Indigestion to Absorb

Somewhere in the din, the cocks are crowing. The ceiling fan whirs gently and soothingly amidst the night's (or should I say day's) stifling heat. For some reason, the bedroom's air-conditioner is not working as efficiently as it was last year. It is in dire need of servicing, after more than a year of usage.

I cannot seem to fall asleep.

I don't know why. No, make that I think I know why. I'm having a really bad heartburn following a fasting day yesterday. I'm windy and bloated, for eating some spicy food at Iftar in Cozy House Restaurant (affiliated with the famous Cozy Corner in Ampang Point) in Great Eastern Mall.

This was compounded by the delay of eating itself owing to the massive jam we were stuck in on Jalan Ampang enroute to our destination.

Luckily, there were some stroopwafel from Delft which I had brought along as they are currently Sadia's only favoured snack, which I practically inhaled during the car crawl.

So this is the quality of life in Kuala Lumpur. Getting stuck in jams in search of those much-needed escapades at the malls. The irony of it all is just too much to swallow.

I know it'd have been better if we had left a little bit earlier to avoid the jam and plan our journey accordingly. Going around is no longer according to our whims and fancies.

There are other interminable factors to figure out before we venture out the door. If the weather condition was the only drawback in Delft, now an interplay of a number of elements must be accounted for when an excursion is at hand.

Some Malaysians might raise an eyebrow (or two) for my ceaseless whinging about the deplorable state of some of our current infrastructure, not to mention mindset. Enough already and get adjusted, some will exclaim.

My intention is never to belittle my home country but merely to point to some egregious actions. Only yesterday a small lorry driver gave us a finger (and funnily enough spat at the sight of us!) just because we stopped when the light was about to turn red, thus blocking his vehicular progress towards a seemingly urgent destination.

We stopped at the junction going to the right and get this, the stupid driver wanted to use our lane to cut his way back to the straight lane!

As our country is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its independence, I beseech the powers-that-be to improve our way of life and cultivate future caring generations that would do the nation proud, both in their intrepid ideas and commendable thoughts.

Is it probably too idealistic to hope against hope that our changed mentality - kiasu, herd, the whole works - will lead to better, courteous manners on the road? No more big buses haphazardly changing lanes so as to further their movements in a jam. No more creation of 'additional' lanes by witless motorists to get ahead in their journey. No more leaping out of a junction without any concern of any incoming cars.

The continued progress of our nation hinges upon the collective efforts and thoughts of its people who in turn must cast aside their differences and prejudices in order to turn those ideas into concrete actions.

For that to happen though, some laws have to be amended and revamped while others must be tolerated for their own unique manifestation.

Happy Birthday Malaysia. May you liberate yourself from the shackles of incongruity and always exude that much charming, sunny personality, within and without.

Home and Away

Note: I had originally wanted to post this in the wee hours of Tuesday morning but the erratic connection had other plans in mind.
Thus explains this belated posting. I am happy to report the trip to the doctor went well (screaming at vaccination notwithstanding), the shipping stuff are now taking over the other guest room and the living room is officially a lounging zone.

p.s. I have yet to post those photos.POSTED!
----------------------------------------------------------------
In some way or another, life is picking up back home in Malaysia.

I’d not be so bold as to say that I’ve completely adjusted to the temperament and temperatures of the Klang Valley.

Thankfully, the climate turned moderate with the scattered thunderstorms we’ve been experiencing since the day we arrived. In fact, my twin recalled it didn’t rain until the day we came home.

So, what have we been up to?

There’s the cleaning of the apartment – dust bunnies and dust dinosaurs everywhere.

And there’s the question of getting the place toddler-proof and looking more live-in.

Also, our shipping items have yet to arrive at our doorstep. They were supposed to be delivered last Wednesday but owing to some technical malfunctions and problem at Customs clearance, they could only come this afternoon. *Fingers crossed*

At least, that’s what the shipping agent informed us last over the phone yesterday’s afternoon. This postponement is not good for KLM’s business, nor is it doing anything to uphold Malaysian Custom’s efficiency.

We only have clothes, a tot tricycle, books as well as some kitchen utensils and foodstuffs (extra Senseo Koffie Pads!) in those boxes and bags. I’m sure they won’t raise the eyebrows of any Custom officials, or will they?

Aside from that, we have a pediatrician’s appointment today for Sadia’s compulsory 18-month shot. I do hope everything will go well and that Sadia is more than amenable to the whole idea.

Her appetite has yet to increase and in fact, it has gone downhill ever since we landed. It’s probably mostly attributed to adapting to a new environment and lifestyle. No more feeding of ducks or pigeons, or evening walks on the Delft Square chasing them pigeons.

Sometimes I am worried about her missing her old routines and way of life. We do try to provide the same kind of food that she’s been eating, or at least a semblance of it, but the waning appetite continues to prevail.

We’ll see what the doctor has to say and recommend. I must say Sadia is more of a grazer who prefers nibbling on food whenever she feels hungry, instead of eating at designated mealtimes. Probably therein lies the problem but we couldn’t possibly force her to eat at those times, more so when her ‘eating schedule’ has gone topsy-turvy.

When your kid refuses to eat, you get frustrated in turn and feel helpless because you don’t know what else to do. God willing, she’d resume eating as soon as she acclimatized herself to our old home.

On a familial front, there was a Kenduri Arwah for my late granddad (Malay for Thanksgiving for the Deceased) at my grandma’s in Kampung Bharu over the weekend. It was a small affair, with mom’s close first cousins as well as family friends and the Orang Surau (Malay for the Congregation of the Neighborhood Prayer Hall) as invited guests.

In a true maternal family’s tradition, the Asar (late afternoon prayer) event was followed by a birthday party for my 15-year-old nephew.

And as predicted, Sadia was overwhelmed by the usual Saturday crowd at my grandma’s and wailed uncontrollably to be carried away from the sea of unfamiliar faces. We had to cool – literally and figuratively - her off in the car before slowly entering the living room.

With her cousins and my young nieces and nephews milling about to sing Happy Birthday, Sadia instantly warmed up to them. Sadia loves to make friends with children of all ages (except for babies!) and that somewhat mollified her fears of the new territory.

If you’d like to view photos of the Do, please click here. That is, if my intermittent internet access lets me post them!

With Merdeka long weekend around the corner, I sincerely hope we get settled down really soon. Last night we rearranged the furniture in the living room so as to free up some space for Sadia to roam around. It worked! She has been running back and fro from one side of the room to the other! :)

As Sadia’s face beamed with joy, so were her parents, sensing that Sadia has finally come to love this place as her new home. Why, she even has that special nook in the clothes-drying cum store cum guest’s room to quietly do her business! (if you get what I mean ;) )

Next on the itinerary: Kuching visit during the fasting month!

KL Membengit *

It is close to 2 a.m. here in the bedroom of our humble Ampang apartment where we have been hibernating for the past week.

Or rather, it feels like it.

Sadia has taken an unusually long time to adjust her biological clock that follows keenly her Dutch’s sleeping patterns which in turn altered her parents into a zombie-like state. From the time we arrived on Sunday to Thursday, her bedtime varies between 2 to 4 a.m. Only tonight she slept around 1:30 and gave me a breather to update this site.

The rippling effects of this slow temporal adjustment range from undue stress to heightened anger at seemingly trivial issues.

At first, I wasn’t sure what tone to use for this Malaysian re-entry post. Should I just let go of my emotions and rant to my heart’s content, the inadequacies and other disturbing attributes of my country? Or should I discard those emotionally-charged excesses and exercise some form of discretion with my thoughts?

Granted, all these first impressions are probably owing to the culture shock that I (and husband) am experiencing upon reintroduction to the Malaysian way of life.

After spending a quiet existence in a Delftian bubble for almost a year, the cacophony that is KL assailed me from all directions. And the massive school-holiday crowd thronging the malls and roads didn’t help at all to ease up our frazzled nerves.

The most glaring change in our life so far is the mode of transport to which we must now solely depend on: the car. The efficient public transport in the Netherlands made it unnecessary, even superfluous, for us to use a car. We walk everywhere – to the friendly, nearby neighborhood supermarket, to the clothing stores of choice, to the cafes galore.

In Malaysia, unless you are willing to risk your life riding the Metro bus driven by addlebrained individuals (or would animals be more apt?), a personal car is the most practical option available. And since everyone else has the same idea, there are gazillions of cars on the roads, which serve as a catalyst for traffic-jam nightmares, thus hampering quick movements and, understandably defeating the purpose of having a car in the first place!

And of course, the notorious, globally-renowned Malaysian drivers need some getting used to. My observations for the first week include: (a) the ACTUAL purpose of using your indicator light when turning either to the right or to the left is to prepare yourself from being ambushed by the car behind for having the audacity to get into his or her lane; (b) this will cause the looney, egomaniac driver to floor his or her accelerator so as to hinder you from overtaking him or her on that lane; (c) the difficulty of going out of your parking space when other cars refuse to stop to let you reverse your way since they are all KIASU monsters; (d) the gross negligence to use your indicator light to inform the car behind as to the direction you are planning to turn since signaling are for wimps (or if you’re a chauvinist – women) only.

The lack of common courtesy on the roads must be the primary reason for the unending cases of fatalities on highways and byways. In a land purportedly famous for its friendly smiles, this form of reckless behavior runs counter to this gracious claim. How ironic is that?

Why do Malaysians vent out their anger while driving and take it personally when someone wants to overtake or go into their lane? Why can’t they just let them through? Will their egos be bruised or God forbid (for men only), lessen the value of their manhood? This baffles me so.

Any form of courtesy also appears to be on the decline, if not disappearing altogether. Today, I had to carry an empty stroller over five short steps and after heaving it successfully on top of the landing, Sadia’s non-spill cup fell out of the bag attached to the stroller. As I ran down two steps after it, the pushchair tilted over with some contents strewn all over the steps below.

The most annoying aspect of the incident was that NOONE came to help me. In fact, there were three young guys loitering on the aforesaid steps and the only thing they could offer was “Ooopp!” as if providing me with the requisite sound effects that my stroller was about to flip over. They just sat there, wide-eyed and probably amused by my hapless situation.

They were the ones closest but some people manning a Persona promotional tent also stood there agape. I was miffed by the absence of anyone’s quick thinking to help a person in need. Have Malaysia’s urban areas cultivated a series of apathetic societies? Or is it a national phenomenon?

Instantaneously, my mind wandered to Delft’s train station where its southbound platform is strangely not equipped with any handicapped facility i.e., a lift. This oversight also causes difficulty for stroller-reliant individuals, not to mention those carrying heavy luggage, to lug the perambulators down some flights of stairs. However, more often than not, total strangers would offer to help my husband carry the stroller down to the bottom of the steps.

Or, they would hold the door open for us (and our stroller) when we are entering or leaving a store, since most stores prefer using double doors than the automatic doors, owing possibly largely to climatic reasons (windy, cold condition during the Fall and Winter). Besides Delft, these selfless acts were experienced in big cities of Rotterdam, Den Haag and Amsterdam. So it’s a lame excuse to say that city folks are less friendly or on the flip side, more self-absorbed.

I know it’s only the first week and in time I might stumble on some kindhearted folks, but somehow deep inside my gut feeling is telling me this is the real deal. I have to adapt to this kind of lifestyle – fastpaced, noisy, living-in-traffic-jams, kiasu-mentality – and hopefully remain unscathed by the jarring, discordant messages that KL is sending out to me. Loud and clear.

*Bengit can be loosely translated as Shrieking.

Daag en Tot Ziens, Delft! (Goodbye and See You Later)

Canal at Moslaan, Delft last week

Feeding the ducks at this canal is a favourite pastime

In Delft Square where feeding the pigeons has been a therapeutic enterprise

The bags packed, the countertops wiped, the garbage taken out, the taxi booked, the toddler fast asleep, and the adults bushed.

Past the midnight hour but we are still tying up some loose ends in the packing and cleaning department.

It's been a hectic week, to say the least.

And an emotional week, at that.

As I washed the last dishes and cleaned the shelves, it dawned on me that we are leaving for good.

Who knows when we will come back. I felt a lump in my throat and for a moment, almost lost the battle in opening the floodgates.

Some great memories to be had here. There were some painful ones such as the time when Sadia fell off the bed during the second week after we first arrived, and hubby was away at class.

But mostly, we have only fond memories of this place. Delft is a wonderful, unassuming town to live in. I can strongly vouch for that.

Delft's picturesque setting and quaint lifestyle are some of the attributes that induce us to fall in love with her.

Like any ordinary person, it has its share of flaws and foibles like the hash joints, rowdy drunkards bellowing from the alley below, and the crazy drivers speeding on the narrow canal roads.

In the end, the upsides trump the downsides hands down.

Dank u well, Delft for your gracious hospitality and letting me grow alongside you. It's a worthwhile learning experience.

And we plan to meet you again, sometime in the not-so-distant future.

Our second week in Delft, September 2006

Second week - September 2006, when the same canal was still full of moss

Sadia at home, just mastered the art of crawling