rohene's Site

It's not everyday that I stare blankly at the computer and scream in my head while my body and face remains perfectly still. Usually irritation or anger forms a convenient outlet, but tonight, for some reason, I cannot express anything. As Coldplay's Viva La Vida keeps on replaying on my playlist, the sinking feeling just gets stronger and stronger. The news isn't something to brood over. In fact, it's every reason to go 'yay!' and yet I can't even afford a smile. If the street lamps on the roads were actually working instead of being mere eyesores, I would have cycled my way to a beer. Damnnn

What exactly am I talking about? Absolute gibberish. There's more of it here. Knock yourself out. Me, I'm gonna chase Focus. Think I last saw It 12 hours ago..

p.s All photos were taken from the NT News website. Just to make sure I don't get sued for infringement of copyrights.

I want to be able to drink outta the tap without having to worry about contracting diseases.
I want to be able to travel the world even if I'm on a teacher's salary.
I want to see zebra crossings being utilized for its proposed functions and not just it being tarmac graffiti.
I want to be able to sit in the kopitiam and discuss everything under the sun regardless of how blardy 'sensitive' it might be.
I want to see environmental issues being highlighted in mass media.
I want to see youths being concerned other than the latest gadgets, tv show, fashion or Brangelina's daughter.
I want to see meritocracy being practiced to the highest degree.
I want to see more 'right-at-your-face' complaints to the very people who are running down the country.
I want to see double standards being reduced to one for women.
I want to see people proud of their heritage and culture.
More importantly, I want to see the people of Malaysia regarding themselves as Malaysians first.

Happy Real Birthday Malaysia. I know this is 5 days too early. But it lists all the things I would like to see you grow in.

Read this from the Star

Now read this from the NST

Note the difference? This may seem like i've got nothing better to do but to compare the two mainstream newspapers who more often than not sing the same tune.. one tune la actually.. the government's.

Why do I even bother? Just outta curiosity. Always wanted to know how close to the truth they report stuff n how selective they are with their materials. I can do this comparison cuz i was at the Press Club. I witnessed the whole charade. I can tell you that the Star has a more balanced article. At least they din zap out the part that said the press had collected signatures 10 yrs ago to ask for reforms. NST - no mention watsoever.

What both newspapers din report was..
1. That the press demanded a parliamentary select committee be set up (not too sure when they demanded this, pt is they did) to look into the 5 repressive laws, Printing Presses Act, the Multimedia act, the Sedition act, the Official Secrets act n the ISA. To this demand, Zaid actually asked the press to come up with suggestions as to the jurisdiction and terms of reference of the parliamentary select committee... just after kee thuan chye (sure hope i got his name right here) said the onus should not be thrown at the press to come up with a plan. it should be the responsibilty of the government n legislature. think bt it, the press aren't the ones sitting in parliament...

2. Somebody (sorry la, dono d name) actually pointed out that alternative media, ie MalaysiaKini and the blogs hv been thriving (n expanding) but there's no anarchy so far. It is an indication that media need not be 'regulated'. So what is the justification of saying that the repeal of the laws mentioned above would cause anarchy?

3. That the organizers actually wanted to have a walk but due to 'regulations', journalists n the rest were made to walk 800m only, in pairs. Reminds one of old school days when the prefects or headmaster would yell at ya to walk in pairs. Sheesh. The organizers did decide to walk again after the press conference. Again it's a short walk from the club to Merdeka Square (bt 7mins i think). Sang Negaraku to show that the deal with press freedom isn't abt 'rebelling'. It was done because we want a better Malaysia.

4. That the police came n told us this with a smile, "u have till 12 noon to disperse". It was a small crowd. Not enough to make a hundred even. The FRUs came too. They formed a line. And people just started taking pictures, complete wt peace signs 'wt' the FRU. The FRUs were definitely not happy that they became a 'tourist attraction'  =D

See how much of an event actually gets reported? Makes me wonder the real context of other events too. Hmmm....

A friend sent me this link from the Star today (May 22, 2008). After reading it this is what i have to say: Grow Up.

The article highlights the ignorance of the group as to how or why rapes occur. They're downright implying that firstly, rapists rape cuz they're crazy psychopaths who yearn so much for sex. For the record, its got more to do with power and force than sexual arousal. When more than 50% (I'm seriously understating it here) of rape victims knew their perpertrators, it's evident that strangers that pass you by are less likely to rape you than people you actually know or are acquainted with. It also pushes aside the thought that strangers that look at you will rape you simply because you'e wearing a 'revealing' outfit.

Secondly, the article implies that women (know that men are raped too, but lets look at the context at which the article was written) are asking for rape if she wears 'revealing' outfit. No one (men & women alike) wants to be raped. It brings forth much trauma, stress, humiliation. And please don't tell me that women who wear 'the white blouse' with every intention of 'luring' men deserved to be raped. Nobody deserves rape. Nobody asks for it.

Thirdly, it also implies that rape is the women's fault. When a large majority of rapists don't consider what they did as rape, it indicates that men need to be educated on these things as well. That when a woman says no to sex, it means no. And she's definitely not playing hard to get. Stop putting all the blame on women. Rape is forcing someone into sexual activity against their own will. It's classified as assault. Women need to learn how to protect themselves. True. Men need the awarenees. Also true. Takes all to reduce the problem don't you think?

Fouthly, it says that 'decent' clothes can prevent & protect women from any untoward incidents and that not 'covering up' leads to rape, sexual harrassment, premarital sex & to an extent, prostitution. *Vomits at the absurdity*...Care explaining to me why rapes still happen in say, rural Pakistan (pretty sure they're decent-clothed there) or why Kelantan has the highest number of rape cases? Don't even dare say that rapes or sexual assaults don't happen in Saudi Arabia.

The article was written by the National Islamic Students Association of Malaysia. Their condemnation was towards the Malaysian school uniform which they considered 'revealing' and responsible for the rising social ills. Good job people. For finally getting yourselves publicity. Never knew the association existed til now. Wonder how many other associations would say something just as dumb (if not dumber) for a publicity stunt?

This reminds me of why i hated school and why i hated being prefect. As much as i like the prefect's uniform (yea i actually think the bright crimson skirt and the white coat is cool.. way better than the std school pinafore)...i hated the job that came with the skirt. Check out item 18, 25, 26, 27, 30, 31, 32.. in fact just check out all...

• Membawa masuk org luar tanpa kebenaran: Consequences - expel
• Melacur: Consequences - expel
• Menjadi lesbian: Consequences - expel
• Membabitkan diri dlm perhimpunan 'haram': Consequences - expel
• 'Lawan' cikgu: Consequences - expel
• Merosakkan harta benda sekolah/guru/kantin/murid: Consequences - expel
• Mencerobohi "bilik khas' sekolah: Consequences - expel
• Kesalahan yg tdk disenaraikan ttp difikirkan termasuk dlm kategori ini - Consequences - BUANG sekolah

Bodoh tahap maksimum. It's wrong being a lesbian and they complain abt bringing guys into the school compound.. It's wrong being in an 'illegal' assembly.. It's wrong to rosakkan harta benda sekolah but does it warrant someone being expelled for that? And to what extent of rosakkan do they mean? Draw on the table with liquid paper? oh no wait.. i forgot liquid paper is banned in the school.

Mencerobohi bilik khas? What special room do we have? The 'Bilik Perdana'?? Or the principal's room? The last item is a killer. Its basically to cover their ass and say that if they find some future action unfit they can expel you.

Which dumbfuck approved this? At times like these, i really wish the senior prefects would stand united against these people and set the record straight and not just complaint behind their backs. Stand up and say something la. My batch was deemed problematic for doing precisely dat.. for not towing their lines. What worries me isn't the dumbfucks in school but rather all those who knows this isn't right and yet say nth bt it. I'd hate to think what kinda Georgians are gonna turn out from this shitty system.

The bus dropped Jin and I off at a road intersection at the Batu Kawa new township. Danny, aril and erny had no idea where we were exactly. Neither did we. So while they were driving around looking for us, Jin and I walked about, in search of a toilet. We saw two aunties chatting at their house gates and asked them if we could use their toilet. It was already past 8pm and we were walking around in the dark with our backpacks, jackets, a basketball and an umbrella. Needless to say, they didn’t allow us in. We were found after an hour; after the brilliant idea of calling elissa struck me. 

9.30pm – We headed back the same direction Jin and I left a few hours ago from Sematan. We wanted to catch the Gawai festival at Kg Selampit, a Bahai Bidayuh village that Odi’s mum was originally from. Odi said if they did have a festival, they would start at midnight. She would have guided us but since it was Good Friday and she had church and all, we were left looking for the place on our own. Her directions were simple:

“Get on the road to Lundu. Before reaching Lundu, take the turning on the left that says Kg Perian. Kg Selampit’s at the end of that semi-tarred road. The festival, if they had them, would be conducted across the river. The bot penambang services ends at midnight, so get there early if you're going. If there’s a heavy rain, don’t go cuz the road might be flooded. And be wary of people who are tak betul ”

I assumed the road to Lundu that she meant was the Bau-Lundu highway, the same road we took to Sematan in the morning. They only have straight roads in these areas anyways. The road had no street lamps; we were lucky that the full moon was bright enough to light up part of the road. We drove for an hour and a half before reaching a T-junction that signaled the end of the highway. We could then either turn left to Sematan or right to Lundu. Took a right and I started looking out for a turning on the left and a signboard that says Kg Perian. 10 minutes on the road and we drove past the Lundu Police Station. Danny said we’re already in Lundu and that if the turning is before Lundu, we’ve missed it. We u-turned and went to ask directions from the police station. The old guys in blue told us this:

“You missed the turning. Go back on the way to Kuching and you’ll see the signboard on your right. There’s a big bump before the signboard plus there’s a Felda sign and a bridge nearby. You have to drive about 30minutes before reaching Kg Selampit.”

Cool. We still could make it before twelve. It was only eleven plus. We used the toilet at the station, took down the only hp no. on a police poster, thanked the officers for the directions and drove off. I kept a lookout on our right for the turning. I didn’t spot any signboard that said Kg. Perian. Danny was going at 30km/h. We overshot the T-junction onto the Sematan road, U-turned and searched again. Nothing. Then we started to question each other on wat the police really meant. We each had different interpretations of wat they said. Erny said the big bump was a long time ago. Jin thought the 30minutes was the driving we had to do to get to the turning. I thought 30minutes was the duration from the turning to the real kampung. We stopped by wat looked like a semi-restaurant and asked for directions again. Turned out Jin was right. My bad.

Back on that Bau-Lundu highway, we looked again for the signboard that says Kg Perian. None of us took tabs on the time we spent driving. We passed the bridge and there were a dozen kampungs along the highway but still no Kg Perian signboard. Soon enough every bump felt like a big bump. At every turning we saw, we kept asking: Is that the sign? Where’s the sign? There’s no fucking sign! We drove up and down a certain stretch of the road several times..searching for any sign, big ones, small ones, anything that said Kg Perian.. until an idea struck us: Lets call the people who would know where it is! I called up Odi; erny called up the police no. we took down. Odi said the turning was a few minutes before the bridge. The police erny called (turned out to be the Lundu district head police’s number and he wasn’t even at the station when we were there!) said we’ll pass Kg Stunggang first n Kg Senibong second before reaching Kg Selampit.

We found the wretched signboard slightly after midnight. There was no festival. We could see lights coming from the other side of the river and we could hear people talking (and getting drunk). The bot penambangs were there, and we could get across, if only someone was available to steer it. So there we were, 5 Semenanjung people, who 've never seen Gawai before,  staring pathetically at the other side of the river and wondering wat's going on the other side.

Headed back to Kuching with a new plan: watch sunrise at Damai. Stopped by MJC again for a drink. It was then that aril realized that his wallet was missing. After a series of frantic searches about the car, the Siang2 toilet and several theories as to where he might have dropped it, we went to the Batu Kawa police station nearby to lodge a report. Second trip to a police station in a single night. At the sight of the police station, Aril had a new theory. He asked for the number of the Lundu police station and asked if they found a wallet. They did. Turned out the genius left his wallet on the top of the toilet flush tank.  Great. All we gotta do now is go retrieve the wallet  which is another 2 hours drive away. We used the  toilet at the Batu Kawa police station since there were no R&R  stops along the highway.

We went to Siang2, had another drink before driving all the way back to the Lundu police station. The highway was covered with thick fog, prolonging the journey back to Lundu. Jin slept through and through this time around. For the both of us, our day had started since 5.30 am, Friday I didn’t sleep the night before and yet I didn’t have Jin’s luxury; only wavered in and out of sleep. We made the Lundu Police Station our pit stop, to wait out the fog. The girls slept, danny n Aril was smoking and drinking F&N orange and the police were playing Zuma.. this was 4-something or 5-something in the morning. Don't really recall. We reached uni after 8am,Saturday. 

From this trip, I learnt two things.

Police Station - R&R stops. They'll allow u to use their bathrooms, or sleep in your car within their compounds but they won't allow you to use their phone. Never figured out why..

Road Trip - Several trips you make on a single road

Just to give you guys a good idea of the road we were on, check out the link. Nothing will make me go back that stretch of road... at least not this sem.

The candlelight vigil was supposed to let the government know the people are sick of the oppression. To clamp down on our basic right to assemble peacefully is unacceptable. Feli took the ferry from her house, took the bus to Komtar, met up with me before walking to Campbell Street. Similarly I took the bus cuz my brother absolutely refused to send me. He refused not bcuz he didn't believe in it but simply because it was inconvenient. Plain old bro. But this isn't about him here. The thing is, I expected half of the street to be full at the very least. So what if it was raining? We went because we felt we needed to stand up and show our support instead of merely complaining and condemning it. Don't the rest feel like they have to make a statement too?

My guess is that Penangites were either too busy to care or they were plain too scared to attend. Both of which I find unacceptable. First of all, if we keep on having this attitude, we're gonna be further exploited before we know it. These arrests we see on the activists and lawyers are uncalled for. It shows just how much our freedom can be taken from us just because it doesn't sit well with the powers that be and it states two things. That we're clearly not free to do what we want even though it is provided for in the constitution AND that the government is above the constitution. Realizing this would also make anyone realize that the sense of security we have is an illusion and something needs to be done.

Secondly, if Penangites didn't attend it out of fear, I say it is the worst stance that anyone can take. No citizen should fear the repercussions from going against the government. Ever. The government got their freaking mandate from the people. How is it exactly that the tables are turned against us? It only happens because we've allowed them to for far too long. Like it or not, change comes from us when we make a stand. Allowing things to be the way they are doesn't do justice to anyone. And judging from the current state of affairs, to say that we're living in a democracy is like saying there's snow in Malaysia or that the moon is purple or that cows fly. Enough said of the people who didn't show up.

Now, the candlelight vigil was supposed to last an hour. Needless to say, cops were there. No tear gas or water cannons. But they still cut the peaceful vigil short. They allowed the organiser, Lau Shu Shi of Suaram to make a short speech, light candles and answer a few questions from the press. Right after that, the police asked those gathered to disperse. All these in the span of 20 minutes and less. Even more interesting, when we didn't disperse cuz quite frankly we were just expecting more, a cop angrily shouted, "Bersurai. Balik. Tak de apa nak tengok. Balik." What a superficial and hypocritical stance taken by the police!

We did disperse. Shu Shi and the rest went to Kayu, a nasi kandar place. Chin Eng followed. The guy was snapping away the whole time. Feli and I didn't go cuz she had to catch the ferry and I had to catch the bus. The whole thing didn't live up to my expectation. But I'm glad I went all the same.

I’ve come to terms that my blog postings are gonna be sporadic. The only difference with mushrooms and me is that mushrooms actually complete their life cycles faster than the time I take to post something up. I’ve had another hectic semester and if it wasn’t for Jerryne who told me that all I ever say is that I’m busy and nothing else.. I probably wouldn’t have taken the initiative to write anything now.

This is something which took place last year..just to give everyone an inkling of why Jerryne wants me to say something more than the typical “I’m busy as usual. How’s everyone else doing?” Mooncake festival. The pictures and videos were all taken last year. Went again this year but took no pictures cuz we forgot the camera.

From the start of Carpenter Street right up till the end, it’s an odd mesh of things.

Food stalls selling camel and pork burger. Drink stalls with only 1 stall selling ‘kantong’ and another selling hand-made popsicles. There was a ‘buang tahi lalat’ stall with the owner inside telling a customer which moles were bad luck and needed to be removed. Celcom promoters were walking up and down the street with posters and banners, pestering you to sign up. Over near the old courthouse, there was a bonsai exhibition with Malay kompangs drumming in the background. A sizable group of elderly citizens was line dancing away at one of the smaller roads intersecting the street while another group was belting out really old Chinese songs – karaoke style. Foreigners and locals patronized the food stalls with only beer bottles to be seen on their tables. Add 2 temples to that, each at the ends of the street with burning joss sticks and their peculiar deities, you’ve got one heck of a festival.

Still, the best thing about the mooncake fest in Kuching isn’t the oddities or the mooncakes. It lies in a delicacy that is similar to the ice balls or ‘ais kepal’ that can be found in Penang. The locals call it ‘kantong’. The two are essentially of the same concept: shave the ice, shape it, then pour syrup all over the ice to give it its flavor and there you go.

The only difference between ‘ais kepal’ and ‘kantong’ lies in their shape and flavor as well as the people’s attitude towards them. ‘Ais kepal’ is shaped like a sphere with only one type of syrup. ‘Kantong’ however is conical with a variety of flavors mixed together. I counted; they used at least 5 different flavors for ‘kantong’. And they shaped it around a stick and serve it in a plastic cup to make it easier to suck the syrup out of the ice and dip it back in the cup of syrup once the ice has little of it left.

Many don’t see the pleasure of sucking syrup out of ice in Penang save for kids. Explains why the lady will always smile at me whenever I order ‘ais kepal’. In total contrast, almost everyone in Kuching enjoys ‘kantong’. There’s no stamp that says it’s only for kids and the amount of people that throng the stalls in this fest is proof that it is very much popular among the locals regardless of age. Now, that’s really something. 

rotting has a special charm.. always..

i can never get enough of it.. until i absolutely have to do something constructive.. voluntary or by force is not in question here..

this hols i didn't quite achieve what i wanted to do. din sleep as much as i wanted to, din eat as much good food as i hoped to.. din meet up with as many friends as l'd like to.. the rotting list goes on..

but what i did do was go for a superb vacation in perhentian.. and getting involved in a community play called Ronggeng Merdeka where i was put in charge of costumes.. don't gag just yet.. which incidentally or not is also part of the hair & makeup department.

so my job's relatively simple isn't it? just know which costume the cast wears.. all 31 of them. No biggie.. until they start to coming to me to help them tie their sarongs, and pin up their kebayas, shorts and skirt. considering the fact that the cast is made up of mostly school chlidren both primary and secondary, i can't expect them to tie their own sarongs..
besides.. what was i for if not to help them??

anyone who knows me can only imagine Janet's horror and mine...

but it didn't turn out so bad in the end..

i learnt how to fold sarongs and pin them up properly and i learnt which fabric can be handwashed (though not all). i learnt how to handwash clothes fast and hang them properly so that i don't have to iron so hard later. i didn't learn how to iron fast but i learnt that the iron sure comes handy in drying costumes which accidentally got wet due to crazy outbursts from the taps.

wats more important is that i learnt simple makeup tips from Deena so that i can help out Shirley and Jenny, the other 2 people in the department whenever my job is done.

now, all of you can gag.

i didn't do much damage.. no worries. all i did was apply foundation n lip gloss for them. sometimes, i put on blusher for them. and i also realized that i cant tie braids to save my life. in all 3 sections, i suck the most in the hair section.. which was why i clearly avoided that section if i could.

the people i've worked with have been great...

everyone had an interesting story to tell...

which i will some other day.

we started with judith's place first.. n boy oh boy.. once i stepped inside the house.. i didn't wanna leave. the big house, with d big plasma tv n astro...it's all very tempting when you're deprived of aLL these luxuries. just too bad we didn't take much pix from there.. only have these portrait, very 'family-ish' photos.. creativity going down d drain

check the album out.. all pix there.. almost.. Love the chess set in her house.. n her garden/patio. definitely a lovely house.

next stop was gary's teacher's place. didn't take pix there tho. pity cuz she laid out lotsa cny goodies! n d cakes... mmm...

we took a break from visiting to catch a movie. after that had japanese food for dinner!!!!!!

judith had this at Watashiwa's...
n gary had this...
there's no good picture that justifies the food. forgive the blurness in d pix. didn't have a good picture of edith's dinner. sad...

jin n ro's dinner... it's bento!!
i would like to mention that the chef that prepared the dishes was very particular about the right way to have our dinner. "this must be dipped into that sauce.. you eat it like that"
i've never met one like that before.. really interesting..

next n final stop for the day was adeline's house. there was a feast there man! her parents kept feeding us... n imagine.. we just stuffed ourselves with japanese food.. belly felt like it was gonna explode. again it's all in d album. i would just like to highlight a special type of fruit.
it's called bakulung in chinese n kedondong in bm/bidayuh. it's either eaten with sambal, soy sauce or raw. got sort of a spiky seed in it.. i've never encountered this fruit before but the weirdest thing is that adeline's mum told me that it can be found abundantly in penang since penang is near thailand. it's supposed to have originated from our friendly neighbours. i was stumped. still am til this very minute. if it's abundant in pg, i'd seen it right from young. how is it possible that i'm only seeing this miles away from home?? it's a mystery..

alas.. all good things must come to an end.. took pix at the end at adeline's place. gary took this picture of us... when none of us are actually ready...

his second shot was too fast for adeline.. she didn't smile on time..

the third shot.. dono what's wrong with it.. probably jin wasn't smiling..

hence... another shot.. d fourth one.. i dono what adeline was doing...

finally... PERFECT.. at d FIFTH shot.. n ppl actually stick to the cliche 'third time a charm' ?

it's been a jolly day of stuffing ourselves silly. couldn't be happier. another note worth mentioning... kuching-ites who look old enough don't get angpow... when asked how old is old... high-schoolish age... i suddenly feel very grateful... cuz i know i can receive angpow till i'm 30 or older just as long as i remain single... different customs just exist in different places. glad to be able to experience that difference.

i'm happy to state that the cny delegation here in kuching is not yet over. adeline's house was merely d last stop for the day. we continued visiting the following saturday, i.e the 13th day of cny but that is another post for another day...

first post. jin asked why do i need a blog. a very good question. i don't. i just want to share pics with you guys... finally come to terms that picture attachments thru email is inefficient. i know some of you have missed a couple of pics here n there.. hence the beginning of blogging... truth be told...this is my 4th blog. i know. what?? my first one was set up yrs back. never updated it. forgot my username and password. the second try...juliana created that blog for the lot of us.. to get rid of mass emailing...also don't update. somehow always preferred mass emails... then on january 14th.. i had my third blog... all on blogspot.. but guess what.. again i took 1 month to want to update it again.. n i forgot my username... there... tragic. as i type this... jin is laughing over my shoulders. my incompetence is just hilarious to her. 3 blogs with absolutely no entries! perfect accomplishment!! i refuse to write anymore. just want to see how long i'll actually keep this blog. jin laughs again. haha.