Not an excellent start

Spotted this at a Sekolah Kebangsaan in Bandar Utama. There are four, so everybody gets a 25% chance of getting it right the first time. Unlike the teacher or teachers who got it totally and awfully wrong with the grammar AND spelling. Apparently, more than a few concerned parents have pointed out the gaffe to the school principal. Evidently, it has all fallen upon deaf ears and blind eyes. I'm sure they have better things to attend to, like learning English properly! Poor kids.....

Do, Re, Meme.

missy is K.U. tagged me with this meme a while ago. Why? Because I'm from Perak. Dek missy, here goes:

1. A person is only as good as his/her actions.

2. Friendship is always about trust and respect.

3. To love is to accept and cherish.

4. Money makes me spend.

5. I miss the days when mornings were cold and the air crisp.

6. My way of saying I care is by listening.

7. I try to spread love and happiness because they are the very core of human relationships.

8. Pick the flowers when absolutely necessary; otherwise leave them where they belong.

9. To love someone is cherish someone.

10. Beauty is found everywhere in everybody.

11. When I was thirteen, what I remember the most was starting my life in boarding school.

12. When I was twenty one, I remember feeling blessed to have achieved my childhood ambition.

13. I am most happy when my loved ones are happy.

14. Nothing makes me happier than a quiet moment with my loved ones.

15. If I can change one thing, I will change the human tendency to hate.

16. If smiles were rewarded in cash then I would be Carlos Slim.

17. Wouldn't it be nice if the world is at peace and there were no sufferings.

18. If you want to read on, it’s your choice.

19. Money is not everything but almost everything needs money.

20. The most touching moments I have experienced I remember clearly.

21. I smile even to myself.

22. When I am happy, I am thankful.

23. If only I don't have to exercise to keep fit then I can eat like I did as a teen.

24. The best thing I did yesterday was catching up with a friend I haven’t spoken to for 20 years.

25. If I ever write a book, I will give it this title: MERRILY DOWN THE STREAM.

26. One thing I must do before I die, to be at peace with God.

27. Doing this meme, I feel relieved I’ve fulfilled my obligation after being tagged.

Who will be next? Heh heh, not to worry. I'm not tagging anybody. Well, not yet......

Strategic Advertising

As seen along Tembeling Road in Singapore:

Wonder how much are the fees for the 'facility'?

My Afternoon At Kensington Gardens

Some time back, I went to London. During the approach into Heathrow, I managed to take the above picture of Kensington Gardens, which was originally part of Hyde Park. That's the (obvious) Round Pond with Kensington Palace to its left, across The Boardwalk.

As usual, I headed straight for the lovely park with my camera and (then-new) Nikon 70-200 f2.8 VR lens. A guy and his new toy, no obstacles to deter them. Straight to shooting around Kensington Gardens, en-route to Nahar Cafeteria at Mara House. Needed my fix of nasi campur and teh tarik. 10 Sterling Pounds for the meal, aiyo! A man and his hungry stomach, no obstacles to deter them, too.

Some of the hundreds of shots I took that day:






Then this little girl caught my eye. Cute little 'un this one. She was with two ladies, the older one presumably her mom and the younger one pictured below in the green jumper.

A short moment after this snapshot, they were all having snacks back on their picnic mat. I then continued to enjoy my zoom lens with shots like this:

That same cute girl from earlier on was back at the edge of the pond. I took this shot below of her and I began to focus on the swans and ducks, when there was a splash and some screams.

I turned to look, with my viewfinder of course. And my finger instinctively pressed the shutter and caught this piture.....

The poor little toddler was about 10 meters from where I was so I had to dash towards her. Her mom got there first and she promptly jumped in. It was slippery beneath. Thus, they were both slipping and sliding. The mom was gasping for help. When I got near them, I had a momentary doubt. Around my neck was a few thousand bucks' worth of equipment and should they have a swim in the murky waters of The Round Pond, I will face a murky situation indeed.

Proudly, I overcame the selfish thoughts to reach out for the lady's hand. But I still found myself in a tricky situation. The lady was just too heavy for me to pull out. I was myself slowly slipping into the water. Timely assistance came in the form of a middle-aged man. He took my other hand and together, we managed to haul mother and daughter out of the pond.

Mom thanked us and got straight to cleaning themselves up. I thanked the good 'uncle' and he just went 'Jolly good show, ta!' and off he went. Relieved that my photographic equipment was intact as was my pride (could've had to call for help had I slipped in), I decided to escape to somewhere safer:

... where this Pakcik (uncle) dishes out the best comfort food for me this side of The Round Pond,

NAHAR CAFETERIA!

Permission To Reincarnate, Sir!

I read this in the news a few days back:

I was tickled silly, gigglish at the irony of the headline. The article piqued my curiosity enough to Google the subject. I've even bought and commenced reading this book by one Stephen Batchelor.

I would think that 'living Buddhas' would mean 'Bodhisattva' - an enlightened being destined to be a Buddha, but purposely remaining on earth to teach others. Buddhist reincarnation concepts can be read about here. The authorities in China want the final say over the appointments of reincarnate monks. Red tape and rubber stamps. Wonder if there are forms to be filled.

Seventeen pages into the book now. Interesting. What's more interesting is this website I stumbled upon: The Reincarnation Station. One needs only to answer some simple questions and at the end, be told what you'd be reincarnated as in the next life. Me? I'll be a tiger. Grrrowll.....

A Simple Pleasure in San Francisco

No too long ago, I was in San Francisco. Great city. And it's summer. One of my favourite things to do there, apart from stuffing my face ( which we'll get to soon ), is a simple but professional shoe shine.
Along Market Street, there are at least two shoe-shine booths. This particular one is in front of Virgin Megastore. The contraption above is where one rests one of his feet.
Both booths are manned by African-American gentlemen. Soul music blasts from their masta-blastas. On this occassion, it was Percy Sledge, Barry White, Otis Redding and The Platters. These were the few that I could identify.
For 7 US$, your shoes get the deluxe treatment which is claimed to retain the out-of-the-shop shine for at least two weeks. For 20 bucks more, the leather gets the ultimate treatment, which is going to make your walkabouts appear spanking new for 3 months! Being a cheap dude on a budget, I sheepishly declined the superior service. So Mr.D then got working on mah shoes.....

...while his partner, dozed holding his cup of coffee. Must have been the regular ashtray-brew most diners serve in the country. Free and unlimited pouring! But I digress.
Mr D started by rolling up my jeans a notch, before cleaning my Florsheim boots ( purchased at 50% off from One U) with what seemed like soapy water. Then it was an assortment of creams and black polish, and cream again.
After what seemed like 20 minutes ( judging by the number of soulful singing from the masta blastas) , he was applying the finishing buff. Voila! I was eight bucks poorer, with a pair of shiny boots. An extra buck for the tip.

To me, it is money well spent. It is a simple yet fulfilling pleasure. Simply because I am TOO LAZY to polish my own shoes.

Gone Bananas, Over The Flower

The banana flower caught my eye recently. And my heart, too. I was so taken with it that I took around 30 shots of the bloom. On top is my favourite photo. It wasn't my first encounter with it, but it certainly was my first 'crush' on it. Funny how I did not realize how beautiful and captivating the flower is.

The flower matures eventually into the banana fruit bunch(es). It is also used as an ingredient in cookings in The Philipines (kari-kari - a beef stew), Laos, Vietnam (as salad), Thailand (eaten raw and cooked in various ways), and Sri Lanka where it makes a great curry dish. Wonder why it didn't catch on in Malaysia.

If it did, I'd probably not get this moment of unbridled attraction. Normalcy will resume shortly..... I think.