Testing

Just testing with a funny video clip... Let's see, shall we?

Maan...this is taking a long time...

Lost in Future

I'm supposed to be sleeping right now. But I just can't. I had just chatted off with Midget about 15 minutes ago. I couldn't really figure it out about us, Midget and I. Whenever she's around me, it's like I have no worries at all. The days will be shorter for sure. It's like you are having fun and time just flies away without you even noticing it. It is like that with her. I feel exuberant when she's around.

But then, we can't be around each other the whole time, lest you want to see some real life drama swasta being played out in front of you. And that is to put it mildly! No, I'm not exaggerating, not one bit. The fact is, Midget and I can't be around each other 24/7. And yet, we complete each other when we are together. Mind boggling? Perhaps.

That's the part that I can't really figure it out. How can we, two individuals who can't be with each other all the time, make a future with this relationship? I love her for sure, and she does me as well (is it true, Midget?). Is that enough? Can love withstand all?

The title of my post this time is similar to that 70's TV series, Lost in Space (yeah, they made a movie out of it with Matt Le Blanc in it). In that TV series, the family was like the Robinson's family, except that they became lost in space. I'm not lost in space, nor am I stranded on a deserted island. I am at lost when it comes to Midget. What will become of Midget and I? Perhaps, I'll just que se ra sera...?

Merdeka celebrations, the other side

It is that time of the year again. Where you'll get stuck in jams due to road closures, everywhere. Not just KL, mind you. It's happening at all major towns, even in Batu Pahat! Yup, it is the Merdeka week. Don't get me wrong. I am as patriotic as any Malaysian on the street. I love my country. And I will not go on rambling about how much I love my country and what not. That will not say anything on my patriotism. It is just that, whenever it is Merdeka week, roads, like the one in front of Dataran Merdeka or Dataran Batu Pahat (that's in Batu Pahat), are closed for the rehearsal. That causes traffic jams. Precious times are lost due to the jams. It is not enough that jams during peak hours are bad enough, but the organisers of the Merdeka celebration found it good enough reason to compound that routine jams with road closures! (I know, I used the same word 3 times in one sentence...so...?) In the heart of KL! Doesn't anyone have a better idea of perhaps closing the roads during non-peak hours? Like 12 midnight, perhaps? The participants wouldn't be "burnt" under the hot sun, no heat stroke and families can go and watch the rehearsals...

It is also that time of the year again. When you can find the Jalur Gemilang being run over by cars, lorries, buses and perhaps, kereta lembu? Yup, some patriotic drivers, having the Jalur Gemilang on their cars, doesn't have the decency to make sure that the Jalur Gemilang stays there. You can find strewn Jalur Gemilangs on major highways and this is ironic because it is during these weeks that Malaysians will be using the highways most. For holidays in celebration of Merdeka! I wonder how patriotic are these drivers...sigh!
What I'm trying to say here is that, perhaps, it is high time now that we reflect on our Merdeka celebration? Just my two-cent worth...

How to behave in the office

I was updating my blog when a colleague walked pass. He saw what I was doing and said in jest, "You're practising your LLB, right?" Hahaha! LLB for him is Look Like Busy, but LLB for me is Lagi Loyar Buruk. But, can anyone tell me what LLB really stands for? I know it's Latin. Anyway, moments later, an email came in. I re-produce verbatim. Hehehe!

Did I say I reproduce verbatim? Yup, a number is missing. See Rule no 2? I guess I do look busy whilst updating this. Hahaha! Ooops! Boss is coming towards me. I'll be doing REAL work soon, I guess. Or, perhaps not?

Books and Classics

I'm back to re-reading my books. The two books that were borrowed from Midget are done for. I'm now with Phileas Fogg and Passerpartout. I never noticed how routine and boring the life must have been for Mr Fogg before his round-the-world adventure. The man sacked his servant (the one before the ever reliable Passerpartout) just for not preparing his shaving water at the right temperature...! His life had to be exact. It must have been tiresome to have everything exactly as you wanted.

The first time I read the book, I was full of admiration for Mr Fogg. I was 11 at that time. The adventure that Mr Fogg went through was inspiring for an 11-year-old boy. The description of exotic India, the wild west train ride and so forth were such that I wanted to experience them first hand. I wanted to be Mr Fogg! But alas, reading it for the second time, I was so embarassed that I used to want to be like him! But hey, I was 11 at that time...good enough excuse, perhaps?

Reading the book reminded me of another book of that period. Lord Jim, if I'm not mistaken. It was about a mat salleh, came to Borneo, had an adventure of a lifetime, settled down there and the locals called him, Tuan Jim. He wrote about the headhunters of Borneo, the tribes that were scatterred along the Sungai Rejang, etc. The book was written by Joseph Conrad, an American, if I'm correct, and was made into a movie back in the sixties. I have a copy of the same in e-book.

I was skyping with Midget yesterday when somehow or rather, we talked about Sandera, by Arenawati. I miss that book. I had a copy some years ago, but lost it to termites. Now, I'm wondering, where can I get another copy? In fact, there is a list of books that I want to buy/have. I noticed that it is easier to find old English books by DH Lawrence, Jules Verne, Joseph Conrad, etc, but it is almost impossible to get old Malay classics. What is DBP going to do about that? Or anyone for that matter? My wishlist (some might not be the correct titles or authors, but the gist of it...):

1. Sandera, Arenawati
2. Merpati Putih Terbang Lagi, Khadijah Hashim (?) (not a classic classic, quite contemporary, actually)
3. Lepaskan Kembali Aku ke Laut, (can't remember the author), Volumes 1-3
4. Ranjau Sepanjang Jalan, Shahnon Ahmad
5. Desa Pingitan, (can't remember the author)
6. Hikayat Parang Puting, (can't remember the author)
   

O Love! Becoming unto Me

I stood tip toe upon a little hill,
Over the plains and my own will,
Over a love that remains still,
For it has nought a life to quill.

But what am I that for which love forsakes,
If not a penne of hollow and flakes?

Alas! Love becoming in shapes, fonts
By which the letters are bold and golden,
But whose shape has love formed,
It is you o sweet beholden!

Hair as silky with sweet honey brush,
A smile that a fleet would damnly be crushed?

Atop the little hill I found a gully, to
Couler, to slide in reaching unto,
O you, my sweet beloved Love,
Felling and tumbling to your safety cove.