These Are a Few of My Ha-a-ted Things: Untimely Visitors.

One of the most prominent Asian cultures is visiting each other. In 'kampungs', neighbors could just walk in and out of each others home to borrow a pinch of salt or some chili. This practice was carried into the modern times, and has not depleted yet. Sadly.

It's not that I hate visitors, it's just that I think the Asians have taken their visits a little too far. You see, Westerners actually call each other up and make an appointment. Then they arrive punctually and leave after a certain amount of time. If they are running late, they call and apologize. Quite the opposite happens here. As far as Malaysians are concerned, they do not call. They come at any hour of the day, so they are extremely unexpected. If they are late, they still do not call. Many do not apologize.

Due to recent happenings at home, my family has been receiving a lot of visitors. I mean a LOT! In an average day, we can receive 3-5 different families of visitors. That's just crazy! It means making a lot of drinks and although my mum has told me to not bother entertaining them, it is considered rude if the children do not greet the potpourri of uncles, aunties, grandma and other kids as awkward as us (since we don't know half of them). Then the pathetic conversation follows:

"Oh my goodness... you're so big now. The last time I saw you, you were such a tiny baby. How old are you, girl? What are you studying now? FORM 6? What a waste of time? Why didn't you go for A Levels?What you want to study after Form 6? English Literature? Oh... What do you want to do after that? TEACHING? Why? The government doesn't pay us well you know? My sister's auntie's boy friend's dog's niece's best friend's pet iguana did teaching in government schools then she switched to private you know? It's better you just do lecturing in private colleges."

300 years later...

"You studying ah girl? Okay okay... Sorry auntie disturb you ah..."

That's just one part of the annoyance. Sometimes, they come during meal times. It's okay, cause they've eaten.... NOT US. My dad, who is the one who is undergoing the recovery period often had late dinners because of STUPID RIDICULOUS VISITORS, They stay for hours! Even zoos have CLOSING TIME, but not our home. Our 24/7, drinks providing, cheerful little home.

And of course when visitors come over, I have to change into longer pants and sleeved shirts. Which is not as annoying as when I thought there were not visitors and I wanted to do a can-can dance to the kitchen, there he was, little punk talking to dad. I could have slaughtered a cow with my bare hands that day.

I guess I didn't inherit my parents' patience.

I believe this culture will be stopped by my generation. We are a generation of border-less

design. We have the Internet and such. We use our phones. We'll call. We'll meet up at fancy places for dinner such as the mamak. We will not tire each other out with our Asian ways that should be put away. We'll improve and adopt more polite ways. We are a generation with a heart.

Note to those who are about to go visit someone:

If you're visiting someone sick or just underwent an op, 1/2 hour tops, then take your leave. Don't drive them, (and their impatient daughter) up the wall. Especially you Asians.

INPROMPTU SERENADE

His fingers pluck no mandolin ,

He will not play the violin ,

No words accompanies the song he sings ,

And yet he serenades me to dreams .

When his love sings , it's impromptu ,

Together words he strings are few ,

This song is heard by only two ,

By ears that tune to lyrics true .

His song is the sound of troubled windows ,

Made against glass with pebbles he throws ,

Come winter and all that falls is snow ,

Pebbles are thrown no more , my sorrow grows .

But his serenading never ceases ,

With light tunes , my heart , he teases ,

In boxes of candy , and bouquets of flowers ,

My love for him begins to tower .

He serenades me with quiet whispers ,

When we splash our feet is silent rivers ,

Keeps me warm with tender embraces ,

My impromptu serenade , from my instrumentless lover .

This poem was purged out of my brain to meet literary demands made by my lovely Sepet.

A Trip to Greet Mother Nature

One day, while industriously studying in the library (cue: exaggerated splattering coughs), a group of bored Sixth Formers came up with an idea to hang out during the holidays. 9 of us were included in this ambitious escape.

So it was planned. Come Monday, the five of us, Azlin, Joel, Jonathan, Pav, Azlin's neighbor's daughter and I will set of a journey into the wilderness seeking pleasure with nature. And we did. Azlin's dad drove us there and we were greeted by the lush green forest cuddling the majestic waterfall.

Awesome right? I heart greenery.
We were robbed into the atmosphere of wilderness, and the disease got Jon the worst. He kept repeating 'Man vs wild' over and over again... I really had the heart to slap him. But I think I would have been slapped by someone else should I even allow my fingers near his face.
So, we pitched up our tent and our outing began with BREAKFAST!
Yum yum... Azlin's neighbor joined us too! So let me give you a break down of our spread. We had CHICKEN RENDANG, courtesy of Azlin's mum, cocktail sausages by Pav, ice cream bought by Joel, Jon got drinks and I made pasta. Ngom ngom ngom!
There's the two of them. They dipped the longest in the water. Somehow, I wasn't really attracted to the cold water. The greenery was somehow much more exciting.
Oh yes, I forgot to mention that there were some people doing 'tai chi' in the vicinity. Joel did his best mimicking them. There's him at the waterfall, meditating. 'Meditating'. Probably focusing his energy on some mermaid called... Ariel... cough* cough*
"Jom kita buli SIFU!!!!"
Someone really enjoyed themselves. She reminds me of a baby seal that once kissed me at the zoo.
A failed attempt to get a picture of a spider web. Nevertheless, enjoy the gushing of water captured in a frame.
Later, after we got bored splashing around, Joel decided to find the lake where all the water comes from. So we began on a journey towards the mysterious lake (which I don't think exists, because from my limited knowledge of Geography it's all rain water that collects into rivers, not lakes.)
With the 'Man vs Wild' feeling in us, we rampaged, no, that's not the word, we shrieked like little girls (the boys, that is) through forest. At one point, Joel screamed aloud. We all thought he saw a snake or ran into a monkey, but he was only acting out a scene where a lion is 'supposedly' expected to jump out between the rocks. Talk about dramatic.
A picture of the tiny waterfalls we braved.
Who said Mother Nature hadn't got a hand in art? She likes painting paperweight!

Spot the spider web? SUCCESS!
I brought home tokens for those who couldn't make it... but... they're kinda dead now. This leaf feels like a carpet when touched, which our dear 'Man vs Wild' lover refused to come in contact with until I reassured him that it is not poisonous.
The Tale of Joel's Bloody Toe. So, let me tell you a story. We were all afraid of leeches. Let's face it, though not harmful, nobody wants an icky black thing sticking out of your body parts sucking up your blood like a... well... leech... like a VAMPIRE, regardless of whether its bad or good blood. And the most determined was none other than Joel Indiana Jones.

You should have seen his shriek and scream when an itsy bitsy baby leech, (by then a rather fat one), had latched itself to Joel's toe. It was like watching the 'Phantom Bamboo Plant' dancing around waving madly! Anyhoo, Joel plucked the fella off, more like yanked actually, and he began to bleed.
He vowed never to get into the water for the fear of getting bitten again. But in the scenario above, he had no choice. See both his slippers have gone far away....
Coming back to the story. We continued and encountered a long pipe. At this juncture, I temporarily lost my knowledge of Jon's existence. Wait a minute? Who's Jon?
This is the part where we got a little intimidated. Kid's, no more than 6, walking along a trail, effortlessly. Well, it helped that they had a guide and they walk on ground, but still, hats off to these little cutties.
Spot the dragonfly. You can't really see the original colour, but it's a beautiful dark blue. A nice midnight blue. And when it's wings flutters and catches the sunlight, it looks exceptionally gorgeous.
SUCCESS again!
Check out the tendrils upstairs. Looked like snakes,
Joel Indiana Jones.
Wet Me Not. Another sidetracking episode, I must mention. This lovely lady up there, is a beautiful girl with gorgeous eyes and cheekbones to die for. She's smart too, especially at grammar which she will correct you as though she was your grandma but thank God' she's not. Darling sweetheart plays a lovely example of what we SHOULD NOT DO when going out for and outdoor expedition.

Number 1: Not bring extra undergarments.

Number 2: Not bring a towel.

I'd love to continue with the story for there is much to laugh about, but she has already made known to the world of her dumb blonde moments on her own blog. I shall thus keep quiet.
Poor Jones, emo-ing. Can't go no further. Nobody wants to, everyone wants lunch.
Our 'Man vs Wild' quote addict. Notice I used the word 'quote', because that is as far as 'Man vs Wild' goes when you're with him. Simply a phrase.
After lunch I spent much time looking at the canopy, enjoying the cold air wrapped in my towel, DARN IT! IT WAS COLD!, while the lovebirds did what they did best, and I turned my head away embarrassed, watching the girls splatter in the cold water and listening to the strumming of Joel's guitar.

Don't throw ice on his head, doesn't cool him off.

Wave bye bye!

This reminds me of you, Pav.

Of feathers dipped in ink.

Sometimes, I wish I had a notebook that I could, actually, not could but would (if I had the discipline), carry around and jot down my thoughts. Often, especially in church, I would find myself with a hundred (exaggeration) posts to write, all concocted and organized in my gray matter but as soon as I hit the keyboard, they all liquidize. It's becoming most annoying nowadays, as it is the holidays, meaning I have ample time to blog.

Sheesh, the brain may be cool, but mine....

Never mind.

Hence, I have decided to write in series.

Yes, Series.

In that way, I can slowly recall and piece back all those bits of inspiration together.

So, this is my list of series(s) I want to complete, over the next few months or so.

1. The These Are A Few of My Ha-a-ted Things. (Sing it out with the Sound of Music Soundtrack; These are a few of my favourite things, and you'll get it).
2. Epiphany Amongst the Pews.

But along the way, I guess I'd sidetrack, you know. It's an Indian thing.

But for now, let's not keep the target to high. We'll stick to this!

Hopefully.

Cheers!

The holidays are here!

But it only means one thing..... CRUNCH TIME!!

It's the grace moments, time to get all that knowledge stuck into our little heads, (only to vomit it all out at the end of the year, though no one really cares), but, nevertheless, it looks good on paper.