Spacious Moments

OPM Workshop at BGF on 21/3 & 22/3

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 13 Mar 2015 16:07:00 +0000

Itold Jason via WhatsApp that I could only commit to one day volunteering on Sat 21/3 as a workshop facilitator.

This is because on Sun 22/3 I have to attend the MAA AGM and also kyu grading at MAA HQ. As I have missed the last kyu grading I feel that this kyu grading and the AGM are too important to stay away.

Jason replied that he would confirm my status the next day. I think he needed time to talk to the BGF people about my case.

BR1M rejection appeal

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 13 Mar 2015 12:05:00 +0000

BR1M 2015 Logo

Second Visit To LHDN
I decided to return to LHDN Cheras today after failing to submit my appeal for reconsideration of BR1M yesterday.

My appeal was rejected because the woman officer handling my case insisted that I submit my 2014 KWSP statement to show evidence of cessation of monthly contribution and submit a form signed by my wife declaring that that she has no monthly income. Apparently the letter from WBSB, my last employer, accepting my resignation with effect from July 2014 was not sufficient for her.

Counter #05
However today Anna, my wife decided to go to the LHDN office in Cheras with me. Compared to yesterday the reception hall was quite empty of visitors. I saw many officers managing the counters having nothing to do. After stepping inside the reception centre on the ground floor we proceeded straight away to Counter #05.

Almost Empty Reception Centre

I wanted to avoid meeting the same woman officer who attended to me yesterday. She didn't come across as customer friendly. As bad luck would have it her male colleague sitting beside her was busy attending to a visitor and the woman officer who was free was reading a newspaper leaving me with no choice but to deal with her. As I approached her for assistance she appeared to reconise me from my first visit.

After going through all the paper documents, including my WKSP statement she finally agree to accept my application by endorsing the first page with a date and a BR1M stamp. She told me to expect for a decision from LHDN by May. If there is no response by May I am supposed to check with LHDN for the status of my appeal application.

After insisting on an acknowledgement of my application she relented by stamping the LHDN email with a date and LHDN stamp but no signature.

2014 EA Form

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 12 Mar 2015 14:55:00 +0000

EA Form

After no news from James since the middle of February I decided the time had come to call Thian Choon, my former boss from Wawasan Bersatu about the status of the EA form. He answered me almost immediately upon receiving my call.

He told me that the EA form will be issued by next week and asked how I wanted to get my hands on it. I told him to inform me in advance when the form is ready so that I can go to Wawasan Bersatu to collect it personally.

I need the EA form to file my 2014 income tax return via e-filling and the dateline for doing that is April 31.
This year will probably my last for filing an annual income tax return with LHDN.

Appeal for BR1M rejection

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 12 Mar 2015 08:44:00 +0000

Notice board showing a sample of the BR1M
appeal form

Officers ready to receive the appeal applications

LHDN Cheras branch at Menara PGRM

The hall for processing the BR1M appeal application is located on the ground floor of the building. I was surprised to see more than 5 counters, each counter specifically assigned to process a particular category of rejection. Beside the counters for the processing of the applications there were two empty tables for the public to use. There were many people there who came earlier than me.

LHDN rejected my application under category 5. Category 5 refers to the application who is still receiving an income from employment. So I went to the counter responsible for processing category 5 applicants.

Including the application form I also submitted my Wawasan Bersatu resignation letter and also the latter's letter accepting my resignation as supporting documents to proof that I had stopped working since July 2014.

After going through the form and also the supporting documents the lady officer insisted that to show concrete evidence that I had stopped working I am required to submit my KWSP 2014 and 2015 statements. Apparently Wawasan Bersatu's acceptance letter is not good enough. She also required Anna to fill up a separate form stating that she has no income. I have a feeling that the officer did not believe me when I told her that I have no employment income.

KWSP Cheras Taman Shamelin Perkasa

At her suggestion I drove to Taman Shamelin Perkasa to look for the KWSP office. Although it was my first time visiting that particular branch of KWSP I managed to find it in Taman Shamelin Perkasa.

Once inside the building I went straight to a automated kiosk to get my 2014 and 2015 statement printed. The 2014 statement clearly shows that there were no more monthly contributions to KWSP after July

After leaving the KWSP I decided to return to TPJ instead of returning to LHDN. Anyway I also needed Anna to sign a form.

Keeping a cool head

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 10 Mar 2015 13:10:00 +0000

Anjung Singgah

Inside the kitchen

The dining room outside the kitchen

As usual I stood outside the counter to arrange and hand out the meals and bottled water while the other two lady volunteers were inside the kitchen filling the plates with rice and vegetables.

By 12.30 pm I had given away almost all the meals on the counter except two. I didn't think that there would be any more coming in to eat the food and we were about to start packing when a lone burly man strode in.

For the reason that I could not understand at that time when I passed him one of the two remaining meals he glared and shouted at me angrily.

Instead of reacting to his aggression I put down the meal and asked him calmly and politely if he wanted the other meal on the counter. Then when I picked up and offered the other meal he realised what was happening. Almost as fast as his sudden outburst he apologized repeatedly for his offensive behavior.

In the first place I think he got offended and became angry mistaking me for another guy cutting in from behind to grab his meal. Then when I offered to pass him the other meal it dawned on him that I was actually the helper serving him food and not what he thought was another guy grabbing his share of the food.

I wonder what would be the outcome if I had lost my cool and reacted in kind to his verbal posturing and aggression.

Distributing the full moon gift packs

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 08 Mar 2015 13:56:00 +0000

Iand Anna spent the whole morning and afternoon running around from one part to another of the city distributing these gift packs to relatives and friends.

First before we could start to deliver the packs we had to go to the shop in Puchong at 10.00am to collect them and also to settle the balance of the money owing.

We were disappointed when the lady boss said that her credit card machine was out of order and therefore we had to pay her cash. I remember she assured us when we made our order last week that the shop accepted credit card payment. I felt that she wasn't completely honest with us but decided to over look the matter as we were in a hurry to send out the gift packs.

As we didn't have RM643.80 in cash to pay her we had to drive a few blocks to Public Bank to look for a ATM machine to withdraw the cash.

By the time returned to the shop with the cash we had already wasted more than an hour of looking for parking and the bank. Stressed by the traffic congestion and the difficulty of find a lot to park the car I and Anna were getting a bit on our nerves as we entered the shop for the second time.

After lunch our first stop was at Nicholas and Amy's house in Sierra 16. By that time the weather had started to get hot. We didn't go inside but chatted briefly with Nicholas and Amy by the staircase before leaving for the next destination.

After Sierra 16 we headed straight for Peter Chew's house in Pandan Glades which was about 1 hour drive away. In Peter Chew's house we spent about 30 minutes chatting with Peter Chew and Angie.

From Pandan Glades we then went to Chin and my sister's house in Taman Sri Sinar, Segambut. Spent about 30 minutes before returning to TPJ.

As Nigel who was out of town we could not go straight from Segambut to his Koi Kinara apartment in Puchong. We decided to return home and wait for him to inform us when he was back.

5.00pm. Nigel sms to said that he had already reached home. On the way to his apartment I ran smack into a heavy downpour and flash floods. Although I was worried about the flash flood I decided to press on my journey to his apartment.

Fortunately by the time I arrived at the guardhouse at the entrance to his apartment the rain had stopped. I handed over the gift pack to him when he came down from his unit after waiting for aout 10 minutes in the car.

7.30pm. Arrived home rather exhausted by the whole day's running around and the extremely hot weather.

Weibin's first full moon birthday celebration

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 07 Mar 2015 09:50:00 +0000

Sat 7/3/2015 Ipoh Pusing Public Seafood Restaurant

This baby boy, blissfully asleep in the arms of his grandma is unaware of the drama that is unfolding all around him

His family is busy holding a luncheon in his honour to celebrate his first full moon birthday.

Repairing the leaking concrete roof

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 04 Mar 2015 09:01:00 +0000

Mr Yong applying sealant to the joints
of the metal flashing

Mr Yong inspecting the existing metal flashing

Trying to nail the flashing to the brick wall behind
the air conditioner unit is a tricky business

Tight corner. Lack of working space

New sealant to seal the gap for water tightness

Engaged Mr Yong our regular contractor to treat the leaking concrete roof above the kitchen. Due to normal wear and tear the existing sealant at the joint between the gi rainwater flashing and the plastered wall have opened up. rainwater seeped through the gaps in the joint into the kitchen below.

He spent one whole afternoon adding new gi flashing and sealing the old joints. After sealing the joints he also applied a fibre reinforced coating to ensure that the leakage is completely plugged.

Paid him RM350 for the rectification work.

Reunion of old guys

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 01 Mar 2015 12:53:00 +0000

What do old guys in their 50s, 60s and 70s have in common?

They all like to eat and drink together at the slightest excuse. For this occasion of the wedding dinner of Dr Tiong and Lilian Su at Restoran Golden Court in Bentong all the brothers-in-laws sat around Table 30 for a round of endless drinks, food and small talks. Likewise while the men were busy toasting each other their wives who are sisters would occupy another table exchanging gossips with their own kind.

Of all the old men shown in the picture Mr Yip, the bald and plumb guy in white shirt is the oldest and the most gregarious of all. After a few drinks he will become the spark of the group

Wedding dinner in Bentong

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 01 Mar 2015 12:05:00 +0000

Tonight is Dr Tiong and Lilian Su's big day; their wedding dinner being held at Restoran Golden Court in Bentong

Restoran Golden Court which used to be located in the market area in the town centre has found a new home in a purpose built stand alone building at 1st milestone Jalan Tras. This impressive two storey building now houses the newest and biggest Chinese restaurant in Bentong

On this night there were three wedding dinners being held simultaneously. Ours were held on the first floor level while the other two were held on the ground floor.

The open staircase leading to the first floor has an impressive wall facade with decorative koi fish features stuck to the wall. At the centre of the stairwell the ceiling-hung chandelier further enhances the beauty of the staircase.

At the registration counter I was assigned to Table No 7. Table No 7 was the table where all the sisters sat together. As I thought there might be a mistake in assigning table numbers I decided to join the rest of my brothers-in-law at table 30

Nicholas and Amy came in at 7.30pm after being delayed by traffic congestion and loosing their way in the town centre.

The dinner started promptly at 8.00pm when the bride and groom's parents walked into the banquet hall to be closely followed by the beaming bride and groom. The groom wore a white suite while the bride don a red dress.

The groom's father dressed quite simply in a short sleeved white shirt, black pants and wearing sandals. They do look like the part of simple rural folks by the way they dressed> I would have thought that since their son was getting married they should wear something more appropriate to the glamorous occasion.

The food was good and in big portions.

All the brothers-in laws had a good time drinking and toasting each other. Yip the most senior brother-in-law was at his elements when under the influence of alcohol. As for me I didn't touch any red wine, beer or brandy. As I had to drive I stuck to Chinese tea.

The dinner ended at 10.30pm.

After the dinner we headed back to KL instead of staying the night in Bentong.

Baitiangong （拜天公）celebration is worshipping the Jade Emperor

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 26 Feb 2015 17:12:00 +0000

Disturbed from my sleep by the crackle of exploding fireworks I went downstairs to escape the noise and also to do some research and writing on this celebration.

Today is the 9th day of the CNY. On this day some members of the Chinese community worship the Jade Emperor or Baitiangong （拜天公）by burning incense, lighting candles, offering of food and setting off fireworks.

Although the Baitiangong ceremony was originally practiced by Hokkien people, nowadays other Chinese dialect groups also join in the celebration.

Of all the days of the CNY usually Baitiangong is the day when the fireworks activity is the most intense. Although the noise from the exploding fireworks can be quite irritating, fortunately the fireworks activities are of short duration lasting at the most one hour.

Reigning in the erratic behaviour of the York room air conditioner

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 26 Feb 2015 08:11:00 +0000

Just disabled the timer on and timer off function buttons in the remote control of the York split air conditioner in the Master Bedroom.

I did it only after reading up the user manual in detail. However I am still not sure if I'm doing it correctly because the instructions in the manual are too brief as to be incomprehensible. I shall know after I turn on the air conditioning tonight.

The reason why I'm finally doing something about this air conditioner is that it has been behaving erratically for months. After turning it on it would sometimes shut down automatically by itself after operating for half an hour. Lately I have to switch it on more than once after it shut down by itself.

I hope that the problem is with the incorrect timer on and off functions, otherwise I will have to call in the experts to come take a look.

Wealth 财 (cai)

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 18 Feb 2015 16:47:00 +0000

This attractive bamboo plant is the only CNY decorative accessory that we bought to welcome the Chinese New Year.

My wife spotted this piece when we were shopping for CNY clothing at the Aeon store in the Aeon Cheras Selatan Mall about 3 weeks ago. At less than RM20.00 it was a small price to pay for such an attractive feature plant.

After 3 weeks we notice that the bamboo plant has sprouted leaves when they were not there when we bought the item.

The Chinese character 财 (cai) imprinted on the side of the gold coloured pot refers to wealth or fortune.

May the year of the goat bring prosperity, good health and happiness to all. Happy Chinese New Year. 恭喜发财

Auspicious Beginnings of Peace and Harmony

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 18 Feb 2015 16:31:00 +0000

Ilike the script in this scroll so much that I and my wife decided to paste two of them side by side on the window glass panel to welcome the Chinese New Year.

In English the 4 Chinese characters of 三阳和谐 (san yang he xie) means "Auspicious Beginnings of Peace and Harmony."

The phrase is written by Ven Master Hsing Yun, a renowned Buddhist monk from Fo Guan Shan monastery in Taiwan.

Of the two scrolls in my possession, one of them was given to me when I and my wife visited Fo Guan Shan Monastery in Taiwan as tourists in December 2014. During the Taiwan visit Fo Guan Shan Monastery was one of the tour itinerary.

As for the other one, it was given to me by members of the local Fo Guan Shan centre in Taman Puncak Jalil where I am now serving as an OPM volunteer.

I like this particular scroll because the script has deep spiritual meaning, so unlike the common CNY scripts that focus on materialistic themes such as wealth, good fortune and prosperity.

Wishing everyone a Happy Chinese New Year.

OPM gathering night

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 13 Feb 2015 09:17:00 +0000

Thu 12/2/2015 OPM Centre, Tmn Puncak Jalil

To mark a successful year the committee organised a vegetarian yee sang and steamboat dinner at its premises for the members. It was also held to celebrate the CNY that is going to start next week on Feb 19.

Today is the last time that we all meet and work here before closing the centre for 3 weeks to celebrate the CNY. Today was also the first time we wore our newly designed green T-shirt for the occasion.

After the dinner and washing up all of us sat around a table for a dialog session. During the dialog session many of the members freely shared their experiences of OPM therapy so that others may learn some valuable lessons from such exchange of information and knowledge. Two guests who are currently undergoing regular treatment here were also invited to share their experiences of the treatment with the members.

Although I am one of the newest members I was also invited to talk about my own experience working here. I told them how I got started and how grateful I am for being accepted by the group and given the opportunity to learn this form of health therapy.

My introduction to OPM therapy was purely by chance.

One day last year while serving the internet I stumbled upon a web site called "Origin Point Medicine in English" After reading all the stories written by the readers of this page I was convinced that OPM therapy is something worth looking into. The more I read the stories the more I got intrigued by the potential of this type of alternative medicine for health preservation and cultivation.

Before long I found myself registering for a two day weekend OPM workshop organised by BGF at Ara Damansara. Even before attending the workshop I was already attending treatment sessions at the Tmn Puncak Jalil OPM centre for my painful knee conditions.

The first person at the centre who attended to me was Jason Ng, who is a senior therapist here. When he first kneaded the origin points on my back I felt like I had just received an electric shock. The pain was so intense that my body even trembled as he piled on the pressure.

After a few sessions when I got to know Jason better, one night he suggested that I learn the art at the centre. Without hesitation I accepted his offer and started to visit the centre every week long after my knee problem was resolved. Beside Jason other senior members also gave me pointers and tips on how to execute the original point massage. I recall starting my first lesson in July 2014 and since then I have never looked back.

Then after about 6 months of hands-on training one night in January 23 2015 they gave me a green T-shirt to wear. That was my proudest moment. By presenting me with the T-shirt I knew that it was their way of accepting me as a full-fledged therapist. Before that even though I had already started to give treatment to visitors I was wearing my own clothing while the rest of the members were wearing their green T-shirt uniforms.

Although I am one of them now I still consider myself as a novice with a long road ahead to travel before I can consider myself competent in the art.

I am also grateful for the assistance that I am receiving from my senior colleagues who continue to teach me the deeper aspects of OPM therapy without reservation.

Inti Aikido gathering night

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 12 Feb 2015 04:55:00 +0000

Inti College, Nilai. Wed 11/2/2015

The Wed regular class was cancelled. Instead the members decided to organise a BBQ gathering night. Days before all the members were invited to attend the gathering via WhatsApp.

Although all the members of the club were invited some could not make it to the event due to work obligations. Then there were other non-club invited guests who didn't show up.

By the time I arrived at 7.00pm the members were already busy setting up the fire at two BBQ pits. I walked over to the pit where Nigel was busy fanning the charcoal to try set up a fire. I then decided to help in fanning the fire, at first with old newspaper and then later with a paper plate. Meanwhile some members were busy arranging an assortment of meat items on the skewers.

By 8.00pm when the fire was deemed ready all of us placed the skewed meat on a wire mesh laid over the flame to cook the meat. It was the first time that I had ever try my hand grilling meat over a charcoal fire. On hand to guide me was Nigel who is an old hand at cooking BBQ meals. Still due to my inexperience I overcooked some of the food.

Originally the organising committee had planned some games but due to the low turnout decided to cancel the games. Before the event ended at 10.00pm everyone was given a T-shirt printed with a beautiful Aikido artwork design to wear during the next training session.

A new chicken rice eating experience in Banting town

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 24 Oct 2014 08:22:00 +0000

While driving in Banting town with my wife looking for something to eat we stumbled upon a restaurant selling chicken rice.

Restoran Sin Loong Foong occupies a double storey corner shop lot located beside Jalan Bunga Pekan. It is also accessible from the side via a side road branching perpendicularly off the main road. With black coloured wooden tables and red plastic stools the interior decor was quite basic, otherwise it is clean and comfortable.

While chicken rice seems to be its main offering the shop also serves plain and curry noodle soup dishes. We ordered steamed chicken rice which was served in two plates, one for the rice and the other for the white steamed chicken meat.

Unlike the familiar chicken rice that I have eaten elsewhere, the chicken meat here is not flavoured with oil and light soya source. The steamed chicken meat here is seasoned with a beige colored creamy source with bits of goji berries (wolfberries) mixed into the source. Goji berries are a common ingredient used in the preparation of Chinese style herbal soups. Hence the presence of the red goji berries in the source give the chicken dish a subtle herbal flavour.

This restaurant appears to be popular with the locals. After stepping inside we found all the tables occupied except for one when the lone customer was waiting to settle the bill after finishing his meal. Fortunately we didn't have to wait long for the waiter to clear the table.

Since most of the people in this town are Hokkien speaking I asked the wife to do the ordering in the Hokkien dialect.

The service was prompt and efficient as we didn't have to wait long for our lunch meal to be served. The chicken rice meal was quite delicious and for RM11.50 for two persons, including a hot barley drink the price is not exorbitant.

Fastest passport renewal experience

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 17 Oct 2014 09:18:00 +0000

Do you know that you can renew your Malaysian international passport with the minimum of hassle?

Got my wife's and mine done at the immigration department in Putrajaya within 1-1/2 hours. We went to the immigration office located on the third floor of a government building when it opened its door at 7.30am. and left the premises at 9.00am.

There is no need to fill up any forms. No need to bring along any photographs because there is a camera at every counter to take a digital portrait of your face. There is no need to wear smartly because you can use the free black coats to spruce up your image when taking the snap shot of your face, courtesy of the immigration department.

All you are required to bring along are your Mykad, cash to pay for the service and your expired passport.

The application process is simple and straightforward.

First you tell the officer at the reception the nature of your application and you will be given a ticket with a specific number for the type of application. After getting a number you sit down at the waiting area for your number to be flashed at the electronic score board.

When you see your number in the score board you go to the counter assigned to your number. At the counter you hand over your Mykad to the officer who will then insert it in a card reader to extract the relevant information stored in the card's chip. The officer will also scan your left and right hand thumbs to verify that the thumb scans match the thumb prints stored in the MyKad's chip.

When everything is in order the officer will ask you to pose for a digital snap shot of your face using a camera mounted beside the counter and operated by the officer. You will be asked to put on a black coat and remove your glasses, if you are wearing one before taking the snap shot. The black coat is provided free of charge, courtesy of the immigration department.

After the photo session the officer will take away your MyKad and also the expired old passport for further processing. After that you are required to stamp your right thumb print on a sheet of paper document. With the ticket counterfoil the officer will direct you to Counter 23 or 24 where you are required to pay the processing fee.

At the payment counter you pay the processing fee when your ticket number is flashed on the electronic scoreboard. Upon paying the fee you will get an official receipt and will be directed to wait for the passport to be issued at another counter. As a senior citizen I paid RM150 which is half the normal price for a 5-year passport.

At the collection counter, after signing an acknowledgment form you will be issued with the new passport. You will also be given back your Mykad and the cancelled expired passport with notches cut out at the edge of the document.

Eating food with happiness and gratitude

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 07 Oct 2014 08:32:00 +0000

Today's menu for the homeless, the poor, the elderly, the unemployed, and any disadvantaged person in need of a free meal, and also my humble lunch pack for the day.

Simple food consisting of cooked white rice and three types of vegetables ie long bean, canned red bean and radish packed in a plastic lunch box and one bottle of drinking water. Though the unappetizing food tastes bland, for this disadvantaged group of people it is their day's nourishment and sustainment. It fills their stomachs, enables them to stay out of hunger and help them get through the day.

When I think of TV images of hungry, skin and bones refugee children in war-torn and drought-hit countries eg Africa I realise that the free food that this NGO is offering is a incomparable luxury compared to what the refugees are getting in their countries.

With this realisation in mind I ate the humble vegetarian lunch pack filled with enormous gratitude and happiness.

Learning from loosing

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 05 Oct 2014 02:25:00 +0000

Pushing hands in the park

Glad to be back in the park grappling with the guys after being out of action for about a month.

September was indeed a busy month for me. Illness, injury, rain, wedding dinners, outstation trips and attending to social functions and obligations that took up all the Saturdays and Sundays of last month kept me away from the sport.

Although I lost all the matches this morning to my more younger, heavier, experienced and stronger opponents nevertheless I was quite happy with the results. I felt that gradually I was giving them a harder time to pushing, uprooting and taking me down than before, probably because as time goes bye I gain more and more experience in handling the opposition with more "Yi" rather than reliance on muscular strength.

Thanks to wearing knee guards, other than general fatigue of the body and hands and some soreness and stiffness of my legs my weak knees were holding up well against all the power pushings and shovings.

Peeing into the toilet bowl

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 30 Sep 2014 10:09:00 +0000

Specialist Clinics at Putrajaya Hospital

The sign sticking out of the wall above the entrance depicting a stylised male figure was unmistakable. It is clear as broad daylight to the general public that the room behind the door and the signage is the male toilet. It is my habit before entering a toilet to always double check so that I don't enter a female toilet by mistake.

After stepping inside I was surprised to see wash basins and four toilet cubicles arranged side by side, but no urinals. How is it possible that urinals are not provided in a male toilet?

Thinking that I might have stepped into a female toilet by mistake I exited the room to check out the toilet sign for the third time. The signage shows clearly a male figure. Not satisfied I zoomed my vision in on the toilet sign of the adjacent room. That sign which depicts a stylised human figure wearing a dress tells me that that particular room is a female toilet and I was indeed in the men's toilet and not trespassing into a women's toilet.

What can I say? It seems to me that in the haste to draw up and complete the plans for construction of the hospital the architect and his team inncluding the hospital administrators have forgotten about the provision of urinals in the toilets for men. Hence except for the signage the male toilets are of the same design as the female toilets.

Going matless

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 25 Sep 2014 23:17:00 +0000

INTI Dojo Wed 24/9/2014 class

Even though I already knew the answer I asked the student members nevertheless. "Do you want to lay out the mats for the practice?"

As for me since I and the senior students here have been working out on the hard tiled concrete floor for years we have gotten used to it and even come to enjoy the experience.

Anyway the jig-saw mats are past their useful life spans. All of them are broken, hardened, dirty and smelly due to abuse, neglect, and wear and tear. Hence as the old, hardened, smelly and broken mats have lost their useful function it makes little difference between bouncing on mats or on bare tiled concrete.

At the start of each new semester when regular Aikido practice resumes I let the students decide and go along with their decision whether to use the mats or not as the junior trainees who sign up for their first class may feel extremely uncomfortable or even intimidated working out on a hard surface.

Since the latest renovation of the Student Center the college management had relocated the store to the back of the building. The store is where all the martial arts equipment, including the mats are stored. The new store is so remote from the training hall that we have to walk 15 minutes to get there, and another 15 minutes carrying the jig-saw mats for the return trip.

Last semester prior to the renovation when the old store was located next to the students affairs department, it was just a only short walk from the store to the dojo. And because of the ideal location of the old store all the martial arts clubs eg Aikido, Karate, TKD, Chinese Kick Boxing were using the mats whether they needed them or not.

However starting from this semester I notice that Karate, TKD and Chinese Kick Boxing have stopped using the mats probably for the same reason as Aikido; the hassle of the long distance walk and time to the store to take out the mats and later to return them for storage.

Silence. Nobody said any thing or expressed an opinion, including the new trainees. So looking at the smiling faces and the knowing looks all round I took it as a collective agreement to work out on what we have been accustomed to doing and come to enjoy for years, the hard ceramic tiled concrete floor.

Do good any way

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 25 Sep 2014 13:46:00 +0000

One day you will just be a memory for some people no matter what good you have done. Just do your best to be a good one so that they can keep you in memory for the longest time.

Hello Anjung Singgah here I come again

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 24 Sep 2014 08:55:00 +0000

While helping to pack the vegetarian meals together with the other volunteers at the KSK kitchen a lady dressed in the NGO's trademark red T-shirt caught my attention as she stood beside the counter after coming down from the upstairs administration office.

I recognised her immediately, having worked with her only once on 9/9/2014.

On that day I went with her in the food delivery van to another food distribution center in downtown KL. This place called Anjung Singgah, is located along Jalan Hang Lekiu. Set up by National Welfare Foundation (YKN or Yayasan Kebajikan Malaysia) the center is a temporary lodging and intervention center for the homeless. Other than temporary lodging Anjung Singgah also provides free meals for the homeless.

My involvement with Anjung Singgah was more incidental rather than planned. That morning when I stepped into the kitchen I bumped into the Project Director who was desperately looking for hands to help out at Anjung Singgah because one of the regular volunteers there could not come. At his request I assured him that I had no objection going there at all. So together with a lady volunteer the driver packed us together with the food into the van for the ride to Anjung Singgah. I believe that on that day this particular lady volunteer who works in the admin section upstairs was also roped in to help out at the last minute.

If not for a memorable incident I would consider that day's work at Anjung Singgah as just another ordinary and mundane day for me.

On the way to our destination, somewhere along busy Jalan Raja Chulan as we waited for the traffic in front to move on we heard a loud bang coming from the back of the van. The driver of a 4-wheel car belonging to a government agency had crashed into the back of the van. All of us alighted from the van and it was the lady who took some shots of the dent in the van with her phone camera and noted down the particulars of the driver of the 4-wheel. Fortunately as everyone was driving slowly due to the traffic congestion the collision was minor, only a dent and a broken tail light.

"Hi Mimi!" I greeted the lady flashing a smile and a hand wave.

I knew she recognised me but had some problem registering where or when she had seen me before. Here in KSK volunteers of all sorts come and go and unless you interact with the individual for some time each volunteer is just a nameless face that you see from time to time.

"High Mimi do you remember the traffic accident on 9/9/2014?" I asked her. The question instantly rang a bell in her memory when before it was just a hazy recollection of some one that she had met in the past.

When she asked if I was available to help out again at Anjung Singgah on Tuesdays, I said sure I would come in on next Tuesday to give a helping hand.

One-dish fish meal

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 21 Sep 2014 09:56:00 +0000

Salmon fish cut into steaks laid out neatly on a tray for sale. These frozen salmon steaks look appetizing. Bought two of these for a little over RM10.00 at the local Giant store.

My wife and I like to eat steamed or baked fish and these frozen salmon steaks are easy to prepare and cook. After defrosting and cleaning you can wrap it in aluminum foil and bake it in an electric oven. Alternatively you can steam it in a wok over water and high heat.

Steamed or aluminum baked salmon is one of our favorite one-dish meal which goes well with rice porridge. For lunch at home when there are only two persons eating, rice porridge with steamed fish as the only dish is what we eat on days when we have fish available in the fridge. Occasionally when sweet potatoes are available wifey will add some baked Japanese sweet potatoes into the porridge for additional flavour and also nutrition.

We are partial to these two types of cooking fish is because the benefits are obvious:

1. Valuable nutrients, vitamins and minerals of the food are preserved
2. Maintain food moisture and freshness
3. Preserves food colours and moisture
4. Soften food fibers making them tender and easily digestible
5. No need to use cooking oil or fat
6. Fast and easy. Can cook a complete meal in minutes