23 Feb 2008

Just thinking

Sometimes I just want to ramble on and on about so many things and nothing. Like today. I found a really funny email from Ak the great. And quoting Yeats' - The Second Coming no less. I think he's still as interesting as when we were in varsity. I laughed out loud about the part on growing old, putting on weight and having less hair... it's so him. I suppose we're all in that same boat moving on towards the horizon of old age. Only thing is some do it gracefully whilst some painfully try to retain their youth by doing all kinds of things - painting their face, injecting toxic materials into themselves, hitching up with younger and newer versions in the hope that it would brush off on them. It would be laughable if its not so pathetic too... I hope I'm not in that category anyway. I do try to look young but through the age old method of keeping healthy, exercising moderately and looking after myself as best I can. Oh yes, positive thinking is another way of keeping on the good side of the Battle of the Ages. My dad always said that a smile is never wasted - it makes people happy and in turn you feel happy because you see others happy. Another of his wisdoms is - Never talk bad about anybody - if you can't say something good about a person, don't say anything at all! Not a bad idea I think. You also don't get into hot soup if whatever you say turns out to be an untruth.
On the home front things have never been busier. I think I'm busier now that I'm retired than when I was working. Isn't that incredible? Will start teaching at IPB in March and also doing English Lit with Adila and her cousin Hannah. Theyr'e doing interesting books this year - Holes, Farenheit451 and Anita Desai's Feast. For the poems, Elizabeth Barett Browning and Yeats are also included apart from Wong Phui Nam (can't stand him!). What it boils to is that I'll have more work come March and yet I'll be travelling too. Going to Bangkok from 6 - 10 March. Really looking forward to visiting Chatoochat again. Must look for bargains!

16 Feb 2008

Melaka



Hah I'm back in home sweet home but only for a few hours. But even the few hours here is better than nothing. When I was younger I didn't want to go back to Melaka - there's always something to do in KL, somewhere to go. But now I take every opportunity to go home, because that's where my heart is nowadays. KL is just a place where I stay, Melaka is home. Even though we are in KL 6 days out of 7. CHi2 and Ginger are here too, rolling on the grass enjoying their freedom, like the humans. My other half is rolling on the bed but eyes wide open!!
Gardening has become a passion nowadays. My roses are blooming beautifully - I have 5 plants now. Took two from mother in law the other day and both are doing well.Only thing is I'm not here often enough so I dare not put in anymore fish in the pond. They might die - just as the others did before. I guess one must be around always to look after them.
Earlier had my "mengaji session" with Kak Ani. Am still at Al Baqarah but progressing. If I can only be here more often I'm sure I can finish faster but what to do? We lesser halves must always listen to the other half. Anyway I always enjoy my session with Kak Ani and I hope to one day read like her - melodiously. I can read - it's just that my sounds are not really correct at times - have to learn tajweed too.
She told me that election day is on 8th February. Are we in KL or Bangkok at that time? I think we would be in Bangkok still. Anyway let's keep it that way - I don't have to be guilty if I don't vote then. Still not sure if I want to vote.
Out in the United States there's been another student killing, this time in Illinois- Northern Illinois University and 6 students were killed. Hmm... when will they learn I wonder. The gun should be banned, but Bush did not want to.

15 Feb 2008

Friday at Rizal's place

Sophia is now almost 7 months old - she can crawl and sit properly and says mamamama when she wants something or when she's hurt or frightened. Strange how babies always say that- like its a conditioned reflex. Tomorrow she'll be exactly 7 months old. And she's getting more and more cute. Today she clapped her hands and even made twinkle twinkle little stars with me. She cried however when her aunt pressed the rubber duck and it made a loud squeaking sound. I think it scared her or something and had to be cuddled and carried before she would laugh again.

Out there in the world things are still a bit crazy - Sharlinie is still missing and its more than a month since she disappeared. I wonder what thay do with kids that age? Organ transplant donors? Sex slave? Whatever it doesn't bear thinking about and I just hope that's she safe. Last week there was this article in the papers about the japanese hunting whales - there was apicture of a mother minke whale and its calf in their death throes.Some Japanese whaler had harpooned them, reportedly in the name of scientific research. Bah! Bullshit. I think all Japanese whalers should be banned and we should also do something about a nation that is still willing to eat whale meat in spite of it being on the verge of extinction. I wish I could post a picture of it on my blog but I don't have to tech know-how. MUst learn to do it from Shasha.

Other news is that parliament was dissolved from yesterday, which means elections will be anytime now. I wonder if I'll go out and vote. Sometimes its just habit - we have been taught to be responsible so we go out and vote but there's nobody you really WANT to vote for. I think BN is getting too complacent and I dont like PKR. I might want to vote DAP even! Anyway I hope BN still wins the majority vote but I'd want the opposition to have a bigger voice this time around. A weak opposition is bad for us and almost like there's no opposition at all.
Bac in the States it looks like Obama is still leading by a fraction and Hillary is just behind but Mc Cain is really catching up. I hope the Democrats win there too! Its high time I think.

9 Feb 2008

jottings

Actually there's nothing much to write about. I'm in Malacca over the CNY holidays and Repin is back with us after a week in the Maldives. He hates travelling and tries to avoid it as much as possible whereas I love it and wish I could travel more. BUt alas that takes money and since being retired have not really earned much in the way of income. Repin says I spend money as if there's no tomorrow - yeah, well if I die at least I'll die happy!
Here in Batu Berendam things are quite slow. Our neighbours have gone to KL - Norli wants to see her sisters for the Chinese New year. Rizal and Pohing too are with her parents and will be with them over the long weekend. I just finished planting my roses - they're doing quite well I must say. Sadly I'm not here often enough to give them a lot of TLC.
We've just finished watching the whole second season of Heroes. I think the first season was much better in terms of excitement and suspense. However the ending of this one is a real cliff hanger - Sylar is back with a vengeance and Adam Monroe aka Takezo Kensei is also alive. Yeah I know Hiro buried him alive in the coffin but I'm sure he'll come back. That's it - I wont say more.

Out in the world America is still having its presidential elections. Looks like Barrack Obama is leading the Democrats with Hilary a short step behind but the republican candidate (cant remember his name) is also quite popular. I really hope the Democrats win. I hope Hilary or Obama get to be President. High time they have a woman president I think.
In Pakistan they have finished investigating Bhutto's murder and they say its a bomb which killed her, not bullets. So there goes the the theory that it was a conspiracy and that she was killed by the pro government assasins. Anyway it could still be true, couldn't it?
Oh yeah, something interesting in the foreign news today - the Archbishop of Canterbury wants syariah law included in the legal system! Huh? What's happening here? I really dont understand his thinking. Anyway he was opposed by everyone...

7 Feb 2008

Books

My other half was away for almost a week so I thought I'd have some time to catch up with my reading. Okay I did finish two books - Me and Mr Darcy and Everyone worth knowing. Both chick lit. I loved the first book - am a Jane Austen fan after all. Its about a book store manager, Emily and her infatuation with Mr Darcy. She thinks most of today's men are unreliable, crude and insensitive and has had a number of disastrous dates. When the book begins she is off all men. Then one day she mysteriously finds a brochure for a tour of Jane Austen country to meet Mr Darcy. Intrigued, Emily signs up for the tour and immediately departs for England. She meets a journalist who has been commissioned to write about the tour and interview the women to find out why they all love Mr Darcy. The first encounter between the two young people is not a good one and Emily, like Elizabeth in Pride and Prejudice is terribly biased against Spike. She finds him sloppy, loud and crude - like most men. And then she meets the real Mr Darcy - or is he real? Is he just a figment of her imagination? But she can touch him, talk to him and even go out on a picnic with him. Of course he cannot be compared to Spike. He is a gentleman, he is sensitive and romantic. He also is handsome, although a bit too brooding. But Emily is totally infatuated by this Mr Darcy she forgets a lot of things. Me and Mr Darcy is a very good read - lots of humour and Emily is as lively and intelligent as Elizabeth.
The other book is all right - Shasha bought it for me last month, but I guess I'll read it only if I don't have anything else to read. Still haven't finished reading the book on Prophet Mohammad by Tariq Ramadan. This one is more about his philosophy and the meaning of his life, not a biography like the earlier one that I read. There are some bits about the life of the Prophet (pbuh) too. A thoroughly researched book and surprisingly very easy to read.

1 Feb 2008

Sophie at 6 months


Sophia at six months old - she's now crawling. Isnt she
cute?















some people call themselves human

Some people call themselves humans. I think they don't deserve to be called humans or even animals. I found the little ginger mixed persian today - half starved, dirty, and piteously thin. In fact its all skin and bones. I saw it a few weeks ago and even last week - but didnt take it because I thought it belonged to one of the neighbours. It did. But I dont think she deserved to have it. I fed it with the remainder of Chi'chi's lunch and it was so hungry it growled when it thought I was taking the empty plate away. After feeding it again with some dry food, half a bowl - a a small bowl of milk - it was trusting enough to le me pet it. The poor scrawny thing was really really skinny. And then I did a terrible thing. I took it inside and bathed it. Now its purring in the cage. I plan to take it back with me to KL - even though I already have 6 cats at home! Can't leave the poor thing to starve here. And it will starve, I know. When I first saw it it was still cute and furry, no doubt its head looked too big for its body.
I'm going to take it to the vet first thing on Saturday.
On another matter but close to this topic, is the video on Earthlings posted by my daughter in law on her blog. It was on u tube. Can't say I like it - didnt really see the whole thing - just the first bit and I already know I hate it. Anyway its something we all know - my husband says it happens all the time. Why do we watch it then? Just to remind us that people basically are cruel? I dont think it needs reminding - look at the little girls who are killed in malaysia - Nurin Jazlin and Premalatha I think. And we still dont know what has happened to Sharlinie. So why are we surprised about the way humans treat animals? I'm not surprised at anything anymore. We should see pictures of how some people eat monkeys in some restaurants. I heard it happened even here in Malaysia at one time. And the slaughtering of porpoises in Japan, the way fishermen slaughter sharks to get at their fins... oh so many other horrible things that we humans do in the name of food. NOt to mention sport - how they treat the animals that they use for sport. I think its worse in the Phillippines where cock fighting is still legal. They have banned it here but I suspect its still carried on in some of the more remote areas.
We have not progressed at all. In some ways we have regressed and become even worse than animals. At least when tigers kill, it is for food.