When I saw him again recently, I did not really recognize him. He looked different. His hairstyle had changed. His height, however, remained. But, as he had done during my childhood, he made me annoyingly uncomfortable. Finally when I realized that it really was him coming back to my present life to haunt me, I wanted to make him go away, again, forever.

Rumpelstilskin… you made me hide your storybook as a child. I had to get my sister to put the book far away from me so that you wouldn’t come to me making me play your silly games.

When I saw you again, in Shrek 4, I did not recognize you at first. But after a while, I knew that only you, yes you, could make me feel uncomfortable like that. You’re such an annoying little guy, and surprisingly for your height, you have a lot of evil in you.

You still look as ugly as I remember. Maybe even uglier. Lucky for you, the Shrek people made you look cute at times. Still, you’re ugly. Wherever you are now, stay there and never come back.

I still don’t like you!

However, I’m talking about the T because of something else right now.

Very often, when we see something in a foreign country, we always wish we could have the same back in our own hometowns. We get envious of the things we do not have in our own countries. Often times in Boston, I would look at something and ask, “why can’t we have this in Malaysia too?”

But to be honest, that was only my initial mentality. After living in Boston for a while, I began to realize just how much living abroad made me appreciate the things I have (or don’t have) back home. Yes, I was envious of many things. But I learned to take that envy and make it teach me a lesson or two about how beautiful my own hometown can really be.

This is what I mean…

When my train passes the Charles River (the most beautiful part of Boston, my favorite spot, with lovely scenery – refer to my post on the Charles), I look at the people running across the bridge to exercise. I see people walking their dogs. But what I really love to see is the water: How calm it is and how in the winter, it is completely frozen. Yet, it makes me think of how lucky I was to grow up by the coast; I grew up in a city that was just along the coast. With that, I am reminded of how fortunate I am that across the city I grew up in, there are beautiful islands just a speedboat ride away. The Charles, though fills me with envy, makes me understand that I am lucky to have the sea breeze as I walk along the coast in Kota Kinabalu.

On the T, I also see people go off to work in their fancy office wear: branded clothes, expensive shoes, matching colors and all sorts of sophisticated electronic gadgets attached to them. I wonder why Malaysia can’t be a modern country like the US. Why can’t we  stop being a developing country and just be developed already. I look at the working class people on the T, they all seem happy because they are earning good money and probably working in a great company. I grow envy because they are earning US dollars, while back home our cost of living is higher and we don’t earn that much to begin with. Yet, underneath all that, I learn to appreciate how my country is slowly but steadily progressing, and while we may not be fully developed, we are working towards it and not getting lazy about it. I slowly begin to think about how 10 years ago, our country was almost nothing like what it is today. And so, I learn to be patient and understand that one day, I’ll be living in one of the world’s newest fully developed nations, and I’ll be proud of it.

Also on the T, I look at the many different kinds of people that hop on and off -
..the cross-dresser who is always waiting for the train at the same time every day, with his pink boots and pink hat, pink skirt and pink vest
..the MIT students who can’t stop talking about how the world could possibly have started with just a single blueberry (ok, not really, but they probably would have a chat along those lines on the T!)
..the black father and his white wife and their two brown children
..the blind man and his guide dog
..the woman who always appears at the same time every day yelling in the train to everyone about how her husband left her with her 3 children and how she has nothing but the clothes on her back and how her children are also out looking for money because today (everyday, actually, because she always has the same story whenever I see her) she walked into the store and couldn’t even buy a loaf of bread for her children.
I see all these people and think to myself, how diverse and how spectacular this city is to have so many interesting people. Yet, as I swallow my envy and reflect on it, I realize that diversity is actually something we truly own in Malaysia. How much more diverse can our people be? I begin to understand that my country is just as interesting, and although I have gotten used to its diversity, I should rekindle that spark and enjoy how colorful the society I grew up in actually is.

Taking the train in Boston for the whole time I was there really did help me see how much more I should appreciate where I come from.

Maybe I should start taking the LRT?

The only good picture I have of myself on the T was taken on Halloween.
Thanks Su Ann for taking this picture.

For example,

this was a WOW thing back then when I was around 18 years old. Seriously, it’s not like I was 5 or 6 when this was the best thing you could hold in your hands. I was already 18, and if you had that phone, people would go WOW!

And then it was that phone above, the super hi-tech Nokia phone that, if you had one as a student, you’d be the rich kid who had the best of everything. I was around 19 when this was the best phone around. Imagine what happened a year or two later when polyphonic ring tones came in to fashion? Everyone went crazy when ring tones finally became polyphonic. And the screens had colours!!

What else was fashionable and hi-tech back then?

Having a Game Boy in your hand was something to show off. Kids would be jealous if you had a Game Boy.

Or at home, we had no Play Stations or Wii or whatever you get today. If you had a Nintendo console, you were part of the “in” crowd. And the most popular game back then, was the very hi-tech and super high-def graphics game:

Imagine what we have today. Phones that play TV shows for you, and can hold thousands of songs and play them anytime you want. Phones that can tell you where you are if you are lost, and tell you how to get to where you want to go to. Phones that let you access the World Wide Web, and tell you where the best eating places are in your area. Don’t even get me started on the games kids play these days!

TRUE POLICE STORY
- based on a true story -

Based on a true incident that happened more than a year ago.

This scene takes place on the road, the main highway leading towards Cheras Leisure Mall. Luke, the main character, is steadily driving in a brown Waja car, turning left at a roundabout. He is talking on his Nokia mobile phone in his right hand, confirming with his friend Magdalene if the supper that night is still on.

Suddenly. a police man on his motorbike flashes his small little tiny blue siren, and waves his hands.. making it look like he is clearing traffic for Osama bin Laden’s limousine to drive through.

Luke understands what it means, and stops at the side, waiting calmly in his car for the police officer to walk over.

Luke smiles, then opens his window. But deep inside his well-built muscular torso, his heart paces as though Osama bin Laden were hiding in his car boot.

The car window is fully wound down. Police officer stands next to the window and bends down.

POLICE:
Bagi IC dengan lesen.

LUKE:
Oh, ok. (smiles and hands over the 2 documents requested)

POLICE:
Hmmm, dari Sabah ni. Mana hemfree? Kenapa tidak pakai?

LUKE:
Huh? What’s that? (giving a look as though he is very uncertain what the police officer is saying)

POLICE:
Hemfree di mana? Kamu cakap talipon tadi kan?

LUKE:
Errr, what? Sorry I don’t understand. (acting innocent)

POLICE:
Tidak faham Bahasa Melayu ke? Pandai speaking sajer?

LUKE:
(keeps quiet, but thinks in his mind ‘no, i not only know how to speaking. I also know how to jumping, laughing, crying, shitting, and dancing too)

POLICE:
Hemfree where?

LUKE:
Hemfree?? Ohhhhh… you mean hands-free? (laughs and smiles)

POLICE:
Ya, hemfree. Why no hemfree?

LUKE:
Not hemfree, hands-free. Got ‘s’. Handsssss-free. (smiling but heart is pounding like 50 basketballs at once)

POLICE:
Ya, hemsfree where?

LUKE:
(smiles innocently). I don’t have my hands-free, sorry.

POLICE:
Kenapa?

LUKE:
What? (raises eyebrows and looks blur)

POLICE:
Why no hemsfree?

LUKE:
I don’t have it. I don’t have a hemsfree. But my hands-free is at home.

POLICE:
Apa? Errr, Cannot speaking phone when you on driving, tau?

LUKE:
Oh, ok. Sorry.

POLICE:
So? How?

LUKE:
Ya, so how?

POLICE:
This must give saman. I give you saman. (takes out a notebook looking thing from his pocket)

LUKE:
Ok.

POLICE:
You want saman?

LUKE:
Errr, no choice right?

POLICE:
You want saman? You don’t use hemsfree driving tadi.

LUKE:
Ok.

POLICE:
How? I give you saman.

LUKE:
Ok. (already reading the police officer’s mind. He wants some money to buy his pirated DVDs later after duty)

POLICE:
You want I give you saman?

LUKE:
If not? You said I didn’t use hemsfree so must give me saman. No choice.

POLICE:
Why don’t use the hemfree?

LUKE:
No, no. Handssss-free.

POLICE:
Ya, why no hemsfree?

LUKE:
Don’t have.

POLICE:
So saman lah.

LUKE:
Ok.

POLICE:
Next time you driving mesti use the hemfree, cannot talking talipon.

LUKE:
Ok I will look for a hemfree.

POLICE:
I give you amaran pertama.

LUKE:
You give what?

POLICE:
I give you first amaran.

LUKE:
Errrmmm, first what?

POLICE:
This first warning. Next time use hemfree.

LUKE:
No it’s han…… Oh ok first warning. Sure. (trying very hard not to burst out laughing)

POLICE:
Careful ya. Jangan buat lagi ya.

LUKE:
Huh? (acting all innocent)

POLICE:
Janga….. tak ape lah, You go. I give warning.

LUKE:
Thanks. I’ll go look for a hemfree. (closes window, smiles, and tries not to laugh).

The police officer walks back to his motorbike. Luke winds up the window. Luke smiles, drives off, and doesn’t look back. Luke’s heart is still beating like crazy.

And this is how a poor police officer failed to get some extra pocket money, and how a smart Eurasian boy used his mixed-blood  looks to practice the art of deception.

So much for the ‘Saya Anti Rasuah’ badge on the police officer’s shirt.

At the rehearsal just an hour before the concert at Harvard University’s Sanders Theater

We also sang Psalm 42 by Mendelssohn, a piece that I think has some of the best choral melodic lines ever… at least in my opinion. Mendelssohn always has lovely melodic lines anyway.

It was a pleasure, too, singing under the baton of Dr. Dr. Leong. (Dr. Dr. – because he has two doctorate degrees… one in neuroscience, and one in choral conducting!). And just in case you don’t get the joke, Dr. Dr. is just a funny nickname given to him because of his two phds!

This reminds me of something random… For my funeral, I’d like the choir – whoever is in it – to sing “It Is Well With My Soul” :)

I was cleaning up my room a few days ago, doing my “pre-packing” just to make sure I know what I need to pack and what should be thrown away.

The throw-away pile was, well, just a small pile. My things-to-keep-and-bring-back pile, was, well, a MOUNTAIN! Immediately I panicked! How am I going to bring EVERYTHING back? Yes, I could throw away more stuff, but I don’t want to get rid of program booklets and brochures of places I’ve visited and old train maps and the books I used here for my studies and the papers I wrote and re-wrote with angst at the last minute for my classes and the winter clothing I bought here and…. So Much To Pack! So Much!

So I am going to have to strategize my homeward bound journey. Sacrifices must be made. Small ones, but hopefully they will lighten my burden, and my luggage. I must probably sell some stuff like my winter boots and some books that I know I’ll be able to buy again if I ever need them again.

Packing life into a few bags isn’t easy. It’s a heavy burden, so to speak.

Maybe I should just pack light?

]]> http://matsalleh.net/?feed=rss2&p=401 0 http://matsalleh.net/?p=394 http://matsalleh.net/?p=394#comments Fri, 23 Apr 2010 19:49:13 +0000 domluk http://matsalleh.net/?p=394

The Charles River is where I feel most at peace here in Boston.

The ducks swim so joyfully when spring approaches, and the leaves start blooming and falling all at the same time. It’s just like heaven.

Joggers come here to stay healthy; people walk and run with their dogs, and you see everyone smiling.

It’s just gorgeous, that feeling you get knowing you are in a city with the sounds of sirens every few minutes blasting in the background… yet knowing you are still close to nature and that everything around you is serene.

I go here to study. I lie down on the deck, with the sun setting in front of me, and I take out my book and read. I hear the ducks swim and fly, hear the dogs chasing the ducks, hear the cars driving past just across the riverside, and then I sometimes fall asleep and let the wind, actual real balmy wind, blow in my face. The feeling is truly sensational and I wish everyone who comes to Boston experiences Charles.

It’s one of those places where you don’t feel like leaving even when the sun has set and the temperature has dropped drastically. You feel like just letting the wind catch you and send you somewhere else. Not exaggerating here! :)

And the sail boats are quite a sight to see against the backdrop of the big blue Charles.

Reflections of all sorts happen here at the Charles.

]]> http://matsalleh.net/?feed=rss2&p=394 0 http://matsalleh.net/?p=393 http://matsalleh.net/?p=393#comments Thu, 11 Feb 2010 22:36:02 +0000 domluk http://matsalleh.net/?p=393 I have a friend, who has a PhD, who works as a barista at Starbucks. Next time you order your coffee, please don’t judge the person who makes your morning brew. You never know who or what they are. Doctors serving at Starbucks, I like that!

So am I :/