Hello 2008, Goodbye 2007

 “Life is like a box of chocolate. You’ll never know what you’re gonna get,” Forrest Gump

Football

This year marks the return of Manchester United as the Barclays’ English Premier League Champion after four years. Indeed, the victory was marvelous and they did it in with typical Red Devils swashbuckling football, with Cristiano Ronaldo running the show. It’s a pity that the squad wasn’t big enough to sustain the momentum in the Champions League. Hopefully, in the 2007/2008 season with the addition of Carlos Tevez, Luis Nani, Anderson, Owen Hargreaves and the return of young players like Gerard Pique, Danny Simpson and Jonny Evans from their loan spells; the team will be able to fire on all fronts.

The big news was of course the failure of the England national team to qualify for Euro. I guess we all see that coming, don’t we? Not even Captain Marvel Beckham’s comeback from exile could save Steve McClaren’s neck. Well, at least one good thing comes out from this; the appointment of formidable Fabio Cappello as the new coach.  

Kaka, deservingly won the Ballon d’Or and the FIFA World Player of the Year Award. Deservingly, not only because he has been playing unbelievable football for AC Milan, but because of his clean image that serves as a role model for all youth.

Politics

The assassination of Benazir Bhutto shocked the world as Pakistan is thrown further into political turmoil. I grieve with the democracy world the loss of such a revolutionary leader. President Pervez Musharaff’s has been trying to consolidate his dictatorship by sacking senior members of the judiciary and declaring martial law. Accusations were made against Islamic extremist and Musharaff himself. Now that Bhutto, Musharaff biggest rival is killed and coupled by Nawaz Sharif and other oppositions’ boycott of the coming election, things are favouring Musharaff. But I’m kinda “curious” on the United States “non-inteference” attitude. I guess they do have different policy for different people. Double standard.           

The race for the US Presidential Election is set in motion as candidates lobby to be nominated to represent their parties in the election. The duel between Democrats candidates, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama is taking all the headlines. Well, with the feminist blood in my vein, you would have thought that I will be rooting for Clinton, but on the contrary, Obama has my support (however insignificant it is J). I believe in his “politics for change”, and let’s hope he’ll be the man that will stop all the nonsense that is happening in Iraq, and swing the US economy back into the right direction.

John Howard’s Liberal-Democrat Government was finally ousted by the Australian Labour Party led by the Chinese-speaking Kevin Rudd. Among the first thing the new government did was to ratify the Kyoto Protocol. Well done, kudos, bravo. I was just watching “The Day After Tomorrow”, and I don’t want to end up like the people in the movie. Yes, I do believe in Global Warming (GO AL GORE!)

On the local front, it seems like the ruling government is facing their toughest challenges yet, as more and more people are voicing their dissatisfaction over them. Several public demonstrations were held in the capital, which resulted in a number of people arrested under the ISA. If I remember correctly, the last time the political situation in Malaysia was such was in 1999 when the then Deputy Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim was sacked. Earlier this year, there were talks that the Parliament will be dissolved by the end of the year to make way for the general election. But as I have predicted, there will be no general election this year, with most political analysts predicting early next year as the most probable time. Great, now I will have more time to register myself as a voter, something that I have been putting off for quite some time for some reasons.       

Myself

My new year, as it has been for the past couple of years, was a quiet one. On the eve, I will be at home as usual, looking back on the happenings for the past one year and drawing up my resolutions. This year, I foresee, will be no different, as I am literally stuck at home; but hey, at least I have a home to get stuck in. My days as nomad are coming to an end now.

I started off the year on a quiet note, literally. The month of January marks the start of my college life and I don’t exactly hit off with my fellow college mates. Yeah, people who know me will know that I am someone who need a lot of time to warm up to people. But as months passed by, I made more and more friends, and I started to grow more attached to the college (but definitely not the management!). If you ask me to define my year in one word, I would say rojak. This year, I’ve done things that I’ve never thought I could. I have encountered crazy people I never thought would exist in the real world. I have experienced some of the lowest moment of my life this year, as every step that I took, there seems to be a barrier in front of me. Nevertheless, I must have done something that pleases lady luck because something or someone will always pull me out of the muddy water if I ever fell into one. One major milestone for me in 2007 will be Rotaract. I’ve started off the year by putting “joining Rotaract” in my resolution, but I ended up forming one. Who would have guessed? Of course, this wouldn’t have been achieved without the help and support of so many people.

The things that I’ve experienced for the past one year has made me a more confident person but the people I’ve met has humbled me in some ways. Indeed, you keep improving yourself, but there is always someone who is better than you, and let that be a motivation to keep improving yourself.

When my friends from high school asked me, “Is studying law hard?”, I can never quite produce a sure answer. But I think after one year of burying myself with legal jargons and knowledge, I would have answer that studying law is not that hard after all, but doing the exams is a whole different story. This is one thing I badly need to improve on, generating my knowledge into results. Any tips, people?

I foresee next year as a tougher year for me, as I will face my first big test in my quest to achieve my dream. A big red X has been marked on the month of May in my 2008 calendar as I gear up for my first major exam. 

Sigh….

Ever felt so overwhelmed that you wish the world would swallow you up at that moment? I am experiencing that feeling now.

Remember the cliche that “money is not everything”? Well, let me add to that, “without money, you can do nothing”. I have been rather, or absolutely stressed out, thanks to the lady on the 6th floor of the college. It has been 6 months since I’ve sent in my application for my study loan, but I have not got the money yet. Nothing has bugged me so much but this money issue I’m having now. In addition, I am moving out next month, and needless to say, I NEED MORE $$$. I’m now living in Nilai, and it costs me a lot to travel everyday.

Seriously, I’m feeling as if I am walking into a dead end now. Exam fee is due next month, a whooping RM4,000. I have no idea where I’m gonna get that amount of cash if the loan doesn’t come in.  

Unfortunately, I am not the only one in this predicament. Many others from my class is facing the same problem. We we all kinda “duped” by the college counselor before registering that we’ll get our study loan within 3 months of application. How naive of us.

I have been out of tuned recently, not myself. I find it hard to concentrate in class. I wish this problem will just go away, but it doesn’t seem so. It looks like the most probable way out for me is to find a job. We were told that our loan will be in by the end of this year. It’s already one week before new year, and I am crossing my fingers. 

It’s Christmas Eve. I hope that everyone will get their Christmas wishes. For me, I hope Santa Claus drop by my house and give me the one gift that I need the most now.

I know, this is a depressing post that doesn’t fit Christmas…But I have to let it out..

Have a Merry Chirstmas…