Intolerable acts

There are some attitudes that i could barely tolerate:

1. Trying to act generous

A few days back , we had lunch at one of the seafood restaurants at Muara Tebas ("Cheh Sua"). Muara Tebas is reknowned for its seafood as well as the good-fengshui chinese temple. While eating , there came this loud commotion over the table next to ours.

"Oui! tell you don't pay oh! I pi bin (change face) liao oh! Tauke neo (lady boss) , i warn you cannot take money from him..."one of the red-faced , round-bellied , cigarette-stick-in-the mouth guy shouted.

"No la , no la...I pay i pay...beh hiao kin(nevermind)" another guy with a softer tone spoke from the counter.

Then immediately this cigarette studded guy stood up , walked over to the counter , swung the wallet from the back pocket and pulled out the money. That ended the drama. Someone has footed the bill.

What a drama...Why do people always have to fight to pay? Is it a show of generosity? Or merely an act of table manner. Aiyah pai seh la , need you to belanja me... But to me , shouting while others are eating is nothing of an act of well manners.

If somebody has mentioned that he is going to treat you for the meal , just let him be the host this round. And if there's a chance next time , treat the person back. Then it will save a lot of energy , saliva and drama while eating.

And to add on , if the guys were so generous, the chinese temple there needs public donation. Why not one of them pays for the meal , and another one donates the money?

2. Phone etiquette

If you realise , people (especially guys , even more specifically older men) like to speak loudly over the phone. It is not eavesdropping , but sometimes we can hear the person's conversation at a distance as far as 5 m. I don't want to hear what he says , but it is just that my ears can't selectively filter nonsense and nuisance.

We have very weird reflex reaction. When we can't hear clearly what someone from the other side of the phone say , we don't say 'pardon me'. Instead , we raise our voice and speak louder. C'mon! We can't hear clearly doesn't mean the person on the phone can't hear us too... So when people can't hear clearly , they will go from hello... hello... heLLO... HELLO... HELLLLL!... LOOOO!!!

3. In the cinema

I am very very particular when watching movies in the cinema. I am easily irritated and annoyed by people who chat and make noise. Argghhhhhhhhhhhh!!! Kuching people are busy lots , they can't even spare that one and a half hour of movie time concentrating on the movie and keeping their mouth shut.

I watched Rouge Assassin just now at Star cineplex. There were these group of 5 or 6 teenagers in front of my row. Before the movie started ,this chatterbox was busy talking to his friends around. Fine..it's just advertisement. Then once the movie started , he continued with his conversation.

And these days , cinemas usually have advertisements asking patrons to switch their handphones to silent mode and keep quiet.This person is either blind or deaf. He didn't off both - his handphone and his mouth. And my anger and frustration were getting the better of me. I could hardly concentrate on the conversations in the movie and there were no subtitles. My first attempt was to give him a long SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH...He stopped for 10 seconds and continued talking.

What the hell? The second time i just said 'Mother f**cker , can someone just keep the mouth shut and watch movie??' This time i think he heard me. But to no avail , a while later his handphone rang and he resumed his business.

Finally the movie ended. I can't really catch the movie. But i caught a glimpse of that person. How i wish someone will just teach him a lesson. I still have not released my pent up anger. Then when i saw the guy and his friends waiting for the lift , i just can't stop but blurted out " If someone cannot understand english movie , then don't come and watch la...Don't keep on talking." (the movie has no BM subtitles) Hopefully he heard me. At least i felt better speaking out.

When can people respect others? Stop talking in the cinema. Can't we impose fine on these chatterboxes?

Fireworks

A month long of feasts and celebrations in Kuching finally culminated with a "bang" by this spectacular fireworks display. The inky night sky if Kuching was momentarily adorned by this splash of myriad of colours...

And i am now looking forward to the Malaysia International Fireworks Competition in Putrajaya. Will be flying to KL next week so hopefully can make it for the 30 August presentation.

Tip-Tip Poligami

Came across this book while browsing through Popular "Pop Club" brochure.

This is the description of the book. Quote:
"Menghuraikan gambaran sebenar poligami dengan mengambil kira pandangan beberapa pihak. Turut menyelami naluri isteri yang perlu difahami oleh suami sebelum dan semasa berpoligami. Padat dengan TIP TIP dan DOA DOA bagi suami , isteri dan individu yang terlibat dalam berpoligami..."

Hmmm...book for poligami. Interesting...Need any further comment?

Red Alert

Got back my medical report. See the highlighted parts? Hmm...Too high of uric acid and LDL cholesterol. Alarm is ringing...Time to change my eating habit. Less fat , less oil and less meat!

Showing Patriotism Carefully...Don't Play Play

In less than 20 days , we will be celebrating our country's 50th National Day. And as a nation with great creativity ,and people with great enthusiasm and patriotism , many are vying to show their love for the country in the most unique way.

But don't play play , you may be playing with fire. Instead of being deemed as heroes , you might end up eating curry rice behind the bars.

Just like our country 'budding' lyricist Wee Meng Chee ,who gave our national anthem a new facelift with his rap version ,is now hot under fire as his deed was deemed a defamation to the country. What started of as a joke turned out to be a hot debate among politicians now. But honestly speaking , his version of national anthem receives more attention than the original version. And his version receive more viewership in youtube than our cuti-cuti malaysia advertisement. If only tourism malaysia can come out with such a gimmick , we might be able to attract more tourists.

According to the ceremonial division and international conference secretariat of the Prime Minister's Department (phew! such a long name as quoted from the newspaper) , we can't make cakes with the design of the national flag on them. Why??? Because you are going to cut and eat it!

And you are allowed to wear the national flag as clothing. But at the same time it is not proper for you to display it as a bikini ,swimsuit or towel. Or use it as a cushion or toilet seat cover , most probably because your butt is touching it. This makes me wonder ...how do we wear the national flag on our body , without our butt touching it? Hmmm...We do need to consult the secretariat again.

So the best way to do , be a law abidding citizen. Wave the flag the normal way like everyone does.Why want to make a fuss out of it and get yourself into trouble? If you have more time , read our constitution and know well about the Dos a Don'ts la...

It's a Sunday afternoon at home. With temperature as high as 33 degree celcius , i am too reluctant to drag myself out of the house.

So the best thing to do at home with family - cooking...

My first attempt of Butter PrawnAnd Cheese Cake..And it all turned out delicious...Hmm...

Shopaholic

Ya...admittedly i am a shopaholic... Sometimes i do think i have slight symptoms of Compulsive Shopping Disorder too...ehem..

I was browsing through my wardrobe finding for clothes to wear when i realised i have such huge number of shirts and pants left here. And yet i still convinced myself i have not enough to wear in Czech so i was on quite a lot of shopping sprees in Olomouc and Prague.

When the wardrobe unfold , i realised i can even classify my shirts into different colours and categories. T shirts , sleeveless , shirts , jumpers , jackets. And different series - chequered , stripes , black , grey , blue , white so on and so forth.Then when it comes to pants , there are series of different colours- black , grey , brown , biege , blue , be it slacks , jeans or short pants.And perfumes - CK , Polo , Boss , Giorgio Armani , Davidoff...These are part of the collections of my shoes...

And last but not least , these are bags of stuff i bought from my recent shopping. I still have no time to sought it out properly.This blog is all about the vanity in me. Okay okay...sometimes I am vain , with mild narcissism. So what? Haha...

Kuching Festival

ALCA , Kuching Mascot

Kuching festival , one of the much anticipated yearly events of the town. Maklumlah...there is not much happenings here. So this is a MAJOR event for us. It's a whole month of celebration , to commemorate Kuching being declared a city.

So the highlight of this whole event is undoubtedly the food fair. For gluttons like us , or Kuching people in general , this is the time when you can savour all the good food in Kuching under one roof. The truth is , it is not really a great experience eating at the food fair. The huge crowd , the limited seats , the super hot and humid weather. Imagine elbowing through the crowd , vying for the seats , rubbing against all the slimy sweaty skin , sniffing the body odour instead of the fragrant food. That's the real scenario.

And i think we have very much get used to it. In retrospect , during our teenage years (which was just a few years back , i am not very old yet ok) it was our must go annual outing with friends. For all the weekends in August , the food fair will be our rendezvous. I can't imagine how i could bear the heat that time to dress impressively just to go to the food fair. Looking around at the youngsters with vests , jackets , boots , long socks...and me , in my shorts pants and t-shirts and slippers now. Those were the days...

And food fair used to be of so much fun when everyone was around. But now ,most people of my batch are no longer around in Kuching. And our holidays don't usually coincide with Kuching festival. So what is left is that meagre few figures who could hardly make up the joy and fun we had before.

Having said so , i am appreciative that i can make it back for this event this year. Losing the company of my friends , i have the company of my parents. And now my sister is the one going out with her form 3 gang. How fast the world has turned around.

And i think the parade on Saturday was pretty good. Okaylah...Not bad..

City cleaners get a day off

Our traditional costumes
Cats ...Kucing...Kuching
Such a poser

Digi "I will follow you... all the way to Kuching Parade"

Good food

Maybe after too much of good food...
a meal of kaya and butter toast , 'ping pong' brand crackers
and a cup of hot think milo taste really awesome. Ooooo...... Heaven!

Love is Cinta

Thumbs up for Love is Cinta. How long have i not watched such a touching , romantic love story produced in Asia. The last two i watched were Perhaps Love and Sepet. Apart from Sepet , i don't recall any that has left the slightest pinch on my skin , not to mention has touched my heart. Not to say that i am throwing towel to the local entertainment industry , but compared to our neighbour Indonesia , many of our movies can really go down the drain.

Okay , let's make some comparisons. For Malaysian movies , generally before we sit down and watch , we roughly know what will happen. So i am with utmost unwillingness to drag my feet into the cinema and waste my rm10 on such movies.

Comedies usually have those few actors/actresses as leads , and we tend to make fun of mentally retarded and fat people. And that same few lame jokes. And people must fall whenever they find a chance to do so. And ladies must be smeared with the thickest makeup and possibly big moles near the cheek.

For horror movies , it's always the same few pontianaks. Don't the pontianaks need some rest and let someone take over the job? Pontianak with white robs flying around , sharp pointed teeth , red eyes...Isn't this so 90's??

And action movies , c'mon...Please...I beg...Can the girls who wish to dress scantily shed a few more pounds before they appear on the screen? And the guys who want to unbutton their shirts pump up a few more packs? Compare Mat Rempit( i watched it in cinema with Jimi and his sis , the only 3 chinese) with Fast and Furious...Ehem..And now Haru Biru...And coming soon Impak Maksima..

When we come to acting skills , i definitely praise them for their hard work- in memorising. On the screen , we can still see them trying hard to read out what they memorise , is READ OUT , not ACT OUT. Eyes are the most expressive organs. Instead of moving a lot to show anger , joy or sadness , a good actor can convey message just by the eyes. But sadly to say , what we see in most of them here are eyes that lack confident , and nothing more.

Back to Love is Cinta this movie , kudos to the main leads -Irwansyah, Acha Septriasa, Raffi Ahmadfor their outstanding performances. They really show the true emotions in every scene. Acha Septriasa cried in almost every scene , and yet you feel it is adequate , not overdone and just look real enough.

And of course the most captivating part is the plot. I guess they have injected enough "Wow" factors to keep the audience's eyes glued to the screen. The sudden unexpected twist of fate ,and another surprising turn of story make the 2 and half hour movie seems ephemeral. I didn't expect the hero to die ,Oops ! Did i spill the beans out? And some homosexual issues in between. And angel around?

I am eagerly waiting for a local production worth commenting in the blog soon. The last one i have commented so far is Sepet and that was ages ago. So keep the fingers crossed...

Rainforest World Music Festival

Rainforest World Music Festival rocks!!! It was super duper awesome. Words can hardly describe how wonderful the whole event was. Honestly speaking , i was rather skeptical initially at how worth the RM200 ticket can be for such an event. But everything changed after the first night. I am pretty sure even if they hike up the price , people are still willing to pay and travel across the globe to attend this annual event.

And RWMF has definitely marked Sarawak , or specifically Kuching on the world map. As much as tourists know Indonesia by Bali , hopefully they also recognise Malaysia by Sarawak. C'mon , we no longer live on trees. We organise massive event now.

Musicians from around the world converged at Sarawak Cultural Village , each bringing the quitessential musical instruments from their respective countries. And what awes me more is that , despite coming from different part of the world , hindered by language barrier , but when it comes to music , all these walls are being torn down. In this current state of political turmoil between the west and the middle east, how rare it is to see people from such countries standing together side by side. And yet , music proved to melt the feelings of hatred , abhorrence and repugnance , bringing along joy and peace. We have musicians from Lebanon and Afghanistan , at the same time we too have artists from the UK and USA performing together. If only Bush and Osama can do the same thing...The daily workshops proved to be a hit among the visitors. All the workshops are packed with throngs of people , each eager to learn , to share or to watch. I enjoyed the percussions the most , in one of the workshop named "Heartbeats". Our heart really beat in accordance with the rhythm. And everyone was so high that at the end of the show , we were all up on the feet , dancing , chanting and clapping along. That's the power of rhythm and music.
And performance by Black Umfolosi from Zimbabwe was definitely the highlight of the concert. By just the simple tunes of "In the jungle , the mighty jungle , the lion sleeps tonight...Wooo...laaa.." , they managed to get thousands of hand up on the air clapping and swaying.
Rainforest World Music Festival , see you next year!!!