Student Elections.

It's all been fairly dull since I completed my first semester. The second one was supposed to have started right after my three-week break, but as I explained in an earlier post, it didn't, and I've been undergoing a short semester for about ten weeks now.

Well, that short semester (which was actually optional, by the way) is over now, as my second semester begins next week. My schedule's looking pretty packed, what with having six subjects to study as opposed to five from the first semester. However, I'm yet to receive my timetable, so as of yet I'm still unsure of just how busy I'll be starting next week.

The beginning of my second semester isn't the most significant thing happening around my university next week, however. Student Representative Council (SRC) elections are to be held, and in a small place like this, it's a pretty big thing.

The former SRC came under a lot of criticism (even from within) for not really doing a great deal. Without delving too much into that, there seems to be a widespread notion that many of the university's students want some form of change - indeed, only two of the seven former SRC members are running this year.

So what about me, then? Surely I must be getting myself involved in some way? Well, I am involved; I'm running for secretary. 

At first, I'd applied for the position of president, mainly because I'd heard that some of the so-called 'big guns' didn't want the post. I assumed that no one would be running for that particular position, so I just went ahead with it. I was wrong, as it turned out - the lady in charge of receiving candidacy applications told me there actually were a number of candidates running, so she advised me to go for another post. I agreed, and eventually decided on running for secretary.

The candidates' names were released last night, and there's some good news - for me, at least. Two spots for secretary were available (namely Secretary I and Secretary II) and there was only one other candidate besides me. This means I'm guaranteed a spot on the SRC, although there are slight doubts over which secretary I'll end up as. (In the announcement, though, my name was before the other candidate, so maybe that means something, eh.)

Being in the SRC will be a new and valuable experience for me, and I look forward to involving myself in...well, whatever it is the SRC will be doing. In any case, I hope that I'll be able to carry out my duties responsibly and brilliantly. Who knows, with the experience I gain from being the secretary this year, maybe I could end up in a higher post next time around?

Football Fan Frustrations.

This weekend marked the opening round of fixtures for the 2013/14 season of the Barclays Premier League. Some sectors heralded it as "the return of football", even though the English Championship actually started last weekend (as did the German Bundesliga), and the Champions League qualifying rounds the week before. Heck, there had even been an international tournament played during the summer, plus numerous friendlies and World Cup qualifying matches. 

In any case, for avid followers of the Premier League, so-called real football had returned. There are many people out there who look forward to watching football clubs in the top tier of English football duke it out on the pitch every weekend, and really do miss it during the summer. Non-Premier League football is no substitute for the real thing.

So anyway, being an Arsenal fan, I was really hoping for a good opening-day result against Aston Villa, especially as we were playing on home turf. For those of you who follow English football, you'll know that, unfortunately for me, Arsenal fans don't really get what they hope for much these days.

After opening the scoring after only six minutes, we duly went on to concede two goals from penalties, got a player sent off, and concede another goal from a counter-attack. Well, these things happen in football, and being an Arsenal supporter since 2007, I've gotten used to this kind of disappointing result.

What really pisses me off, however, is when people rub these results in my face. How can I watch football in peace when someone else in the room is dissing my favorite team, insulting its players, heckling the manager, and basically calling out doom and gloom for Arsenal after only the first match of the season, and all this at the top of his damn lungs? It's already painful enough to suffer a home defeat - I don't need someone rubbing salt and lemon juice into my wounds.

I get it, heckling is a part of sport, and that includes football. But that doesn't change the fact that it's not a very nice thing to do, and especially when you do it to someone who never heckles your team (or any other team, for that matter) back.

Yes, I am passionate about football, but it's not something I like to talk about. The enjoyment (or otherwise) that I get from it I mostly keep to myself, and the same goes for my opinions on the topic. I don't like people insulting my team, so I don't insult other teams. (Criticism, though, is tolerable. The problem with most people is that they tend to get too emotional when it comes to football, so criticism usually turns to insult.)

Football is known as a game for the working-class, so naturally there are a lot of fans who are idiots/douchebags. However, that doesn't make it an excuse for a person who usually respects other people and their opinions to act like these idiots/douchebags when it comes to football.

I'm sure I'm not the only one out there who prefers to be left alone when it comes to watching football. The problem is, there aren't enough of us to be truly understood by the rest of the football-watching community.

Raya 2013 Musings.

So we celebrated Aidilfitri (or more commonly known as Raya in Malaysia) last Thursday, 8th August 2013. This day marks 1st Syawal in the Islamic calendar, or in other words, the first day after the last day of the fasting month of Ramadan. In most countries they just sound out the 'takbir Raya' in the morning (as well as the night before) and then go about their daily routines. In Malaysia, though, Raya is a big thing.

Traditionally, Raya is when the Muslim Malays travel to their respective hometowns to gather with their family members. People are dressed in fancy traditional costumes. Everyone eats traditional Raya food like lemang and rendang, and the young ones (and also the young at heart) play with firecrackers. Finger treats in the form of kuih raya are in abundance. Money in the form of duit raya is handed out by the older people in the family to the younger ones.

Aidilfitri is a day that is richly embedded into Malay culture. Never mind that it's really a religious celebration; whenever you mention Raya here in this country, you inevitably tend to associate the celebration with Malays.

Well, then. Whenever something this big comes around, there is always room for criticism. And it seems (to me, anyway) that this year the Raya criticism tends to be directed towards the younger generation, or at least just the ones who are constantly glued to the screens of their electronic devices.

The main point of this criticism is the fact that the levels of human interaction are decreased, thanks to these evil electronic devices. Well, I do get that. You really should be using the opportunity to talk with and strengthen bonds between people you only get to see once or twice a year. It's better to face an actual person than your phone or tablet. But what happens when you don't interact with people even without fixating your gaze onto a screen?

That's exactly how it is in my case. Being an introvert, I generally don't like large gatherings, regardless of whoever it is that's in attendance. If there's no one to talk to, or if I don't feel like talking to anyone, I'll just sit by myself and read a book or eat or something. However, I don't play with my handheld electronic device (in this case, my phone), but mostly because I don't really do that anyway.

So what am I getting at here? Well, in this extrovert-filled world, some people just don't understand how you wouldn't want to be socializing 24/7. Maybe these young people turn to their phones, tablets and laptops because they need a break from all the talking and interacting. Maybe they're like me, and don't really like talking or interacting (well, not all the time, anyway). 

Or maybe they're just so addicted that they just don't know how or when to switch off. I wouldn't know; it's not something I can really relate to.