The one with my short middle-east trip

Greetings from Abu Dhabi. Just reached Cristal Hotel in Abu Dhabi last night. Earlier in the day was in Kuwait City. Which probably is the shortest stay in a country for me. Reached Kuwait at 8.00am local time, and left for Abu Dhabi 5.30 local time.
The meeting in Kuwait went well. Hopefully it wear positive results. From my short stay there, Kuwait is one expensive country. The mall next to the hotel, houses shops which I can't even enter, as they are brands which I can't afford. The exchange rate itself is espensive, RM1.00 is 12.00KD. My colleague had to think twice when he bought a fridge magnet which cost KD1.75. Our McDonald's meal at the airport costs KD1.50.
Today, hopefully I will have time to see the city of Abu Dhabi. Went passed the biggest mosque here last night, and it looked majestic. Didn't take a picture though, as the cab was driving fast. My meeting here later will be at 10.00am, and will head down to breakfast in a bit.
Will hope to tell more later. Till then.

Steve Nash - Training Day

An amazing athlete. One of the best point-guards ever. Besides basketball, like me he also plays tennis, football and a Spurs fan.

The one where a lost long uncle will return

Today, I believe will be a very emotional day for the Kajang side of the family. As my long lost uncle will finally make his way back to Malaysia after 26 years.

Uncle Lan is my mum's eldest brother. The first-born in her family. So for my mum and her brothers and sisters, as well as my grandmother, it will be of those 'jejak kasih' scenes.

I for one, don't really recall any memory of him. As I was still a kid, and wasn't really in the country then (my dad was posted in America for 3 years when I was 2).

So to uncle Lan, welcome home and see you soon.

The one with my first KL Dragons experience

Last Sunday (the triple-10 date), I went for my first KL Dragons game in the Asean Basketball League. The ABL is in its second season, and only now I have to opportunity to see a regional basketball league. Mainly because now I have a group of friends who share a common interest in basketball after I have been out of the hoops scene for so long.

Well, it was the first home game of the season. Our opponents were SatriaMuda from Indonesia. I went who a fellow Spurs fan who help reintroduce me to the basketball scene, Ean. Tip-off was at 5pm, we reached the stadium around 4pm. We sat as court-side as we can get.

The SatriaMuda team were first out to warm-up. The home team came out a while later.

The SatriaMuda team had 2 American imports among their ranks. Both athletic dudes and one of them, Marcus Morrison really loved to entertain the crowd. SatriaMuda were very loose in their pre-game preparations.

A loud cheer erupted when the Dragons came out. The whole team had stoic-game-faces on. Probably focused on the job, and getting a win after the season opener loss to Thailand Slammers.

After the tip-off, both teams opened the game with 3-pointers. SatriaMuda mixed it up a lot. Their game included long-range shooting, drives into the paint and well as slick passing. The Dragons relied to much on shooting, which was their undoing.

Three of the Dragons big men fouled out, and SatriaMuda took advantage of the lack of size inside.

Only one Dragon came out of the game with credit, Filipono import Raymundo. He was doing everything, getting the offensive boards and 2nd chance points. The only player who played with any hustle. Sadly the offence didn't go through him, so he had to create and find his own shot. He finished the game with a Dwight Howard-esque 20 points and 21 rebounds.

The Dragons lost 68-77 in the end, after a late comeback. Despite the loss, I enjoyed the experience and will be looking to go to more home games.