This Chinese New Year

Its the eve of the eve.

Time fled from me and I didn't even bid goodbye to 2011 properly. And in a couple of days, the Lunar New Year would be upon us. When the season's tackiness is personified in every shade of red, orange and gold.

When the soft sliding of well worn  mah jong tiles accompany the blaring of the latest New Year remix (which sounds the same every year) and visitations by flirtatious lions with fluttering eyes and wagging tails.    

Despite all my disdain for a culture which has lived up to its stereotype, I am still its heir and as I grow older, embracing my birth right becomes more poignant.

I crave for kopi o today. Black and sweet as sin. And I enjoy it best every year, pour our with a ladle through a tapis into a beer stein to be enjoyed sitting on the floor, in the eye of a whirling chaos comprising of screaming children, gambling adults and an ambling pet dog.    

And like that kopi o, the chaos becomes tradition, to be taken for granted and willed to last forever until too soon it becomes a memory, which in time, would be come distant and romanticised.

This would be my first year without the familiar din. Its been about 10 months since the passing of my grandmother, the family matriarch and the centre than held everyone together. And as things fall apart, without the centre to hold, swirling satellites drift to find new orbits, keeping some of the old and creating new traditions of their own.

It is too soon for me to say whether I miss the rambunctiousness.  But I do miss her. And I fully appreciate the significance of tradition as a way of reaching across time and space to honour, remember and perhaps find a little comfort. 
 

Don't Mess with Foo Fighters

Ok, to prove a point:
This is Dave Grohl:

This is Ramli Sarip:

And no Dave DOES NOT look like Ramli Sarip!
I never thot during Nirvana days that I would ever call Dave even borderline hot. Oh, but he is all grown up.  Bless!

We need to talk more. 

And now, getting inked myself

Well I have been mulling over the below for more than a year now. 

I keep falling in love with this lotus tattoo. Pretty old skool yet, my only concern is that for it to blossom, it needs to be a certain size. And I don't want a big one. 

Yet I am getting alot of flak for wanting one. WTF must it be called a tramp stamp just because its on a girl.  

Despite it being such common theme, be it with or without religious connotations,  I have always liked its oft quoted symbolism. Still  it remains quietly beautiful. 

Chill for a while

Oldie but oh so goodie.

I ink therefore I am

In the era of erganomic keyboards, I suppose that using a fountain pen is on the quaint side. And let me qualify that when I say using a fountain pen, its for actual daily writing as oppose to pocket displays or for signing ceremonies. 

Besides Chris,  I am the only other person I know who still has use for ink bottles and blotting paper. It is a joy you know - inking paper, each stroke imbued with distinctness as pressure and angles form words and pictures. 

Penmenship is not for posers. Nor it it bourgeoisie.  Granted that it is nostalgic and romantic. A throw back to a time when pride was to be had in having a good hand and better care was accorded to word crafting, and backspace referred to a store room than a keyboard function.  And besides, love letters are best written with a wet pen than a ballpoint any day.

My everyday cherry red Lamy Safari fountain pen has gotten quite a few second glances. Relatively inexpensive at below RM100, it is minimalist and writes like a dream.  I think that this makes a very good introduction for fountain pen newbies.  Better than getting the much cheaper Pilot beginner's pen which bleeds all over the place, turning frustrated students off what could be a truly wonderful lifelong love affair.     

Anyway back to the Lamy Safari, it has a stainless steel nib without any fancywork.  It is light having an angular plastic body that helps with the grip and is not at all unpleasant. I use the fine nib and am very satisfied with the ink flow.   

Compared to my Lamy 2000, the Safari gives much more satisfaction. Despite the 2000 being of a different class all together being platinum coated and hand polished with a 14c gold nib, my Extra Fine is heart-breakingly scratchy. I love the  Bauhaus industrial design design, yet I expected much better.  I got mine at the Pen Gallery at the Weld, and even after sending it back after they gave me a less than satisfying nib the first time, I can't say that I am totally satisfied. 

Will be going to Singapore to get the opinion of a nibmiester. Yes, that is the name and yes again, that is an actual profession.

In Malaysia, The Pen Gallery in the heart of Kuala Lumpur does stock a good range from Namiki to Montegrappa. Irritating thing is that the store does not open during weekends. 

However for the Lamy, being fairly common, they can be bought at selected departmental stores which do offer discounts during sales. I got my Safari at Parkson with a 30% off and its a perfect pen. Only downside is that they may have a smaller range of nibs. 

       

Yes, the geek is strong in this one. 

916 - MARU!

I laughed

Credit: Threadless 

A website I <3 but only ships to Malaysia via normal post. Of course mine disappeared but they resent it via registered mail to a Sg address. Bless..   

The Furry Friends Farm

The Furry Friends Farm. 

Absolutely delightful name for an animal shelter, don't you think!

I made a visit last week and yes, I fell in love many times over. Its a joy being at the shelter that does not have an air of despondency. I could sense  that the animals are at a place where their welfare is paramount and they are taken care with love. Every animal has a name there and Sabrina, doyen of the farm, knows every one of the dogs.  

Helps that the animals are among the friendliest. Being an avid dog lover, I didn't expect to be the subject of affection of a juvenile calico cat. I was lost the moment she jumped on a stool, closed her eyes and rubbed her face against my chest with the tiniest of smiles. Of course my heart was reduced to a syrupy puddle. 

Being just from the dog enclosure, no way she could have mistaken me for a giant tuna.          

The furry friends farm is a no-kill centre, meaning that if the dogs or cats are not adopted, they will still have a home for life at the shelter. Even the difficult, uncute and old won't be put down.  

However this means that the shelter can only take in a maximum number of animals. At present it is already at full capacity at over a hundred dogs and cats hence they are forced to turn away new strays. They have already taken in the dogs that were abandoned at Pulau Ketam if you recall that sad incident. 

Anyway, more about the farm here: http://www.furryfriendsfarm.org.my/
And as with every shelter, volunteers, donations and assistance in kind are always in short supply. They are trying to obtain NGO status but its taking time. Hence they can't really offer tax exemptions now for donations which discourages most corporate sponsors. So they rely on people like you and me.

The farm is in Kundang, past Sungai Buloh. You will DEFINITELY need a map. Here is the link and please note that the flyover bridge is completed so please don't go looking for rubble.   Next time I am there, I will get the GPS coordinates. 
*  sorry, map has been removed from the FFF site.

To visit please call Ms Sabrina a few days in advance. She has a farm to run hence don't expect immediate call backs. Visitors are welcomed on Sundays after 12pm.  If you intend to be up close and personal, a change of clothes is good and don't bring your best shoes as you will have to disinfect your footwear in bleach as you leave. 
Whatever it is I'd definitely encourage you to go have your heart stolen.  

------

*We mourn the passing of Sabrina Yeap on 17 July 2012.  My heart is resolutely broken. May she rest in peace.

WOW. What a weekend.

As most who know me personally would attest, I have been going on quite abit about the BERSIH initiative, which culminated in the demonstration that was on Saturday 9 July.

As to why BERSIH is important to me and to a lot of Malaysians, I direct you  to the words of others with superior eloquence. Art Harun's Bersih and Fall of Reason is a very good read.

People who attended the rally cited overwhelming pride, unity and patriotism..as well as tear gas, water cannons, arrests by the police and manhandling by riot teams. Despite not attending the rally - I was left behind by SOMEONE who got tear gassed trice as a consequence (bribe me and I won't tell dad) -  my BB was close to calling it quits due to my 12 hour Twitter vigil.

Social media has played its part in transforming Egypt and I dare say that it will continue to be a platform for people's movements everywhere including Malaysia. BERSIH would have been less organised and its effects less far-reaching without Twitter for one.  From eye-witness accounts, to warnings and words of comfort, strangers are linked to each other by a common aim and a hashtag.  How amazing is that!

Anyway, back to BERSIH, the mainstream media's coverage of the affair is filled with half truths but that is to be expected, being the governments' lackeys. The most blatant lie is that only 6000 protesters marched the streets of KL. In the age of camera phones and Youtube, who are they kidding?

While many did not  make it to Dataran Merdeka, being chased by FRUs, the demonstration was largely peaceful, and if you are on Twitter, do  follow the #bersihstories and you will find many heart warming experiences of those who were there.

Yes it was a success in the sense that there was  no parang wielding molotov cocktail hurling mob as warned by the IGP or the government, and it was a damn good show of support for electoral reforms, the largely non-partisan effort is being sadly hijacked by opposition  parties taking credit for the move and claiming support for their causes. This is highly regrettable to me.

Anyway, for more thrill and spills, the best reads are from the following: 

LoyarBurok 

malaysiakini 

Marina Mahathir

Bersih 

Well done and thank you to all who were there, braving risks of arrest and violence, walking for the rest of us who can't and making a stand for our rights. And I have never been prouder of the legal fraternity especially the legal aid emergency arrests teams.