s u n n y s i d e u p.

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This morning, I come  this close to a confrontation with a mother of all gargoyle ! Early this morning I was enjoying a quiet and private time watching a video clip before the office started. 

Then - it started ! The loud screeching, irritating, annoying , ear-torturing and mind-shattering sound coming out of a little handphone screaming some stupid song which nobody would be interested in hearing anyway !! If you  had had the experience of dragging your finger nail slowly along a rough wooden surface   --- thats the experience that this unearthly sound does to your nerves !

The thing playing the phone simply has no musical ears to appreciate sound -- let alone MUSIC !

The last time this happened , I posted it on this blog---and now it happened again.

This time I heard a little of the lyrics which goes something like -- "..why i love this girl , why i love this girl--blah, blah, blah' --and this part was repeated like a million times !! Heck-- whatever personal  problem he's having---go tell it to the marines !! 

This has got to be the mother of all pain in the arse !!!( apologies--I had to put that word in full as diplomacy does not work on some clowns !

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WHEN ADMITTING DEFEAT IS A PLEASURE !


I happily conceded defeat to a friend. Yes , I’m happily defeated. Let me explain this.

Food has been a topic we talked about often. There are many common likes and dislikes . However, one painful disagreement between us stands out like a sore thumb - Japanese food !

She would sing her praise of this Japanese what-you-put-in-your-mouth thingy. And I would politely sound ( or rather remain quiet ) about my disagreement as I picture raw fish being sliced, albeit with craft and skill, and served on little plates travelling on conveyor belt. And in my mind, I could also see raw squid, raw this and raw that and worse still, people picking up these with their short and slim chopsticks – and putting them in their mouth —urrgghh !!

I diplomatically swallowed sourish saliva fighting hard not to put a funny face in front of her.

She, being she, the look on my face must have told what was in my mind. I remember her invitation ( read it as ‘challenge’ ) to change my mind . I have to admit at that moment it was SO difficult to smile in agreement, but I did manage a ” Convince me , my friend !” look — or did I actually said it ?

Now that was sometime ago. And since then, we had our adventure of fine Chinese food ( which has always been my favourite anyway ) which I thoroughly enjoyed. And the new places she introduced me to - places I wouldn’t have known for the life of me..

One day after lunch at MJ , we saw a new Japanese resteraunt . We had a peek and I have to admit I was beginning to get curious. At that moment, I guess I was prepared to give it a try. Yes, I was feeling brave. But maybe I was pretending to myself because I know we just had had lunch and there was no way that we could have another one.

Anyway it didn’t happen. I had mixed feeling about that and actually told myself I must find out for myself. Maybe it was the place that convinced me — but the issue here was food. Anyway I left it at that.

Now the crunch ! One day we were going to have lunch and we agreed to go to the new place. As luck would have it, it was closed on that day. Aw drat ! double drat ! In my mind I was saying , when will I get to try ! Ha! brave words –for someone who has nightmares of raw meat and fish !!!

Anyway, we found another place. A nice place. As soon as we were seated, the menu were brought to us. Next begin a lesson of Japanese culinary terminology. She knows her food , she does !

Thank God for photographs as it helped so much. She explained an array of delicacies from the raw –to the grilled and cooked ! (surprise!)]

I have to admit, I was swallowing my saliva –this time with the desire to taste the food. I think we spend an equal number of time studying and choosing the food as actually eating them.

I was lost for choice and surprised at myself ! I actually looked forward to having them. Finally we decided on three dishes.

Whilst waiting, the tea was nice. Then it arrived. I was so apprehensive. This is it ! I could feel her watching me watching the food ! Hmmmmm. Am I sure I want to do this ? I asked myself . Of course you do you idiot ! came my own answer.

With the chopstick, I picked the first piece of chicken and cautiously put them in my mouth. I could sense and see her –watching and waiting for my reaction !. My tension turn to pleasure, closed my eyes and let out a long breath ! WOW ! That's what I said. WOW! Something to die for !!!!

I LIKE IT !! I dug in without hesitation. Everything ! Noodles, soup and others which I couldn’t remember the names. Who cares ! It taste just as good without a name !

Their version of pizza doesn’t look like anything like pizza ! To me, I saw what looked like pastry at the base and a whole cob-webs of untidy stuffs which I couldn’t describe. Taking a small helping- I worriedly put in my mouth. To me, initially there was a smell of stale air in the ‘cob-web’. I told her that it might take some acquiring of taste , because after a while, it became acceptable.

Do I like it ? I guess if finishing about half of the plate (or was it more ?) means I do –then yes, I like it.

The only stuff that I could not take is something called steamed egg ! That was a no no for me.

Everything else ? I love it ! The smile on her face , watching me downing the food is my admission of defeat —which I so give with the greatest of pleasure ! And that was how it was………

Oh, dear friend, did you say Sakata ? —hmmm….Why not !

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OK - ROCK-CAMP II IS IN THE PIPELINE.....

HOWEVER, I NEED YOUR SUGGESTION ON THE LOCATION.

PLEASE GIVE SUGGESTIONS BASED ON THE FOLLOWING :-

• SHOULD NOT BE MORE THAN 40-45 MINUTES AWAY FROM KL
• FOOD SHOULD BE SUPPLIED/CATERED
• THERE MUST BE PLENTY OF WATER IN THE FORM OF STREAM OR WATERFALL

PLEASE GIVE YOUR SUGGESTIONS EARLY !!!

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I'm an early bird. I'd like to get early to the office and settle in, and that would also mean starting early and avoiding the ritual morning traffic jam.

If and when the office is opened early, it is nice to be there and I would ususlly have sometime to catch up with with personal or work matters. However lately certain development has been a pain in the you-know-where. I always get welcomed by a certain type of music (not Malay or English).

I do not mind music- any types of music but this is too much , too loud and too everything- especially if it is coming out of a small speaker from a handphone. As soon as I sat down , the person turned up the volume of his pain-in-the-ear. I could tell him to turn it down, but in the circumstances, I thought I 'd better hold my peace because it might be interpreted as something else, although I would and could interprete his action as a provocation.

The pain was getting too much. It is no longer music but rather noise. Anyway I just put on my headphone and shut the world.

After a while, as more people came in , he shut off his noise.

ONE DAY... ONE DAY.... JUST U WAIT...

A Special Edition...

MORE STORIES OF A LOVE THAT NEVER WAS! – SEASON 2 – Part 1 







AFTER THE RAIN !
(WELL….NOT REALLY. I JUST LKE THE SOUND OF THE WORDS.)


( OK—you know the drill, at this stage I would mention that –blah, blah and blah – are all coincidental BUT intentional ! Confused ?- that too is intentional !)


The rain started just as she parked her car at the condominium parking lot. She has grown used to the kind of weather here in Kuala Lumpur. Flashes of lightning gave her a fright – they always do.

 Sitting in the car with the engine still running and the music from the local radio station, her mind recalled her childhood days of similar days when she would rushed to her mother whenever there was a crack of lightning, or, she might scamper under the bed. A distant smile light up her face .

Another boom of thunder and that brought her back to reality. She took off her spectacles , running her fore-finger and thumb along the bridge of her nose ,closed her tired eyes and gave a sigh. 

She loved the solitary moment in her car in the rain, and thoughts of her scooter accident flashed through her mind. That was some months back. She didn’t really count – and didn’t really care. Her parents heard about the accident and only because they were reassured by the doctor (who was trained in Japan), over the phone, that they did not fly to Malaysia. Anyway after that , her parents bought her the car for her safety. 

In the stillness of the car, she was in a reflexive mood – and her body shivered involuntarily at the thought of Gollum and his antics. Apparently, while she was in the hospital, Jony and Mana had had a discussion on their own. She was convinced that they must have done something as well. However , they did not disclose anything to her. 

All she knew was that, she was left in peace. No harassment, no more phone-calls, no more smses, no more everything. However , once in a while , she did noticed certain ‘status’ line with an obvious message from Gollum. But that did not bother her. As she was concerned, he could anything –that was his business. Just stay out of her life as she doesn’t need his kind of friendship.

Nothing could ever described her joy ! Her life had been returned to her.

After her discharge, she had a tough time accepting everything that had happened to her.

Ahhhhh-----the rain had eased off. Getting her backpack, she turned round, grabbed an umbrella from the rear seat and turned off the engine. The sound of the engine faded to nothing.

Opening the door, she put on her back-pack, and one hand carrying the umbrella and the other a carrier bag of her grocery, she slammed shut the door. Instantly her vision was clouded as condensation covered her spectacle. All she could do was press the remote to lock the door but she could not take off her glasses to clean them.

She stood still and was wondering what to do. Should she get back in the car or just risk walking to the foyer of the condominium based on instinct. Both seemed to be a bad idea.

Just then at that time, she heard a voice, “Here , let me help you.” And she felt someone taking her grocery bag and the umbrella. ‘Now you can clear your spectacles. “, the voice continued.
 
With a side glance, she finally saw the source of the voice. It was Wiley – a course mate.

In her mind, she was surprised because Wiley had always been the quiet one – in fact he rarely – if ever- spoke. That was why she could not recognize the voice.

Yet here he was, friendly AND talking !

( Well that’s Part 1 . – not giving any clues at this stage ! Just follow Part 2 )

LOOK OUT FOR A SPECIAL EDITION WHERE THE CASTS WOULD BE REVEALED !!!

Ok -something from my other blog.   Do comment if you have read this. Thanks .

LOOKING BACK……

‘The changing of sunlight to moonlight
Reflections of my life
Oh how they fill my eyes..
I’m changing, arranging,
I’m changing everything
Everything around me..’ 

This posting has been inspired by my sister’s in her anaksihamid blog. My dear late Abah , though a Malaysian, was a civilian in the British Army but stationed in Singapore. Thus due to the circumstances, other then my second sister the other two siblings and I were Singapore born, bred and educated. Being a Malay family in Singapore we did not get nor expect much help in financial aids in pursuing our education.

I’m not ashamed to say that I took my Cambridge ‘O’Level (SPM-equivalent) TWICE because in my first attempt I FAILED in every subject except Art. Reason ? Simply because I did not study AT ALL. Everytime I told my Mak that I was going to the library to study was actually a practice session with my band -members. I was so into music. My head was filled with chords instead of formulae and theorems. Yes , the rock band was far too attractive then. The various talent-time, the various performances at clubs and functions were far too attractive. Yes I was so into it with all my Chinese friends of Tiong Bahru, Queensway and Queenstown. Amongst us was a son of a rich contractor to provide us with the instruments and equipment — we were wired for music. Yes—who needs academic achievement ?

Of course my late Abah was furious, disappointed and disillisioned with his first son’s results. After all I had a big shoe to fill in with my sisters’ brillant academic performance then, I took the exam again, passed it and joined the Teachers’ Training College because then (or at least I thought so) I would have more time for my musical escapades. No –I didn’t give up that easily.

Anyway life as a teacher in Singapore back then couldn’t afford you much. But I was so engrossed with work and other little thrills that life can offer to me as a youngster. .

Life back then in Singapore was kind of pretty laid back.. The races mixed freely with one another. In schools, there is no line between the races. As youngsters, we were not conscious of this racial divide. To the point that my first girl-friend of close to five years was a Chinese. We were colleagues and although there were eyebrows raised among our colleagues, we were happy. However the older generation was still more difficult to convince and I know of a few other potential mixed marriage that were shot down by the older generations’ views. However that is fate and destiny and God had something else laid out for me and I thank Him for it.

Career wise, I was a physical education teacher whose classroom duty was to teach English Language but spent a major part of my life in the sports arena. With borderless enthusiasm, I was so involved with the sports field that I didn’t bother much about my prospect in my career.

What with activities of a qualified athletics coach, a gymnastic instructor, and an active player in volley ball, tennis, soccer and a few others—just name it, except for basketball and rugby. I was involved in just about anything.

Then I realized that I never stayed long enough in a school to gain roots. I would always be transferred to another school where I would have to start all over again. I have been sent to school in the extreme rural area, and then transferred again to a school on an island off the coast of Singapore –all within a space of two years. Frustration set in and this was also reflected in my personal life.

Throughout all this, my second sister, (bless her) saw my problems better than I did. At that time she was teaching in Brunei. One evening, she came back to Singapore just to meet me to discuss a plan. I still remember that evening when we met at a restaurant near the Jurong swimming pool.

Then came the cruncher. She offered to support me to continue my studies in UK as a way to improve myself and thus giving a wider option to my career and life. I could not describe nor hide my feeling then. Of course I accepted the offer. After the discussion, she flew back to Brunei on the earliest flight that same evening without telling our family about our meeting and her lightning visit.

Thus it was that I continued my studiers in UK. Call it bad timing or just rotten luck, the very year that I came to UK, that was the year the British Government decided to increase the fees for overseas students by 4 folds . I remember clearly the figures. From 600 Sterling Pounds, it went up to about 2500 Sterling. And at that time, the exchange rate was about 7.00 Singapore Dollar to 1 Sterling Pound. And this fee went up by about 500 Sterling Pound every year. I remember being involved with the local students to protest the fee hike by ‘occupying’ the university administration buliding for half a day. The other students were all gathered outside the building making all sorts of noise as a protest to the British Government. The doors and window of the building were all barricaded and the police had to send in their horse-back manpower. We got massive media coverage for that. Ohh—those were the days.

Throughout my stay in UK, there were two moments which were engraved in my mind permanently.

First was my first step on British soil which was like a dream come true My childhood days have been filled with nursery rhymes and poem from the British system of education and books by Enid Blyton books on Noddy , Beano and Dandy comics, Eagle magazine for boys, then later, Practical Motorists , Practical Hi-Fi, DIY magazines , and I could go on and on. All my reading material was from UK.

Especially the way of life which I read about in books like Famous Five and Secret Sevens, where they mentioned about tea-time and the time of the day, the seasons, the kind of food, the Bobby (policeman), the tube (underground train) , the various towns and names of road and streets. Everything I read is so England-based!

My head was already filled by all this from my primary school days.

Indeed on my first step on the soil, everything that I have read about this island just flashed through my mind. This is for real.

My next moment was the first day of University. After the registration, I was supposed to attend the first session in a small lecture theatre. I remember coming in early; hesitantly get to know my class-mates (all English). And before I actually sat down, I told myself that I am going to remember this very moment as it means a lot to me and cost a lot to my sister. The memory of the long bench-seats and the coats hung on its back is still fresh in the mind after all these years. Sentimental fool? Maybe so,,,,,

So that’s my reflection to the point of continuing my studies in UK – with the help of my sister.
As to UK and post UK? Insyaallah – later.

Raya 2008. This year, we rented an apartment at the Air Kroh Water City ( courtesy of my son ). I have four words for it - a damn good idea . This time around it wasn't so tiring for me as usually it would be a day-trip to Malacca and back to Kuala Lumpur.
At least I could rest in the apartment whilr the family make the usual Raya obligatory visits. Yessir--it suits me fine.

Just a word on Malacca. It has developed alright ! In terms of the road system--it is definitely a far cry from what I remembered . Its a quaint place and where the traffic system is concerned -- its definitely far far advanced than Kuala Lumpur. Now , I am talking about 'system' NOT 'facilities'. I would like to stress that I am NOT from Malacca - so this is not a biased view. Ok lets list them :-

1) A few years ago,I was laughing myself sick when in Malacca, I cam to a cross-road junction where ALL the tyraffic lights were only about one and a half metres high. Of jokes of the dwarf and hobbit city and traffic lights for the bullock cart (of which Malacca is famous for) were cracked.

But ,when you look at it , IT IS PRACTICAL ! It is at the eye-level of the motorists in their cars !. You don't have to look up at all.

2) I remember back then, the Air Kroh traffic lights was the first to have show the duration of the lights digitally. Now this system is used in Kuala Lumpur though not as widely as it shouls - and not for all the coloured status of the traffic system. This really helped the motorist to gauge their chances of 'beating the green lights' and when to just stop.

3) This Raya, I heard that ecery cross-junctions are to be given a name. Now--that is a brilliant idea. Rather then referring to a junction using both names of the road involved (which can be a mouthful as it usually is ), why not just say 'the Pantai Hospital junction' or the 'crocodile farm junction' and so on .

Bravo to the people in charged of the road system in Malacca!

And here are some photos as well.

UPDATES:  OK OK I KNOW THERE ARE TOO MANY SPELLING AND GRAMMATICAL ERRORS IN THIS POSTING. I AM NOT GOING TO EDIT IT. LEAVE IT AS ECIDENCE THAT TOO MUCH RENDANG, KETUPAT, CURRY AND ALL THE OTHER USELESS GOODIES WILL HAVE AN EFFECT ON YOUR MENTAL AND PHYSICAL COORDINATION !!