Can't walk like everybody else?

Heres' a typical morning market where everybody walks in to buy provisions and foodstuffs and wanders around wondering what else to buy and where and what to eat for breakfast.

Sometimes it can be very crowded, especially during weekends.

But what's it with those guys on their motorbikes and the poisonous fumes they leave behind? 

No, they can't sacrifice their convenience for others' health and safety.  They can't bear to leave their wheels for a while.  They can't park their bikes outside and walk like everybody else.

And these same fellas do the same thing even on crowded days.

Shame... (or, to quote Patrick Teoh;  NIAMAH!!!)

That #$%&! Battery that I Swear By

The window pane in my daughter's apartment was a tad too tight for my liking, so I thought a few drops of engine oil on strategic spots should solve the problem.  I went down to the car to fish out some from the engine with the dip-stick.

But upon opening the bonnet I was horrified by the sight of the mess my battery had done to the engine compartment.  It looked like the acid had been blowing out of the battery due to overpressure after my 400 kilometer drive from SP to KL.  This had never happened before, at least to my car, in all my years of driving. 

I don't remember ever adding any water to top up the electrolyte of this battery because the last time I checked it was still at maximum level. 

The maddening thing about the #$%&! Yokohama battery is that the walls of the plastic casing are so opague you can't view the electrolyte level at all without opening the caps and shining a torchlight into the holes.  I used to shine a torchlight behind the battery and viewed it from the front and I could see the liquid levels clearly.  It worked for my former Iswara but this Myvi has the battery completely covered by a black jacket on 3 sides.  So, no shadow-play trick this time.  But I still swear by this brand because every one of them last at least 4 years when others would have gone kaput in half that time.

This over-filling looked like the work of the service centre mechanic.  I made a mental note to talk to the supervisor the next time I send it in for servicing.  And I did.  But it seemed like there was a language barrier that prevented my message from getting into his head.  When I looked at the bill I noticed a line stating, 'check & service battery - RM2.60'.  This time I guess the barrier was in my head. I didn't say anything.

That evening when the engine was reasonably cool I decided to do a random check just in case.  Lo!  The electrolyte levels were way above the max line!  I couldn't go back to the workshop as it was already closed for the weekend.  Besides, there's nothing much they could do to rectify the problem except to drain out the excess.  This would definitely lower the specific gravity of the acid.  But, oh, it's already lowered after they added the water.  So what more damage could I do? 

I decided to drain out the excess electrolyte myself.  But first, I needed a device to measure the levels.  Let's call it a gauge.  I found a strip of white plastic.  I placed the lower end against the minimum line and marked the spot in line with the top edge of the battery.  I did the same with the maximum line.  Then I cut 2 notches in the plastic strip where the markings were.  Upper notch = Min and lower notch = Max, and we're in the acid-level checking business.

To check acid level - open the caps, lower the gauge inside slowly until the tip touches the top of the acid.  Look at where the max or min notch is.  Whichever is in line with the with the top of the hole is the level of the acid.

I made a note in my service booklet that I'd check the battery myself. 

If I could only find another service center nearby I'd have said bye-bye to these guys.

Or maybe I have to teach them how to check my battery?

Moments of Horror

 

I walked into the clinic.  The girl behind the counter asked what I wanted done.  I said, Cabut gigi (pull out tooth).  She asked for my identity card.  I gave it to her.  She searched a wall cabinet lined with stacks of record cards and found mine.  Her actions showed she probably wrote 'cabut gigi' on a note and attached it to my card.  Returned my IC and told me to wait.

15 minutes later someone called me from room 1.  She addressed me as Teh Lian.  Room 2 was occupied by 2 teenage sisters and their parents who went in earlier.  They were making a huge noisy fuss about the treatment (on one of the sisters) I supposed.  I went in and was ushered into The Chair.  I waited.  There were a few girls in jeans and tudungs hovering around.  One attached a napkin on my chest.  Another looked at my card and asked me which tooth I wanted to 'cabut'.  She gave me a hand-held mirror.  I removed the napkin to get my reading glasses up.  I showed her the tooth I wanted removed. 

She said, that's the second tooth from the far end, right?. 

I said yes. 

I expected her to confirm that the tooth was bad enough for me to request for removal.  She didn't.  Perhaps the dentist would do that.  She sprayed some sweet-tasting chemical around the tooth and told me to wash my mouth.  She went next door.  Another girl switched on an LCD TV in front of me. 

I waited. 

I watched Tom and Jerry fooling around in the kitchen.  The chattering next door went a few decibels higher. 

I waited.  I moved around in The Chair.  My bum was getting uncomfortable.  My back too.

The dentist came over.  He asked a question.  The girl who identified my tooth said something which sounded like a number, an identification for a specific tooth.  I didn't understand all that jargon.  I hoped he knew which tooth.  Before I could react, he held up a syringe, told me to open up and injected into my gums in 2 places.  I squirmed.  Don't shake!  That's all he said to me.  He went back next door. 

I thought, Hey, someone's supposed to check and confirm the condition of my tooth first! 

I still hoped he got it right.

The chattering resumed next door.  It got noisier.  The numbness on my jaw got heavier.  I spat out my saliva.  Messy.  I washed my mouth.  Still messy.  I couldn't spit straight.  Cleaned my jaw with the napkin.  10 minutes.  15 minutes.  20...  I hoped the numbness wouldn't wear out by the time the dentist came back to work on me. 

He came back.  They handed him a pair of heavy pliers.  I opened my mouth.  He put it in, gripped on the tooth and yanked.  There was a crunching noise like a bone being broken.  The tooth was out.  He dropped everything, grabbed a wad of cotton gauze and shoved it into the gap where the tooth was and told me to bite hard. 

He went back next door and the chattering resumed.  I felt like a car with it's bonnet open and the mechanic just removed a spark plug.  But which one?  I hoped it was the bad one, not the good one next to it.  Good Lord.  Is this the way it's done?

The girl came to my side, lifted the arm of The Chair and said, Siap lah (It's over).  I went out to the counter, paid the bill, motioned for a receipt and walked out of the clinic.  Still unsure of what I'd done.

 

Job done, but where's the lime tree?

An old neighbor who loved to live alone became invalid.  They sent him to a nursing home.  A plot of ground out front used to be his garden with some trees growing alongside flowers and other bushes.  One of the tree species seemed to grow so thick and fast, the front of the house almost became a jungle.  The old guy's daughter came and tried to cut down the tree.  She couldn't manage to remove the tree stump.  She sent her husband the next day to finish the job.  



He finished the job alright.  He cleared off everything including a nice healthy-looking lime tree.  With the job done, he went off.  



Later, the daughter came around again to check.  She screamed.  She couldn't find the lime tree.  She had wanted him to remove only the tree stump.



Moral:  Be careful how you give instructions.  Some people would 'just do it'.

Speech by Professor Emeritus Tan Sri Dato’ Dr (phew!) Lim Kok Wing

Speech by Professor Emeritus Tan Sri Dato’ Dr Lim Kok Wing at Graduation ceremony held on 26th July 2008 (Malaysia)

 
May I begin by thanking each and everyone for coming to share with us this occasion, especially parents and guardians of our graduands, the many friends and partners who have given us support over the years, their excellencies, the Ambassadors and High Commissioners, our industry partners, colleagues from our Global Consortium.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

By your presence, you have made this occasion an even more significant celebration. I thank you on behalf of all our graduands.

I would now like to extend my heartiest congratulations to all who have graduated today. Class of 2008, I know you have worked hard for this day. You ought to be proud of your achievement. And I know how eager your parents must have been to see you graduate today.

You now join the many Limkokwing graduates who are making important contributions in this and many other countries around the world. We are proud of every one of you.

I must also extend my warmest congratulations to all parents. You really are the true heroes of this occasion. If not for you, we will not have this occasion to celebrate.

Parents will recall the first days when your small children left on their own to start schooling. Remember how you had to prepare their uniform and put their shoes on for them. That was many years ago.

It may now seem like just yesterday. But it has been a long journey.

I want to thank you for allowing us to share in that journey. I thank everyone, in particular our foreign students who have come from far away places to be with us, hundreds of miles away from home. The number of countries represented on this campus has reached 140.

Class of 2008, it has been a privilege to have you with us.

The boundless energy that you have brought to this campus; the multi-cultural vibrancy that has characterised this university; your amazing sense of style for which you are known throughout this country. Your much talked about talent, the music that you create, the energy that you have brought to this place …. all that will be missed with your departure.

For some of us, this may be the last time that we are gathered together in this hall.

So before you move on, let me take a few moments now to share with you some thoughts I have about the future.

As we know it, the future refers to the period of time that will come after the present, and the things that will happen during that time.

Imagine the future as a huge empty space of time that you now have ownership of. What you get out of it will be the direct result of what you now put into it.

That simply means what you will be tomorrow depends on what you do today. That is simple logic.

As we know, the future has always been and will always be defined by people with the passion and the drive to push beyond borders and beyond boundaries; by people who will move mountains if the mountains are getting in the way. These are people who will simply not take things as they are, and who will never take the easy way out. In not doing ordinary things, they achieve extra-ordinary success. In doing what they do, they transform societies and influence the way of life of thousands and millions across the world.

The future has always been and will always be driven by the power of creativity and human ingenuity.

With advancing technology and rapid globalisation, what used to take years can now be done in a matter of hours.

When the first commercial computer was introduced some 50 years ago, it was so heavy and bulky; it would take up the entire floor space of this hall. Today, we have it in the form of a laptop, a notebook - so light you can lift it with two fingers, so small you can drop it into your handbag. Soon it will be so tiny you can fold it into your wallet, and so powerful, it will be hundreds of times faster and with memories a thousand times larger.

The worldwide web has created a virtual reality that has made time, space and distance irrelevant. The internet will soon be home to a completely new virtual business world, one that is completely borderless.

The tiny mobile phone that has become an integral part of our lives will soon be a complete computer. It will be all you need to run a business no matter where you find yourself in the world.

Thanks to space technology, those adventurous enough will soon be able to travel to the moon for their vacation. And with nanotechnology, doctors will soon be able to extend human life to as long as you want by replacing or curing body cells that are not working too well.

The future will always be about pushing back boundaries and breaking down barriers; it will always be about making possible what seems impossible today.

The future is now in your hands. Use it well and you will soon be doing things that seem simply impossible today.

Class of 2008, as you move on, you will look back and remember the many who have along the way given you support people who were always there to build you up whenever you were feeling down, to push you forward whenever you were falling behind - these are your instructors, your classmates, your close friends; your brothers and sisters. It might not have crossed your mind that they have wanted success for you more than you have even thought about it yourself. To them you will always show kindness and gratitude.

Most of all, you will never forget the unwavering support, never-ending patience and generosity of your parents. You know what enormous sacrifices they must have made just so you may have the secured opportunity to plan and build your own future. You may never know enough how much they care for you.

You will forever embrace them with love and affection.

Class of 2008, as graduates of this university, you are expected to stand out and above the rest. You have a reputation to live up to and that I know you will. You must uphold at all times the good name of this university. You will be exemplary citizens and you will contribute selflessly to society and the well being of humanity.

On that note and on behalf of all of us, I bid you farewell.

May this journey that you have started with us take you to the top of your world, may your future be one of many success stories.

You go with our very best wishes. Wherever you may be, we will be right here watching and applauding.

It does not matter how far away you will be from us, this will always be your home. We will always be with you. You will always be a part of us.

Experience + Ignorance = Fear

The first time my windscreen shattered to pieces was in 1990 when I drove a 1981 Datsun Pulsar.  The 2nd time was when the rear window of the same car shattered while parked in the factory compound.  I discovered the damage only at quitting time. 

After I changed to a 1983 Toyota GL the same nightmare occurred while I was driving home one evening with some carpool partners.  The piece of rock was large, but the dent was almost negligible and the windscreen didn’t shatter on the spot.  It only happened about a month or so later while I was on the way to work in the morning.  I had to steer from the fast lane to the emergency lane and punch out the rest of the broken glass before continuing the journey.  I dropped the guys off at the factory, took the day off in search of a replacement windscreen. 

Add that to an occasion when I volunteered to drive my sis-in-law’s 1990 Toyota GL without the windscreen all the way to SP to have it replaced because workshops elsewhere didn’t have any in stock.  Talk about experience, I have an abundance of it.

So, when a pebble hit the Myvi’s windscreen the other day out on the expressway, I said, “Shit!  Here we go again...”  Memory went back to those times of having to drive with my windscreen broken into bits of thousands of pieces after hearing a sudden ‘pop’ and then a ‘crack’.  But miraculously the thing didn’t go to pieces.  I was afraid another shattering experience might await me some day right in the middle of the expressway.  Who knows it might even happen in a heavy downpour with my family in it.  I wasn’t going to allow that to happen.  Like I said to a fellow car owner at the workshop, it’s like ‘tunggu jatuh hukuman’ (waiting for the judge to pass the sentence).  But you won’t know when it‘s gonna happen.

After the initial cursing & swearing I made inquiries all over the place on availability and costs of replacement until I finally decided I’d go back to Perodua workshop.  With prices of everything on the upswing, nobody was ready to give me a fixed price.  I imagined another RM500 flying away.  But to my surprise, the workshop manager advised me to get it repaired. 
Huh?  He assured me it’s perfectly normal and I could even come away with a lifetime guarantee.  He showed me how to get to Jackson Conversions.  The Jackson guy called it a Bull’s Eye.  The job was done in only a few minutes.  The bill: RM80.

And here’s the enlightenment.  Tempered glass windscreens that could shatter into smithereens has been phased our more than 20 years ago.  My fears were totally unfounded.  Now to find out why experience + ignorance = fear.

And this is the result of the repair job...

Remembering Cousin

The day Goh Sheow Sun lost his battle against the big C was the day the Taiwanese people experienced one of the biggest shake ups in their earth-quake history of the century (7.4 on the Richter Scale). That was 19-9-1999, just after my youngest brother got married and my parents were there visiting. Fortunately, they were in Taichung and other than some scary, almost violent vibrations, nothing actually fell apart in their neighborhood. The only thing that resulted was power failure and roads were closed for a while.

My cousin loved Art, but he had to survive. He could have done well in Kuala Lumpur, but he hated the place because one day, while alone in the house, some gangsters came and demanded 'protection' money. Badly shaken, he decided he didn't want the designing job offered by a pewter company. He refused to live in KL. He came back home to Penang.

He worked hard and created enough artworks (mostly copper or wood bust-relief carvings) for his own solo exhibition. It was held at the Penang Library. I had the original catalogue and pictures and kept them in my bookshelf for years until I moved to SP. I lost them somewhere in between. These included some catalogues which featured exhibitions in later years in which some of my paintings were exhibited among the works of some contemporary artists of Penang. I should have kept them in a safer place, but those were the years when art wasn't featuring an important part of my life. The bread and butter was. And a roof over our heads.

He later went to work for a towel factory in Butterworth as a designer. Some years later (after he offered his job to me) he moved up in the ranks but he switched his job location to an administrative department as a personnel officer. He eventually became the Personnel Manager. He still worked on his art during his leisure. But due to work commitments which very often took him till late at night, he had no time work on his commissioned artworks. That caused him to burn the midnight oil to get them done. That probably affected his health. Ten years after he was first diagnosed for cancer, operated on to remove it, the thing came back with a vengeance.

I just found his name in the list of Penang Artists but there were no photos or write ups on him or his works. That reminds me, I haven't been to his home in years since his mother's (my 1st aunt) gone, he's gone and his dad's gone too. As for his wife and son, it's been "Hi & bye" sometimes when we chance to meet at weddings, funerals or new year gatherings.

So, 14 July 2008 we dropped by in the evening before heading for home after a visit to parents, and 2nd aunt.  Mrs Goh was overjoyed to see us.  We learned that she's going to renovate the old house soon as it was overrun by termites which destroyed all her father-in-law's and Sheow Sun's artworks stored in the back room. 

Here's one left intact because it's hanging on the wall. 

 

Here's a shot of some his ancestors.

 

And one of the family in front of the house

Living Frugally - Car-Pooling

 

Good news and bad news. 

First, the bad news: Petrol price increase by a huge jump. 

Now the good news:  Our carpool gang is saving more. 

(C'mon.  Look at things positively, ok?)

 

The four of us living in SP and working in Perai have been car-pooling to work each day for the last 14 years.  Well, some members went and new ones joined us, but we almost always managed to maintain our gang of four.  The important thing is, we share that give-and-take attitude.  We keep our focus positively on the savings we get out of it.  Guess we have been lucky as well because we work in the same dept.  We save a lot, and we help the environment.

 

For our schedule; each person drives for one week in rotation.  We use the first letter of our names, spell it as S.T.A.R. and we never forget who's turn it is to drive.  No need for a roster, schedule sheet or a calendar.  We call it the STAR Alliance.  We fix our unwritten rules and live by them.

 

 

Before petrol price hike:                RM

Toll                               =            7.20

Petrol                            =          12.80

Maintenance                  =          2.00

Total per day                 =          22.00

 

Total per month              =          484.00

Cost per member           =          121.00

Monthly savings then   =          363.00

 

After petrol price hike:                   RM

Toll                               =            7.20

Petrol                            =          18.00

Maintenance                  =          2.00

Total per day                 =          27.20

 

Total per month              =          594.40

Cost per member           =          148.60

Monthly savings now   =          445.80

 

Got Knocked Again

 

The last time someone made a gash in my rear door I had to fork out RM120 to knock it back into shape and respray.  That was half a year ago.  I didn't even know who did it.

This morning, a motorcyclist knocked off a lady's (also Myvi) side-mirror and whacked 2 dents into my rear fender and removed my front mud-flap.  He must have been weaving merrily through the traffic jam thinking nothing could stop him.  I heard a crunch and a crash.  I got out to inspect the damage.  While he was wondering what happened to him (he look so hopelessly lost and his bike was in a mess), the lady was trying to get him back to earth so she could negotiate a settlement. 

There was another motocyclist standing and staring wide-eyed at us.  He must have been caught in between.  I looked at him and looked again at the guy with the damaged bike and I decided I'm not going to waste my time.  I'll write this off as one of those days.  That's the price you have to pay for driving in this place...

And I think I'll leave those dents there just to keep others away. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Farewell, Bee Hooi...

Farewell, Bee Hooi.  And may you rest in eternal peace.
We really miss you...

-----------------------------------------------------

Sunday March 30, 2008

In death, she saves lives

By TAN SIN CHOW and CAROLYN OOI

PENANG: Anaesthetist Dr Tan Bee Hooi was a staunch believer in donating organs to save life.

And when she died, her corneas, heart, kidneys and liver were harvested for patients waiting for transplants in France and other European countries.

“That would give her a deep and abiding interest to serve fellow human beings,” said her father Datuk Tan Gin Soon.

“As a staunch Buddhist, she also believed it was more blessed to give than to receive. I feel happy that even in her death, she could give others a new lease of life,” Tan said in a telephone interview from Paris, France.

Bee Hooi underwent a surgery related to arteriovenous malformation (AVM) in her brains at the Fondation Rothschild Hospital in Paris, France, on March 11 under the care of Professor Jacques Moret, a world-renowned interventional neuroradiologist.

However, she succumbed to complications from the surgery and was pronounced dead on Wednesday.

AVM is a congenital disorder caused by abnormal development of blood vessels.

Her father said Bee Hooi, a medical graduate of University of Sydney, had always expressed her wish to donate her organs.

Tan, a Penang Rotary Club past-president and Penang Youth Council past-president, described Bee Hooi, a doctor with Penang Hospital, as committed and caring.

“Despite her busy schedule, she also found time to help others through social works and volunteered her services at the Mahindrama Temple at Kampar Road,” he said, adding that Bee Hooi told him to look after the family before she died.

Bee Shin, 26, said her eldest sister was a strong-willed person.

Her mother, Khor Mooi Looi, 61, a retired teacher, said Bee Hooi had wanted to open the first pain management clinic at Penang General Hospital if her operation was successful.

Malaysia's Ambassador to France Datuk S. Thanarajasingam described Bee Hooi as a truly remarkable woman.

“Even in death, she has given a lifeline to others,” he said.

Bee Hooi’s remains are scheduled to reach Penang International Airport at Bayan Lepas today. The single-mother left behind two sons, Tan Xin Yeng, five, and Tan Xing San, seven.

Back row, center.
During happier times with 2 sisters (standing right) parents, grandma (sitting left), grand-aunt, grand-uncle and friend.

Make sure he packs in the grease

I had the opportunity to thoroughly give the Iswara Aeroback a running check when my daughter came home during the Christmas holidays.  Call that an annual inspection.  When I drove it out for degreasing service there appeared to be another engine running independently under the chassis at a consistent RPM.  So after the wash I took it to Kim’s workshop.  The senior mechanic said the wheel bearings are making the noise.  I told him to change them and check for other irregularities.  He found that the engine couldn’t go to higher RPM without faltering.  In the end he installed a standby EDI (distributor) and found what was the cause; a faulty EDI.  A re-conditioned part costs RM200 but there's no guarantee.  I opted for a change to an original part.  That cost RM430.

If you get your mechanic to change your wheel bearings, make sure he packs in the grease.  I made the mistake of not watching this one while he changed the bearings on the 2 rear wheels.  Our Iswara only made it as far as Ipoh (about 200km away) when my daughter called home and said the left rear wheel was making a continuous thumping noise at normal speed.  She took it to a mechanic and upon stripping the bearings, found the insides blackened.  There was no grease in them.  I told her to get a receipt for the replacement and pack the old set carefully and bring it back on the next trip home.  I want to go back to my local repair shop and get my money back.  Besides, that apprentice mechanic needs a lesson in wheel bearing assembly.  His boss has to pay for it of course.

It was a lucky thing that she stopped by at Ipoh to drop off a friend.  Getting stuck in the middle of nowhere can be costly or even extremely hazardous, considering some drivers who like over-taking on the emergency lane...

Our Company's Historical Moment

Going CONTINENTAL

Then it started to rain...

Somehow, they made it in time for Friday's Town-Hall Meeting.  (whatever they call it...)

Who said you can't drink the water?

After I got back from Frankfurt with a sore-throat, a friend almost keeled over when he asked whether I drank the water from the tap.  He was so convinced the tap water in Frankfurt isn't fit for human consumption.  I said Germany's so well engineered, I can't imagine they have unsafe tap water. 

 

I found out only the Germans won't drink their own tap water.  The same goes for us here, but we have very obvious reasons...

   

Here's a webpage that confirms my assumptions:

Local Customs: Who said you can't drink the water?http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/3562b/b/a/

 

"Back in the 60's Jacky Gleason made that famous film, "Just watch the daugther, and don't drink the water!" It would seem ever since then, the rumours have never ceased that tap water in Germany will make you ill.

It's laughable, really, because no other type of consumer article is as carefully controlled in Germany as tap water - it's even safer than bottled water, because tap water is continuously monitored by municple authorities.

So why don't Germans drink it? Because they were brought up not to like it! They were taught that soda water, which has more minerals and salts in it than tap water is "healthier" than tap water, and many cannot get the idea out of their head, that without carbonation, water tastes "icky".

And why can't you get tap water in restaurants? You can, but you have to demand it. Tap water in Germany is relatively expensive, and restaurant owners want to sell you food and drink. They don't really like the idea that you would drink something for free. So when you order in a restaurant, and you want tap water, order a drink from the menu FIRST, then just ask them nicely, if they will bring you a glass of tap water. If they look at you funny, just tell them you doctor told you, that it has to be tap water, then nobody will refuse you."

Where's Your Signboard?

Day One of the take-over was 5th December 2007.  All our signboards dissappeared by the end of the day.  Now, if someone wants to visit me at work and doesn't know where I am, that will be a problem. 

Luckily, I'm not in the customer service or vendor relations department.  So, that ain't my problem.... yet.

It was great being a Siemens' person for a while.  Now we're going Continental...

New Business, Right?

What I brought back from Frankfurt wasn't new business for my company.  But it's new business for our local medicine shop.  Sore throat has mostly gone but the sneezing spells still come around.  And sleep is taken in snatches.

 

No doubt the condition improved 2 days later, but the cough is still persistent.  So, the ball goes to another local Physician.  He's proven to be effective in the past, especially when a persistent cough remains after a flu attack.  After a few long minutes of holding my pulses he told me my internal system was too cold.  Probably I'd taken an overdose of the above items.  Figures.  I know they contain some cooling herbs.   Guess that's why it's always advisable to know what you taking in and how much you need of each ingredient. 

I'm hearing about friends who's been coughing for months without getting a cure.  So, I'm not taking chances.

Still, sometimes like getting rid of unusual noises in an old car, it's a gamble, 'hit-or-miss' kind of thing... because a cough is not considered an ailment (?).  It's a symptom.  Or an irritation.  Right?

Aaach ccchhhhewww....

Someone suggested taking a concoction of juiced tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers for a few days.  I tried that too.  The coughing became worse.  So, last night 10-12-07, I went and tried another Chinese physician.  Giving herbal another chance. 

Date: 12-12-07  - Finally after 3 weeks (or more?) of see-sawing between cough and mild sore-throat without it being really serious enough, the real thing errupted yesterday.  This time it was really a pain even trying to swallow.  So, I went straight to my regular GP.  He gave me cough mixture, some pills to get rid of the phlegm, some pills to get rid of the pain in the throat, and 4 days' regime of 150 mg Roxithromycin. 

Now just take that and pray it works....

I asked for a move

From a room like this:

 

To a room like this:

all because I couldn't stand the smell of tobacco.

first time I hear of a non-smoking room in a hotel...

If you're overweight, don't take this job...

They could just lock you in here and throw away the key...

When Cheap Costs More

Living in a safe neighborhood made me complacent.  “Safe neighborhood’ means we only heard of one case of snatch-robbery in the last 3 months.  After all my precautions of not leaving any bags, hand phones or costly items in view inside the car, I get the feeling that nothing bad is ever going to happen anyway.  So complacency sets in and carelessness takes over.  And that’s when bad things happen.  Maybe it’s not that bad, but it’s costly and troublesome.

I was on the way to Penang Island to visit my old folks and other relatives along the way.  Remembering that I may need a larger trolley bag for my probable, upcoming, one-month trip to Deutschland for a project transfer, I decided to get a discounted 24-inch unit at Carrefour.  I don't travel that often anyway.  (If you think about the way baggage are being tossed around, broken into or stolen at certain airports, why bother with expensive bags?)  Well, cheap ended up costing more for me and my luck on this day of 14^th September 2007. 

At 12 noon, a younger brother who was also going the same destination called to inform me while I was still shopping around, there was a heavy jam on the bridge (later found out to be caused by a broken down bus since 9.30am).  He opted to abandon trip.  So we changed course and went to a brother-in-law’s place in Kota Permai in BM instead.  While there looking over his new house which was under renovation, I left my car by the roadside under a cool shade of a tree, about 2 houses away. 

When we came out 30 minutes later, I noticed some broken glass beside my rear tire.  My right rear window was smashed.  My brand new cheap trolley bag was gone from the backseat, together with my daughter’s denim jacket, 2 pairs of new shorts, and a thermos bottle stuffed inside the bag. 

A guy from a house opposite said there are at least a few cars broken into each day on this same street, and the highest score was about dozen cars in one day.  A few guys on motorbikes are prowling the neighborhood, day in day out.  Well, sir.  Thanks for that piece of news.  Huh!

It just wasn’t my day.  The service center told me the replacement glass can only get here next Tuesday.  To cap my misery, dark clouds hovering overhead threatened me with a drenching.  I managed to make it back to bother-in-law’s place before the storm broke.  I wanted to stick a piece of plastic over the window but sis-in-law suggested using her daughter’s Kelissa.  I had to abandon the Myvi at her place and come back for it later.

On the way home after the storm slackened, we got caught in another traffic crawl from Auto-City, Juru to Sebarang Jaya.  There was a badly mauled-up twisted whatever-model-is-it on the overhead bridge of the 3-tier interchange in front of the immigration building.  Whether whoever drove that car deserved it or not, it looked like some people had it worse than me. 

But still, I went home and nursed the pain of loss, frustration of helplessness and regret I took the wrong day off, or to be where I shouldn’t have been in the first place, for the next few days until the story has been told and retold for the umpteenth time whenever someone asks the question: What happened to your car?  One of my girls even laughed at the image of me driving a Kelissa.  So did I.  Que sera sera. 

The Promise

There was a phone ringing in the distance.  It sounded like it was from a neighbor's house.  It kept ringing but nobody picked it up.  The sound came nearer after awhile.  She stirred from her afternoon nap in the reclining rattan chair.  Then she realized it was her own phone in the living room that was ringing.  She got up quickly to pick it up.  She tried to say 'hello', but her lips refused to part.  Quickly she wetted her lips and said 'hello' again.  It was a voice of a little girl on the other end.  She was crying.  She sounded desperate.

Auntie, please come to the hospital.  My mother is very sick.  She cannot talk.  They said they have to operate…  The voice trailed off and she only heard her uncontrollable sobbing. 

She recognized the voice.  The girl and her elder brother were siblings she used to baby-sit every now and then when their mother had to go to the hospital for her regular checks.  The girl was then about 3 years of age and her brother was 5.  Her mother's condition had been getting worse recently, but she single-handedly tried to raise the kids.  The husband had been going after another woman who had now openly become his mistress.  Too lazy to earn his own money, he preyed on women to fund his existence.  What a parasite!  She must have been blind to have married him.  But what's done can't be undone.  Poor woman.  There wasn't even a relative that she knows of.

When she got to her in the 3rd class ward, she was barely breathing, but she wondered why she wasn't put on life support.  She spoke to the doctor who was about to send her into the Operation Room.  She pleaded with the doctor to put her on oxygen because it seemed to her she wasn't going to last very long.  He agreed to do it.  She went back to stay with her beside her bed.  The woman grabbed both of her hands and said hoarsely, Please promise you will take care of my 2 children.  I have no one else to depend on.  Her voice was almost a whisper.  Her final effort to get an answer from her almost exhausted her. 

Even as she tumbled the question over in her mind, she said yes.  It was going to be a heavy burden on her.  But how could she ever refuse a friend who's most probably making a last request of her life?  She had no time to weigh the consequences of her reply.  She said yes even though she was only 26 and had 2 small children of her own to raise while both she and her husband were struggling. 

She said to the nurse, Please, the doctor said to put her on oxygen.  She's very weak.  She'd noticed the distance to the OR was quite far and she was having difficulty breathing.  She was afraid the woman might not make it.

The nurse said, Don't worry.  This is our job.  We know what we're doing.  She spoke as if she was interfering.  They lifted her from the bed and wheeled her away on a stretcher.  But a moment later she saw the doctor himself personally carrying the limp woman and rushing into the Intensive Care Unit followed by the nurse and other attendants.  They tried to revive her. 

But she was gone.  She held the girl close to her and they cried.

Just to convince herself she did the right thing, she called her mother and told her what she had put myself into.  She said, How could you make such a promise?  You think you can handle such a burden? 

Mother, she said defensively, what do you expect me to say to a dying friend's last request?  She had no one.  No family.  I'm her only hope.  I couldn't just say no.

Even if she had said no, she would still end up with these children anyway.  At least she died knowing her children will be taken care of.

Somehow, she found the will to do as she promised.  She erected an extra room in her wooden house and raised the kids like they were her own. 

They are now both grown up and married.  The boy got involved with a Buddhist Charity Organisation and went to Indonesia to help the tsunami victims rebuild their lives.  He and his wife are both still there.  They are childless. 

The girl met a young man who did not pass her approval but she stubbornly stuck with him.  He inherited a fortune from his parents but he soon spent all the money.  It seemed like she was destined to live her life like her mother did.  The husband took no responsibility for the family.  The brother sends her RM1000 every month to help put her children through school. 

They're on their own now.  She had kept her promise. 

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This is a true story.

Oh, This Work Culture

Nowadays, when asked to solve a problem, they get a bunch of guys into a room and draw a nice fish bone on the board.  I thought that's a good guideline for students to learn the basics.  But what the heck, this is far from classroom basics.  These are real life issues we're dealing with. 

Then, with all the guys doing the talking, only one guy is doing the thinking and with only half his brain.  The other half is trying to decipher what the other guys are blabbering about.  And all that waste of time is money down the drain.  They call that 'brain-storming'.  I call it bad excuse.  Sometimes the poor chap leaves the meeting looking shell-shocked and with arrows and knives sticking out his back.

That seems to be the standard way to work nowadays.  If you don't do that, they think your job is too easy.  Your products don’t have problems.  You are open to more work-load, more stress and pressure.  They don't see problems because they don't want to know. 

Therefore, if you solve your problems too quietly and efficiently and nobody knows about it, it's bad for your corporate future.

That's what I call the 'damned if you do, damned if you don't' position.  Only consolation is, the home, tranportation and the kids' education is getting paid for.  And one has to grow old gracefully.

Just can't get over it. 

Me, I'll start looking for a nice horse that will take me off into the sunset.  There's that empty rocking chair on a verandah somewhere waiting.