Monday, 19th November 2007 – Sunday, 25th November 2007: 3R Community Project and Bushcraft RefresherIt has been another SNAFU week in the life of this here Officer.
My cell phone died out on me after 2 years and I had to buy myself a cheap new one on Monday. My new LG phone is quite pukka in that it may not have MP3 and MP4 or a camera, but it does have FM Radio and a Sudoku game, and is ridiculously cheap. I figured that if a $1,200 phone and a $200 phone could each last me a mere 2 years, I might as well go for the cheaper one and avoid having to go into debt over a phone. Trouble is, though, in the process of upgrading my SIM card to a postpaid plan, I lost many of the numbers contained in the previous SIM that I had not managed to update manually into my Phone Book. Ah well. These things happen. C’est la vie.
It’s been a formidable week for both Jake and I. My phone died, my car needed repairs, and I was down with food poisoning and allergic reaction to the seafood I had the previous Thursday, while Jake’s PC had a power supply problem that was ruinously expensive to repair, his TV blew up (thankfully, none of the cats were hurt) and his car was broken into of a Wednesday night.
I was counting on having a good weekend at the Kota Damansara Community Forest on Saturday morning, followed by my usual 5 to 6 hours of volunteering at the SPCA in the afternoon, but things rarely turn out the way we want them to.
Martin V. had dropped by The Officer’s Mess of a Thursday night and messed with my mind and hurt me rather deeply the day immediately after, so I was understandably not in the best frame of mind and was struggling to complete some charts and things related to the 3R Community Project and answer some questions posed by the Bar Council Secretariat regarding the Energy Audit project on Friday night, long past midnight. I finally threw in the towel and went to bed at 0400 hours, as I had to be up by 0700 to get ready for the 3R Project.
Although I had overslept by half an hour, I was still the first to arrive. My volunteers arrived a little while later and were most helpful in getting the place ready and setting up the Recycled Crafts Corner. Busy old snapping turtles like me have no time to attempt elegant little crafts and fancy origami from old greeting cards that I am supposed to instruct the young ’uns in, and so I am ever grateful to the lady volunteers who are always so good in helping out with children and at small-muscle-big-frontal-cortex activities.
The 150 participants from the local community arrived in 2 buses and had already divided themselves into 4 teams. Gary and his Nature Guides led the first 2 teams on a Nature Walk, while I conducted an interactive session on the 3Rs to the other 2 teams. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the children (ages 5 – 13) were quite knowledgeable when it came to the environment and had many ideas to share. I handed out copies of our Green Living Handbook to those who answered questions correctly and made thoughtful comments. I showed them pictures of landfills, incinerators and the food chain. I talked about Environmental Cost and the growing wealth divide. We discussed ways in which we could reduce consumption, packaging and waste; and how we can reuse everything from plastic PET drink bottles to film roll canisters.
A young lady gives a correct answer during the 3R Game.
Question and Answer Session with the young’uns.
Siew Hua showing the young’uns how to make origami boxes from old greeting cards.
By late afternoon it was quite clear I may not be able to get to the SPCA on time, so I called up Dr. Pushpa and told her so.
The event finally came to an end at 1530 hours when all 4 groups had done both the trek and the 3R session. After their buses pulled away, we tidied up the area and loaded the trash into my car. Then the bunch of us, almost all Bushcraft Intro Course participants, gathered at the picnic site to perfect our firemaking skills.
Making fire using a bow drill must be the most demanding physical activity known to mankind. It’s horrible and leaves you with brown dust, some smoke, no embers and a battered ego. I swear I’ll never venture into the wild without lighters, waterproof matches, flint or a firesteel ever again. The humidity in this country is so darn high, you’d have ground your bow and spindle into powdered soup before you could get a single spark. I broke a string and damaged a spindle and still got nowhere.
I was all done in when I packed up and left by 1630. In fact, I was so overcome by fatigue that I dozed off while driving and went into another lane. Shaken, I decided to go home, shower, take a breather and then make up my mind whether I need to be at the SPCA this weekend.
Priscilla (of SPCA) solved the problem for me and called up to inform me of the massive traffic jam and roadblocks on account of the HINDRAF street protests. Which brings us to a discussion on the lack of participatory democracy and freedom of assembly in Malaysia.
The ruling coalition party of this country has always had two-thirds majority support (Note: Only if you believe the election results to be an accurate representation of support for any party, and that the elections are not rigged), yet it is unable to accept any forms of dissent, even if peaceful. HINDRAF had filed an entirely legitimate application for an orderly march to the British High Commission, but the government of the day perceives the group to be threat and proceeded to crack down on the ‘protestors’.
It makes me really worried for the progress of this country when the government authorises the use of force against interest groups who aim not to topple the government but only to air their grievances. The government must remember that we voted them into power, and it is the taxpayers that are keeping them fed and clothed. The duty of our elected representatives is to serve us, not to plunder from us and marginalise some of us. We can’t call ourselves a developed nation unless we have the maturity to accept feedback and act on it to improve ourselves.
Went back to the parental home at 2015 hours and had dinner with the parents and Boy Scout, who commuted by train. Not much chance of drowning my sorrows tonight, as I was fast asleep shortly after midnight.
Sunday was nothing special. Had Indian food for lunch, gave Amber a bath, cleaned the parental home, sorted out the things I was to deliver to the Women’s Shelter, took Amber on a car ride, drafted some letters and reports and got ready for the coming workweek.
Pretty frustrated with myself for not volunteering at the animal shelter this week, though. If Red Bull can’t keep me awake long enough not to drive into another car at the traffic lights, I don’t know what could. Ah well. Time to switch the old brain off and hit the bottle. There’s much to be said for not staying sober.
Note:
If you have a few minutes to spare and love nature photography, please check out ‘Moggie’s World’, linked at left. ‘Moggie’ is the nick of my MNS friend, Andy Paul.
* Everybody, say “Hi, Andy Paul!” ‘cause he’s reading this. *
If only more people were able to view his breathtaking nature photos, perhaps there would be greater sensitivity and appreciation for our fragile Planet. It’s easy to condone the destruction of that which you do not see, do not understand and do not love. Perhaps photos such as Andy’s will be able to make a difference to people’s attitude in general towards our natural environment.
Monday, 26th November 2007 – Sunday, 2nd December 2007: Early Christmas Party and other distractions
More than one person has expressed concern that I am showing signs of alcohol abuse. I thank you for your concern but must reiterate that I am not an alcoholic. If I were, I’d be drinking a hang of a lot more; and I’d be drinking through the week, not merely once a week or so. I don’t depend on alcohol, but it certainly helps me relax and feel alright. And yes, thank you, I’ve gone through the AA website contents and decided it was for lesser mortals and do not apply to me.
Soldier Man (he’s 53, I really have to stop calling him Soldier Boy on this forum) had guests from abroad this week, as the Rainforest Challenge begins on Nov 29 and he has to help the participants and competitors from other countries settle in, get acclimatised and have their vehicles tuned and tweaked at Raymond’s.
Soldier Man asked M.H., W.Y. and me to be his guests at a send-off party for the Rainforest Challenge participants at a bistro downtown, and of course we were thrilled to be invited. I was more interested in the offroad rigs and their modifications than in the food and other distractions. I saw Soldier Man off before midnight and took his housekeys so I could housesit for him and water his plants while he is away.
Pub night and Feroza Club Meet-Up of a Friday evening, hurray. The Battletank and I went to meet the rest of the gang at Syed Bistro at 2030 h. Had the usual natter on the following categories:
i. Best fourwheeling and camping sites;
ii. Best 4x4 mechanics in town;
iii. Rig modification and repairs;
iv. Off-the-shelf bodylift kits;
v. Spring-over-axles; and
vi. Best mud tyres.
Said cheerio to the blokes by 2230 as I wanted to go to the pub to catch Mizan in action. Drove over to the pub, ordered a cheese omelette to go with my drink and had a bit of a jaw with Corinne and friends. I don’t know any of those new ‘Top of the Pops’ songs that Mizan sang but the disco and classic rock numbers were great. Stopped after 2 vodkas to make sure I could still drive home without failing a breathalyser test. It worked a treat and I was still sober enough upon my return that I could clean house. Drinking and driving – nothing to it, really, as long as you stick to a stern limit, drink lots of water in between and finish off with coffee.
Saturday was quite a good day. Woke up clearheaded and by midmorning I was on my way to the SPCA.
I had an article published in the papers today. This was requested by the SPCA. Clink on this link to read Part One of the article:
Animals Speak In Different Ways.
It’s just an animal rights and welfare issues primer for the weekend paper-flipper. I don’t expect anything wonderful to come out of it. This is the photo they used:
Good shot of Daisy, horrible shot of me. The lighting was awful and made me look like a sloe-eyed corpse. On the plus side, the newspaper editors loved my write-up and have requested more articles from me. It’s pro bono, as usual, but it will bring much needed attention to the issue of animal welfare and abandoned pets.
Arrived at the SPCA good and early and proceeded to bathe all the kennel dogs and treat them for ticks. One of the Neighbourhood Fascists had complained about the noise pollution from the animal shelter (probably the same type of person who would de-bark their dogs and de-claw their cats) and we were thus prohibited from walking dogs until further notice. Fortunately, we still have the Dog Playground at the back of the shelter and I could let them run loose in there and play with each other for a few hours.
Shu Ning helped with the puppies, new arrivals and the adoptees while I did my usual 6 hours of bathing and de-ticking dogs and cleaning the shelter. I did a pretty good job of it considering the rush (had to leave for the office party by 1745 hours) and by the time I was ready to leave, the shelter had been soaped, scrubbed, disinfected and washed, all by Yours Truly.
Made like a Dakar Rally contestant and drove like a champ to reach home in record time. Showered, scrubbed and disinfected myself and then barrelled to Holiday Villa for my office Christmas party (very early for a Christmas party, I know, but sure beats trying to make reservations later in the month when the festive madness is in full swing and half the office is abroad spending their bonuses and using up their leave days).
Was early so I helped the organising committee get the place ready and arrange the gifts for distribution. Soon everyone arrived and got the party started, except it wasn’t a real party because there weren’t any real drinks, just mango juice and orange juice and the like. I asked the waiters where the real drinks were but they said they couldn’t serve alcohol on account of over 80% of the guests being Muslim. Bah humbug.
We had the highly anticipated gift exchange and the gift raffle, the staple of every office holiday party. For the gift exchange, I received a Lock n’ Lock picnic / camping airtight food container set which came in a neon orange carry case from Marina, hurray. Now I won’t have to lose my camping tiffin in the darkness anymore. I gave a gift of Adidas cologne and shower gel to Zul, whose name I had picked out of a hat. As for the raffle, I won Tupperware drink containers and food servers, which is great because anything that is useful and practical is highly appreciated. I had contributed a prize for the raffle of a $50 shopping voucher. By a strange coincidence, Marina won it, and I am glad because she is the most generous and endearing person in the office.
Had to sit and grin like a cretin for another two hours as my colleagues fought for their turn at the karaoke set and sang one song after another with unabashed gusto. Was glad to make my exit by midnight, go home and down a mouthful of Chivas Regal with bits of ice I chipped off the freezer with a screwdriver. Feeling thus revived, I cleaned the cats’ litter trays, tidied the Officer’s Mess and washed my stinky SPCA clothes and sorry-looking trainers before going to bed.
Went back to the parental home on Sunday to bathe Amber and take my parents out to lunch. The parents will be going to Terengganu for 5 days, and so Amber will be coming to stay with me for the week, yippee. Cleaned the parental home, dismantled and washed Amber’s cage, packed Amber’s things and bagged up the things for recycling. Was back on the highway by 1830 hours.
Reached the Officer’s Mess, got Amber nicely settled in, fed Amber and the cats, tidied the house, wiped the furniture, and took out the trash. Went to the night market in Taman Megah to buy vegetables and a jar of dog biscuits. Spent the rest of the night doing energy audit calculations and filing some articles and newspaper clippings.
It’s been an eventful weekend.
Monday, 3rd December 2007 – Thursday, 6th December 2007: All of 29
I’ll be all of 29 this Sunday. Birthdays are now an occasion for me to take stock and give thanks for all the good things in my life for the past year.
And I must admit it’s been quite a good year. I’ve fulfilled most of my New Year Resolutions. I bought a car. I drove out of state. I went offroading. I went to Bali. I volunteered my time and energy for many good causes. I won a pro bono Industrial Relations case. I was adopted by yet another kitten, i.e Daisy. I was kissed by an elephant. I received my cert for the Bushcraft Introductory Forest Safety and Survival Course. I made contact with my long lost Literature teacher, Jolyon. I read hundreds of books. I went camping a fair bit. I took up martial arts and Qigong but quit both. I attended a fair lot of parties, some wild, some not so. I met lots of amazing people. I made many new friends. I was published a lot in the papers. Heck, I was even interviewed by both leading English dailies. Okay, so it’s not just ‘quite a good year’. It was a great year, and by some people’s standards, a phenomenal year, and I have much to be thankful for, a’right?
Our Feroza Gang might meet up tomorrow night at the usual gathering place, Syed Bistro. If all goes well and there are enough of us and the weather holds up, we might just go for another Midnight 4x4 Challenge, either at Sungai Sendat or at Jalan Kebun, Klang. Most of us drive stock vehicles with no modifications, so we are entirely reliant on the one man, Azmir, who does have a winch and recovery tools in case we meet with any difficulties.
Sure it’s risky, but risk is what makes life worth living. If it weren’t for all the adventures I have and dangers I encounter, I’d probably be a far less happy, confident (cocky, more like) and successful person.
I’ll be very careful not to damage the Battletank or hurt myself, but just in case you don’t hear from me for 2 – 3 weeks, you should realise that maybe something had happened to me, and maybe you should then Google my full name to see if there are any news reports on any recent offroading misadventures. But that’s just me being morbid. I don’t want anything to happen to the Battletank or me, and I will take all precautions to come back in one piece. Heck, who’d look after Amber, Chloe, Pixie, Daisy, Jake, Soldier Man, my parents, the SPCA animal shelter, Green Living and everything else if I were gone? I’ll be back, like a bad smell, and that’s for certain.
Plans for my birthday:
1. Take Monday off (Dec 10).
2. Participate in Midnight 4x4 Challenge with the Feroza Gang (Dec 7).
3. Failing the Midnight 4x4 Challenge, have drinks at the pub with friends (Dec 7).
4. Volunteer at the SPCA (Dec 10).
5. Have dinner with the family (Dec 9).
6. Donate blood (Dec 10).
7. Help Bernie with her annual project to raise funds and buy school uniforms and supplies for needy and disadvantaged children living in council flats and City Hall longhouses (Dec 8).
8. Have more drinks at the pub with friends (Dec 10).
Would be nice to be able to work ice-skating and gelato into the schedule, but looks like my planner is too full despite taking the day off from work on Monday. Oh well. I suppose there’ll be enough time for skating and puddings when I’m a retiree.
Gung-Ho, Gung-Ho! Good work, Commando!
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