Thinking with which Head?

Reading about some supposed "bright" people of the nation sometimes makes me wish I weren't Malaysian.

This Professor from the Islamic Studies Academy in Univeristy Malaya, has just gotten a bright spark of an idea and actually suggests to recognise misyar marriages. A misyar marriage is that the man doesn't need to support the women materially - no need to feed her, clothe her or shelter her. All he needs to do is provide for her sexual needs. This is in view of the increasing number of unmarried women in Malaysia. After all, this is already quite a common thing happening the rich in the Arab world.

Surprise, surprise, we get the Kelantan politician, who is known to comment profound things like "Only ugly women need to work because they won't be able to find a husband to support them", supports this notion whole-heartedly. He adds that Islam allows these kind of marriages with the condition that consent is obtained from the woman who is willing to enter such marriages.

They claim this will reduce vice in the country. It's obvious which head they are using to think.

Dat Cat

So last night we were about to go to bed when suddenly a gale picked up and whipped rain against our bedroom window. The first thought we both had was, "Shucks, the cat's gonna get wet!".

We raced downstairs and peered through the window but couldn't spot her so I opened the door. She immediately mewed pitifully and crawled right into the house, seeking shelter. Usually when paw meet threshold, the residing humans would emit a stern warning, "NO!" and the paw would automatically retract.

However, last night, human hearts melted with sympathy and we ended up housing Dat Fella (her official name for the moment) at the back of the house.

This morning, still lazing in bed at 9:45 when I suddenly remembered of our furry captive. I can almost imagine the scene for KS, as he continued to lie in anticipation while I ran down, his worst fears intensified as my cry of horror floated upstairs. Yes, dear folks, there was poo AND a vomited furball waiting for us to clean up.

As we cleaned up, "I don't think I'll ever be ready to have a baby", "No, this is good training for us"

I don't buy that. KS ended up cleaning three quarters of it after I touched the vomit while trying to clean up. I handed him paper towels and gagged.

Missing my Baking

For two weeks now, I’ve been hankering on about wanting to knead dough. Called my Mum 400kms away to ask if I can use normal flour instead of bread flour (as I can’t find any retailing) and explained I was going to make sausage buns. Instead, Mum said, “Just go out and buy from Giant lah! So cheap!”

After that incredibly sensible remark, I also thought of the impending doom of trying to wash anything in my kitchen now. We’ve got a blocked pipe for several months now which no one seems to be able to solve, save from blasting through the wall or to hack the floor to get to the piping. I can wash maybe 3 plates and the back will start to flood with black putrid water.

So, forget about my baking. Since I couldn’t scratch my itch of wanting to knead or do something with my hands, I washed the bathroom instead. At least I had a clean bathroom.

American Idol 5

It's amazing how there are so many American Idol fans here in Malaysia. They'd go on for weeks just talking about who they like best, moan when their fav is kicked out and watch the finale replay until past midnight even if there's work tomorrow.

Wait... the commercial break is over...

Ok, back from another commercial. I'm so glad Taylor won as I don't like Katharine. She'd be a typical American choice, gorgeous with generous... voice. Still think Chris is the best looking as he looks like Bruce Willis...

It's Not the Computer

Eversince I started work 7 years ago, I've had several personal computers for each job. The first and third one were brand new Dells. This was at my old firm. They both crashed and died on me to the point that the entire hard disk had to be reformatted and thereafter crippled to a shadow of what was once a powerful tool.

The last one I had before I switched jobs was found to have over 500 bugs. The IT guy who helped clean it said he had never seen so many viruses on one PC in his entire career. Bah, he's only a couple of years in the work force then, what does he know?

Still living in denial, this week my office computer crashed. With 5 viruses that had the HP guy shaking his head. My operating system had to be copied from another computer and I lost all my unsaved emails.

Maybe, just maybe, it's not the computers after all. But I'm not admitting to anything just yet.

Feeding the Hungry

Yesterday, Jan and I made good use of an entire loaf of expired bread which we kept frozen for the purpose of feeding the fishes in the lake.

Although there were dozens of people feeding at the same time, I was suprised our loaf went pretty fast. Some people threw the entire slice, leaving the bread floating away to rot later, so I made it a point to pinch the bread into nibble sizes and fling it into the middle of the lake. Boy, were the fish hungry!

Altogether, it was rather therapeutic, just enjoying the evening breeze while watching the fishes and tortoises feeding. In the end, Jan said she was inspired to start buying bread to eat for breakfast so that the slices she can't finish, she'd be able to keep to feed the fish.

As for me, I've got a sore arm from all that throwing. I blame the ache from the rare scrubbing of the bathroom.

Freaking Out KS

Saturday night, on our way back from church, KS said:

"Maybe we should take a long 3 week break, at the end of the year to Perth. Just go there and relax. What do you think?"

Sunday morning, Mum calls:

"Has Yen (my sis-in-law) gone back to Perth yet? Can she buy this cheese that has fruit in it and a special fruit wine only found in one small shop tucked away somewhere in Perth?"

"Hey Mum, why don't you and Dad go to Perth at the end of the year with KS and I?"

Sunday afternoon, Mum calls Jan:

"Jan! Save your money and let's all go to Perth at the end of the year!"

A 3-week supposed getaway for KS has suddenly turned it's tables.

The Management of Malaysian Tourism

In 2002 , Malaysia made international headlines when the International Court of Justice declared the sovereignity of Pulau Sipadan and Pulau Ligitan belongs to Malaysia after a court battle with Indonesia.

Both islands are one of the top world diving spots in the world and Malaysia proudly glowed with this news, issuing special First Day Covers to rub salt into Indonesia's wound. Nature's gem handed over for our responsibility.

Tourists continued to pour in from all corners of the world to experience the gorgeous reef and corals which took decades (or even centuries) to form.

So it bloody pisses me off when we irresponsibly allow projects to build building on the fragile island AND the f****** contractor uses a barge to transport the materials there and destroys coral reef as large as two tennis courts just a couple of days ago.

Even worse, here's what the papers have reported:

In Petaling Jaya, IZATUN SHARI reports Tourism Malaysia director-general Datuk Kamaruddin Siaraf as saying the damage to Sipadan's coral reef would not affect the country's tourism sector much.

He said this was because of remedial actions taken by the relevant authorities.
- Taken from www.thestar.com.my

Remedial actions? Oh, let's go plant a coral reef today? Let's all hug a coral and everything will be alright? I can't believe this guy is the DG of Tourism Malaysia.

No Desire

I can't... I really can't do it anymore. What once used to be a driving force for me is now sadly a chore.

Today, I took leave to accompany my sis-in-law but since she had plans to meet up with her friends, I decided to go shopping. I had a grocery list and a will to replace my work boots.

To my dismay, I quickly lost interest while trying to look for my shoes. In defeat, I got my groceries and left. Yes, on a day when one doesn't need to shovel one's way to the payment counter, when the afternoon stretched on endlessly and when I'm totally on my own. What's happened to my shopping motivation?!

What's in Your Purse?

Was talking to Jan during dinner just now and she was telling me she just recently played an icebreaker where you are to share something interesting from your purse/wallet. It brought to mind another addition of Stories of My Sister.

Years ago, I inherited a purse used by my sis. It was a nice long brown one and since I was too lazy to go out to get a new one, I thought I'd make use of it. Inside the coin compartment, I found this 2.5" nail. I left it there because it didn't take up much space although it's a strange thing to have in one's purse.

Later, I asked her what it was for and she solemnly told me it was in case she was ever attacked by a pontianak. Her friend apparently told her that all pontianak's have a hole at the back of their skull and when you block the hole with a nail, it will immobolise the ghost.

Of course, she never found out if this is true and I certainly hope none of us ever need to use the nail in this manner.