Saturday, June 14, 2008

Swallows' Paradise

Nakamora used to wonder what the building is for. He noticed not just one, but several. He noticed not just in the east coast but also in the west coast. To take it for a place to store grains (rice and corn as well, may be) to replace the old construct of inverted long slender bucket may not be quite correct. The building is not that tall. They are located not necessarily anywhere near paddy field. Thus it cannot be that place for storing anything, especially food item. Birds can easily enter it and finish them all.
The building is about 3-4 story tall with several small, slightly less than A4 paper size openings near the top floors walls. Other than those openings there are no other windows. The wall is plastered with cement and the owner did not bother to either paint it or smoothen the surface of the wall.
It was only a few months back that Nakamora learned that indeed the building is for birds to enter. Only now Nakamora has the opportunity to write about it. Not just any birds. It is for swallows to nest. Birds nests fetch good price as they are used as medicine.
It is nice to know. But at the same time a flash of thought on how that could alter the lifestyle of swallows in the future, or succeeding generations of swallow played in Nakamora's head. Perhaps future generation of swallows would no longer be interested to nest elsewhere, except in that kind of building... or could they lose the ability to nest except in buildings such as those swallows' paradise...

Thursday, June 12, 2008

We Too Can be Fooled

With rising fuel price even Nakamora, a speedy driving super enthusiast, has to suppress his urge to floor the accelerator pedal. No, it is just too expensive.
It is one good outcome of the increase in the price of oil. He remembered that he used to have to train his eyes hard on life-size cardboard cut-out of traffic policeman and policewoman, normally placed by the roadside. He wanted to ascertain if it was real or dummy. The difference between the two is like the difference between the pleasure of speed driving and the pain of paying the fine. The dummy law enforcers are supposed to scare motorists that they are being waited upon, told that they exceeded the speed limit, and presented with a non-reusable speeding ticket. Non-reusable since if down the road they were caught again speeding, a new ticket will be issued. The cut-out looked so real and prompted quite a number of motorists to slow down. It works.
Nakamora thought of the 'orang-orangan' (scare-crow?) used to scare birds away from padi fields. It works. It manages to keep birds away. They are fooled. Well. It seems that we too can be fooled.

Wednesday, June 04, 2008

A Note from Kota Kinabalu

Nakamora landed at Kota Kinabalu airport again. It was about 4.30 in the afternoon of Monday. He has just realized that suddenly it is June. Almost half of 2008 already gone. It was quite hot. Work for the expansion of the airport is still going on.
He managed to walk a bit at Centerpoint again. It was very hot. He was told that air conditioning was out since last week or so. Some of the elevators too were not working.
A day of joy for Sabahan as 'anak watan' will now be the state financial officer. Yusof Sarangit of Lahad Datu with a geology degree from University Malaya. Come 18 June another Sabahan will be at the helm of University Malaysia Sabah as its vice chancellor. Datuk Dr Kamarulzaman Ampon.
Conversation in a taxi with the driver can be interesting and informative. This one that Nakamora took to the airport from the hotel described the culture of the various tribes(suku) in Sabah. Outsiders marrying someone from suku Murut have to be contend with the view of the in-laws that once their daughter is taken, they reserve the right to claim ownership to any of their son-in-laws belongings. Sometimes he said the father in law comes for a visit and takes home the refrigerator or TV sets. This practice continues until the daughter conceives a child.
Nakamora arrived at the airport. Most part of the airports are still hot as the air conditioning is not working too at sections where renovations were being done.