From 4th to 10th, May 2013
Unlike others who normally treat Monday as the 1st day of the week, every Satruday is the start of my new week.
Last week was one of the most memorable week of life. May 4th to May 10th.
I was beginning to feel anxious on Saturday itself. My neighbourhood Lucky Garden was very quiet. I hope things would work out peacefully on the voting day. I walked around the whole time with a voice in my head ..random thoughts about our country and how it would pan out the following day.
I didnt work on Saturday. I couldnt focus. I was nervous for what would happen on Sunday
I voted on Sunday at 9:15am. There was no interet at home so I stayed at Starbucks to follow the news. When the counting began at 6pm, I told myself is best to go home. My only reliable source of news was from an independent radio station and through iphone I accessed Facebook and Malaysiakini, an independent news portal . There were too many news of phantom votes that I thought we have gotten too uptight. My colleague who voted in his hometown whatsapps us all that he was going back to the polling station to catch the phantom. How would you know if someone is indeed a phantom voter but he was dead serious.
I glued my ear to the radio. BFM has a live telecast of from the different polling stations. I was biting my nails praying hard for Nurul, the candidate from my constituency and the daughter of the opposition party leader. The police car sirens from Pantai and the shouting of the people down at Kg Kerinchi echoed the reports from BFM that phantom ballot boxes were discovered in the car trunk. I was relieved as Nurul won and was begining to feel even hopeful as the news broke that DAP the opposition won Gelang Patah, one of the key constituency. I felt assured and decided to allow myself to go to bed instead of waiting up.
I woke up on Monday at 5am to a sea of black on my Facebook page. Everyone has changed their facebook profile to black. Including my sister in Germany who has been relatively neutral all this while. The anger and sadness that permeated through Facebook was overwhemling.
I texted my dad and he texted back. He told me about there were power failure at several polling stations and after the power resume, the vote count of the ruling party candidates shot up miraculously. There was no proof but everyone sort of guess It was unbelievable that the ruling would have resorted to this trick
I went back to the office and some of the young staff told me that they have been waiting for this election. As 22 year old, it is their first time casting their votes. They are angry that their votes have been compromise but they are not deterred. They really want change.
I joined the May 8 rally dressed in overall black. The train to Kelana Jaya Stadium was packed .Everyone in the cabin was dressed in black but there were smiles on everyone's face. It was a exuberant excitement interlaced with a grounded determination. Everyone in the cabin was strangers and yet shared a common destination. A feeling that was very strange and yet touching.
As I walked towards the stadium, people greeted one another. One Indian man turned to me and he said "No Indian. No Chinese. No Malay. We are Malaysians". I couldnt hear the rally speeches very well from where I stood. The crowd was huge about 100,000 people. I didnt feel safe when I realized my watsapps and sms didnt work. I decided to leave early and missed the singing of Negaraku, which I regret very much.
The next day I watched the video clip of the chorus of Negarku from the thousands and hundreds who were at the stadium, I cried. There is still hope. "Melayu, Cina, India, Kadazan..." we are all Malaysians.
10 Lessons from Skyfall
1. Coaches take note - bowing up homes of parents
might be a new way for clients to get closure to childhood trauma – a
bit more expensive than beating chairs but it works. Ask Bond.
2.
Never give your boss an ugly desk piece for you
might get it back in the most twisted way
3.
Never mess with a man’s favorite vintage ride or
else risk losing your helicopter
4.
Fear not if you have rotten teeth. Just ask Bond
villain for his dentist’s number. He makes pretty decent denture.
5.
Do not feel bad if you can’t spell or count
because neither do the MI6 agents. As you can see all code names are either
single-lettered – “H”, “M”, “Q” or single digit numeric number starting with “00”
6.
Consider hire Turkish engineers as they build
roofs that withstand the weight of speeding motorbikes.
7.
A new way to avoid cost of building computer server rooms is to
strip off the casings and relocate the servers to a well-ventilated hall on a remote
island (and don’t forget to spread rumor of gas leak as well)
8.
MI6 could be the next best employer because their
“retirement” package includes stays in seaside resort complete with Hieneken, CNN
access and pets like scorpions and sexy girls
9.
Should always adhere to Feng shui master’s advice
against sitting with your back facing a glass window even when you are just checking
out a painting.
10.
Last but not least, and any James Bond villain should
have known better – always, always, always watch out for back-stabbing,
literally.
Another point coutersy of EB : never keep a lizard that is bigger than your thigh.
In-Transit
Observer or being observed, who is the real traveller ?
Unknown and untitled
To the optimist there is always an unknown attraction towards the road ahead - where possibility awaits. (at Phayatai Station, Bangkok )
In Anticipation
Platform for the star - the true enabler. CSD Quarterly Convention 2012 in conjunction with the launch of 21st Century Banker, Berjaya Time Square, Kuala Lumpur
Cottage-style Seafood Stall
An otherwise quaint looking side-alley seafood stall in Bangkok, minus the giant golden rooster.
Making Impossible Possible
"Start by doing what is necessary, then what is possible, suddenly you discover you are doing something impossible", St. Francis Of Assisi
The Festival that every sheep in town dreads
Hari Raya Haji on Nov 17. The cheapest sacrificial sheep goes at half a thousand se-ekor - not cheap at all.
More unfamilar sights
Walking down 16 flights of stairs, sweating out there in office attire with another three thousand colleagues while creating another equally large crowd of onlookers - all in the name of a fire drill, simulating a fire on the 5th floor of our 38 storey high office building.
Accidents like fire or road accidents has this unexplainable ability to draw attentions. What is so fascinating about such events ? I remember as a kid, our dad drove all the way to town just to watch a fire rescue at Kg. Air.
An unfamiliar sight.....
The printing mills stopped working , newspaper delivery vans headed towards Hindu temples, the air is filled with sweet scent of jasmine and radio station turned upbeat with Tamil songs - Happy Deepavali to all my Hindu friends
Vision. Joy. Hope - my 2nd exhibition
Second exhibition in a span of two months, but this time with 11 other artists and I only have two to show. Gallery is down my block next to Secret Recipe and Sid's Pub. Convenient isn't it.
Is all good, thank you 2009 !
Despite all the ups and downs, it was all good and baby Lara is our angel, but with a dolphin wand.
16 hours to go
Day 4 - Challenges, challenges, challenges
Still no response from the Press except a kind writer Grace from the Edge, which is a pleasant surprise. Always have high regards for this paper, and hope they will not tear us apart. More paintings are to be tagged. Invitation cards are still not ready.
Day 6 - Child-free Zone
Received a mail from gallery owner, that we should try to discourage our invited guests from bringing children to the art show. Right.
Count down day 8
Staying up late to finish the price list and writing my artist biodate (again). Hate writing biodata, too painful. If painting the sides of the paintings top the most painful item list, writing biodata is a close second cousin. Many still have not confirmed their RSVP
Count down day 10
Attic of the gallery was just like a sauna. Spent a good 3 hours painting the edges of the canvas. It was such a painfully boring job and had to push myself by thinking of my ever determined niece Miss C. Plastic sheets are everywhere to protect the carpet. Paintings are placed in awkward positions to let the paint dry. No reply from the Star Metro editors yet, praying hard they will agree to feature our show in the paper.
Count down day 11
Delivering the 20 pieces of art work to the gallery. Took me 3 round trips to carry them down from my apartment. Thank goodness my car is not a kancil . It has been raining non-stop since I return from Perth. Luckily the sky was kept dry for a short half an hour, enough for me to unload all the paintings to the gallery.
"Love is Beautiful" - a group art exhibition w me and 3 other female artists
Surprise ! Yes a public art exhibition - it is for real with gallery, invites and press release.
Love Is Beautiful’ group art exhibition28 November – 31 December 2009Main Venue :
Art Lives @ Planegg Studio37-2 Jalan 23/70A, Wisma CKL,
Desa Sri Hartamas,50480 Kuala Lumpur
Exhibition hours :11am – 7pm Mondays - Saturdays
Tel : +03 6203 5223, Mobile : +6012 224 7209
Supporting Venue :
Hayn’s Pizzeria64, Jalan 27/70A, Desa Sri Hartamas
50480 Kuala Lumpur
Opens: 9am - 10pm daily
Sundays 11am - 10pm
Tel : 1-300-82-3000, Mobile : +6012 224 7209
KL has two seasons
Someone once said we have two seasons in Malaysia - raining or not raining. I didnt take to heart until I checked the weather forecast today from our National Meteorological department
Monday, 09/11/2009
Morning : Cloudy
Afternoon : Thunderstorms
Night : Cloudy
Tuesday, 10/11/2009
Morning : No rain
Afternoon : Thunderstorms
Night : Rain
Wednesday, 11/11/2009
Morning : No rain
Afternoon : Thunderstorms
Night : Rain
Thursday, 12/11/2009
Morning : No rain
Afternoon : Thunderstorms
Night : Rain
Friday, 13/11/2009
Morning : No rain
Afternoon : Thunderstorms
Night : Cloudy
Saturday, 14/11/2009
Morning : No rain
Afternoon : Thunderstorms
Night : Isolated rain
Sunday, 15/11/2009
Morning : No rain
Afternoon : Thunderstorms
Night : No rain
Miss C, my niece
My niece, Chloe, or nicknamed Miss C is a mega-watt nuclear energy generator camoflouged in a pint size body. Wherever she is, she is always all out for the experience, never contended to sit on the sideline. She was her brother's cheer leader in the recent sports day, shouting at the top of her 3 year old lungs "run Jayden run, run Jayden..." But watching other kids run is certainly not good enough for our little Miss C and little missy told mommy she wanted to run too.
So her wish was granted because the last event was a race between all the parents. And here you are, little miss C on lane 1.
Though little miss C did not win, she finished running the entire race while other kids looked on in disbelief. JD's classmate exclaimed - look a baby is running. What an amazing little girl. I hope she grows up to be a brave young lady, going all out for what she wants and never have to be bothered about winning or losing
Eating in Perth
Eating in Perth's Priscilla Kitchen is like living in a 6-star holiday resort. It is not any resort, it is my sister's home. With stern warning, I forbid my sis or my brother in-law to take me out for dining because there are just better use of money. Besides sister is a great cook. The most memorable is the home-made pizza, though unfortunately I forgot to take pictures. Sister has a bread-making machine which helped to prepare the dough. Brother in-law kneaded the dough and a generous chef he is, topped the pizza with overflowing heaps of pineapples, hams, tomato, cheese, olives and shrimps. Biting into the pipping hot pizza fresh out from the oven in the cool evening of Perth's spring , it was better than any fine dining.
In another day, we had caramel pork belly with steam bun "man-tao". I was so stuffed that I thought my tummy was going to burst like a balloon.
But the very meal that blew me away was the breakfast prepared by my nephew JD and niece Chloe. Jayden learns how to cook in school. On a rather quiet Saturday morning, the two monkeys decided to crawl out of bed while all the suffering adults are trying to sleep over their week long stress. The two little ones fetched the milk from the fridge and poured it into 2 plastic colour bowls - one for for mommy and the other one for Aunty W. Daddy is out to help their uncle with marketing, so Daddy is spared. Deciding that corn flakes will get soggy if it was left too long, they sneaked up my room and peeped through the door with a cheeky grin, they asked "Are you awake Aunty Wendy ?"....So there I was sitting at the sofa in my pyjama, wtching Play school on TV with them, and slurpping my cornflakes from a kiddy orange bowl ! Their mommy chuckled and asked me how a soggy bowl of cereals taste like. I told her - it was yummy
5 years on...
5 years ago, Aunty Wendy and ever fashionable Aunty J and our 1 year old nephew Jayden
5 years on, Aunty Wendy with Jayden, his 3 year-old sister Chloe and ever so cute baby sister Lara, whom I nicknamed shiney potato.
Mum said that it is a blessing to have such lovely time with the three monkeys. I agree and believe I am blessed to have my sister Mommy Harimau too, who miraculously runs a household with 3 kids and 1 husband without a maid and still manage to steal time for girls-night-out with her buddies. Salute sista !
A Change of Scene
Creative lightning strikes or may be the new wind of fung-shui ? Whatever the reason was, I thought why not changed my living room and study around. So here is the new layout. Now my back faces the TV when I study, hence I will be a very attentive student next year.
Saved by the Golden Retriever
One Sunny afternoon I was hiking alone up Gasing Hill. Walking briskly through the shady woods, I was stopped in my way by a hostile black dog. It looked like Blacky (dad's dog) but slightly taller and much younger. Too my horror he was inching towards me and barking even more loudly. The path was only enough for one person and there was no other side track that I could flee. I stood still and trying to keep calm, hoping that he will turn around and leave.
Just then, a golden retriever appeared behind him. The GR swaggered past the Mr. black dog and came towards me, sniffed at me for a while and looked up at me. The GR has very friendly eyes and I patted him on his head. He stayed close to me for a while. After a few minutes later, the GR went back to the Mr.Black and off the two went away. Now and then, the black dog would turned around to bark at me and ran to catch up with the GR.
I think these two gentlemen dogs might be from the houses down the hill. They both wear dog collars and tags. I suspect they have lost their way. I am thankful for the GR. Without him, I am quite certain the Mr.Black might attack me. But I am also amazed at the kinship the two dogs have between each other.
Hey, char siew, I like
From the eyes of a baby
The Nutcracker at Charrington Court
On my way to Perth
Sitting at airport lounge, can spot dundees miles away. They all wear flip-flips and singlets, hats round their necks and crowd around sports bar. Wonder if they hop like roos when they are drunk.
Lemang sedap.....
My neighbourhood has turned into a lemang fiesta during the weeks leading up to Raya. Lemang stalls lined both sides of the 3 lanes road. Some lemang hawkers even set up a tent so that they could take a nap while the charcoal fire coaxed the lemang sedap into perfection. Customers, in their kancil or huge Mercedes just pulled up by the roadside, hopped out of the car to get themselves a fresh tube of lemang while exchanging the latest gossips.
Lemang is actually glutinous rice soaked in coconut milk and stuffed in hollow bamboo tubes. I heard the lemang needs to bake overnight. The cooked lemang goes perfectly well with beef rendang floss and rose syrup drink (air sirup). You get to keep the bamboo container too, which if you have a dozen of it, you can make a great windchime.
Woodfire coaxing the lemang to behave itself for the Raya
Competitor across the road !