A new mobile in hand

Since early this year, I had been eyeing for a new mobile phone to replace the Huawei Nova 2i unit which I've been using for two years. Nothing wrong with the Nova 2i except that I felt its camera capabilities are somewhat lacking. Prior to owning the Huawei, I was using Sony Xperia phones of various models for quite a long time. The photo quality of the Xperia phones (even the lower end models) was very good. Close-up shots of subjects, especially food, were sharp and had vibrant colours. I used them extensively to post on Facebook and Whatsapp.

When I switched to using the Huawei, the photo quality does not seem to match that of the Sony. With the introduction of so many new models from a host of mobile phone manufacturers, I took to viewing Youtube review channels to search for my new gadget. The huge range of phones with seemingly endless features and at all imaginable price points is mind-boggling. It took me a while to digest the available information and narrow down the choice.

I finally took the plunge and opted for a mid-range phone that has a good camera setup. I bought the Vivo V20 last month, my first purchase of this particular brand. It has been a month of use now and so far I am quite pleased with its photo-taking capability, both the main (back) and selfie (front) cameras. I am yet to fully explore the phone's camera strengths.

The photo below is a sample of pics taken using the night mode setting. Not too bad, I think. 

Night view of Masjid Sultan Iskandar in Bandar Dato Onn, JB

Setahun telah berlalu...

Pada tarikh 30 November tahun lepas telah selamat berlangsung majlis kenduri kahwin anak kedua kami, Harith Shahiran dan isterinya Aisyah, di Menara Tabung Haji, Johor Bahru. Saya tidak berkesempatan untuk menceritakan tentang acara tersebut dalam blog ini pada tahun lalu. Alhamdulillah, semuanya berjalan lancar dan majlis dihadiri oleh ramai sahabat-sahabat dan kenalan dari zaman persekolahan hingga zaman bekerja. Terima kasih kepada semua yang meraikan acara tersebut bersama kami.

Pada tahun ini, beberapa sahabat dan saudara-mara kami yang terpaksa menunda atau meringkaskan majlis perkahwinan anak-anak mereka akibat arahan PKP. Mudah-mudahan Allah swt permudahkan urusan untuk meraka yang terkesan dengan peraturan norma baru.

Gambar di bawah ini ialah bersama besan kami iaitu En Abdullah dan Pn Saadiah yang datang dari Kota Damansara, Selangor.

Majlis terima menantu di JB. Majlis nikah disempurnakan beberapa minggu sebelum itu.

Bonsai gardening... an update (3)

I have a pair of ficus religiosa plants that I'm training into bonsai. These plants were scavenged from tiny shoots growing out from cracks in a drain and a wall. They are around two years old and have reached a semi-matured state where we can see reasonably tapered trunks and some branching up top. I'm training them in the formal upright style because I've seen pictures of mature ficus religiosa from other bonsai enthusiasts that show a lovely tree with dome-shaped canopy.

Of course, my plants have a very long way to go to reach such heights of creativity. But if you ask any true bonsai hobbyist, the enjoyment comes from the journey as much as the destination.

A few days ago, I took the opportunity to carry out some root pruning and re-potting of the plants because the roots have out-grown the pots to the extent of showing on the surface and escaping through the drainage holes at the bottom. It is actually a good indication that the plant is healthy, which I have found, to be one of the most difficult skills to acquire in bonsai gardening.

Pruning of the roots and re-potting is a recommended method to allow the plant to further mature while remaining small. The pruning would allow new fine roots to grow and establish a strong foundation. This, in turn, would help in promoting good growth for the branches and leaves.

After re-potting, I also did some branch pruning and defoliation. Removing all the leaves would help the plant cope with the stress of root pruning and re-potting. New and healthy leaves would then grow, hopefully at a reduced size.

Ficus religiosa is also known by other names such as ficus bodhi or peepal tree in India. Locally, it is part of the pokok ara family. A fully grown tree can reach up to 20m in height. It is also common to see this plant (as with most other ficus species) growing on the sides of abandoned buildings or even on other trees. Many of the very old and huge ficus trees are somewhat spooky and have urban legends associated with them.

I do not plan to have my trees carry any mysterious vibes. I just want them to be good-looking bonsai :-)

Two plants before root pruning and re-pot

Exposed surface roots indicating time for re-pot

Rootball after soil removal and before pruning

The plants after re-potting and defoliating

Hard times during Covid-19 pandemic

Without doubt, almost everyone is affected by the coronavirus pandemic raging the world right now. When the government imposed MCO measures in March this year, my initial thoughts were for the daily-rated workers who make their living based on daily wages. Almost as seriously affected are the small-time businesses operating from stalls that depend on walk-in customers.

On a larger scale, the worldwide travel and holiday industry is hit very badly. Some airlines have been shut down and crew that were laid off need to find work in some other field. Hence we read stories about former airline pilots now running food stalls, selling burgers and driving Grab cars. Nothing to be ashamed of. The ex-Malindo Air pilot who sells curry noodles at a food stall in Subang Jaya has been in the news lately. He is the son of a fellow blogger-friend, Pak Zawi who I first got to know in blogosphere many years ago and had the chance to met in person. It was Pak Zawi who first uploaded the story on Facebook about his son, Captain Azrin, serving meals to customers while clad in pilot's uniform. The post was picked up by another blogger-friend, Kak Teh who is based in London. Kak Teh in turn relayed the story to her local journalist friend who did an interview with the Captain and published the story in the mainstream media. Blogger-friends network in full cooperation.

I am happy for both Pak Zawi and his son.

In the same vein, I am trying to help my youngest son in his food outlet business during these tough times. Of course, nothing on the scale that Pak Zawi has managed for his son.

In late August this year, I posted about a new venture where I am partnering with a friend to give my youngest son an opportunity to run a food stall. At the time when the very first MCO was announced in March, my son had just resigned from his job at a restaurant in Cyberjaya. He managed to drive home to Johor Bahru only a few hours before the lockdown came into force. During the subsequent weeks when the MCO restrictions were relaxed, he did home-based cooking to sell set meals to friends who placed orders by phone. When the government allowed businesses to resume, he tried looking for a permanent job but of course, not many restaurants are hiring. I then took him to meet my friend who is already in the F&B business.

In the earlier post, I shared some photos with the outlet name as Gerobok Lauk. After some deliberation, my son came up with a revised name and re-branding. The outlet would now be known as Warong Noodle and has a short but hopefully, catchy tagline. Our stall operates in a foodcourt-concept eatery in Dataran Larkin, Johor Bahru known as Bucu Terminal Makan. It is not very far from the main bus terminal Larkin Sentral. The Google Map location is provided here -> BTM.

In the first three months of operation, sales have not been encouraging. Volume of sales has steadily declined to the point where we are running at a loss. The initial worry was that our products were not good enough but feedback from customers was generally positive. So we checked with our neighbour stalls and they too have seen a drop in their takings. It seems that more people are staying home for dinner. Or perhaps overall spending power has reduced. The state-wide CMCO restrictions haven't helped either.

But god-willing, we shall persevere. Tough times don't last. Tough people do.

New name that we hope would catch on

One of the best-sellers at Warong Noodle

Small stall but in a comfortable setting

Note : Warong Noodle @ Bucu Terminal Makan is open from Friday to Wednesday (closed Thursday). Operating hours normally from 3pm ~ 11pm, except that under CMCO we close at 10pm. Also available on Foodpanda under the former name of Cactus.

Honouring the recommendations

When it is the first time I wish to engage a particular service or buy a product, I would normally try to reach out to friends for recommendations. If the particular service or shop belongs to someone related to this friend, then all the better. I'll always try to be a customer of this new introduction because it helps develop trust and networking. Sometimes, the service or item bought may not be entirely satisfactory but then, I'll have the option of giving honest feedback to the friend or I would simply move on and seek a different service provider or shop for the next one.

Similarly, friends would advertise about the business of their relatives in social media (WhatsApp groups, Facebook and the like). In the present situation of a depressed economy, it feels good to be able to support friends and their relatives in any small way possible. However, while we may wish to become a customer, the party providing the service sometimes does not seem to seriously take our enquiries.

In the past month, two incidents of such nature happened to me.

In the first situation, I was looking for someone to help me register a new small-time business venture with the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM). Just a small enterprise, not a private limited company, hence no need for a company secretarial service. I could probably do it myself but I had seen a friend post on Facebook that his son is involved in such business. So I messaged the friend who in turn gave me his son's phone number. I messaged the son on WhatsApp, waited for three days but received no response. Time to move on.

The second incident related to my laptop which was really lagging in performance. I wanted to get it serviced and install an SSD (solid-state drive) which, I was told, would greatly speed up program launches. I recalled that a friend had previously advertised that his son does computer servicing work. So I messaged this friend to re-share his son's advert. I made a call to the number in the advert but the it was not picked up. Okay, maybe he's busy. I'll try again tomorrow just to give him a second chance, unlike the first incident. 

The next day, I made another call in late afternoon. Still no answer. The following day, I sent a WhatsApp message, quoting that I got his number from my friend (his father). My message was replied the day after but sadly, without any apologetic tone. This meant that he had previously noted my two missed calls but did not think it important enough to respond. 

Anyway, there were further exchanges of messages relating to my intention of servicing my laptop but the responses were so discouraging that it gave me the impression that this guy isn't serious about it (said he was at work and I need to send the laptop to him but did not say where). The messages ended in limbo and I made up my mind to look for a proper computer service shop. I logged on to Facebook, did a search and found a shop located in Taman Daya which had a reasonable number of good reviews. The next afternoon, I drove to the shop with my laptop, discussed with the technician about my problem and listened to his recommended solution. Install SSD. Will take about 3 hours. Don't worry, all existing data on the laptop will be preserved. Cost is only RM so and so. I left my laptop, went to the nearby AEON Shopping Mall at Bandar Dato Onn to kill the three hours.

Came back after three hours and my laptop is sprinting faster than Usain Bolt. I should have done this earlier. Very good service and reasonable price. I'm now thinking of installing an SSD on my desktop next. 

How I wish sons would be concerned about taking care of the good name of their fathers. I sincerely hope my sons would not disappoint in the same way. 

Pantun Melayu Lama

Agak sudah ketinggalan juga posting dalam blog ini. Dua bulan tanpa cerita baru. Oleh yang demikian, untuk mengelakkan bulan Oktober 2020 berlalu tanpa catatan, saya salin semula posting yang telah saya buat di Facebook semalam 28 Oktober 2020. Jarang sekali sebenarnya saya buat coretan bekaitan politik, samada di blog mahupun Facebook. Cuma kadang-kadang tu, tersangatlah meluat dengan tindak tanduk pemimpin-pemimpin parti politik di Malaysia yang hanya pentingkan jawatan sedangkan rakyat jelata berhadapan dengan kesusahan untuk menyara hidup.

Dalam mencari rangkap pantun untuk mengiringi coretan saya, terjumpalah satu salinan pdf buku pantun lama yang dikarang oleh Sdra Alias Yunos yang diterbitkan pada tahun 1966. Penulisan menggunakan ejaan lama. Saya sangat berterima kasih kepada insan yang telah muatnaik salinan tersebut ke internet. Saya akan cuba cari buku sebenar, kalau masih boleh dijumpai. Paling tidak pun, diharap ada pihak yang sanggup berusaha untuk terbitkannya semula dengan edisi moden.

Tersangat dalam lah maksud kiasan atau sindiran dalam pantun tersebut. Boleh dibincangkan dalam satu post tersendiri.

...........................................................................

13 Okt 2020 (pagi) : Anwar Ibrahim berjumpa YDP Agong dengan niat nak jadi PM atas alasan kononnya ada sokongan kukuh dari 120 Ahli Parlimen.

13 Okt 2020 (ptg) : Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah mengadap YDP Agong atas tujuan yang tidak dinyatakan. Cuma terdapat spekulasi yang Ku Li dipertimbangkan sebagai calun PM. 

23 Okt 2020 : Muhyiddin Yassin berjumpa YDP Agong mohon isytihar Darurat agar dapat terus pegang jawatan PM tanpa perlu hadapi undi tidak percaya di Parlimen. 

Kalau lah saya dapat jumpa YDP Agong, saya nak mohon Tuanku pecat semua ketua parti politik di Malaysia...

Pantun Melayu Lama :

Buah cempedak banyak bergetah,
Jatuh se biji di atas tebing;
Ku dengar Dato' panglima gagah, 
Mengapa tikam gunakan lembing? 

(Pantun disalin dengan sedikit pengubahsuaian, dari buku Pantun Melayu Sastera Rakyat karangan Alias Yunos, cetakan 1966).

Nota : Gambarfoto 'Kuala Lumpur Di Waktu Senja' tiada kaitan dengan pantun atau coretan

Rumah Ngaji Ukhwah Safi Al-Amin

My better half hails from Mersing, a small town on the east coast of Johor. Her family home is located in Kg Sri Pantai, about 5km before reaching the town proper if we were to travel on the Kota Tinggi - Mersing trunk road.

According to my wife, her late father built the house more than 45 years ago when he retired from being an Islamic religious school teacher. They had previously lived in government quarters based on her father's eligibility as a state civil servant. Over the years, the house underwent very minimal changes, the most significant being the addition of new bathrooms to accommodate the growing number of grandchildren who come visit during festive periods. As time passed, the house began to age, in line with its old owners. When my mother-in-law passed away, the house lost its shine. My father-in-law later remarried a widow and stayed at her house in another part of Mersing. 

With no permanent occupant, the house began to lose its homely feel. With the exception of one elder sister who lived near Mersing town, all the other siblings on my wife's side have moved out of Mersing, either to pursue their careers or to follow their respective spouses. It was left to this sister and her husband to occasionally clean and maintain the house. When this sister became ill and decided to stay with her daughter in Shah Alam, the old family home slid into further decline.

There were discussions among the siblings as to what should be done with the house. Putting it up for rent was out of the question because we need somewhere to gather during hari raya. The next option considered was converting it into a homestay. To do this, the house would need some major renovations to make it attractive and suitable for customers. The budget for the renovation work and difficulty in getting someone trustworthy to manage the homestay were the main drawbacks. And so the sad condition of the house continued for a few more years until one of my sisters-in-law came up with the idea to set up a Rumah Ngaji (house to learn recital of the Qur'an), based on the model established by the Karangkraf publishing group. This effort would be a social contribution to the local community while at the same time, preserving the legacy of both parents.

This sister-in-law, Hjh Azizah Mohd Amin, decided to opt for early retirement from her job as a lecturer at a training college in Bangi and return home to Mersing and manage the house. In the few years prior to her retirement, the family pooled funds to renovate the house and buy some basic equipment and furnishings. We changed the layout of a few rooms, re-painted the interior, improved the plumbing system and totally re-wired the house to comply with current safety standards. The sitting room area (where classes would be held) was installed with wall-to-wall carpeting.

After a few months of renovation work and preparation, the first class to teach the reading of Al-Qur'an began on 1 June 2018.

Rumah Ngaji Ukhwah Safi Al-Amin (or Rumah Ngaji USA, for short), takes its name from the combination of my parents-in-law's names, Sapiah Bt Mohamad and Mohd Amin B Abdul Karim.

Quranic reading lessons are held for children and female adults and are taught by qualified teachers. All lessons are free.

As with everything else, the classes were suspended during the initial Covid-19 outbreak, in line with MCO regulations. Classes have resumed on 14 August 2020. The first picture below was taken a few days ago after I helped tie up the Malaysian flag in conjunction Hari Merdeka.

Wishing all readers a happy national day in this new normal era.

Malaysia Prihatin. Kita Jaga Kita.

Selamat Hari Merdeka Ke 63

Opening remarks from Hjh Azizah on the 1st day

The first group of young students in June 2018.
Desks were later provided for better comfort

New venture in the new Hijri year

Two days ago, Muslims in Malaysia celebrated the arrival of the new Hijri year 1442. The first day in the month of Muharram is considered significant in Malaysia and is given a special name called Ma'al Hijrah. There is however, a common misconception that this date commemorate the occasion of Prophet Muhammad's (s.a.w) migration (hijrah) from Makkah to Madinah.

The Hijri Muslim calendar was established during the time of Caliph Umar Al-Khattab (r.a). During his reign, one of the caliph's governors remarked that letters from the caliph had no indication of the year it was written, making it difficult for the governor to determine which instructions were more recent. This prompted Umar to discuss with his colleagues and they later decide to use the year of the Prophet's migration as the start of the Islamic calendar.

According to historians, Prophet Muhammad is believed to have left his hometown of Makkah in the month of Rabiul Awwal, the third month of the Arabian year. It took one week for the Prophet to reach Yathrib, the original name of the Madinah.

In our family, the first day of every new Islamic year has even more special significance.

It is the day our first son, Arshad Khalid was born - 1 Muharram 1410 (3rd August 1989). That makes him 32 years-old by the Muslim calendar but still 30 years-old in CE terms.

It is also the day our first granddaughter, Maisarah Bt Arshad Khalid was born - 1 Muharram 1440 (10th September 2018). That means Maisarah is already 2 years-old in Muslim calendar terms.

Okay then, what's this new venture that is being hinted in the title of this post?

A friend of mine has invited me to join his existing F&B business to run a food stall within a food court in Johor Bahru. The outlet has been in operation for over a year and has reasonable sales. I've decided to accept his offer because the venture is an opportunity for my third son to run a food business as a partner while at the same time, employ his culinary skills to cook tasty food and later introduce new menu items. The overall objective being to increase sales and bring the business to another level.

I have been assisting the operations by helping to put together a new menu list which includes photographs of every menu item on offer. Food photography has been a long time hobby of mine. The following are some shots that have already been taken. I still have a few more items to shoot before the full menu card can be published.

We have already decided on the new name that the venture will be known by. I'll reveal that in another post once the full setup has been launched.

An existing menu that is a customer favourite

New menu item we hope would be a top-seller

Existing item but presented in a fresh setup

Another existing item that is quite popular

Aidiladha 2020 under MCO conditions

Today is Hari Raya Aidiladha, one of two Eid festivals in the Muslim calendar. It is also known as Hari Raya Haji or Hari Raya Korban, on occasion of the hajj pilgrimage in Makkah, Saudi Arabia and the ritual of livestock sacrifice encouraged upon Muslims who can afford it. However, the worldwide Covid19 pandemic has caused governments to severely scale down the religious activities.

Looking at the TV footage of hajj pilgrims doing the tawaf around Kaabah this year, the stark difference from previous years is glaringly obvious. The millions of hajj hopefuls who had planned to perform their pilgrimage this season, have to wait for the next. The miniscule coronavirus takes no prisoners.

We are at my better half's hometown of Mersing today. Just a small group of family members. No qurbani activity either. But still, a good time to relax and reflect upon the effect of the presence of an unseen enemy.

At Masjid Bandar Mersing

MCO Haircut Version 2

It has been one and a half months since my son gave me a haircut at home under the MCO situation. Although barbers and hairdressers are now allowed to operate in the relaxed restrictions, I still do not have full confidence of the mitigated risks with respect to close contact with barbers. I have decided to stick with my son until we have a zero-infection status in the whole country.

For this second trimming, I chose to make it easy on my son and went for the crewcut style. It is also a look that I have sported before, having opted for it when I performed hajj and umrah. Should last me a few months until the next cut is needed.

The 'balik-haji' or 'balik-umrah' look

A memorable birthday in 2020

A few days ago, I celebrated my 58th birthday. This year's occasion is somewhat different from previous years because of a few reasons.

We are still in Covid-19 pandemic situation, although the daily numbers are encouragingly showing a trend of newly infected cases in single digits. Hopefully, we shall see zero cases being reported soon. The Malaysian government and its citizens have shown great resolve in fighting the outbreak. With the reduction in the number of daily infections, the government has relaxed the MCO restrictions. This includes the ability to travel between states.

Our second son and daughter-in-law both work at Hospital Sungai Buloh, the reference hospital for coronavirus cases. Our son is considered a frontliner as one of his duties include screening of incoming patients. As such, it is quite difficult for him to obtain leave to come visit us. I therefore made the decision for us to travel north to visit them last weekend. I was also conveniently looking for a reason for us to make social visits after being cooped up at home for three months.

The other (even stronger) reason was that I share the same birthday as my daughter-in-law, Aisyah Bt Abdullah, 6th of July. When their wedding was held in November last year, I had not known of this fact. At the time, I was too focussed on planning for the wedding, it didn't occur to me to ask about the birthday of our newest family member. It was only early this year that my wife told me about it. At last, I have another family member to celebrate the 6th of July every year (note : I had previously written about the Birthday Paradox in a post dated 20.12.2009).

Instead of my son and his wife travelling down to Johor to celebrate the special day with us, my wife and I drove the other direction so we could celebrate it with them. We had a birthday lunch at the home of my brother-in-law in Bukit Jelutong, Shah Alam, the main menu item being a home-cooked nasi briyani prepared by the mother-in-law of the birthday girl.

Indeed, a memorable family occasion to treasure for years to come...

Only two candles on the cake

Lunch of nasi briyani in both mutton and chicken options

The wedding reception in November 2019. Aisyah and her parents on the right

Kena tembak sebelum masuk...

* 36.6 *

Angka tersebut adalah kegemaran saya buat masa ini untuk meneka jawapan setiap kali pistol suhu dihalakan ke dahi saya sebelum dibenarkan masuk masjid, pasaraya, restoran, pejabat kerajaan dan seumpamanya. Setakat ini, kadar ketepatan tekaan dianggarkan bawah 10 peratus, hahaha...

Di Masjid Bulatan, Kg Melayu Majidee, JB

30 years worth the wait...

It was a beautiful morning yesterday, Friday 26 June 2020. The sky was slightly overcast but it did not rain. Perfect for some outdoor activity to release some sweat.

Far out west in England came the news that Liverpool Football Club has become the champions of the English Premier League after a wait of thirty long years. There are still 7 more games to go before the full fixture schedule (delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic) is completed, but the nearest rival is too far behind to catch up. We shall savour the moment and enjoy the weeks ahead as the 2019/2020 season comes to a close.

Great things happen to those who work hard and are willing to wait.

Morning brisk walk at Taman Merdeka in Johor Bahru

Valuing friendship above feud

In early 1981, I was studying for my GCE A-levels at Aston College in Wrexham, North Wales in the UK. I cannot recall how many Malaysian students were enrolled there at the time, but if I was to make an estimate, I would say upwards of 40 persons.

Wrexham is not a big town. Prior to arriving in the United Kingdom, I've never heard of the place before. I vaguely knew that Wales is a separate country within the UK but it totally surprised me that the Welsh speak and write in an entirely different language. I lived in Wrexham for about a year and have pleasant memories of my stay there. The slight regret that I have is in not making an attempt to understand a bit more of Welsh.

Aston College no longer exists, having been merged with a few other colleges in North Wales and later upgraded to a university in 2008. A search on Google Maps indicates that my former A-level college is now known as Wrexham Glyndwr University. I also tried to search for the house that I stayed in the final term of my studies but since I could not remember the street name, the search was fruitless. What I can recall was that it was quite a walking distance away from the college, perhaps around 30 minutes at leisurely pace.

The house was an end unit of a row of a 2-storey terrace block, probably built in the 1960s. Although an old building (even at that time), the house was adequately renovated to serve as student accommodation. Each floor had been separated so as to make two different units (which they refer to as a flat). Each flat had central heating, a small kitchen and a bathroom. I stayed at the top unit with my coursemate named Yaacub Mohamed whom I know from our MRSM Kuantan days. The ground floor unit was rented by a friend name Khairil Faizi who previously studied at MRSM Seremban. I cannot remember who Khairil's housemate was.

Anyway, what triggered this post was memory of an event that was posted by a mutual friend of Khairil and me on his Facebook page. This mutual friend is Sofian Abdul Rahman or better known as Boe, who also formerly studied at MRSM Seremban. Boe was doing his A-levels at London at the time and had come to Wrexham to visit his friends. He slept over at Khairil's flat. Late one evening I went downstairs to see that Khairil and Boe were deeply concentrating in a game of Scrabble. As I watched them play, I noted that the scores were close. Towards the end of the game, Boe played a high-scoring word that would've made him the winner. Khairil vehemently protested that there was no such word. Boe laughingly said there is. The argument went back and forth and got a bit heated. Boe then looked at me and said, 'Tak percaya tanya Fadhil.'

At that time, my vocabulary was still weak and I could not give Boe the confirmation he was seeking. But I had a thick dictionary upstairs in my room so I offered to run up and check. Boe gave a surprising response. No need, he said... I concede that there is no such word. Which meant he lost the game. At that young age, I witnessed a true example of how to gracefully concede so as not to upset the feelings of your bro.

When I related this memory to Khairil recently (as a comment on Boe's Facebook post), he replied that Boe is that sort of friend. He values friendship above feud.

I still recall the word that Boe tried to play because I later checked and found that it is valid. I'm pretty certain neither of them remembers that. Maybe one day I'll tell them...

Me and housemate Yaacub. Wrexham 1981

MCO Haircut

In a previous posting, I mentioned that I do not mind if barber shops are not allowed to operate under relaxed MCO conditions. Among the reasons that I gave was that I have experience in sporting a long hairstyle before.

Who am I kidding, really?

My days as a rock fan are long gone. My hair is almost totally gray now. I have an itchy scalp problem and keeping my hair long doesn't help.

So when the electric hair trimmer that my son ordered online arrived yesterday, I asked him to give me a haircut after he was done trimming his. Abah nak style yang macam mana, he asked. Well... any style that you are comfortable doing, I replied. As long as it looks neat. Ok, he'll try one way first, he said. Just a little trim. If I don't like it, he will cut a bit more. To allay his fears, I told him not to worry too much. We can always go for the crew cut as a last resort. Hahaha...

As it turned out, he ended giving me a young man's haircut style. Very short on the sides and back with a pronounced thicker mop of hair on top. It's a look I'm not familiar with but I can live with it. It's not like I have to look good for a job interview or anything...

Thank you, son (Imran Azizi).

Not too bad a cut from an amateur barber

Hari Raya Aidilfitri 1441H / 2020M

Sambutan bulan ramadhan dan Hari Raya Aidilfitri yang tersangatlah berbeza pada tahun ini. Tiada siapa yang menjangka yang hidup kita pada beberapa bulan yang lalu sehingga kini dan seterusnya telah terkesan oleh sejenis mahluk halus yang tidak terlihat dengan mata kasar. Coronavirus - namamu akan tercatit dalam sejarah dunia sebagai satu musuh yang telah mengakibatkan bermacam angkara, kerugian kewangan dan korban nyawa.

• Tiada solat jemaah di masjid. Bermakna tiada juga solat tarawih di masjid sebagaimana tahun-tahun sebelum ini. Sebaliknya ini melatih ketua-ketua keluarga untuk mengimamkan solat tarawih di rumah masing-masing.
• Tiada solat sunat Aidilfitri di masjid.
• Tiada tradisi kujung mengunjung di kalangan sanak saudara dan sahabat handai.
• Tiada acara bersalam-salaman dan bermaaf-maafan secara sentuhan fizikal. Diganti dengan pertemuan secara alam maya melalui panggilan video menggunakan Whatsapp video call ataupun Zoom.

Selamat hari raya Aidilfitri untuk pembaca-pembaca sekelian. Maaf zahir dan batin. Taqabbalallahu minna waminkum...

Bonsai gardening... an update (2)

Bonsai gardening is a hobby that demands huge patience. It takes years of tending and care to see the plants grow into beautiful bonsai. Just like any other hobby, perseverance and dedication are essential traits to have.

In most situations, I consider myself a patient person. However a trickle of impatience does creep in at other times. In the few years I've been into this pastime, I've learned a number of things. Among these are :

1. Plants will get infected by bugs and diseases. Sometimes leaves turn yellow or curl up. Sometimes the leaves don't even grow.

2. Some plants will die.

3. Each type of plant has a different rate of growth. Some sprout new leaves and buds within a few weeks of pruning. Some can be easily propagated using stem cuttings while others require other methods such as air-layering.

4. A branch or two would definitely break when you first learn the wiring and bending process.

5. Pruning dense leafy growth is a hard decision to make.

Failures

I've had my fair share of failures.

• I had a dracaena tree growing in a normal pot for many years. I had trimmed the initial long stem to reduce the height and create branching. When the shape of the growth was pleasing, I transferred the plant into a shallow bonsai pot. It survived for a few months until I noticed that the leaves that fall off are not being replaced with new growth. I unearthed it from the pot and saw that root-rot had occurred. Cause of death : over-watering and possibly poor drainage.
• Somebody threw away unwanted ixora shrubs at a dumpster near my house. I scavenged a few and managed to re-grow them in poly bags. One of these shrubs is a tiny plant about five inches tall with four slim branches. New leaves were already growing well and it even had flowers on one of the branches. I decided to re-pot it in a tiny ceramic pot to create a small bonsai known among hobbyists as mame. I even wired the branches to create the bonsai look. It died on me after about two months. Possible cause of death : poor root structure due to being transplanted too early.

Moving on

Notwithstanding the failures, I'm pleased to note that some plants are growing well and are on their way to be good-looking (I hope) bonsai trees in years to come. Among these are a few ficus plants and a tree which I think, is a pulai species. The pulai tree was a shoot growing out of a crack in a concrete drain near a project I was involved in about a year ago. I had carefully prised it out from the crack, hoping to pull out as much of the roots as I can. I replanted it in a normal pot but then transferred it to a shallow pot when it quickly outgrew the initial container. Presently, I'm letting the leaves grow more and allow additional branching. My hope is to create a dense canopy with reduced leaf size. Something to look forward to in the coming years.

Pulai tree entering its 2nd year

Ficus retusa in training for semi-cascade style