After the first intern left, a second one appeared. She was quiet, hard working and I seldom see her visiting the loo.
One day I returned from lunch and walked into the Accounts Office. Rosyati was not there. I was about to leave when the second intern popped up from behind her desk. She was actually eating her home brought lunch seated on the carpeted floor. As she put down her food container on the desk, walked into the inner office to pick up what Rosyat left for me, I saw that she was eating white rice with table salt.
The next morning I mentioned my observation to Rosyati. She was not surprised as state colleges do not pay the interns at all. The next few days I noticed Rosyati bringing refrigerated left overs from dinner, placing the food in small containers next to the sunlit windows. She simply cooked extra to feed her diligent helper.
Over the next days, this intern told me she came from the interior. There is a relative working near our college. She obtained permission to sleep in a narrow space in one room with four other girls. In exchange for the space, she washed the clothes of her roommates. There is no food preparation space nor cooking facilities. She paid a housewife nearby four dollars a day for food. In the morning she ate boiled bananas. Lunch would be rice with vegetables unless the lady was serving meat for dinner. Then she has a meagre lunch of white rice with salt. To a girl from the village far from the city, it was not undue hardship. This is actually the last hurdle for her, if she successfully completes the internship, she could graduate and get a paying job.
Monday, September 16, 2019
(1157) Intern 1
My grandma had many Hakka proverbs. One of them is "lan yan toh si liu". It basically states that lazy people has lots of toilet breaks.
That illustrated an intern in the community college I worked in four years ago. My desk was about ten feet away from the toilet entrance. If I care to, I could keep a log of my colleague's breaks. To be fair, most folks were conscientious. One Friday I stayed behind to enter marks into my register. Those tabulated results had to be submitted on Monday morning. Since scoring English papers took time, I couldn't have done it any earlier.
I was surprised to see my colleague from the Accounts Department. Office hours were eight to four, Monday to Friday. Rosyati confessed that she stayed to fill in forms from her Intern's college. No, this particular intern is no help at all. The latter was willing but very careless. Instead of assigning work to the intern and having to check line by line, the supervisor would rather leave the girl to menial tasks with lots of free time. That explained the frequent toilet visits. Well, a girl had to apply lipstick, wash hands, pat the hair blown and disarrayed by air-conditioner...
That illustrated an intern in the community college I worked in four years ago. My desk was about ten feet away from the toilet entrance. If I care to, I could keep a log of my colleague's breaks. To be fair, most folks were conscientious. One Friday I stayed behind to enter marks into my register. Those tabulated results had to be submitted on Monday morning. Since scoring English papers took time, I couldn't have done it any earlier.
I was surprised to see my colleague from the Accounts Department. Office hours were eight to four, Monday to Friday. Rosyati confessed that she stayed to fill in forms from her Intern's college. No, this particular intern is no help at all. The latter was willing but very careless. Instead of assigning work to the intern and having to check line by line, the supervisor would rather leave the girl to menial tasks with lots of free time. That explained the frequent toilet visits. Well, a girl had to apply lipstick, wash hands, pat the hair blown and disarrayed by air-conditioner...
(1156) Unpaid slave
There is a young man I met here a few years ago. At that point of time he was hoping to improve his English so that he could qualify to work in New Zealand.
Considering the fact that he has English-speaking parents and he has undergone 15 years of formal education, it is surprising that he could not present himself in fluent English nor could he pass a professional English examination.
Reality is such that he ended up looking after his family enterprise in town. His parents happily left Borneo to live in the capital city across South China Sea. After all, his four other siblings all made it economically over there.
Living in a 5 room family home and driving four cars in turn does not make life attractive here. It is a good thing that he found himself a girl friend quite easily. Looking at his style of dressing and hair cut, I wonder if it was his mum or girl friend cutting his hair. It is quite possible that he does not draw any salary but lives on a stipend. One of my husband's university housemates worked for five years in his family foundry business without drawing any salary. His wife was furious with him that she applied for immigration. Eventually she pulled him to Australia.
There are many good traits and values among the Chinese. However, I must say that belonging to a business-running family means many potential pitfalls. Bad members enrich themselves but good members remain poor and dependent. It is almost like being a family unpaid slave.
Considering the fact that he has English-speaking parents and he has undergone 15 years of formal education, it is surprising that he could not present himself in fluent English nor could he pass a professional English examination.
Reality is such that he ended up looking after his family enterprise in town. His parents happily left Borneo to live in the capital city across South China Sea. After all, his four other siblings all made it economically over there.
Living in a 5 room family home and driving four cars in turn does not make life attractive here. It is a good thing that he found himself a girl friend quite easily. Looking at his style of dressing and hair cut, I wonder if it was his mum or girl friend cutting his hair. It is quite possible that he does not draw any salary but lives on a stipend. One of my husband's university housemates worked for five years in his family foundry business without drawing any salary. His wife was furious with him that she applied for immigration. Eventually she pulled him to Australia.
There are many good traits and values among the Chinese. However, I must say that belonging to a business-running family means many potential pitfalls. Bad members enrich themselves but good members remain poor and dependent. It is almost like being a family unpaid slave.
(1155) A future nurse
There is a young woman I met in Seldorado. Her parents took her out of main stream education quite early. She was sent away to board at an International School across the sea. Things did not work out, she came home to struggle on her self education online for quite a few years.
She has two other siblings who went through the Australian tertiary educational system. Most people would expect her to make it to university. It is a little surprising that she instead qualified for nursing college.
Considering the fact that she didn't get a satisfactory grade in the national language and needed to do an extra year before Form 1, I wasn't surprised that she has had great difficulty qualifying in English. Yes, I would agree that Mandarin is important for this generation. I know that Saudi Arabia introduced Chinese as a compulsory second language in the kingdom. Yet we must be realistic that not every student from Chinese Primary school would transition into English tertiary education with ease.
Personally I am surprised that her parents would put her into nursing. Even if getting an Aussie resident permit is paramount, nursing for an ethnic Chinese girl in a white country would not be exactly a bed of roses.
One of my childhood friends qualified as a nurse when her children were grown. The statistics she quoted of health, mortality, family life ... of nurses who rotated on shifts in Australia is troubling at best. She herself opted to practise as a private day shift nurse, happily foregoing the night shift allowance. As soon as she is qualified to care for the aged, she works in nursing homes specialising in weekends and holidays to maximise her income.
Call me pessimistic, but I really think this couple is tempting fate by placing their only daughter into nursing. I think of the nurses who died in Hong Kong, Singapore and Johor during the last SARS outbreak.
She has two other siblings who went through the Australian tertiary educational system. Most people would expect her to make it to university. It is a little surprising that she instead qualified for nursing college.
Considering the fact that she didn't get a satisfactory grade in the national language and needed to do an extra year before Form 1, I wasn't surprised that she has had great difficulty qualifying in English. Yes, I would agree that Mandarin is important for this generation. I know that Saudi Arabia introduced Chinese as a compulsory second language in the kingdom. Yet we must be realistic that not every student from Chinese Primary school would transition into English tertiary education with ease.
Personally I am surprised that her parents would put her into nursing. Even if getting an Aussie resident permit is paramount, nursing for an ethnic Chinese girl in a white country would not be exactly a bed of roses.
One of my childhood friends qualified as a nurse when her children were grown. The statistics she quoted of health, mortality, family life ... of nurses who rotated on shifts in Australia is troubling at best. She herself opted to practise as a private day shift nurse, happily foregoing the night shift allowance. As soon as she is qualified to care for the aged, she works in nursing homes specialising in weekends and holidays to maximise her income.
Call me pessimistic, but I really think this couple is tempting fate by placing their only daughter into nursing. I think of the nurses who died in Hong Kong, Singapore and Johor during the last SARS outbreak.
(1154) Medical camp to the interior
During the last three-day weekend I joined a medical camp visiting an interior area in the state. Vehicles that could go off road came from Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan, Lahad Datu and Tawau. Medical doctors, dentists and nurses went along to treat the village folks for free. Rich men underwritten the medicine that costs about fifteen thousand dollars. Ordinary folks like me donate and collect clean usable clothes for distribution. Drivers collect money amongst themselves and pack goodie bags for children under 12 years. People of means from various religious background donate essential food: rice, noodle, salt, cooking oil, milo, coffee powder, milk powder...
This particular trip there were not enough volunteers, so I don't see de lice cream being applied. I went along with the chief cook and all the implements for cooking were stacked behind our packed vehicle. After about five hours on the road, we stopped along a shady road and had a picnic lunch of white rice and fried fish. Some thoughtful individual from KK brought some sambal belachan - chilli paste cooked with onion, garlic, shrimp paste with seasoning. The delicious addition made a whole lot of difference to an ordinary meal.
During the first night it rained cats and dogs for hours. Some younger volunteers had to pull their sleeping bags from the open grandstands to go into suffocating tents as the rain drove out a whole host of centipedes, worms, scorpions... from the field up the wooden grand stand steps. It was scorching hot the next day. The medical team did a roaring business of over 350 registered patients. I processed the used clothing with my team mates. Mixed clothes of different age group and gender were tied into bundles of about 6 to 10 pieces depending on thickness. In the morning we distributed one bundle per family. By about two pm the visitors trickled down. We then give each person who went through the medical and dental stations one bundle each. Clothes run out by 3:20pm and the last batch who arrived in estate vehicle meant for palm oil fruits didn't get any.
On the third day I arrived home at 5:40pm totally tired out by the long journey on terrible roads of mud and stones. It was akin to being beaten all over the bones, all that being bounced over the seat restrained by seat belt did produce muscular pain.
This particular trip there were not enough volunteers, so I don't see de lice cream being applied. I went along with the chief cook and all the implements for cooking were stacked behind our packed vehicle. After about five hours on the road, we stopped along a shady road and had a picnic lunch of white rice and fried fish. Some thoughtful individual from KK brought some sambal belachan - chilli paste cooked with onion, garlic, shrimp paste with seasoning. The delicious addition made a whole lot of difference to an ordinary meal.
During the first night it rained cats and dogs for hours. Some younger volunteers had to pull their sleeping bags from the open grandstands to go into suffocating tents as the rain drove out a whole host of centipedes, worms, scorpions... from the field up the wooden grand stand steps. It was scorching hot the next day. The medical team did a roaring business of over 350 registered patients. I processed the used clothing with my team mates. Mixed clothes of different age group and gender were tied into bundles of about 6 to 10 pieces depending on thickness. In the morning we distributed one bundle per family. By about two pm the visitors trickled down. We then give each person who went through the medical and dental stations one bundle each. Clothes run out by 3:20pm and the last batch who arrived in estate vehicle meant for palm oil fruits didn't get any.
On the third day I arrived home at 5:40pm totally tired out by the long journey on terrible roads of mud and stones. It was akin to being beaten all over the bones, all that being bounced over the seat restrained by seat belt did produce muscular pain.
Sunday, September 1, 2019
(1153) Training ground
Here I am, sitting on a plastic chair in a corridor of a shop lot, enjoying the breeze from the front to the back. It is hot! As most coastal folks know, the temperature could be higher than the concrete jungle of mega cities. Yet there are little mercies of the land and the sea breeze.
There are many things to be thankful for. Firstly there is hardly any mosquitoes here. Yet in this town there were seven deaths of young men in the month of July, 2019 of Dengue Fever, mostly those living in the Dengue hot spots.
This residence is the perfect location. It is within comfortable walking distance from two supermarkets, McDonalds, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut, Domino, Starbucks and the main road where there are many mini buses plying the route to every corner of the town.
It is a relatively safe area. I have been walking around early in the morning until my soup noodle waitress gently reminded me not to walk about before 7am.
Yet it is hard to live here long term. There is only one tap where the water could be yellow. There is no kitchen sink. Plumbing in the area is shocking. For a most expensive and desirable residence area comparable to Bangsar in Kuala Lumpur, waste water often could not go out. Those who deal with this area suspect the waste water and the sewerage fight to go out the same channel. We somehow manage to live with keeping waste water in buckets and pouring it manually out of the window into the gutter drain on the ledge.
Anyway, we are not complaining about the low rental. I suppose it is good training ground for later life in the interior area where there would be no pipe water nor grid electricity.
Thank God for cafes where I could order a drink and sit here the whole afternoon to blog.
There are many things to be thankful for. Firstly there is hardly any mosquitoes here. Yet in this town there were seven deaths of young men in the month of July, 2019 of Dengue Fever, mostly those living in the Dengue hot spots.
This residence is the perfect location. It is within comfortable walking distance from two supermarkets, McDonalds, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut, Domino, Starbucks and the main road where there are many mini buses plying the route to every corner of the town.
It is a relatively safe area. I have been walking around early in the morning until my soup noodle waitress gently reminded me not to walk about before 7am.
Yet it is hard to live here long term. There is only one tap where the water could be yellow. There is no kitchen sink. Plumbing in the area is shocking. For a most expensive and desirable residence area comparable to Bangsar in Kuala Lumpur, waste water often could not go out. Those who deal with this area suspect the waste water and the sewerage fight to go out the same channel. We somehow manage to live with keeping waste water in buckets and pouring it manually out of the window into the gutter drain on the ledge.
Anyway, we are not complaining about the low rental. I suppose it is good training ground for later life in the interior area where there would be no pipe water nor grid electricity.
Thank God for cafes where I could order a drink and sit here the whole afternoon to blog.
(1152) Money Laundering
A shop was being renovated. Day by day the noise level escalated. Lo and behold, the workers were making tables by hand from scratch. Some metallic lengths were being cut to exacting lengths and welded together to form the frames of tables. Then these frames were painted black. After that a piece of wooden board was fixed as table top. Last of all a zinc sheet was hammered to cover the top and the sides. There were at least five tables at first. In my heart, I was guessing: tutoring place? Eatery? Massage place? Charity feeding station?
A local dropped by and told my son that the shop was being let at $1,800 monthly rental. It is to be a restaurant with private rooms. The owner of the building suspected that the source of the capital is black money. The party concerned looked at the empty shop one day, then the next day the necessary two plus one deposit was handed to the landlord. It was no mean sum: 3x1800 plus electricity and water deposits. It was the speed that surprised the landlord. The exact amount came as cash before 12pm.
The locals believe that various people who have more cash than good for them were afraid of being caught red-handed. Hence the hurry to convert the cash into an enterprise. Why not purchase furniture? No, the business person has to avoid the paper trail. Renovators are not above receiving x amount as fee but give a bill of x-y dollars.
It will be interesting to note how a genuine business differs from a fake business. Along the same row there is a Malay eatery that works 6 and a half day. Not too far away there is a Chinese sea food restaurant that rests only on Mondays.
Long ago when my children were still young, we lived in Silver City. We used to patronise a bakery which supplied us with delicious buns at reasonable prices. Somehow it seemed like a fake business. It was a place of high rental returns. The bakery sells a low volume of limited range of products. It rests on all Wednesdays and every public holidays. Surprisingly it is still there today, 14 years after we left town.
******************************
2.9.2019
update
It turned out the business is more like a catering establishment. Sometimes they take off and rest on no definite days. Other times I see full activity after the usual closing time. Once I saw a young man opening the shop at 6:15am. Most of the helpers are in their teens. Sometimes when the chefs turned up, I saw toddlers and young children running about. From a safety point of view, it is almost criminal to allow children to run among boiling pots and plenty of fire whether from gas stoves or open charcoal barbeque stand.
No wonder a friend of mine who worked in the government hospital talked about three-year olds who swallowed insecticide, then the next year his sister came in with an over dose of multi vitamins. Two years later another younger sibling from the same family came with water burns that required skin grafting. Part of the trouble is the culture encouraged unlimited children. Should children die because of crime, drowning, accident or being kidnapped, the parents cried, accepted it fatalistically as God's will and move on to have a few more kids.
A local dropped by and told my son that the shop was being let at $1,800 monthly rental. It is to be a restaurant with private rooms. The owner of the building suspected that the source of the capital is black money. The party concerned looked at the empty shop one day, then the next day the necessary two plus one deposit was handed to the landlord. It was no mean sum: 3x1800 plus electricity and water deposits. It was the speed that surprised the landlord. The exact amount came as cash before 12pm.
The locals believe that various people who have more cash than good for them were afraid of being caught red-handed. Hence the hurry to convert the cash into an enterprise. Why not purchase furniture? No, the business person has to avoid the paper trail. Renovators are not above receiving x amount as fee but give a bill of x-y dollars.
It will be interesting to note how a genuine business differs from a fake business. Along the same row there is a Malay eatery that works 6 and a half day. Not too far away there is a Chinese sea food restaurant that rests only on Mondays.
Long ago when my children were still young, we lived in Silver City. We used to patronise a bakery which supplied us with delicious buns at reasonable prices. Somehow it seemed like a fake business. It was a place of high rental returns. The bakery sells a low volume of limited range of products. It rests on all Wednesdays and every public holidays. Surprisingly it is still there today, 14 years after we left town.
******************************
2.9.2019
update
It turned out the business is more like a catering establishment. Sometimes they take off and rest on no definite days. Other times I see full activity after the usual closing time. Once I saw a young man opening the shop at 6:15am. Most of the helpers are in their teens. Sometimes when the chefs turned up, I saw toddlers and young children running about. From a safety point of view, it is almost criminal to allow children to run among boiling pots and plenty of fire whether from gas stoves or open charcoal barbeque stand.
No wonder a friend of mine who worked in the government hospital talked about three-year olds who swallowed insecticide, then the next year his sister came in with an over dose of multi vitamins. Two years later another younger sibling from the same family came with water burns that required skin grafting. Part of the trouble is the culture encouraged unlimited children. Should children die because of crime, drowning, accident or being kidnapped, the parents cried, accepted it fatalistically as God's will and move on to have a few more kids.
(1151) Lightning steriliser
A second cousin of mine worked in China as a surgeon. One day, his colleague challenged him to help sterilise a house cat. After all, he was very used to sterilising thousands of women during those early years of one child policy.
Being young and resourceful, he brought the right tool to his colleague's house. It was the first time he visited the house. He walked casually into the sitting room and sized up the pet cat. it was a male. While his colleague fed the cat, my cousin the "lightning steriliser" used his sharp tool and cut the testis off cleanly. The cat yowled and ran out of the house. Later the cat owner found that there was no blood and the wound healed beautifully.
My niece found the story barbaric. But well, all parties won. The owner saved money. The surgeon who turned vet gained a good reputation. The cat could roam anywhere but no longer cause any more unwanted kittens to be born. Any lady cat who gets to know it well no longer would get pregnant. Not a bad situation at all.
Being young and resourceful, he brought the right tool to his colleague's house. It was the first time he visited the house. He walked casually into the sitting room and sized up the pet cat. it was a male. While his colleague fed the cat, my cousin the "lightning steriliser" used his sharp tool and cut the testis off cleanly. The cat yowled and ran out of the house. Later the cat owner found that there was no blood and the wound healed beautifully.
My niece found the story barbaric. But well, all parties won. The owner saved money. The surgeon who turned vet gained a good reputation. The cat could roam anywhere but no longer cause any more unwanted kittens to be born. Any lady cat who gets to know it well no longer would get pregnant. Not a bad situation at all.
(1152) A novel way of doing business
One day long ago I went to listen to a Korean talk to oblige a friend of mine.
First I have to tell you a few things about my unique friend. She was a widow, age 72, who lived with her sister in a single storey house opposite a private hospital. She and her sister survived on $100 every month. Her electric, water and phone bill was paid by her son. Her daughter gives her one hundred dollars each month. Her sister was not quite right in her mind, having came out of the lunatic asylum a few years before I met the widow.
I still remember the talk, it was to tell about the efficacy of some stomach medicine. I have a very normal stomach, obviously I don't need a small bottle of liquid that was made up of 17 vegetables and fruits fermented underground for three years. Each of the 330 ml bottle costs $375. But of course the Korean business man gives out a very nice looking colander to each participant. I think I still have the purple plastic colander in my kitchen somewhere. According to my friend the widow, the previous week a sack of 1 kg rice was dispensed to each guest.
My friend the widow has been following each talk for almost three years. Each month there was a talk promoting one item. Each of the item was highly priced. There is a money back guarantee if the purchaser is not happy with the product.
That particular talk, I stayed behind to see if any one would buy the item being promoted. There was a middle age lady who walked up and purchased three bottles. Apparently she bought the exact item two years ago, but from a different centre, and it took care of her life-long problem of indigestion and wind. This round she had been waiting for 18 months until this product came round again. One bottle was for her God daughter who lived in Pahang, the second bottle was for her daughter-in-law who lived next door to her, then the third bottle was for her uncle who lived in Johor.
My friend, the widow, bought a pillow that cost $2,000. The funny thing is that she was very pleased with her purchase. She said that the infra-red treated pillow made of some exotic material cured her 20 year long problem of neck and shoulder ache. With the magic pillow, she finally could get her uninterrupted 8 hour nightly sleep. It was like giving her a second stint of youth. She felt like she was in her 40s again.
I found it most interesting and informative.
First I have to tell you a few things about my unique friend. She was a widow, age 72, who lived with her sister in a single storey house opposite a private hospital. She and her sister survived on $100 every month. Her electric, water and phone bill was paid by her son. Her daughter gives her one hundred dollars each month. Her sister was not quite right in her mind, having came out of the lunatic asylum a few years before I met the widow.
I still remember the talk, it was to tell about the efficacy of some stomach medicine. I have a very normal stomach, obviously I don't need a small bottle of liquid that was made up of 17 vegetables and fruits fermented underground for three years. Each of the 330 ml bottle costs $375. But of course the Korean business man gives out a very nice looking colander to each participant. I think I still have the purple plastic colander in my kitchen somewhere. According to my friend the widow, the previous week a sack of 1 kg rice was dispensed to each guest.
My friend the widow has been following each talk for almost three years. Each month there was a talk promoting one item. Each of the item was highly priced. There is a money back guarantee if the purchaser is not happy with the product.
That particular talk, I stayed behind to see if any one would buy the item being promoted. There was a middle age lady who walked up and purchased three bottles. Apparently she bought the exact item two years ago, but from a different centre, and it took care of her life-long problem of indigestion and wind. This round she had been waiting for 18 months until this product came round again. One bottle was for her God daughter who lived in Pahang, the second bottle was for her daughter-in-law who lived next door to her, then the third bottle was for her uncle who lived in Johor.
My friend, the widow, bought a pillow that cost $2,000. The funny thing is that she was very pleased with her purchase. She said that the infra-red treated pillow made of some exotic material cured her 20 year long problem of neck and shoulder ache. With the magic pillow, she finally could get her uninterrupted 8 hour nightly sleep. It was like giving her a second stint of youth. She felt like she was in her 40s again.
I found it most interesting and informative.
(1150) Against all odd
Five years ago I met Heidi through a contact. Off and on my son and I have been meeting her since.
She went through a very traumatic childhood. She was mildly dyslexic. Up until Standard Five she used to fail most subjects. Yet she is sharp and intelligent in other ways. Her parents noticed that she could memorise every song on the radio if it was played often. To prepare for her Primary exam, the persistent and wise mum read every page of her text books aloud to her. Since questions were in the
multiple choice objective form, she somehow managed to score 5 As. To me, that means she could recognise the shapes of many words. Never mind the fact that she could hardly read and could not spell.
She belongs to a minority race. There are only thirteen professionals of her ethnic background practising in the state of Sarawak. She is THE FIRST WOMAN FROM HER TRIBE to own a firm in her hometown. I was very impressed. It must have been a difficult and tedious path to breach
an invisible barrier in a back water area.
To reach her present mile stone, she had been on training in multiple places and God had been stretching her since she qualified. She practised for many years in the capital city of the country. After that she returned to the capital of Sarawak, not of her own choice. But she managed to have 15 happy years there. Then, out of the blue, she was left with no choice but to relocate to her home town - a place that she has decided not to return to since she has left it. She cried, she pleaded with her heavenly father. But to no avail. It was a non-negotiable. It was a place of her most horrific nightmare. She had not only unhappy years but to add salt to the wounds, she was systematically bullied in the school system. When I first met her, she was very thin - steadily losing weight. It was within the first three years she returned to her least desirable place on earth. This is the 5th year since we knew each other. Finally I saw her in her element and the tinge of deep sadness is gone. It must have been difficult. Yet she needed to face her demons and to gain a full victory from her dark past.
She went through a very traumatic childhood. She was mildly dyslexic. Up until Standard Five she used to fail most subjects. Yet she is sharp and intelligent in other ways. Her parents noticed that she could memorise every song on the radio if it was played often. To prepare for her Primary exam, the persistent and wise mum read every page of her text books aloud to her. Since questions were in the
multiple choice objective form, she somehow managed to score 5 As. To me, that means she could recognise the shapes of many words. Never mind the fact that she could hardly read and could not spell.
She belongs to a minority race. There are only thirteen professionals of her ethnic background practising in the state of Sarawak. She is THE FIRST WOMAN FROM HER TRIBE to own a firm in her hometown. I was very impressed. It must have been a difficult and tedious path to breach
an invisible barrier in a back water area.
To reach her present mile stone, she had been on training in multiple places and God had been stretching her since she qualified. She practised for many years in the capital city of the country. After that she returned to the capital of Sarawak, not of her own choice. But she managed to have 15 happy years there. Then, out of the blue, she was left with no choice but to relocate to her home town - a place that she has decided not to return to since she has left it. She cried, she pleaded with her heavenly father. But to no avail. It was a non-negotiable. It was a place of her most horrific nightmare. She had not only unhappy years but to add salt to the wounds, she was systematically bullied in the school system. When I first met her, she was very thin - steadily losing weight. It was within the first three years she returned to her least desirable place on earth. This is the 5th year since we knew each other. Finally I saw her in her element and the tinge of deep sadness is gone. It must have been difficult. Yet she needed to face her demons and to gain a full victory from her dark past.
(1149) Good Servant but poor master
A few months back I met the Voons, in our conversation we touched on Sylvia who is our common friend in Silver City. After my family left Silver City, Sylvia's three sisters passed on. After all, it has been fourteen years or so. Apparently only Hattie was buried according to the instructions in her will. The remaining two left no will. Sylvia took charge and had each of them cremated. The ashes were placed in separate urns. The urns were left behind a coffin shop in Pasir Putih. Nephews and nieces queried but Sylvia refused to release any money to buy niches to place the urns. She said that when she passes on, it is written in her will to buy three niches side by side. She wanted her two sisters to be on her left and her right.
When I heard that, I was shocked. Imagine having urns that could be opened placed on public land totally open to the elements! Any naughty children could tip the ashes out of the urns as a game. Or anyone could get rid of the ashes and resell the urns. Sylvia is a very rich woman, she receives two pensions from Australia. Her fixed deposit accounts in the bank in total exceeds three million dollars ten years ago. But I guess no amount of money is sufficient if money is her sole security. She wants just a little more each day. The house she lives in was left to her and her three sisters by their parents. Sylvia refused to move out because she wants to outlive her sisters and be the sole person to inherit the house. Now that she finally has it all to herself, she dared not live in it alone. She hired
an Indonesian maid and at night the house has all its electrical lights on. Sylvia is childless.
We wonder if her millions would eventually go to her nieces, nephews, the lawyer or the maid. Money is a good servant but a poor master. The love of money leads to evil. In this case it leads to an eccentric life style. A very rich woman who lives like a pauper yet she becomes richer by the minute.
When I heard that, I was shocked. Imagine having urns that could be opened placed on public land totally open to the elements! Any naughty children could tip the ashes out of the urns as a game. Or anyone could get rid of the ashes and resell the urns. Sylvia is a very rich woman, she receives two pensions from Australia. Her fixed deposit accounts in the bank in total exceeds three million dollars ten years ago. But I guess no amount of money is sufficient if money is her sole security. She wants just a little more each day. The house she lives in was left to her and her three sisters by their parents. Sylvia refused to move out because she wants to outlive her sisters and be the sole person to inherit the house. Now that she finally has it all to herself, she dared not live in it alone. She hired
an Indonesian maid and at night the house has all its electrical lights on. Sylvia is childless.
We wonder if her millions would eventually go to her nieces, nephews, the lawyer or the maid. Money is a good servant but a poor master. The love of money leads to evil. In this case it leads to an eccentric life style. A very rich woman who lives like a pauper yet she becomes richer by the minute.
(1148) Hazardous job
In this town, rubbish collection is centralised. There is one or two collection points in one housing estate, depending on the size of the area.
When I first moved here, I was pleased that the point is within walking distance from my residence. For the first week, I would wake up at 6:10 am and would get outdoor by 6:30 am. It is natural to throw the rubbish before I get my breakfast. I did that until the soup noodle waitress told me gently and tactfully that nobody in this town would visit the rubbish collection point that early.
Well, I stopped leaving that early. It is not because I have any fears of my safety walking around before the sun rays hit my skin. I figure: when in Rome, do as the Romans. From all my early walks, I have only met folks walking to the bus stop on the main road. There were maids sharing a heavy load to tip out at the dumpster. Once there were two native boys, tidily dressed with packed lunch and bottles of drinking water, going to work at some manual labour. Of course every morning I see the sweepers in fluorescent uniforms who were busy sweeping.
What really shocked me was an entire family, from wiry father in his twenties, to pregnant mother in her late teens and teenage pretty girl in her head scarf, to children of different ages and sexes were grubbing at the dump site. I presumed they live at the single room beside the car wash facility - I counted eight of them.
My son told me those are the undocumented aliens. The only way they could earn their daily bread was to collect and sell the recyclable rescued from the dumpsters. I asked how come there is no one above 35 years old. He said the content of the batteries or other high tech stuff probably killed those who habitually handle such toxic things without gloves, barrier overalls or face/nose masks.
I mulled on what I heard and seen. For now, I segregate the recyclables from garbage-a small step to assist the task of recycling.
When I first moved here, I was pleased that the point is within walking distance from my residence. For the first week, I would wake up at 6:10 am and would get outdoor by 6:30 am. It is natural to throw the rubbish before I get my breakfast. I did that until the soup noodle waitress told me gently and tactfully that nobody in this town would visit the rubbish collection point that early.
Well, I stopped leaving that early. It is not because I have any fears of my safety walking around before the sun rays hit my skin. I figure: when in Rome, do as the Romans. From all my early walks, I have only met folks walking to the bus stop on the main road. There were maids sharing a heavy load to tip out at the dumpster. Once there were two native boys, tidily dressed with packed lunch and bottles of drinking water, going to work at some manual labour. Of course every morning I see the sweepers in fluorescent uniforms who were busy sweeping.
What really shocked me was an entire family, from wiry father in his twenties, to pregnant mother in her late teens and teenage pretty girl in her head scarf, to children of different ages and sexes were grubbing at the dump site. I presumed they live at the single room beside the car wash facility - I counted eight of them.
My son told me those are the undocumented aliens. The only way they could earn their daily bread was to collect and sell the recyclable rescued from the dumpsters. I asked how come there is no one above 35 years old. He said the content of the batteries or other high tech stuff probably killed those who habitually handle such toxic things without gloves, barrier overalls or face/nose masks.
I mulled on what I heard and seen. For now, I segregate the recyclables from garbage-a small step to assist the task of recycling.
(1147) The Marble Collector by Cecelia Ahern
This is a delightful tale told in a breath-taking manner. When my brothers were young, I remember at least two marble seasons. We were poor then. The boys in the neighbourhood played with clay marbles. There were no tar roads in the housing estate during that era. We lived in one unit among the rows of tiny wooden houses built on land owned by one individual. My grandma used to pay $3 per month to the landlord. When my father bought a brick house, my grandma sold the wooden house for $3,000, she signed the sale and purchase document with an X in front of a local Justice of Peace with the lawyer and the purchaser in attendance.
Those houses were condemned and taken down years ago. A few years after 1969(the year my family moved away), most of our old neighbours moved out after us too. The area then became a place for housing foreign workers.
I have not visited my childhood haunt for years. The only landmark remaining is my first Primary school. Along the Old Klang Road, 4 1/2 Mile is almost the mid point between Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya. Folks value the location for its proximity to the two cities.
Those houses were condemned and taken down years ago. A few years after 1969(the year my family moved away), most of our old neighbours moved out after us too. The area then became a place for housing foreign workers.
I have not visited my childhood haunt for years. The only landmark remaining is my first Primary school. Along the Old Klang Road, 4 1/2 Mile is almost the mid point between Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya. Folks value the location for its proximity to the two cities.
(1146) Glue sniffers
One day I walked past a pizza joint and saw five tweens and teens crashed higgledy-piggledy on slabs of carton pieces along the side walk on the shaded side away from the elements.
It was a school day. All of them, judging on their heights and sizes, should be in school. No, those are not illegal immigrants. They are not even documented workers' children. Apparently each one has a home somewhere. There are fathers and mothers. At night they go home. It was only between 8am to 5pm that they sleep along the side walks of commercial areas.
My land lady said that those throwaway kids have been sniffing glue for many years. They were stunted, some could be as old as past their twenties but look like twelve year olds. Poor diets, damaged brain cells, compromised respiratory systems by toxic fumes prevented them from growing to their full potential sizes.
Strangely, each one of the five were well dressed. Perhaps a little scruffy due to the lack of hygiene amenities. One small (about nine years old by size) boy has his hair dyed blond.
As far as I could see without staring, they were all boys. Assuming those I talked to were right, these are local children - perhaps they are of Malay parentage or are native descended. They are too fair to be Indians or Africans, yet too dark to be Chinese or even Kadazans. If they are locals, then they have identity cards. Even if they missed the academic trains in schools, they could work legally. For basic, low wage jobs, it is an employees' market. Business owners find it very difficult to get workers with documents. Jobs go begging for takers.
Perhaps it is easier to beg for fifty cents here and a dollar there. Or with the tiny bodies, it is possible to squeeze into business buildings or homes to steal computers and flat screen TVs.
It was a school day. All of them, judging on their heights and sizes, should be in school. No, those are not illegal immigrants. They are not even documented workers' children. Apparently each one has a home somewhere. There are fathers and mothers. At night they go home. It was only between 8am to 5pm that they sleep along the side walks of commercial areas.
My land lady said that those throwaway kids have been sniffing glue for many years. They were stunted, some could be as old as past their twenties but look like twelve year olds. Poor diets, damaged brain cells, compromised respiratory systems by toxic fumes prevented them from growing to their full potential sizes.
Strangely, each one of the five were well dressed. Perhaps a little scruffy due to the lack of hygiene amenities. One small (about nine years old by size) boy has his hair dyed blond.
As far as I could see without staring, they were all boys. Assuming those I talked to were right, these are local children - perhaps they are of Malay parentage or are native descended. They are too fair to be Indians or Africans, yet too dark to be Chinese or even Kadazans. If they are locals, then they have identity cards. Even if they missed the academic trains in schools, they could work legally. For basic, low wage jobs, it is an employees' market. Business owners find it very difficult to get workers with documents. Jobs go begging for takers.
Perhaps it is easier to beg for fifty cents here and a dollar there. Or with the tiny bodies, it is possible to squeeze into business buildings or homes to steal computers and flat screen TVs.
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