One screw loose can cause fire in a person’s life

Two nights ago I noticed a slight flickering from my fluorescent lamp. Thinking that the filament was about to show its age, I decided to let it black out before replacing a new one. To my dismay, all the fluorescent lamps started to blink simultaneously at around 10 pm last night. Surprisingly the other household appliances were not affected. Even my computer which is particularly sensitive showed no sign of any electricity interruption.

On checking the electric meter at the main panel, we detected a clicking noise whenever the lamps blinked. No burnt smell was detected but still we were afraid if not attended to, a faulty wire could start a fire later on. I flipped off the circuit breaker to disconnect the current.

I wanted to delay until the next day to contact TNB but the night was hot and the mosquitoes were a nuisance. I placed a call to TNB at 15454 but was cut off during my first try. My second call was successful. The telephonist assured me the technicians would visit us later in the night. Within 20 minutes they arrived. To the technicians it was a small matter. To us, it is serious problem. A house on fire is not a laughing matter. It took them a few minutes to replace the cartridge fuse. Thanks to them everything is functioning well now.

The screw connecting the input cable wire to the fuse has became loosen. That had caused the interruption in the flow of electric current and the sparkling sound from the fuse. By night when the current load is at its highest, the heated aluminum wires had caused the rubber insulator to melt. This faulty wiring may cause the fuse to blow and catch fire.

The technicians recommended we changed the amperage rating from 60 to a higher capacity of 100 amperes if our electricity usage is high, to avoid any current overload. A good idea but 60 is just enough for our usage.

Dates, is it an acquired taste?

Just thinking of dates, conjured up a vision of a tall, tanned and handsome Arabian Prince astride a black stallion racing against the wind across the dusty desert. Dressed in a flowing white burnoose, a red-and-white checkered kaffiyeh fastend by a black cord on his head, flapping behind him, he looked so magnificent. He leapt from his horse and strode over to the tent under a cluster of palms. Trays of dates of different favors within his reach as he lounged comfortably on the colorful embroidery pillows strewed all over the luxurious Persian carpets on the floor.

Of course, it would be rude not to accept the delicious dates he offered me. As I popped one into my mouth, savoring its wonderful taste, its sweetness slowly found its way down my throat, he gave me that devastating smiles. Wow, he looked so much like Alain Delon. Ark! I was choked. Not by his good looks, certainly not by the pit but by the hard skin of the dates. The image of my dashing prince vanished like a genie.

That is why I don’t like dates. Its hard skin always lodge in my throat.

We get to sample dates in abundance during the Moslem fasting month. I find the dried ones too sweet. The hard, brittle skin hurts my throat, so I usually spit it out and ravish the soft fresh. The fresh ones are equally bad. It is hard, bitter and bland. It is very hard to get the sweet ones.

With its high sugar content, dates are definitely a not recommended fruit for a diabetic. It nutritional benefits includes protein, fat, fiber, minerals like copper, sulphur, iron, magnesium, potassium and fluoric acid.

It was recorded in the Qur’an that when she was conceiving the Lord Jesus, Mother Mary was told to eat dates. "Shake the trunk of the palm tree towards thee: it will drop fresh, ripe dates upon thee. Eat, then, and drink, and let thine eye be gladdened!" (Qur'an 19:25-26) .

Looking at the display of numerous brands of Kurma dates at Carrefour, I was undecided with my choice. I wanted to present a box to Mrs Sidek, my landlady. A Malay man was standing besides me. Thinking he could help me, I turned to him for advice. “Which brand is the best?” “It is an acquired taste” and he moved away.

He did not give me an answer for he was undecided too. Taking up a box, read its contents then picked up a different brand and repeated his action. He may have eaten more dates than me, yet he was also lost. Helpless, I told myself, go for the most expensive.

Although the most costly may not be the best, through advertisements and human influences, the most popular is the best. If you like its taste, it is the best. To each his own. Acquired taste? Not to me, acquired choke is more likely.

Plough the Land

The climate in Malaysia has changed since. It is normal to rain in the mornings, fiery hot in the afternoons. When it is time for bed, the nights are so warm, it is difficult to sleep. Couple with the mosquitoes, it is hell’s night.

I did not get to sleep on Friday night, not a wink, all because of one menacing mosquito. Just one can cause havoc in a person’s life. What if it is a horde?

I really wanted to continue with my sleep came morning but my mom and I had to meet up with my nieces for lunch in Pudu. As usual I was running late. A diehard habit of defying punctuality is scheduling my itinerary to the last minute.

The traffic jam started from USJ 3 and stretched to Guinness Stout. Accident la, I told my mom. The police had set up a roadblock. I did not know why until I read in the papers that the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) would be holding a demonstration at the British High Commission tomorrow. “They are filing a suit against the British Government for bringing in Indians as indentured labourers to Malaya and exploiting them.”

Seems like it is a trend to hold rallies and demonstrations in Malaysia nowadays. First the Malays and now the Indians. What about the Chinese. We do not want to be kiasu too. To whom are we to direct our grievances. On what topics we should raise. Ha, perhaps, we can sue the Chinese government for sending our forefathers as servants to accompany the Ming Princess, Hang Li Po to Malacca to marry Sultan Mansor Shah.

The Beijing government have strong principles, unmoving beliefs and stern actions. I can imagine them echoing our ancestors, “Money, I am not giving you a cent, but you come back and help us plough the land”.

Fighting sleepiness at work

Getting to bed late and waking up early really take a toll on me. Sometimes, by afternoon I would find it difficult to overcome the sleepiness that blanket me. Sitting behind my desk, nodding my head and trying hard to keep my eyelids open. I just want to find a place to lie down. I need not a comfortable bed to rest my body. I just need a place to rest my head.

Recently, I found a way to solve this problem, by napping during lunch break. Immediately after satisfying my hungry stomach, with a pillow for my sleepy head and a cardigan to weather the chill, my phone alarm set to 1.30 pm, I would catnap for half hour.

I woke up feeling energized like the Duracell Bunny. With a better frame of mind, my concentration was enhanced, accomplishing more work and not as grouchy as a bear.

Years back, whilst fighting sleep, I accidentally pressed a key, the monitor screen turned black. I was required to re-install the operating system and the software applications. The hard drive was completely erased, all data files were lost. Till today I am still mystified, which key did I press?

I discovered whenever I stayed up late into the night, my heart rates increased, I could hear my heart pounding loudly. At certain times when it missed a beat, I could feel it dropped a tiny fraction, then resumed its galloping. My ears began to ring, I felt dizzy, my head felt heavy. Fatigue suddenly set in. Totally exhausted, I had to head for bed.

I often wonder if I continue to stay up, will I collapse. Can my heart handle the stress I am punishing it. Will this eventually evolve into a cardiac arrest? This is really frightening.

Perhaps, the phrase “Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.” is absolutely true.

Are we being petty and mean?

Thinking back about the Indian maid who stole our chicken pie, pandan-layered cake, bread and a pair of slippers, should we report the incident to her supervisor. Are we being petty and mean to complain about her behavior?

She must be very hungry. That must be the reason why she helped herself to strangers’ food. Suet Ben claimed she has light fingers and it is a habit to steal rather than satisfy a hungry stomach. And Dona does not trust Indian maids around her. This is not about race but a behavioral problem which is very much familiar to us.

She must be too embarrassed to tell us she is poor and cannot afford to buy such food. The pie costs RM1.20. And that maybe slighty expensive for someone who is earning as low as RM600.00 per month. Maids are paid on a daily basis. No work, no pay. She is not a fulltime worker, replacing whoever is on leave.

I understand how it felt to be hungry. When I tried to cut half a portion of my noodles for breakfast, come 10 am I felt shaky and just couldn’t concentrate on my work. Up and down the office I walked, mumbling and getting agitated with things around me. For this reason I have an airtight porcelain container where I store my precious “Hup Seng” crackers. Cheap, salty and delicious. This is one of my backup meals. If that is still not enough, I have my mixed cereals beverage in the pantry.

She stole Jun’s slippers. Perhaps, not for herself but for a member of her family. It is not an expensive and attractive pair of slippers, one she wore while cleaning the washrooms. How shall we rate this deplorable action.

Helping yourself to someone’s stuff is obviously unacceptable by society. But when you are desperate enough to want something that badly, you demoralized yourself and only think of the urge to get it. You just refused to care about others. Greed, bad habits, fun? If she works in Saudi Arabia, both her hands will be chopped off.

This is not the first time we have been abused by our office maids. Maids, lots of stories about them. Some appreciative and praiseworthy. Some, drove us up the walls. They are human, we are human, too. This is a time when I welcome syariah law.

Just do not love in public

It was inopportuned for a student to be caught hugging her boyfriend passionately in their car by a passing patrol car. More ill-fated was, they were chased by the police and ended up being the culprits who caused a 5-car pile up.

‘Love is so hard to find when the whole world is watching’. Our law does not allow you to express your passions to your Romeo or Juliet in public. Just don’t get excited if you have not seen each other for sometime. You can whisper sweet nothings in your phones. SMS your flowery poems to each other. Just keep your distance.

This reminds me of the couple who joined us for our trip to Lake Toba, Indonesia. He was married, she was married. They fell in love with each other. They could not get enough of each other, so they found a way out to be together. I could see they were very much in love yet I could see the strain in their relationship. They had the freedom to appreciate each other during our trip. However, when we landed in Subang Airport, he was practically crying. They had to return to their respective spouses afterwards.

I do not know what happened to them after our trip. But I hope they find each other and be with each other. Or else, he can take her as his second. He is permitted to have four.

What does it takes to be a Malaysian Chinese

It is so sad that there are people out there who wants to be a citizen here yet not allowed to be one. He contributes to the Inland Revenue, help built the country, yet not recognize as a citizen. Why asked him to pay when you do not recognize him as your own.

Waiting for 50 years, until your neck grew long is a long time. Waiting and died waiting is more ridiculous.

You are automatically a citizen if you are born on and after August 31, 1957. A Merdeka Child! If you were there to rejoice and join in the shout for “Merdeka” , so what? You still can’t vote.

I wonder what does it takes to be a Malaysian Chinese.