Two Women

This is a story of two women. I do not know them personally but somehow they are part of my world.

On the 25th July 2003, at 3:09:48 AM a short message beeped me into consciousness from a deep slumber. It was a short message from my friend Vi An. He said 'My mum pass away'. I kept this message until today. I just received a new cell phone and I do not know how to transfer my old messages. So when I read this I felt kind of sad. For this is my last link with her and what her death meant to me. At that time I felt good that Vi An had placed me as someone important enough to let me know of his grief. It gave a defination to our friendship. Now he does not call me anymore. Such is the transitory of human relationship.

On the 20th July 2005, at 7:55 AM the wife of our current Prime Minister died from breast cancer. Her illness is public knowledge but her death still shock Malaysian collective consciousness. I watched a little of the funeral in the evening news. According to Muslim rites she was buried on the same day. Very soon she too will be regulated into the past.

Nothing is permanent .........

A most disgusting man.

I live in a very working class neighborhood. What is a working class? To me it means that most of my neighbors have to work very hard for their livelihood. Normally they have very little time for social niceties. Take for instance the family that lives on the floor below me. I do not know much about the husband. He squats by the drain every morning while waiting to send his kids to school. The wife runs a noodle stall on a five foot way. I don't think it is the lack of money but rather the environment they live in. For instance they talked to each other at the top of their voice. Also they swear alot using very colorful language. The funny thing is that they do it all the time among themselves. For example when the mother is angry she will used very lurid terms even referring to her own private parts while scolding her children!

There is a older man who lived in the next block. I called him the 'most disgusting man' because of his behavior. In the morning, on the way out he will drive by with a bag of refuse dangling from his open car window. Just as he gets near the rubbish bin he will throw the bag onto the ground and drive off. He even does this when the cleaner is standing by the bin. He could easily just stop his car and give the bag to her. Instead he just fling in next to her as if to say 'hey its your job, pick it up'. The poor cleaner must feel really bad being treated this way.... and she has to pick up after him. What a bastard! This is one case of third world mentality. I wonder how we can even begin to build a civil society with these people in it?

A Fish Story

How to dress a Cincaru. (Scienticfic : Megalaspis Cordyla, English : Hardtail Scad, Malay : Ikan Cincaru, Cantonese : Ngan Mei Chee)

I like to eat this fish. I remember my see koo (4th Aunt) always cooked it for me when I visited her. She will stuffed the fish with a spicy paste made from chili, onion, garlic, dried shrimps and belacan (prawn paste). This recipe is called 'Hu Chee Rumpah - Sambal stuffed fish'. Of course she made it all look so easy. I found out this is a Nyoya (a Peranakan woman) recipe. My grandmother was a Strait Born (Peranakan - a Chinese who is borned in the Straits Settlement - speaks and dresses like a Malay) so I guessed my auntie learned this from her.

Two nights ago I was invited to a pot luck party. Thinking it was the Ramadhan (fasting season) I wanted to make something local. So I bought a dozen Cincaru. I told the guys at the fish counter to help clean my pickings while I go buy other stuff. When I got home I discovered the fish were gutted but with the scales still intact. This fish is aptly named. It possessed an armor like cover - one scale over the other in a continuous chain. I have limited culinary skills, I thought in order to fry the fish I must take off the tough exterior. So I tried to remove the skin. It was so tough the knife could not even penetrate the scale. Out of desperation I used a pair of pliers. While pulling off the skin I took out the meat too. By that time I was hot, sweaty and totally frustrated. Besides time was fast running out, so was my confidence. I knew I was doing it wrong because by then I had a fish without meat staring at me. I raced up to my PC and keyed in 'How to dress a Cincaru?' but zilch, absolutely nothing on this matter. In the end I packed all the fishes into the freezer.

So here I am posting this article. Hopefully one day it may rescue someone. Now take heed - you do not need to remove the scale at all! If you fry this fish without the scale the meat will all fall off from the bone. After cooking, the armored skin can be removed easily by just lifting it off! Aaaaaaaaaaargh.

Anyway for whatever reason you may need to remove the skin this is how you do it. I consulted a colleague and she taught me this way.

Method :

Make a cut next to the gill, just at the beginning of the first scale. Do not cut into the tough scale because it will only blunt your knife. Take a piece of newspaper or any protective medium (to prevent cutting your hand) and grasped the first tough scale. Pull the scale towards the tail in one smooth motion. The scales should come off in one long section. Of course you may use pliers!

Is there anyone out there who would like to share recipes for Cincaru? Please reply to this posting and I shall be eternally grateful.

On A Clear Day You Can See Forever Part 2 .....

Though the haze is gone but will it come back next year? It was reported in the newspaper that Malaysia was also a culprit to the problem, someone out there was burning his plantation too. Shameful.

On A Clear Day You Can See Forever ..........

No. I am not writing about the 1970 movie, the one with Barbra Streisand and Yves Montand. That is a different story all together. This story is about my city; Kuala Lumpur. Actually this s about the weather. I am not English, so why am I so preoccupied with this subject? Just that a good friend of mine said 'Yesterday reminded me of my university days in London - the perfect pea soup foggy day'. (*Billie Holliday softly crooning 'Foggy London Town' in the background*).

Well it started three days ago ......... a haze descended stealthily on the city, very much like an unwanted guest. However this is no stranger because I have seen it in the past. This time the air was so thick with suspended particles, the government had to declare a state of emergency in Kuala Selangor and Klang. Schools were closed, people were told to stay indoor, all outdoor activities were cancelled and confusion reigned. Doctors had to cope with increased numbers of patients suffering from respitory problems. It was even reported that several trainee nurses fainted from breathing difficulties. No place was safe. The dirty thick air crept into offices, homes, malls, hospitals, places of worships and everywhere. The smell - the distinctive burning smell (not entirely unpleasant) that tells you something is not quite right.

You bet this is not right. This folly is forced upon us by the burning of huge swatch of forest and plantations in Sumatra, Indonesia. Strange, if we had already encountered this before and that we know it is unhealthy and bad then why is it that the authorities in both countries still allow it to happen? Maybe we are either too uncaring or desensitise to act ........................ maybe next year we print on the travel brochure - come see the most beautiful sunset in the world, only in Kuala Lumpur, with collabaration from Indonesia. (*cough, cough*).

I like ......

I like ...... :-)

1. Rainbow.
2. Rain in the Morning.
3. Long walk in uncrowded places.
4. When my cat 'Miu Miu' snuggles up to me.
5. Good Conversation.
6. A movie that makes me think and feel differently.
7. Train Ride.
8. When I sit by the window enjoying a cup of good coffee after completing my houseworks.
9. A well taken photograph.
10. Blooming flowers in a garden.
11. (list will be updated periodically).

I dislike ............

I dislike .......... :-(

1. Broken Pavement.
2. Rubbish on the stairs.
3. DVD that cannot play especially towards the end of the movie.
4. Out of service ATM.
5. Driver that cuts into my path without signaling.
6. Female driver that cuts into my path and pretend that I do not exist.
7. Missing button.
8. Hole in the socks.
9. Miu Miu's hairs ................. everywhere ....
10. Sreaming and ill behaved children. Parents that do not care are the worst.
11. Parent who double parked just because they are sending their children to school.
12. Water cut without notice.
13. Power cut without notice - I have to reset my radio alarm, video recorder and even the micro wave oven.
14. Haze. Yes, dirty air in Kuala Lumpur. It is now an annual occurence and quality of air is getting worst each time.
15. (List will be updated periodically).

A long time passing .....

So long ago since I wrote anything. Yes, such a long while that I forgot my password. The easy part is that I can get help by clicking this and that. If only this is true with people whom I have lost contact ................ is there such buttons that I can click so that I may find them?

I see so much changes in the city I lived in (Kuala Lumpur). Some so subtle that when I realised it I had to stop momentary and wondered 'Oh but it was here the last time'. I realised then I am becoming a stranger in a place I thought I knew like the back of my hands. I take great delights in coming back to familiar places. It doesn't matter the people there do not know me. The important thing is that I remember them.

Why am I feeling so nostalgic? I am talking about the passing of one of my favourite haunts the 'PAGE ONE' book shop in Lot 10, a shopping mall. I remember it so well, a decade ago. It was located then on the ground floor right out in the front. I was so delighted and awed by the wonderful books on displayed. So many to look at. Some with pictures so incredible it took my breath away. There were books that spoke of long forgotten places and strange people. Some tomes gave me insights to past great masters and creators of awesome new visions. Of course I never leave without looking at those of beautiful dwellings and delightful gardens. Like most good things these books were not cheap. I must say I succumbed many times to their siren songs. I remember too those crazy tilted book case that make me a little dizzy. Design and novelty values aside the proprietor had the good sense to straigthen them eventually.

I said my goodbye to the books on the eve of the closure. The shop was filled with more than usual number of people mostly bargain hunters. I did not stay long, just wandered around the well remembered aisles, running my fingers lightly over books I coveted but could not afford. So goodbye to an old friend .............and Kuala Lumpur changed a little without many of us knowing it. 

I have a door curtain (noren) printed with a famous picture. A gift from a Japanese friend, Hiroki Kageyama san. This is a very famous picture and it is called ‘The Great Waves of Kanagawa’. It is a wood block painting made by Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849). Why is this picture so famous? The picture depicts the great force of nature. It shows huge harbour waves (okinasumi) towering over small boats and even smaller people. The artist was very clever. He put the snow capped Fuji-san in the background. He made the mountain very small, as if about to be swallowed by the water.

I have seen this picture before, printed in books, on t-shirts, postcards etc. In fact you probably have seen it too. Like you, I never paid much attention to it. But now this picture is very powerful. Everyday it reminds me of how strong and terrible nature can be.

Early morning on 26th December 2004, the big cousin of such a wave came crashing onto the shores of 8 countries. His name - Tsunami. Within a short period Tsunami-san killed more than 350,000 people, made an equal number homeless and damaged an unaccountable amount of properties. This killer was the result of a very big earthquake in the Indian Ocean just west of Northen Sumatra. Now Malaysians are so frighten of earthquakes and giant waves. Imagine that.

Two days ago, on the 29th March just after midnight another earthquake struck almost the same place. Although this time the force is lesser yet the shock waves reached the Malaysian Peninsula. Maybe we were so spooked by the previous tragedy, many Malaysian rushed out from their homes onto the streets when they felt the tremors. Fortunately no one died and only minor damages were reported here. This is enough to make everyone worried about the next big one! The government is talking about setting up earthquake guidelines for new buildings. This is all very new and strange to us because Malaysia never experienced earthquakes and such. I slept through the whole incident. LOL.

Whenever I go into the kitchen I still look at the curtain. To think that someone, in a foreign land, had 170 years ago warned us to take heed of nature. Somehow I did not hear the roaring waves, drowned in my everyday domesticity and pettiness. Sigh. 

I see with my two little eyes ............................. not as good as before but nevertheless unceasingly help me look at all things bright and beautiful and all creatures great and small.