dear Malaysia and her people,

i wish you selamat hari merdeka come 31st august. i wasn't there when the the father of independence hailed "merdeka! merdeka! merdeka!" (no, it's not that i couldn't make it to the gathering; rather, i wasn't born yet).

i could imagine, nevertheless, how the voice was carried by the wind, vibrating the eardrums of the people and energising the spirit of independence.

some countries spilt blood to gain their independence; ours was gained by ink. but i'm ready to spill my blood to protect the independence of my country. that is my pledge to my God-blessed land.

the preparation to celebrate merdeka day is at its peak. the foot of the tallest twin towers in the world is already abuzz with people. it's only mid afternoon but the place is beginning to pack. barricades to control the flow of pedestrians have been put up. those of us working in the towers have received orders to roll down all the blinds before we leave the office this evening "to ensure maximum effects of the towers' external lighting." i have to say that these towers look magnificent when they are showered with the lights.

anyway, with all the crowd down there i feel a bit restless. this place will come to a standstill by 6 pm. i'm checking out at 5 sharp.

again, selamat menyambut hari merdeka! and God bless Malaysia and her people.

This is Tom, my pest controller in residence. He was a sickly stray three weeks ago. He's been well taken care of since and he's doing perfectly well now. His duty is to keep rodents out. I leave the door ajar 24x7 for him to come and go.

There's another one called Jerry, less than three weeks old. He was abandoned by his mother in front of my home on Sunday. I picked him up and followed the mother but she kept a distance. Once in a while she would peek across the street. But she would go away everytime I tried to leave Jerry with her. So I assumed that she wanted to leave Jerry under my care. He's having a cold. His nose is runny. Sometimes he sneezes. I need to take him to the vet but I'm too busy day and night. This Saturday maybe.

It's been only four days but Jerry has made me-cassa-a-his-cassa. He's black with a small white patch on his throat. His favourite spot to sleep at night is on the coffee table beside the sofa I sleep on. He tried to climb on it just now by clinging on the tablecloth but the tablecloth slipped and went he down on the floor with the tablecloth. So now he's fast asleep, curled like a black furry ball on the crumpled tablecloth.

Tom is a bully. He pounces on Jerry all the time. Luckily for Jerry, Tom is out and about now doing whatever he does at night. I hear some cling-clang in the kitchen. That must be Tom on the prowl for roaches. He's on his rounds now.

It puzzles me. I'm suddenly 'swarmed' with cats. They're godsent, I guess, somehow, maybe. I take it as a good sign anyway :-)

last night i went out to see e78 for a drink. we were at our usual drinking hole that we call "big glass" where drinks are served in gigantic proportion.

that's our favourite place to drink and smoke and chat about life, love and business.

she was still looking a bit upset about what happened to my car although i did not attribute any blame on her. she fell responsible for it eventhough it wasn't her fault. she had been feeling guilty; to me that's a sign of a very responsible person. by last night i was very much mellowed down already. there's no point worrying about what happened. worrying won't change things. i'm just focusing on what to do next. and it's not much of a hassle anyway. minor.

what to do next is more interesting ... i'm shopping for a car for her. a used bmw, a vitara, or an accord. that should keep me occupied.

i really want to see her to be up to speed in this business. she's doing this full time. but business is moving but a bit slower from my expectation. we don't have much merchandise to go around. that's because our capital is tied down. we're waiting for the first money to come in end of the month. that will cover our capital and a bit of profit. the next instalment will be purely profit. i hope the customers don't default on us :-|

good news is that i'm gonna get my bonus tomorrow. i can use that to inject more capital into this. that should keep e78 busy buying and selling.

hey ... suddenly i'm browsing the 'net looking for another car. right, one more car. it's fulfilling an obligation i guess.

Recently I was driving on the highway. My mind was wandering from one point in life to the other until I was drawn back by a song playing on the radio ... "Kau kunci cintaku di dalam hati mu ..."

It was sung by Ramlah Ram, a very popular artist in the 80’s. That song won some awards if my memory serves me right. She sang the song with a ligthed heart (literally) on her sequin-embroidered, body hugging white gown. My older brother adored (still adores?) her like most men (me not included) adore Siti Nurhaliza now. I was preoccupied with Bruce Springsteen and Madonna and Cyndi Lauper then so I did not have the chance to admire her. Neither had I paid any attention to the song before.

But that day I did give my full attention to the lyrics. That day I heard the singer pronounce each and every word as I immersed myself in the meaning of the lyrics. The lyrics were wonderful, the composition immaculate.

I noticed something in the pronunciation. Those were the days when "cinta" was still pronounced as "cinta", not "shinta"; "hati" was still "hati" and not "hatchi" (pronounce it and make sure your spits jump your teeth).

So, if we were to sing Ramlah's song now, it would sound like "Kau kunshee shintaku di dalam hatchi mu ..." Ugly isn't it?

I used to like the petite Sheila Majid when she sang "Sinaran" but I dropped her from my list when she started to pronounce it as "Shinaran."

and yes!

there's a plan for tonight. a good buddy is posted overseas and will be leaving soon. so, a farewell party is in order.

toga! toga! toga!

wooo hooo

hello 0123226486,

you called me last sunday while i was abroad. i'm sorry i didn't answer your call because i don't know who you are and because answering your call would be expensive to me.

anyway, thanks for calling.

this blog of mine seems tired and needs a bit of sprucing up ... later, when i have the time.

yup, crossed the border up north last friday, came back in the small hours of monday. had to facilitate a group of corporate big guns tuesday and wednesday. overwhelmed with work today. no after office activities at all *sigh*

physically tired; mentally, still sane.

checking out now. need to run some boring chores before 8 and meet a friend later in the evening.