The thing about friends.

The thing about friends as you grow older, is that how much my life was made richer because they were there. Last year I lost a dear friend. One minute he was talking to me over the telephone and the next thing I know I was reading his obituary.

Now another friend is fighting for his life in Melbourne. What a bummer. Imagined getting so ill in a foreign land. Although his siblings are with him but his chosen family is here. So Edi you come back to us healthy now, you hear.

Tribute

Yasmin Ahmad (1958 - 2009)
Director, Story Teller and Malaysian

I always look forward to big festival celebration in Kuala Lumpur. The main reason being the traffic. Driving in KL during the holidays is delightful and enjoyable. It only shows most of the people living in KL are from out of town.

Besides the quiet roads, I look forward to the television commercials that remind us of home, community and love. Some clever directors use humour and others tug at our heart strings. But this year the magic of TV commercial is a little bit dimmer. I missed the work of Yasmin Ahmad who never failed to put a lump in my throat or well up my eyes. Yasmin had been entertaining us for many years, television commercials with simple message that are always apt for the festival. Poor Yasmin died suddenly on 25th July, 2009. I shall miss her.

I wonder if City Hall will ever name a road after Yasmin Ahmad. So each festival as I drive along Jalan Yasmin Ahmad, I shall enjoy the holiday wholly again.

Disfiguring declarations.

Two days ago my flickr friend William posted a picture and called in Bamboo Love (see here : http://www.flickr.com/photos/williamnyk/3896263931/in/photostream/). I was quite upset with this picture because it shows the insensitivity of Malaysian. I notice that Malaysian young lovers like to carve their declaration of affections onto perfectly defenceless plants and objects. Look at this photograph. Not an inch of the poor bamboo has been spared. And I wonder where they learn this disgusting habit from?

Not too long ago I was in a garden in Cameron Highland. I was enjoying myself taking photographs of the beautiful flowers when I came across a disfigured cactus. Someone had carved an inane love message on that poor plant. It must have taken years for that cactus to grow to that size. But because of someone foolishness and insensitivity the plant appearance was changed from being bold and majestic to something ugly and hideous. It would be better if he had carved that message on the lover's face instead!

When I was young my grandmother taught us not to deface plants and rocks. She said if you do that then your children will be born with ugly marks on their faces! And I sincerely hope what she said is true.

Taking Advantage?

A couple of months ago a friend decided to give away most of his furniture. He said he needed a new environment for his apartment. His things are in excellent conditions. It would be a shame to just 'campak' (throw) them. I inherited his sofa. His 'others' things and my existing sofa went to another friend's home.

The moving of the furniture was a bit complicated because the delivery man had to move things from one household to another. And we live in different part of the city. To simplify logistic we decided only one person makes payment. The final amount was agreed by all parties. At the very first stop, the delivery man was paid in full. He was fully cognizant of this fact. After my house he had to make one more stop. Our friend, the last recipient was at my house because he needs to lead the delivery man. Before they left for the last leg, I gave my friend RM150.00 I knew my friend did not have any cash, the money was for his own expenses. In the excitement of shifting (things were all over the place), I said 'just give extra like RM30 to the delivery man when he finished at your place'.

The next day I asked my friend about the moving and how much he tipped the delivery man? He said he gave him RM180! I was upset with myself for not making myself clear. Obviously there is a misunderstanding here. My friend thought that the RM150 was the delivery payment and that he should pay an extra RM30 as tip. However he recalled that I did tell him that full payment will be made by someone else. My friend rang up the delivery man and told him the mistake and that he should return RM150.

I recounted the story to my friend who arranged the moving. He said the delivery man is known to him and that he was very disappointed with him. At the first stop he told the delivery man explicitly his payment was for the whole job. Obviously the delivery man should know that no one will give him a RM180 tip!

So did the delivery man took advantage of the situation? And did I unknowingly became the temptation vehicle?

Musical Chairs, anyone?

When I was very young, I was rather shy and awkward. I was not a very competitive child. I remember I dislike playing games in a group because I do not understand what others were doing.

Just before school year is over there is always a party. One of the most popular games then is musical chairs. It is a simple game. The objective of the game is to find a seat when the accompanying music stops. The trick is that there is always one chair less than the number of participants. As the game progresses each person without a seat will be removed together with a chair. Needless to say as the chairs become less, there will be more frantic pushing, running and screaming. At the end there will only be one chair and two persons wanting to sit on it. And everyone of course will like to know who will get the ‘Chair’.

Congruently this is happening in the Perak State Government. Currently there are two Mentri Besar (State Chief Ministers) and two Speakers of the House. Likewise in the game there are a lot of shoving, pushing and noise. It will be very interesting to see who gets to sit down when the music stop.

Songs For My Mother.

Last weekend my friend Mok gave me a CD 'Songs for My Mother' by Ronan Keating. For the first time I played the CD in the car on the way to work. I am not a big fan of Ronan or boy's band for that matter. The collection of songs is perfect if you are over 40 because you will probably heard all of them before. Ronan sang 'Time after Time' a Cyndi Lauper classic. This song always choked me up. I am glad I caught Cyndi in Singapore many years ago. Ronan also sang 'Both Sides Now'. I remember my friend Walter Knight teaching me this song while sitting on the school field 38 years ago! Some songs are just meant to last.

Fresh Start

After several weeks without rain, the residents in Kuala Lumpur was just so glad that they had a downpour yesterday afternoon. The sudden deluge may caused inconvenience to some but I am sure they did not mind. The rain was a great respite to the unbearable heat. I missed this event because where I sit in the office is just too far for me to see and hear the falling drops. But in the wee hours of the night the rain came again. The loud drumming of the droplets against the windows woke me from my slumber. I dug deeper into the warmth of my furry blanket and within minutes was fast asleep again. Within that brief awareness, the clock told me it's only three something. The next thing I knew the pesky clock was insisting I wake up for work. From my bedroom windows I could see the ground was wet and I could smell the freshness in the air. As I walked to my car I can feel the insistent light caress of tiny drops on my balding pate. Wet cool mornings are my favorite and I hope the rain will come again, soon.