It has been 12 long months

Prologue

I guess for now, I will recycle this article I wrote which should have been written for the anniversary. But I posted this much earlier and I guess I would need to update it to make it an anniversary entry.

I guess there are advantages and disadvantages at both 360 and blogspot. There are certain things I love at 360 (like the fonts), but I guess many more bloggers are at blogspot, so why not. It is also easier to attach pictures and the likes at blogspot, so I guess I would try and make this as my permanent site. I guess in this age, nothing is permanent, but you know what I mean.

This is an edited version to suit the occasion.

Confession of a Serial Blogger

You know I would love to tell you that I thought I could make the world a better place by voicing my opinion over the net - that my opinion somehow would make a difference to the people of Africa, Palestine, Iraq and especially of us in Malaysia. Bla bla bla, yadda yadda yadda...you get my drift.

Or that I would become the next Jeff Ooi or Rocky of the Rocky's Bru fame.

Or that there is so much wisdom in my story mory that so many people can learn lifetime lessons from me.

Fat chance.

Actually I was tricked into blogging.

You see, while I do love to write, I had never actively and consistently written over a long period of time. Typically it was done whenever I have free time, or when there is a sudden burst of inspiration (which is more of an exception than the rule), or if I am honest to myself, whenever I was trying to fight off sleep at the peak of the graveyard’s shift in the mid to late 80s.

Then I was a Mat Kilang (as opposed to Minah Karen) - albeit an educated one at that, if I may add.

So as frequent as it rains in the Kalahari, I would hit the jackpot and the NST would pay me for my article, and for every paycheck, I would be able to lunch myself at the canteen for the next one month. During the dry season however, which is the norm in the Gobi, I would be working through my lunch hour.

Life as a struggling freelance writer!

During the 1990 Thomas Cup final lost to China, I hit the jackpot with an article criticizing BAM and Elyas Omar entitled “Basking in glory over nothing”. Another sport article condemning Raja Ahmad (Zainuddin, then of Perak FA) soon appeared and I was flushed with Nestle’s products. I don’t recall the title anymore, but if I were to write that now I would call it “The mentally unsound should not be holding public office."

Mind you, while it may looks like I was a armchair’s critic, most of my arguments were sound (take it with a pinch of salt ok!) and hence NST picked them up and published it. Of course there is no rule that prohibits the mentally unsound from writing articles for a mainstream newspaper.

I had never thought of blogging then. I didn't know how to do it and I knew I didn't have the time. Struggling through daily work, and then in the early millennium, through my MBA classes, I had never bat an eye lid seeing the mushrooming of blogs in the internet. I was quite contented writing for submission to my lecturer so that they could grade me and award me another piece of paper.

So when a friend sent me a note inviting me to visit her blog early last year ("Did u get my invite to 360? Masukla n c," she said), I was excited about it. There was this introductory article about her wondering what to write and a short note to her former colleague at Bank Buruh (which to this writer was the Bank who introduced him to the stock market).

Then she said, "Nanti u try la. Can b quite engrossing." Since she was the numero uno in the English language in class in the 70s, and if she thought I could do it, then why not? It may not necessarily be better than hers, but it’s something I could call my own.

So the very same day I took pen to paper and wrote something about the plumeria or kemboja. That was Jan 27, 2007, 11 hours after this friend cheekily challenged me that I should write too.

So here I am 12 months, 118 articles and 52,000 words later – if you can call those ramblings and rantings articles. To be honest, she must be having the laugh of her life (something like this ); laughing about how gullible this friend of hers was. She puts that article as bait, and I bought them all – lock stock and barrel!

I am stuck in this vicious cycle of writing and posting, and I am not seeing an end to this unpaid job. I know I can't get rid of my day's job, and I know I can't make a living out of my night's job.

I would never have thought I would get going for this long, but I am thankful to Him for giving me the opportunity in the past 12 month to put my thought in writing.

If nothing else, Arif and Akmal would have something to read if ever they were to close down Kinokuniya - as Bro Zawi has said in his blog Life as I see It, "long after I am gone".

EPILOGUE

I guess just for the record I would like to post a couple of comments I got on my writing.

One of the most treasured comment or complimentary I got was from a former English teacher of mine. She said, " I have visited your blog. Enjoyed reading your work. Very impressed! I like the issues you dealt with, light and refreshing."

Thank you Cikgu.

You know, coming from a true blue (English) teacher, that comment means a lot to me.

Another friend said, "I like reading your work - it is like reading newspaper. But you weren't much of a writer at school."

Well, I don't read mainstream newspaper nowadays, so I am not sure if that's a compliment or otherwise!

Another said, "I like your account on Murai."

Thanks sis.

OK 'nuff said. It is for the record only, and nothing else