Red Devils Triumph!

Manchester United scored four goals to crush Wigan Athletic in the Carling Cup final held at the Millennium Stadium. Wigan's first appearance in a major final was not a happy one as goals from Rooney (two), Saha and Ronaldo settled the Red Devils only second victory in this competition. Elsewhere, in the EPL, Liverpool, Bolton and Middlesborough all won against Manchester City, Fulham and West Bromwich Albion respectively.

Canaries Mauled!

In the English Championship, Crystal Palace did their play-off hopes a big favour by thrashing Norwich City FC at home, 4-1. Elsewhere, in the EPL, Blackburn beat Arsenal and leapfrogged into fifth spot. Chelsea won again, while strugglers Birmingham City and Newcastle United both won.

Future Direction?

I am saddened with what had happened to me for the past few weeks. Some are beyond my control, some otherwise. First, I can kiss around USD2,700 of my internet investment goodbye after the Stormpay fiasco. If I ever get that money back, it would be a miracle. Then, it is money problems. As my internet investments went bust, my cashflow became critical. I am desperate to get some funds to settle some bills as I do not have a full-time job. And as for the job-hunting, the job market has not been kind to me. I have expected this as I will be 41 this June and employers would prefer to employ a much younger person, although I have a lot of working experience. As I hate to borrow from my friends and family, I might resort to unorthodox means, like buying 4 digit numbers, to try my luck. Who knows, I might get a windfall. And please forgive me, God. Then, I am having quarrels with my wife over her jewelry that I had pawned to get cash so that I can put it into the internet. At times, she became emotional and I do not blame her. Again, I need to find cash to redeem my wife's jewelry. Time is running short because I have to do so before June as the agreement expires in May. To top off everything, my left eye is giving me some problems. It has a slight swelling and makes me uncomfortable. I hope it will disappear sooner rather than later. I hope to get a job real soon as this will help me with my bills and payments. As for autosurfing, I can still do it part-time. Wish me luck!

Congratulations!

Congratulations to the futsal players of batch 1981/1983 who took part in the VIOBA inter-batch futsal tournament held last Sunday at Sunway. They were the oldest team in the veteran's league, but were good enough to be placed fourth overall. At this age, skill is more important, but some do defy their age. Well done, boys!

Sadness

When Stormpay, a very popular internet payment processor, froze the accounts of many autosurfing sites, my heart skipped a beat. Deep down inside, I had prayed that this hiccup will be only temporary. Now, more than three weeks had passed since Stormpay initiated its unilateral actions and I do not think I will see any of my USD2,700 earnings gained through investments via 12 Daily Pro and 24 Daily Pro ever again.
What luck! Just as I thought that I would be making a comfortable living from the internet, these unwanted things happen! I know all of us autosurfers would only come out of this mess much more stronger and resilient. I owe my apartment landlord two months' rental already and with March just a few days away, it will be three months rental that I owe them.
Yes, I did receive some money from my work at VIOBA Foundation, but 80% of it had been used almost immediately to pay off nine various bills and payments. Anyway, I am thankful for that and I am also thankful that my broadband connection is still intact.
With the Stormpay fiasco far from being settled, it seems that I have to start all over again. I have a small amount of money paid by 24 Daily Pro paid to me through e-gold and I have put most of it into Vivasurf.com. I chose Vivasurf because they had paid me previously and the return of investment is a handsome 210%. I also plan to invest in Black Gold Surf, an autosurfing site not dissimilar to 12 Daily Pro. Wish me luck!

Quarter-Final Draw Released

The sixth round or quarter-final draw for the English FA Cup has been released as follows.

(Home teams stated first)

Charlton Athletic vs Middlesborough

Aston Villa/Manchester City vs Bolton Wanderers/West Ham United

Chelsea vs Newcastle United

Birmingham City vs Liverpool

These fixtures would be played in March 2006.

English FA Cup - Three More Teams Through

Chelsea, Middlesborough and Birmingham City all made it through to the quarter-finals of the English FA Cup after beating Colchester, Preston North End and Stoke City respectively. Another match saw Manchester City snatch a last-gasp equaliser away to Aston Villa.

Canaries Sink Rams

Yesterday, two goals from either side of the half from Jonatan Johansson and Darren Huckerby saw Norwich City FC beat Derby County 2-0 in a hard-fought match at Carrow Road in the English Championship. Elsewhere, in the FA Cup 5th round, Liverpool powered past Manchester United 1-0, while Charlton Athletic and Newcastle United also made it to the quarter-finals.

Dreaming Of You

"Dreaming Of You" is a song that was sung by the late Selena. I first heard this song around four years ago and looked high and low at CD stores to purchase it. Finally, a compilation by Sony Music had the song in it and I did not hesitate to buy the double CD. I also saw the movie "Selena" and was quite sad to know that Selena was murdered. The lyrics remind me of my past girlfriends and that include my Valentines. Here it is...

Late at night when all the world is sleeping
I stay up and think of you
And I wish on a star
That somewhere you are thinking of me too
Cause I'm dreaming of you tonight
Till tomorrow, I'll be holding you tight
And there's nowhere in the world I'd rather be
Than here in my room, dreaming about you and me
Wonder if you ever see me
And I wonder if you know I'm there
If you looked in my eyes
Would you see what's inside?
Would you even care?
I just wanna hold you close
But so far all I have are dreams of you
So I wait for the day
And the courage to say how much I love you
Cause I'm dreaming of you tonight
Till tomorrow, I'll be holding you tight
And there's nowhere in the world I'd rather be
Than here in my room dreaming about you and me
Corazon
I can't stop dreaming of you
No puedo dejar de pensar en ti
I can't stop dreaming
Como te necesito
I can't stop dreaming
Mi amor, como te extrano
Late at night when all the world is sleeping
I stay up and think of you
And I still can't believe
That you came up to me and said I love you
I love you too
Now I'm dreaming with you tonight
Till tomorrow and for all of my life
Cause there's nowhere in the world I'd rather be
Than here in my room dreaming with you endlessly.

New Alternative Internet Payment Processor

More and more people are joining ALERTPAY, including autosurfers. I am no exception, registering an account only yesterday. The best part is that ALERTPAY does not require any payment to get your account verified. You can do so by sending them your scanned identity card and also a utility bill. More and more autosurfing websites are accepting ALERTPAY as their preferred internet payment processor. Join now!

Click here http://www.alertpay.com/?36291

Canaries Thrash Seagulls

3.5 million pounds signing from West Bromwich Albion, Robert Earnshaw, made many Canaries' faithfuls happy as he scored a late brace to steer Norwich City FC to a 3-0 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion at Carrow Road. However, it was Darren Huckerby who opened scoring in the first half. It was the Canaries first win in six matches in the English Championship. Elsewhere, in the EPL, a Luis Garcia late strike saw Liverpool overcome Arsenal at Anfield, thus closing the Reds' gap with second-placed Manchester United to three points.

My First Valentine

Since tomorrow is Valentine's Day, I would like to share with you the story of my very first Valentine. Her name was Fadzilah Noor Sha'arani, or Fazie for short. I met her in the second half of 1981 when I was attending tuition classes in preparation for my SPM public examinations. She was very quiet in class, but I managed to get her telephone number. She was a sweet young thing. Pretty, too and studied in the Assunta Secondary Girls School. Although outside tuition classes we met only once or twice, I began falling in love with Fazie. I wrote many letters to her and all were replied, much to my enjoyment. I also called her once in a while just to say hi. My feelings of love for her was not revealed until I was due to leave for Melbourne to further my studies. Since the departure date was quite near to Valentine's Day, I decided to visit the florist and place an order for a bouquet of flowers to be delivered to Fazie on Valentine's Day. And a few days later, after writing to her from Melbourne, she thanked me for making her my Valentine. Our love flourished long-distance and I did help her with her studies a bit. In July 1982, she was accepted to do secretaryship at ITM (now UiTM). The following year, I forgot all about Valentine's Day. But true to her spirit, I received a Valentine card from Fazie, which really made my day. When I returned from Melbourne, one of the first things that I did was to visit her at her hostel. Things did not turn out well and after some time, my relationship with Fazie soured. I have lost all contact with her, but she still remains in my heart until today as my very first Valentine. Fazie, if you are reading this, please drop me a line. I would love to hear from you!

Canaries Earn Another Away Draw

In the English Championship, Norwich City FC earned another away draw when they were held 1-1 at Hull City. Elsewhere, in the EPL, leaders Chelsea surprisingly lost 0-3 at Middlesborough, while Manchester United and Liverpool both won.

VIOBA Foundation

Currently, I am into my second term serving as the honorary secretary of VIOBA Foundation. VIOBA Foundation is part of VIOBA, albeit with different aims, objectives and, of course, constitutions. VIOBA is an acronym for the Victoria Institution Old Boys' Association. VIOBA itself was founded in 1922 and, yes, it is an alumni for past students of Victoria Institution (VI).
VIOBA Foundation was set up in the seventies with the objective of helping past and present VI students in terms of their studies, financially, like giving out interest-free loans and providing financial aid. We also have been funding VI in the various annual school activities like the Sports Day, the Speech Day and the Financial Grant to present VI students. Tens of thousands of ringgit had been spent and will be spent in line with VIOBA Foundation's aims. For the record, all VIOBA members are automatically members of VIOBA Foundation also. The latter's board is voted by VIOBA members during the combined annual general meeting usually held in April or May of each year.
How is VIOBA Foundation funded? Everyone, especially successful Victorians, are invited to set up a named scholarship fund of their choice with a minimum tax-free contribution of RM20,000. This sum is then placed into fixed-deposit accounts and various selected financial institutions. The funds derived from interest gained from these fixed-deposit accounts are the source of income for VIOBA Foundation. At the moment, there are currently more than 50 named scholarship funds with accumulated funds exceeding RM2.5 million. Dato' Jaffar Indot has been the Foundation's Chairman for many, many years and it is hoped that he will continue his excellent work in helming this organisation.

Below are the office bearers of VIOBA Foundation for 2005/2006:

Chairman: Dato' Jaffar Indot
Vice-Chairman: Mr. Patrick Chiam Tow Loon
Hon. Secretary: Me
Hon. Treasurer: Mr. Zolkefli Muhamad
Committee Members: Ms. Aziah Abu Bakar, Mr. Andrew Abishegam, Mr. Mohamed Firouz Asnan, Mr. Mohd. Talha Haji Masodi, Mr. K. Rajkumar and Mr. K. Sureson
Ex-Officio: Mr. Yusli Mohamed Yusoff (VIOBA President) and Mr. Praba Ganesan (VIOBA Hon. Secretary)

Stormpay

If you are a full-time or part-time autosurfer, you would most probably have heard of issues surrounding a popular internet payment processor by the name of Stormpay. Around a fortnight ago, Stormpay had taken unprecedented actions which were frowned by the autosurfing industry. Although, I would not want to say that Stormpay is right or otherwise, I hope my virtual cash stored in some autosurfing sites that I had joined would not be jeopardized. Many autosurfers are reeling from Stormpay's moves and I am no exception. I hope all issues related to the autosurfing industry will be resolved amicably and that all autosurfers can get back to work, that is, earning a living from the internet, like I do.

Special Delivery

Yesterday, I received an envelope from the USA. It was from my buddy, Saba, who is an Oracle freelancer. What it contained? A superb 2006 calendar showcasing America's sight and scenery. Saba did send these type of mails years ago. That was in the nineties when I was working with Bank Buruh, which later became BSN Commercial Bank. The impressive part was that it took only eight days to reach my home in Kuala Lumpur from Salt Lake City, Utah. Many thanks, Saba.

Too Phat And Siti Nurhaliza

Just now I had the opportunity to view the making of and the video clip of Too Phat and Siti Nurhaliza's "Dua Dunia" (Two Worlds). Its director, Justin Ong, explained that he did not use any special effects in the video clip because it was not suited to the song. I enjoyed the video because it had a totally different mood to it compared to other local videos in the market. Too Phat were themselves, while Siti Nurhaliza tried rapping for the first time! Overall, the results were quite pleasing. I watched these over Astro Ria.

Canaries Lose Local Derby

In the English Championship, a late own goal by Gary Doherty gave Ipswich Town a 2-1 win over Norwich City FC in a captivating East Anglian derby at Carrow Road yesterday. Elsewhere, in the EPL, all top five clubs won, with the exception of Liverpool, who had their goalkeeper sent off in a fiery clash with table toppers Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. With this defeat, the Kops can kiss their Premiership title ambitions this season goodbye.

Infection (Part Two)

Thank God, the swelling on my infected right eye lid has subsided somewhat. I thought of getting a second opinion on my infection today. But when I woke up earlier today, the infection seemed to have improved. Initially, I was really worried. But, I was proven wrong. Hopefully, the infection will go away 100% in 2-3 days' time. And things will get back to normal, again.

Infection

Today is the second day I am having an eye infection. I visited the doctor yesterday and, thank god, it is not conjunctivitis. It is just my right eyelid which got infected and swelled. Although it is not painful, the infection can be very uncomfortable. I hope it will subside soon as I want things to be back normal again.

A Wise Danish Move

The editor of a Danish newspaper which published a cartoon series recently insulting Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) has apologized for offending the Muslim world. This step was taken amidst growing anger spread throughout the Muslim world that affected trade activities. There were also security threat concerns against the people of Nordic countries.
A wise move!

Canaries Crushed By Royals

Rampant Reading continued their seemingly unstoppable march towards the English Premiership after brushing aside Norwich City FC 4-0 at the Madjeski Stadium.

A Foolish Dane

After I heard about this, memories of Salman Rushdie's "Satanic Verses" come to mind. The act of a Danish cartoonist drawing a caricature that insulted Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is deeply regretted and very insensitive. I am just afraid that some Muslims might take revenge on this Dane, specifically and the Danish people, generally. For starters, the African nation of Sudan has already announced that she would boycott goods from Denmark. An apology from the Danish government is nowhere to be heard, saying that they practice freedom of speech. But this is going too far and too much. Insulting the Prophet will touch a raw nerve in many a Muslim. Perhaps, the foolish Dane forgot that some Muslims put a hefty reward to get Salman Rushdie killed some time ago. Think!