Fireflies...

Yesterday we went to Kuala Selangor to see the famous fireflies. Kuala Selangor is a two hour drive from Kuala Lumpur. When we declared at office that we want to go see the fireflies, everyone said: "Yes, you got to be noble and donate blood", apparently the mosquitoes up there are really blood thirsty, so we went prepared with bug repellent, but to be fair we were not bitten even once. Once there we had to wait till it was dark, it was sometime close to eight when we finally sat in the little four seater boat.

You got to see it to believe it, the place is unreal. There wasn't much moonlight, so we were lucky to get a glimpse of nature at her best. The only sounds as we rowed in the darkness towards the bushes was the rhythmic sound of the oars hitting the water and the insects of the night calling out to one another. At first you could see nothing, then when you neared the bushes, you feel like the stars have temporarily descended from the sky and settled on the bushes along the banks. The tiny fireflies, flicker like little rice lights that are lit during Diwali. Our guide pointed out to the little bugs and to the stars in the sky and said 'See, they look the same!', to be honest they did look the same...

I read somewhere that life isn't about the breath we take, its about the moments that take our breath away, the moment when I saw the fireflies was one such moment that will be etched in my memory for ever. I could have stayed there on the banks of the river all night listening to the sounds of the forest and the gentle sound made by the river as it flowed and just watched the little flies go about the business of being alive. The whole scene had me thinking that I was so lucky to be alive and to have the good fortune to be able to enjoy these sights. Also I couldn't help but wonder that this scene has been the same since time immemorial, the only person extra was me, but the little insects let me into their world without any protest. If only we could be that understanding and learn to live the simple life, without the malice, the treachery, the plotting and greed, I guess we will help make this world a better place. If there is one thing I learned from them it is, that you just go and do what you do best, leave the rest to the supreme being who is up there looking out for you...

Disas Touch...

So I usually pride myself as something of a domestic goddess, who can manage a household whilst keeping her career. So when I had a day when everything I touched went kaput, it was disastrous for my confidence. 

Yesterday the first roadblock I hit was blowing the fuse because I was cooking at the highest heat level and apparently I should not be doing that  (Duh, who is going to tell me that, don't you think the apartment should come with instructions like... 

1) Do not use the hot plate at level 5, you will blow the fuse

2) Do not surf channels beyond no 10, the volume will reduce (yes this is what happens when you go beyond channel 10 on the TV in my colleague's room)

3) Do not empty morsels of food into the kitchen sink, you will block it  ( OK, I admit, I knew this, but was feeling too lazy to scrape the food off the plates into the bin).

So first while cooking I blow the fuse and was left standing in the darkness that was only alleviated to some extent by the emergency light near the door and the eerie red glow of the hot plate. So I called housekeeping  and they send a maintenance guy over, he takes one look at the hot plate and does something to the fuse box and the lights come back on, on further questioning him about the cause of the blackout, he points out to the hot plate as the culprit, don't use it at the top mark he advises, smiles a 1000 watt smile and leaves.

Next the biryani I was cooking resembled a very badly made khichidi and was nothing like the light and fluffy rice I normally turn out. I somehow managed to eat some parts of it and packed the rest to be eaten later... if possible.

After that when cleaning the dishes I managed to jam the blasted sink. No matter what I did the water refused to go, and I had to call housekeeping again, much to my chagrin the same guy came with the pump to make the block go away. I think the people at housekeeping will soon nickname me the Lady with the 'Disas Touch', Short for Disaster, to Rhyme with Midas touch... but being the opposite...

Sen from Heaven...

Before the rain...

And it is pouring...

After staying in a hotel for over a month and eating restaurant food for every meal, my nerves had reached screaming point. Just then someone up there in heaven took pity on me and decided that enough is enough and I need to be moved to an apartment. Lo and behold, I now live in the most divine service apartment. 

This is the view from the window of my apartment, it is on the the 22nd floor and when I look out it makes me feel like I must be close to heaven... Sen from heaven signing off...

Creativity at its best !!!

Seen in the washroom of one of the hotels in Melacca, creativity or rather a practical example of 'Necessity is the mother of inventions'. This chopstick is a trailblazer of sorts, it surely has been to places where no other chopstick has ever been before and done things that no other chopstick has done before :-D...

Don't hit the road Jack...

I had nothing to do all day and my mind usually goes pseudo-spiritual and introspective at times like this. I dare not put myself in the category of the spiritual, for the fear of setting off an earthquake caused by all the good spiritual people who have made the great crossover turning in their graves at having been compared to the likes of me.

 After humming and hawing about this and that I finally decided that my main problem was my commitment phobia, put me in a situation that calls for commitment and I flee like no body's business, and add to that my inability to take a stand as to what I really want and what I'm willing to sacrifice towards that end, and you will see what exasperates one and all. If I were to take an objective look at the past, the recurring theme has been me moving with my right foot in one boat and the left foot in another and it is plain for all to see that I'm destined for a slosh in the water as the boats are pulling me in different directions. As as a corollary to the soaking a dripping wet me takes flight (pun unintended). So much so that in the past many people who have known me for a long time, have taken a long look at me and said, 'How long do you think you can run like this ?? Someday when fate catches up with you ...you are going to have to take a stand...'

So to kill time I decided to do a google search on 'how long can I run before fate catches up with me' to see if I could come up with a scientific answer to the questions and the best response I got was this from here:

'No matter how far you run, you can never truly escape. Everything catches up to you at the end and when it does, it usually kicks your ass. - (gossip girl)

So I've decided to throw my running shoes and try and see if sticking around long enough will bring home the bacon...

Somebody's Me...

So I spent the better part of today listening to songs as I was feeling too bored to step out, here is a song that literally blew my socks off so to speak... so I did a bit of research on the net and found the lyrics from here

Enjoy!!!

"Somebody's Me" by Enrique Iglesias


You, do you remember me?
Like I remember you?
Do you spend your life
Going back in your mind to that time?
'cause I, I walk the streets alone
I hate being on my own
And everyone can see that I really fell
And I'm going through hell
Thinking about you with somebody else

[Chorus:]
Somebody wants you
Somebody needs you
Somebody dreams about you every single night
Somebody can't breathe without you, it's lonely
Somebody hopes that one day you will see
That somebody's me [2x]
Yeah

How, how could we go wrong?
It was so good and now it's gone
And I pray at night that our paths soon will cross
And what we had isn't lost
'cause you're always right here in my thoughts

[Chorus:]
Somebody wants you
Somebody needs you
Somebody dreams about you every single night
Somebody can't breathe without you, it's lonely
Somebody hopes that someday you will see
That somebody's me
Oh, yeah

You'll always be in my life
Even if I'm not in your life
'cause you're in my memory
You, when you remember me
And before you set me free
Oh, listen please

[Chorus:]
Somebody wants you
Somebody needs you
Somebody dreams about you every single night
Somebody can't breathe without you, it's lonely
Somebody hopes that someday you will see
That somebody's me
Somebody's me
Somebody's me
Somebody's me

Portrait...

A street artist in KL, drew this portrait of mine. I like to think that he saw my inner beauty when he drew this, as to be honest, only the eyebrows and double chin are mine, the rest belong to Rani Roopmati... not that I'm complaining, I love this picture to bits!!!

While he was drawing this picture a huge crowd had gathered to see the progress, from kids, to young boys and girls to older people all formed part of the crowd. It is really funny cause, people who were walking on the pavement would stop, look at the sketch and then look at me and back at the sketch. If I happened to catch someone eye there would be smiles all around.

All the while it was being made I was unable to see the picture, at one point, a horrible thought came in my mind, 'What if he was making a fool of me and drawing a picture of a monkey ?', like how whimsical artists sometimes do, so I asked my colleague as much, it was only when he assured me that the artist was really drawing a lovely picture that I could relax. The end result is for all see, it is a thing of beauty and I know for sure that I'm going to frame it the minute I land in India and this portrait of mine will be with me to the day I die...