Life cycle..

Empty chairs and empty tables. Like those in les miserables. Abandoned in the dark of the night. Expectedly so, as the road side stall is already closed. It was bustling then, with cendol and fruits. That was during the heat of the day, the battle aim is freedom from hunger, the battle act is consumption of the food.

For the seller, it is to make ends meet, to pay bills, to put food on the table, for family to eat.
That is the chain of needs, of others that we provide, and of us that others serviced.

That thought rhymed in Nakamora's head as he passed the cendol stall, looking like a device left and forgotten, to be used again during the day. That night, he was driving towards Pontian. Days ago they thought of fulfilling a need there, but didn't. Cendol was eaten elsewhere.

Ramadhan is ending...

Well-consummated iftar

Truly, time flies.. Only a few days ago Nakamora thought fasting started, and suddenly today it is ending in about three days. How swift.. It could be so because of the many events, of global nature, that occupy the airwaves, and brain waves too. The continuing search for MH370 somewhere in the Indian Ocean, the World Cup in Brazil, the ill-fated MH17 in Ukraine, the onslaught of the innocence in Palestine/ Gaza by a party that Nakamora refuses to recognize by writing the name.

On a personal scale, this Ramadhan is different. Extremely rare that Nakamora patronizes the many bazar Ramadhan to buy food for iftar. The sky-rocketing price, the lack of food quality, and the difficulty for parking dampened his spirit. Some, or most of the food items, are priced beyond value for taste.. and some were not even prepared properly to deserve the names they are given. This reminded Nakamora of a stall at a food court in Tanjung Malim that sells nasi lemak. The dish lacks all the main ingredients to deserve the name nasi lemak. It has no ground nuts, no cucumber, and no sambal ikan bilis, or rather sambal ikan bilis full of onions and no anchovies. The owner has the chick and no remorse to call his dish nasi lemak. But there are still people having breakfast at the stall, just as there are still crowds, albeit smaller in size compared to previous years, at the bazar Ramadhan. Perhaps, we have become apathetic and indifference...

Happy Eid to all Muslim readers...

Hardcopy or softcopy?

When e-mails was introduced years ago Nakamora thought that would be the beginning of the end of the postal service. He was wrong. On the contrary, the postal service thrives as orders for goods can be made faster on-line. But goods cannot be virtualized, transmitted, and realized yet - that Star Trek technology isn't here yet.

Now he thought that this time his prediction is right - that social media has replaced greeting cards. This Eid-ul-Fitr for instance he received only three greeting cards. Down by many folds from the number he used to enjoy holding, reading, and keeping. Most greetings come in softcopy - via Facebooks, being tweeted, or short message system.

But then, his observation could be wrong again. He is no longer in circulation for quite a number of years, he is not in the loop but only at the periphery of the circles of major happenings, contributing to society in a manner that is different than before. But then again, some of his friends mused the same thing too. This year there aren't many cards, so they say. Thus, he could be right, or at least half-right.

Anyway, selamat hari raya aidilfitri 1434H to all readers...

A stranger who is not a stranger...

Nakamora trained his eyes to every nooks and corners of the yellow-colored shophouses. The majority of them, if not almost all, are eateries of all types of dishes and all kinds of operations: mamak shop, kelantanese food, thai food, lebanese food, indonesian food, cake house, seafood restaurant, and even a restaurant named after a popular local cartoon TV series that is set to supplant doraemon.

He has been looking for him, someone from the other part of the world. Could it be Pakistan, Afghanistan, or any of the other ...stans countries. He couldn't tell and he never cared. After all he was nice, well-mannered, and seems to know how to carry himself around. Nowhere could he be seen.

He used to sell wooden handicraft, and Nakamora bought one several years ago. It was their first encounter. Nakamora since then stumbled on him whenever he went to have his meal at one of the restaurant, and they greeted each other cordially. Last year in December he said that he is going home for a while and will come back when it is summer in his country.  That's about March this year, but he's still not to be seen.

He was a stranger, but somehow he isn't, else Nakamora wouldn't be bothered looking around. In life, there are occassions that touch your heart, and there are people who did the same. Mohamad Abid, to Nakamora, is one such person.

The good, the bad, and the ugly...

The title of this posting is that of a popular Western movie, which is Nakamora's favorite genre. It has been used in many instances to describe exactly that combination of events when they come in a package. That was what happened in Nakamora's recent trip to France.
The good - in a train into Paris from a town called La Rochelle a gentleman gave away his seat by taking Nakamora's own three coaches upstream so that he can sit next to his wife. Similarly a lady willingly moved around to another seat to let her seat be used by his wife.The bad - it was a hectic trip with very little breathing space. The ugly - he was not reminded, but it happened. His guard was not adequate. Nakamora was a victim of the latest 'football' trick used by the pickpocket community of Paris. He was extra careful after that...

Looking back looking forward

In a day what is the event that touches your heart and emotion the most? Ask that everynight, so thought Nakamora; and he did so that night. It was an exceptional day. It wasn't hard to come up with a list. It was a day of happenings. There are plenty of things to be joyous about. Winning at exhibition, making good progress on outstanding works, just returning from an interesting holiday, solving financial woes, getting that new thing that you have been wanting for some time, etc. But for him it was a simple visit to his mother. He visited her quite often, but today it struck him how she has grown old. She was young, no doubt, full of energy and investing it all in raising her kids. He just thought whether he is returning that investment adequately. We are so busy growing up that we overlook that our parents are growing old. The lyrics of "Number One For Me" by Maher Zain played in his mind...

A Tale of Two Turtles...

It was about three weekends ago that Nakamora released two turtles into a lake. They have been staying in an aquarium of sort in his house under the care of his wife. Kuru-kuru and Kuri-kuri, the name given to the two turtles, must have been very happy to be in the open waters, many thousands times the size of their home in Nakamora's house; the place they stayed for over a year. They don't know that they are known as Kuru-kuru and Kuri-kuri, of course, unlike other pets such as cats. The lake, Tasik Komanwel, is just nearby the sports stadium at Bukit Jalil. There are many turtles in the lake; must have been put there by others like him, Nakamora thought.

Kuru-kuru, or was it Kuri-kuri, crossing Lake Komanwel

As he drove away, after spending some time beside the lake to ensure that both Kuru-kuru and Kuri-kuri are safe, images of Kuru-kuru, or was it Kuri-kuri, swimming away to the other side of the lake, the manner in which they climbed out the bucket as he lowered it into the water played in his head. He wondered how natural it was for the turtle to swim away, to be at home in the lake, even though they have not been swimming before since their home in Nakamora's house is so small. It is an intrinsic, in-built ability, he thought. He felt happy, and satisfied. Satisfied in the thought that his wife, and even more so himself, agreed to release them. Happy in the thought that the turtles will have many more varieties of food, much wider space to play around, plenty of nice spots to sleep and rest or sunbathe. They will in time meet others; and probably share their experiences too..

Turtles can outlive him, he thought. Turtles can live for a hundred years or more. Perhaps 100 years from today the lake will be full of turtles. It may come to be an attraction - a zoo of turtle, a turtle territory, a sanctuary. And Nakamora smiled to himself, contented with the thought that he contributed to that future, and two of them have spent one percent of their lives in his home...

Consolidation...

Many years ago I thought that it is better to separate different topics in several blogs, hence I have more than one blog. But with the labeling facility coming into being that would not be necessary anymore. Postings can be labeled accordingly, and as result passive blogs can be avoided. Hence postings at my other blog "Don't Throw Them Away" which was started in November 2007, will be gradually migrated to this blog. The blog is about traditions, knowledge, experience, culture, and heritage and how we can benefit from them...

Old things tend to find uses later, they tend to be recycled and become useful again. This is not just for material things, but also for concept, philosophy, and fashion....

Keris Making (Wavy Blade Daggers) -- A Dying Art / 12 Nov 2007

Keris making at a cottage industry in Terengganu

Making keris (wavy blade daggers) in Terengganu, Malaysia... looks simple, but there are a lot of scientific principles underlying the age old traditional method for making keris... forging, tempering, etching... the tools look equally simple, but they are able to be perform the task of producing a beautiful keris used to make the keris... it is a dying art, no one to pass on the knowledge to; youngsters no longer find such a 'career' or vocation attractive...

The games of life...

A bowling alley

Nakamora was at a bowling alley recently, passing time away while waiting for something more useful. It turned out that it was a worthwhile time 'wasted' anyway. He played around a few mind games in his head.
As he watched the bowling pins fall, some fall only a few while the more seasoned player fell all pins in one hit, a question struck his mind - what use could the skill in targeting the balls in real, everyday life outside the alley be? And he couldn't answer that question. But as usual he try searching for answer by formulating alternative questions or posing the same question to other games.
Swimming, archery, shooting, horse riding are sports the skills of which can be used in some situations in life, in a dire situation the skill developed for swimming can be used to save life, for rescue operation, etc. He searched his mind and still fail to see the use of bowling. In fact more games in similar class make way to his head including soccer, tennis and the like. Could he be wrong?

What's in an abbreviation...

We use abbreviations a lot. With sms or texting the short form of everything becomes handy. But not every short form carries the same meaning. The photo, complete with the typos, intentionally made, I believe, is a case in point. It was taken near the Segambut eateries area, Kuala Lumpur; not in any other town in the east coast of the Malaysian Peninsular.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.7.4

It's Ramadhan

At the end of Ramadhan 1431H we prayed that we would make it to the next Ramadhan. Alhamdulillah, the prayer is granted; here we are, at the beginning of Ramadhan 1432H.
Bazaars are here again. The last day before Ramadhan the shops were crowded. Restaurants, cafes, and food courts were crowded too. It was as if tomorrow it is no more... (Photo: Bazaar Ramadhan at Taman Melawati, Kuala Lumpur).

Published with Blogger-droid v1.7.4

Senseless...

It is hard not to feel saddened with the plight of those businesses owners whose operations are disrupted. Who should compensate their losses. Countless people whose programs are disrupted, just because certain segments of the populace want to do things their way. Inconsiderate, incomprehensible...

Published with Blogger-droid v1.7.2

Know Your Roots?

How far do you know your roots.. how far up?
That question came to mind after watching 'Roots', the popular TV miniseries in the USA in late 1970s based on the book of the same title by Alex Haley. He spent 12 years researching for his roots, back to Gambia in Africa.
Amazing how things changed in seven generations: outlook, worldview, values, and other things in life; and equally amazing how things do not change much, when entities are encapsulated from outside 'change agents' or influence...
As reported in an extra section of the DVD, the showings of the series on TV generated a lot of interests on genealogy. It became a popular vocation, or past time, of a large majority of the public. I recall in Malaysia a project for school children to construct their own root trees - trace your ancestors. Could it be connected in anyway?

Travel the World for...

The mobility of peoples and goods, and information, has tremendously increased with the advent of modern transportation systems. It can be disrupted, severely in some occassions, as we have witnessed in the past week, but in general a lot more peoples and goods are moving from one place to another, for one purpose or another.
Some travel for businesses, others for holidays, or combine both. Nakamora's travel in the past week was of the latter type. In the process, he got stuck in Dubai, stayed three days in Vienna, and spent the weekend in Prague before due to fly home.
Still others travel the world for medical treatment, hence the term medical tourism; for recreation, hence recreational or sports tourism. Still another class, Nakamora thought, are those who travel, or being made to travel, for a living. A construction worker he met in Dubai mentioned that he has worked in a construction project in Malaysia in Bandar Baru Bangi, in Penang, and in Klang, along with a host of other countries. As he looked up at construction workers next to steel bars, scaffolds, and reinforced concrete columns at construction sites in many cities he wondered how many buildings have that worker be involved in, and in how many places has he travelled. He must have his own views and viewpoints of the city; views that are different from us altogether...

General purpose 'everything'

He is tired, no doubt, sleeping, oblivious to the noise and happenings around him. But what is that he is sleeping on? It is a cart, it is a bed, it is a place to rest, a single item with many uses.
The idea of 'multipurpose' or 'general purpose' equipment perhaps originated from an old practice of maximizing the benefit of an item by diversifying or extending its uses; like what we see in that picture. It saves money, and if we don't have much money we have not much choice but to make do with what we have, and hence the cartbed - a multipurpose cart. It can't be a multipurpose bed. The name after the adjective multipurpose should be the orginal name the item is used for, not the name of items its uses are extended to.
When resources are limited, we tend to be creative.

Someone's Loss...

is someone else's gain. Disruption in air travel due to the Icelandic volcanic ash costs airlines millions of dollars in lost revenue and due to extra operational costs incurred in the logistics of relocating and pacifying stranded passengers. Leaving passengers on their own or just giving them minimal treatments can tarnish image and long-term businesses. In fact, Nakamora opined that, the ability to effectively and efficiently handle situations like this is the hallmark of professionalism and service quality, of airlines or any other ventures.
On the other side of the equation, hotel industry at the city where passengers are stranded records bustling business. Occupancy rates jump. But, this is not the whole story. Would be travellers cancelled their trips, taxi cabs loss passengers going to the airports or to the city, some passengers chose to stay put at the airport, etc. There are losses, but who else gained?

Oppositely Dominating

When at home there are many things in common between us and the masses, thus we tend to highlight our differences. When abroad, away from home, the differences between us and the masses loom large so that  in meeting fellow countryman we can easily strike a conversation. We focus on similarity, brushing aside the very difference that we would be highlighting if we were home.

But, there are places in which that is not the case. We tend to be indifference or even avoid contact. Another similarity could be at play here, or could it be driven by another need? London seems like one such place.

Whitechapel's Fish and Chips

What is it that make you frequented an outlet? One is preferred over another. This restaurant serving traditional fish and chip in Whitechapel, London obviously is an answer. The treatment you get is one that can be remembered and cherished.
He is cheerful, treats every customer as close friends that needs attention,. It makes coming to his place an enjoyable experience; enter with a hungry stomach, leave with your spirit uplifted.
"Take a seat, i'll bring it to you," he said respectfully in casual manner.
While you are at your seat other customers enter the premise. All are greeted as if they are long lost friend, and they enjoy being treated that way and reciprocate. The shop may be have been operating there for many many years, serving local customers that the owner knows well. But he must have known so many to be at that level of interaction with them.
If I were in that area again in the future I would definitely not miss coming to that outlet serving that traditional fish and chips.

e-Card

It is the end of Ramadhan and Eid ul Fitr, or the first of the month of Syawal is coming. Few days before this the mailbox used to be brimming with cards wishing every happiness for the joyous occassion. It is different this time around however. Perhaps e-cards and short messaging system truly have taken over the role of printed cards; or perhaps all those before were actually for the seat of the receiver ;-)

Trade and Language

Malay Spoken Here. That sign in the title may not be written anywhere, but approach the shop, browse around and enquire a thing or two. After a while the shopkeeper will urge you to buy.
"Oh, from Malaysa. Apa kabar."
"Belilah. Murah saja."
"Enam Ribu Won."
Yes, that conversation was in the Itaewon district, a well-known shopping area in downtown Seoul. That conversation also bears testimony to the shopping penchant of most Malaysians, Malays especially. Well, it is good for the economy.
In addition we might say trade is also a way for a language to expand, and to some extent, we see that taking place. The language, albeit a broken one, is spoken at almost every shopping or market place Nakamora has been to. Of course, the level of conversation is limited to low level transactions such as souvenir shopping, but everything has a beginning, and every beginning usually is a humble one, isn't it? The influence of toursim on language cannot be ignored.