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.

Presents for Self...

As he is looking at the calendar filling in all the commitments that he has, categorizing them into must attend or do, nice to attend, or attend or do when nothing else to attend or do, Nakamora also noted the many special days allocated for special causes or subjects. There are Earth Day, Children Day, Mothers Day, Fathers Day, Teachers Day, etc. days.
All those special days come together with special deeds, vows, gifts, and presents that are of course nice to give and nicer to receive.
When he was small, many decades ago, everyday was just a day; fun day. Nakamora remembers that when visiting relatives there will always be presents on hand. Often times they were just fruits or produce plucked from the farm, or even chicken or sugar - simple, down-to-earth, everyday things; nothing special except the intention and the sincerity of giving the presents. There were no presents for kids or if there was, it was not the norm.
Presents have the positive effect of lifting the spirit. It is a mark signaling approval, of sharing the joy of success. That approval need not come from others all the time. Nakamora thought it could come from within himself. Thus sometimes he just give himself presents, or rewards. Nothing complicated or expensive. At times the presents or rewards were just driving around the country side, strolling by the park. The are low cost, in terms of hard cash.

Hanoi, Viet Nam...

It's 7 am. The street, Ly Thuong Kiet Street in Hanoi began to cry, to shout. Endless sound from car horns fills the air. It is like that all day long and into the night when the street gets tired and started to keep quiet, and perhaps go to sleep. Nakamora did not wait that long to see if the street ever goes to sleep. But it was much more quieter than in the day time.
Being here only a few days, and mostly spent away from the noisy and crowded street, Nakamora could not fully taste the city or understand its heartbeat. But the roads of Hanoi, one of the major cities of this country, Viet Nam, with population of over 80 million are filled more by motorbikes and bicycles than with cars. Driving in Hanoi definitely is not for the weak-hearted and non-spirited driver. Even while riding motorbikes Hanoi bikers can read and reply sms on the hand phone. No problem. Can you beat that, asked Nakamora.
Nakamora has seen the name of the country spelled in two different ways, Vietnam ad Viet Nam. Both are correct but perhaps the later is a closer description of the old history of the country. Viet represents and ethnicity of the people at the south, Nam, of China. It was not after looking at a map, subsequent to asking his host, that Nakamora realized that Hanoi, this almost closing parenthesis-like country is actually slightly to the West of Kuala Lumpur. His mental image has always been that Vietnam is a country east of Malaysia, and hence would see the sun rise earlier.
The seriousness on which they market and promote their crafts to tourists impressed Nakamora. There are actually so much to learn.

One Sen No More...

Just for a record. 1 April saw the disappearance of the Malaysia one sen coin from circulation. The lowest denomination is now five sen. Physically, it followed the footstep of the RM one coin, that has similar brownish color, but bigger that was also discontinued last year. The value, one sen, still exists. Goods are still priced at that lowest denomination, but rounded up when transacted in hard cash. No rounding-up or down to the nearest five sen for other, non-hard cash transaction.

The Devil Is In The Details

Failing to plan is planning to fail. Well said. Understood. That probably is the first phrase uttered in a lecture or course in planning. Indeed in a blog entry on planning, such as the one we all are reading now, too.
But plans, good or bad, can fail because they cannot be implemented or improperly executed. On the funny side, Nakamora is reminded of a story he read somewhere, sometime back, about good but unimplementable plan.
Once upon a time a community of mouse felt so helpless, down, and fed up with the constant harassment and victimization of their young ones by a nearby cat. They got together, brainstormed, and came up with a suggestion that was to be started right away. Thus, that night the headmouse and senior members of the community went to see the wise creature, the owl, and seek its proposal on how to overcome the problem that are haunting them, night after night.
The solution: tie something that make noise, such as a bell, by the cat's neck, so that any mouse that hear the noise can alert others to hide and take shelter.
The headmouse and its entourage were jubilant again and headed back home to inform the rest. But alas, they had to brainstorm again. They know not how to tie that bell around the cat's neck. No one among them can finish the job before or without being eaten by the cat. Definitely another method must be sought. So they went back to see the owl for another consultation. They were not lucky this time. They did not get the answer for the owl responded that it had already proposed the plan, it was the mouse that must implement them.

The Value Of 90 Sen...

It costs nothing. That is not an unfamiliar phrase. We have heard of it said at one time or another. But is it true? It ought to be to some people, depending on how they value things.
Consider this. There is no such thing as free lunch. It is paid in different forms, in one way or another, at one time or another. But they are cost, nonetheless, that are not measured in ringgit and sen. Some may not be countable at all. Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted - a saying attributed to Einstein. The value of anything is then a relative quantity depending on the reference point against which it is measured, or compared.
That was what Nakamora tried to come up with recently when traveling from point P to point B. The toll cost 90 sen only. He has a fair bit of time and not in a rush, thus he took the non-toll road. He was actually paying the 90 sen with his available time.
He was not lucky. The road was congested. He ended up spending more time on the road than he expected, and to him it worths more than 90 sen. But that was the risk that he took.
At times even the toll road is congested, especially at the toll booth. He could end up the same, spending more time than expected for a toll road. That thought console him a bit. It was preferable not to spend 90 sen and arrive late to spending 90 sen and arriving not early enough. The frustration would be doubled.