The four seasons of time

Linda Leong emailed these breathtaking pictures to me. Like her, I really do not know whose these pictures belong to. I guess the owner meant to share it with us. I wish I have them at my backyard.

To the owner of these images, thank you.

autumn

winter

spring

summer

Durians, King of Fruits

Images contributed by Linda Leong.

1) D600
This durian originates from Sungai Pinang in Balik Pulau. The flesh has a bittersweet taste to it, with a touch of sourness .




2) Lin Fong Jiau
This durian is named after Lin Fong Jiau, aka Mrs Jackie Chan. I wonder whether it is indicative of the relationship of the celebrity couple, for Lin Fong Jiau's is bittersweet.

3) Xiao Hung (Little Red Durian)

Xiao Hung, whose name means "Little Red One," originates from Sungai Pinang, Balik Pulau. The flesh has a bittersweet taste to it, with a touch of sourness and is a bit hard. There are only one or two seeds per section, but the flesh is thick.

4) Yah Kang (Centipede Durian)
Yah Kang is one of my favourite durians. Although its flesh is whitish, the taste is superb, milky, like very sweet, melted chocolate. The name "yah kang" means centipede, and accounts for the number of centipedes found at the foot of the tree, hence giving it the rather unusual name.

5) Khun Poh
This durian takes the name of the late Mr Lau Khun Poh, who first budded it. Khun Poh has beautiful orangy flesh with a slightly bitter-sweet taste and a heavy aroma.

6) Ooi Kyau (Tumeric Durian)
The name Ooi Kyau (tumeric) describes the colour of the bright yellow flesh of this durian. It is very sweet and tasty.

7) Chaer Phoy (Green Skin Durian)
Chaer Phoy is shaped like a small canteloupe. The skin is bright green, giving it the name which means "green skin". Chaer Phoy has creamy white flesh which is a bit dry, not too sweet but tasty.

8) Coupling
This durian is gets its unusual name because it looks like two durians joined together, one big and one small. When split open, you'll thought the two halves belong to two different durians. Coupling has whitish flesh which is slightly dry but tastes good.

9) Hor Loh (Water Gourd Durian)
The flesh of the Hor Loh is very soft, dry and quite bitter. It has a sharp smell to it. Hor Loh was first cultivated at the Brown Estate of Sungai Ara. It got its name from its appearance resembling a "Hor Lor" pumpkin. If the durian hits the ground hard when it falls, the flesh tends to be bitter thereafter.

10) Ang Heh (Red Prawn Durian)
Ang Heh originates from Pondok Upeh, Balik Pulau, and has a round-shaped husk. The orange reddish flesh is highly aromatic, very soft with a bitter-sweet taste

11) Ang Jin (Red Yoke Durian)
As the name suggests, Ang Jin Durian has deep orange flesh. It is very sweet and tasty.

12) Bak Eu (Pork Fat Durian)
Bak Eu has a slightly acidic aroma. The flesh is whitish while the taste is quite bitter but nice.

13) D604
The D604 was first cultivated by the late Mr. Teh Hew Hong of Sungai Pinang, Balik Pulau. The flesh is quite sweet, and has some "body" to it as the seed is small.

14) D700
The flesh is darker than D600, like chrome yellow. Also slightly hard. Crispy, but the smell is not very strong.

15) Ang Sim (Red Heart) Ang Sim is a durian with flesh which is quite soft and very sweet, and dark yellow in colour. It also has a nice aroma

16) D11
"Number Eleven" is a very popular durian in the 70's. It has creamy yellow flesh with a pleasant taste and a subtle smell.

17) D17
D17 has dark cream flesh. The taste is slightly dry but sweet. It is a tasty durian.

A short lived triumph

I told my brother, if Lee Chong Wei won the badminton game he would not only be awarded the RM1 million bonus promised him by our government but there was a possibility he will be knighted when he comes back.

Our greatest moment on Sunday night was to witness him bowed his head to receive the Olympic gold medal. Blocking his way was World No. 1 Lin Dan of China. Our dream, our hope and our chance of attaining our first Olympic gold medal in badminton vaporized after Lee Chong Wei lost the first game to Lin Dan.

After delivering a few shots, it was apparent that Lin Dan dominated the court. He gave Chong Wei a grueling time retrieving his shuttercocks. Lin Dan was fluid in his moves. His style of handling his racket reminded me of those Chinese calligraphers. He treated his racket like a Chinese brush. Using smooth strokes he delivered his works artistically. His leg movements have much to be admired. He must have adopted them from the Shaolin monks. When he was down, he was swift in straightening himself. His actions were effortless. Light as a feather he heaved himself in the air, smashed his blows and landed sure-footedly to regain his ground like a kungfu exponent.

Physically Lin Dan was in great shape and form. He has an enduring stamina that afforded him to stay in court without exhausting himself. This strength has made his match easy. His relaxed movements in the court and his pleased facial expression mirrored his confidence. With the advantage on home ground, his ardent fans cheering him on and his countrymen supporting him with their red flags waving in unison, Lin Dan cruised to victory.

As for our boy, Lee Chong Wei, we thank him for bring home the only Olympic medal. He will be recorded as the first Malaysian Badminton singles player to reach an Olympic final. To weave his way to the finals with so many top players blocking him, Lee Chong Wei is a winner in his own way. He has made us proud. His family celebrated his triumph too fast after his win over South Korean, Lee Hyun-il in the semifinals. It took 62 minutes to blast his opponent’s hope by beating him 21-18, 13-21, 21-13. But his declaration of “The huge pressure is off me” is only temporary.

For the finals he vowed, “I’ll play with my life” and indeed he did. When he was 8 points behind Lin Dan in his first set, he was no match for his formidable opponent. He could not suppress the Chinese shuttler’s skill in controlling the game. Thinking over, we have loaded him a weight too heavy for his scrawny physique. Pressure for a gold medal has produced a tensed and rigid player who was humiliated by his opponent in court. If we have not expected too much from him, he could relax and played a better game. Although he was crushed 12-21, 8-21, with more vigorous training and better coaching, Lee Chong Wei can further excel in his games. The silver medal earned him RM300,000 and a reward of RM3,000 monthly effective next month.

Viagra Coffee

Berita Harian, a Malay daily recently ran an article on Viagra Coffee which has become very popular among the Malaysian men. It is easily available at mamak stalls and restaurants.

9 types of coffee were highlighted among them are Kopi Pahlawan, Coffee Hari2mau, Power X2, Kopi Tenaga Tok Lebai Plus, Jamu Tenaga Lelaki dan Bio Trim BTB.

It is actually a 3 in1 coffee. This coffeemix comes with the main ingredient, coffee plus creamer, sugar and a little extra kick, sildenalfil or tadalafil. Hence, its reference Viagra Coffee.

Its direction of use is simple. Pour a sachet into a cup, add hot water and stir. Because of its aroma, Arabica coffee is involved in this formulation. The “feel” does not come immediately, it is released after 15 minutes. Some consumers feel a little heady, a result of the blood rushing up to the head. It requires a little foreplay, touching and kissing. The skin tingles, then the show begins. The mood lasted for an hour or more depending on different individual. For some it lasted through the night. This is the sensation deliver by a cup of Viagra Coffee.

Coffee is governed under the Food Act. Food or drink meant for daily human consumption requires no registration with the National Pharmaceutical Control Bureau of the Health Ministry. Only product which carries a medicinal claim is registrable. Coffee contains caffeine. Under the Drug Control Authority, caffeine is under a list of active ingredients which is not allowed to be registered.

Presently, Viagra Coffee is freely sold in the market without restriction because the Ministry of Health has no authority to ban coffee as coffee is a drink for daily consumption. Sildenalfil is categorized as a poison ingredient. To make available to the public, it requires registration. Due to its popularity and also due to its fatality, the MOH is monitoring the sale of Viagra Coffee.

Maybe in future, if manufacturers register Viagra Coffee with the DCA under Traditional Medicine, then it can continue to flourish further. For the time being Viagra Coffee is banned in Malaysia.

Drink at your own risk. Dare to drink, drink. If you die drinking, don’t blame others. The warning is here.

Buy at your own risk

As a seller, to open our door is to start a business. If we do not want anybody to buy our products, close our door. When there is demand there is supply. If there is no demand for a product, there will be no production for it. You can not blame the seller, you blame yourself for buying it, for asking for it, for demanding a manufacturer produce it. Whatever you buy, you are buying at your own risk.

Your body carries an odor so repulsive people distanced themselves. You are ashamed of it. You look for an application to deodorize this offensive smell. We give you the deodorants, the crystalline stones and the perfumes to mask your problem. You want a permanent clearance, we look into your body system. We come up with alternative supplement to suppress putrid substances in the intestines. There you go, you want it, we have it. You request for it, we give it to you. You can choose not to purchase our product but we cannot choose not to sell it to you.

The law allows one life partner. To some the more the merrier. Your body requires time to rejuvenate and rest. Your stamina and strength drained from you. You fell behind. You wanted something to boost your engine. We give you Viagra, it burns your pockets. We give you Red Bull, it is not strong enough. We give you coffee laced with Tongkat Ali. “Oh that guarantees 7up”. The indication reads “One sachet each time, half hour before activity. For occasional use only”. You like it so much, you take two sachets every night.

Most of us do not follow the instructions on food packets. When it is printed “Not recommended for those with cardiac problem”, we ignored the warnings because we want what we want, a sensational night. When we collapsed from over-exhaustion, we hold accountable the manufacturer and the company who sold them to us.

If consumers stop purchasing the tainted product, then manufacturers will have to cease producing it.

Living in denial

Early one morning, Florence rushed up to me and asked “Do you have diabetes”? She has found the toilet bowl crawling with ants. Apparently someone has not flushed sufficiently the evening before. The sweet urine has attracted these little insects. She went about asking every female in the office. Everyone gave the same negative reply, “Not me”. Who was it then? Only you know, your doctor knows, God knows and nobody knows.

On a similar occasion, while changing her hygiene napkin, a few drops littered the toilet floor. Poor Lily was picked as the scrape goat. I do not know whether she was innocent nor do I know whether she was careless. As for me, I challenged anyone who dared put the blame on me by posing, “If you want to say me, touch here”, pointing to my buttocks.

A fax came in just before we closed for the weekends. I left the documents on my boss’s desk. After glancing through she folded them and slipped them into her “brief case”. Come Tuesday, she insisted she has given them to me for filing. She suggested I consume Ginkgo Biloba for better memory power and accused me of “simply put the documents”. She went through my desk and my filing trays. Misplacing documents are frequent in our office. Most of the time I would sit fuming, kept silent and waited for “Nah, it’s here”. It is no use arguing with a mulish person. The documents will surface after a while. In the meantime, two black faces and ball-rolling across the room.

How often do we own up for our mistakes? We are afraid when we say “It’s me, I did it”, people will take a step away from us. We lost people’s trust, we lost their friendship and inadvertently we are alone, unsupported by people who are often around us.

If we keep on denying, nobody dares to bite us because people are afraid if they bite they will contact HIV from us. It looks like me, it sounds like me, but it is not me. Who is it then, our clone, our twins, or our Mr. Hyde? So you see, living in denial is far safer than confessing to a crime. This way we do not have to pay for our mistakes.

The Moth

Image extracted from Turbo photo. (This looks like my "moth")

I spotted it clinging to the wall above my bed. It is medium-sized with brown wings. A year has lapsed since I saw a moth. They usually appear during the Hungry Ghost Festival or All Souls Day. Taoists believe the dead come back to visit the living in the form of insects.

Seeing the moth did not bring fear to me. Spirits wander everywhere. They are not new to me. I saw them often. Usually they allowed me a view of their backs, except one. It was terrifying not the face but the appearance and her boldness. Her hair untidily flowed down below her waist, falling forward hiding her face. She was tall probably 5’ 5”. She stood silently at the foot of my bed with both hands by her sides, staring down at me. Instinctively I gasped, covered my head with my blanket. After the shock, I lowered it. She was gone. I do not know who she was but I would like to think it was my sister and that she is harmless.

I do not intend to communicate with spirits. I do not want them to cling to me, using me as a host. I felt their presence behind me. It was only when their forces were strong that fear overcame me and I fled. Whenever I saw them and they were silent and calm, I did not leave the room. Since moving into this house, I have seen them six times, thrice the male and thrice the female. I do not know whether they are two or six of them.

I am suspicious of their presence. Who were they? Do they have bad intentions?

Charity and Bad Karma

It is now every common to find celebrities pick an international charity organization become their representative, help the less fortunate solve problems they are inevitable forced into. These celebrities will bring along an entourage of people which comprises of their management staff, helpers, supporters and not forgetting the media. Their community work will be filmed and copies sold to TV stations. Eventually we get to watch their good works.

Charity begins at home. A very popular phrase copied and adopted by all. Charity can be rendered as community works, monetary contributions, human or animal adoptions, organizing campaigns to raise funds and spreading the message by just being present. The last of course, is possible if you are someone well-known to the public. If you are camera shy, you can anonymously help by donating with a charitable heart and keep mum about it.

What are the returns for being charitable? Eternal life in heaven or a lighter punishment in hell? We believe giving aids in any form may bring good and prosperity to a person. It will also help wash away our sins, repair the wrongs we did in the past and give us a peace of mind.

By going around canvassing and spreading the goodness to people and winning the hearts of people, gaining popularity for oneself is not a sincere way to retrieve piety from a bad karma done in the past. But if charity is done sincerely maybe we will not be banished to the 18th pit in the afterlife.

In the teachings of Buddhism, whatever bad you did in the past will come back to you in the future. Sharon Stone, who considers the Dalai Lama as a very good friend, concluded that it was China’s treatment of the Tibetans that had boomerang the bad karma to befall on China. China’s bad karma had brought on the most controversial earthquake to occur where over 80,000 lives were reaped.

What about those poverty stricken countries like some African states where famines are a forgoing crisis? Myanmar was severely wreaked by Cyclone Nagis, Thailand and Indonesia were not spared by the tsunamis. Even the US had their fair shares of raging forest fires, ferocious hurricanes and devastating floods. How shall we view the attacks by bird flu and mad cow diseases? Not one nation has escaped the social illness of AIDS where homosexuality is popularly practiced. What conclusion shall we narrow these to? Shall we echo Sharon Stone’s words and sighed BAD KARMA?

Oil, the life twister

Oil, it comes by different names. Fuel, oil, gasoline, petrol, gas? This black, sticky, messy liquid that come from the heart of the earth is the most influential commodity on the stock market. It can cause you to crawl and it can allow you to lord over the others. And the whole world is crawling.

Oil in Malaysia was up by 40%. For my little car, to fill it to the brim was RM35.00 previously. Now I have to raid my wallet and pockets for RM50.00. With this I am gentler on my accelerator and refrain from stepping on it cruelly like in the past when I revved up elevated section of roads. I pity the car directly behind me. Drivers have to tolerate my slowness. Flickering their high beams and sounding their horns were indications they were infuriated and possessed paper-thin patience.

With oil prices spiraling, food prices are not left behind. Similarly to humans, commodities are also kiasu. It is impossible for me to save on the petrol but no more goodies like wantan mee or soup noodles for breakfast. Now I have turned to bread. I topped it with yoghurt, milk and oats if my stomach isn’t full enough to sustain me till lunch. Come lunch, I cut down the rice and eat more vegetables.

I have to think twice about circulating my cash and shouldn’t be shy about finding other sources to supplement my income. With an unchanged paycheck I have countless adjustments to make. This is a sad life.