Thanks Lydia! Now it’s my turn to tell you some stuff (personal most likely) about madame moi. Have to dig into my brains to think about things like these. But awful good fun and great way to reflect on how I’ve grown.
Twenty years ago (1985)
I was 11 years old and in Standard Five, busy mugging for my Penilaian Darjah Lima. Important exams to me. Had to study hard and get the 5As. That time, Michael Jackson, Lionel Ritchie, Madonna were all the rage. Loved waking up on Sunday mornings to watch my fave cartoon “Jem”. Dad bought me my first issue of Galaxie when it came out, and I remembered it was hidden in my cupboard as a surprise. I remembered Rock Hudson’s face on the cover of Galaxie then. Also, loved submitting my stories and such to the Starchild section of The Star newspaper.
Musings
Oh How Atrocious!
I knew the standard of English is going down the drain but I didn’t know how big the drain was!
Until today.
When God Was There
There’s no wonder that most people are pessimistic about life. Look at the happenings around us. It would seem as if Mother Nature herself is pissed. Look at Katrina, Talim, Mawar. And why named after women? Hell hath no fury…?
Anyway, I read a very powerful first hand account this evening and am soberly reminded that this Sept 11 would mark the 4th year anniversary of the collapse of the World Trade Centre, and the indelible course of action which has changed many peoples’ lives.
At times, I think, “What if someone took one step backwards and decided NOT to do what he had been instructed to do? Would things have been a lot more different?”
So I read Guy Yasika’s tribute to the heroes of 9-11. The man in the wheel chair. The fireman on his way up the stairs when everyone were filing out hysterically. The people who could not escape.
Guy Yasika survived 9-11 although he was in the building the morning it happened. He felt the building shake.
Sometimes one needs to read experiences like these to be reminded to fervently pray for peace.
To read his personal account of the event which rocked his life, go here.
This Baby of Mine
It’s easy to worry, and to let worry eat at you. I know the past few weeks have been turbulent and sometimes I wonder if I am crazy to have started what I did.
But along the way I’ve met friends and learnt about others, and that makes it worthwhile. I also feel that I’ve grown so much along the way, giving myself a chance to really look into myself and learn how I’ve changed over the last few years.
Big Fat Frog Jumping About
Was having lunch the other day (yes, yes, I seem to be having lunches ever so often….but then again, that’s me. I think food and me and conversation just flow) with my KL aunt. Let’s call her Auntie J (yeah, I have to protect some people’s identities here, especially if they’re not mine). Auntie J is the ultimate advertiser’s dream come true. She is. She is the Penangite who works in KL and has infused so much of KL culture that she says watching Penangites in action makes her squirm.
Selamat Hari Merdeka
Untuk pertama kalinya saya rasa terharu apabila menonton iklan MAS yang tersiar di kaca TV. Entah mengapa… tiba-tiba pula rasa cukup berbangga menjadi rakyat Malaysia.
Mungkin sudah tiba masanya saya memahami apa itu erti kemerdekaan? Mungkin. Ataupun nostalgia zaman silam, yang sudah lama dilupai, tiba-tiba menjelma dan mengingatkan saya betapa bertuahnya saya dilahir di bumi ini? Mungkin juga.
Blogging in BM….
This is something interesting I picked up from Eyeris.…seems that on Merdeka Day, some bloggers are going to try to blog in BM!
I can’t say my BM’s fantastic or anything. It’s been a long time since I wrote a proper BM sentence. But the language is useful as one friend told me sometime ago. When you are in foreign land and everyone there speaks English/Mandarin, and you want to bitch about something, BM truly comes in handy!
Of Leaf, Fleas and Michael Faraday
Quick! What’s the answer for “barbarian greeting”?
Yi told us the answer, and we were stupefied. Well, it did sound plausible and yes, there was that shop sign which fit her explanation.
Happy Haze-less Days Are Over
The first thought which came to my mind this morning when I woke up was, “Is that Auntie burning joss paper again?! This early in the morning?”
You see, the Aunties in my apartment block love burning joss paper. Since we live in apartments and not bungalows, there’s no space for them to do it in their own houses so they’ll cart the metal container and the joss paper and go downstairs to burn ’em.
Only this time, it wasn’t the acrid smell of burning joss.
It was the haze.
Oh. For all the times I’ve happily gloated and thanked my lucky stars that I wasn’t in the Klang Valley. For all the times I’ve pitied the Klang Valley folks but felt quite invincible up here in Penang.
Darn. It’s over. The happy, haze-less days are over as of this morning.
The haze was around yesterday afternoon but I didn’t notice it much although Nic kept telling me it had arrived about 3pm. I didn’t see it nor smell it and that was fine by me.
But this morning was awful. Imagine waking up to no sun! None at all. And the air smells funny. And I am the least sensitive type of person. When Nic’s nose twitches, I’ll go, “What? I don’t smell a thing.”
Today, my nose is twitching and it is not the Bewitched kind of twitch. My throat isn’t doing fantastic either. I am given to bouts of coughing which is my body’s response to the polluted air around me.
I don’t even dare to put my pet lovebird, Sawadee, out on the balcony for fear he’ll keel over. In fact, the poor bird isn’t singing very loudly or much today (he usually wakes the whole apartment with his morning song and he’s often very noisy).
And the worst part? I have a treasure hunt to take part in tomorrow! How am I supposed to hunt when the air quality is so bad? And my KL friends are coming to Penang to escape the haze…what irony!
This photo was taken from my balcony at 9.42am today. On good days, I can see all the other buildings (apartments) and even the hill on Pulau Jerejak from my balcony. Today, nothing!
Another shot showing how thick the haze is!
Yes, I Work From Home
I am sure my neighbours wonder about me and my other half all the time. I used to get out of the apartment at 8 plus in my formal business suit, ready to get my car started so I can get to work on the dot. Everyday for the past couple of years.
Suddenly, it all stopped.
Now I no longer do that because I work from home. Well, I don’t lounge around in pajamas (I think that’s just plain laziness if you don’t get out of your sleeping attire when you are not sleeping!) but I still sit in front of my computer. In fact, it’s now a laptop instead of the regular PC.