Saturday, January 31, 2004

Dejavu - Malam terakhir



D E J A V U

Karya: Ismail Kassan
Pengarah: Siti Rohayah Attan
Pelakon: Ogy Ahmad Daud, Shukor Yon, Juhara Ayub, Norzizi Zulkifli, Melissa Saila, Mubarak Majid dan ramai lagi

Tajaan: Kementerian Perpaduan Negara & Pembangunan Masyarakat dan Persatuan Penulis Wanita Malaysia
Tarikh: 24-29 Januari 2004
Tempat: Auditorium Besar Pusat Pelancongan Malaysia (MTC), Jalan Ampang

Sinopsis:
Dejavu mengisahkan sebuah daerah tempat pesalah dibuang daerah. Lokasi tempat kejadian adalah penghujung rumah murah berhampiran rumah kongsi yang sudah tidak digunakan lagi.

Rumah kongsi itu dihuni sepasang suami isteri pendatang Indonesia yang cerdik pemikirannya kerana mereka bekas lulusan universiti iaitu Narti dan Yanto. Pasangan ini sebenarnya rindukan kampung halaman mereka dan berasa amat rendah diri sebagai pendatang. Jiran mereka pula adalah tiga wanita pelbagai status sosial iaitu Nora (GRO), Salmi (ustazah) dan Rohana (pelajar universiti).

Rohana sering dihantui mimpi yang menjadi dejavu kepada dirinya. Dia mendapat isyarat yang agak buruk mengenai tempat itu tetapi tidak dapat mentafsirkannya. Kesan isyarat yang tidak dapat ditafsirkan itu Rohana menjadi emosional dan tidak ketentuan.

Rohana juga sering memandang rendah ke atas Nora dan menghinanya. Bagaimanapun penghinaan itu tidak dipedulikan Nora dan hubungan mereka masih normal hinggalah mereka didatangi perompak dan cuba memperkosa mereka.


Aku tonton teater Dejavu pada malam terakhir pementasannya. Pergi bersama-sama makcik aku, kami duduk sekali dengan rakan yang aku kenal dari Book Review Blog, Aliya dan temannya. Geng team PFS pun ramai yang turut menonton malam tu, tapi mereka duduk di baris tengah-tengah sebelah kiri, kami pulak duduk baris kedua dari depan sebelah kanan. Saja suka duduk depan, nampak secara lebih dekat pelakon-pelakon beraksi.

Ulasan-ulasan yang aku baca (secara sikit-sikit, tak baca keseluruhan artikel, konon cuba elak supaya aku menonton dengan 'open mind' tapi willpower' tak cukup kuat, nak jenguk jugak!) serta respon rakan-rakan yang dah menonton semuanya menyatakan best! Aku masuk dewan malam tu dengan penuh 'anticipation' untuk menyaksikan sesuatu yang sangat bagus, sangat baik dan pendek kata segala-galanya yang sangat , secara positif. Teruja (perkataan BM yang selalu digunakan bagi terjemahan 'excited' di kaca TV) sungguh rasanya.

Dan apabila aku melangkah keluar dewan jam 11.25 malam, memang aku puas hati. Sangat.

Aku nampak kekuatan pementasan Dejavu terletak paling ketara pada dua perkara (yang memang tunjang apa-apa pementasan sekalipun) iaitu naskhah pementasan yang baik dan lakonan yang sangat mantap, melengkapi antara satu sama lain.

Karya Dejavu diolah menampilkan isu-isu yang boleh dikatakan 'timeless' seperti perihal pendatang dari negara lain, kerinduan terhadap kampung halaman, konflik penyesuaian diri di tempat asing, imej perempuan GRO, serta perompak, perogol dan orang gila. Isu-isu yang aku jangka akan tetap relevan di khalayak kita, melainkan tiba pada satu masa akan datang apabila profesion buruh kasar diambil alih secara total oleh rakyat tempatan atau robot (lantas tiada lagi pendatang seperti Yanto dan rakan-rakannya), perempuan GRO dah tak wujud lagi di pusat-pusat hiburan (digantikan dengan hologram? atau robot jugak?), serta rompak dan rogol terhapus dari statistik jenayah tahunan – mungkin ke?

Lakonan yang dipersembahkan sangat mantap dan berkesan baik watak-watak utama mahupun watak-watak kecil, yang membawa penonton ke daerah buangan mereka. Semasa menonton Dejavu, aku nampak dengan jelas Narti (superb!) dan Yanto si pendatang, Nora si perempuan GRO, Pak Jamal penjual sayur / bekas banduan, perompak-perompak, polis, orang gila serta mat-mat Indon yang berkeliaran di atas pentas. Cuma pada Ustazah Salmi dan Rohana aku masih terlihat ada sedikit samar-samar Melissa Saila dan Norzizi Zulkifli - bukanlah lakonan mereka kurang bagus, cuma ini dari pendapat aku sendiri yang merasakan pembawaan Ustazah Salmi masih belum total 'Ustazah Salmi', dan Rohana masih belum cukup 'Rohana'. Bagaimanapun aku akur cara dan gerak pembawaan watak-watak ni tentunya diinterpretasikan mengikut acuan minda pengarah dan pelakon berkenaan, sedangkan aku menonton dengan acuan minda aku sendiri.

Aku harus salute Ogy sebagai Narti yang nampak sungguh 'real', dari cara dia bercakap hinggalah gerakan tangannya membetulkan kain, sampaikan mata aku terpana di minit-minit awal pementasan untuk meyakinkan diriku sendiri, itu Ogy.

Aku paling suka babak-babak monolog para pelakon, yang antara lain berfungsi sebagai sesi flashback mengapa mereka di situ (bagi Pak Jamal dan Nora). Monolog Ogy membuatkan aku terfikir, seburuk itukah layanan kita kepada para pendatang negara asing? ("Pulanglah kalian, nyah dari sini, jangan kalian pijak tanah ini, di sini maruah kalian akan dipijak, keringat kalian akan diperah, yang perempuan diperkosa. Kerana di bumi ini, kita sampai bila-bila dianggap pendatang, sedangkan ini bumi Allah!"). Shukor Yon pula transit secara total sebagai Yanto semasa scene beliau cuba mengingati baris lagu 'Begawan Solo' yang hampir dilupainya setelah sekian lama meninggalkan tanahair sendiri.

Pada watak Nora, aku nampak sikap masyarakat kita yang secara umum memandang hina kepada golongan yang dianggap berstatus lebih rendah dari mereka. Mimik muka dan nada suara yang ditampilkan Norzizi sewaktu Rohana berbicara (berdebat!)dengan Narti dan Yanto, sewaktu diusik oleh rakan-rakan Yanto, dan sewaktu dia dihadapkan dengan realiti pekerjaan Nora (pe-la-yan!), cemerlang sekali. Jelas menampakkan tanggapan bahawa beliau lebih bagus dari mereka, that she's too good for the place and is certainly on a higher level in every capacity.

Di sinilah Dejavu menggoncang tanggapan itu apabila kisah insan-insan yang dipandang hina dan tidak bertempat di sisi masyarakat ini dikupas, bagaimana keadaan memaksa tindakan dan mengubah kehidupan manusia. Betapa penilaian awal kita terhadap manusia selalu tidak tepat, selagi kita belum mengenali seseorang itu dengan lebih dalam.

Aku juga cukup tertarik dengan watak perompak (Shoffi Jikan) dan orang gila (maaf aku tak perasan namanya) dalam Dejavu. Dalam jahat-jahat si perompak, tetap mengingatkan rakannya (juga perompak) untuk membaca Bismilah sebelum makan. Dan dalam gila-gila si orang gila, tetap duduk untuk makan dengan penuh adab sopan dan menggunakan sudu untuk mencedok kuah ke nasi. Begitulah antara kelucuan yang diselitkan dalam Dejavu. Lucu, tapi penuh makna. Bukan acuan slapstik orang gemuk jatuh atau orang berkulit hitam disamakan dengan kuali.

Ia mengembalikan kenangan (macam deja vu la jugak) kepada peristiwa yang berlaku sewaktu rumahku dirompak dulu: Seorang dari perompak itu mengejutkan ayahku dengan elok dari tidur (sebelum mengikatnya), begini katanya, "Pakcik, bangun ya, pakcik, bangun...." (sambil mencuit bahu ayahku lembut); serta seorang lagi yang pantas menghulurkan kain pelikat untuk dipakai kepada seorang ahli keluargaku yang pada waktu itu berbaju tidur singkat, katanya, "Nah, pakai kain, tutup, kami cuma mau mengambil barang, jangan kata kami mau buat jahat lain". Serius! Bukanlah aku nak kata semua perompak sebenarnya baik, merompak tetap perbuatan jahat, tapi yang terselit di sebalik itu.... Mungkin keadaan memaksa dia bertindak demikian, sedangkan kalau boleh dia tak mau buat begitu!

Dejavu - dalam serius, ada komedinya, dan dalam komedinya, ada serius. Aku kategorikan sebagai pementasan teater Melayu yang cemerlang, kalau ada kesempatan rasanya mau aku tonton lebih dari sekali (macam SM dan oraet). Tahniah buat semua yang terlibat. Komen makcik aku (yang baru diperkenalkan kepada teater Melayu), "Best lagi yang ni dari Anak Kerbau Mati Emak walaupun buat kat tempat besar". Tak ralat kami bersesak-sesak sebelum masuk dewan serta terubat kecewa menghadapi sesat jalan, kepayahan mendapatkan parking dan kehabisan tiket pada malam sebelumnya. Berbaloi!

Cuma lain kali harapnya janganlah ada lagi penonton yang dah beli tiket tak dapat tempat duduk ya...

P.S untuk rakan-rakan PFS: Bukan taknak join korang minum lepas tu, tapi esoknya kerja daa... (which is why I quickly disappeared, bistreo!)
---------------------------------------

Trivia:

1. Karya ini pernah dipentaskan pada 1999 dengan tajuk Dejavu Seorang Perempuan serta mendapat sambutan menggalakkan.

2. Watak Narti sepatutnya dilakonkan oleh Erma Fatima (pemegang watak yang sama dalam Dejavu Seorang Perempuan), tetapi beliau menarik diri sepuluh hari menjelang malam pertama pementasan.

3. Ogy Ahmad Daud sebelum ini pernah menyatakan beliau tidak mahu berlakon lagi, namun tetap menerima watak Narti bagi menyelamatkan keadaan dan atas dasar membantu kawan.

(Rujukan Trivia: Artikel "Ogy Hadir Kena Masa", Harian Metro, ruangan Bintang, Khamis 22 Januari 2004)

Thursday, January 29, 2004

Dejavu: The 'Tiket Habis' Saga Continues


[My prized Dejavu tix for tonight]


Did I learn from last time? Well, I did spell out the lessons (that should've been) learnt, but did I act accordingly this time? Nooooooo.. no reservation took place, no call was made to ensure tickets were still available and the assumption that "The tickets sure ada one, don't worry, let's just buy them at the counter right before the show, still enough time" was still there.

Arrived at the Malaysia Tourism Centre vicinity (Jalan Ampang) at 8.08 p.m. yesterday to catch the 8.30 p.m. show of the theatre show Dejavu (starring Fauziah Ahmad Daud, Melissa Saila, Juhara Ayob, Norzizi Zulkifli, Syukor Yon, Mubarak Majid and others). Everything seemed fine up to that time, despite a 10-minute detour due to a couple of wrong turns along the way and the pouring rain that was starting to get heavier and heavier by the minute.

Then it began to get really 'exciting'. First we found our car being in a line of traffic that did not seem to budge except for the occasional centimetre or so, just about 20 metres from the entrance to the parking lot (Aunt: "We should've just told the parking guy at Saloma Bistro we're going for dinner, and park at their parking lot!"). The glowing digits on the dashboard crept on... 8.11, 8.12, 8.13, 8.14. A stretch of the neck was presented with the sight of a car with hazard lights on at the entrance gate. Kereta rosak? Couldn't he at least move a little bit, instead of obstructing the only available entrance to the MTC parking lot?

8.15, 8.16. 8.17. By this time the line of cars (all obviously going for the same show) had tripled. Honking became haywire. That particular vehicle still at the same location, hazard lights still blinking.

8.18. Said vehicle suddenly switched off its hazard lights and left the scene (Ma, it's alive!!!). Ahh... now time for everything to go smoothly, no? A security guard was seen closing the gate. Huhh?? What the..??? Honking fest again. A couple of people got out and went to the (closed) gate, discussing the weather with the guard maybe. Decided against joining the party.

8.22. A fellow in white-collared shirt came half-running from MTC towards the scene. Looks important. Seen departing a few words to security guard. Rolled the gate open himself (the important-looking fellow, not the guard). Cars could finally enter parking lot again, and the quick-quick-spot-an-empty-space game began.

8.23. Found empty space behind a Tourist Bus, along the sidewalk. Didn't reckon it was a 'valid' parking spot, but what the heck. It was an emergency.

8.25. Got to the Dewan Tunku Abdul Rahman (show venue). Witnessed a crowd at least 30-strong lining up (sort of, in a 'crowdly' way) in front of the ticketing desk. Whoa. Joined the merriment. Saw a few tickets being sold before ticket-lady snapped shut her ticket-book and declared "Tiket malam ni dah habis... full house" ("Tonight's tickets sold out, it's a full house"). Crowd went berserk. Chanting started - "Tomorrow's tix, tomorrow's tix, sell us then tomorrow's tix!". Ticket-book remained determinedly shut. Ticket-lady was seen rummaging through a handwritten list and heard exclaiming to fellow organizer something like"Yang booking esok pun dah banyak ni… " ("Tomorrow’s bookings alone are a lot as it is..").

8.33. Crowd remained rooted at the area. More people arrived. A group of children was seen lining up into the hall. Must be special guests - lucky them. At least three people emerged from the hall with tickets in hand, demanding for their money back - they couldn’t find available seats inside.

8.40. Ticket-lady finally re-open the ticket-book and started allowing the crowd to buy tomorrow night’s tickets. Crowd got on their knees thankfully. A few cried openly.

9.00. Parking area again. Other cars were also parked like ours along the sidewalk. Monkey see, monkey do, hehe. Did the customary driving-around-a-little-bit-lost before finally spotting the right way back home.

Did they oversell their tickets? I think they did.
Did they underestimate the response for the show? I think they did.

Theatre slowly seeping into the pop culture these days? Or pop culture seeping into the theatre scene? A little bit of both, probably. A boost for the performing arts community, in my opinion, for I remember the days when a packed house is not very common especially for Malay theatre. I’m wondering a bit, though, since when do the public come in throngs for these shows ah? Is it always like this nowadays? Or only for this particular show?

Note to self: Must arrive early for the show tonight.

Wednesday, January 28, 2004

Who, me?

Aliya sent this to me.

Born in MARCH: Attractive personality. Affectionate. Shy and reserved. Secretive. Naturally honest, generous and sympathetic. Loves peace and serenity. Sensitive to others. Loves to serve others. Easily angered. Trustworthy. Appreciative and returns kindness. Observant and assesses others. Revengeful. Loves to dream and fantasize. Loves traveling. Loves attention. Hasty decisions in choosing partners. Loves home decor's. Musically talented. Loves special things. Moody.
------------

A major part of it is true, actually. Ain't telling you which ones aren't.

Hahahaha... beware of this revengeful, easily-angered being who loves peace and serenity!

Monday, January 26, 2004

The Stills Project: Parks of Putrajaya

300+ snaps, four whole mornings, three whole afternoons, a sleepless night and two shades darker later….


Taman Botani



Taman Warisan Pertanian



Taman Wetland



Taman Putra Perdana


While most people were making the most of their CNY holidays with balik kampung, catching up with friends and relatives or perhaps simply staying at home enjoying the respite from work, I found myself with a photo assignment due for submission on Monday the 26th, i.e. today at 10 a.m.

The assignment: Stills of the four Putrajaya parks.

Requirements:
1) Able to convey the essence of the parks’ attractions
2) Depict a sense of charm and appeal to the public. Must portray visitors.
3) Submission in form of soft copy (minimum 10 stills per park) and printed copy (the best 5 stills of each park)

Nope, I definitely did not plan to spend the four-days holiday roaming around the parks in Putrajaya trying to get that perfect snap. In fact I already had a couple of places to go to and a list of things to do as well as the delicious thoughts of sleeping in every morning, four days in a row! But as the saying goes, we could always plan, but….

The client’s deadline is on the 26th, and a photographer had already been engaged for the project whose work was to be submitted on the 21st. Turned out that the photographs did not fulfil their requirements (for submission to another party), thus there they were with a printing deadline in five days and tomorrow being the start of a four-days public holiday. Where to find someone to do it in such short notice, during a major public holiday as well?

To cut a long story short, someone needed some pictures to meet a printing deadline in five days, and there’s a four-days public holiday starting tomorrow. Who would be willing to do it?

Someone you already know, that’s who. That certain someone knew Bro, and it’s a fact that Bro does photographs for a living. But Bro had to be in his shop during that period, jaga kedai as everybody else is on CNY leave. Blabla di blabla dida dida and finally yours truly and Sis are suddenly toting a tripod and an assortment of three cameras around Putrajaya. All our cuti plans? Kensel la of course. The only plan that I would’ve went on with was going for the ‘Cocktales’ show, but then the tickets were sold out. Bummer.

I learnt that taking such photographs (in which humans and the surrounding are both equally-important as subject matters) could not be a hurried process, especially when you have to rely on a public setting where you have little control of the background and the people around it. People could be walking past by non-stop where you want it to be all clear, or you may found yourself waiting in that perfect setting for a full hour and could not see even one visitor, and yet when you decided to go for another setting and had left not a shout away they suddenly come in droves like it was the fairground or something. The best time to take pictures outside is also the ‘best’ time for you to get exposed to a higher risk of skin cancer.

People can be very accommodating and considerate (maybe because they were on a holiday and of course were on lower stress levels than usual). A lot of them wouldn’t come near once they spot the tripod (lest they be in the way), and we had to assure them it’s okay to walk in front of it, in fact what we wanted was to take pictures of people, not just the scenery. Most did not mind being photographed once we told them it’s for a project, and there were also the friendlier ones who became our ‘voluntary models’ and subject themselves to our ‘directions’, striking a particular pose here and there. Asking nicely, honest smiles and words of encouragement go a long way. Foreign tourists and young people were the most obliging lot.

Children were undeniably the most interesting to take photos of, and I just love the way they go around unassumingly, putting their pudgy fingers here and there satisfying their curiosity and running all over the place without a care. (with care abandon?). Bro commented on the first day that a lot of the stills were focused around children. Me and Sis couldn’t help it! They were harder to ‘direct’ though, and most of the time we just went along with what they were doing. Nevertheless you can always rely on them to present the perfect poses spontaneously, and they were also less self-conscious compared to adults, naturally.

Nightly we uploaded the stills to the laptop and Bro would comment and shortlist the photos, telling us what should or should not be included and instructing us to go for more tomorrow, declaring there’s still not enough of them to be worthy of the final submission. The final selection, editing and printing process went through the whole of last night, and I slept only at 6.30 a.m. Bro did not sleep at all.

The best thing is when Bro called this morning from the client’s office after the presentation, telling me they were happy with our work. Or perhaps they were that desperate and just had to take whatever there was, hmmm?

Did I enjoy myself? Yes, actually, despite the hot sun, the cancellation of prior plans and the fact that our hands were ‘twisted’ into the deal (it was kind of like being drafted into National Service). Would I do anything like it again? Erm…. M a y b e, but not four days straight during the public holidays and in such short notice please!

Saturday, January 24, 2004

Cocktales bummer

C O C K T A L E S


Venue: The Actors Studio, Bangsar
Date: 24 January 2004 @ 9.00pm
Price: RM 40 (Adults) & RM 20 (Students)


Mother once said, "women, alcohol, and cigarettes will eventually kill you!" Well can't really blame her, she's Indian. COCKTALES is about taking that advice seriously. Confessions of a 'trying to make it in the white mans country' malaysian student that will leave you wet in your pants and still wanting more... an hour of mind blowing stand-up comedy based on one Malaysian student's day to day experience about the trials and tribunals faced by an international student. This show is performed, written and directed by Govin Ruben for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival in mid April 2004.Together with Govin are special guests Martin Blum, Terrence Conrad and Kiran Dev.

COCKTALES premiers on Malaysian soil on the 24 of January 2004 for one night only before going Down Under.

Note: Performance restricted to audiences above the age of 18 only and diapers will be provided on request.





[Ya ha, YOU are NOT in time]

Oh no! To think I drove all the way to Bangsar this afternoon specifically for them. Serves me right for not calling in first to check whether the tickets are still available. A couple of weeks ago I wanted to make reservations but was told that they do not accept bookings anymore. In addition, only floor-seating tickets were left, and even those would only be available on the day of the show itself.

So there I was at 2 p.m. (six and a half hours till the show), in front of the ticket counter at The Actors Studio in Bangsar Shopping Centre, staring blankly at the event poster with those dreaded words- SOLD OUT- pasted prominently for all to see. I tried asking just in case, alas, it was in vain. Yeah right, like they would put the words ‘Sold Out’ there just for fun and they just wanted to test whether people really, REALLY want to catch the show.

So how now, brown cow? Guess I’ll just have to read the reviews when they come out. And hope that there’ll be a restaging sometime in the (near) future.

Moral of the story
#1 : Once the event is advertised, make your reservations! Even if it's two months away.
#2 : Always call the box office to check whether tickets are still available. Never assume.



[Comfort food to chase the frustration away]

Wednesday, January 21, 2004

Happy Chinese New Year



Kenapa dia di sini?



Ini bukan satu pemandangan yang asing di bandaraya Kuala Lumpur. Kau boleh nampak di kaki lima jalan, di stesen LRT, di hentian-hentian bas dan teksi, di laluan jejantas. Siang tak ada? Malam, banyak. Walaupun, ya, aku pasti kita takkan jumpa dengan paparan imej yang macam ni dalam iklan ‘Malaysia, Truly Asia’ (yang lagunya dinyanyikan dalam 27 bahasa! Wah!) atau risalah-risalah pelancongan, inilah salah satu detik yang ada dalam nadi Kuala Lumpur. Dalam setiap saat yang terlintas.

Setiap kali aku terpandang senario yang serupa, akan terdetik di fikiran:

“Kenapa dia di sini?”
“Apa kisah hidupnya?”
“Kat mana agaknya dia dua puluh lima tahun yang lalu?”


Dia di situ, kemungkinan besar sebab tak ada tempat lain yang boleh dia tuju. Yang mahu dia tuju.
Atau mungkin dia sengaja ke situ, walaupun ada tempat lain untuknya.
Merajukkah dia? Ditinggalkan anak-anak? Dihalau?

Mungkin fikirannya terganggu kerana dugaan hidup yang terlalu hebat? Lantas hilanglah kehirauannya.
Mungkin dia pernah melakukan kesalahan yang besar? Lantas inilah hukuman hidupnya.
Mungkin dia sendiri memilih hidup yang macam ni? Lantas selesalah dia di sini.

Dua puluh lima tahun dulu, di waktu ini mungkin dia sedang:

Enak diulit mimpi indah bersama isteri tercinta, yang telah berjanji akan sehidup semati dengannya walau apa pun terjadi. Mereka berkenalan sebab keluarga mereka berjiran di Ipoh; atau

Mendodoi anak kecilnya yang baru berusia dua bulan, yang tak henti-henti menangis kerana kembung perut. Baru tadi sapukan minyak angin cap kapak; atau

Supper di sebuah hotel mewah di kota Singa, bersama-sama rakan niaga selepas selesai satu perbincangan penting yang banyak untung. Esok nak berjumpa saudara pula di Bukit Timah.

Boleh jadi kan?

Ada sesiapa yang hirau? Kita?

Kita pun hulurlah seringgit (atau dua ringgit barangkali bila kita rasa sangat generous), masuk dalam tadahan tangannya. Dalam mangkuk kertasnya. Dalam bekas plastiknya. Kita rasa kesian. Tapi itulah. Mampu tak kau dan aku nak berbuat sesuatu yang lebih dari itu?

Aku harap aku takkan jadi begini bila aku dah tua nanti. Atau sesiapa pun dalam keluarga kami.

Aku tunjuk gambar ni pada abang aku. Abang aku cakap, pakcik ni sebenarnya polis! Dia mata-mata kat situ, sebab dekat-dekat sana kawasan ‘gelap’ sikit. Dia cakap, berani pulak ambik gambar? Aku cakap aku tak guna flash, lagipun aku ambik dari belakang.

Mak aku kata lain kali cuba perhati tangan orang-orang macam ini. Kalau kuku dia bersih ataupun pendek, boleh jadi betullah polis tu... nampak je macam hobo kat tepi jalan, tapi sebenarnya dia menyamar.

Penat jugak aku fikir tadi, kalau betullah dia memang sebenarnya polis.

Tuesday, January 20, 2004

Melayu-ness?

Heyy Ted, whassup…

- Heyy… lama tak dengar cerita.

I read your blog. What’s the matter, right?

- Haha… you found it! Macam mana boleh jumpa?

Blog-hopping. I knew right away it’s you. But why in English?

- Kenapa, tak boleh?

Bukanlah tak boleh… just that somehow I feel you are more honest in bahasa Melayu. Your Melayu-ness gets to me.

- Language is just the medium lah. Yang penting, the point gets through. My melayu-ness? The everyday posts speak of it. Using English does not make me any less Melayu. Anyway, kau bercakap tak guna English?

That’s not the point.

- Then what?

I like it better when you use BM.

- Duh, there's only one post in BM so far.

I like that one best.

- Haha… and look at you. Kau cakap tak guna English? Hah!

As you said, language is just the medium.

- Aik, pulang kat aku balik pulak. I'll do one post for you. In BM. Nak?

Delighted. Honored. Aku tunggu.

- Hey, did you call just to talk about language?

Takdelah. Saja nak say hi jugak.

- Hey, Melayu-ness. Cakap la nak tanya khabar…

O.k.. apa khabar, Ted.

- Surat khabar!!!

Graffito



From the Merriam-Webster Online dictionary:

graf·fi·to

Pronunciation: gr&-'fE-(")tO, gra-, grä-
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural graf·fi·ti /-(")tE/
Etymology: Italian, incised inscription, from graffiare to scratch, probably from grafio stylus, from Latin graphium

: an inscription or drawing made on some public surface (as a rock or wall)

--------------------

If you go to KLCC via the Putra LRT nowadays, you are bound to notice the ‘Ekspresi Natural’ (Natural Expression) zone sponsored by Lipton along the tunnel from the LRT station to the mall itself. There are seven (correct me if I’m wrong) ‘panels’ where the public can do stuff like scribble or draw on it, make sounds and there’s even a panel that looks like an empty music sheet, where one could go and write a short composition if one wishes to.

I found the idea interesting, and it was indeed a different sight from to the usual advertisement panels. The thing that struck me was that marker pens weren’t provided whereas most of the panels are in form of white-boards, so I presume you’d have to bring your own. Seemed like a lot of people do carry along marker pens in their bags/pockets, for I found the white-board panels scribbled with a colorful mix of statements nevertheless.

For other people (like yours truly) who do not make it a habit to carry multi-colored marker pens on their person, don’t fret, there’s still hope for us. Target the red panel where you can simply use pressure from your fingers (or nose, elbow or any body part you wish as long as you’re not risking indecent exposure charges) to make your statement or leave your mark. Which was what I did (use my fingers, that is).

Can you detect my mark there?



Let’s get a closer look.


Yes, that's my own 'stylized signature' there.

And this is how it looks like in a negative setting. I found you could see the background better this way.



I delved on an online search on graffiti, and found out from this interesting paper that the above form of graffiti can be categorized as tagging.

Tagging is described as a stylized signature that a writer marks on the environment - the most widespread type of graffiti that has been inscribed on the walls, buses and trains of the urban environment. The writer feels a sense of power by participating in an activity and culture that is so active and has such a visible effect on their physical surroundings.


Gosh, how true. I have to admit that I found myself feeling that so-called ‘sense of power’ while I was doing it.

According to a forum discussion at the Department of Communication Studies of the California State University, Northridge:

Graffiti is the language that gangs use to communicate. Gangs need graffiti to make their mark and to claim their territory, in order to claim their place in the neighborhood. Once they have claimed their place, gangs need to make sure that they are able to keep it.


Gasp! Am I part of a gang now? The ‘Lipton-Ekspresi-Natural’ gang, or LEN for short?

Gangs are all about being in a positive environment. People join gangs to belong. The gang members want to feel as if they are part of something. They need to fill a void in their lives.


Ok. Now I feel much better. It’s a positive thing to be in a gang, apparently. Void in my life.. erm…. I think it must’ve been the void in my stomach at that particular time which prompted me to do it.

Later I came upon this on bathroom graffiti. Yes, somebody from the University of Iowa actually did a piece on those extra-curricular writings by aspiring poets on the walls of campus toilets, and found that :

1) The degrading of minority groups is often seen in men’s graffiti, possibly because men may perceive the subordinate groups as threatening, reflecting the subjective concerns and fears experienced by men. Men strive to reaffirm and maintain their superior position in society;

whereas

2) Women’s bathroom graffiti is often cooperative and helpful. In contrast to men, women strive to alter their position in the stratified society, or at least find ways to deal with their situation.


Deep, huh?

And furthermore,

Women’s graffiti contained a lot of questions compared to men’s. The abundance of questions in women’s graffiti shows that women look to other women for advice, perhaps with the mindset that any woman will be likely to understand and react to the situation.

The lack of questions from men may show that men are less concerned with the opinions of other anonymous men when dealing with problems. It is more likely, however, that the context of bathroom graffiti is not seen as an appropriate place to solicit advice from other men.


Well, perhaps the situation do not apply as such in our culture, for I’ve been to many women’s public restrooms, and I don’t think there is an “abundance of questions in women’s graffiti” here. For the men’s, I can’t comment lah, obviously. The only times I’ve stepped inside a men’s restroom were all tersilap masuk cases, and even then only one step or two before I realized that there were strange-looking contraptions in there and that’s not where I belong. What say you?

Gang graffiti, bathroom graffiti, if people keep their marker pens / aerosol paint cans / brushes away from the public walls / seats / doors, there would be less of them colorful phrases in the urban environment. But then, you can always go to the ‘Ekspresi Natural’ zone, and scribble away! (don’t forget the marker pens though– whiteboard type, of course).

Reference Links:

1) Graffiti as a Language and its Meaning

2) Graffiti: Evidence of gender differences or similarities in communication

3) Gang Graffiti @ Streetgangs.com (with a graffiti gallery)

4) Gang Graffiti on the City Landscape
(a 25-page paper by Alonso, Alejandro A., presented at the Western Geography Graduate Conference, San Diego State University, February 14, 1998)

Monday, January 19, 2004


I need an easy friend
I do ... with an ear to lend
I do ... think you fit this shoe
I do ... won't you have a clue

from About A Girl (Nirvana)


- deleted-

Sunday, January 18, 2004

Sing-a-song

Karaoke session with some friends yesterday afternoon. I chose a few songs from the yesteryears - oh they do bring back the memories. For the record, nope, I can't really sing (the others were much, much better). If it was a competition, I'd come dead last. If it was an Akademi Fantasia concert, I'd receive the least SMSs, heh! Or if I didn't, they'd have a flame war over it in the forums.

Alas, this much-loved song wasn't in their database. The only Chumbawamba song they have is 'Tubthumping'.

Amnesia (Chumbawamba)

Goodbye to the summer
Sold down the river
Unhappy ever after
Well did you ever?
Did you ever reach for the glued-down penny?
Same old joke and it's not funny
Burns are red, bruises blue
Out with the old cheated by the new

Do you suffer from long-term memory loss?
I don't remember...
Do you suffer from long-term memory loss?
I don't remember.....

You sing the same old verse
Stick like glue for better or worse
What goes around comes around
Again again again
This heart pulled apart
Hydra fighting head to head
Burns are red bruises blue
Out with the old cheated by the new

Do you suffer from long-term memory loss?
I don't remember...
Do you suffer from long-term memory loss?
I don't remember....
Amnesia

Do you suffer from long-term memory loss?
I don't remember...



Only recently did I realize what it was actually about.
One of the worse lines in a song, in my opinion, is this one:

From Sisqo's Thong Song

She had dumps like a truck truck truck
Thighs like what what what


Like what? What?

Friday, January 16, 2004

Hey, 'Honey Pot'!

Recently I received this in my inbox:


Err... whose Honey Pot is that again?
The thing is, I've never been to Canada.
The only tarts I hope to be associated with are the pineapple jam tarts that I make for Hari Raya.
But hey, I wouldn't mind being said as having 'a lethal sense of humour' though.

Boy, did I crack my sides having a laugh over this one.

Thursday, January 15, 2004

Bebé cucaracha

In the LRT.

What's there to see?


Let's zoom in a little bit closer towards that dot there.
Hmmm?


And closer....

Eekk!!

Wednesday, January 14, 2004

Value Buys at The Times Bookstore



Went to the outlet in KLCC yesterday. They have combination paperbacks of bestsellers where there are two titles in each combo, i.e. you get two novels in one thick book. Price for each book is only RM19.90.

Titles available:

John Grisham (all the ’The’s in his titles eh)
1. (The Partner / The Runaway Jury)
2. (The Client / The Street Lawyer)
3. (The Chamber / The Rainmaker)
4. (The Testament / A Time To Kill)
5. (The Firm / The Pelican Brief)

Jeffrey Archer
1. (The Eleventh Commandment / First Among Equals)
2. (A Matter of Honour / Twelve Red Herrings)
3. (A Quiver Full of Arrows / A Twist in the Tale)
4. (The Prodigal Daughter / Shall We Tell the President?)
5. (Not A Penny More, Not A Penny Less / Shall We Tell the President?)

Sidney Sheldon
1. (Nothing Lasts Forever / Tell Me Your Dreams)
2. (The Sands of Time / Windmills of the Gods)

Jackie Collins
1. (Lovers and Gamblers / The Love Killers)
2. (Sinners / Rockstar)

Jack Higgins
1. (Edge of Danger / Pay the Devil)

Ernest Hemingway
1. (For Whom the Bell Tolls / To Have and Have Not)

Michael Crichton
1. (The Great Train Robbery / The Andromeda Strain)

Anne Rice
1. (Pandora / Vittorio)

Ken Follett
1. (The Third Twin / Paper Money)

There are more actually, but these are the most of it.

Saharil's back

A most unique blog, one of my favorite, is being updated again after such a longggggg absence. Really cool stuff, this one. Check it out! (btw, the software he uses is Painter).

Monday, January 12, 2004

Train Blues and the Book Swap Meet

(sing to ‘Baa Baa Black Sheep’, try!)

Honk honk blue train,
Did you any bull ,
Yes sir, yes sir, three coach-full,
All stuffed, hot and sweaty sir, because we were lame,
And man, were they MAD when they got out of the train!


Planned to be at the Book Swap Meet latest by 3.10 p.m. (Standard Malaysian Time la… 10 minutes late still kira on time what..) so I took the 3.26 2.26 (thanks Bistreo for pointing this out!) train yesterday since it takes an average of 36 minutes from my start station to KL Sentral. Wonder of wonders, at 3.01 p.m. (yes folks, a measly one minute from KL Sentral), the train suddenly went dead in its tracks. And I mean, dead. As in the engines dead, the air-conditioning dead, the lights dead.

At first everybody sat patiently, expecting the thing to kick back up in 5 minutes or so. But after almost half an hour, when all we’ve heard were an announcement saying ”Tuan-tuan dan puan-puan, komuter ini sedang mengalami kerosakan teknikal, KTM Komuter memohon maaf atas segala kesulitan yang dialami” (Ladies and gentlemen, the train is experiencing technical failure, KTM Komuter is sorry for your inconvenience) and a few half-hearted sounds of an engine trying to get into gear - then it began to get stiflingly hot and really stuffy. The complaints started to compound by the minute e.g. ”Oii.. very hot la.. open la the windows” “Aiya… like this can die you know” “Eh, if two days trapped inside here how?” “I told you to get a proper driving license don’t want, got terbang one aaa, now that’s why engine cannot start” “Cannot breathe la, oxygen all gone man” “All smell also can detect now”.

Despite the racket (people were even banging on the windows by the fortieth minute), there were only the same couple of engine sounds (trying to start but cannot); all windows stayed shut. Only at 3.55 p.m. did the train slowly came back to life and proceeded to the station (but still no lights or air-conditioning), one minute later, walla, fresh air!!

As I sat during the ordeal (thankfully I got a seat), I prayed that the Book Swap party wouldn’t have thought that I’m not coming and moved elsewhere. To kill the boredom, I started on one of the books that I brought and even managed to go halfway through a Stephen King novella. Arriving at the venue one-hour late, I scanned Starbucks and yes, there they were, easily-recognized with books piled three-high on the table. Went straight to them, and confusion abound when I said “Hi, I’m Ted” which was greeted with “Huh… YOU are Ted? I thought Ted’s a guy” “Did somebody mention a he or a she just now?” “She did state on her blog la she’s female”.

Introductions over, and so I met Aliya, Grace, Chooki and Khalil (the only you-know-what among us roses) for the first time. Among the topics we yakked about (in no particular order) were Peking duck and duck rice (sounds yummy, Grace, I must go try it some day), the gay theme in LOTR (true or not?), guy-guy conduct (boy, did Khalil cringe when asked whether he’s ever touchy-touchy with his guy pals – NO he absolutely doesn’t), linguistic thesis topics (I never knew there's research on how the sound of words came about, Chooki!), volunteer vs. part-time (Aliya got RM5/hr during her volunteering stint), local theatre productions and other things under the sun. Oh, and about books and writing, of course!

Went home happy with new books to read on hand and (as Chooki aptly put it) faces to put on the blogs.

P.S. The train ride home was smooth as silk.

Another free lunch gone

On Villagephotos website:

Regarding Free Accounts
Effective 12/2/2003, we have added a plan X to our system that offers a similar service level that free accounts used to feature, but for a very nominal charge. At $5 for a whole 6 months you can store 25 images (each image can be up to 3MB in size) and get 5MB of bandwidth per day for external linking. This is less than $1 a month, at around 3 cents per day.
We do still support free accounts which let you upload and store images, share albums with friends and family, resize, rotate, ect., but you will not be able to externally link the images; that is the only difference.

Thank you to all of our users for supporting and understanding our recent changes.

The Village Photos Staff

-------------------

Ouch. There goes another down the drain. A plan X? A plan axing the happy, beautiful world of free remote linking, you mean. Boo hoo hoo...

Who? Me? Pay? Erm, there's still Ripway. And Yahoo! Groups. Heh heh. Free-riders, unite!

P.S. : Unfortunately, until I find the time, strength, motivation and patience to re-load the previous pics to another (free) server plus redo the links, all them boxes with tiny Xs shall remain.

Friday, January 09, 2004

Neon



Note: My first post in Bahasa Malaysia. Updated on 12 Jan 2004.
------

Malam tadi aku tengok cerita ‘Neon’. Ala, vcd movie yang feature sampai 66 orang artis popular as pelakon tambahan tu lah (sampai masuk Malaysia Book of Records!). Ni SM punya pasallah ni, bagi review baik bukan main lagi. Kalau tak 'konfrem' aku tak heran dgn cerita tu. Ntah, sekarang aku lebih 'yakin' dengan reviews di weblog berbanding yang aku baca di akhbar atau majalah. Bloggers menulis tanpa bayaran (yang aku tau setakat ni seorang blogger di Malaysia ni yang mana menulis di blog kemudian ‘diiktiraf’ secara komersial ). Anyway 'yakin' tu sebab pada aku, buat tanpa bayaran maka lebih ikhlas la kut, lebih peribadi, bukan sebab nak puaskan hati orang lain. Heh… aku rasa fikir macam tu lah. (Mak aku cukup marah bila orang sebut “Saya rasa…”. Dia kata macam nilah Melayu, asyik main rasa-rasa je. Fikir la, jangan rasa aje!” Dia kata lagi rasa tu untuk makanan boleh, tapi untuk pendapat, fikir, bukan rasa.)

Sibuk sikit sekarang ni (Iya ke?). Sebenarnya aku dah beli vcd tu dua-tiga hari lepas lagi, tapi semalam baru berjaya nak tengok. Aku tengok cd pertama pun tak habis. Hehe. Separuh jalan, dah masuk tidur. Eh, tapi korang jangan la ingat sebab cerita dia tak best. Silap la. Sebenarnya nak tengok sampai habis, tapi sebab memikirkan esok nak kena pegi kerja; dan


IF
a = tengok vcd sampai habis
b = pergi kerja
c = tidur awal


and considering that: b = c; and a=-c,

therefore
IF a is TRUE,

then
tengok vcd sampai habis = -pegi kerja


maka terpaksalah aku hentikan sesi tayangan perdana Neon malam tadi bila tiba part watak utama masuk lokap.

Nak review cerita tu, aku bukan 'ahlil' macam SM, Nizam, Fairul atau Spiral. Jadi ini lebih kepada pandangan (bukan rasa!) peribadi aku. Memang Neon sangat menarik untuk ditonton (walaupun aku baru menonton tak sampai separuh). Taktik menggunakan khidmat artis popular sebagai pelakon tambahan sangat baik, membuatkan penonton akan tumpukan sepenuh perhatian pada setiap watak walaupun hanya pelayan / orang pengutip tin kosong / mamak kedai, watak-watak yang kalau dalam movie Melayu biasanya jadi tempelan dan langsung takde significance terhadap jalan cerita kecuali nak buat lawak slapstick kadang-kadang (kalau tak ada pun tak apa). Tapi dalam Neon, dari setiap watak-watak kecilan itulah maka timbul kekuatan jalan ceritanya, jiwanya, dan nilai komersialnya. Terbalik, mereka yang popular jadi pelakon tambahan sahaja, sedangkan watak utama dilakonkan oleh seorang yang virtually 'unknown'.

Kalau dah best, apa yang aku carik? The skeptic in me, bila orang kata sangat best, aku cari flaws; kalau orang kata tak best, aku cari yang bestnya kat mana. And aku selalu cuba perhati part macam mula-mula ada darah kat kolar baju, next scene dah takde, lepas tu ada balik pulak. Dalam Neon, ada beberapa perkara (kecil) yang kurang logik sikit pada aku, seperti tindakan Hafiz berjalan merayau-rayau (padahal bukan asalnya dia naik kereta ke?), tapi aku counter balik (pada diri sendiri) dengan situation dia yang dalam depression tu, erm, dari pengalaman aku, bila orang depressed, perkara yang dia tak pernah buat atau tak logik dibuat, dia boleh buat. Rashidi Ishak pun cepat sangat isi minyak kereta, tak sempat pun Vanida nak masuk dalam kereta balik dah habis isi dah, aik, berapa ringgit Vanida bayar kat kaunter tu? Jauh sangat ke kaunter ke? Tak perasan pulak. Nanti aku kena tengok balik cerita ni dari mula.

Aku teringat satu movie yang pernah aku tonton di Astro, Twenty Bucks (arahan Keva Rosenfield, lakonan Linda Hunt, Brendan Frasier, Elisabeth Shue, dan Steve Buscemi) tentang sekeping not 20 dolar Amerika. 'Watak' utama cerita tu hanyalah sekeping kertas yang bercetak potret Andrew Jackson di atasnya. Di sini watak-watak pelbagai manusia yang 'menjumpai' not tersebut yang menjadi kekuatan ceritanya. Dari satu tangan ke tangan yang lain, macam-macam yang jadi. Dan akhirnya, watak-watak tu menemui penyelesaian permasalahan mereka secara langsung atau tidak langsung dengan sekeping not tadi dan endingnya bersangkut paut (sikit-sikit macam ending impromptu sketch dalam Actorlympics, mula-mula semuanya cerita masing-masing, last sekali disimpulkan jadi satu cerita). Aku teringat cerita Twenty Bucks tu sebab persamaan dari segi satu watak utama yang bertemu pelbagai watak lain, tapi bezanya di sini dalam Neon watak utama yang bermasalah, dalam cerita tu watak-watak lain yang bermasalah. Tak sabar rasanya nak tengok ending Neon.

Hehe, tengok pun belum habis, nak buat review konon. Bukan lah, kan aku dah cakap, pendapat peribadi.

Baca satu lagi ulasan Neon oleh blogger Malaysia di sini (tengok post 6 Januari 2004, permalink tak jumpa).
------------------------------

10.44 p.m.:
Conquered the TV set from 9 p.m. (and nobody, I mean NOBODY mess with me now!). Watched the movie again from start to end. He lost his car la.. no wonder he was walking around.. *piak*piak* (self, hitting forehead). And I think Vanida paid RM50. The bloodstains on his hand.. er.. after the minyak urut, it's still there? Anyhow, it was a great watch. Everybody laughed their heads off during the scene where Apek Senario was trying to sell just about anything under the sun from his jacket. And Abby as the crazy lady at the bus top - simply, unthinkably fabulous acting. Ever fancied watching Abby making a dig at the goldmines? Btw, the ending, all went well for the main character. Almost Utopian, sorta.

Wednesday, January 07, 2004

As of yesterday

As of yesterday,
Ted’s a trainee no more,
Got a whole room on demand,
Though a small, small one,
With her name at the door.

As of yesterday,
Ted will have to do more,
Work stuff; and thus less,
Blogging time or playing games,
Unlike before.

As of yesterday,
With a letter it came.

Tuesday, January 06, 2004

Think, people, THINK!


WHICH ONE ARE YOU?

When a change program comes our way,
people tend to be in one of these categories:

MAVERICKS : Let's do it!
GROUPIES : I'll do whatever they say...
SABOTEURS : I'm not gonna toe the line.
DOUBLE AGENTS : I'll only commit when I see proof.


We now have things as above on the 'innerside' of the doors in the office toilets, and the above is the one in my favorite stall to be exact. Big Brother wants me to think hard during those precious minutes. So these days, a few times a day (working-days, that is), I'd be mulling over which one to be.. hmm.. maybe maverick? isn't there a movie to that title? groupie sounds kinda lame... saboteur.. now that sounds wicked... double agent? even better... sounds like Bond or something man.. hmm...

Thought I'd share it with y'all. Ah-ha. Now you know what occupies my grey matters during those precious moments.

Monday, January 05, 2004

A certainty

A saying that goes something like this came to mind - There are only two things which are certain in life : taxes, and death.

During a lengthy conversation with one of my best friends, he suddenly went very serious and asked what I would do in the event of his death.

Being the practical being that I am, I told him I'd be very sad of course, shed some tears most probably, say some prayers for his soul, and then life would go on. And that I'd remember him and the memories of our friendship once in a while.

That seemed to satisfy him, and he went on to request something else.

"Will you promise to see to my wife, you know, see how things are with her, maybe talk to her once in a while or something. See how she's doing. I don't know why but lately, these thoughts came to me, and I want to know that in any case at least she'd have you to turn to."

How can I say I won't?

By the way, that's a heavy promise to make there. And I'm touched by the thought as well.

Some people regard such talk as morbid and more often than not would dismiss it with something along the lines "Please don't talk like that" or "Rubbish, you'd live long enough for the both of you to be frolicking in a nursing home together". But that night we explored the probabilities and the what-ifs.

It feels kind of weird, eh, talking about your own mortality.

Sunday, January 04, 2004

Al-fatihah

My late grandma’s brother, Tok Ngah, passed away in peace this morning. He was the last ‘Tok’ that I had on my mother’s side, and now there’s nobody on that side for us to call ‘Tok’ anymore. Tok Ngah looked so peaceful as I looked at him for the last time, as if he was just taking a nap like he usually did in the afternoons. Although he was already 80-something, he didn’t have any of the afflictions usually associated with the old, except for the fact that age has taken its toll on his body (he’s been bedridden for the last couple of years). Bro and sister-in-law visited him last night, and Bro said he could still talk at that time. According to his daughter, he even had breakfast as usual at around 7 a.m. It was just his time to go, ajal, as in the Islamic faith.

The last time I visited him was during the first week of Hari Raya, during which he asked for a pen. Of course he didn’t really have the co-ordination to actually write anything, but we obliged and gave him a piece of paper to write on his lap. He managed a few squiggles before giving up, and I remembered the dejected look he had on his face. The family gathered and told stories about Tok Ngah, tears were shed of course, but we consoled ourselves with the memories of the good times and the fact that he was taken care of the best that we could during his last years. We reminisced about the pen incident, and joked that probably he wanted to write a will or his last words or something like that…

And that adds to another in the list ushered in by 2004 for me.

Al-fatihah.

Friday, January 02, 2004

New beginnings

The new things 2004 have ushered in or have in store for me, so far:

1. New family member
My first, and also my only in-law that I'd ever have, I suppose, unless Bro marries another, heh heh, considering that there's only the two of us. The wedding reception on our side was yesterday. Made a public invitation on this blog too, but nobody came looking for me saying something like "Hi Ted, thanks for inviting me through your blog". Oh well. Maybe they (the four or so people who stumbled upon this blog that day) didn't notice the invitation at the tag-board. Maybe I should've put up a post with extra-big letters, all caps and ping it to the Project Petaling Street page. Hmm.. anyway to those who missed it (yes, all four of you), get your grubby hands on a copy of today's Utusan Malaysia (the paper version) if you wish to see the happy couple's picture in page 15. VillagePhotos still not letting us free-riders to do our usual remote linking.

This time around, I wasn't on bunga telur duty for a change. No, sir. I'm the groom's sister, the host family, therefore I had to stand guard at the welcoming area and ensure that guests were:
a. Correctly directed to the designated kenduri area (instead of straying away to the fruit orchard and wondering "Where is the kenduri?");
b. They got to salam (shake hands) with the parental units and in the process allow those with the noble intentions of giving money packets get their chance to do so - it is a custom in Malaysia for wedding guests to include some money when they shake hands with the groom's parents. Great custom, eh?

I never knew simply walking around shaking hands with people and saying "Thanks for coming, my parents are over there" could be sooo tiring. Yeap, that's exactly what I did from noon to about 4 p.m. on the first day of 2004. Oh, and add facing the tirade of "When will it be your turn?" (some did it complete with the optional dig at the sides) to which my stock answer this time was "Bagilah Mama dengan Abah bernafas dulu" (I'm giving Mom and Dad some room to breathe first).

I'm undecided on how to address my sister-in-law; she's younger than me by 5 months. I've been calling her by name all these while, but now that it's official, some people (especially the elders) view that as a bit, well, not sesuwai la... Feels a bit weird to call her kakak (older sister), which by right is what it should be (according to the usual Malay custom). At the moment resorted to Kakak Ipar (really!), which literally means Sister-In-Law.

2. Workwise : New unit, new boss, new responsibilities, new desk
Have yet to receive the black and white, but future boss had already called on me to report for duty and even assigned a few matters for my immediate attention – right on the day before the start of my long leave (for Bro’s wedding). Will only be back this Monday though to find out about it all. Mixed feelings over this new placement – glad I won’t have to pack and go to a remote station elsewhere, and anxious since I still have only a slight idea of what would be my new responsibilities.

3. My first election! - when aa??
Excited at this prospect. Feel very much like an adult thinking about this. That little ‘X’ on the government-issued piece of paper that I put down will help to determine who gets to represent our area / town / whatever-you-call-it and (gasp!) maybe even chart the path for the next (or after the next or after after the next) Prime Minister. Hm.. better start practising doing perfect ‘X’s soon. Wouldn’t want to chance for an undi rosak now, would we?

4. New DPM
Please, Pak Lah. End the wait. To quote a very famous phrase, “Dah lama dah…..”

5. Komuter station at Midvalley
If it really will be within walking distance to the mall, that is.

6. Channel 8
Long live terrestrial TV! More free channels, more! Any possibility of the emergence of Channels 4, 5, 6 (wonder why were these channel numbers skipped) or 10 in the near future?

7. Cheaper imported cars
Dare we hope for this one?
---------------------------------

I’m glad you’re here, 2004!
Happy new year to all.