Saturday Report/ Laporan Sabtu/ Laporan Ari Sabtu

<---English--->
I can't believe how early I woke up this morning. 8 a.m. Headed downstairs, had char koey for breakfast and washed down with green Nescafe 3-in-1. Went upstairs and changed into working clothes: an old t-shirt and a battered shorts. Painted the gate black. Finished at 1250, after which I took a shower (remember, I haven't brushed my teeth either) and went down to have lunch. Kuchei Rojak! If you have time, visit him near the Blind Masseur Centre in Batu Lintang. But be quick: on some days they already sold out by 11 a.m!

I crashed out until 5 p.m. due to sheer exhaustion. When I'm too productive, I'm scary.

<---Melayu--->
Aku tak percaya aku bangun awal pagi ni. Pukul 8. Turun tangga, makan char koey untuk sarapan, minum Nescafe 3-dalam-1 yang warna hijau tu. Naik atas tukar baju: T-shirt lama dengan seluar pendek koyak rabak. Cat pintu pagar dengan warna hitam. Habis pukul 1250, lepas tu mandi (ingat, aku belum pun gosok gigi) pastu turun lagi makan tengahari. Rojak Kuchei! Kalau ada masa, kedai dia dekat Pusat Urut Orang Buta dekat Batu Lintang. Tapi cepat: ada hari diaorang habis jual pukul 11 pagi!

Pastu aku tidur sampai pukul 5 petang, letih sangat. Bila aku rajin gila, orang takut dengan aku.

<---Melayu Sarawak--->
Blogger's note: I speak the Sadong dialect of Sarawak Malay. Most of the time, West Malaysians hear the 'standard' Sarawak Malay: the Kuching dialect. I use the Sadong dialect with my close friends and family, and the Kuching dialect for everyone else.

Sik cayak aku bangun awal pagi tok. Kol 8. Turun tangga, makan char koey pake sarapan ngan Nescafe 3-in-1 warna ijo ya. Nait atas tukar baju: make T-shirt lamak ngan sluar pendek kuyak rabak. Ku ngecat pintu pagar ngan warna itam. Abis kol 1250, pas ya mandik (ingat, aku lom gik merus gigi) pas ya turun agik makan. Rojak Kuchei! Mun ada masa, kedey nya kat Pusat Urut Orang Buta kat Batu Lintang. Tapi kenak cepat: ada ari sidaknya abis jual kol 11 pagi!

Pasya aku tido sampe kol 5 petang, lelah rilak. Bila tang aku rajin, takut sidak.

NSDS3 blogs in English/Melayu/Melayu Sarawak

<---English--->
I never dreamed that this day will come, blogging in Malay. Ah well, Merdeka is approaching and though I have some issues with the Central Government I'll just close my ears and pretend it's Malaysia's Merdeka.

After what seemed to be a terrible way to spend the week long school holiday, I awoke this morning with yet another problem: collarbone. My right collarbone aches all day and still is when I'm typing this. And every time I breathe in, my chest feels painful.

I guess it's one of the body's sign that you had been sleeping in the wrong direction.

<---Melayu--->
Aku tak pernah terfikir yang aku akan blog dalam bahasa Melayu. Takpalah, Merdeka pun dah dekat dan walaupun aku ada isu-isu dengan Kerajaan Pusat, buat masa ni aku pura-pura yang 31 Ogos ni Malaysia Merdeka.

Ingatkan cuti seminggu ni dah teruk, rupa-rupanya pagi ni aku bangun dengan satu masalah lagi: tulang selangka. Tulang selangka sebelah kanan aku asyik sakit sepanjang hari ni, masih terasa sakitnya waktu aku taip ni. Bila aku tarik nafas, dada pulak rasa sakit.

Mungkin ni salah satu cara badan beritahu kita yang kita tidur dengan cara yang salah.

<---Melayu Sarawak--->
Sik pernah aku terpikir yang aku akan blog dalam bahasa Melayu. Sikpalah, Merdeka udah dekat dan walaupun aku ada masalah kit ngan Krajaan Pusat, buat masa tok aku purak-purak yang tigasatu Ogos tok hari Merdeka Malaysia.

Ku ingat tek cuti seminggu tok dah terok, rupa-rupanya pagi tok datang agik sigek masalah baru: tulang selangka. Tulang selangka belah kanan aku asyik sakit ajak sepanjang ari tok, waktu naip tok pun agik berasa. Tarit napas, dada agik rasa sakit.

Kali tok sigek cara badan kita madah yang kita tido ngan cara sik betul.

Reminder to Self II

Submit something!

http://swiftywriting.blogspot.com/2005/08/swifty-announces-something-special-for.html

Changes in the Colonel's Diary

I have updated the sidebar. Notable changes are the drop down list and I have also changed the Creative Commons license to Attribution-NonCommercial-NonDerivatives 2.0, a more common one used by bloggers.

Sadly I have to disable Anonymous posting now. The spammers have found this blog. My apologies to all non-Blogger users, especially chrissie. I will go and flag the spammers that are on Blogger. For the others, well, I can do nothing at the moment.

Cheerio.

EDIT: Fuck, 5 minutes after I posted this entry another spammer came knocking on the door. Nabeh.

Edit 2: Anonymous commenting have been re-enabled. However, word verification is required to comment. Again, I would like to apologise for the inconvenience.

Back from Meeting the Doc

I just came back from seeing the doctor for the second time this week. As you can see from my previous post, my health is not in the green area lately.

Waiting in the reception area, I attempt to finish The Catcher in the Rye. The cry of a baby woke me up from my reading. Oh, the clinic is open 24 hours (but the doctor has to be called, but nevermind) and also have a delivery center. This day must've been the most productive as I heard two baby crying as they enter the world. One mother actually walked to the car after giving birth. That came as a shock to me.

The doctor is quite high-tech for a GP. He got an electronic device, the Patient Monitor 8000, to measure your heartbeat and blood pressure. Then there's this Dr. Camscopesomething. He'll put the wooden stick on your tongue, still make you say "Aaa" but your throat gets magnified real large on the TV screen. Sure saves him the time of looking down people's throat.

I've been given four medications: a cough syrup, packets of asthma tablets, fever pills and phlegm and mucus 'melter'. Quite a haul.

Hope it will tune down after all this medication. I'm quick sick (pun not intended) of having my sinuses expand and blocking my damned nose.

Edit: I forgot to mosaic the clinic's name. My apologies, Dr. Y.

The Catcher in the Rye

I had just finished reading The Catcher in the Rye. Bought it at a book sale in Top Spot Food Center(!) for RM 27.90. Actually, it's less than that. It had a 30% discount off it's price, but I'm sure it's actually more. The book was bought on 17 March this year, on Thursday (gee, I'm a freak for actually remembering that)

The Catcher in the Rye, if you have not read it I must say you missed something about American Literature. One of the most controversional book ever written, the Catcher in the Rye is banned in some public schools in America and occassionally libraries as well. However, it sometimes found itself in the literature curriculum in the more open schools.

Fifty years ago this book is controversional. It still is. Holden Caulfield, the narrator and main character is one hell of a boy, thinking that everyone around him are phonies. In today's world, who can't think like that? But the year was 1951 and while some things are beginning to open up, not everyone is.

This book is a hard read but it sure is worth the time. While I picked the book up in March I only finished it today, having little time to sit down and hear what Holden have to say. Thank God for the holidays. We follow the adventure and misadventures of Holden when he was kicked out of his school owing to his poor grades, and how he spent several days in New York before going back home because he doesn't want his parents to find out. The language will scare, terrify and horror the soccer mums. It is for the more mature people out there. If you are not into the mind of people and the realities of life, this book isn't for you.

Tiga the Three-Legged Cat

Meet Tiga, the three-legged cat. "How come?" you ask.

We found him in the neighbour's garden shed. One of his legs seems to be fractured and by the time we found him gangrene has already set in. We took him to the vet and he amputated the rear right leg. For a time after the operation our little kitten, Kris, chewed at the amputated spot much to the discomfort of Tiga. The joke is that Kris is hungry and is looking for a drumstick to eat.

Rub him in the right spot and he will raise his amputated limb to scratch the itch. Seems like cats have phantom limbs too.

Reminder to Self

Visit sc3000.com some sunny day. Or http://www.sc3000.com/knowledge/.

The Colonel is Sick

It has been four weeks of coughing now. The first week my phlegm was sticky and clear, the second and third it's yellow, the fourth it's green. As for the first week, the cough was from the chest; later it came from the throat.

But this week is the worst. My head throbs with pain without the headache. My head feels 'full' when bending over, my sinus actually creak much to my horror. I suspect sinusitis and bronchitis, but that I will leave to the GPs to diagnose.

Appointment with the doctor tomorrow.

You Want to Talk to Who?!

What's your response on receiving a call from an unknown number?

3310 rings. I grabbed it, thinking of someone. Not.

"Hallo."

"Hallo. Siam?" an Indonesian voice greeted me, much to my amusement.

"Siam?"

"Ya, Siam." Yes, Siam.

"Di sini tidak ada orang namanya Siam." There's no one here with that name.

"Siam adik saya." Siam is my brother.

"Sudah saya bilang, di sini tiada orang namanya Siam." I've told you, there's no one here with the name Siam.

"Oh, begitu... trima kasih ya." I see... thanks.

"Sama-sama." You're welcome.

0301...what number is that?!

After Action Report - 22 August 2005

The invasion has begun. But it's like Omaha beach, you see. Landed but bogged down, unable to advance inland.

Yes, this has something to do with Miss G. Good day.

NSDS3 on Race-Based Parties

Reading the Berita Minggu today, I come across an interview with Dr Khoo Kay Kim. In my opinion he have a very open mind, and I wish Malaysia have more people like him. Dr. Khoo raised many important points, among them race-based parties, how dangerous it is and how we, the young Malaysians, can make a change.

One sentence that caught my attention is this: "Kita perlu menggalakkan golongan muda melihat itu secara liberal. Tapi untuk melakukan susah. Kalau ahli politik tahu, dia akan menghalang kerana masa depan politiknya bergantung kepada kewujudan perpecahan itu." which roughly translate into "We need to encourage the young to see it (racial issues) in a liberal manner. But to do it is hard. If the politician knows, he will block it since his political career depends on the existance of the divisions.

I have yet to see one party in Malaysia that can really claim itself as a multi-ethnic party. In the years of old, there are a number of political parties that can claim just that. But now? To make matters worse, there are even two or three parties that claim itself as championing its race.

I can not vote until November 6th, 2007 when I will be 21 years old. By then, I would have made up my mind on whom to choose. But if the party that I believe to be good for the people raise non-sensical issues, like how the floodgates create flood (!), then I have no other choice but to go with the one that have more brain.

Any attempt to talk with my friends about politics will get me into trouble. They are the stereotype of race-based parties, only thinking about their own instead of the greater issue and the world outside. To think that they are the future gave me the chills.

Blog Under Renovation

As you might had noticed, this blog is going through a major renovation. Notably the header and the blogroll, which had partly been converted into drop down menus for easier and shorter page (thanks to Belacan for the idea)

The background will be changed to white, the text will be larger. Of course, a number of personalisation are in my mind and you will see them later.

Bumiputra Being Discriminated by Bumiputera

What the hell? lilpixie wanted to buy a home, but was denied the Bumiputera discount because, according to the fuckers, she ain't Bumiputera. Fuckers asked if she is 'a Bumi convert'. She spoke with her lawyer. There will be some ass kicking over at the fuckers' office.

Remember what I said about second class Bumis? Sometimes the treatment is worse than what a non-Bumi get.

Restricted

All documents, posts and reports regarding Miss G. is from now classified. This does not apply to posts older than 0000 August 20 2005.

Two Things on My Mind

HUSH! You may tell this story to your friend, but do not direct them to this blog! Do not wreck our future!

The first is a birthday suprise I have in store for Miss G., the second is regarding the sexual harrasment of a friend.

Again I enlisted the help of the Matchmaker. She and her friend came to my class to meet someone else. Of course after not talking to her for some time, I am naturally curious on anything new about Miss G. All's well, it seems. I will pass something to her and she will in turn pass it to Miss G., without revealing who I am.

My eye caught someone walking at the 2nd floor balcony. Miss Matchmaker said,"Do you see him?" I replied affirmative. She become flustered.

"Do you want to help me?" she asked.

My reply is to be expected. "Of course. After all you've done."

"Well, tell him this. If he want to get steady with me he should [classified]..." To this I agreed and I will tell the guy some day later. We bade goodbye to each other and hope for the best for the both of us.

***

A friend was sexually harassed. Obscene phone calls are made to her cell, forcing her to change her number. And one day, he groped her butt. Nothing could be done. Her classmater doesn't believe her. I know she would not tell a lie, as I know the real personality of the harasser.

***

By the way, I'm looking for Kanashimi ga Tomaranai by ANRI. Have you got it?

References to Miss G., from earliest to latest:
Bewitched - I
Bewitched - II
The Matchmaker
Love Comrades
A Lucky Star/I Got Her Number
Clearing the Cloud
Being Mr. Natural
The Fourth Meeting

VJ Day

Tomorrow is August 15th, 2005. The 60th anniveresary of VJ Day. To me, it is the starting point towards our Independence. It is also one of the ugly sides of our history, as the Bintang Tiga virtually reign unopposed for two weeks, increasing tensions between Chinese and Malay communities. You might already known what had happened and I will not discuss them here since my knowledge on what happened in those two weeks are vague and patchy.

Three years and eight months of Japanese occupation brought much hardship and suffering to the people of this country. We emerged from it filled with nationalism. We do not wish to be ruled by a foreign power anymore, to be free to choose our own destiny.

It is agreed then, that Chinese and Indians who fulfilled the conditions required are able to obtain citizenship. Understandable, and I do not see any reason as to not to.

Dr. Lim Keng Yaik's call is heard. Unfortunately, people already jumped on his statement and reminded him not to question the 'social contract', again the type that does not want to hear to reason. They seem to say, that after all these years those who have sacrificed so much for this country are still, in a sense, second class citizens. Some might not agree with the term, but the meaning is still the same. Prejudice in the country you are born in?

Malaysian Malaysia!

Post-scriptum: I am a Malay. To be more exact, a Sarawakian Bumiputera.

I Can't See Clearly Now, the Haze Has Come

Sing it to the tune of I Can See Clearly Now!

I can't see clearly now, the haze has come
I can't see buildings and the mountains
Gone are the blue, blue sky that raise me up
It's gonna be a grey (grey), grey (grey)
Sun deprived day

They are burning the land to plant paddy
Never thought 'bout us over here
Where are the fresh air I'm dying for
It's gonna be a grey (grey), grey (grey)
Sun deprived day

Look all around, there's nothing but grey smog
Look straight ahead, nothing but grey smog

I can't see clearly now, the haze has come
I can't see buildings and the mountains
Gone are the blue, blue sky that raise me up
It's gonna be a grey (grey), grey (grey)
Sun deprived day

Fireworks in Kuching, but Not For Mawi

I will now pretend that everybody cares. Mawi won, Felix second place. And I don't care.

But the fireworks in Kuching are not for Akademi Fantasia if you are wondering. No, it is for the Kuching City Parade! In the month of August, 1988 (31st to be exact) Kuching was declared a city (bandaraya). Special meaning for everyone else as well since it's also the Independence Day (and the anniversary of Princess Diana's death, might I add.)

Speaking of anniversary, today is the 60th anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. We all agree that it is horrific, that it must never again happen anywhere in the world, not in our time or our children's. Debate over the decision to bomb is still raging to this day, and I announce that I am in the opposition camp.

Firstly, had Germany dropped a nuclear bomb on any Allied city it would be called a war crime, and whoever is responsible for that decision will surely be made to stand trial in Nuremberg. Secondly, while Hiroshima is militarily significant, the city targeted consists mainly of civilians. This is no difference from the Allied bombing of German cities in the days nearing the war. Their morale has already been broken and there is no justification for such acts to be done.

Thirdly, Japan is already on her knees. There is no hope anymore for Japan. But to be fair, I present to you the points that support the bombing. It is essential, essential for us to try to understand both sides' view on an issue as it signifies an open mind and reassuring that we are not bigots.

Hiroshima, never again!

Meeting My First Crush Again

A hot evening in Pasar Minggu. I was in my usual uniform: black jeans; black shirt; black cap; black, polished army boots. I just lost my parents in the sea of human beings. Thank God for the phone. Pulled it out, I thumbed Dad's number and placed it near my ear.

That's when I saw a familiar face. She saw me too.

A smile.

"Hi," she said.

"Hi," I said, looking like a food with the phone still clapped to my ear.

We haven't seen each other for three years. I confessed to her before. We have not spoken for five.

A heavy rain followed a few minutes later.

She is the 'Jd' in my name.

There's A New Cat In Town

There was a knock on the door. Mom answered it. Turned out to be the neighbour's mother, a widow. When her husband died, she left his cat with us.

She said that she had captured a cat that was chased by the kids in her village. I find it strange that a cat of such breed is ownerless. The reason that she came to our house is that her daughter is out when she came for a visit.

But the cat, of course. The canine is a she, and at blog time is still nameless. A domestic longhair in a village? Unimagineable.


The lock-up.


Actually, she's scared.


Cat and curiosity are inseperable.

Must find a name. Dad's suggesting a Western name this time.

Saturday Morning Blues

Wake up
early mornin'
Bells ringin'
Birds chirpin'
Cats purrin'

Don't have time for food
Gotta take care of my left foot
Haveta fix the cats' barn
They shit all over, man

Job's done
Begin, the fun!

August 6

Is 60th anniversary of Hiroshima; also Peter Tan's birthday.