Fallen Heroes

June 30th, 2006...a big nite for Germany and Argentine. It is the first quarter finals of the World Cup 2006. This might as well be the finals. It's Mexico 86' and Italy 90' all over again. 86' was the year of Maradona and 90' was the World Cup that everyone wants for forget. Both were finals where these two footballing giants met.

In Mexico 86' Maradona led Argentina to a 2nd World Cup in which the infamous "Hand of God" took England out in the quarter finals and in the same game the Goal of the Century was scored. Italy 90' was at most forgettable with really defensive football being played and Germany won the Cup that year.

Last nite was history repeating itself...a meeting of old rivals, but with football played at it's best. Argentina post-Maradona has been a huge challenge to many a player and coach all having to live up to the high expectations of their beloved fans. Not an easy task but this Argentine team played wonderful flowing football. There was magic in the air much like the Agrentina of 86'. The German team under SPURS' hero, Klinsman is a breath of fresh air. Unlike the Germans of old they play a very smooth and flowing game. A team Pele would be proud to have as Brasillian's compared to Parreira's Brasil, who claims the beautiful game is rubbish and winning is everything no matter how ugly. On the night I believe Pele would have wished that either Germany & Argentina were Brasillians. I'm sure Nike would have loved to have both these teams wearing their colors especially with their Joga Bonito campaign running now.

In every game there will be an eventual winner and on the night, with all the Joga Bonito displayed on the pitch by both teams...Germany prevailled relying on their "Never Say Die" attitude which is evident in all the German teams throughout the years to come back from a goal down and win on penalties. Argentina though the vanquished, can lift their heads up high and be proud of themselves. They had their fans, me and Diego Armando Maradona cheering his heart out for his beloved Argentina. Tonite no doubt El Diego would shed tears for his beloved. I have yet to see Pele cheer in such a way for this Brasil or the Kaiser for that matter.



Argentina can walk tall among their fans knowing that they are Heroes despite the result. Victory is playing all out with your heart and soul...the end result will BE what it will BE.

It is not about winning but how we play.

Legacy of Colonialism

I was brought up in the highlands in a land where rainfall was always in abundance, in a time not so long ago...

Cool fresh air, crickets, rhinocheros beetles, butterflies, the occasional call of the hornbill, roar of the tiger from the valley below, smell of cow dung fertilising beautiful flowers, english breakfast and 4pm tea time by the fire place. I spent a great six years breathing air as God intended it to be from birth till about 7. That was when i had to go downhill to start school. My Grandparents were the caretakers for The Speedy's Resthouse in Maxwell Hills, Taiping. That perhaps explains the lure of the mountains and my love for it.

That would be tales for another blog. These are pictures from The Penang Hill Station with a few buildings left behind by the British.

Beauties of Penang Hill.

The flora and fauna in Penang Hill is amazing. A trek to the top of any hill or mountain is made more satisfying when I am able to see the local flora and fauna. Doesn't matter if i don't know their names but to catch a glimpse of them is a treat. Apart from the potted ones which could be foreign to this hill, the rest are native to the forest of this hill station.

An Old picture

A very very old picture found in one of the Hillside bungalows donated to the church after the owner's son passed away.

An old crucifix stands next to the picture of the Master as he looks on. He has been watching and continues watching to this day.

A dedication to his passion.

Circle of Life

Survival of the fittest. To the victor the spoils. That seems to be the order of the day.

A wasp carting away the carcass of a cockroach for storage in his fridge perhaps...after all the World Cup is only half done. A bee, the wasps' mortal enemy lies dead next to it attended to by an ant. Scene of a big fight or just scavengers seeking fuel to nourish their appetites in a cold morning. Up in the rafters a spider awaits...

Someone eats well, someone awaits patiently to clean-up and someone remains very very dead and still Being in contribution in the Circle of Life.

Moth Attack

So many moths...so little time.

There were just so many of them on the entrance of the bungalow and once again i was running low on battery. Didn't help that the lense started fogging up due to the heat from the camera combined with the chilly cold air. These are just a few of the many that i managed to capture. It's amazing how colorful they are...and shapely too. I always thought moths were boring, hairy, dull colored, winged creatures that were scary. Not anymore. Not after my close encounter with them.

In hindsight, many a thing or person may seem scary or drury until we get up close and personal.

CeLeBraTioNs

Celebrations started the day before with my family. My sisters cooked up a wonderful meal with lou chee yook , fried chicken fillet/nuggets, mince pork omelet and vege. Wonderful home cooked dinner with my brothers and sisters who would not let me forget that i am 40!

More celebrations were to be had on the 15th itself. It started off with a morning filled will well wishes from friends and family. At around lunch a lady calls up to inquire about the sale of my car. I, thinking it was a joke, played along until i realised she was not joking and not someone i know. So i asked her where she got the info. She told me it is advertised in The Star! I went to check it out and it really was in The Star!
Some wanker had placed an add to sell my car! RM40 and negotiable too! I had 4 inquiries about it so far. People are quite gullible and of course there are those who would like to believe that it is true too. Suckers!

I been had and i have no clue who did it. Later at a surprise party organised by my beloved Luk Chats in manipulation with my muse....i still don't know who did it but the these are the following suspects. The infamous Luk Chats and adopted luk chats. I am sure the culprit is within this motley crue or are all of them in cahoots??? The mystery continues...
People generally get gifts on their birthdays. This is the first time in my life someone wants to sell my car for RM40 on my birthday! I guess it beats getting a bunch of "Happy Birthday" wishes all day. This is a "Forties Special" laced with "Why you want to sell your car for RM40? Really ah?" "Why you doing this?" "What you mean ..need suitor?" and the classic, " You sold it already? For how much? RM40? Thirty something? thanx anyway."

An extraordinary birthday celebration gifted by a bunch of Extraordinary friends and an extraordinary girlfriend. Muchos Gracias for a wonderful gift of your friendship and for bringing me into my BIG Four-Oh with more mystery! My life's journey is made more exciting, colorful and adventurous by my crazy, mad family and my just as crazy and mad extended family...the infamous LukChats! It would be a FANTASY for anyone but for me...a blessed reality.

I Love y'all!

Charlie

On the morning of June 15th, as i step into my makeshift yard...Charlie reaches out from his bowl as he usually does and greets his now Forty year old friend.

Charlie is the chosen name given him when i couldn't decide if he was a he or a she. Charlie can be a he/she name. So in case we find his cohones I won't have to change his name. He has been with me for 16 years. He was a gift from Big Ee. Now that's another story.

Charlie patrols the yard when i leave for work. When i head out of the house he will demand his grub for the day and send me off. Occasionally he practices his self defense skills with me by chasing after me and once in a while you can hear him bark. No kidding. James can vouch for that. Check out his Fu Manchu nails.

All said...it is wonderful to wake up on my big four-oh and be greeted by my faithful and long time friend... Charlie.

My Beautiful Backside...

39 years 364 days on i stand and look ahead of me, wondering what the future holds. I am standing on the threshold of the big Four-Oh. Just one more step and i will be there. My heart beats fast nervously in anticipation of the great unknown. I have learned from my journeys that fear and excitement bears the same andrenaline rush. Palms get sweaty, heart palpitating, pulse racing, lips dry...then the gentle breeze of calm falls over me.

The title may suggest an excellent posterior which i believe was the intention of whirlwind wendy but when i was about to change it i realised it spoke more of the beautiful backside of forty. The past 4 decades has been a colorful journey for me. The highs and lows, the joy, pain, misery, anger, rejoice, tears and happiness...all are experiences on my journey of life so far. Family and friends have i lost but new family and new friends i have gained too.

I was asked the question about life. How apt and how timely. To me life is about discovery, about exploring and about experiencing this beautiful universe that God has bestowed upon us. It's about Living and not merely to exist. With this knowledge in my backpack i look behind me...at the beautiful backside and count my blessings. I am blessed to have a wonderful family...crazy as they are, mad as they always will be, unorthodox in our ways and varied in our beliefs but bound by God's gift...LOVE!

With this i raise my head. Take a deep breath of life, utter a silent prayer of thanks to the Creator above for blessing my life with all that i have and all that i am and make a new choice. Geared with all that i have learned and experienced and the support of family and great friends, i step into the realm of the Big Four-Oh to further explore and discover the mysteries of life.
A new adventure begins...

I choose this stretch!

Kobi Diam

Kobi Diam...that's the Hailam way of saying kopi tiam. Just behind the phone booth was where my late AhGung would bring me on saturday mornings when he visits and chats with his hailam ko buddies.

My AhGung would pull on his well ironed slacks, normally grey in color and he will pull on a white shirt and he never fails to slide his Parker ballpoint pen into his pocket. He always has a pen on him. It was silver in color with a gold clip and blue ink. Then he will get me dressed in my shorts and i don't remember what shirt i wore but i definately know i had my shorts on. He would then pull out his trusty steed, the black Raleigh. Once he got on I will climb onto the back saddle and we would be on our way. At that time sitting on the metal 'saddle' was not a bother. The thrill of going out with AhGung was worth the discomfort.

This kobi diam was more a stall than a shop. The whole building was a market. This is the dry section where you get vege and all that. The building at the back houses the wet market where chicken, fish and the other animals are slaughtered.


Once there my AhGung would greet his buddies or sukinang...orang kampung...and order his nes-si-kobi...nescafe. I don't get to choose my drink but i'm happy with nes-si-kobi. I get to choose my kueh. The nescafe arrives in a cup and saucer and my AhGung will pour my share into the saucer while talking to his buddies. He then pulls out his Rothmans and lights it and continues with their chatter. I was oblivious to all that as I was enjoying my kueh and blowing my hot nes-si-kobi in the saucer before sipping it.

At the end of it all i climb onto our trusty steed after my AhGung and we head home with me full with kueh and nes-si-kobi and happy for the outing with my AhGung.

The Corridor

This corridor has known many a laughter, joy, tears and also fear. I used to run up and down its well seasoned cement rendered floor. Chasing after a brother, a cousin, a cat or rushing to the call of breakfast, lunch or dinner. Once in awhile rushing in to gather the clothes at the drop of rain.

There were times too when we, children of the house would rush in at the command of our cigarette totting grandma. These were times when one, a couple or all of us had been naughty and we were awaiting our just punishment. These were scary times. Grandma would make us line up in front of her like troops standing in line for inspection. She would be sitting on a kopi tiam-looking chair with one leg up. She would of course have a cup of coffee nearby while she filled her cigarette paper with tobacco and while she rolled it she will be asking us to report our misdeeds one by one. My eyes would always be locked on the metre long, 1/2cm diametre rotan resting precariously at the edge of the table. Funnily all our hands would be right behind our backs safely tucked away. The illusion of safety was always a hope I treasured.

After finish rolling her cigarette, she pulls it to her tobacco seasoned lips and lights a match. There was a picture of Superman on the match box. Some superhero...he just prolonged our agony cos after the smoke settles, the punishments will be meted out. Sometimes this is followed by fu cha which was for cooling down our body system. Kinda like coolant for cars. This is not related to the punishment but for health, james would disagree tho. He just hates fu cha. I didn't mind it cause it came with a sweet at the end of it.

This corridor also serves as the route where steve and i would use to dispose of the meter long rotans. We would search the house for all the rotans while our parents were at school and while grandma was taking her nap. She used to hide them all over the place but we would find them and run towards the 'light at the end of the tunnel' which was way at the end of the corridor and throw them over the fence into mangsat yeen a Boy's Home. I'm sure they needed them more.

We thought we were pretty smart till she pulls out another one from God only knows where. There always was one more. Always.

On less eventful days especially a warm afternoon, i would nap along the cooling corridor with sweet adventures running through my head.

Famous saying...

" In Amsterdam people don't drink and drive, they smoke and fly."

A picture of one of the many 'coffee shops' unique to amsterdam where they sell anything but coffee.

Joga Bonito

Finally the much awaited event of the year...the FIFA World Cup 2006 is here. The one event that brings almost everything to a standstill. The world has been waiting with abated breath as the teams prepare for the penultimate in football and fans stock their fridge with munchies, quick prep foods and a myriad of other goodies.

Every supporter will pray and hope their hero's are fit and in great form for this event. This is not an event for football kakis only, those who hate watching or dislike others watching the game will suddenly become fans of joga bonito...the beautiful game. There was a year when i was awake in the wee hours of the morning to watch a match in a house where i was the only fanatic of the game. When the striker took a shot at goal i naturally whooped in excitement only to hear an echo. Now as i mentioned i was the only football mad person in the house where only james and i lived...out of curiousity I pressed the mute button only to hear the game playing on in the next room...where james reside...and he does not even watch the EPL. He did not accidentally turn his tv on...he was actually watching the beautiful game!

Copa Libre...the Cup of Life, is an uncanny thing...it brings people together, it brings nations together, husbands and wives, brothers and brothers and sisters too, families and the world stands still while 32 nations fight it out to claim The Copa Libre.

I'm ready are you?

A mansion for Ah Poh

May 29th...the 49th day after our ah poh's passing, we were at the temple to offer some prayers and also to send our ah poh a mansion. Her ash is stashed away in this little siamese temple in aulong.

The ceremony started with some chanting by a part-time lum mo loh who chanted in cantonese. I was wondering why a canton lum mo loh? I mean...the only cantonese my ah poh knows is cheng ngow hai which is a direct translation of sae goo chi in hailam which literally means stupid ass.

Anyway, after the chantings we prayed with offerings of food and joss etc...of course on the menu was ah poh's favourite food and her favourite fish...the senangin. I remember her always buying this fish for prayers during the festivals. I have never seen her pray without this particular fish which she will deep fry. We kowtowed and prayed with joss sticks and incense paper. We then went to the burning area to send off the mansion complete with chauffeur driven car, servants and security guard. The mansion comes complete with Astro..so she won't get bored i guess. We also sent her one of those reclining chairs which she loves so much...but no one thought of sending her a handphone. I wonder why?

One of my uncles was asking if this sending off really works? Will she get it? Well it's a matter of believe i guess. We even asked the lum mo loh how fast can our grandma receive the mansion. He said in about 3 days. Wow...how the fuck does he know that? He must have someone on the other side to keep him informed. Amazing.

I guess we'll never really know since none of us thought to send her a handphone.

There was a family sending their son a kapchai...maybe public transport is few and far between or perhaps he called and asked for a bike. Anyway I'm glad we sent ah poh a chauffeur driven car.

Taiping passport

Restoran Kakak...the place to meet and feed. I used to be able to belanja 5 people to a bowl of kai si meen and a teh peng each for RM10. Now that is not the case anymore.

Taiping does not have many hangs out during my time there. We only had a KFC and Mary Browns Fried Chicken in the whole of Taiping. So many a dates were had at this particular Restoran among others. I was not the fortunate few that had that experience since i left Taiping when i was 10...but brother long hair may be able to share a few of his dates.

To me and a lot of other Taipingites, my dad, aunties crazy cousins and of course the rest of the Blog Brothers, it is a place we MUST go and pay our respects and get our "passport" stamped. To the uninitiated a "passport stamp" is the delicious kai si meen and also a side order of kay pueh with taugeh which is sinfully and a highly toxic dish of chicken skin with bean sprouts, but then again we Taipingites live dangerously.

During this one moment of mad craving we don't give a fuck about calory counts, cholesterol and shit like that...at least i don't!

Celebrating mums.

June 1st was the birthday of The Blog Brothers as well as the birthday of Lawyer2, teacher2 and Bangla Queen's mother. We were back in Taiping to celebrate our mums.

We got them a cake from Secret Recipe in Ipoh. Taiping has KFC & KLG but no Secret Recipe. The cake is slightly lopsided but taste good at any rate. We celebrated at the Meridien restaurant and were placed at the very last table in the room...fully booked punya pasal. We had to share the restaurant with some crooners all singing chinese classics with their yodeling which is a specialty among northern hokkien crooners. Can't imagine it? Go to Penang or Taiping and ocassionally you can get it in Klang. Luckily for us the crooners weren't too bad.

When we finished our dinner and started singing the Birthday song the whole restaurant sang with us. It was really cool and coolest of all was the smile on our mums face as we, their sons, daughters and grandchildren celebrated them.