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.

...a picture of dejection...

precariously close to

the edge

A picture of dejection

Tue 29/12/09. 9.30am. Taman Miharjah LRT Station.

As I was waiting for the train to arrive a red and beige dot scurrying on the far side of the platform precariously towards the edge suddenly caught my attention. As I squinted to focus my sight the little dot turned out to be a little boy.

He wore a red T-shirt and kakhi shots. Standing close to the edge of the platform, with his head dipping downwards towards his tiny chest as if deep in deep thought and his two hands clasping and resting on the small of his back he was a picture of utter dejection. Apparently he had wandered off from his mommy who was seated on the bench. Mommy was desperately trying to coax the naughty boy to retreat from the platform edge but he was in no mood to comply. With more rebuke from mommy the more the little boy inched towards the edge, until he stopped about 15 cm from the edge.

...the little dot scurrying in

the background...

Although the train was still far away from the station I was getting a little apprehensive about the boy and was wondering whether I should intervene by pulling the boy away from the edge. Then after this picture was taken the little boy appeared to have come to his senses and started to walked away from the edge towards the open arms of his desperate mommy. By this time mommy was getting up from the bench and hastening towards her son.

As I stood beside the other commuters in the train heading towards Bandaraya Station where I would get down I reflected upon what would happen to the boy or what would I have done had the train zoomed by while the boy was standing on the edge of the platform. Luckily for me the dreaded scenario didn't materialise.

"Phew! What a day of high drama," breathing a sight of relief I got down from the station in a peaceful frame of mind.

Missing friend report

Empty mansion 28/12/09Where's the lord of the house? Mon 9.30am 28/12/09. At a construction site off Jln Tun Razak

Expecting to seeing Joe Swinger sitting in a playful pose in front of his mansion to my disappointment I saw an empty plastic bag perching incongruously on the ledge at the entrance to the mansion. The leash that was used to secure him at the neck to his house was also no where to be seen.

"Perhaps not in the mood to come out he must have been sleeping inside the house," I comforted myself.

Joe sitting in front of his mansionPic taken on 23/12/09 Peering through the door way I saw nothing but empty space inside the dark interior.

"Anybody see Joe this morning?" I asked around and nobody in particular. "I saw the monkey sitting on a branch this morning but don't know where he is now," volunteered the site supervisor who was sitting beside me. Probably he sensed my anguish and despair. Naturally I didn't believe a word he said.

Joe has gone missing and nobody seems to know where he has gone to. I hope Joe Swinger, my new-found and then lost furry friend of 6 days has run away to the forest where he truly belongs.

Read about the story of Joe Swinger posted on 23/12/09 in this blog.

Monk eating curry noodles

Enjoying curry noodles Sat 26/12/09 Food stall near the Kajang wet market

I noticed this monk eating curry noodles in a roadside stall in the neighbourhood of the Kajang wet market. Nobody seemed to take notice of him as he hungrily chomped down the noodles.

In accordance to traditional Theravada monastic practice at dawn the monk will go out  bare-footed on alms-round and will have the only meal of the day before noon by eating from the bowl by hand. This one is acting like normal folks taking their morning meals and eating out of chopsticks in the hawker stall. From his body girth he looks well-fed, in stark contrast to monks who follow the teachings of the Buddha strictly who are usually ematiated due to ther ascetic lifestyles. How can you be fat when you only consume one meal a day?

In modern time it is not feasible to adhere strictly to the traditions of yesteryears likely eating out of the bowl on the alms begging rounds. Besides due to the modern materialistic lifestyle and the loss of interest in dhamma pactice there is little or no community support from laity to preserve the traditional practice of the dhamma. So sad. Interest in the dhamma among young people is definitely on the decline.

Christmas visit to Mines Shopping Mall

Xmas tree decoration Christmas Fri 25/12/09 Mines Shopping Mall 2.30pm

Taking advantage of the holiday and the festivity the three of us, mother, daughter and me decided to visit the Mines Shopping Mall.

With all the buntings and other Christmas decorations being displayed in the mall, the Christmas tree and the wooden themed house beside it at Centre Court were the centre of attraction. The tree was at least 2 storey high, decorated with all kinds of lights and gifts hung on it. I saw many visitors posing for photographs standing beside the tree. Of course I heard that the Christmas decorations at Mega Mall and the Pavillion in Kuala Lumpur were much grander. Nevertheless still a sight to behold.

The mall's waterfront The mall was crowded with shoppers and strollers. Hven't seen such a large crowd since the new management took over the mall. Compared to the time when it was under the old management the mall is much jazzier, brighter, customer friendly and more spacious with many branded names making their appearances. The range and choice of F&B outlets have also increased tremendously.

Our shopping purchases...
Wife: she bought a new frame for her spectacles to replace the worn out one, bought some vitamin supplements and toiletries from Guardian.
Daughter: Upgraded her Sony Ericsson memory card with a scanD 2GB microSD card.
Me: Upgraded my Nokia memory card with a ScanD 2GB microSD card, installed Garmin navigator software in my Nokia, bought a 4 port USB hub, (later to my horror found out that my PC could not detect the device.)

Later ate dinner at the Sushi King restaurant before leaving the premises.

Meet Joe Swinger my new found friend

Wed 23/12/09. At a construction site in Jln Tun Razak



May I present you my new found furry friend? He is Orang Hutan's cousin. Unlike Orang Hutan who lives in the great rain forest of Borneo this guy is a city slicker, lives better than most people in his own private mansion located in an affluent Kuala Lumpur neighbourhood somewhere off Jalan Tun Razak. This lucky guy doesn't need to earn a living like you and me and he never goes a day hungry as he gets his bananas served on him like a royality surrounded by servants.

No need to worry about making a living he likes to show off his mansion by happily posing for the camera. Always mischievous he likes to clamber up the tree and swings merrily from its branches. It is his way of telling the world that not only is he the master of his mansion he also has his own private tree to play as he fancies. If he likes you he will break into a dance as if to show off his manly assets (or girlie assets.. not sure if he is a guy, a gal or whatever in-between...)



The truth is he is a cute monkey that I met in a construction site this morning as I was sharing a meal with my colleague in an Indon konsi canteen. .Someone told me that he was rescued from an uncertain faith at another site and brought to this site by some Indon workers. At that time he was just an infant separated from his family and found wandering aimlessly along the roadside. If he had not been picked up he would have been knocked down by passing motorists.

At first they just chained him to the tree with a rope and left him alone. Then later some kind hearted workers built him a timber monkey house (his mansion) to provide shelter from the rain and the sun. After some time the Indon and Bangladesh construction workers started to notice his playful antics and began to feed him bananas.

The monkey doesn't seem to be afraid of humans. I guess he his so domesticated that he has gotten used to having humans around all day. I saw him eating a banana calmly and leisurely off the out-stretched hand of a Bangladeshi worker. When I approached him with my camera phone in hand he was completely at ease and even invited me to snap still and action pictures of him in various playful pose. As I asked around nobody seemed to know what is his name or even has one other than the derogatory term "Monyet."

As I shall be seeing more of him with my daily visits to the site I shall just call him Joe Swinger since he likes to show off his ability by swinging from the tree branches.

I hope some day Joe Swinger can be set free of his bondage from humans and be returned to his natural habitat in the forest where he really belongs.

Morning sickness

Spirulina7.30am Breakfast at home before going to work.

"Take 7 tablets. They are good for your body," wife pointed at the bottle of spirulina supplement resting on the shelf in the kitchen as she rolled a thin slab of margarine on the bread.
Morning sicknessAccording to the misses spirulina can help the body get rid of toxins. I took the 7 tablets with my morning coffee together with two slices of gardenia wholemeal bread.

Half an hour later as I was getting ready to leave the house, I suddenly felt giddy, light headed, vision gone blurry an upset stomach and a headache. I couldn't stand up without feeling dizzy and a loss of balance. So I had to lie on the sofa to rest for about 15 minutes before regaining control over my body sensation. By this time my stomach was bloated due to congestion and I had this urge to visit the toilet for relief.

Sick After arriving at the office I gulped down about 1 litre of water and went to the toilet immediately. After flushing out all the toxins in my body I felt much better though the giddiness and blurry vision had not yet  receded. However compared to breakfast time I had a much better control of my faculty and body. I was ill for most of the whole morning and only started to recover gradually after lunch time. In fact at one point I wanted to take the day off to go home and lie down on the bed. If not because of a few pressing assignment datelines coming up I would have taken the day off.

I guess I was undergoing an internal cleansing crisis triggered by the consumption of the spirulina supplement. The giddiness, blurry vision, loss of balance and stomach spasms were probably symptoms of the body going through a cleansing processing. Maybe my illness has nothing to do with the spirulina tablets, but just a bout of food poisoning. On the other hand I vaguely recall such a similar episode when I first swallowed some spirulina tablets some years ago.

Frustration

Boo! boo! boo!

Wed 16/12/09 9.30am. Attending a progress meeting at the site office

"Any matters to be raised?" the fat lady chairperson raised her shrill voice looking at everybody around the table with a condescending attitude. Typical snotty behaviour of high ranking government servants in position of authority, I thought to myself.

The day before I had received a letter from the government client specifically addressed to me as the ARE (Assistant Resident Engineer) asking me to file a report on among other things some shoddy sanitary plumbing  work. As the structural guy I always thought that my responsibility is to look after the building structure only. Other people's stuff like plumbing, water supply, electricity, architectural work are none of my business.

"Puan, the consultant for the sanitary services should comment on the sanitary system. As the ARE for the building structural work, other services not related to my scope should be handled by the respective consultants." I said factually when it was my turn to speak.

Then came the bomb shell. "You are not hired as the ARE for the structure only. You are the ARE for the WHOLE project!" the fat lady chairperson said flashing a sinister smile and gesturing impatiently with her hands.

Wow! The implication is that I have to play nanny and take care of everybody's problems. My boss said that my scope is limited to the structural building work only when she assigned me to look after this project.

"No way is the company going to take responsibility for other people's problems! I, you and the design engineer will thrash this thing out with the contractor tomorrow," my lady boss said rather annoyed after I related my encounter with the fat lady client when I got back to the office.

Brave words indeed. Let's see if boss will walk the talk when we meet up with the contractor tomorrow. Bear in mind that the contractor is the company's paymaster and the client is a government agency.

Heart breaking and gut wrenching sidewalk freak show

Sunday Star December 13, 2009

Syndicates rake in profits

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A disfigured beggar at the Kg Lapan night market, MalaccaSat 12/12/09 LRT Station at Plaza Rakyat, Puduraya

3.00pm after work. The afternoon scorching sun was so hot that I felt my skin being fried as I hurriedly walked under the shade of the covered walkway towards the direction of the Plaza Rakyat LRT station.

After work I usually board the LRT at the nearby Masjid Jamek station to disembark 3 stations further down the line at Taman Mihajah  where I would then collect my car at the car park for the hour drive back to Kajang. This has been my customary routine as the Masjid Jamek station is within 15 minutes walk from my office building. However on some days when I have to go to Chinatown for some errands then I would board the LRT at Plaza Rakyat Station where the Puduraya Bus terminal is located.

On this particular Saturday after clocking out of the office and with time on my side I suddenly had the urge to visit some book stores in the Chinatown area. After browsing around for about half an hour in a book shop and my feet and body growing weary and sore by the minute I decided it was time to go home.

The nearest LRT station from the Chinatown area is the Plaza Rakyat station situated next to the Puduraya bus station. The LRT station is located above street level and to get to the station you have to walk along a covered walkway including a long flight of staircase.

As I was climbing the stairs along one of the landings I saw an armless young man sitting on the floor begging for money from the public. His two hands from the arms down were missing and a big horrible looking open-wound covered one side of his face. The shirtless man didn't look like a local as he had fair skin and despite his horrible disfigurement looked well-fed and nourished. Sitting on the floor he was lying down half prostrating with a cup in one hand and the most miserable and sorrowful look on his face begging for money. Touched by the pitiful sight of the half-human some passerby tipped the begger with notes and coins. Then there were others aghast and shaken by the sight of the disfigured begger turned away their faces and continue their walk towards the station.

Begging near the entrance ofBukit Beruang in Malacca

I instinctively reached for my camera-phone hoping to capture the scene for record. Then I thought about this pitiful half-human and asked myself what was the purpose of snapping the photo. Was it for my own selfish amusement and entertainment to post his picture in my blog so other people can enjoy the misery of the less fortunate? Already suffering so much pain and injustice I should not add on to his indignity by exposing his identity for the whole world to see.

I didn't snap his picture and as I was riding the LRT I was still troubled by what I saw. As a able person all my miseries and sufferings if any are really nothing compared to his and instead of whining and bitching about them I should count my blessings.

I have heard of horror stories of how criminal syndicates after kidnapping young boys and girls cut off their hands and legs and inflict other bodily disfigurements to force these people to earn money by begging on  city sidewalks. Could this young man be one of these victims forced to a life of slavery to beg for a living by these merciless criminal syndicates?

The next morning the Sunday Star front-paged a story on syndicates earning thousands of ringgits a day by bringing in foreign beggers with severe deformities to beg for money. The Sunday Star also posted pictures of these foreign beggers with severe disabilities begging for money from the public in Malacca. The shocking images that you see here are downloaded from the online version of the Sunday Star. I decided to post the images here as with the publishing of the story by the Sunday Star these images have become public domain material.

As for the miserable, young, handless and shirtless begger that I encountered on a hot sunny afternoon in Kuala Lumpur, I did not snap his picture and even if I did I would not publish the pictures in this blog to honour what little is left of his dignity as a human being like you and me.