50 years of ISA: Vigil Serentak 1st August 2010, 8pm

I'm out of KL now but I should be back in time to give my support at Padang Timur. Meanwhile, here are some helpful details.

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Gerakan Mansuhkan ISA (GMI) and Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM) would like to invite all concerned citizens to a Candle light Vigil in conjunction with 50 years of ISA. The Vigil will be held on the 1st of August 2010 at several parts of Malaysia such as:

State Place Contact Person

Selangor Dataran MBPJ, Nalini: 019 3758912

Padang Timur

(Opposite Amcorp Mall)

Penang Speakers Square Jing Cheng: 012 7583779

Perak Dataran Bandaraya Ipoh Dr. Kumar: 019 5616807

Kedah Dataran Zero KM, Simon Ooi : 012 4202264

Sungai Petani

Kelantan Taman Hijau, KB Zaidi: 0123840415

Seremban Dataran Seremban Veron: 016 6687900

Sibu, Kuching and Johor will be confirm soon.

We demand the Government of Malaysia to Abolish the ISA as soon as possible as the barbaric and unlawful Act has existed in Malaysia for 50 years. The ISA is draconian and most importantly, it is against the fundamental human rights.

Please join us together to fight the ISA and all other detention without trial laws! Together We CAN Bring CHANGE!

GMI Secretariat will update everyone from time to time regarding the venue of the Vigils in each state mentioned above. Please bear with us. For further info, please contact Miss Nalini at 019 3758912 or 03 77843525.

Released By,

Nalini.E

GMI Secretariat and SUARAM Coordinator

The Great Together

I don't know exactly when I heard about the Class of '76 getting together.  I think I must have heard it from a couple of my FB CBN friends.  As time went by, more and more were sending messages and today, the lunch materialised with 28 of us showing up.

It isn't always easy to organise a get together.  However, Facebook has made it easier and since it was an open invitation, anyone who was interested could just inform and join in.   Life is so easy when there are no protocols to follow.

I hadn't seen some of these gals since 34 years ago.  Yet we picked up just as if it was yesterday that we were in school.  Some of us weren't ever in the same class but it did not matter.  Some of us remembered the face but not the name or vice versa.  Some of us who have kept in touch via emails or HP also met up again after too many years.  Some are back for the summer holidays and happily shared news about other CBNers who are overseas.

Last night, I was wondering about what to wear, or if anyone would notice my hair is coloured, and that I am far removed from the image of a skinny girl with pigtails. 

None of my concerns was of any concern at all.  Everyone only saw the happy memories we had when we were in school.  We saw beyond all those superficial things and found that genuine friendships really last a lifetime.  

I am such a homebody. I almost never socialise.  Therefore, I am quite picky about going out.  I am so glad that I did not give this a miss.

What makes for a great get together?  I know.  Laughter.  Hugs.  Kisses.  Jokes.   It's also “the pointing at someone who just arrived and who you suddenly recognise”.   It's about connecting again with the girls who you knew as teens and who are now wives/mothers/grandmothers.  It's reuniting with the familiar banter and feeling teary from the joy of being part of these beautiful people.

So what's 34 years between friends?  I can tell you it's nothing!

The Get Together is all about the great together.

Dedicated to my wonderful and much loved 
CBN class of 1976. 

All photos only on Facebook.

P.S.  

G, I did a grammar check but I claim writer's licence 

for breaking some English Language rules. :-)

Of connecting the dots

I don't really consider myself a superstitious person.  I might have grown up exposed to many tales of supernatural phenomena but I believe that they didn't really have much of an impact on me.  Usually, the old wives' tales are considered to be almost as close as you can get to fact.  Why?  The old women say so!  

I usually sit on the fence when I hear of anything unexplainable.  Sometimes I can see right through it.  At other times, I wonder about a logical explanation.  It used to amuse me that people always laid claim to "knowing", beforehand, about an event that occurred but only after it took place.  They normally begin by saying "I had a feeling about it."  Then they elaborate about having a dream or seeing it in some vision.  Sometimes, they just say that they knew it.  

When I was young, I think I did fall for some of it.  I remember being in awe of these people and I felt that they had some special power. 

I still don't know where I stand on this issue.  

Of course, it's not important but I do have some personal experiences, which I don't understand nor which I can explain.

The first one was when DC died; two different people told me that they had dreamt of him.   

One lived in Penang, the other in Kuala Lumpur and they were not in contact with each other.  Yet when they related their dream to me, at different opportunities, it was uncanny.  It was as if they had seen the same movie and told me about it.  I don't think they would have concocted this. Why would they?  I pondered over it for a long time and until today; I cannot understand how two complete individuals could  have an almost identical dream.  Even the dialogue in the dream was similar.  How do we connect the dots?  

The second co-incidence is that DC died on 26 March which is 5 days after my birthday on 21 March.  Unbelievably, Eric, my second boy died on 17 July also exactly 5 days after Jared's birthday on 12 July.  What are the odds of that happening?  A gambling person might say a million to one.  What's the significance?  I don't know.  

What brought all this up? I am thinking of Eric today.

Anyway, it was timely that just less than an hour ago, a friend of mine began to sort out some thoughts in his head and writing it down in his email to me.  In the end, he said it was getting complicated and just stopped abruptly.  No further analysis and no more trudging through the whole rigmarole.  He just put a smiley and that was it.  This got me thinking about how easy it is to dismiss what is too much trouble to sort out.  That is if one really wants to!

When I replied to his email, I told him that he should bottle up that quality and sell it.  I added that he'd be a millionaire.  Upon hindsight, I think that people won't want it.  People love spending time connecting the dots. 

I'll end this on a lighter note.  See image to smile.

(all images from photobucket)
Apologies to blondes!

Of drifting, drumming and dreaming

Jared is twenty-four today.  I took this picture of him just a couple of weeks ago when we were in Singapore.  We drove down south and during that time, we talked about everything under the sun.  We have our moments when we share what's in our hearts and minds.  I love those times because it's when I really get to know him better.  We are friends even if we are mother and son.

When his father died, I told him that I had lost my best friend.  I told him that he would be my best friend now.  Being only 4 years old, he didn't really understand and he replied that he wanted to be my son. Little did he know that he has been the best friend I could ever have hoped for!

Drifting

For a while, Jared was drifting around without any direction.  He wasn't afraid to work hard though.  He did whatever job that came along.  Much as I had wanted him to study some more, I didn't want to impose my own dreams on him either.  So I let him be and he found his niche along the way.  Some of life's lessons cannot be taught.  They have to be learnt.  

He did what he could and now he is doing what he enjoys.  He works for his living, plays music and teaches too.  At his age, they can do it all!  He's been adrift but he's always stayed afloat.

Drumming

Jared's love for drums started way before I even knew he had music in his genes.  As a small boy, I don't remember him going around, with chopsticks, playing on pots and pans.  Maybe I wasn't paying too much attention and I didn't notice.  When he was about ten, a musician told me that he's a natural and could be a good drummer.  This was way back when Blues Cafe was around.  Jared was fooling around with the drum set and although I didn't really see his potential, I nodded in delight.  

Then when he was in his early teens, he took part in a music contest in church and the band won the first prize.  It was then that I saw him sitting behind the drum set and playing for the first time.  I was so proud of him because he had done it all on his own.  Practised and gotten everything together without ever bothering me for anything.  I saw it as a sign of independence and determination.  He knew what he wanted and he set out to do it on his own.  Today, he's quite an accomplished drummer.  He still has some ways to go but certainly, he’s on his way.  

Dreaming

What would life be, if we didn't have dreams?  I don't know what Jared dreams about.  I don't even think about it at all except that today is his birthday, and I wonder what his aspirations are and what he sees, for himself, in his future.  When I was 24, I didn't even have a dream or illusions about my life.  Well, I was married when I was 24.  Today's world sees people tying the knot much later in life.  I don't suppose that Jared will be marrying soon.  The world is his oyster.  He lives in a happy world, surrounded by family and friends who love him dearly.  

I wonder what awaits him in the year ahead.  Today heralds a new year for him.  For him, it is a fresh beginning and leaving the past behind, in order to be able to see new twists and turns in the road of life.  If all he ever achieves in life is knowing good from bad and right from wrong, then I think it is enough.  Too many think that they need to have more or to have it all.  They think that when they accumulate money, titles, degrees and properties, it makes them better.  In my opinion, it doesn't.

I'm his mom but many will agree with me that Jared is a good person without a bad bone in his body.  In today's environment, that is an achievement.

Well-done, son!  Happy Birthday!

D and I love you so much and we are so very proud of the person you have become.

Of music and magic

My growing years were filled with music.  It was something that I took for granted.  There were always musicians around, talk about music, songs, riffs, bars, keys and what not.  It was a part and parcel of my youth.  However, this love connection did not translate into me becoming a musician. 

I've always known my dad to be an awesome pianist. Yet, it's great to see that Joe Chelliah, a respected spokesperson for the music industry, remembers him and has put up two youtube videos of Tony Soliano.

Joe's effort is such a kind and generous gift to all of us who miss the music and the magic of Tony Soliano.

This is what Joe says,
"ESSENTIALLY FOR TRUE MUSICIANS ONLY: After yestrday n this morning's hard work with my limited multi-media skills I have completed this project. Sorry for x clear visuals. Go ahead and enjoy this 2nd posting of the brilliance of Tony Soliano, a truly great unappreciated Malaysian musician. Few who knew him are still alive. This is a classic. He fully exploits music's form, jazz, harmony, scales, melody n musical styles (Latin Bossa n Kerncong idioms) to the full.....melody on left hand and frills on the right hand too. Many know the pentatonic scale but few know how to "belasah" this eastern scale so well. ENJOY aje lah."

 

AND
Another rare recording of the late Tony Soliano's brilliance at the piano around 1988. Here he performs the ever popular RINDU with Azizah Basri on Vocals and brilliantly exploits the Javanese pentatonic scale into his music.

THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH, JOE!

Of the World Cup, Women and Work

Of the World Cup

I've always loved football. So the World Cup is something I look forward to following. This time, though, I am watching it alone, most of the time. It's not all bad since there's a mamak stall close enough for me to hear them roar when any team scores or misses. It always makes me smile when they do. I'm sure the non-football fans will be cursing and swearing at them. I've followed most of the live matches if they were on at a decent hour.

I'm supporting Uruguay. They are doing fine, so far. They'll play Ghana on Saturday, 2 July 2010 at 2.30 am. I shall be in Singapore and I hope to catch the game, that is if I can stay up.

I'm not a die-hard football fan but I've been to the Shah Alam stadium when Selangor played. The craziest thing I did was to watch the FIFA World Youth Championship in 1997. Two games in a row, which means about 3 hours of football. Argentina beat Uruguay for 1st place and Ireland beat Ghana for 3rd place. Those were the days!

Of Women

On a totally different note, sometimes I wonder why some women give us women a bad name. Do they do so because they don't know they are doing it or is it because they are just plain ignorant?

Some years ago, a married male friend of mine called me to say that I shouldn't contact him anymore because his wife (also my friend) imagined we were having an affair. I was just flabbergasted. In the first place, I had not been in touch with this guy and had perhaps seen him only once or twice over a span of 8 or 9 years. In the second place, there had never been any chemistry between us. Not when we were both unmarried and certainly not when we found our own loves. How could this woman jump to this conclusion? What made her fight with her husband to the point of talking about divorce?


I just don't get it. The "affair" never existed and her husband was innocent. Yet she insisted and made his life miserable based on unfounded suspicions.

I could hear the pain in his voice when he told me. Much as I wanted to be a good friend and make things better for him, this was just one of those times when you just had to take a step back and walk away.

Why I remember this now? Something I saw online made me remember. I wonder if life is wasted when there is no peace of mind. I cannot believe that she had spent so many years of her married life being suspicious of something that never was. Crazy indeed!

Of Work

On 24 June 2010, I reached the 18th year anniversary at work. It's a great milestone. My previous record was 10 years in another organisation. Yeah, I'm into long-lasting relationships, both on a personal and professional level! I wonder if I'll make it to 20 years. Now that would be something to celebrate.  

There is a sense of achievement at having worked for almost all of my adult life. It's nice to look back and recognise the wonderful experiences that have made me who I am today.

A portrait of me!

When I began blogging, I had a tough time because I wasn't sure about the "rules" that encapsulate the virtual world.   It seemed that everyone had his or her own style and theme. Many had tons of "followers" and I was just a tiny drop in the ocean.  It appeared to be a daunting task to plod on without direction.  

Yet along the way, I found that other bloggers were genuinely kind and helpful.  It seemed so unlikely but it was easy to get help and direction from people I didn't know at all.  All I had to do when in doubt was to ask and the advice came so quickly and willingly.  Tip my hat here to Antares and Masterwordsmith for their generosity.

Anyway, one the pleasures I derived, from other blogs, was finding little treasures that made me smile.

The one that stood out is "de minimis" with his piece on Obama and JFK: Inaugural address.  In that blog, I found an excellent portrait of Obama done by Dan Lacey. Something about it struck a chord in me.  I found out later that the JFK portrait done by Aaron Shikler inspired him.

 

Prompted by curiosity, I visited the site of Dan Lacey.  He's an unusual painter of pancakes.  I saw beyond his pancakes.  I loved his style and, on impulse, I wrote him to ask if he could do a painting from a picture I had.  He agreed.  Although it took a long time for him to get it done, due to being in high demand, the wait was worth it.

He transformed a simple picture of me into a work of art.  I'd like to share it with you!

I've had loads of wonderful responses to this on Facebook and via email.  The one that makes me smile the most is from my friend of "The English Cottage".  I could hear her voice as she wrote, 

"I think he's captured you quite brilliantly!

You look a trifle saucy - just look at the hair - big and healthy and so full of life! It says sexy and sultry, and yet, the gentle curls barely touching at both sides of your neck - suggesting where you've just been kissed (by the hair lah, but also . . . .) And the locket, modestly placed high on the chest, but the neckline ... ahhhh, open, and fading out of site. Very suggestive!

I lovely forehead, not messed about with hair - so much in the forefront, and therefore showing that you're a thinker, and an intelligent woman, not just a beauty with no brains, k!

The smile is how I always think of you.

But best of all - the eyes: Smiling, and beautiful and bright. And looking far away into the distance - seeing a happy future, planning something? Seeing the years ahead, and knowing they will be good - no matter the curve balls, all will be fine in the end.

How did you like that? That's the kinda thing mad people who do literature and language do! Also people who look at paintings and try to see what the artist saw, and try to decipher the subject through the way she was painted. Why did he emphasize this, why was this so subtle? So many things to see and so many answers to discover!

Of course, I am just a fraud, because I already know you so well.

But seriously, I think he captured you very well. He found the essence that is you - not just the lovely face that we all can see; but also the lovely soul shining inside."

The icing on the cake is when Stephen says he loves the painting and has put it as his laptop wallpaper.  He even suggested we frame it and display it in our living room.

So have you had your portrait painted?  :-)