Do you know your neighbour...?

It just struck me, while browsing the internet a moment ago, that we know more about Mawi, Erra, Bard Pitt and other celebrities than we know our neighbour. Isn't it weird? No, not weird. Just plain human nature, I guess. Read more at http://waiterrant.net/?p=24

Moving to greener pasture...?

I tendered my resignation on Monday morning. I made it a quiet affair. By afternoon, the office was abuzz about my resignation. Talk about HR's private & confidential policy.

Yes, I'm resigning from my current company. It is more of a pulling factor, ie, another company is pulling me to their side. It is not a push factor, ie, I'm not happy with the current company that I feel like being pushed out from the company.

Food, water & nicotine

Met Midget just now. She was wearing this turquoise modern baju kurung. She looked like she had just jumped out from some glamorous women magazine! I saw her walking towards me. The baju kurung modern accentuated the swaying of her hips, her hair brushing across her face and the smile that could launch a thousand ships!

Midget was like a goddess of some sort. She looked wonderfully charming, smiling as she walked to me. It was like in some romantic movie whereby the hero and heroine met after a long separation. If it was a Hindi movie, this shot would be in slow motion with some heart-rendering song in the background. If it was a Malay movie, the characters for this shot would be played by Fasha Sandha or Erra Fazira with Fahrin Ahmad or Rosyam Nor, respectively. I swear it was something similar to that. Or was it just me being disillusion after being deprived of food, water and nicotine for half a day? I would never know...

Cerpen - Kasih yg tak berbelah bagi...

I got this from an email. Ultramanterror sent it. Dunno who is the author of this short story.

Cerpen - Kasih yg tak berbelah bagi...

" Abg...tlg dtg umah segera, URGENT!!!!! ".

Hakim baca sms sepantas kilat. Terus call balik phone Ina. Tak berjawab. Hakim cemas. Tak pernah Ina hantar sms macam tu. Hakim kelam kabut hidupkan enjin kereta. Dia risaukan kekasih tersayangnya itu. Macam-macam dalam kepalanya waktu itu.

Dia kenal Ina sejak dari zaman kanak-kanak lagi. Keluarganya berjiran dengan keluarga Ina. Dari kecik mereka bermain bersama, kalau main masak-masak dia sanggup bertumbuk dengan Farok semata-mata nak jadi bapak kerana Ina mesti jadi mak. Pernah Farok cakap dia pondan sebab sentiasa bermain dengan Ina waktu Farok dan Saleh ajak main askar-askar. Dia ajak jugak Ina main askar-askar tapi Ina cakap budak pompuan mana boleh main permainan kasar-kasar macam tu. Sebab itulah dia sukakan Ina, lembut, penyayang dan penuh ciri-ciri keperempuanan.

Bila masuk sekolahpun, dia dan Ina berbasikal sama-sama ke sekolah. Walaupun Farok dan Saleh selalu kutuk bila dia tak mahu 'Racing BMX' dengan depa pun dia tak kisah. Dia rela dikutuk oleh kawan-kawan daripada meninggalkan Ina kayuh basikal sorang-sorang. Dia pernah kena belasah sampai lebam bijik mata oleh 'Husin and the gang' yang mengganggu Ina masa darjah tiga. Waktu darjah 4, bila dia mula lancar tulis baca dan tahu berpantun sikit-sikit diapun tulis surat kpd Ina "Pen merah pen biru, U baca I love U' bersama sebijik gula-gula Hacks sebagai hadiah harijadi Ina...gara-gara surat itulah dia mendapat jelingan tajam Mak Ropiah, ibunya Ina yang terjumpa surat itu waktu menyemak buku sekolah Ina.

Mak Ropiah memberitahu hal itu kepada ibunya, dan hasilnya dia terpaksa menadah telinga menahan leteran maknya. Nasib baik bapak tak tahu, kalau tidak naya.

Hakim gelak sorang-sorang waktu teringatkan peristiwa itu tapi fikirannya kembali cemas mengingatkan sms Ina tadi. Sudah hampir 15 kali dia cuba hubungi telefon Ina tapi masih tidak berjawab. Dia amat risau kala itu, fikirannya menelah perkara yang buruk-buruk saja. Dia risau kerana Ina tinggal seorang diri. Rakan serumah Ina, si Baizura sedang bekerja kala itu. Dia tahu, Ina kerja shift pagi tadi, Baizura kerja shift malam. Dia risau kerana panggilannya tidak berjawab. Dia risau takut-takut rumah Ina dimasuki penyamun yang memang menjadi-jadi akhir-akhir ini. Baru-baru ni, ada rumah di kawasan perumahan Ina dimasuki perompak.

Dia berdoa jika rumah Ina dimasuki perompak sekalipun janganlah kekasih hatinya itu diapa-apakan, ambiklah barang apa saja yang mereka mahu asalkan Ina tidak diapa-apakan. Dia berdoa sungguh-sungguh.

Dia bercinta dengan Ina sejak darjah 6 lagi, sejak dia mengerti apa itu baligh bagi seorang laki-laki dan perempuan. Hingga sekarang mereka masih bercinta. Kasihnya pada Ina dah macam Gunung Everest, tak tergoyahkan. Jika tak ada aral melintang hujung tahun ini, keluarganya akan masuk meminang Ina. Ina akan menjadi surinya yang sah dan dia tak mahu apa-apa yang buruk terjadi kepada bakal isterinya itu.

Keretanya memecut laju memasuki kawasan perumahan Ina. Sebaik berhenti di depan rumah Ina Hakim terpa keluar dari kereta. Dia lompat pagar rendah rumah Ina. Dia terpa ke pintu sambil jerit "Ina, Ina". Dia pulas tombol pintu, pintu tak berkunci. Dia betul-betul cemas. Dia ketuk pintu bilik Ina. Dia dengar esakan Ina. Ina menangis. Hakim makin cemas. Dia ketuk lagi pintu bilik Ina sambil panggil nama Ina. Hakim tak boleh bersabar lagi, dia pulas tombol pintu bilik Ina. Juga tak berkunci. Dia masuk bilik Ina, dia tengok Ina teresak-esak atas katil. Rambut Ina kusut masai, Ina tekup muka sambil menangis.

"Ina, apa yang terjadi sayang" Hakim cuba pujuk Ina.

Ina masih dalam sendu. "hu...hu..."

" Ina, cakap kat abang elok-elok, apa yang dah jadi"

"Hu..hu"

Hakim dah tak sabar, dia dah tak peduli walau apapun yang akan keluar dari mulut Ina. Dia akan terima walau seburuk manapun berita yang akan keluar dari mulut Ina. Hakim goncang bahu Ina.

"Ina, what hell is going on...tell me!!" Suara Hakim kuat kali ini. Ina berenti menangis, Ina tatap wajah Hakim, Ina renung mata Hakim.

"Bang, Ina lapar, nak makan nasik. Duit gaji tak masuk lagi. Nanti cukup 27hb Sept nie, Ina bayar blk ek? Tak pun bila Ina dapat Bonus baru bayar."

~The End~

Trust

The toughest thing about the power of trust is that it's very difficult to build and very easy to destroy. The essence of trust building is to emphasize the similarities between you and the people you work with. James Thornton once said “Ultimately, we must learn to trust ourselves. When we do this intimately and intelligently, the world opens full of meaning before us. We find that we ourselves are the doorway to a fathomless understanding of the source of life itself. We need only to learn to walk through it."

The wisest leaders are hardly known
Then come those who are loved
Then those feared
Then those despised

Mistrust begets mistrust
Trust begets accomplishment

Think of your loved ones. They trust you.

A Story for My Daughter

There was once a pillow case. It was bright and flowery and was a favourite to its owners. The favouritism was mutual. But for the pillow case, it had no other material things to choose from to be its favourite, except its owners.

One day, after being washed and while being dried under the sun, a sudden gush of wind blew it off from the clothes hanger. It flew onto a street in front of its owner's house. A car came by and ran it over. The pillow case had tyre marks all over it now. The pillow case became sad now that it wasn't bright nor flowery anymore. A big truck rushed by and blew the pillow case farther away from the house. It landed in a bush. The pillow case was getting sadder by the moment. It got stuck on a prickly bush. A continuous gush of wind started to blow and the pillow case was torn as it left its thorny resting place.

"I'm for sure will be alone forever like an unwanted rubbish", thought the pillow case. "I've lost my owners, I'm dirty and I'm torn. I'll just be a useless piece of cloth."

Now, torn and dirty, the pillow case was strewn on a field. It was wallowing in its predicament when suddenly, it was picked up. A black, evil-looking crow had the pillow case in its strong beak.

"Ah! Now I'm very sure I'll be frayed by this horrendous beast and be left in tatters!" cried the pillow case. The black crow flew higher and higher and farther and farther from the pillow case's house.

Upon reaching a baobab, the black crow stopped and laid the pillow case gently into its nest. The black crow laid the pillow case to cover its nest as a mother put her child to bed. The pillow case was taken aback. Never had it felt such tenderness other than when its owners smoothen it after stuffing it with a pillow. Never had the pillow case known that such tenderness can be shewn by other beings other than mankind. Once the pillow case was laid, the black crow began resting in its nest to start laying its eggs. The warmth of the black crow made the pillow case felt satiated after the adventure of the day.

After some weeks, and with the warmth provided by the pillow case, the eggs started to hatch. The pillow case was in awe in having a hand in such amazing natural process. The pillow case had never felt so appreciated in its entire life at that moment. The pillow case had totally forgotten its owners, the comfortable closet that it was kept when not in use, the big beautiful house and the care given by its owners. Never had it felt such feelings. From that day onwards, the pillow case understood that it was not how it looked, what colour, what pattern and design that mattered. What mattered was how it was being used in whatever form or shape. What mattered was its usefulness to other people.

Me and Pasar Malam

I confess. I'm a pasar malam addict. Wait, I'm a pasar addict. Anything to do with pasar, be it ending with malam, pagi, borong, tani, etc, I'm always excited to be one of the crowds that throng these places. I don't know why I'm like that or what attracts me to the pasar. I hate crowded places, but when it comes to pasar, it's an exception. Like they say, there's always an exception to the general rule (I learned that during law school). When I was studying, I spent more time at the pasar near my college (Victoria Market) than at the library!

I was introduced to the pasar at an early age. When I was four (or was it five?) Ayah always brought me along whenever he went to pasar. Ayah is not a scholar who teaches his children of ABC's and 123. He had never helped in any of his children's homeworks. Not that he's not clever. Far from it. In fact, my late Datuk always told me how brilliant Ayah was when he was schooling. Datuk wanted to send him to Al-Azhar to continue his studies but Ayah refused to go. Instead he started work, got married and have a family. Rather than teaching his children ABC's and 123, Ayah taught us many other things about life. One of those things were during our excursions to the pasar.

I pride myself in having the knowledge of choosing the freshest fish on the block from the variety of fish in the pasar. I know which ikan merah would have the most succulent of flesh for fish head curry, what ikan pari to choose from for grilling or to cook asam pedas with. I take pride in choosing the hottest chillies for sambal belacan, the best bendi (ladies fingers) for stir fry or for fish curry. I learned all these from Ayah. Even until now, whenever I go with Ayah to the pasar, he would be quizzing me on the name of fish, vegies, etc. I guess, it was his way of taking pride in the knowledge that he passed on.

Whenever I go to a pasar, I'll be spending hours there. I like to take in the sights, smell and sound of a pasar. I went to my weekly pasar malam yesterday. I was there for almost two hours. I bought some fresh oranges, green vegies, fish and some food for dinner. I've been going to the same pasar malam for the past two years. I've made friends with some of the vendors. It helps in getting the best price for the freshest produce. Sometimes I bought their goods, sometime I don't. But week in, week out, I'll be stopping by at their stalls, just to chat, catch up with their news, talk about everything under the sun. From their families to politics, economies, EPL (English Premier League) and whatever the flavour of the month is (next week, some will be talking about Altantuya's case now that it has resumed).

I was at the fruit stall to buy my usual dose of oranges, apples and grapes. The Fruit Uncle (FU) used to be selling his fruits from a motorcycle. Now he has progressed to having his own stall. He used to sell only oranges, sweet and seedless oranges. Now he sells apples, grapes, pears and the occassional local fruits. Chatted with him for awhile. He told me proudly that his 10-year old grandson is first in his class. His youngest daughter had just finished school and now looking for a job. I told him that perhaps I could help. He called on his daughter and asked her to explain to me what course she took in the university. She took up computer engineering. So, I told her that perhaps she could email me her resume and I'll forward it to my HR. FU smiled. I bought RM15 woth of his fruits and he gave me some mangoes. I told him he needn't to. After all, almost every week he would be giving me some extra oranges or apples. But he insisted. Extra weight to my half full trolley. Not that I'm complaining.

I stopped by at the vegetables vendor. He is just next to FU. Since I was late yesterday, not much choices left. I was about to move on when the Vegetable Uncle (VU) signalled to me to wait a second. From a box underneath his counter, he took out two bundles of spinach and gave them to me. The best of the lot, he said with a hearty laugh. VU started small as well. He used to sell his spinach and kangkung from a small table that didn't deserve to be called a stall. Now, he is a proud of owner of a stall. I took out my wallet to pay him for the two bundles of spinach. He declined. He said he was about to close up. If I didn't come by, he would have cooked the spinach himself. But since I was there, he just gave it to me. I thanked him profusely and he just gave me a hearty laugh and told me to bring CG next time. VU and his wife love CG. They love her curly hair.

My next stop was another vegetable vendor. Two bundles of spinach would not last for one week. AS (Abang Sayur) and his wife greeted me cheerily. I bought some chillies, cauliflower and kangkung. Not the freshest, but they'll do. I complained to AS about the freshness and he gave me some discounts. He said it is difficult now to get the best vegetables from the market, especially now that he has no workers. Hmm...

Then, I went for some dinner hunting. Bought some mee goreng. CG wanted some chicken wings. I bought half a dozen from the usual Pakcik. This Pakcik is ranggi. He doesn't have that many front teeth but still, he can dress up as stylo as a pasar malam vendor can be. Last week, he was wearing his sunglasses that look 2 decades outdated. I told him he looked like a pop yehyeh star. He laughed out loud and gave me an extra piece of chicken wing. Yesterday, he was wearing this ridiculous looking stetson! A Pasar Malam John Wayne!

You see, that was only my pasar malam excursion. If I were to go to the normal pasar, it would be half a day there!