"Pua chu?" (moving house in Hokkien dialect) Uncle said softly tapping my shoulders after my wife told him that the family will be moving out of Kajang to Puncak Jalil, Seri Kembangan next year.
Did I detect a tinge of melancholy in his wizened face?
After more than 20 years of patronising his family business almost weekly in the wet market my wife and I had become more than just a regular customer to this vegetable vendor who in his 70s is still hale and healthy though a bit hunched back.
Chukai Waterfront, Kemaman, Trengganu.
I first visited this place about 12 years ago on a Sunday when a contractor brought me to this picturesque town by the Kemaman river after a visit to the Pewaja Steel mill in Kemaman. It was also the first time that I visited Trengganu and ate stuffed crabs. Sitting inside the Chinese restaurant I was captivated by the idyllic and scenic view of the Kemaman river estuary on the opposite side of the road from where we were eating stuffed crabs.
The majestic view of this riverine scene was so indelibly etched in my mind that I revisited Chukai twice in 2009, the first time in April when I drove my daughter home after her last day of her uni study in UTM Kuala Trengganu, and the second time in July to attend her university convocation also in Kuala Trengganu.
On a hot Sunday afternoon five daddys decided to dine out with their family members to celebrate Father's Day
During the 5th kyu grading at MAA HQ Dojo on 10/6/2012
"Katate dori ikkyo omote!" I called out the first technique. Astonishingly while all the 5th kyu graders got into action right away one pair just stood still, unmoving. The nage had frozen in position, unable to respond to the command and he was looking at his partner with a blank stare as if his mind was somewhere far away other than in the present. Because the nage was unresponsive, the uke who was gripping nage's outstretched hand found himself locked up with nage and unable to advance.
"Katate dori ikkyo omote!" I repeated the command, this time saying more slowly and deliberately. Nothing happened. The nage remained frozen, his mind unable to connect mentally with my command, and uke was going no where.
Resisting my own impatience to shout out the command the third time and to show by action how to do the technique, I nudged the nage's shoulder sleeve gently, moved in close to his face and whispered quietly so other people couldn't hear into his ear "look at what your neighbours are doing and copy their movements ."
Nage turned left to look at the other pair, returned his sight to his own partner, paused, blinked and then as if something in his stalled mind had finally snapped stepped back with his front foot.
I was certain that the nage knows his technique but probably due to the stress of performing the test in front of so many people for the first time had temporarily lost his concentration and mental faculty. After the recovery nage was able to complete all the techniques with no more disruptions.
I imagine the pair was locked in position, remaining stationary for at least 1 minute, as if frozen stiff like ice cubes in a freezer even though the hot mid-day temperature outside the building was hovering around 35 degree C.
Anyway all the candidates have passed their kyu examinations. Congratulations and have a nice weekend. Penang candidates please have a safe journey back to your home state.
RapidKL Ampang line broke down during the evening rush hour. So had to leave my car over night in the parking lot. Then with no other option available took the KTM commuter train from KL Sentral to Kajang and from the station there called a cab.
This is the second time in two months that the LRT has broken down during peak hours. The last time that it happened I was forced to take the KTM commuter back home. The high frequency of disruptions points to the fact that the time has come to replace the aging trains and to review the whole antiquated rail system.
After a hectic day happiness is leisurely sipping a cup of coffee and enjoying its aromatic fragrance. However for me the brew must be black, steaming hot, no sugar and cream, or nothing. It matters not whether the coffee is prepared from roasted arabica, robusta, or whatever beans.
In fact I'm partial to local coffee called kopi-o that is prepared by roasting liberical beans with a mix of margarine and sugar. Many people consider kopi-o as a poor man's drink because the liberical beans used are considered to be inferior to the arabica and robusta varieties.
