I met Little Me the other day.
We were walking along the peaceful pond hidden by the shade of the trees adjacent to the wide open field that seemed to sway like tides of an ocean when it breezed. The air was cool and crisp, the sun sending shafts of light through the clouds of the young morning.
"What are you up so early for, Brother", asked Little Me as we sat at the side of the slow flowing brook adjacent to the sea of green grass blades.
"Haven't been sleeping well, brother", I said, looking at him skip some stones over the surface of the mirror-like water.
"What's bothering you?", he asked without looking up.
"I don't know. Nothing is. At least nothing much is. I am doing all right at work, not financially in any straits. Friends are all boss, life is not at all sour", I said a-matter-factly.
"Then how could you have sleepless nights like this?".
"I don't know. Perhaps I'm jaded. Been thinking of a short vacation for a while".
"You think that's enough?".
"Why not?".
"What will you do during that vacation? Sleep your head away and slave the hours away to the morning on the computer?".
"That's the plan. At least the sleep my head away part. Just wanted some time alone to myself of my own".
"Don't you get that every weekend?".
"Yeah, but two days never seem to be enough. They just zoom by like that", I said, snapping my fingers.
"And you end up feeling as if the weekend never happened?"
"I wouldn't say so, no. Perhaps that life in the city - things just fly by, even the quiet times to your self".
"Perhaps you've had too much 'quiet time' with yourself".
A frog jumped into the water, creating a ripple from the edge that spread throughout the surface of the water until they met criss-crossed one another.
"What do you mean by that?".
"Isn't it obvious - you work your days, sleep the nights but you never seem to achieve anything that meant much to you, no?".
I looked at him.
"Have you ever had anything else but 'quiet time', brother?".
A bird called from one of the branches of the trees lining the surroundings of the pond.
"I don't know", I said.
"Time-consumerism at its best, I'd imagine. Day in and day out worth of things to do by yourself, none of which you remember when you wake up next Thursday. None of which are worth remembering".
I yawned, taken by the serenity of the atmosphere around the still pool of dark water. An insect skipped its way across riding only on surface tension.
"Some are", I told him, watching the sun peer through the trees like glitters of diamond when they sway to the breeze, causing minor waves to crest and disappear on the pond.
"Not enough".
I turned to look at him. "I know".
He stood up and brushed the dirt and grass of his shorts, a little guy a bit taller than half of me, the haircut that of a bowl and clad in a the old Superman t-shirt with its cape cut off. He told me Mom did it so that he won't think myself Clark Kent's alter ego and jump down the verandah and into the hospital.
"Time for breakfast, bro. I'm hungry. Mom's making the fried rice again, my favourite!".
"Enjoy yourself", I said, in envy of the carefree way he carried himself with, the swagger of a king without the worries of the world.
"Don't forget to call home more often. Mom & Dad will appreciate it".
I nodded as he paced down the meadows and out of sight.
I stopped to look at the flowers that swayed to the gentle breeze of the morning, at the gathering clouds that cast a huge shadow over the rolling hills, at the rainbow that arched over the horizon and at the footsteps that the little feet of Little Me on the ground that disappeared onto the grass.
He's right - his footsteps had not been mine, enough.
17 August 2009
We all dream
The Fremen were supreme in that quality the ancients called "spannungsbogen" -- which is the self-imposed delay between desire for a thing and the act of reaching out to grasp that thing. from "The Wisdom of Muad'Dib" by the Princess Irulan.
-- (Dune, Frank Herbert)
It's true that ability to stop and think before doing something requires great discipline, especially if the end result would normally be something that is irreversible and a thing that you would need to live with. To those who 'live and let live' the above probably don't matter as life is one to paint and a painting to look back at, good or bad. At least one get to lived his life the way he wanted it.
For most people however, the need to do decide on whether a venture is worth the risk is often a dilemma of great proportions especially if it meant something very costly or one that would change how you live for a long time, if not forever. Take for instance the decision to buy a house - choose the wrong location or pricing and you'll end up financing a long term loan that will eat up your life's worth of worries. Abandoning it to make amends will eat up all that has been invested practically rendering it a waste.
Even a thing as natural as having children is not a bed of roses (though the process of making them are often decided in seconds... that's for another story) - the whole process of investing half of your life to make sure that this new bundle of life get to grow in a decent environment with the proper upbringing is not as simple as say, adding cheese to make a cheese cake. Unlike programs, the older they are they less they tell you and whether they end up like what you hoped to be will ultimately be out of your hands simply because they have free will.
'Without hope a man is but an animal', says the Koran and I agree.
A deer is happy enough to prance around the woods, eat berries and soft leaves off shrubs for the rest of its life without knowing if its defaecating will bring a richer growth in the future. They don't stop to feel the rain and think of all the greenery that will result from the downpour of heaven's waters, or the newer sweeter fruit that grew along the stream.
We all dream of better things in the future for without it there is no will to live.
There was an article I read many years ago regarding the causes of death amongst people on earth. It said 'one of the biggest killers of people are retirement'. When they stop working, they don't know what to do with the rest of their lives. The reason to wake up in the morning to get to work, to fix that pipe, to write the purchase order, to operate that forklift, to draw the design diagram - disappears.
Of course as morbid as it sounds, hope can be about many things. My dad is a retired civil servant whom had served his country loyally for 35 years. He has nothing much to do nowadays except to tend to his little garden at the extended porch of the house and the backyard. I hope to God that he lives a long and healthy life with my mother, I'd imagine he's hoping to see my brother and I establish a family of our own like when he did over four decades ago, to help guide us through the difficult learning curves of becoming the head of your own family.
That is his hope.
What about mine?
-- (Dune, Frank Herbert)
It's true that ability to stop and think before doing something requires great discipline, especially if the end result would normally be something that is irreversible and a thing that you would need to live with. To those who 'live and let live' the above probably don't matter as life is one to paint and a painting to look back at, good or bad. At least one get to lived his life the way he wanted it.
For most people however, the need to do decide on whether a venture is worth the risk is often a dilemma of great proportions especially if it meant something very costly or one that would change how you live for a long time, if not forever. Take for instance the decision to buy a house - choose the wrong location or pricing and you'll end up financing a long term loan that will eat up your life's worth of worries. Abandoning it to make amends will eat up all that has been invested practically rendering it a waste.
Even a thing as natural as having children is not a bed of roses (though the process of making them are often decided in seconds... that's for another story) - the whole process of investing half of your life to make sure that this new bundle of life get to grow in a decent environment with the proper upbringing is not as simple as say, adding cheese to make a cheese cake. Unlike programs, the older they are they less they tell you and whether they end up like what you hoped to be will ultimately be out of your hands simply because they have free will.
'Without hope a man is but an animal', says the Koran and I agree.
A deer is happy enough to prance around the woods, eat berries and soft leaves off shrubs for the rest of its life without knowing if its defaecating will bring a richer growth in the future. They don't stop to feel the rain and think of all the greenery that will result from the downpour of heaven's waters, or the newer sweeter fruit that grew along the stream.
We all dream of better things in the future for without it there is no will to live.
There was an article I read many years ago regarding the causes of death amongst people on earth. It said 'one of the biggest killers of people are retirement'. When they stop working, they don't know what to do with the rest of their lives. The reason to wake up in the morning to get to work, to fix that pipe, to write the purchase order, to operate that forklift, to draw the design diagram - disappears.
Of course as morbid as it sounds, hope can be about many things. My dad is a retired civil servant whom had served his country loyally for 35 years. He has nothing much to do nowadays except to tend to his little garden at the extended porch of the house and the backyard. I hope to God that he lives a long and healthy life with my mother, I'd imagine he's hoping to see my brother and I establish a family of our own like when he did over four decades ago, to help guide us through the difficult learning curves of becoming the head of your own family.
That is his hope.
What about mine?
2 August 2009
You'd think?
To August 01 ISA Protestors/Supporters, hereon referred to collectively as 'You'.
Please take into consideration this response from somebody who needed to let out how he and his fellow friends felt regarding your march in protest or support. Whilst this represent simply mine and my friend's view on what you did yesterday, do keep in mind that it is likely to be the same for many others out there who just wanted to get on with their Saturday.
Whilst you might look smart to have it scheduled during a PC Fair for 'maximum impact', please bear in mind that your actions had caused the following:
1. Traffic congestion due to road closures
The car that my friend and I were travelling in down towards KLCC were caught in a jam as early at 10.30 am from as far back as Sheraton PJ, making it a hell of a crawl for one hour just to get to Brickfieds. I will not accept the excuse that it was the police who caused this congestion as it was necessary to ensure that any riot or untoward incidents to be contained within a controllable sphere under police control. Imagine people driving by and into a skirmish between the riot squad and demonstrators - there will be men and women, children, old people etc whom would have absolutely no interest in getting into this chaotic situation for your benefit.
2. Public transport disruptions
People going to and fro Masjid Jamek were stranded by 2.00 pm as a precaution by RapidKL. Again I will accept no excuse of the police being the cause - read point 1. above.
As a Joe Public who just wanted to enjoy the weekend looking for bargains and other *akhem* interesting things at the PC Fair, I put this blame solely on you. If you did not carry out a demonstration that was illegal to begin with, then the police wouldn't have to carry out such unpopular work. And from then onwards, the people (yes, read that again and again) will not have to suffer from your 'smart' actions.
It doesn't matter to the lorry drivers who were delivering things, nor the couples going out for breakfast & shopping, the hordes of people making their way to the KL Convention Centre, the bus drivers who were ferrying people around the city or the shopkeepers who had to pull down their shutters to protect their premises - about what you are trying to do. Sure, 'justice' this, 'the people' that etc etc.
But explain to me how does 'justice' work to help those who had to huddle in fear of looting from demonstrations gone wrong or 'the people' to those who couldn't make their way to Masjid Jamek vicinity due to the imminent danger of riots.
Do you really believe that what you were doing was 'for the sake of the rakyat' ?
Being one of the people of this country, here's a rakyat's verdict at your actions:
What good is a demo if the rakyat cannot get to work, cannot get to do their daily chores?
And don't talk to me about 'peaceful demonstrations' - there will always be those who are waiting for the chance to show how cool they are in going against the police and becoming the 'martyrs'.
For 'the rakyat'?
Yeah, right.
Sincerely,
The Ali, Ah Kau & Rama who were greatly inconvenienced by the Saturday demo.
Please take into consideration this response from somebody who needed to let out how he and his fellow friends felt regarding your march in protest or support. Whilst this represent simply mine and my friend's view on what you did yesterday, do keep in mind that it is likely to be the same for many others out there who just wanted to get on with their Saturday.
Whilst you might look smart to have it scheduled during a PC Fair for 'maximum impact', please bear in mind that your actions had caused the following:
1. Traffic congestion due to road closures
The car that my friend and I were travelling in down towards KLCC were caught in a jam as early at 10.30 am from as far back as Sheraton PJ, making it a hell of a crawl for one hour just to get to Brickfieds. I will not accept the excuse that it was the police who caused this congestion as it was necessary to ensure that any riot or untoward incidents to be contained within a controllable sphere under police control. Imagine people driving by and into a skirmish between the riot squad and demonstrators - there will be men and women, children, old people etc whom would have absolutely no interest in getting into this chaotic situation for your benefit.
2. Public transport disruptions
People going to and fro Masjid Jamek were stranded by 2.00 pm as a precaution by RapidKL. Again I will accept no excuse of the police being the cause - read point 1. above.
As a Joe Public who just wanted to enjoy the weekend looking for bargains and other *akhem* interesting things at the PC Fair, I put this blame solely on you. If you did not carry out a demonstration that was illegal to begin with, then the police wouldn't have to carry out such unpopular work. And from then onwards, the people (yes, read that again and again) will not have to suffer from your 'smart' actions.
It doesn't matter to the lorry drivers who were delivering things, nor the couples going out for breakfast & shopping, the hordes of people making their way to the KL Convention Centre, the bus drivers who were ferrying people around the city or the shopkeepers who had to pull down their shutters to protect their premises - about what you are trying to do. Sure, 'justice' this, 'the people' that etc etc.
But explain to me how does 'justice' work to help those who had to huddle in fear of looting from demonstrations gone wrong or 'the people' to those who couldn't make their way to Masjid Jamek vicinity due to the imminent danger of riots.
Do you really believe that what you were doing was 'for the sake of the rakyat' ?
Being one of the people of this country, here's a rakyat's verdict at your actions:
- Stop being selfish.
- Your action will benefit only yourself.
- Stop using the words 'the people' or 'the rakyat' for political mileage.
- Whilst there are merits at the cause but the method is simply irresponsible.
What good is a demo if the rakyat cannot get to work, cannot get to do their daily chores?
And don't talk to me about 'peaceful demonstrations' - there will always be those who are waiting for the chance to show how cool they are in going against the police and becoming the 'martyrs'.
For 'the rakyat'?
Yeah, right.
Sincerely,
The Ali, Ah Kau & Rama who were greatly inconvenienced by the Saturday demo.
29 July 2009
Translation Mistranslations
Colleagues and I had some fun during lunctime to joke about a certain Lat inspired strip about mistranslation of foreign languages to BM that were not done in equivalent terms ie. without taking into consideration the context of the words. We weren't making fun of BM, rather having a good time mimicking poor transfer of information due to the lack of care when it comes to bridging two languages,
Suffice to say we had a good laugh to help rattle the food down our overused gastrointestinal tracts.
Note:
Call of Duty 4 : Modern Warfare
Panggilan Perkhidmatan 4 : Perang Moden
Far Cry 2
Jauh Nangis 2
F.E.A.R.
K.E.T.A.K.U.T.A.N.
Doom
Mampus
The Day The Earth Stood Still
Hari Bumi Berdiri Tegak
Die Another Day
Mati Hari Lain
A field commander shouting orders to the soldiers lined in front of him:
"FIRE!"
"API!"
(You have Dato' Lat to thank for this one)
Last but not least, the grand daddy of (double mis)translations, I present to you Backstroke of the West.
Suffice to say we had a good laugh to help rattle the food down our overused gastrointestinal tracts.
Note:
- Anybody who is offended need to have their head examined; this post shows how not to do it
- Certain parts were deliberately left grammatically wrong to make it sound even more inappropiate
Call of Duty 4 : Modern Warfare
Panggilan Perkhidmatan 4 : Perang Moden
Far Cry 2
Jauh Nangis 2
F.E.A.R.
K.E.T.A.K.U.T.A.N.
Doom
Mampus
The Day The Earth Stood Still
Hari Bumi Berdiri Tegak
Die Another Day
Mati Hari Lain
A field commander shouting orders to the soldiers lined in front of him:
"FIRE!"
"API!"
(You have Dato' Lat to thank for this one)
Last but not least, the grand daddy of (double mis)translations, I present to you Backstroke of the West.
28 July 2009
"My friend's cousin's sister's boss' auntie's friend said..."
The Internet is a fantastic tool of rumour - it's free to send as many emails as you want and the impact can be big, especially if a chunk the population believe in rumour more than they do of actual fact. In our society it makes even more sense to believe in something however fantastical if it makes or saves you money, more so if it is something close to home. All you need is the ability to keep a straight face (it's not easy to do, trust me) when telling the story to someone you know and start the chain reaction.
Plausible story? Check.
Photoshop skills? Check.
People who are bored? Check.
People who will believe anything? Check.
People who will forward whatever they receive? Check.
After all, rumours are sexy compared to the drab news on economic stimulus and unending peace-fire-peace-fire-peace-fire news of the Middle East.
I know I'll end up insulting the intelligence of some on here by suggesting that they are that gullible to believe in everything they hear but it's a common fact that:
i. If you repeat a rumour often enough, it will end up 'true'.
ii. If you repeat a true story enough, it will end up different from the original at the end.
Here is what I do when I get those viral emails (those that survive the Delete button) with topics that I might find interesting:
1. Throw partiality out the window
Fail this part and you might as well just skip (2) and (3), believe whatever you want.
I listed this as the very first step for the reason of it being the toughest to do. Growing up in different backgrounds we will unfortunately have prejudices, be it regional, racial or religious - often the last two. Prejudices will shape what we choose (yes, choose) to believe and not to believe.
Here are a few questions for you:
- What if you were born religion A and not religion B?
- What if you were born of race A and not of race B?
- What makes you think your race is superior to race A?
- What makes you think your religion is superior to religion A?
- Are you the one who made that spectacular history of your race?
- How does the spectacular past of your ancestors makes you great now?
- Does your allegiance to the country of your ancestors benefit you in anything?
- Does the country of your ancestors even know you exist?
- Can you prove the above without any doubts? Scientifically even?
Before you accuse me of racism and religious bigotry, let me make it clear that I apply the same questions to me myself all the time.
2. Check your facts.
Still with me? Congratulations!
It's good to question the validity of a story if it happens to be provable by science or common sense. For example I received an email regarding the use of crushed papaya leaf juices to cure dengue fever from a friend off a forum. This is a pretty well known 'remedy' of sorts - even my mother prescribed this to me when I was struck down by a mild bout dengue fever that lasted a week.
Papaya leaf juice is used as a vermifuge ie. a substance to help purge intestinal worms, so it would make a good deworming remedy due to the property of the compound papain that, while is not as good as commercial prescriptions, contains tannin that helps to protect the intestinal tract by making it harder for worms to attach. It also happens to be a cancer fighting enzyme in clinical research. In short it's a good remedy for indigestion.
What papaya leaf juice helps though is by helping to cool the body. Dengue as with other viral fevers causes the body to overheat in trying to disrupt the replication of the germs, similar to the cooling effect of coconut water.
Hence it is simply irresponsible to spread the story that papaya leaf cures dengue fever. Those who think they can get away with avoiding the visit to the doctor might end up playing dice with the devil in a gamble on drinking papaya leaf juice and end up endangering their lives. It is no substitute to a qualified check by the doctor and professional medical care.
What about the severe dehydration, septic shock and drop in platelet count that comes together as part of the package? Or the fact that dengue is caused by a virus, not parasites like malaria (hence quinine being an effective agent to purge the germ).
Sure, there are stories of this being succesful - one of my distant relatives were bedridden and was already losing his faculties from dengue fever until a house maid from Indonesia ground papaya leaf juice and gave it to him, and voila, miraculously cured.
Anybody care finding out the statistics of people who actually died from taking the same remedy? I know I'm one the many who recovered after being admitted to the hospital and be put on saline drip to combat the severe dehydration.
My colleague has a very fitting comment about this in Hokkien 'khiang du ho, mai keh khiang' which literally means good to be smart but don't try to be smarter than you are.
3. Check for validity of story
Receiving many of these emails daily, I can't help but notice that they always begin as a story by a friend of a friend of a friend (substitute the three friends with your choice of people - father, cousin, sister, uncle, auntie, mamak etc) and never directly from the originator of the story itself. And very often we are the 6th, 7th, 8th or more hand recipient of the email, hence making it either very hard to prove or to disprove, making it 'credible'. Pretty often the stories warn of dangers, hence nobody would be stupid enough to invite problems by proving it (I might be stretching it by saying 'nobody' but let's make peace).
Let me give you an example - many years ago I received an email regarding the consumption of human foetuses in a certain province in China, with a picture as proof of such horrible practices. It shows of a man chewing on a blackened torso of a child with its head visible.
Terrible and inhuman! The UN should be onto this crime against humanity and the authorities to be put to the fire for allowing this to happen.
However...
By the way, Snopes is a great website to check the validity of stories as such, they will never put something down as fact until they can prove it as fact or fiction.
4. Make up your own damn mind.
In the end it's really up to what you want to believe as freedom of thought is something that truly is your own. My common stance is to sit on the fence for unproven stories that might sound plausible (until it is proven or disproven), dismiss outright those that are nothing but sensationalism and keep a level head when it comes to matters that cannot be proven in certainty (read: politics).
Plausible story? Check.
Photoshop skills? Check.
People who are bored? Check.
People who will believe anything? Check.
People who will forward whatever they receive? Check.
After all, rumours are sexy compared to the drab news on economic stimulus and unending peace-fire-peace-fire-peace-fire news of the Middle East.
I know I'll end up insulting the intelligence of some on here by suggesting that they are that gullible to believe in everything they hear but it's a common fact that:
i. If you repeat a rumour often enough, it will end up 'true'.
ii. If you repeat a true story enough, it will end up different from the original at the end.
Here is what I do when I get those viral emails (those that survive the Delete button) with topics that I might find interesting:
1. Throw partiality out the window
Fail this part and you might as well just skip (2) and (3), believe whatever you want.
I listed this as the very first step for the reason of it being the toughest to do. Growing up in different backgrounds we will unfortunately have prejudices, be it regional, racial or religious - often the last two. Prejudices will shape what we choose (yes, choose) to believe and not to believe.
Here are a few questions for you:
- What if you were born religion A and not religion B?
- What if you were born of race A and not of race B?
- What makes you think your race is superior to race A?
- What makes you think your religion is superior to religion A?
- Are you the one who made that spectacular history of your race?
- How does the spectacular past of your ancestors makes you great now?
- Does your allegiance to the country of your ancestors benefit you in anything?
- Does the country of your ancestors even know you exist?
- Can you prove the above without any doubts? Scientifically even?
Before you accuse me of racism and religious bigotry, let me make it clear that I apply the same questions to me myself all the time.
2. Check your facts.
Still with me? Congratulations!
It's good to question the validity of a story if it happens to be provable by science or common sense. For example I received an email regarding the use of crushed papaya leaf juices to cure dengue fever from a friend off a forum. This is a pretty well known 'remedy' of sorts - even my mother prescribed this to me when I was struck down by a mild bout dengue fever that lasted a week.
Papaya leaf juice is used as a vermifuge ie. a substance to help purge intestinal worms, so it would make a good deworming remedy due to the property of the compound papain that, while is not as good as commercial prescriptions, contains tannin that helps to protect the intestinal tract by making it harder for worms to attach. It also happens to be a cancer fighting enzyme in clinical research. In short it's a good remedy for indigestion.
What papaya leaf juice helps though is by helping to cool the body. Dengue as with other viral fevers causes the body to overheat in trying to disrupt the replication of the germs, similar to the cooling effect of coconut water.
Hence it is simply irresponsible to spread the story that papaya leaf cures dengue fever. Those who think they can get away with avoiding the visit to the doctor might end up playing dice with the devil in a gamble on drinking papaya leaf juice and end up endangering their lives. It is no substitute to a qualified check by the doctor and professional medical care.
What about the severe dehydration, septic shock and drop in platelet count that comes together as part of the package? Or the fact that dengue is caused by a virus, not parasites like malaria (hence quinine being an effective agent to purge the germ).
Sure, there are stories of this being succesful - one of my distant relatives were bedridden and was already losing his faculties from dengue fever until a house maid from Indonesia ground papaya leaf juice and gave it to him, and voila, miraculously cured.
Anybody care finding out the statistics of people who actually died from taking the same remedy? I know I'm one the many who recovered after being admitted to the hospital and be put on saline drip to combat the severe dehydration.
My colleague has a very fitting comment about this in Hokkien 'khiang du ho, mai keh khiang' which literally means good to be smart but don't try to be smarter than you are.
3. Check for validity of story
Receiving many of these emails daily, I can't help but notice that they always begin as a story by a friend of a friend of a friend (substitute the three friends with your choice of people - father, cousin, sister, uncle, auntie, mamak etc) and never directly from the originator of the story itself. And very often we are the 6th, 7th, 8th or more hand recipient of the email, hence making it either very hard to prove or to disprove, making it 'credible'. Pretty often the stories warn of dangers, hence nobody would be stupid enough to invite problems by proving it (I might be stretching it by saying 'nobody' but let's make peace).
Let me give you an example - many years ago I received an email regarding the consumption of human foetuses in a certain province in China, with a picture as proof of such horrible practices. It shows of a man chewing on a blackened torso of a child with its head visible.
Terrible and inhuman! The UN should be onto this crime against humanity and the authorities to be put to the fire for allowing this to happen.
However...
By the way, Snopes is a great website to check the validity of stories as such, they will never put something down as fact until they can prove it as fact or fiction.
4. Make up your own damn mind.
In the end it's really up to what you want to believe as freedom of thought is something that truly is your own. My common stance is to sit on the fence for unproven stories that might sound plausible (until it is proven or disproven), dismiss outright those that are nothing but sensationalism and keep a level head when it comes to matters that cannot be proven in certainty (read: politics).
10 July 2009
RIP Michael Jackson 1959-2009
Took me a while to get to this. For some reason it felt as if I can't believe Michael's gone. Grew listening to him as a kid. BAD was the first cassette from MJ that I ever had (bested in terms of first cassette I ever had by Lionel Richie) together with the single special of Leave Me Alone. Ashamedly I admit to putting on socks and doing the Moonwalk and tried to do the gravity-defying lean, thankfully without causing the need for plastic nose surgery in those attempts.
With so many good songs to choose from, it was tough to omit some but here is the list of my ten favourite MJ songs.
1. Billie Jean
2. Smooth Criminal
3. The Way You Make Me Feel
4. Man In The Mirror
5. Liberian Girl
6. Leave Me Alone
7. Human Nature
8. Rock With You
I decided not to write a single thing about his screwed up childhood, child molestation allegations, weird lifestyle habits and most of all about the circumstances leading to his death - many of which are speculations from the media in their last effort to milk him of his fame for their own selfish benefits.
Instead, I will remember MJ as the King of Pop.
"I don't want to die, I want to live forever".
Michael's body is dead but his music and legacy is immortal.
There is no other like him.
25 March 2009
Subang Celebrates Earth Hour!
Yes, you heard that right - it was early. Literally. Specifically, 24 March 2009 beginning from 1am in the morning.
I went to sleep around 12:45am after I was done with RAWK and in around 10 minutes later, the fan above me stopped spinning, its propellers (?) slowing to a halt right in front of my eyes.
It was hot, sticky and a feastday for mosquitoes around the area but we soldiered on, knowing how much this is just a small inconvenience for less than an hour or so worth of zero power consumption. If it was hard enough for me, think of the folks who are enclosed in chilled air-conditioned air all the time at home, it would simply be torture for them.
Went downstairs and opened the door to allow cool air from outside the house to breeze in (it was a rather still morning) and lay down on the cool marble floor that felt like heaven after over an hour worth of sweat-filled futile attempts at slumber. Heard the uncle from next door mumble about how hot it was, the clearest which were "... they better get this fixed in the next half hour, damn it".
At almost 4am, electricity returned (simultaneously shot bolts of light into our eyes with dilated pupils from the darkness) and signalled a 3 hour vigil to Earth Hour Part 1.
I was thinking, since that we have done 3 hours worth of our dues THREE FOLDS in this Earth Hour thing, how about if we skip Saturday's?
I went to sleep around 12:45am after I was done with RAWK and in around 10 minutes later, the fan above me stopped spinning, its propellers (?) slowing to a halt right in front of my eyes.
It was hot, sticky and a feastday for mosquitoes around the area but we soldiered on, knowing how much this is just a small inconvenience for less than an hour or so worth of zero power consumption. If it was hard enough for me, think of the folks who are enclosed in chilled air-conditioned air all the time at home, it would simply be torture for them.
Went downstairs and opened the door to allow cool air from outside the house to breeze in (it was a rather still morning) and lay down on the cool marble floor that felt like heaven after over an hour worth of sweat-filled futile attempts at slumber. Heard the uncle from next door mumble about how hot it was, the clearest which were "... they better get this fixed in the next half hour, damn it".
At almost 4am, electricity returned (simultaneously shot bolts of light into our eyes with dilated pupils from the darkness) and signalled a 3 hour vigil to Earth Hour Part 1.
I was thinking, since that we have done 3 hours worth of our dues THREE FOLDS in this Earth Hour thing, how about if we skip Saturday's?
19 February 2009
Happy belated Valentines.
Friends on MSN were asking if my user status notification above was a reaction to not having anyone to celebrate V-day with or one of discomfort for the celebration. It read:
"Should love be in the air only in February?"
Frankly, it's neither. It was a response to another friend's notification of (paraphrased) 'The day of celebration with your loved one".
Sure it is but why choose just one specific day to do that?
I think the answer to the question above is that people will find every reason to celebrate something which is great news for Hallmark, florist shops and (overpriced) swanky restaurants.
IMHO love should be something that is either what you yourself want to or voluntarily give rather than being expected to. I've heard from friends complaining about their relationships growing from one of warm fuzzy feeling to that of obligatory. But top of the pops amongst all complaints are 'I don't feel like she/he loves me anymore' or the opposite 'I don't love him/her anymore'.
Once read about a loving couple who celebrated their 50th marriage anniversary, when asked about the secret of their lasting marriage the answer given was simple: "love is not something that is there, you have to make it happen. Love is about making tea for him when he comes home tired from work, helping her clean and dry the dishes after dinner, telling him he can sleep in today and you will send the children to school, making her sandwiches for lunch when she's waking the kids up; love are all the simple things we do for one another".
Perhaps we've been looking for the wrong things when it comes to love? Many of my female friends are somewhat impressed (but not enough :P) that I can actually speak the sweetest and most romantic things, but only when I don't mean it. I suppose I can act very well when it comes to impressing people but I guess I don't like to get people to like me by impressing them because I know once the novelty wears off, you have to try harder and you'll eventually go back to who you were before.
Hence Valentine becomes the 'day of renewal' - please her today and you have the next few months off the hook.
Not convinced?
Consider the story of St Valentine below:
"Numerous early Christian martyrs were named Valentine. Until 1969, the Catholic Church formally recognized eleven Valentine's Days.[citation needed] The Valentines honored on February 14 are Valentine of Rome (Valentinus presb. m. Romae) and Valentine of Terni (Valentinus ep. Interamnensis m. Romae). Valentine of Rome was a priest in Rome who suffered martyrdom about AD 269 and was buried on the Via Flaminia. His relics are at the Church of Saint Praxed in Rome and at Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in Dublin, Ireland.
Valentine of Terni became bishop of Interamna (modern Terni) about AD 197 and is said to have been killed during the persecution of Emperor Aurelian. He is also buried on the Via Flaminia, but in a different location than Valentine of Rome. His relics are at the Basilica of Saint Valentine in Terni (Basilica di San Valentino).
The Catholic Encyclopedia also speaks of a third saint named Valentine who was mentioned in early martyrologies under date of February 14. He was martyred in Africa with a number of companions, but nothing more is known about him.
No romantic elements are present in the original early medieval biographies of either of these martyrs. By the time a Saint Valentine became linked to romance in the fourteenth century, distinctions between Valentine of Rome and Valentine of Terni were utterly lost".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentine%27s_Day
Go figure.
I'd imagine even if I am no longer single it's unlikely to change that this day to me is a day of obligation.
Yeah, that's so unromantic.
Friends on MSN were asking if my user status notification above was a reaction to not having anyone to celebrate V-day with or one of discomfort for the celebration. It read:
"Should love be in the air only in February?"
Frankly, it's neither. It was a response to another friend's notification of (paraphrased) 'The day of celebration with your loved one".
Sure it is but why choose just one specific day to do that?
I think the answer to the question above is that people will find every reason to celebrate something which is great news for Hallmark, florist shops and (overpriced) swanky restaurants.
IMHO love should be something that is either what you yourself want to or voluntarily give rather than being expected to. I've heard from friends complaining about their relationships growing from one of warm fuzzy feeling to that of obligatory. But top of the pops amongst all complaints are 'I don't feel like she/he loves me anymore' or the opposite 'I don't love him/her anymore'.
Once read about a loving couple who celebrated their 50th marriage anniversary, when asked about the secret of their lasting marriage the answer given was simple: "love is not something that is there, you have to make it happen. Love is about making tea for him when he comes home tired from work, helping her clean and dry the dishes after dinner, telling him he can sleep in today and you will send the children to school, making her sandwiches for lunch when she's waking the kids up; love are all the simple things we do for one another".
Perhaps we've been looking for the wrong things when it comes to love? Many of my female friends are somewhat impressed (but not enough :P) that I can actually speak the sweetest and most romantic things, but only when I don't mean it. I suppose I can act very well when it comes to impressing people but I guess I don't like to get people to like me by impressing them because I know once the novelty wears off, you have to try harder and you'll eventually go back to who you were before.
Hence Valentine becomes the 'day of renewal' - please her today and you have the next few months off the hook.
Not convinced?
Consider the story of St Valentine below:
"Numerous early Christian martyrs were named Valentine. Until 1969, the Catholic Church formally recognized eleven Valentine's Days.[citation needed] The Valentines honored on February 14 are Valentine of Rome (Valentinus presb. m. Romae) and Valentine of Terni (Valentinus ep. Interamnensis m. Romae). Valentine of Rome was a priest in Rome who suffered martyrdom about AD 269 and was buried on the Via Flaminia. His relics are at the Church of Saint Praxed in Rome and at Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in Dublin, Ireland.
Valentine of Terni became bishop of Interamna (modern Terni) about AD 197 and is said to have been killed during the persecution of Emperor Aurelian. He is also buried on the Via Flaminia, but in a different location than Valentine of Rome. His relics are at the Basilica of Saint Valentine in Terni (Basilica di San Valentino).
The Catholic Encyclopedia also speaks of a third saint named Valentine who was mentioned in early martyrologies under date of February 14. He was martyred in Africa with a number of companions, but nothing more is known about him.
No romantic elements are present in the original early medieval biographies of either of these martyrs. By the time a Saint Valentine became linked to romance in the fourteenth century, distinctions between Valentine of Rome and Valentine of Terni were utterly lost".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentine%27s_Day
Go figure.
I'd imagine even if I am no longer single it's unlikely to change that this day to me is a day of obligation.
Yeah, that's so unromantic.
22 January 2009
Home Home Home
My flight home to Miri was pretty much a non-affair in the sense that everything went smoothly and all to plan. Not that I'm looking for problems mind but the feeling of everything going too smooth is almost hard to believe. Well I did forget a couple of things when I packed the night before - my alarm clock and the earphones but apart from that I was sorted.
Parked the car at Carrefour's basement for Lawrence or Cathryn to drive back when they come home after work and made my way lugging the company's laptop and my luggage to the KTM station some 400 meters away. Heck, 400 meters felt like eight hundred as the bag, though only half-filled with mostly clothing, was heavy and bulky. Suffice to say it's going to be even heavier when I return in February.
Arrived at KL Sentral at around twelve and made my way to the Skybus for immediate boarding that made its way on the road to the airport after half an hour. The only notable thing to happen on this trip is having an Air Asia stewardess on sitting next to me whom I'd imagine had a good night out with her friends as she had no trouble falling asleep sitting straight, hairs all falling in front of the head and occassionally using my shoulder as a side cushion. I marvel at how people could actually sleep on a trip that move the passengers all about with the turns et al while sitting up straight. My neighbour later that evening pointed that on long haul flights that is how they rest so I suppose it makes sense.
No, we didn't talk and I didn't get her number as I myself was feeling pretty sleepy after staying up the night before until 5:00 am traversing the Great Wasteland of DC fending off Super Mutants and Raiders after waking up from a three-hour nap the night before.
The flight didn't delay in any sense but the efficiency of the Air Asia crew made it feel like a delay as we boarded the plane on the stipulated time before departure but had to wait for some twenty minutes while bags of five passengers who won't be making the trip would have to be removed from the cargo as per procedure. I don't know why they won't be making the trip - all guesses go from being arrested for something, a medical emergency etc.
We took the sky later and for the rest of the two and half hours of flight I was sat next to a middle aged fella who doesn't seem to speak anything at all. Even to the air hostess he just pointed to them what he wanted and paid. He doesn't seemed miffed that I had to go out to the loo (just) once throughout the whole flight or that I had the window shutter pulled down to block out the bright sun outside when there's nothing to see but the bright blue sky and the blinding sun.
The landing was pretty smooth for one done in turbulence as the weather was pretty gloomy here in Miri for the past two weeks with water pouring down the from the heavens almost without respite. It was cold and wet throughout the evening even as my neighbour and I were having supper at the well known Servay Jaya eateries.
"Ah, you're back"
I planned to get a haircut the day after of which I asked my father if the old barbershop is still there in which he said there will be but I would have to be there soon before the renovate and expand the place which is a good thing for their generations old business I suppose.
Sadly though, the old barber who cut my hair since I was a wee lad - try five years old - was no longer there to ply his trade of trimming and shaving tresses. Every year, except the ones when I won't be celebrating the Lunar New Year in Miri or if I already had a haircut before I made my way home, without fail I'll visit the barbershop in the morning and be greeted with "Ah, you're back" from the man with long sideburns in his usual low and friendly tone.
I didn't believe it at first when my dad told me about his demise but was eventually proven when I asked his colleagues, all whom also cut the hair of my brothers and my dad for 'the other guy'. They knew whom I was looking for as they worked with him throughout those two decades, replied me "He's no longer around, how can he cut your hair?".
My brother mentioned that he grew some sort of tumour on his spine, not very disimilar to the one that afflicted my late brother in 1999. He eventually lost functions to his legs and was bedridden. Slowly his eyesight gave way too and all he could do was cry in despair. On August 2008 he finally breathed his last.
His ex-colleague barbers are all just as good, but this guy knew how I want my hair done and does it speedily and properly but at the end of the day it's just different. He's the more talkative one, asking my family about how things are going and catching up on times, for over twenty years on my head of hair alone.
I had my hair cut as I planned to and left the place feeling a tiny tinge of sadness that another one of my childhood connection back to my hometown is no more as I reflected on how times has changed. I wasn't devastated by it though a little sad that the good old man would no longer be the one doing my hair for the coming new years and the ones after.
I glanced at the photo placed on one of the shelf of the four guys who worked the place and he stood there on the leftmost side with that almost Japanese-like face smiling at the cameraman.
That's how I will remember him.
Festivities
That night we made the usual trip to Old Town to take in the carnival-like atmosphere of the annual New Year market. Much like your pasar malam everywhere this one was setup just for the purpose of the celebrations. The main roads were closed to traffic, allowing tents to be setup from one end to the other with the permanent eatery in the middle serving those who are looking for food.
IIRC, this is the oldest town area of the city where all the businesses began when this place was still a fledgling oil town so it is only fitting to have them here amidst the backdrop of refurbished old commerce buildings. A big God of Prosperity doll was erected in front of the Chamber of Commerce, pretty much one of the main attractions of the the market alongside food, ornaments, clothing and plants. Even my dad had a photo taken in front of it with my uncle.
As usual, being the anak merantau I went to look for the usual food that is either hardly found in KL or not as well done as it is in a less-commercialised environment while my brother is onto decorations for his house. My dad and uncle walked around to soak in the festivities whilst comparing prices of goods as they normally do.
As we sat at one of the permanent eateries built between two streets for some tea and coffee, my uncle asked me the very question that is done almost exclusively by my mother's siblings.
"Do you have a girlfriend?".
"No".
"Why not?".
I couldn't bear to tell him the reason that I am recluse spider that is highly resistant to loneliness so I told him about my daily schedule of which he seemed to understand.
"I take the weekends off as the weekdays are busy enough".
He worked in KL before so he knows about how life is over there.
"How about your co-workers? Aren't there any pretty and attractive ones?".
"Of course there are but office mates, well, it's not recommended - you see one another every day, the other person's mood under scrutiny etc".
Again, he seemed to understand very well.
"How about client sides?".
"I work with system admins, network engineers - I have only met two of them whom are female and even that was unusual".
"Well they have secretaries, the admins etc".
"I work with technical people, I hardly meet with the rest".
First encounter, done.
Second encounter soon, my aunts which would probably happen when we make our trip to Kanowit next.
Bring it on!
Parked the car at Carrefour's basement for Lawrence or Cathryn to drive back when they come home after work and made my way lugging the company's laptop and my luggage to the KTM station some 400 meters away. Heck, 400 meters felt like eight hundred as the bag, though only half-filled with mostly clothing, was heavy and bulky. Suffice to say it's going to be even heavier when I return in February.
Arrived at KL Sentral at around twelve and made my way to the Skybus for immediate boarding that made its way on the road to the airport after half an hour. The only notable thing to happen on this trip is having an Air Asia stewardess on sitting next to me whom I'd imagine had a good night out with her friends as she had no trouble falling asleep sitting straight, hairs all falling in front of the head and occassionally using my shoulder as a side cushion. I marvel at how people could actually sleep on a trip that move the passengers all about with the turns et al while sitting up straight. My neighbour later that evening pointed that on long haul flights that is how they rest so I suppose it makes sense.
No, we didn't talk and I didn't get her number as I myself was feeling pretty sleepy after staying up the night before until 5:00 am traversing the Great Wasteland of DC fending off Super Mutants and Raiders after waking up from a three-hour nap the night before.
The flight didn't delay in any sense but the efficiency of the Air Asia crew made it feel like a delay as we boarded the plane on the stipulated time before departure but had to wait for some twenty minutes while bags of five passengers who won't be making the trip would have to be removed from the cargo as per procedure. I don't know why they won't be making the trip - all guesses go from being arrested for something, a medical emergency etc.
We took the sky later and for the rest of the two and half hours of flight I was sat next to a middle aged fella who doesn't seem to speak anything at all. Even to the air hostess he just pointed to them what he wanted and paid. He doesn't seemed miffed that I had to go out to the loo (just) once throughout the whole flight or that I had the window shutter pulled down to block out the bright sun outside when there's nothing to see but the bright blue sky and the blinding sun.
The landing was pretty smooth for one done in turbulence as the weather was pretty gloomy here in Miri for the past two weeks with water pouring down the from the heavens almost without respite. It was cold and wet throughout the evening even as my neighbour and I were having supper at the well known Servay Jaya eateries.
"Ah, you're back"
I planned to get a haircut the day after of which I asked my father if the old barbershop is still there in which he said there will be but I would have to be there soon before the renovate and expand the place which is a good thing for their generations old business I suppose.
Sadly though, the old barber who cut my hair since I was a wee lad - try five years old - was no longer there to ply his trade of trimming and shaving tresses. Every year, except the ones when I won't be celebrating the Lunar New Year in Miri or if I already had a haircut before I made my way home, without fail I'll visit the barbershop in the morning and be greeted with "Ah, you're back" from the man with long sideburns in his usual low and friendly tone.
I didn't believe it at first when my dad told me about his demise but was eventually proven when I asked his colleagues, all whom also cut the hair of my brothers and my dad for 'the other guy'. They knew whom I was looking for as they worked with him throughout those two decades, replied me "He's no longer around, how can he cut your hair?".
My brother mentioned that he grew some sort of tumour on his spine, not very disimilar to the one that afflicted my late brother in 1999. He eventually lost functions to his legs and was bedridden. Slowly his eyesight gave way too and all he could do was cry in despair. On August 2008 he finally breathed his last.
His ex-colleague barbers are all just as good, but this guy knew how I want my hair done and does it speedily and properly but at the end of the day it's just different. He's the more talkative one, asking my family about how things are going and catching up on times, for over twenty years on my head of hair alone.
I had my hair cut as I planned to and left the place feeling a tiny tinge of sadness that another one of my childhood connection back to my hometown is no more as I reflected on how times has changed. I wasn't devastated by it though a little sad that the good old man would no longer be the one doing my hair for the coming new years and the ones after.
I glanced at the photo placed on one of the shelf of the four guys who worked the place and he stood there on the leftmost side with that almost Japanese-like face smiling at the cameraman.
That's how I will remember him.
Festivities
That night we made the usual trip to Old Town to take in the carnival-like atmosphere of the annual New Year market. Much like your pasar malam everywhere this one was setup just for the purpose of the celebrations. The main roads were closed to traffic, allowing tents to be setup from one end to the other with the permanent eatery in the middle serving those who are looking for food.
IIRC, this is the oldest town area of the city where all the businesses began when this place was still a fledgling oil town so it is only fitting to have them here amidst the backdrop of refurbished old commerce buildings. A big God of Prosperity doll was erected in front of the Chamber of Commerce, pretty much one of the main attractions of the the market alongside food, ornaments, clothing and plants. Even my dad had a photo taken in front of it with my uncle.
As usual, being the anak merantau I went to look for the usual food that is either hardly found in KL or not as well done as it is in a less-commercialised environment while my brother is onto decorations for his house. My dad and uncle walked around to soak in the festivities whilst comparing prices of goods as they normally do.
As we sat at one of the permanent eateries built between two streets for some tea and coffee, my uncle asked me the very question that is done almost exclusively by my mother's siblings.
"Do you have a girlfriend?".
"No".
"Why not?".
I couldn't bear to tell him the reason that I am recluse spider that is highly resistant to loneliness so I told him about my daily schedule of which he seemed to understand.
"I take the weekends off as the weekdays are busy enough".
He worked in KL before so he knows about how life is over there.
"How about your co-workers? Aren't there any pretty and attractive ones?".
"Of course there are but office mates, well, it's not recommended - you see one another every day, the other person's mood under scrutiny etc".
Again, he seemed to understand very well.
"How about client sides?".
"I work with system admins, network engineers - I have only met two of them whom are female and even that was unusual".
"Well they have secretaries, the admins etc".
"I work with technical people, I hardly meet with the rest".
First encounter, done.
Second encounter soon, my aunts which would probably happen when we make our trip to Kanowit next.
Bring it on!
9 January 2009
The Day That Disappeared
This is probably the strangest thing to have happened to me in 2009.
I woke up this morning to the alarm bell and went on to brush my teeth, shower, groom up etc to prepare for work. I drove to the station earlier today hoping that I won't be parked-out of the place by the time I arrived as the school term had just begun this week, making it more packed as it used to be. Got my car into one of my favourite few lots, thinking that things should get better by the time they clear off the parking lots next to the crossing bridge.
I was checking all the receipts that I got from my site work and found a few to be missing, presumably because some that were kept in the wallet so probably might have been taken out with the rest of the transaction receipts e.g ATM, cheque deposit etc out as I do every month to reduce the amount of paper in the wallet - except in terms of monetary notes. Well, I decided to submit them tomorrow instead on Friday as there is still one more day.
Whilst walking to the other side of the platform to wait for the train, I noticed the (cute) lady I see every morning at the same time is dressed in t-shirts and jeans rather than the usual office wear. I thought, heck is this not too early to be on the weekend mood since there's still work day tomorrow.
Then on the train and on my walk to the office I noticed more and more people dressed in casual wear and was suddenly overwhelmed by the urge to check the date.
"Fr [9]".
...
It's Friday. It's FREAKING FRIDAY!
Man, the entire day yesterday I thought 'tomorrow is Thursday' and 'today is Wednesday'. Even throughout the whole evening when I walked to the station with my colleague there's a lack of certain mirth that precedes Friday - I still felt like tomorrow is another one of those days.
How or rather, where did the 24 hours go? How did I suddenly 'skip' through 24 hours?
I asked a colleague if I was at work yesterday, his answer was equally tongue-in-cheek, nodded and said, "Maybe your soul wasn't here".
I really hope this is not the first signs of problems to the brain or the head.
Or meet a guy who makes soap from liposuction fat.
I woke up this morning to the alarm bell and went on to brush my teeth, shower, groom up etc to prepare for work. I drove to the station earlier today hoping that I won't be parked-out of the place by the time I arrived as the school term had just begun this week, making it more packed as it used to be. Got my car into one of my favourite few lots, thinking that things should get better by the time they clear off the parking lots next to the crossing bridge.
I was checking all the receipts that I got from my site work and found a few to be missing, presumably because some that were kept in the wallet so probably might have been taken out with the rest of the transaction receipts e.g ATM, cheque deposit etc out as I do every month to reduce the amount of paper in the wallet - except in terms of monetary notes. Well, I decided to submit them tomorrow instead on Friday as there is still one more day.
Whilst walking to the other side of the platform to wait for the train, I noticed the (cute) lady I see every morning at the same time is dressed in t-shirts and jeans rather than the usual office wear. I thought, heck is this not too early to be on the weekend mood since there's still work day tomorrow.
Then on the train and on my walk to the office I noticed more and more people dressed in casual wear and was suddenly overwhelmed by the urge to check the date.
"Fr [9]".
...
It's Friday. It's FREAKING FRIDAY!
Man, the entire day yesterday I thought 'tomorrow is Thursday' and 'today is Wednesday'. Even throughout the whole evening when I walked to the station with my colleague there's a lack of certain mirth that precedes Friday - I still felt like tomorrow is another one of those days.
How or rather, where did the 24 hours go? How did I suddenly 'skip' through 24 hours?
I asked a colleague if I was at work yesterday, his answer was equally tongue-in-cheek, nodded and said, "Maybe your soul wasn't here".
I really hope this is not the first signs of problems to the brain or the head.
Or meet a guy who makes soap from liposuction fat.
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