How come?

It's been 7 months I've been driving up and down, left and right in the city. Never met any JPJ roadblocks till yesterday. Wait, yes - there was one police roadblock during the famous protest not too long ago.

Yesterday and today (yes, on merdeka day) I came across 2 roadblocks by the JPJ/traffic police looking at the car's roadtax. Not during the day, not on highways. Both of the "operasi" were at night at the small neighbourhood roads near residential areas and eating stalls where there isn't any commercial vehicles at all. They waved my car through after flashing their torchlight at my road tax, on both days.

Why are the JPJ people interested to do checks near residential areas and at night? And on public holidays when traffic is minimal? Surely the chances of spotting expired road taxes is extremely low given the dismal amount of traffic.

Ah...but it's 3 weeks before a major national holiday...."Ang pau" and "green pau" comes to mind. Everyone can do with a little extra income. Am I being cynical?

Deeper and deeper...

Hobbies are enjoyable but when it comes to the cost, some are higher than others. And when you delve deeper, more and more stuffs are necessary. Some of which never crossed my mind earlier.

I remember the simple cheapo point and shoot film camera I had. No need special care. Use until rosak or berkarat. And berkarat indeed they do on the metal parts. Then came the more expensive digital camera, need to keep inside cupboard. Then came the digital SLR, and I used a polystyrene fishbox with "thirsty hippo" inside to keep fungus at bay.

Now I've got a drybox with a dehumidifier and hygrometer/ temperature monitor. Googled around and found out that the "ideal" relative humidity for lenses and cameras is between 35-45%. I think in our tropical climate, humidity is above 90% most of the time which is ideal for mould and fungal growth. So a drybox is a must if I wanna protect my investment. Hopefully this will keep the dreaded fungus away for a long long time.

And what my significant other wanted to put in my drybox? Handbags!...Ummm camera lenses and handbags don't like each other.

Good ol' MC

After the shock and getting down with the flu recently, I had the chance to sleep soundly and to switch off my handphone. Despite that calls still came gggrrrr, but since I was imprisoned at home, well what the heck..

But I needed that break. The flu somehow knew I needed it and gave a little nudge towards the right direction hehe. Come what may, nothing is gonna stop me from taking a real holiday soon. Tickets checked, passport checked, currency checked...

I cannot help reading the numerous complaints with regards to the goverment's response to this pandemic. It's always government's fault. I'm no boot-licker but hey, gimme a break. Just look around you. It is the public's attitude and civic consciousness or the lack of it. How many times you see the "Char Kuey Teow" seller sneezing into your hot fried char kuey teow? How many times you see dirty dishes on the sidewalk frequented by rats and dogs? When was the last time you see a clean public toilet ? How can the government enforces just about everything? People have to start behaving responsibly for themselves. I remember the trip to Vienna early this year, nobody checks if you have bought a ticket to board the train. It's just a civic responsibility to sustain the service. Like wise, Malaysians should learn civic responsibility.

And the MSM reported that the government may invoke the Disease Prevention Act of fine and jail if somebody with the flu flouts the quarantine. I mean get real lah...if 2 million Malaysians are inflicted with flu and flouting the quarantine, do you have jails large enough for all of them? Or enough prosecutors and judges to hear all the cases? It's a pandemic!

This wearing of a mask for the sake of wearing is also bullshit. Just for show that "something is being done". A mask is not going to prevent anything unless our attitude change as well. It's just giving a false sense of security. Some of the school children aren't even wearing it properly - you can see them being worn upside down, inside out, below the nostrils etc..you name it.

And the fallacy of a pill for every ill. This is the drug company's windfall and the industry is pushing it that way. And imagine the chaos and anarchy if a really virulent pandemic is on the way and the response is "We've got no treatment for it".

Some members of the public are also hitting the government over the "higher than norm" death rates. Hey come on, if the denominator is under-reported, the rates aren't gonna be correct. And nobody is capable of monitoring the denominator any longer.

Now a nice Ba Kut Teh would be a great end to my MC. Hehe. Can't remember the last time I took one.

How to ?

How do you console a friend whose kid got very ill due to the dreaded H1N1 flu? And how do you console the friend who was suspected to have inadvertently passed the bug to the kid?

I really cannot imagine to be in either of their shoes.

Should the friend who was suspected to have passed the bug to the kid get tested? If it's positive, probably this friend will feel extremely guilty for life. How to face the kid's parents later? Or is it better to leave it be - unconfirmed, since this friend has already recovered? I really don't know. In any case, it wouldn't reverse whatever that has happened.

The pandemic has reached our shores far and wide. Every person will probably get it sooner or later, symptomatic or otherwise. Scenario like this will become the norm. Finger pointing and the blame game may cause untold sorrows and may even break marriages and friendships. Especially in fatal cases.

I sincerely pray and hope for the recovery of the kid.