Orchids and bonsai

The Johor Bahru International Orchid and Bonsai show was held at Danga Bay from 6 to 9 August 2009. We had the chance to visit the show earlier in this afternoon, the last day.

For a gardening enthusiast like me, it was a wonderful way to spend an afternoon. In the convention centre, there were decorative pavillions prepared by horticulturists from different countries. Hundreds of species of orchids were on display and the myriad of colours was breathtaking.

Mrs Oldstock at the entrance display

Combination of colours

The Sarawak pavillion

This arrangement from Taiwanese participants

At a separate section of the centre there was also a display of bonsai plants. The beauty of these miniature trees is simply amazing. It must have taken the bonsai growers so much patience and care to shape their plants to such lovely living sculptures. A trait that I do not have.

A backlighted bonsai plant

Miniature asam jawa tree

Pine bonsai

Slender sloping bonsai

Short squat bonsai

Outside of the convention hall, the organizers had set up stalls where orchid growers displayed their products for sale. As it is the last day, many of the stalls offered the plants at discounted rates. There were so many to choose from... rambang mata dibuatnya.

After much browsing, I finally bought one with white flowers and a few cuttings of other varieties. Cultivating the cuttings and seeing them grow gives me more satisfaction, although I must say that I'm not that successful in getting my orchids to flower they way they do at the nurseries. In fact, with the exception of bougainvillea (bunga kertas), I do quite poorly with flowering plants. I am more adept at the leafy plants such as palms, ferns, shrubs and caladium (keladi).

Colourful orchids on sale

One of the nursery stalls

I like the colour of this flower

And these ones too...

The latest addition to my collection

For the past month or so, I have been spending most of my weekends trying to rehabilitate my garden after more than a year of neglect. The plants that I have re-potted are now looking healthy and I hope to post something about this in another month or two when hopefully, some of them have started to bloom.

The signs of getting old

There are times when you feel so tired of doing things that you do... that you just want to drop everything and do nothing. I'm sure you know the feeling. It has nothing to do with mood swings or that `time' of the month. Just mental fatigue, I guess.

Today feels like such a day for me. But rather than mope about it, I'm sharing an interlude with you that hopefully would lift some spirits, especially mine.

Duda bertemu janda

(Credit to speedo at cari.com.my)

Di sebuah perkampungan ada seorang duda yang sudah berumur dan tinggal seorang di rumahnya. Anak-anaknya semua bekerja di bandar. Berdekatan rumahnya itu ada seorang janda yang juga agak berumur dan juga tinggal seorang diri. Sudah bertahun lamanya mereka berjiran dan sering juga berhubung kala kesunyian.

Suatu hari… di petang yang redup... si duda duduk di bawah pokok rambai.. merenung ke arah rumah si janda. Si janda perasan dan datang menegur si duda... "Pak Uda oii.. ape yang dimenungkan nye tu... "

Si duda menunduk seketika... lalu menjawab, "Ada perkara aku nak bagitau ko ni Mak Jan.."

Berkerut dahi si janda... kerana kelihatan serius pulak si duda tu. "Ape nyer ..serius je bunyi nyer.."

Si duda merenung si janda... lalu dengan segala kekuatan yang ada dia berkata... "Aku ni kepingin nak berbinikan ko... ko sudi tak?"

Si janda tersenyum… dan diam seketika ..lalu si janda menjawab, "Erm... sudi... "

Setelah berborak seketika... si janda dan duda pun pulang kerumah masing-masing kerana hari sudah menjelang senja.

Pada malam itu… si duda gelisah... dia tidak ingat jawapan yang diberikan si janda petang tadi. Adakah dia sudi atau tak... yelah dah tua... memori pendek sikit. Setelah berfikir sejenak... si duda tidak jugak mendapat jawapan... lalu terpaksalah dia bertanya sekali lagi kepada si janda. Si duda pun mendail nombor telefon si janda… nak datang rumah tak molek pulak dah malam-malam camni...

"Helo... Mak Jan.. Pak Uda di sini. Aku ingin bertanya... almaklum dah tua mudah lupa... petang tadi aku bertanya pada ko, sudikah ko berkahwin dengan aku. Err.. apakah yang ko jawab?"

Mendengar suara si duda.. si janda pun berkata, "Aku jawab aku sudi… ikhlas dari hati. Selamat ko telepon aku, Pak Uda... "

Si duda pelik dengan kata-kata si janda lalu bertanya... "Kenapa?"

Dan si janda menjawab, "Aku pun lupa siapa yang ajak aku kawin petang tadi….."

Notes to close this month of July

July is a birthday month for me. Nothing really spectacular happened this time around except for the experience of my first gout attack. As I ponder on the addition of another year that the Almighty has extended me, I cannot help but reflect on other events that happened in our country this month.

While birth is the beginning of one's journey in this world, death signifies the end. The deaths of two personalities brought about controversies, albeit for different reasons. I wasn't intending to post about something sombre but the following are my observations on this, and other issues.

1. Will be missing those sentimental TV ads

The talented film director/producer Yasmin Ahmad, passed away on 25 July 2009. She collapsed during a business meeting at Sri Pentas (TV3) and slipped into a coma. Although surgery was done at Damansara Specialist Hospital, Yasmin did not make it.

It is not necessary for me to list out her achievements in film-making. Her movies won international awards but failed to gain the recognition of her peers in the local film industry. Why is this so? We can only speculate.

Her movies touched on subject matters that most other local producers dare not explore. Things like inter-racial romance and religious understanding. Some consider her movies to be controversial but to me, she's simply telling the true face of our society... the prejudices, the mistrust, the differences, the cooperation and the understanding. It is a pity that there are some among us who cannot see beyond our narrow self-interest.

Even in death, allahyarham Yasmin is tailed by controversy. A local Malay daily newspaper published stories of her in an apparently distasteful manner and this has prompted journalists from other publications to launch a protest to that paper's publisher. What surprised me was that it took the demise of a talented individual for the journalistic circle in Malaysia to realise the lousy reporting standards some journalists and editors have practiced. If something good can come out of this, then the nation owes Yasmin a lot more. May Allah swt bless her soul.

Yasmin's death reminded me of what happened to my cousin a few years ago. The way my cousin died is very similar. She was a lecturer at UiTM and was having dinner with some friends at a restaurant in Subang Jaya. During the after-dinner chat, she felt a sharp pain in her head and then collapsed. Her friends rushed her to the nearby SJMC. The doctors said a blood vessel in her brain had burst. She went into a coma and two days later, left us forever. She was in her late 40's.

2. Death under interrogation?

On the 16th of the month, the nation was shocked to read of the death of Teoh Beng Hock, the political aide of a Selangor Exco. Teoh's body was found on the fifth floor podium roof of a building that housed the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission's Selangor headquarters.

Teoh had been summoned by MACC to answer questions relating to an investigation of purported misuse of the state assemblymen's allocations. The circumstances of his death are most mysterious. Did he fall? Was he pushed? Was he killed first and then thrown out of a higher window? Is is suicide?

The general public were told not to speculate and not to make it a political issue. Under these conditions, how not to speculate? You tell me. And of course it's a political issue because the deceased was a political aide and the MACC investigation involves politicians!

An inquest is presently in progress, although some parties had pressured for a Royal Commission of Inquiry. I'm not sure if that would make any difference because, as I recall, the last RCI conducted on a top lawyer (who said that a video recording of a person, looked and sounded like him, but was not him) doesn't seem to be getting anywhere.

Nonetheless, I do hope the authorities get to the truth of the matter. Whoever caused Teoh Beng Hock's death must be brought to book.

3. The necessity of recycling

Still on the subject of death. Around two weeks ago, my mother told me that the grave of my youngest brother who died at birth, would be unearthed and his remains be repacked and shifted elsewhere. He is buried at a very small plot in the Muslim cemetery of Pusara Aman in Singapore.

Due to scarcity of land, the Singaporean authorities have decided that the graves of Muslims who have been dead for more than twenty years, would be unearthed. The remains from eight graves would be grouped and re-buried together in a presumably much smaller plot. This would free the original cemetery to be re-used for future `occupants'.

You have to hand it to the Singaporeans to come up with ideas on recyling. They are already experts on recycling sewage water. They are now doing the same for burial plots. Muslims in Malaysia should count their blessings.

The exhumation was carried out on a working day and my mother informed me too late for me to take leave. Otherwise I would have liked to be there. I've been to my brother's grave only two or three times. I didn't get to see him when he was born... I was studying in the UK at the time. If he is alive today, he would be 29-years old.

To Mohd Taufik, the little brother that I have not met... if by the grace of Allah swt, we cross paths in the hereafter, do say hello to your eldest brother, will you?

4. No escape from the taxman

The two things in life that you cannot run away from are death and taxes. And it seems that the taxman is not giving me a break at all.

When I completed my income tax returns at the end of April, I calculated that my total monthly tax deductions is more than the tax payable. I was therefore, expecting a refund from the Inland Revenue Board. However, in early May, I received a letter from IRB saying that my account does not show any credit that can be refunded. But the letter does not give any details on how much I owe them.

Last week, IRB sent me another letter saying that they have instructed my employer to further deduct from my salary, a total of RM4,986.01 spread over the next 7 months. How they arrived at this amount, they didn't say. No calculations, no details, no explanation. Nothing. Just the instruction to cut.

The folks at IRB must be so heartless. The language in their letters is so dry. They should include an explanation or two on why they are taking away more of our money. At the very least, they should include the name of the person in charge of our account so that we can call for clarification. So much for the new administration's `Rakyat Didahulukan, Pencapaian Diutamakan' approach.

5. Art and charity

One way to reduce the amount of tax you pay to the government is to donate to charity. But this applies only to charities that have obtained the approval of IRB. The charity that I want to talk about next is not on IRB's approved list... maybe not yet, I do hope sometime in future (actually I'm just making a feeble attempt to link the previous thread with this one).

I was most heartened to read that blogger-friend Pak Zawi is helping to organize a sort of online bidding process for a piece of drawing done by En. Mazeri Othman aka Deen. The objective of the bidding is to set up a benevolent fund known as Tabung Kebajikan Tok Sangkut. The first piece on offer is an oil painting named Grandma's Mangosteen.

Do pop over to Pak Zawi's blog to learn more about the charity. Alternatively Pak Zawi has set up a special blog to handle the online bidding here -> Tok Sangkut Benevolent Fund. Your's truly has made the second bid.

The artist Deen also has his own blog that can be accessed here -> Exploring and relaxing the countryside.

It's nice to end this post with the story of an honourable effort. Let us see what the month of August, our merdeka month, has in store for us.

Getting better

Thanks to all blogger friends and readers who wished me well. The pain in my left leg is almost gone now and I was already back at work today. Only a hint of the swelling is left and I believe it should disappear by tomorrow.

This incident has added another leaf in the `Pain' chapter of my life experience history. I do hope to avoid another such experience, if at all possible. The lesson has been learnt... I have to watch what I eat.

So consumption of red meats, anchovies, beans, lentils and certain seafood need to be controlled so that the cholesterol and uric acid levels can be kept in check. Hmm... this can be quite a challenging task. And with the Muslim fasting month coming up, how can I not be tempted by all those delicious juadah buka puasa?

Since my leg is better today, we went out for dinner at the BBQ Chicken Restaurant located within the Tesco Hypermarket in Plentong. I guess I'll be eating more chicken now and this place claims to use 100% olive oil in their preparation. My second son Harith, is back home for a one week semester break from UiTM. He invited along a roommate of his from Kota Kinabalu to spend the break with us here in JB. So it's the first time I'm treating them out for dinner since they got here on Saturday.

Again, thanks for all your kind thoughts, tips and suggestions.

Knocked out by a bout of gout

It had to happen. Probably better sooner than later.

On Sunday morning, I woke up with an aching pain in my left leg, around the ankle joint. It is the type of pain that you get when you've sprained the ankle, except that I don't think that my ankle is sprained because there is no tell-tale swelling. The day before, I did some hard trekking at the project site which involved climbing some steep slopes and hacking through undergrowth. But apart from being slightly out of breath, I didn't think I hurt myself.

As Sunday wore on, the pain got worse and it became impossible to walk properly because I couldn't put any weight on my left foot without feeling severe distress. The clinic that I normally go to is not open on Sundays, so I had to tough it out by taking some Panadol Extend.

Waking up this morning, the pain hadn't gone away. With my son to provide temporary crutch support, I hobbled into the clinic to the amusement of my doctor. My ailment is gout-related, he says, although the full symptoms of gout such as swelling toe-joints is not visible. The heavy stress on my legs during work on Saturday may have been the trigger that flared this pain.

He gave me a jab of painkiller and some other tablets to be taken later. I was told to rest and not move around too much.

Apart from the throbbing pain in my leg, starting from the ankle joint and going up to my buttocks, the rest of me is okay. I am not feverish or feeling poorly in any way. It is the lack of mobility that is truly depressing, and at 47 years-old, feeling like an invalid is not cool at all. For the first time in my life, daily solat prayers had to be performed sitting on a stool.

As some of you may have read in an earlier post, my annual blood test results revealed that I have high levels of uric acid and as such, is prone to gout attacks. Subsequently, I have revised my diet to reduce red meat, ikan bilis and tempe while having more fresh salads that include capsicums, cherry tomatoes and carrots. Apparently, the change in diet regime is too late in preventing this first painful encounter. Nevertheless, we shall strive on.

As I type this entry, the pulsating pain in my left leg has reduced significantly but the signs of a slight swelling around the ankle is now visible. Hopefully, the whole thing will go away soon.