Coolcat's Jottings

Was down with sore throat, cough, fever, headache - the whole works for the past few days. Went to the health clinic yesterday to get myself checked up and got more than I bargained for. Last time, the hospitals used to dish out antibiotics like nobody's business. But now they are more careful.

Now, 90% of most coughs and colds are caused by virus and in such situations, an antibiotic prescription is not the solution. So guess what? The doctor ordered me to get my blood tested, got it analysed and hey presto, I was infected by some pesky bacteria, not virus. Am on an antibiotics course now which improved my health situation lots within 24 hours.

The most painful part of the ordeal had to be the extraction of blood from my veins. My veins are prominent and blue-ish but it is so darn difficult to extract blood from them - at least, to inexperienced technicians and nurses. I ended up having my poor arms jabbed three to four times (yeah, I lost count!)... youch!!! Here's an ode to depict what I went through yesterday (sung to the tune of Knock Three Times by Tony Orlando):

Jab Three Times

Hey nurse what are you doing there
Searching for my veins while I quiver in fright in front of you
I can see the syringe jabbin'
I can feel the needle prickin'
So many veins to choose you can't pick the right one
I hate you

My tormentor, jab three times on my arm if you need to
Fourth time on my wrist if there is no blood, oh my goodness
(Jab! Jab! Jab!) Means you are bad in this business
One more on the wrist if you absolutely must

I can see the syringe jabbing
I can feel the needle prickin'
So many veins to choose you can't pick the right one
Oh, I hate you

This is taken from my Goodreads bookshelf. It's even better, faster and more intuitive than LibraryThing. And it's totally FREE! Adding and updating my treasure trove of books online is now a cinch!

** Warning: Spoilers ahead**

Love the One You're With by Emily Giffin

Rating: 3 of 5 stars
It was an easy read and the flow was good. I felt the main character Ellen's attempts to assuage her guilt of cheating emotionally with her ex by judging her husband too heavily for trivial issues came through well. At first I couldn't understand why she would be tempted to go back to her ex Leo but the chemistry between them on the red-eye flight was well-narrated and the attraction became obvious.

However, I felt that the ending was too rushed and a little too preachy. While I applaud the fact that the heroine decided to do the right thing and not foolishly abandon her solid marriage for the ex who blows hot and cold to people he's in a relationship with, I think Ellen sounded a bit like a martyr and a victim of circumstance for most of the book. And that made it hard to empathize fully with her.

Established since 1942, Chong Kok is the last authentic kopitiam (coffee shop) in Jalan Stesen, Klang. It was my mom's favourite haunt since she was a kid. But I only visited it for the first time today. The nasi lemak, curry puffs and rojak were great. And nothing beats their own brewed coffee. I even took my baby out for breakfast today. I'll let him tell the story

There's no mystery in this show. No love triangles. No boy meets girl, boy goes through a whole lot of hooplas to get girl. No running around trees and slick group choreographic moves.

It's about hockey. It's about a disgraced team captain who came back to bring glory and honor to his country. It's about team spirit and determination to finish the race against insurmountable odds.

It's Chakde! India which means "Go for it! India". A Hindi movie by Yash Raj Films starring my favourite Indian actor Shah Rukh Khan. And a bevy of 16 unknown ladies who gave superb performances as the motley crew of flawed hockey players. They may be girls but they have chips on their shoulders and egos as big as Australia. They get tired, they do grumble and each think that they know how the game should be played better. Most times they are not interested to hear what the weird and eccentric coach has to say. In short, they are humans just like us. These girls don't have it easy either. They face objections from their families and even prejudice from the Indian Women's Hockey Association members.

I watched it because I was getting tired of the tripe that are being shown on the big screen and TV lately. Meaningless horror movies. Shows that strongly advocate you to be strong to get what you want (including revenge) and woe betide anyone who stands in your way. Flicks on dalliance, cheap love and bed hopping. Movies that glorify cunningness and intelligence over integrity and good honest living.

And I'm so glad I watched Chakde! India. It was time well spent. An investment to the soul and refreshing to the bones. Of course it helps that the coach Kabir Khan (brilliantly played by Shah Rukh Khan) was easy on the eyes, too.

It was good to see him in a non-romantic flick and playing the role of a gifted coach and a good man tainted with slander so well. Most importantly, he taught the team in many interesting and unconventional ways what it means to play for the country first and foremost, for the team secondly and lastly, if they still have anything left - to play for themselves.

The pace was good, intense and not cheesy. The main characters were well-developed and left a big impression on my mind.

And if you like the Academy Award nominee for Best Foreign Language Film Lagaan (a Hindi movie about how cricket saved an Indian village) as much as I did, you'll love Chakde! India. Watch both of them, if possible. You will be inspired.

And no, I do not understand Hindi but the subtitles helped a lot! Hehe.

Image Credits

I was on assignment in Kuching last weekend for a few days and man, the city was HOT!

I'm not just referring to the nice sunny weather there but rather the guys. Ahem Perhaps my eyes played tricks on me but the dudes in Kuching seemed hotter than over here in West Malaysia. No, not all Kuching guys look like Kenny Sia (the local blogger poster child), thank heavens. Most of the ones I encountered in this trip were tanned, lithe and good looking complete with a most friendly and pleasant disposition. And these dudes speak Hokkien like nobody's business! Almost makes me wish I was born in Kuching instead of Klang. Almost, but not quite lar.

"Say, you speak Hokkien. Were you born in Kuching?" asked one dude.

"No, I'm from Klang. We speak Hokkien there, too," I said. Then I decided to thrown in the other name for my beloved hometown, "Pasang people speak Hokkien mar."

The dude and his cute friend blinked in surprise. "Errr, you mean Parkson (the shopping mall) in Klang?"

"No, I mean Pasang. Strange, everyone in Peninsular Malaysia knows that it means Klang. I guess it's not the same in East Malaysia?"

They shook their heads, "Nope, doesn't ring a bell with us folks."

I guess there are some differences between East and West Malaysians after all.

It was not my first time in the city though. But I've never had the opportunity to fully explore the city in my previous trips that mostly comprised of transits, conferences and a music festival.

In those trips, I noted a few things about Kuching: it was clean, well-planned, not much traffic congestion and sadly, not many friendly cats either. In this trip however, the roads were more congested than usual due to the Raya festive season and I met quite a number of friendly cats in a Malay village. Plus I discovered a whole lot of FUN things you can do in Kuching.

Kayak

You can kayak through the beautiful Sungai Sarawak and drink in the sight of the majestic
mountains, forests and rock formations. I can fully identify with the childhood rhyme of "Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream." It's so relaxing just floating down the gentle river, having your cheeks fanned by the soft breeze. How I wish such a place exist in Klang for me to kayak in regularly.

Dolphins

I never knew that you can go dolphin watching in Kuching but apparently you can! These are endangered Irrawaddy dolphins and there are about 71 of them swimming happily in the Santubong river mouth. You can watch them from a kayak or on a cruise. I chose the cruise on a river boat option and it was a joy spotting these shy gray dolphins emerging now and then from the waters. We also saw the rare proboscis monkeys (the ones with the big hook nose) hanging around on some nearby trees. It's such an amazing feeling seeing these animals in their natural habitats rather than being cooped up miserably in some zoo.

The Original Car Wash

This is probably one of the coolest places in Kuching to hang out in. It is both an honest-to-goodness car wash and eatery. The ambiance is funky with a red ferrari and dental chairs decorating the exteriors and red lanterns adorning the interiors. A visit to the washroom is a must to see the unique decor. The food is not bad either and I recommend the Mango Crush (ice-blended mango drink made from fresh mangoes from the owner's farm). You can also purchase the mangoes from the stand in front of the restaurant.

Sampan ride

Forget Venice. This is a low-budget way of enjoying a river front boat ride. For 50 sen per trip (RM1 after 10pm), you'll get to cross the river at the Kuching waterfront in a languid sampan ride. This ride will land you in Kampung Gersik where the cheapest and most delicious Dayang Salhah Kek Lapis shop is located. The Malay food at the local restaurants is also very tasty.

Alas, 4 days and 3 nights were just too short for me to enjoy all that Kuching has to offer. I did not have time to visit the caves, the Bako National Park, Gunung Gading National Park, and a whole lot more of kayaking on its majestic rivers.

Oh well. Some other time perhaps. Will post some pics here later.