Pasar malam blues

Last night I was looking forward to visit the SS2 pasar malam. After a rainy day, it was a cooling night and a nice walk outdoors. I got to the pasar malam around 7-ish and walked alone. It was not only colourful in sight, it was also an earful. The sound of generators powering up lights and hi-fi sets, stall-keepers enticing shoppers to buy their vegetables and fruits and the pitter-patter of shoes are enough to keep up a lively market.

It is normal to be pushed around and even sometimes banged into at the market. Last night, I had 4 people crashing into me, and 3 of out 4 of those I thought were done on purpose. The first guy who bumped into me seemed too happy when apologising to seem like it was an accident. I glared at him. The second guy was an honest mistake, he didn't see me as he retreated from a stall. The third guy looked like a foreigner and he too seemed too pleased to have crashed into me by mistake. I glared at him too.

The fourth and last for that night was the worst of them all. This fellow was walking in the opposite direction, coming towards me. He was holding hands with his girlie and I caught him looking up and down at me. His idle arm was hanging beside him and when he got to a point where he was beside me, he stretched his arm outwards. He thought it was inconspicous but it was lame. I quickly turned away and his armed brushed against my nudged elbow and the corner of my shoulder. Obviously, he didn't apologize.

I went on my way and became very wary of people. I could sense I had this killer look on my face like the whole world owed me money. Fortunately no one else had accidentally bumped into me for the rest of the night. I didn't buy anything, went home empty handed and not at all pleased.

Lost in town

I was at Puduraya last night. Normally I'm there only because I need to get to somewhere that requires me to pass that area. But last night I spent quite a bit of time going around that area and waited for a bit by the roadside.

Being the centre bus pick-up and drop-off point, this place displays no sense of welcome for people stepping in the buzzling city. Whether you're an out-of-town person coming into KL or you're returning to KL, I would assume one would need to feel the comfort of having arrived at the capital of the country. Instead, I think I would feel depression setting in the moment the bus pulls up at Puduraya.

Traffic was haphazard, the roads were filled with cars, bikes, cabs and buses. The vehicles were moving probably at 20KPH, inching bit by bit as cars from other directions keep joining the lanes to crowd the roads. It is amazing that you don't find it much of a standstill at such a disorganized part of town.

Not only is it crowded, the rows of shops along the streets looked old and dirty. Some even looked dodgy. There were sheds erected in the middle of a pavement that housed some bus company's ticketing counter, manned by few people. In the night, some of these sheds had people sitting in darkness at the counter. Some shed lit candles. Of course it is a bright area with ample street lamps but when you're sitting under a shed, there just isn't sufficient light coming through.

The place was also crowded with people who stood waiting with their luggages by the street. In a place like this it would be difficult to hail a cab or a bus. There were also waiting cars parked on the side of the road. Everywhere you look, it is just a buzzle of activity. In a way, it would never be a boring place if you like sitting there observing quietly.

Perhaps tourists may find the place charming, colourful and lively. I for one can't see that and would rather get out of there in a flash.

Some people you just don't like

There are people whom you meet for the very first time and before having a chance to know more of the person, you have an instant dislike towards that person. Can't explain why and what exactly that makes you repel the person.

I've just had one of those encounters over lunch. I was ordering at a food court counter and when I turned to my left, I realised there was a man standing beside me studying the menu. The first thing that made me recoiled was the fact that he stood too close to me for comfort. There were ample space but he chose to stand so close that I felt crowded by his presence. He, on the other hand, seemed comfortable and didn't notice my uneasiness as i stepped away from him.

I found myself frowning and eyeing him with dislike. He hadn't even looked at me nor said a word and I found myself negatively judging him. I didn't like the way he looked, I didn't like the way he spoke to the cashier and I didn't like the way he asked to be supplied with utensils.

Unfair of me as it sounds, I can't explain the instinctive feel about this total stranger. Maybe he was an insignificant enemy in one of my past lives, and the hatred spilled over!

My Last Jab

I was nervous as hell when the day came for my final booster of the Hepatitis B jab. The first 2 boosters had hurt and I dreaded each booster. Compared to a normal injection where the vaccine is a 0.5ml bottle, Hep B calls for a 1ml vaccine. Not only it is a double dose injection, Hep B as explained by the doctor, is administered through the muscle.

Due to my traveling to some exoctic countries some months back, I was required to take a string of injections for health protection. All those jabs were bearable and truthfully, didn't hurt much. So when the Hep B came, I was low on guard but man, it hurt real bad! My whole arm was numb after the injection. Exactly a month later I went back for the 2nd booster and this time I was near pleading with the doctor to make it as least painful as possible by rubbing more of that alcohol swab to numb me. He did and he even used a smaller needle. But instead of trying to distract me by talking about other things, he was explaining what he was doing as he was injecting me!

At least that 2nd booster didn't cause me pain afterwards. I could swing my arm and it didn't have that achy feeling I did in the first. When the final booster was due, this time a nurse did it. I again reiterated my fear of the pain and she switched to a smaller needle and even showed it to me to comfort me. I couldn't look at it for long. I just told her to try her best to jab me painlessly. She was good! Sure it did hurt but it felt the least painful of the 3 boosters.

As she was jabbing me though, she was telling me the prick of the needle into the skin doesn't hurt. It is only when she's pushing the medication into my muscle that will hurt. And as she said it, she was in fact pushing the syringe into me!

Anyway, I'm glad it's all over and done with and I won't be going for any jabs in the near future. Not Hep B at least for the next 10 years!

Rainy Starlight Experience

After agreeing to go watch Batman Begins with Ray at the Nokia Starlight Cinema yesterday, it began to rain. Since the Starlight Cinema is an outdoor cinema, it disappointed me a little. I was looking forward to watch the movie, and in the last 3 years we've never missed going to the Starlight event. Furthermore, Ray had so enthusiastically packed mat, pillows and blankets for the event.

We thought it would still be alright if the rain stops. The mat will protect us from the wet grass and it will still be fun. So when the rain did stop, we happily were on our way. When we got there, we found a parking space and the place was crowded. We joined the rest of the people walking up to the entrance. It was a long walk, almost about 10 minutes just to get to the entrance. By that time, a drizzle had started. So there we were, clinging on to 3 pillows, a bag of pizza, snacks and umbrella, going ahead with it.

When we got inside, it was a colourful scene with the many umbrellas held up and people sitting close to each other right under their umbrellas. we found a spot close to the screen and stood there wondering if the rain might just get worse. Ray started to lay the mat and we sat there holding the pillows and food still.

Then it poured! It didnt' take us long to decide that we should just walk out. So we got up, huddled together more closely under the umbrella this time and started the long walk back to the car under a heavy rain.

I took the mat and covered myself with it while Ray took the umbrella. It was better than the two of us squeezed under that one umbrella. We walked in silence most of the way as we watched out for cars in both directions and puddles of water. It was such a relief to have finally gotten into the car.

We dried ourselves and drove off. We headed to ProJet and had our pizza there. We spent a good 2 hours there eating and chatting. It was alright in the end. Maybe Batman is meant as an indoor cinema movie with THX.

Rude woman on the road

This morning I drove to work feeling relaxed. I know I had work to rush for the day but I was still keeping it calm and together, practising my "Don't worry, be happy" mentality. Less than 10 minutes into my peaceful drive, traffic came to a slowdown as I approached a bottle-necked road. I go through this every morning and it isn't so bad. It takes about 5 minutes to get through it and I have grown to be patient and used to that.

However, this morning this car on the lane next to mine had my blood boiling when she signalled to switch into my lane. She was darn impatient and right away swerved her car in my direction, practically forcing me to give way. I was following quite closely to the car in front of me so there was no space for her to butt in. But guess what? She did anyway and couldn't be bothered if her car were to bang into mine. I honked at her but that only made her more aggressive as she inched closer. I had no choice but to give in to such idiocity (unless I was willing to have my car scratched by hers) and as a "thank you" to me, she threw her arm in the air, pointed at me and glared. What a total bi*ch!

As I tailed her car in that jam, she did that to another driver when she felt that the lane was moving too slowly for her and probably considered her original lane was a better option. So there she went again forcing into the next driver's right of way in the next lane. I could have yelled at her to ask where was her damn manners if only she were to wind down her window.

She had me worked up and after some minutes of cooling down, I wondered if it was all worth it to get uptight by some ill mannered woman. I figured it wasn't. Some day she would get herself into trouble if she doesn't learn to be courteous on the road. Having said that, most Malaysians are never courteous on the road. Maybe that applies to me too when I'm rushing and never realised what a road hogger I've been!