looking forward for December, the honeymonth! Hehehehe....

#11 Oregon slips by Arizona in 2OT, controls Rose Bowl destiny

Jeremiah Masoli was 9-of-13 for 77 yards and had three TDs on Oregon's last three drives (last drive of fourth quarter, both OT drives). The Ducks (9-2, 7-1 Pac-10) will earn a Pac-10 title and Rose Bowl berth with a victory over No. 20 Oregon State in a winner-take-all Civil War on Dec. 3 in Eugene.

Masoli's performance Saturday night has the Ducks (9-2) in great position to head to Pasadena. Oregon trailed 24-14 early in the fourth quarter, and that's when Masoli went to work. He ran for a 1-yard score, then engineered a drive that resulted in a field goal. Still, Oregon trailed 31-24. But Masoli was about to have his best moment yet, deftly leading the Ducks on a 15-play, 80-yard drive that ended with a game-tying touchdown pass with six seconds left to make it 31-31.

After Masoli hit Jeff Maehl for a 4-yard score on Oregon's first overtime possession, Foles hit Juron Criner with a 3-yard strike to tie it at 38-38. In the second OT, Oregon forced Arizona to settle for a 41-yard field goal by Alex Zendejas. A touchdown would win it for Oregon, and Masoli quickly produced it. He hit Dickson for 22 yards, and three plays later Masoli bulled over from a yard out.

About the chit chat session

Sekarang ni, aku dah ok dengan kerja aku. Kerja best, boss best, housemate pun best (errr... Edrina, housemate dulu pun best cuma weekend je tak boleh nak buat aktiviti best-best. heheheh), future aku pun (menurut kata bos aku lah ni) pun nampak macam best. Cuma JB je tak best. Bila dah semua macam best je, aku pun takde lah memulun cari kerja lain. Lagipun keadaan ekonomi sekarang ni, agak payah companies nak hiring new employees. Pastu, nak bagi gaji competitive pun susah gak.

After few unsuccessful attempts/interviews, aku pun malas gak lah nak cari kerja lain. Cuma ada satu je yang aku apply, yang 'Pak Deris Pukat' jadi bos tu, yang baru dilantik. Nama organisasi tu ialah PE*MAN*DU. Bukan aku apply jadi driver, tapi dah nama organisasi tu macam tu. Itu cerita sebelum raya.

Dua minggu lepas, pak aku warded, sesak nafas, irregular heartbeat. Mungkin sebab dia tukar ubat darah tinggi dia tu. Dan sebab agak payah aku nak balik Ipoh time tu, aku pun cakap pada diri aku yang aku kena cari kerja kat Klang Valley jugak. Tapi takdelah aku pulun cari pun, aku lebih kepada menunggu PE*MAN*DU ni dan kalau ada mana-mana yang headhunter aku panggil je.

Then, member aku yang akan di'seconded'kan ke PE*MAN*DU dari Kha*za*nah check application aku. Dia kata, aku punya kena KIV. First round ni diorang baru hire 50 orang, 25 from government dan 50 from private sector. So, punah laa sikit harapan nak kembali ke KL. Tapi, aku tetap letakkan harapan untuk kerja di KL.

Last week, bertalu-talu telefon aku berbunyi. Aku tak jawab sebab tengah meeting. Rupanya panggilan dari syarikat O&G nak panggil aku untuk pre-interview session. Lebih kurang chit chat session dengan Head of Deparment. Alhamdulillah, apa yang aku harapkan macam dah ada bunga-bunganya.

Semalam berangkatlah aku ke KL, jumpa HOD tu. Perjalanan JB-KL-JB je 7 jam setengah. Meeting nya 40 minit je. Hehehehe... adehhh takpelah, macam aku mentioned semalam I am doing this more for my parents than for myself. The session went well. Cara brader tu bercakap, macam nak proceed with the formal interview session je nanti. Hmmm... hopefully lah ye. Tunggu je lah.

This is it

This is it.

I have nothing better to ask for. This could be the best thing Allah offers me to work on and hopefully I would be able to taste the greatness later. Probably all the failures before are meant for this one to come.

I am going back to KL for a day trip. Appointment will be at 4pm. I figure, I'm doing this more for my parents than for myself. Wish me luck!

I'll story later after it's all done.

Picking up where I left...

Dah lama aku tak update blog rupanya. Ni aku nak cuba 'pick up from where I left.' Not exactly pun. Aku just nak cerita benda-benda yang berlaku recently je sebab takde pun benda-benda menarik berlaku kat aku. Tiba-tiba datang mood nak menaip semula kan? Sebab tu aku tak berani nak quit blogging sebab aku tau suatu hari nanti aku terkinja-kinja nak update something punya.

Time aku menaip ni, aku dalam bas ekspress perjalanan dari Ipoh-JB. Bas delay 115 minit, sepatutnya gerak jam 8.30pm tapi jam 10.25pm baru jalan. Diorang repair bas, tukar belting pe tah tadi. Ni first time aku naik bas direct JB-Ipoh-JB. Selalunya aku akan stop over atau overnight di Shah Alam. It wasn't that bad. Aku agak relax, dapat rehat dan tidur lite-lite dalam bas. Cuma waktu balik ke Ipoh ada few things that ticked me off.

First, passenger depan aku yang tak reti2 bahasa nak recline kerusi dia sampai 75 degree, walhal kerusi tu boleh recline maksimum sampai 60 degree je. Kalau sekali dua try ok lah jugak, ni sampai berbelas-belas kali. Sampai berlanggar-langgar kerusi tu dengan lutut aku. Sampai aku 'F*ck' kan lah amoi tu. Bukannya reti nak cakap sorry ke apa, nasib lah balak dia kat sebelah dia bijak sikit cakap apa tah cong ceng cong ceng kat amoi tu, nasihat le kot. Tak pun diorang maki aku balik. Hiks!

Pastu ada lah pulak sorang passenger berdengkur, berkeruh punyaaaaaaa lah kuat. Ya salaaaammmm dah le dia tidur dari awal sampai akhir perjalanan. Aku pulak yang tak lena tidur jadinya. Dah le sekarang ni aku tak berapa minat nak sumbat telinga aku dengan ear phone. Hmmmm....

Anyway, aku balik naik bas ni pun sebab nak sampai cepat di Ipoh. Nak jenguk-jenguk orang tua aku. Last week pak aku masuk hospital, irregular heartbeat dan ada breathing problem sikit. 4 malam dia kat hospital. That weekend aku just call mak aku tanya keadaan pak aku, aku tak balik pun. Dah abang dan adik aku balik, biarlah. So, weekend lepas ni aku balik lah pulak tengok-tengok kalau mak-pak aku nak pergi mana-mana, beli apa-apa ke, boleh le aku bawak.

Pak aku dah ok le cuma tengah nak regain kekuatan dia dan selera makan. Tapi aku tengok time aku ada hari tu, banyak gak pak aku makan. Heheheh. Pergi nasi kandar vanggeh pun pak aku tolong habiskan nasi mak aku.

Lepas pak aku masuk hospital hari tu, terdetik lah kat hati aku nak cari kerja di KL semula. Ye lah kan, my parents are not getting any younger. Setakat hospitalized tu boleh le adjust-adjust sikit tapi kalau.... err na'uzubillah.

Masalahnya dengan JB ni, takde flight direct ke Ipoh. Yang ada pun Firefly Singapore-Ipoh. Bas pulak takes some 7-8 hours. Itu tak campur delay lagi. Kalau nak drive pun, aku rasa kalau aku tekan nak gila pun still take 5 hours, tu tak campur mengantuk segala lagi kan? Sedangkan JB-SA pun aku boleh berhenti tidur sebab letih.

So, aku back in the mode of looking for job in KL lah ni. Takde serius atau cari gila-gila sampaikan kerja tahpahapa pun aku sebat. Tapi kalau ada kerja yang elok-elok, dengan company yang ok aku akan cuba. That was my wish last week. Dan last Tuesday, ada pulak satu company O&G call aku untuk first round interview, dalam email nya sebut Chit Chat Session with HOD of Business Planning. Hmmm.... Nanti aku cerita part ni, ok?

#14 Oregon Ducks have Arizona State Sun Devils on the run

Oregon put its loss to Stanford safely in the rear-view mirror Saturday, fending off Arizona State, 44-21, before 58,475 in Autzen Stadium. Now 8-2 overall, the No. 14 Ducks are the lone one-loss team in the conference at 6-1, a record they’ll put on the line next week at Arizona.

By the time the Ducks and Sun Devils (4-6, 2-5) kicked off Saturday night, USC had been shellacked by Stanford, likely bringing an end to the Trojans’ seven-year run as Pac-10 champs. Then, California handed Arizona its second conference loss, opening the door for Oregon to enter next week alone atop the standings.

The Sun Devils’ run defense, the best in the Pac-10 and sixth in the nation allowing an average of 87.44 yards rushing going into the game, allowed the Ducks to gain 268 yards on the ground. LaMichael James, the don’t-blink-or-you’ll-miss-him redshirt freshman, had 119 yards and three touchdowns on 11 first-half carries. Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli completed 10 of 20 passes for 120 yards and two touchdowns. He was intercepted once.

Oregon has won five straight over Arizona State, by an average score of 42-19. The Ducks now take their first-place record to Arizona, where some very good Duck teams, and some outstanding recent UO quarterbacks, have struggled.

Go Ducks!

Arizona State (4-5) at #14 Oregon (7-2)

One week after making a statement with a 47-20 victory over then-No. 4 USC, Oregon suffered a stunning 51-42 loss at Stanford last Saturday that reduced its conference lead to one-half game over Arizona. The defeat also cost the Ducks any shot at a berth in the Bowl Championship Series title game, but wins in their final three contests against Arizona State, Arizona and Oregon State will send them to the Rose Bowl.

It was Oregon’s first conference loss, and it dropped the team from a season high ranking at No. 7. But the Ducks (7-2, 5-1) are still in good position to contend for the Pac-10 title, which has been claimed by the Trojans for the past seven seasons. First they’ll have to get by Arizona State, which has the best rush defense in the Pac-10. The Sun Devils are ranked sixth nationwide, allowing just 87.44 yards per game.

Two weeks ago, Oregon ran for 391 yards and had 631 yards of total offense in a 47-20 victory over then-No.4 USC. The Ducks had 570 yards total offense and 236 yards rushing last week in a 51-42 loss at Stanford. Last season, Oregon was able to run for 304 yards in a 54-20 victory in Tempe. Masoli and Blount each ran for two touchdowns in the game.

The Sun Devils have lost three straight games and need to win two of their final three games for bowl eligibility. After Oregon, they visit UCLA before the finale at home against Arizona. Oregon has dominated Arizona State lately, winning the past four meetings by a combined 168-73 score. The Sun Devils haven't won at Oregon since Oct. 2, 2004.

My prediction: Oregon Ducks 45, Arizona St Sun Devils 13

Go Ducks!

Stanford upsets #7 Oregon 51-42

A week after being nearly perfect, Oregon crashed back to earth at Stanford. The Cardinal score on their first five possessions and spoil Oregon’s perfect Pac-10 title run with a 51-42 victory.

The loss by Oregon (7-2, 5-1 Pac-10) just a week after gaining 613 yards in a 47-20 win over USC cost the Ducks any shot at a berth in the BCS national championhip game and took away any margin for error if they want to win the conference outright. Now, Oregon will have to settle for the Rose Bowl, if it wins out the remaining three games.

Stanford Hosts #7 Oregon

"Is there no one else!? Is there NO ONE else!?"

After pummeling the mighty Trojans last weekend, it seems as if the Ducks have finally quieted even the staunchest doubters. Just like the epic warrior Achilles, Jeremiah Masoli was the main man responsible for burning the Trojans' season to the ground. This weekend he must lead his Ducks on the road to try to knock off a Stanford team that is well rested and unbeaten at home this season.

Stanford Cardinal (5-3, 4-2 Pac-10) return to action this Saturday against the 7th-ranked Oregon Ducks (7-1, 5-0 Pac-10) at Stanford Stadium/Foster Field (50,000). Stanford is unbeaten at home this season and have won eight of its last nine home games dating back to the final game of the 2007 season. In a series that dates back to 1900, Stanford leads the all-time series with Oregon, 43-28-1. However, the Ducks have won seven straight and eight out of the last nine games in the series dating back to 1998, including last year’s game in the Eugene, 35-28.

The Oregon Ducks current seven-game winning streak is the second longest by either team in the series since Stanford won 11 games from 1900-29. Stanford’s last win in the series came in 2001, when the Cardinal upset fifth-ranked Oregon, 49-42 in Eugene, handing the Ducks their only loss of the season. The Cardinal had the upper hand in the series from 1964-97, posting a 23-8 record, which included a pair of five-game winning streaks (1967-71; 1973-77).


My prediction: Oregon 42, Stanford 6

Go Ducks!

#10 Oregon runs past #4 USC 47-20

Quick facts:
1. The Trojans entered the game ranked fifth in the nation in run defense (79.86 yards per game). But Oregon rolled up 392 yards on the ground. The Ducks entered the game averaging 201.7 yards rushing per game.

2. It turned out to be a Fright Night for USC’s defense, which allowed 613 yards. Oregon outgained USC 613 yards to 329. A bonus stat: The Ducks had 30 first downs; USC had 17.

3. Oregon QB Jeremiah Masoli completed 19 of 31 passes for 221 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions. He also ran for 164 yards on 13 carries with a touchdown. That's 12.6 per carry.

4. The Oregon defense, in the decisive third quarter, held the Trojans to 67 yards. USC scored only three points in the second half.

5. Oregon's 47 points was the most it has ever scored against USC in 56 meetings. Ducks have scored 34 twice before against the Trojans. It's the most points a Pete Carroll USC team has ever surrendered. Previous worst was 42 in a win over Fresno State in 2005. Last time the Trojans gave up more points? 1996, vs. UCLA (48).

Time to celebrate....



and the roses has definitely blooming in Oregon's turf.