Simple Pleasures of Life...

The amount is not much, mere pittance, but that smile struck him. Nakamora looked at the pizza delivery guy as he made his way to the lift lobby. Nakamora closed the door of the apartment, taking the RM 29.25 meal inside. That was just one of the lazy night to either eat out or cook a meal.
Nakamora gave him RM 30.00 and asked him to keep the balance. Nakamora was sure that it was not a sinister smile. RM 1.00 cannot buy much nowadays. It was a genuine display of pleasure for a gesture of not wanting to be bothered by looking for exact change to return. At times simple things in life - saying thank you or keeping the door open for others after you - can make us happy.

The Garden Below

Close to the end of year is the time for cleaning up, including the computer.. purging orphans and unwanted files, storing important information in CDs, etc. It was during such activity that Nakamora stumbled upon a journal entry he wrote on his first dive at Redang Island at about 8 years ago; and he is sharing it here:
The speedboat eased out into the open seas steadily. Gradually the white sandy beach turned to look more like a mere line and the surrounding islands like series of dots at the horizon. Once at the deeper water the second engine kicked in. The boat sped ahead leaving wakes marking its trail. The line and the dots were now lost, completely hidden from view. It’s a trip back to the mainland.
I sat at the starboard side. My sight traveled to an unknown space beyond the stern, and stayed there. Images of the undersea garden flashed rapidly, vividly, and colorfully in my mind.
The ride was bumpy, but not as bad as the inward journey a few days ago. As the speedboat pounded ahead memories of trips on a dive boat to the dive sites were relived. The pounding was familiar, the engine noise was familiar too; but I was now without the tank, the mask, and the fin. I wished I was, but diving has its own discipline. I had two repetitive 18-meter dives the day before. To fly home today I shouldn’t be diving for at least twelve hours so that excess nitrogen level in the body can decrease. Those dives placed me as Group V divers.
At the end of every dive, divers belong to any of the A to Z groups representing excess nitrogen level in the body, which increases with dive depth and duration. Group Z is the highest. Progressively a diver moves from a higher to a lower group by staying longer at the surface as more nitrogen would be released. Excess nitrogen appears in body tissues as micro bubbles, which would expand in response to pressure reduction such as due to increase in altitude.
***
I recalled my very first dive into the deep end, twelve feet, of a swimming pool during training. That was already deep to me. I had to gather enough courage to jump in with my back facing the water and let my body fall rolling back into the water – the splash back entry. The pool was not deep. It takes only a few kicks to resurface, but as a first timer, the anxiety was always there. Having learned how to handle abnormal situations such as out of air, flooded mask, dislodged regulator, and buoyancy control, hovering, excursion, descending, ascending, remaining afloat, and pressure equalization I found that to be in and under water is quite manageable and interesting.
Despite those trainings anxiety still greeted me, and with heightened levels, as the day to my first dive at sea drew closer. It was hard to silence the inner voice that every so often cast a cloud of doubt. Yes, it was okay at the pool, but now it is going to be 60 feet, five times deeper, the pressure would be much greater, what about the temperature, would I be able to do all the things that I did in the pool. Yes, I wouldn’t be alone, as divers ought not to be, but still I am responsible for my own safety.
***
The day came. It was a beautiful morning. Everybody got ready and boarded the dive boat for a short boat ride to the dive site. Once there one after another we splashed into the sea. The moment I was in the water I inflated the buoyancy control device a bit more. I peeked down and I saw the seabed. It was comforting. It was beautiful. It looked like a faraway settlement seen from above. Meanwhile, the small waves lifted me up and down, turning my stomach inside out much like when riding a roller coaster. After checking buoyancy settings, we descended. Under the surface the waves have little effect. While descending I whispered to myself the rules; breathe deeply and continuously, do not hold your breath, do not ascend faster than your smallest bubble, etc. As I reached the seabed the place looked even more beautiful from close range, but the “test” kept me occupied. The dive and the test went well. I know that I earned the certificate and would be a certified Open Water Diver. With that I gained confidence and was able to enjoy the sights a bit more.
.....
I felt a sense of accomplishment. I noticed an ephemeral smile of the instructor - satisfied of making this bunch of student able to scuba dive. The facial expression seemed similar to some that I have seen before, displayed by dedicated people who take pride in their works at the completion of successful missions
***
The beginning of the last dive however was a bit different. It was in the afternoon and visibility wasn’t very good. All I could see below, as I floated waiting for the rest to enter the water before descending, was a seemingly bottomless deep blue water. I felt alarmed, but regained my composure a moment later. I was able to invoke the rule – never let panic overcome you, stop, think, reason out, take necessary action.
***
It was a significant and an eventful occasion. My view of the underwater world was initially shaped by visits to aquariums, snorkeling trips, and National Geographic documentaries. Its all different now. I was there. I understand it better than before and somehow I feel I can relate to it. At 18 meters below the surface it’s a different world, a new world, a new experience, and a different kind of existence. The corals are so vast in coverage, so diverse in shapes and sizes, and the surroundings are so vibrant and lively in colors. Yet, except for the bubbles and the sound of my own breathing through the regulator it is quiet and serene.
...
The fishes swim peacefully and the plants wave gracefully. It is their home, their playgrounds, their world – the world of marine life that I now come to like much more. And I swam too, among and between them, to explore and to appreciate. The feeling accompanying my realization that I was seeing stingray, angelfish, jellyfish, batfish and the rest in and within their own natural habitats is hard to put in words. I was fascinated and exhilarated. I was also indeed humbled by it all, by the sight and feel of the magnificent garden below that the Creator has let us to enjoy, and yet others are intent at destroying them through uncontrolled and unscrupulous activities in the name of development...
***
The trip back was laden with a heavy heart, but other activities must go on as well. Nonetheless, I take comfort in knowing that now I can have return visits.

Old House - but not in the Prairie

Sometimes he wondered how an object can be a gateway to the subconscious mind to wonder to the things of the past, or imagine things of the future. There is no particular time that would take place. There is no particular weather pattern either. But he became aware that he sees things differently when the sun is bright and the sky is blue. The same thing seems to invoke different images and memories, depending on the time of the day.
That was what happened one morning many years ago when he drove to work. That old house, seemingly under continuous construction, tucked in the midst of tall trees and well kept bushes, on the swampy side of the winding road was erected only a few months back. There seemed to be a lot of activities around it, but changes or progress were not noticeable.
That old house brings back memories of the one in which he spent his childhood years - that must have been many decades ago. That isolated, lone house at his village or kampung. It's no longer there. Being abandoned uninhabited for many years termites feasted on it. Once upon a time, it stood strong in the remoteness of the area, in the serene silence of the surrounding of rows of oil palm and rubber trees. Occasionally, rubber tree seeds pop up in mid-air to hit the zinc roof before recoiling to the ground.
A single track of about 500-meter dirt road connects it to the main thoroughfare. That track is much more improved now many times over compared to the times when he had to leave his car by the main road and walk that 500 meter to the house. It even has a name now. But the place is still as desolate as it once was and the real reason for visiting it has long gone.

Discovery...

Being away in the jungle gives an opportunity to discover yourselves. Going alone, however, can invite danger. When accompanied by others, preferably those familiar with the area, one can sort of put aside the thinking about general safety - the place to venture into and the place to avoid - and concentrate on personal safety.
Nakamora has been in the jungle fairly often. he felt the difference. It is a different world altogether. Peaceful. Only the birds are making noises - beautiful, soothing noise. Occasionally the monkeys chip in too. This is the place where money is valued less, or not much at all. The currency in the jungle is trust, and respect. Respect the animal, and they won't be mad at you. Interact with trust with the aborigines, and they will trust you. Betray their trust and forever you will not be trusted anymore.

Traveling Back In Time...

Ramadhan officially ended in Malaysia, and most countries in this region on Tuesday, which is the end of September. Wednesday, October first is also 1 Syawal 1429, the first day of Eid Mubarak for Malaysia, and most countries in the region. Nakamora was told by a friend that Austria celebrated Eid a day earlier.
As usual there are many of people doing the same thing at the same time. Thus major shopping districts in Kuala Lumpur were flooded with crowds of shoppers at the weekend before and a few days before the end of September in preparation for the Eid. Monday and Tuesday saw traffic build-up in major highways leading to kampungs (villages). "Balik kampung" or returning to the village to meet folks and elders still residing there,the familiar annually recurring event, is here again. It is an opportunity to renew contacts, to touch-base, to meet relatives and friends, to revisit the roots, to keep up with the latest there, as it were.
Idyllic villages transformed overnight to bustling, instant towns.
Nakamora too spent the holiday in villages. Some do not have much differences from what he saw daily in Kuala Lumpur. Kids glued to TV screens, computer monitors, or little screen of the handsets - trading short text messages, multimedia files, or exchanging MP3 tunes. In a particular village in Jerteh, Terengganu, however, he saw a different sight. A sight that he has not seen for a very long time - a sight that reminds him of his childhood days. Those kids really have a good time looking for fish in the mud.
They don't seem to bother about baju raya' - new clothes to be worn on that special day, or about collecting 'duit raya.' It was only the third Syawal. Most kids would still be making the rounds collecting 'duit raya'. Probably they have already done so. After all, in a kampung like this there may not be that many 'duit raya' that can be expected - not as many as their catch, may be.
If it was not for the lack of proper clothing to replace the ones he had on Nakamora would have joined them too. The mud looks smooth. A tourist from Europe or somewhere staying at a homestay may jump right in. Mud is good for the skin, and most of them are crazy about it..

How To Decide...

Deciding what to eat for 'iftar' (breaking fast during the month of Ramadhan) can be challenging from two standpoints.
Heading towards the Ramadhan bazaar and well within it, surrounded by countless food stalls selling varieties of food, Nakamora found it hard to decide what he should get for the day. There are stalls selling traditional delicacies that are not normally found outside the month of Ramadhan. Naturally, that would be the first thing to buy. That settles the first challenge.
As Ramadhan progressed, and as Nakamora continued to get traditional food one after another for his iftar, it became clearer to him that what he thought is traditional is actually not traditional. They look traditional, but the taste is far from it. Thereafter he avoids patronizing such stalls and in the process builds his own list of 'blacklisted' stalls.
he realized that it is quite easy to see such stalls are those that are in business only during Ramadhan. They are no longer a going concern after that and thus have little motivation to 'do it right.'
The second challenge then is not to choose among many, but to choose which ones, as the options are getting smaller. Quite a number of stalls are already in his 'stall to avoid' list. That includes stall operators who do not dress properly while handling food items.
He also noticed that some 'traditional' delicacies looked like being centrally-prepared. Hence many stalls sell similar looking delicacies - same look,same texture, same size, same packaging, and perhaps taste the same as well. The price too, is the same everywhere - high, much higher than what it has been just weeks ago, before the Ramadhan bazaar business starts operating. Some are just in it for the money...