Expensive things always come in a cheap way

The shells are cheap but the memory is expensive. No big deal if we go buy ‘em somewhere but it is a big deal when we had fun collecting them at the shore.

It happened many months ago. I was at the unlikely place with my children, early in the morning at a small fishing village in a tiny coastal township called Sekinchan, Selangor — collecting these shells.

Bakawali bud and cactus in flawed pot

Call it mysterious if you like. The flower only blossoms at 12 midnight and lasts for as good as 3 hours. The plant in my yard flowers a few times already but I am yet to witness it blooms before my eyes.

View On Black

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From Wikipedia

It’s known as Epiphyllum oxypetalum scientifically. Epiphyllum oxypetalum or Dutchman's Pipe is a species of cactus and one of the most cultivated species in the genus. It is also referred to as Night blooming Cereus and often confused with species of Selenicereus.

This species was originally described from cultivated material and its true place of origin has never been truly understood. In 1909, C. A. Purpus collected a slightly different type in St. Ana, Orizaba, Mexico. It has carmine red outer petals and the flowers have an unpleasant smell, rather than being fragrant. It was originally named Phyllocactus purpusii, but does probably not deserve any botanical recognition.

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Right! The pot is not perfectly circular. I got it 3-for-RM10 from the reject shop in Merbau Sempak, and not too bad for my cactus.

P/S: I am still having hard time to figure out how the name Merbau Sempak comes about.

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Of governing Pedra Branca and reminiscence of rice field

Those square shapes are actually paddy plants that been moved from the nursery before it is plucked and planted in rows and lines with 1 or 2 or maybe 3 strands of it in a single cluster. More room for them to grow when spaces are created in between the clusters. The nursery for breeding the plants is in another plot of land. They are taken care of right from the seeds until such time to move them over to another land plot like in the photo above, to be planted and to yield the rice when they mature.


Pedra Branca is better known as Pulau Batu Putih among Malaysians. It is a sad thing when we have lost our dominion over the tiny island to Singapore. A few lessons can be learnt from the incident. On the administrative level, the lesson is, do take care of our soil and never let people establish their footing for you will later loose the ownership.

For civilians like you and I, accept it wholeheartedly when we were once put the trust in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to tackle the dispute and they did their job, delivered the verdict and substantiated well legally.

Whilst it has been hard to accept the fact of loosing Pedra Branca as far as sovereignty and pride are concerned, perhaps it is not too hard on me personally as I still remain as the governor for the island – GABENOR PULAU BATU PUTIH. I am kidding! I know that’s silly but I love saying foolish thing like this. LOL!

Forget about Pedra Branca for a moment. Let me relate to the pictures that grace this entry (as you may later see my digression due to pivotal point of Singapore). These pictures are taken when I brought my family to Tanjung Karang a couple of months back. For those of you who are not aware that Tanjung Karang also does have rice fields, I want to assure you, it does. Their economy is not just confined to sea-related produce alone as the impression one might have. Or you may not even have any idea about it?!

The serenity and tranquility of the rice field brings me back to my childhood days. And not without the kind of special feeling that always comes knocking upon looking at it. On an occasion when I am all alone entertaining my own thoughts at the edge of the field while my eyes would go as far as my eyes can see, mixture of feelings would come without warning that makes my eyes water. I would see my frail body splattered with mud playing in the field. I could hear the echo of a cow mooing in the distance. I’d vividly hear grandpa shooing a school of birds to be away from the field. And I would see cynical smiles and contemptuous smirks from specters for no apparent reasons.

Yet I am there slightly get my pants soiled upon sitting on the grass and come to realization that it happened in the past decades when the giggles of my kids playing nearby overshadows.

I was staying with grandparents as dad passed away since I was small and mom had her own life somewhere. To make matter worst, we were staying with another two cousins under the same roof. Due to some ill twist of fate, my uncle had divorced his Singaporean wife. The wife refused to take the kids along and he was then facing concrete wall in juggling his life in Singapore between career and small kids under his arm. By the way, my uncle studied in Singapore when he was small, staying in there since and even calls Singapore as home until today. See here

Decision was made; sending his small kids under the care of my grandparents would be better idea, at the onus of poor old folks.

There we were, surviving by the day with least allotments to continue living. Somehow we pulled it through despite of the hitch, thanks to the fine nurturing that taught us to be not just tough but also not to be deprived from self-esteem. And it also circumstantially taught us to tell no difference between siblings and cousins.

Now all of us have grown up, became adults, have families and lead quite successful lives on our own standard, but the very lives we had under the care of grandparents is always special to us.

And rice field will always be dearly to me.



It's a classic design of a simple bridge made out of wood that normally would be constructed to connect between the dry land to rice field across the waterway. This sight can be seen everywhere in the area.


This is an essential element to grow rice – a waterway, to irrigate the land. With its presence, not only it is meant for practical reason but it adds serene and beauty to the area too.

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Moronic product of edification

It captures the imaginations of kids with this icon of a Japanese cartoon series. The irony of it all is, many years ago, it became an issue and debated over in the Parliament. I don't know whether the MP was silly or Doraemon was too influencial until it makes a debut in the Parliament.


I was once wondered why kids like to watch cartoons!? It took me long before I got the answer, that not until I stumbled upon an article about it in the local dailies.

As kids do not possess the complexity in thinking, simple by nature; they would prefer to see things in simple form. The outward appearance of cartoon characters made kids easy to be acquainted with, perhaps requires less chemical processing in the brain to finally accept it as something they like.

The cartoon character is only drawn with the basic outline to resemble the look as for the eyes, nose, mouth and ears which finally sheathed in the shape of human face. Likewise the basic outlines are applied to resemble animals and objects too.

For kids, that is enough to incarcerate their thoughts and imaginations as those are life characters, impartial to the level of their brain activity.

But we adults, our minds are corrupted, way too sullied to see those simple characters without harboring thoughts of proper skin tones, precise facial expressions with specific facial muscles at work, a degree of grace in movements and all until it becomes less appealing to enjoy those cartoon characters as much as kids do.

In short, we make things complicated. Throughout the years lived, we keep on adding unnecessary paraphernalia in our standard for taste and liking. All the basic outline and figure of things are no longer enticing as we keep on piling the pre-requisites for our penchants.

Onto that, little wonder the real fight between humans is only demonstrated when they are grown-ups and are smart enough to discern between good and bad. The irony is kids fight more often than adults do even at a snap over a cookie. But, due to their simplicity in way of thinking, the inferno settles down as quickly as the outburst and tantrum built up and oblivious over the earlier affray.

Adults can be at their lowest point, worst than kids. Adults even fail to see flag as a flag when they start seeing what colors and design they made up to be.

Sheesh! Kids are better than you!

I was driving around on that Saturday morning looking for good place for breakfast and it brought me to Kg Baru area, a traditional village in the heart of the city of Kuala Lumpur. I stopped over at Dewan Sultan Sulaiman to find out that an open field next to it was filled with school kids from the elementary school nearby.



Coincidently, a busload of kids stops over in that afternoon when I was there at Sultan Abdul Samad Mosque, KLIA

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The mockery of my guts

It puzzles people when I show this image to them. It is fun to see their foreheads wrinkle, as much fun as I am photographing it. I name it as Pseudo-Galaxy. Can you guess what this is?

I may be writing and replying in a lot of political issues in prominent blogs in the cyberspace under assumed nicknames but I want to keep the record clean in my personal blog from politics. This is mainly due to realizing that I am not the type of person inclined towards partisan politics but more on quests of understanding the nature of the issue is raised; try to rationalize it and for my own consumption, figuring out the best possible answer to it to resolute community unrests – and on top of it to visualize what would benefit the society.

Throughout the pursuit, I found out that more often than not, issues are just mere blusters and innuendos. They’d blow things out of proportions over the course of justifying what they want to have the way the very issue is projected. They’d shout profanity at each other and blasphemous over others’ prudent. It is hardly can be seen one agrees with what opinionated by the counterpart even though when it principally deserves an agreement for it indisputably is meritoriously spot-on. They won’t easily trade-off. It’s a tough thing for a living soul with a heart like me to comprehend, let alone to swallow – and it is saddened.

Anyway, I don’t want to carry those frustrations, disappointments and disenchantments into this “From the Governor’s Desk” blog. Let it remain as the place for me to entertain myself with the heavenly things that I see in my day-to-day life. Let it remain for me to record the growth chart of my kids and it is for me to see what kind of emotions behind what I had to write when I would later recall. Let it be the place for me to rekindle my past to have me reminded from where I come from and what pasts made me today.

And let it be the place of sojourn from my daily tasks.

And….. You know what? The one I wrote above comes from deep within me despite of my digression when I hit the keyboard without knowing what I want to write.

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I want you to enjoy these pictures.

These are taken during our recent trip on Sunday (4th May 2008) to Kalumpang Resort in Kuala Kubu Baru. I had fun playing in cool water of the stream with my boys Sam and Edrin. Fara and her mom were just contented to just watch us from the distance.

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Growing up by the day

From left: Edrin, Sam and Fara
This picture is taken at the jetty in Marine Park, Sungai Hj Dorani, Sg Besar, Selangor.


There will be time when I am no longer talk about “birds and bees” with them.

Even now, I am pleasantly surprised with their advanced line of thoughts during bantering time while I'm a decade behind still seeing them as babies.

Nah, they no longer are.

Edrin advances faster than either Fara or Sam when they were now at Edrin's age. He has to cope to the advances of big brother and sister in his daily lives that technically trained him to be ahead of his time.

If you do have kids with only one or two years difference in age, you’d notice the maturity of your older one would either pulled back to the lower age or the younger one excels to be at par with the older one. That is what happens to my kids. It’s ridiculous for Sam to holdup to be in his younger brother’s world but instead, methodically driven on Edrin to propel.

From my observation, when then age gap is far too long for the youngest edition to appear, it works otherwise. The new kid perhaps learn faster in knowing what is what but get pulled back in emotional development. It takes little imagination to comprehend this due to the fact that, members in the family will set a focal point on the little one. He will observe more things around him to learn fast but requires less effort to understand and tackle his own emotions as people around him are there to cushion him up.

I told my wife while watching the TV program “Bersamamu” where the program highlights the sufferings of the less-fortunate people in some corners of the country, that, “Look, their kids are far more independent as compared to the kids in the well-heeled family”

Here comes the assertion of my homespun theory, “the harder you are trained, the tougher you will be”

And… as of now, I am not prepared for a new baby.

They pose for me in the living room under the dim of the lights before I sent them to school for their Maulidur-Rasul celebrations. I'd grab any opportunity to send and pick them, to & from school even though I've already hired a school bus to do the job. To me, it’s a quality time to be with the kids throughout the journey, nonetheless.

Edrin (facing the camera), Sam (in full body suit) and their friends are having good time at the swimming pool in the Clubhouse of our housing estate, Saujana Utama.

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The Singer In Me

He taught me singing “Hotel California” by the Eagles when were kids which I memorize the lyrics until today. He went on winning the school talent-time with the song whilst I was having hard time revetting my pitch.

I liked the part that says "They stab it with their steely knives.... But they just can't kill the beast" apart from the opening of the song, "On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair.... Warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air" And, my head voice will only be out at the chorus line as if I am a good singer, "Welcome to the Hotel California.... Such a lovely place (Such a lovely place).... Such a lovely face". I'd be singing from the top of my lungs.

Smile!!!


The one in the picture above is my good friend. Not just good friend, I can say that he is one of my only handfuls of best friends I have in this world. His name is Zaid. He used to be a rock singer with a band called BELANTARA in late 80’s. He (the band) has made hell of a name in the local music industry at that time.

It started when Zaid was still studying in Pullman, Washington in the USA. The band was formed by students of Washington State University and University of Idaho with Zaid as a vocalist. After jamming sessions in an apartment basement, they start sending demo tape for recording. They got their break when they were called back for recording in Singapore.

He then heads back to the USA to finish his Engineering studies after the recordings were done.

Fast forward, he is now enjoying doing his Sound Engineering work in his own studio in Kota Damansara apart from producing songs for new talents, even nasyid for that matter. Namely, Rabbani is one of them.

I think it is no big deal for me if I want to start off a new career to be a singer. Zaid can always help me out to produce album for me. Or, at this age, am I too late for that? Or simply not much of talents I do possess as a pre-requisite for me to be one?

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Nasi Kerabu

The car that parked at the roadside belongs to the owner of the "nasi kerabu" stall and I believe it has been in service all these while. The place is a hit among students in the college nearby.

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Among the stalls in Kuala Lumpur selling Kelantan delicacies, the place in the picture above is the best to me. I used to enjoy good versions of it in Kg Baru, Kuala Lumpur, especially the one at the Y-junction close to the 12-storey flat, but they can't beat this one. This one is way better.

"Nasi Kerabu" literally means "salad rice". Kelantan's Nasi Kerabu is a "white rice" or "dyed blue rice" and served with "tumis" gravy with local herbs, leaves and vegetables. The coloring comes from a type of flower, although some sellers use artificial equivalents. Apart from that it is also served with fried fish, keropok, salted egg, "solok lada" (fish fillet and coconut-stuffed chillis), and pickled garlic.

In short, nasi kerabu is indeed yummy.

Don't blame me for having the taste benchmark that way because if you understand why the Javanese descendants in Malaysia would have their mouths water when listening to the word "tempe", then, same goes to me and my nasi kerabu.

And perhaps the same way sushi is to the Japanese.

Javanese <-> Japanese – two different things.

These students are having their packed dinner of nasi kerabu before going back to their residential halls

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Leprosy

This building is located just a few hundred meters away from the old Sungai Buluh Hospital, which used to house the Malaysian Leprosy Relief Association. Those days the old Sungai Buluh Hospital specializes in the treatment for leprosy that makes it practical for the association to be in the area.

Now, the place will very soon be replaced by the medical faculty of Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) and the construction works have already started.

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Leprosy (Kusta in BM) is a chronic infectious disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium leprae, that’s what I got from wikipedia. Left untreated, leprosy can be progressive, causing permanent damage to the skin, nerves, limbs, and eyes.

The victims of leprosy had to be obscured from mixing with the society at large due to the severity of the disease that known to be contagious and perilous. They were then placed in this area until they fully recovered.

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Do you wonder why I write about this?

Well, I was just thinking about the time when I was little apart from realizing my blog is not been maintained lately, and to have a little something to chatter about.

When I was little there was a man in our place called Pok Ya.

I was kind of perplexed over what my friends say he doesn’t have a hand. I noticed one of his hands was always wrapped in a bandage with plastic bag in the outer layer. I had a weird feeling every time walk past him because of the eccentric tales heard from friends of similar age.

And he was not too familiar to us either because only once in a blue moon we would see him in our village.

When I grew up a little bigger, I then learned that he’s been confined to a place in Kuala Lumpur. And as years went by, only then I drew closer to the fact that; he was apparently under treatment for leprosy in Sungai Buluh Hospital.

The other day I chanced upon seeing the abandoned buildings in Sungai Buluh that used to be a relegate to the community of leprosy sufferers. Now the threat of this fatal disease is no longer prevalence in the country and the place has been deserted all these while with the buildings left to rot.

But then, it will very soon be busy with activities of future medical doctors as the UiTM medical faculty is now being built in the area.

The time when I shot these pictures, Pok Ya’s face came to my mind. I knew he was once roaming in the vicinity.

I felt as if the apparition of Pok Ya was there in the trail.



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Storm In A Cup

This is the immigration check-point in Wang Kelian, Perlis.

Wang Kelian is a Perlis border town on the Malaysia-Thailand Border. It is one of two border crossings between Malaysia and Thailand in the state of Perlis. The other is Padang Besar. The village across the border from Wang Kelian is Wang Prachan in Satun province, Southern Thailand.

I have been busy for the past one month due to many things need to settle in office apart from some business traveling. The pictures I took that graced this entry would give you an idea.

While majority of people were busy with politics due to the 12th General Election of the country, I made myself busy with other life essential things.

May be the trainings I had gone through or the circle of professional (and technically-trained) friends that I have that makes me care less about politics. It is actually not that I don’t care as a citizen of the country to participate for the betterment of future. I do care. Yes, I do.

Perhaps, the attitude that I carry deep in me that prevails. As such, something like, I’d prefer to call spade a spade. I call it right when it is right and I call it wrong when the notion is clearly stated as wrong. You can’t carry those in politics. You have to streamline yourself and biased with the conduit of your political religion you are embracing with. You have to nod to the philosophies that bear. You have to sacrifice a fair deal of emotions and have to make room for some element of hypocrisy to be in you – may be a tinge of it – whether you are aware or not.

No, not me!

I think I have worked all these while contributing to the nation. And I think I have done in my little way for the integrity of the faith I am in.

May be it is still not enough but nothing can be too ideal in this life.

A kilometer to go... The road is somehow clear from traffics most of the times.


A flag war between political parties decorates the scene days before the election. Malaysia went to the polls on March 8th, 2008.

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Mud Cookies

I read in the Star a few days ago about people in slum areas of Haiti eat cookies made out of mud in desperate measures to survive. Their economy is in a pretty bad shape. They simply can’t afford even a decent plate of daily rice, let alone to feast on luxury cuisine we call it ordinary in our standard. That’s how poor is poor to some unlucky human beings just like you and me in certain corner of the globe.

Merchants dispatch the dirt to the local market before women would go buy, then process it into mud cookies. They then carry buckets of dirt up ladders to the roof, strain out rocks and clumps on a sheet, and stir in shortening and salt. They pat the mixture into mud cookies and leave them to dry under the scorching sun.

The whole family then consumes it just like you and your family having lunch or dinner despite of the form and figure of mud cookies that replicate our Oreo cookies for kids that aptly meant for tea time, if it is at all edible.

Wonder how it tastes like.

One would never have imagined having to eat dirt to continue living, at least not for us in this part of the hemisphere. But the reality is as such for them that instantaneously would give a sane in us a brush of gratitude for being born and live in this land called Malaysia.

In some remote cases we may have heard people are having hard time to feed their families here in our country, but I never came across people starving to death for having to go without food yet or having to nosh on such gross thing.

I came from a less-than-rich family over in east coast of the peninsular but as far as I can remember, foods were never deprived from our daily routines. Without knowing we grew up healthy by way of consuming a lot of vegetables. It was not unusual then when I was tasked by granny to go pluck any vegetables that I like to have in the backyard for our lunch.

We eat a lot of fish too, be it saltwater fish bought from fishmonger on bicycle or freshwater fish we caught in the rice field. The head of that damn “haruan” sure looks like a snake – no wonder in English they call it snakehead fish – but it’s rich with protein.

Meat diet only come every once in a blue moon. Chicken and meat were the super luxurious food that only in certain occasion we get to taste it.

The fun starts as early as chasing the chicken that roams around the yard after identifying it in a coop before. With some paddy in hand as bait, pretending to be nice feeding it, let it enjoy the bite in its rhythmic noise for a while before at lightning speed; grab it with both hands while the heart is pounding fast. Sure it’s a major surprise in the chicken’s life when the rug is pulled underneath. Even bigger surprise when grandpa would have it slaughtered. Grandma would then busy processing it while I’d be busy to nose around. Need not to tussle with my little sister as chicken have got two feet, fried chicken feet, we get one each – our favorite snack before the actual meal.

It’s a heavy contrast to what the Haitians in slum have to eat to continue living even when we put it side by side with our 70’s lifestyle and theirs now in the new millennium – my chicken feet were way better than mud cookies.

Let alone if compared to our live today.

I would see my kids, or anyone’s kids for that matter, the choices of foods are abundance. They have all the luxuries to pick and choose from. Unlike when I was small, whatever served underneath the “saji” right on the “mengkuang” mat, I would eat it with no grudges and enjoyed it, just as much as our kids today are enjoying their burgers and pizzas.

Sam is studying the menu hard before placing order in Pizza Hut recently. It is his call today and he is known to have good palate for food and his choice never have failed us.
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The Oracle

An awesome display of a minaret of a small mosque basking in the evening light. The place is at the road leading to Meru. From our place in Saujana Utama, we have a back entrance that connects to Puncak Alam. Some 5 km from the entrance, there's a junction to the left where the infamous Mongolian lady, Al-Tantuya was depleted to bits by her assailants last 2 years while the mosque, as the minaret in the pic above, is located some 200 meters on the right turn at the junction.

Do you think there is no plan for this world, this life? God is in control. He assigns our destiny. Our job is to obey the laws set forth by God.

Talking about laws, granny never took it for granted when I was little. She was then very particular on religious matters. She would be nagging endlessly upon discovering my foul play in observing my religious duties.

It was no fun when I had to recite Quran in late afternoon and you can imagine how you would have to control yourself while in the distance you heard the laughter of friends having good time playing. I had to delay my presence joining the group with much pain to endure. Grandpa would notice the less-than-focused in my reciting and I would have to succumb to his stern voice as a warning. It’s not too strange when my eyes were then clouded with tears, and dropped.

I would be on grandma’s tail to “madrasah” together with grandpa every now and then. Despite of my lack of interest, I switched my preference to liking to be at madrasah when I knew I would have opportunity to play with friends.

More often than not, I would be a subject that caught on the old folks’ nerves over my mischief. At times, I would be caught giggling during my prayer when friends like Fadhil or Ariff shoveling an elbow or two. Regardless of who have started, everyone would try to give a return. Shunned! And missed! And it tickles our funny bones – felt as if it was very funny. In the height of controlling the giggle, with a single knock of forehead on the floor during “sujud” that louder than usual, it was enough for three of us to burst.

It didn’t fall below my expectation. Right after the second “salam” when the prayer was over, the very look from grandpa’s eyes in the front row signals trouble. I knew it. Well, Fadhil and Ariff have got their own shares of stares too. Lucky it happened while many people were around. If it was only me, and him, within his reach while he was boiling, it could have been different story altogether.

It happened for reasons when I was ushered by granny for my “Asar” prayer while we were still in the height of our play. I couldn’t understand why; of all the kids of similar age playing, I was the only one have to rush home for my prayer. Many times over, I was in anger, dissatisfied, but had to execute order anyway.

It took time for me to understand all these.

May be due to age I am in now, I would reflect over small things that happened during my formative years and try to bridge my comprehension on how the conspire has worked on me and why, that in the end makes I am who I am today.

That’s just a small piece of me.

Everyone has got his or her own unique story to tell. It somehow is exclusive to the individual that makes you as you.





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In Contemplation

Sam, Edrin and Fara are in their good mood here. All three of them on their bellies on the floor in the hallway of our home.

At times I'd feel that I am disclosing too much information about my private life in public over the internet in the blog like this. At the same time it brings some kind of satisfaction expressing myself somewhat in anonymity manner, except to some handful of my family members, close friends, neighbours and so forth. How I wish I could personally be in touch with all the readers in my real life.

Whatever it is, I am looking at the lighter side of the thing that the rule of thumb says good things will come to you when you expect good things to come.

Expecting good and beautiful things, I can’t help pondering about what future holds for me in years to come. It sparked ponders in me when yesterday my wife inadvertently had to add another year to her age. It was yet another birthday for her. I thought of writing something in my blog glorifying her birthday like what I did last year. Here

But my hands were full yesterday. I had to attend to something outside of the office premise. I even obliged a friend to attend a talk on CIMB Unit Trusts held in Bronx Room, Berjaya Times Square Hotel in the afternoon. It was amazing to see two beautiful young sisters in their 20’s managing an agency, Platinum Partnership Group, dealing with unit trusts. It in no qualm has made them millionaires with the venture. After all they call themselves “The Amazing Millionaire Sisters”.

Now back to my contemplation. What will it be in 20 years to come? As much as I do love to see my kids growing up before our eyes now, I would also love to see them one day venturing out this world and learn everything about life.

For they have to find reasons to revere what the reality of life can offer.

I could imagine that by then, my wife and I would be longing for our grown-up kids to drop by our house as they have their own lives to run somewhere. They could possible be living somewhere in any corner of the earth. They would have their own sets of problems to settle while we are in the twilight of our living years.

Edrin poses for the camera

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New Year Kick-Off: Tagged!

Happy New Year!
My thanks to a neighbour in Saujana Utama, KC, for tagging me up. What a nice way to start off blogging in the New Year with an entry like this.

Psyco-Cybernetic is a great work written by Maxwell Maltz, first published in 1960. It has since been improved by his student Bob Sommer with the release of Psyco-Cybernetic 2000. It is one of the books that I like for its sharp and brainy advice that one can practically make use of in day-to-day living.

Maxwell Maltz believed that self-image is the cornerstone of all the changes that take place in a person. If one's self-image is unhealthy, or faulty, all of his or her efforts will end in failure. Whilst Bob Sommer, in his enhanced version has even elevated the principles of it to the “science of imagination”.

Answers for questions in the tag like this, they actually prompted by the grey matter in the mind of a writer. It smolders through a delicate process, deliberated, reflected and imagined and on top of it, we cannot run away from the eventual responds that to still be based upon the blueprint of our mind, in a shadow of our self-image. In the end, if it falls into the hands of connoisseurs, it’d manifest the psychology behind it.

Now, come read what’s concealed in the rear of my psyche with the answers I have to offer.


1. NAME ONE PERSON WHO MADE YOU LAUGH LAST NIGHT.

My son. Sam! He’s good at making sounds, hilarious twist of reverberations that would tickle you up. Last night in the car, on our way back from dinner in Sg Buluh, I asked him to twist around a familiar tune in his squeaky voice and I had good laugh at it.


2. WHAT WERE YOU DOING AT 0800?

I was running down the highway. In any working days, around this hour, you can expect me either on highway or at Jejantas Sungai Buluh, stop over for my breakfast at KAYA Kopitiam. You’d better try the place sometime. Who knows you’d be a rich person the minute you walk out out from there.


3. WHAT WERE YOU DOING 30 MINUTES AGO?

No fun for me to answer based on 30 minutes ago because of the dreary things I was doing, apart from drowning myself in the blogosphere. What about an hour before? I was down there in a shop checking on a padlock that equipped with built-in alarm. Have you ever come across this? When the padlock is shaken or wrong key is used, the alarm would go off. It’s a product from China selling at RM 70.


4. WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU IN 2006?

Nothing great happened in 2006. Managed to do what I was supposed to be doing. I wrapped up the year hoping 2007 would be a better year just like the way I closed my 2007 a few days ago with a hope that things will be good for me, wife and kids in 2008. Here


5. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU SAID OUT LOUD?

Hard to trace back because I seldom yell or shout. May be my excitement answering a phone call from a friend who was not in contact for some considerable length of time. I said “Heyyy… Where have you been? Lama tak dengar berita!?”


6. HOW MANY BEVERAGES DID YOU HAVE TODAY?

Up till this point in time, morning, still early in the day, I just had two. One at home, a cup of tea my wife prepared for me and just now almost a bottle of 500ml mineral water.


7. WHAT COLOR IS YOUR HAIRBRUSH?

For a second it makes me think that the one who started this tag is a lady. And yeah, hairbrush is not in my dictionary, comb is, and it’s blue in color.


8. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU PAID FOR?

If the charge for SmartTAG is considered as a payment, must be it when I passed through the toll gate this morning. But if you mean cash in use, well, last night when I filled up gas for my car at Petronas.


9. WHERE WERE YOU LAST NIGHT?

I was at home after a sumptuous dinner at a Thai restaurant. I find solace to be home. My night is far off from any sort of after-the-dark activity.


10. WHAT COLOR IS YOUR FRONT DOOR?

Peach color.


11. WHERE DO YOU KEEP YOUR CHANGE?

In a small pocket inside the pocket of my pant. Do you ladies know that some trousers for men are designed with small pockets inside the pockets?


12. WHAT’S THE WEATHER LIKE TODAY?

A bit gloomy


13. WHAT’S THE BEST ICE-CREAM FLAVOR?

I have to sound a bit conservative here. I do love “aiskrim potong” best. To me that’s what simplicity in enjoying ice cream is all about. I love all those Häagen-Dazs® super premium ice cream, gelato, sorbet and frozen yogurt but “aiskrim potong” is laced with sweet memories to go with.


14. WHAT EXCITES YOU?

I am confused between “what excites me” and “what turns me on”. Oh dear, you want me to let the world knows the wild side of me when it comes to libido or what? Just kidding! Actually, I get excited every time when I am harboring thoughts of making a trip back to my hometown with my kids and family.


15. DO YOU WANT TO CUT YOUR HAIR?

Yes, in a few day’s time.


16. ARE YOU OVER THE AGE OF 25?

If my friend KC says she’s way over the age of 25, I would say I am slightly over… hahahaha! Now comes the question of how slight is slight?


17. DO YOU TALK A LOT?

I’ll bet giving speech to an audience does not count as I can go for hours talking at the podium (conducting trainings & presentations) – that’s speak. Talk – you can say it’s a lot when I do have the right sparring partner on an issue that dearly to me. If not, I’d be as quiet as a mouse.


18. DO YOU WATCH THE O.C.?

What OC?


19. DO YOU KNOW ANYONE NAMED STEVEN?

I know many Stevens. There is one Steven that I know but he doesn’t know me; Steven Spielberg. Silly joke! Well, of all other Stevens that I know, there is one Steven Keong I would like to give tribute here. He is my personal friend from Brinchang, Cameron Highlands and he's heckuva nice man.


20. DO YOU MAKE UP YOUR OWN WORDS?

Not in particular as I’m trained to plain-talk when I need to talk. But I may be using barrage of words often used by others like, “Holy Shoot”, “Holy Cow”, “Alahai…”, “Mama Mummia” and so forth.


21. ARE YOU A JEALOUS PERSON?

I am not a jealous person as what jealous is. But, if a pinch of it as a must in a person, of which it demonstrates responsible and protective nature in you, I’d say yes.


22. NAME A FRIEND WHOSE NAME STARTS WITH THE LETTER 'A'.

Adnan


23. NAME A FRIEND WHOSE NAME STARTS WITH THE LETTER ‘K’.

Karen


24. WHO’S THE FIRST PERSON ON YOUR RECEIVED CALL LIST?

It comes out as * YanG * on my screen – must be my wife.


25. WHAT DOES THE LAST TEXT MESSAGE YOU RECEIVED SAY?

The last one is no fun to share because it says only “OK”. Neither does for the second last, it is even shorter with only “K”. The third last is fine, it says, “Futsal on Sunday at U-One Sport Center USJ 1 at 11 am. A farewell game to our “Footballer of The Year” Mr E.P Yeo before he joins AC Miri at San Sarawak”


26. DO YOU CHEW ON YOUR STRAW?

No. I have better things to chew on.


27. DO YOU HAVE CURLY HAIR?

What do you call that between wavy and curly? You know, like Tom Hank’s. Mine is in that category.


28. WHERE’S THE NEXT PLACE YOU’RE GOING TO?

In the context of day’s work today, I’ll be out to Cyberjaya. In the context of long distance traveling, I may be going to Japan for Tokyo Anime Award Competition 2008 in March.


29. WHO’S THE RUDEST PERSON IN YOUR LIFE?

The rudest person in my life I want to mention here is not rude at all in the eyes of others. It happened when I was little and it was my uncle. Knowing he was my uncle, I then purposely get myself closer to him in a crowd with the hope of him acknowledge me as his nephew. But he turned his face away that until today the very incident is still vivid in my recollection. It hurts me deep. I was only a kid, had no slightest idea on what the bickering in the family had been.


30. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?

I took chicken sausages for my breakfast at home. But it was only 2 or 3 pieces, feel a bit hungry. I am now opting for an early lunch.


31. WILL YOU GET MARRIED IN THE FUTURE?

Let me do my mathematics for a while. I am married and now the question is about getting married!? Perhaps the question is meant for non-married person?! I don’t think it is a hint on polygamous issue in the question. And it triggers in my mind that the person who started this tag is not just a lady but single too.


32. WHAT’S THE BEST MOVIE YOU’VE SEEN IN THE PAST 2 WEEKS?

If in the past 2 weeks I hardly watched any movies. My movies had been all real-life drama & play with my kids on the centre-stage or graced my widescreen while they were concluding the last precious minutes of their school holidays.


34. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU DID THE DISHES?

It was the night before yesterday after my dinner at home. I’d do it every time after a meal for my own plate.


35. ARE YOU CURRENTLY DEPRESSED?

No


36. DID YOU CRY TODAY?

No


37. WHY DID YOU ANSWER AND POST THIS?

Because I am honoring the person who tagged me up.


38. TAG 5 PEOPLE WHO WOULD DO THIS SURVEY:

I would love to tag them up but I want to end it in a bad way by breaking the chain. I’d spare those 5 potential people from being tagged and if you are interested to know, they are among the last 30 names that left their comments in my previous entries.

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