Crack game

"Seven: this rule is so underrated
Keep your family and business completely seperated"

- Biggie on the 10 Crack Commandments

Orginally I wrote a pretty long post about the Bali 9 - the nine people that had been arrested and charged with importing 8 kilo's of dope into Indonesia. In fact, I wrote the post whilst on the train ride home - I tried to get into the mind of one of the victims who had been arrested and to also give my own views about how they had been hard done by.

But I've decided to retract that post because more and more info has come out about how dodgy these guys were - one of the others being called the head honcho and how some of the members of the group had actually travelled to Bali several times on false passports. I felt sorry for them but now its turned into anger. Like I've been mislead. I never felt that they were innocent but you had to have a heart for them when the story orginally hit the papers - young, naive, stupid, didn't know what they were getting into. Not much has changed - they are still young, naive and stupid - but now the real story - the facts have started to unravel. I just can't believe that they decided to risk their lives being drug mules for a lousy $10,000 and the fact that they've done it multiple times.

But if they have done it repeatedly, and knew of the risks, and weren't threatened (which I highly doubt now), how can you feel for them? I feel sorry for them in that if found guilty, the majority of them will face the death penalty - the harshest punishment known to man. But still, if you know the penalty, and take the risk, especially when it's all over the news, well its hard to feel to much for you then.

Let's move on, because there is another woman in the system who i feel is hard done by.

She's a household name now but for all the wrong reasons. Schapelle Corby, who is likely to face the death penalty for ALLEGEDLY importing drugs. I actually believe her story. From what I've read (prolly half true/half untrue), she seems to be innocent and is not been given a fair go by the justice system in Indonesia. It's highly possible that someone put the dope in her bag, and there is a smuggling ring going on in the airport system. For her, it must be some kind of ongoing nightmare, and I just find it hard to believe that she will be executed for something she didn't do. And the fact that the Bali 9 were deliberating importing her-ron won't help her case either.

For every 9 idiots that tried to commit a crime and deserves some kind of punishment, there is one innocent person out there that deserves justice. It's a pity that the system won't differentiate that.

Free Schappelle Corby.

The Master

His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy
There's vomit on his sweater already, mom's spaghetti
He's nervous, but on the surface he looks calm and ready
To drop bombs, but he keeps on forgetting
What he wrote down, the whole crowd goes so loud
He opens his mouth, but the words won't come out
He's chokin, how everybody's chokin now
The clock's run out, time's up over, bloah!

- Eminem on Lose Yourself.

Em's lyrics capture how I feel everytime I do public speaking. Its that calmness that I lack, the ability to just be myself, relaxed and chilled out in front of everyone. Mind blanks, knots in my throat, that that word.......confidence. Aahhh that's it.

So no more! I and a bunch of mates from work that I convinced went along to our very first Toastmasters session held at my workplace. I must say it was a weird experience. It was very formal, and everyone was so so (what's that key word).......confident. You how it is when everyone is so "welcoming" it makes you feel uncomfortable and less welcome. Like your a newcomer at Church and everyone thinks its their duty to welcome you.

To break it down for you, Toastmasters is a public speaking club. The way it works is that you have members who have to do one formal speech and then later do an improptu. The formal speech you get given time to do, allocated to you from this book which tells you what style you have to do. Eg. some chick did "the entertainer" style and talked about how to lose weight and had to use her personal experience. When everyone's finished the formal stuff, someone who's like a veteran gives you feedback on how you can improve, etc...

Then we had the dreaded "table topics".

Some person gets up and plucks some random topic and selects someone to speak for a minute on the topic. Eg. " How did you feel about those kids being arrested in Indonesia over that heroin. Rhonda you speak". And you gotta get up and just speak! In front of everyone. No time to prepare. Freestyle on the spot.

The thing was it was slightly nerving as the people that were all pretty good speakers and were much older than us. Like between 30-50 and we was like slightly intimated as they were from investment banks, Defence Force, Deloitte, etc.. and seemed like senior executive types who were able to talk for like 5-8 minutes without palm cards and seemed so natural. Obviously they've had a lot more public speaking experience than us and were more sure of themselves.

I definently think there's a lot of benefit that can be gained from joining and being forced to speak, especially if you have to freestyle on the spot, without prep time nor time to think. I think that if I can hang with these people and be able to present in front of them, I'll take a great leap forward in not losing myself ever again.

Peace out,

DJ HO.

The DJ HO Awards

In much eager anticipation, DJ HO has decided who really deserves the hardware for this 04-05 NBA season. Yes some of the choices may be controversial but they are justified. And you know the rules:

1. DJ HO is always right
2. If DJ HO is wrong, see rule #1.


MVP = Allen Iverson.

Yes, I know that everyone else is gunning for Steve Nash. But firstly if I was playing with Amare, Matrix, JJ and Q-Rich, I'd prolly average 15 assists as well. AI has to bring it every night, has a much crappier supporting cast, have managed to scrape into the playoffs, and it can't be easy being the only scoring option on a team. Plus I can't give an award to someone that can't play D.

Rookie of the year = Emeka Okafor

Sixth Man = Ben Gordon.

Most Improved Player = tough one. It could go to a star that has improved to superstar status (Lebron, D-Wade), or a guy that's comeback from the wilderness (Grant Hill) but I'll give it to my man Primoz Brezerc. PB has been force fed minutes but he's proven that he's legit and what he's capable of and y'all better watch out.

Coach of the year = 3 possible nominations. George Karl, quickly turned around the Nugg's season in to a huge winning streak, or Scott Skiles with the Bulls in the playoffs 7 years A.J (after Jordan) or Nate McMillan. I've got to say McMillian since his team didn't change that much but the sonics are deep in the playoffs and he's manage to squeeze so much out of Reggie Evans and Danny Fortson.

Dunk of the year = Ooohhh too many choices. I could go with the Josh Smith alley-oop over K-mart in the dunk contest or Jamal Crawford self-oop after throwing up a layup too hard but I'll go with Vince Carter's stunning off the backboard cram whilst in traffic coz it was so crowd-pleasing, shocking, spur of the moment-ish. And had me going ooh and aah and hitting the rewind like crazy.

Incident of the year = Well I think this is unanimous. Ron Artest going beserk after getting hit with a beer would have to qualify.

Best hairstyle = Gotta love the fro. Josh Childress of the hawks and Ben Wallace are bringing it back the old-skool styles.

So if agree or even disagree, holla back at ya boy.

"the world is a great book... they who never stir from home read only a page." - st. augustine.

It seems that most of my weekends go by like a blur. Friday nite rolls around and the obligatory work drinks function is planned at yet another seedy pub. Saturday morning, wake up, drag myself out of bed and think "I've got to make the most my first day off". Eat breakfast, watch some tv/dvd and then feel exhausted simply eating breakfast (!). Crash again, wake up in the afternoon and bang! Half the day is gone.

I need to get motivated to do something on the weekend. Get out of the house physically, go to Westfields and so some shopping, go for a walk, pick up a basketball. I can't waste my life spending all my free time in my two by four cell - my bedroom and making the two metre walk to my tv and re-watching all my old dvd's.

If the world really is a book, I've only read the first chapter. And at best, I've probably skimmed those pages.


Boiling point

Is there a time where you've put in a lot of effort, gotten no results and thought what's the point?

When you've been so frustrated despite putting in your all. That's how I feel sometimes. But you've got to be persistent and just determined. Perhaps attack it from another angle, or just simply thinking positive with the motto "it turn around eventually".

I don't think life is meant to be handed to you a silver platter. For some people it is and they can enjoy that luxury. But for the rest of us, we've got to fight for what's ours. We simply can't give up.

I never really came from a rich family, and whilst I wouldn't really call myself poor, there are times when we've had to go through financial struggles. Sometimes my mum worked 8 day weeks, that is 7 days with double shifts to take care of our family when my dad's business wasn't doing so well. Or my dad would regularly come home at 11pm after closing up his business and taking care of all the admin.

My parents did it tough when they came to Australia, with little english and hardly any money to begin with. They persisted, survived, thrived, then struggled, re-invented themselves, and then achieved financial stability.

From that kind of backdrop, that's why I've grown up with a kind of mentality that I've had to take care of $$$, I had to study hard and had to land a decent job so I could take care of my family. The mentality that I couldn't ever give up. The idea that I had to survive no matter what the circumstances were.

And while I might not have the highest paying job in the world, or the greatest academic marks, I can take pride in the fact that I have done my best and have struggled to get where I am today. Determination and persistence were more of a factor than talent or brains.

That's why this frustration currently bothers me but won't wear me down.I've got to think positive and luckly I've got good examples to draw strength from.

PURPOSE

It's easier for me to write a post about basketball or music or random points. Its the deeper, "I've got to kinda think" posts that I struggle with. Trying to find the right words to express myself, to articulate what's on my mind and to be able to connect with you, the reader.

I've just been thinking lately that in life you got to have some purpose for your existence. Or at least feel like you have some purpose for living. The day that you lose that reason for existing may be the day you breathe your very last breath. I guess one of reasons for writing about this is my grandma. Despite being 80 years young, she still pretty spritely, lively and would still deliver a beatdown on a potential mugger. I think for her age she should be a lot more frail, sick and so on.

But what's her secret? Why is she climbing on the roof of our house to clean the leaves when most people her age can't even get out of a wheel chair.

Speaking for my grandma its because she feels like she has responsibilites its given her a reason to live. She's got certain things, I guess routines that she does each day and each week. Every weekend, she feels that she has to vacuum the house or every morning to make my breakfast and lunch to take to work. Some days, she'll feel like cleaning all the windows in the house or to clean all the bed linen. By having these "tasks" it makes her feel like she's contributing to the household and has duties to fulfil. Otherwise she'd just sit at home all day with nothing to do. I'm not saying that we should all make our grandma's household slaves. But if you have things to do, you feels like you have some worth.

I think one of the key reasons people commit suicide is because they lose that reason to live. Its like no-one would care if they simply were gone. They have lost that connection to the outside world. If you have friends, relatives, people that you have to communicate with it gives you the notion that that someone would care about you if you were gone. So what we have done with our Grandma is take her to Church social outings, we go out as a family to eat sometimes, and I take her shopping on a semi-regular basis cause for her its like an adventure to the outside world.

It's important to have some reason to wake up in the morning. Some job that your committed to, some task that you need to perform, someone to meet or at least something to keep you occupied.

Incarcerated Scarfaces

When my bro came home last Monday, I was pretty hyped up as he gave a copy (perfectly legal of course) of the new movie Assault on Precint 13. How to describe the movie? Western style shootout in suburbia. One of the main actors is Laurence Fishburne who always play this really slick character, and this mutha is always so smooth.

L-Fish's character is Bishop, a gang boss with a penchant for executing people. Bishop is arrested and is being transferred to a prison. Whilst travelling, the bus is stopped by bad weather and then have to take an overnight stay at a run-down, soon to be shutdown police station. Everything is cool, until some bad dudes find out where Bishop is staying and want to extract him. The cops and prisoners barricade themselves inside and an ole shoot-em up occurs.

On the DJ HO scale, 7 out of 10. It's not a must-see, however plenty of action and guns, and Ja Rule shows why he should stick to rapping.

Here's a shirt to rock at the next Indiana v Detroit game. Wheni first saw this I was totally laughing my head off. Then I was thinking, wouldn't want to wear this near Artest.
a dj ho production

You just been WAMmed

Check this. Opened this letter and just screamed. It wasn't a chain letter. It wasn't a death of long distant relative. Nor was it my latest mobile phone bill. I got a letter from uni telling me what i knew was coming - that i had just, and i mean just missed out on first class honours for law. Excuse my language but what a biatch. I had accumlated a WAM - weighted average mark (basically an average) of 74.45. All I needed was 75 to get first class honours. NOOOOO!!!!. If i only had 0.55 more.

On the flipside though, I can still say I got honours so its all good. Maybe its the N.E.R.D. in me that's slightly annoyed. Anyways, I don't think I can look at my learning experiences at uni as reduced down to a single mark. Still I worked my ass off to even get this far and I wouldn't have done honours much less got through honours without the help of Aadesh.

Just want to leave with DJ HO's quote of the day:

" What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"

Mark 8: 36-37.

All I can say is, so true so true. You got to put life into perspective. Focus on what's important in life. And to all you young guns out there, don't get caught up in the corporate life, dog eat dog world.

Peace Out,

DJ HO.

I feel like Peking Duck Tonite

Just came back from a mad dinner at the BBQ King, located in the heart of Chinatown. All I can say is its very succulent food. We had a couple of dishes. Started off with entree - San Choy Bow. Beautiful. Then came the main dish, Peking Duck, and it was awesome. Basically its a duck, and you get chunks of it which you eat with pancakes, spring onion and hoi sin sauce. Roll it up like a kebab. Perfect. Just as good as if you ate it in Beijing. BTW Peking Duck is a two course meal, and the rest of the bird you can have with rice or noodles. Of course, you got to have it with noodles, to be different. They were fried, greasy, with nice vegies. Top if off we got two extra dishes - Salt and pepper prawns and honey pepper beef. All I can say is skip the beef, must have the prawns.

Plus this is one of the only places where they serve you beer in a tinnie - a can - fully aussie stylllle. This could do with the fact that its become increasing westernised. I've been told by my Dad that it used to cool for "Asian" Asians to go there. But it became popular with locals (i.e. aussies) and tourists, renovated, and now the prices are quite expensive as they serve mainly westerners. Total damage was $37 each for 4 people. Pricey but well worth it.

Question: Am I a boring/anti-social person?

Increasingly or maybe cause i'm more self conscious of it now, i simply have nothing to say to people sometimes. Some people i just feel that i can't get along with them. Other times i feel very uncomfortable with silence. The question remains though, am I boring? There is this perception that I have of myself that perhaps i'm anti-social. Or maybe its becoz i'm just plain unfriendly to strangers. There's a part of me that thinks i'm either boring, sound too serious all the time, can't express my ideas, can't add punctuation or excitement to what I am saying, or have nothing interesting to say.

To me its partly about being comfortable with who you are, who your with and whether your comfortable around them, and having the confidence to express yourself. I know I've got personality (hello, you in there?), its just having the willingness to let yourself be out there. To expose yourself i guess. Like to be willing to meet new people, have some interesting stories/experiences to tell, to not be afraid if someone doesn't get your joke/punchline. I must admit though, sometimes in certain social situations i feel that i'm trapped in some kind of cocoon, that I can't fully express myself. I hate just sitting there and laughing and not joining in on a conversation. Like Biggie said, things done changed (i.e things are gonna change).


Randoms
* i feel that i haven't seen friends for like ages since i started working. Or maybe coz its true! I feel that I'm neglecting everyone.

* Burwood Church at 5pm? It was ok, heaps of asians though - attractsa lot of university students, young workers. My kind of church? Remains to be seen.

* You know how you write a response to something, submit it and think "shoulda changed that"? Well in this work profile thing that i didn't realise will get sent around, i put that my favourite album was "ready to die" by Notorious B.I.G. I should get some interesting stares in the hallway or maybe people will start throwing up east coast gang signs.

* Will the conclave choose a Black Pope? Now that the old pope has passed away, there are rumblings that there will either be one from Latin America or will be African.

* South African accents are cool. Even better? Asian chicks with British accents!