Floored by 6 uncooperative Papermate "Kilometrico" ballpoint pens

I always keep a cloth pouch containing some Papermate "Kilometrico" ballpoint pens and also a box file containing a stack of membership application forms in my exercise bag wherever I go to conduct classes. In the pouch there is an assortment of 6 sticks of used and new ball point pens.

In my wishful thinking I imagine that one fine day when a platoon of new students sign up for Aikido lessons on the spot and at the same time I would have enough pens and papers to go round for filling up their applications.

Of course such a happy scenario has not happened before and I doubt I will ever get to see it in my life time. Unlike say in the glamorous show business the humble Aikido teacher is a far cry from the celebrity superstar who can command hordes of adoring fans standing in line patiently for hours waiting for his appearance. Fairy tales aside still I reckon there is no harm in having a few pens available for the convenience of the first time applicant to fill up his membership applications; afterall not everybody carries a pen in his shirt pocket all the time. Besides if the ink in one pen dries out the other 5 pens will serve as useful backups, the practical side in me thinks.

Then last night in Semenyih Dojo the most unbelievable thing happened. A father and son team walked into the class the dad asking for his Form 2 boy to be accepted as an Aikido trainee. No problem, just filled up the application form and pay up the monthly fee, I was too happy to tell the father and his boy.

Then noticing that the boy was wearing a black pocket-less T-shirt and did not have a pen I offered one Kilometrico which I took out from the pouch for him to fill up the application form. He could not write any sentences on the form because there was no ink flowing out of the pen. The ink in the pen must have dried out, I thought and offered him the second Kilometrico. The second pen was as dry as the first. Still quite confident I took out the third pen, but again no ink. The out came the fourth pen. Again no ink. Getting a bit frustrated I offered him the fifth pen. Again no ink. Already quite distressed I offered him the sixth and the last pen which was a new and unused pen. Again to my horror the last Kilometrico was as dry as the Sahara Desert!!!

This time realising that the 6 uncooperative and rebellious Kilometricos had timed and chosen to commit an act of betrayer on me, their owner and master, at the crucial moment I felt utterly devastated and foolishly embarrassed. All this while as the high drama was being played out the boy's father was watching silently from the side at the ridiculous happening. I couldn't tell whether the boy's father was amused or laughing at me as I studiously avoid looking in his direction.

Fortunately in my darkest moments of truth as had happened a few times in the past there was always a guardian angel mysteriously appearing by my side to save my ass. Noticing my predicament the mom of one of my students who happened to be around and who witnessed the whole ridiculous episode then handed her own ballpoint pen to the boy to fill up the membership application form.

Umbrella story

I was escorting the missus and daughter around the town in a hot afternoon on a short shopping errand. As the missus don't know how to drive and the daughter normally tags along with her mom during such Sunday forays into the town I am always the family chauffeur by default.

Although it was a Sunday it is usually difficult to find free parking in the town centre because people who work during the weekdays are only free to come out to do the following week's shopping on Sunday. But today I was lucky. I spotted an empty and shady lot in front of the BSN bank. Even in the shade the afternoon sun was blazing hot.

As I was locking the car with the remote I noticed daughter already holding up an umbrella beside her mom and both of them were standing by the the shade waiting for directions from me.

As it was a sunny day I asked daughter why she was holding the umbrella. Besides I didn't see any woman except the two of them carrying umbrellas in the street.

I always think that the umbrella's main use is to protect you from getting wet in a thunder storm. I do carry a foldable umbrella in my bag when I go to work and only use it to during rain so that I can walk to the LRT station without getting drenched in water.

"The weather's extremely hot today," daughter answered as if it was the most natural thing to do. How come other ladies I saw going about their errands in the town were not using umbrellas, I just wondered. Then I noticed some beads of sweat running down her face slightly flushed pink by the hot sun rays.

Then I understood. The hot sun was only part of the reason. The other reason is probably she didn't want her fair and smooth complexion from getting too much tanning from exposure to the sun. Probably it is also a mother and daughter bonding thing as the missus also has the habit of using the umbrella to shield herself from the sun rays. Perhaps having a fair complexion and smooth skin is a big thing for many Chinese women. The obsession to associate fair complexion and smooth skin with beauty probably explains to some extend the rapid mushrooming of marketing of  women' beauty products such as whitening creams in recent years.

Looking at the three photos the reader will be inclined to think that many Chinese women are the same in their desire to be beautiful whether they are in Beijing or in Kuala Lumpur, or whether in modern times or in in yesteryears.

The three pictures show Beijing women of different eras holding umbrellas to shield their complexion on sunny days. The first picture shows a tall woman dressed in a stunning red cheong sam with a matching pink umbrella standing in the shade beside a tree-lined boulevard.  The second, not so flattering image shows a tired woman squatting in a public square desperately covering herself under the shade of the umbrella. The last one in black and white captures the typical dress sense of women in a busy street scene in old China.

It is in the nature of woman to be looking elegant and beautiful all the time. There is nothing wrong with that. It is just that in matters of beauty man and woman may have different perceptions. In the case of the ubiquitous umbrella to most guys it is just a utility tool to shelter from the rain and probably think it silly to use it to keep out the sun rays. To the lady apart from taking cover from the rain, the umbrella is also seen as a beauty and health accessory to upkeep her fair complexion and also to protect her skin from being damaged by the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays.

Dreaming of Fantasy Island.

Island view from the air

Today is the King's birthday, a national holiday. After returning from work in the office I came home to an empty nest. Not that I really mind being home alone, like the poor kid in the "Home Alone" movie. My wife has gone to visit relatives in Klang. My son has gone to Ipoh and my daughter is in Melaka.

Being home alone may not be a bad thing after all as I am now free to indulge in my favourite pastime, fantasying of course. Maybe I should also go away to some dream holiday. But where shall I go? Whenever I am fantasying one name always crop up - Fantasy Island of course, the resort that I used to visit weekly during the period 1978 to 1984.

Mr Roarke and Tattoo
welcoming guests

What is Fantasy Island? Fantasy Island is a paradise resort hidden somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, only known to the privileged few. It is a mysterious island where the lucky visitor is granted his or her every wish and desire with no limits. You want to become the Prime Minister? You get it. You want to be the richest person in the world? You get it. You want to be pleasured by a harem of voluptuous and beautiful women? You get it. You want to be seduced by a horde of macho and handsome young men? You get it. You want to be anybody you wish for? You get it. The fantasies of all man and woman visitors to the island will be fulfilled. Guaranteed 100 %. "Semua boleh," "Everything can Kau Tiam" the way Malaysians would like to say it.

Mr Roarke and Tattoo
bidding the guests
goodbye

The resort is so exclusive that you can't just take any boat to the island but you have to be invited and flown in by a special sea plane fitted with water skis. When you step onto the island you will be welcomed by none other than Mr Roarke the overseer of the island and his loyal side kick called Tattoo.

Mr Roarke who always wear his white suit is a gentleman known for his cultured demeanor. Together with midget Tattoo, his energetic and similarly white suited sikekick, the two form a impeccable pair to welcome the guests to the island and also to grant the guests their fantasies.

Each time a guest arrives at the island Tattoo would run up the main bell tower to ring the bell and shout "Ze plane! Ze plane!" in his French accented English. As for Roarke he would always welcome his guests with a warm smile by lifting his glass and saying: "My dear guests, I am Mr. Roarke, your host. Welcome to Fantasy Island."

That was years ago during the period 1978 to 1984. Today going there is THE problem. Fantasy Island is not on the mainstream tourist map and you can't google to find it on the internet. It doesn't even have a tourist agency to represent it. As for Mr Roarke he passed away in 2009 while Tattoo passed on 16 years earlier in 1993. Due to neglect the fabled Fantasy Island is no more, lost like a myth and probably gone the way of Jurassic Park, only to be inhabited by man-eating dinosaurs. Still interested?

In reality there is no such Fantasy Island. Fantasy Island was a highly-rated and long-running television series show aired from 1978 to 1984. The two main stars of the series were Ricardo Montalban, a Mexican radio, television, theatre and film actor who played Mr Roarke and French actor Herve Villechaize, who played Tattoo. During its run from 1978 to 1984 I used to eagerly watch the weekly Fantasy Island show on local television, and that is how I came to know about this show.

Montalbán died on January 14, 2009 of congestive heart failure at his home in the Greater Los Angeles Area, aged 88. Villechaize committed suicide by shooting himself as a result of suffering from depression due to his chronic health problem in September 4, 1993, aged 50.

Rrrrrinnngggg! Suddenly my hand phone fired up. "I am on my way back to KL from Klang. Can you please come over to pick me up?" dear wife's high-pitched voice on the other end of the line boomed crisp and clear, rudely snapping me out of my afternoon fantasy. Oh dear! So much for this home alone guy's indulgence in his afternoon fantasy. End of Fantasy Island and back to reality, except that reality is not so hot and fantastic as I had to make this madcap run in the Sat night traffic snarl to my brother-in-law's house in Cheras to pick up the wife.

Don't judge a DIY kit by its packaging

Some times things are not what they seem. "What is so difficult about assembling a shoe cabinet," I thought as I and dear wife were looking at the mock-up model of a DIY shoe cabinet kit on display at the supermarket. For RM30.00 it was affordable and any way we needed to replace the current shoe cabinet that has broken down due to old age and long use.

According to the picture of the cabinet in the packaging it is just a one-compartment rectangular box with a double-leaf louvered door. The parts that make up the kit consist of 10 pieces of pre-fabricated rectangular fibre boards with some ironmongery accessories and screws for fixing. The manual that comes with the kit is just 1 sheet of paper with plenty of illustrations and instruction to assemble the cabinet in "5 easy steps." "A piece of cake," I mentioned to my spouse while laying down the parts, accessories and screws on the floor after taking them out of the box.

With the manual in hand I and dear wife then squatted on the tiny empty floor space amidst the clutter of the parked car and the potted plants of the super-small car porch of our compact house to assemble the parts with screw drivers, hammers and high expectation of completing the job in not more than 30 minutes. What I didn't expect was that the arrangements of the fixing holes in the components parts didn't match those shown in the instruction manual. Undeterred and with some common sense and plenty of determination we managed to assemble the parts into a semblance of a shoe cabinet by the time we got to step 5 of the manual.

With the job almost completed the last part was just fitting the two door panels. Then to our horror when we tried to fit the door panels we discovered that the holes at the bottom panel of the cabinet to mount the plastic door hinges were missing. Although not explicitly shown in the the illustrations the manual did show two hinges one at the top and the other at the bottom of the door panels. Thus by implication there should be holes to fit the plastic hinges for the door panels at the bottom panel of the cabinet.

Turning the cabinet upside down we found out that because we had fixed the bottom panel the wrong side up the holes for mounting the plastic hinges were at the bottom. As the manual didn't show clearly which are the correct sides to assemble the parts (the two sides look the same) we had erred in fixing the wrong side of the bottom panel.

By the time we realised the truth it was too late to rectify the error as we had to go to town to run some errands and also for lunch to take care of our hungry stomachs. After coming home from town we had to do some housework before we could resume work to rectify the cabinet. Including the short trip to the town, housework and the time taken to dismantle and reassemble all the parts from the time we took out the components from the package to the time we clean up and put away the tools, we had spent about 4 hours to build the modest one-compartment shoe cabinet.

Considering that I am not a hands-on DIY man being able to assemble the cabinet is an achievement already never mind about the 4 hours, of course with dear wife beside me always breathing down my neck for dragging her along with me into this little misadventure!

Used household items are not rubbish discards but recyclable assets

Recycling poster taken
from the P.A.S.S. website

Used items are not rubbish but valuable resources that can be recyled and put to good use for the benefit of society.

This morning after completing the week's groceries purchase at the Kajang wet market dear wife gave away some empty plastic containers and other used items that we no longer need to P.A.S.S., a charity recycling NGO. P.A.S.S. is the acronym for Pertubuhan Amal Seri Sinar, a NGO located in Hulu langat, Selangor.

In Kajang this NGO operates a collection centre in front of a bank around the wet market area. Whenever we have accumulated enough used household items eg plastic, magazines and newspapers we would drop them off at the collection centre. According to the NGO's brochure this organisation also operates collection centres at other districts other than Kajang eg Sri Gombak, Setapak, Taman Melawati, Setapak Jaya, Kampung Air Panas, Taman Sri Rampai, Taman Danau Kota, etc. If you have bulky items to give away like used furniture P.A.S.S. would even send their truck to your home to pick up the items FOC.

According to the NGO's brochure and its official website P.S.S.E's activities are mainly welfare and environmental preservation work eg financial aid to old folks, orphans and poor children, planting of trees to beautify the environment, food rations to single families, education and study aid to needy children, organising recycling campaigns, etc,etc.

Wesak Day in Kajang

The main shrine in what
used to be the hall of
the former Sun cinema

Today 28/5/10 is Wesak Day, traditionally the major Buddhist festival of the year to celebrate the birth, enlightenment and death of the Buddha on the one day, the first full moon day of May. In the morning after finishing the house work I and the missus visited the local Buddhist Vihara in Kajang to offer our annual prayers to Buddhism. The Kajang Buddhist Vihara is a branch of the Buddhist Missionary Society Malaysia headquartered in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur.

In years past we used to go down to the main temple in Brickfields for the annual Wesak Day prayers. However for the past three years due to traffic congestion, parking problem and the huge crowds we had stopped going to the KL temple for the annual Wesak day prayers. Instead we opted to pray at the local temple located in the heart of Kajang town area and also much nearer to the taman where we live.

The Kajang branch occupies an old building lot that used to be the defunct Sun Cinema of the 80s. Thus in the main hall the floor slopes towards the stage at the back of the building. The former stage is now used as the main shrine with the white Buddha statue in the centre. Even some of the old cinema seating were retained for members' use.

Compared to its parent in KL, the celebration here is on a much smaller and simpler scale. There are no joss sticks and candles to lit and pollute the air, only simple offering of flowers. The loud music, vagrants, traders, and big crowds of devotees that you see in the main temple in KL are no where to be seen. With small crowds of visitors who are Kajang residents the atmosphere here is rather subdued and quite pleasant and conducive to devotional activities.

Two Sinhalese monks came to conduct a short session of prayers and tied yellow threads on the wrists of the devotees. After the offering of donations and prayers we sat down on the table in the adjourning community hall for a serving of vegetarian lunch. In true community style we washed our plates and cutleries after consuming the food.

New is not necessary the better

The old generation MS DOS
operating system

Today the management replaced my old faithful desktop pc with a Dell. The new sleek and shiny pc running on Windows XP Service Pack 3 is supposed to be better and faster than the previous one running on Windows XP Service Pack 2.

Ever heard of the golden oldies? I always think that new is not necessary better than old. This is not to say that every thing new is bad and all old things are good. It all depends on the circumstances.

The mother of all horrors hit me the moment I tried to run my old faithful DOS-based reinforced concrete beam design program with the Dell. I was able to run only 50% of the program before it crashed repeatedly. I had no problem running this piece of software before on Windows Service Pack 1 and 2. Apparently this piece of software is no longer compatible with Windows Service Pack 3 operating system.

Even the the expert from the IT department didn't know how to fix the problem despite adjusting the pc, beam program and cpu settings many times. Shaking his head all he could say was that there was an incompatibility problem between the DOS-based engineering design software and the newer Windows Service Pack 3 operating system powering the Dell.

Nowadays modern Windows based engineering design programs are sophisticated 3D finite-element softwares that can combine CAD drawing with engineering design. However, for simple and one-off beam analysis and design using such tools is an overkill and an extravagant use of computing resource. Unlike the younger generation of engineers who have never experienced any operating system other than Windows this oldie who was weaned on the DOS operating system of a by-gone era has never gotten to like these modern state-of-art sophisticated 3-D design softwares.

In comparison to the modern CAD-based engineering analysis and design software, this old DOS-based program that I have been using for more than 20 years has none of the bells and whistles of its modern counterpart. Its graphics are rather bland, simplistic and unappealing, typical of the old generation of code-based software written for the MS DOS operating system. However it is very fast and easy to operate and perfectly does the job it was designed to do. It does not even require a mouse to operate other than tapping on the keyboard, In fact I have used this piece of software, which you can even run on a floppy to design structural beam elements for many high rise buildings. Over the years because of its speed and user friendliness I have gotten very fond of this old software and simply can't do without it.

Next week I'm sure going to pester the management to reinstate the previous pc with the old operating system on my desk. Other engineers can have the new Dell if they wish. If the program can't run on Windows Service Pack 3, I am quite certain that it will also conflict with Windows Vista and the latest Windows 7 operating system.

Water storage tank problem

Water marks on the ceiling

Yesterday I noticed some faint water marks on the ceiling panel below the roof top water storage tank and the cement floor was damp. Suspecting leakage either in the water tank or the cold water plumbing system I climbed up into the tiny ceiling crawl space to inspect the poly tank and the plumbing. At first I thought the leak was due to the old cold water plumbing, but after careful inspection found nothing.

Expecting to see a puddle of water all I could see were faint traces of wet marks on the plywood decking and also on the ceiling panel. Couldn't detect any cracks visible in the tank wall Could not tell for sure whether the wall or the bottom of the tank was leaking.

Then today mysteriously the leak stopped. There was no leak detected in the afternoon and evening. The repair man who climbed up into the ceiling said the sediments collected at the base of the tank had probably plugged the leak. He advised to monitor the situation for a few more days. If the leak continues to call him on Wed.

I hope that should the tank leak again the defect can be repaired by patching with some kind of membrane or adhesive. Replacing the current tank with a new one is going to be a messy job as it involves cutting the timber rafters, battens and opening the roofing tiles to gain access into the ceiling space under the roof covering.

Reversing the car into a roadside ditch in the pitch darkness of the night

Wheel realignment and
balancing work to the MyVi

Last night my car landed in the roadside ditch near the house. The driver didn't notice the ditch at the rear and reversed the car smack into it. Fortunately the car didn't turn over and the driver was unhurt albeit she was shaken by the experience.The grass slope at the ditch provided a soft landing.

After some calls I managed to get a tow truck to pull the MyVi out of the ditch. Except for some scratches on the front and back fenders the car is relatively intact with no other damages. Neighbours who gathered around the scene were generally sympathetic and helpful. Other bystanders left the scene after they realised that it was just a minor accident. I was thankful that the driver of the toll truck didn't charge me any fees for the service as the toll company is affiliated to the firm where I insure the car.

In the morning I sent the car to my regular workshop for a check up. Other than the alignment problem and the scratches there is no other damage to the car body. Knowing that it could have been more serious I gladly pay the shop RM44 for the wheel realignment and balancing service.

The venerable 110+ year Kwong Fook Temple in Bentong and "Ah Poh" the temple helper

Main entrance

Side entrance

Main table

Devotee praying to the
deities

Joss stick, joss paper,
candle sales counter

"Ah Poh" getting ready

"Ah Poh" advicing
devotee

CNY in Bentong 16/2/2010

The Bentong Kwong Fook, or "Si Yeh Kong" temple as the locals call it is more than 110 years old. Located beside the main road it is strategically located at the entrance to the town and overlooking the meandering Bentong river. The locals claim that this temple is even older than the town itself. Due to its location it is not surprising that the town was founded around the temple by early settlers.

During the week-long CNY festive holidays the local residents visit the temple on the first day to offer prayers to the many deities housed there.

This year my family visited the temple to offer "sip tai sui" prayers to Tai Sui. Tai Sui is a star called the Duke of Jupiter in the Chinese galaxy. Every year people born under certain animal signs conflict with Tai Sui resulting in bad luck and hardship and to mitigate, devotees offer prayers to Tai Sui. My daughter is a tiger person and I am a snake person and according to the Chinese Zodiac, these two signs conflict with Tai Sui.

The prayer rites were quite simple though. We bought some joss sticks, joss papers and candles for a nominal fee. Then together with oranges and some dried vegetables that we brought along for the occasion we went round bowing and planting the lighted joss sticks and candles to appease all the deities . The final deity was Tai Sui when we engaged "Ah Poh" the resident temple helper to chant the prayers.

"Ah Poh", as she is referred to by the temple staff is an elderly lady who I guess is in her 70s. Her job is to act as the intermediary between the devotee and Tai Sui in the chanting of the prayer rites. Many people of our generation don't know how to recite the prayers properly unlike the previous generation so "Ah Poh" with her intimate knowledge of the old ways is much sought after by the devotees.

Although stooping due to old age "Ah Poh" is still amazingly sprightly and nimble on her feet, thus easily putting many young people to shame. I don't know how long she has been working in the temple, but for as long as I can remember each time my family returns to Bentong for the CNY she is always on hand to offer her services. She appears to look the same each year that I see her in the temple as if for her time has completely stood still. However, over the past few CNY years her recitations have gotten shorter and shorter probably her advancing age could be wearing her down a bit.

I don't know her real name, age and background nor have I seen her family members, but from the melancholy look in her eyes she appears to be someone who might have suffered some hardship or bitter experience in her younger days. Accepting her fate stoically, perhaps working in the temple as a helper is a way of taking refuge from her past sufferings. Although "Ah Poh" comes across as a lonely woman with an air of resignation and acceptance of her fate yet in her small and deformed frame she carries herself with surprisingly dignity of one who refuses to give up on life despite the hardship and suffering.

Making ngaku chips

Dear wife is making ngaku or arrowroot chips in the car porch for the CNY. She bought the arrowroot tubers for RM2.88/kg from Tesco.

The starchy ngaku chips taste a bit like potato or tapioca chips and they are one of the many favourite snacks served to the guests during the CNY. The local supermarkets import the produce from China only once a year. It used to be a Chinese-only delicacy but in recent years I have seen many Malay and Indian housewives buying the tubers in bulk for their own consumption.

Making the chips is a time-consuming process. You have to clean, peel and slice the bulbs with a slicer. After that you leave them in the fridge or open to dry before frying in oil.

Painting the front portion of the house for CNY

"It has been a long time since the house was last painted and CNY is just two weeks away," dear wife says as she eyes a row of new houses with their brightly and newly painted facades with envy and admiration.

Due to a recurring bad back problem dear wife has to limit her house work to light chores only. Thus painting the house that requires her to climb up and down the ladder is too stressful for her weak back. I and my grown up son and daughter have full time day jobs to take care of. Thus due to the manpower and time constraint problem we decide it is best to let other people handle the painting instead of DIY like in the past. The painting work will be confined to the metal window and door grilles and the walls at the front portion of the house only . As we will supply the paints and the brushes we will only pay the workers for their labour.

Being the ever resourceful person dear wife asked the few Indonesian workers who is living with their families in the same neighbourhood to quote for the price of the painting work. After negotiating with a few people we decided to engage Hassan to do the work. This person said that he would complete painting the front portion of the house for RM200.00 in two days.

Serai Saujana Condo, Subang

Main Entrance Canopy

Mon 1/18/01 Balinese Themed Condo with an Attitude

Site inspection for CF certification by the authorities. Went to the site at 10am. However the government inspectors from MPSA (Majlis Perbandaran Shah Alam)had yet to show up. By that time the contractor was ordering the workers to spruce up the place for the official inspection.

Finally the entourage from MPSA made their grand entrance in two cars at 11am. After the short briefing and light refreshments we splitted into three parties for the inspection. I tagged along with one of the group. My presence was quite redundant as the inspectors were more interested in the architectural matters rather than the structure. The whole inspection took more than an hour to complete as there are more than one hundred units in the two blocks of 13 storey condominium.

The two storey penthouses on the top floor are huge and luxuriously finished. They resemble bungalows in the sky more than apartments. With a price tag of more than RM1 million each only the super rich people can afford to live there. All the penthouses open to the fabulous golf course of the Saujana Country & Golf Club. In all my time attending site meetings I have never had the opportunity to go up to the top-most floor to view the penthouses.

The inspection didn't go quite as well as expected. There are some non-compliance building setback problems. Anyway that is left to the architect and the client to entangle the settle with the authorities.