2013 and Moving Forwards.... Hello 2014

Wow. Whaddaya know.... it's December 2013. I'm going to sound corny (and possibly repetitive) but time flew by! I actually hadn't realize that it's the END of the year despite it being December until I was asked to do the plans for 2014 at work.

It's my second "winter" in Myanmar and on reflection - as I always do every year, 2013 had been awesome. There had been some painful "Myanmar Moments" as how I call them, but overall, it was great. Well, actually, 2013 had been a very busy year.

As always, I close the year with a prayer of Thanks that I am surrounded by so much love, that everyone I love and care about is safe, sound and healthy and laughter permeated our lives throughout most of 2013. For that, I am thankful for the kind blessings from Mr. B.

I guess the highlight of the year for me really was the significant improvements with regards to the disadvantaged children I work for. I wrote about them not too long ago. You can read my post here. Another highlight is meeting and getting to know so many kind and generous souls who believed and supported my endeavors with the kids. Hey - they talk about the "law of attraction"... and I'm a believer :)

I suppose, another highlight for me was the increments and bonuses I got in the workfront - that's counting 3 times in less than 2 years... whilst I appreciate that I am being appreciated by Da Boss Woman, and I will continue striving to help her meet the company's business objectives in the coming year, the last increment was a little scary for me. Scary because I realized that I have very little interest in retail science and as such, may not totally enjoy the workscope if it gets larger than my MARCOM area. And also scary that I may not be able to afford the time that is expected out of me with the 'increment'. Nevertheless, I have a pending lunch with DBW and hopefully, we will both work something out.

Moving forwards, 2014, I foresee is going to be a year where I will pray for the courage to do the right thing everyday. This brings me back to a conversation I had with my idol - TC - she told me "You do this with your heart and if your heart says it's not right, then it's not right. Forget about the bigger picture bullshit." Uh-huh. That's right. I believe I was blessed with the wisdom (don't laugh!!) to fight for what is right and just. I just have to learn not to get "too" emotionally involved so that I am able to make rational decisions - and usually, this is where MOH comes in, bless this pillar of strength in my life :)

I have big plans in the pipeline - and there is no better time than now to fulfill my dreams. It may differ slightly from my childhood dream, but nevertheless, it is still along the same path.

I would like to open the Children of Tomorrow Youth Centre in 2014 - a centre where disadvantaged youths could come and hang out, take up computer or English classes, have weekend recreational activities like art or music or sports, have access to a library and have opportunities to create and start their own businesses. The business profits started within the Youth Centre will (hopefully) be used to sustain the centre. The Youth Centre will also serve as a 'halfway-house' for youths above 18 who had just landed their first job and would like to learn what it is to be independent. They can stay for a nominal fee per month up to a certain time period in which by they should fully grow their own wings and soar high.

I believe with hope, faith and most importantly, courage, I will be able to see this through - especially with the moral support of my family and friends who believe in me and believe in the reason I am doing this.

As such, for 2014, I pray for strength, I pray for courage and I pray for tenacity and unwavering faith to climb the mountain up ahead. "One person can make a difference and everyone should try." So if you wish to, come hike with me :)

Till then, have an awesome 2014 y'all! 

Life in Myanmar : The Children Of Tomorrow

Super-happy dream-come-true trip to the beach for the kids

I had been very tardy with my blog this year. Life in Myanmar thus far had been centred around work, the kids, work and the kids. For those who may misinterpret otherwise, they’re not my kids. It is humanly impossible to pump out 200 kids, I think :P

Since I started 18 months ago, there had been vast improvements to the lives of majority of these kids. Reflecting back, I’m glad I did it. When I first came to Myanmar, having been through a very emotional separation from the kids at Happy Tree Cambodia, I told myself – ok, I’m not going to get so emotionally attached with the new kids again so that one day, when I leave, it’d be easier, on both ends. Actually, no, easier on me. I fear separation.

A year and a half later, I find myself emotionally attached to all these kids I have come to know. I’m not so sure it’s a good thing, but I just cannot help it. How can one be involved and not be involved emotionally? When I committed myself to doing this, I had promised that I will endeavour, that I will try my 1000% (and yes, that is one-thousand) to help each and every one of these kids. By helping, I don’t mean to just donate money, pat myself on the back and move on. I’m there every weekend, teaching them – not so much English or music, but to inspire them to achieve their dreams and to encourage them to battle what life had thrown at them.

How did I find myself emotionally involved? I don’t know. From a time where I told myself it wasn’t important that I remember their names, I’m at a stage where I know at least 90% of their names (trust me, Burmese names are not easy to recall!!) Somewhere between seeing them try, seeing them grow and seeing them give up had moved me. I feel the painful stab in my heart when I see them try so hard and not get anywhere. I feel the painful stab in my heart when I hear that they had chosen to run away back to the land of farm work, mining and drugs. I feel the painful stab in my heart when I see them give up their education. In all instances, I stand helplessly, not being able to do anything. At the same time, I feel a weird kind of cracking in my heart when I see them try and really do get somewhere. I feel a weird dull ache in my heart when I see tears in their eyes and the look of disbelief when I tell them that I believe in them. I feel a weird dull ache in my heart when one or two of them remembered the promises they had made to me and tries hard keeping their promises.

Hey – first of all, I’m neither a trained teacher nor counsellor. Neither am I a trained volunteer. I’m still muddling my way around and finding my own grounds in which I can tread to properly guide these kids. And most of all, I’m not a mother. I suppose, getting a heart-attack when a kid gives you a letter saying she wants to commit suicide is as close as I will ever get to feeling like a mother :P Thank GOD I’m not one. I might hang myself. As it is, their troubles keep me awake at nights. When I said I carry their burden on my back, I guess I wasn’t kidding. And how is it possible again not to get emotionally involved? Because when I see their joy – especially when I took them to the beach – I feel extremely joyful myself. When I hear of their unhappiness, I hide and cry. I know what MOH would say (and have said) – “If you’re going to help them, you best be rational about things otherwise, you’re not really helping them.” Case in point – when I made the 1 hour walk from tuition centre to the bus stop with the kids, I felt so sorry for them that I had already made plans to set aside transportation money for them to get to classes. And I can hear MOH in my head going “You’re not helping them be independent. You’re spoiling them. How will they learn about life???” (Imagine him saying that in the “Tiger See” style :P) I get it. You gotta be cruel, to be kind. It’s hard. Like I said, I’m still learning.

It’s a huge responsibility, this so-called work that I do. Because this is not so much about getting an ad campaign wrong. This is about someone’s life. In this case – many lives. Sometimes, I am afraid that I am doing the wrong things or saying the wrong things or showing them the wrong things. There’s always the fine line between good conduct, correct conduct and misconduct. Doesn’t help when people say things about my smoking and my tattoos. I don’t smoke in front of the kids, if you must know. Not once. My tattoos, to how I see it, are cool. And there’s always that balance of treading on thin ice when it comes to dealing with the kids’ caretakers as well, who may have different views of what the kids should be inspired with or exposed to.

Sometimes, it gets a bit tiring because when I stand in front of the class and see all the different faces staring back at me, I feel like crying. I feel helpless and I feel this is all impossible. But I cannot cry and I have to show them strength and wisdom (haha) and inspire them never to give up. And after class, I retreat into a silent mode, reflecting and contemplating and I hide in the shell that is my mind thinking and churning a whirlpool in my tiny little head. Is this what kids do to parents? I guess, MOH had seen both sides of my joys and heartbreak – at how I would excitedly in tears of joy tell him how some of the kids have improved, have gained confidence, or wrote me a really nice “love letter”…. And he’s seen my tears of pain as well when I tell them about the helplessness I feel when a kid decides to give up or a kid is unhappy with current living conditions – and really, with the current living conditions or unhappiness about their caretaker, there’s really nothing I can do about it.

I suppose, my rant in this post is really due to a very emotional past 1 month I had with the kids – starting from when I decided to take a 2-week break from them.

When I went on my break, we had sent an Under-14 team for a football competition – and OMG, they were competing with the pros – having never trained properly before for football (and don’t even get me started on the field in which they train at). I was on the phone with them for more than an hour every night of the 7 nights that they were away in Pathein, hearing their stories, their losses (“Ma Eileen, we cannot smile right now. We lost 7-0”) and how they would all scream in unison “We miss you, Ma Eileen!” before I say good night. I realized then that when the day really comes for me to part with them and cheap phone calls cannot be made on an everyday basis, it’s going to be heart-breaking for me. The kids? Hah, they’ll get over it in time.

Coming back from my break, I took the kids to the beach – and please let me digress. To those who saw this as an act of irrational irresponsibility on my part for taking the risk, I’m sorry, you are wrong. The sea is the kids’ dream come true and some of them may never ever get the chance to see the sea in their lifetime. That I had a full, passionate and dedicated group of volunteers and event crew who kept an eagle-eye over the kids showed we were in every way responsible for their lives – more so than our own. And if given a chance, I would do it over and over and over again. Anyway, at the beach, I taught some of the kids to swim. First off, there was that bonding with the kids when they trusted me enough to teach them how to swim = emotional moment. Secondly, when they were so afraid of letting go and clung on so tightly to me = emotional moment. Thirdly, when I realized that the only way they can ever float and swim on their own is when I let them go = emotional moment. (To those who might wonder if such emotions are prompting me to have a baby of my own, the answer is NO. Sorry to burst your bubbles, Mama & Papa!)

And then coming back from the beach and from Pathein football competition, we all had a sharing session, myself included, what we learnt from the outings = emotional moment too. Some of them had grown up in the last year and articulated their thoughts very well, in Burmese though. And to hear them express their thanks and all that they had learnt and appreciated = emotional moment. To see the kids who used to speak softer than a mosquito buzzing stand in front of the class and speaking confidently is a joy indeed – because it is a sign that I had been doing something right with them.

Finally, having to deal with a couple of the kids’ unhappiness and depression had taken a bit of toll on me too. Again – I’ve no experience in this area. I feel the only thing I can do is BE THERE.

To the Children of Tomorrow, here’s my promise to you – for as long as you try, I will try one thousand times harder to help you, to encourage you, to give you all of my love, my courage and my faith that you will all be living your dreams in the near future.

To friends, families and strangers who had trusted me with cash, who had helped in even the tiniest way possible, who had followed my statuses and FB updates about the kids, who have all of the children in your prayers – I can only say Kyezu Arr Miaji Arr Miaji Arr Miaji Tin Bar Deh. I cannot possibly walk this journey alone nor do what I do with the kids alone. Sometimes, it may not be the cash or physical presence, and all I need is “Eileen, you’re in my prayers” and that is enough to give me strength to trudge forwards and do what I need to do.

Speaking of the right thing – would it be so bad to teach the kids Eminem’s song – “Lighters”?? :) 

Birthday Wish : Starting My Mobile Soup Kitchen

And so..... the celebratory month of August continues...... here comes another birthday. Need I remind anyone that I am still young and damn bloody fit? Ok, the eyes are starting to tell-tales and I just don't know what's up with those annoying white hair, but I shall will the far-sightedness away and if I can't see the whites, they're not there :P So - Happy Birthday to me and Happy Merdeka to ... Malaysia.

It had taken awhile for me to get here - but here I am finally. At this age, it's not so much about talking and dreaming (though I still do a lot of that dreaming and building castles in the air) but it's more about putting words into action. Thus, putting more meaning to this year's birthday, I'm turning another dream into action :)

I am starting a little "Mobile Soup Kitchen".... where I will cook and distribute the food to the poor and homeless around Yangon. I intend to do this once every month and because this is just me and me alone, I won't aim for the skies - it'll only be a more realistic figure of 50 packs of rice + 1 dish for a start. As I sit and write this piece here, the BKT is simmering in the kitchen and the delicious herbal smell is wafting through the apartment (hurray - it covers the smell of the open garbage dump downstairs!!). Uh-huh - auspiciously starting my mobile soup kitchen by introducing herbal porky stuff and grilled chicken to the people of Myanmar. I don't know what's the menu like for next month, but I'll strive to do this every month - fingers crossed and all.

One may wonder why I am embarking on such a project. Well, as I said, this is a long time coming. But I'm just happy that I am able to make it happen. I suppose, being a 'greedy-for-food' person has something to do with it (God knows the number of times I had been greedy and it had landed me in hot soup - case-in-point - Myanmar :P) Despite my "healthy food days", I do love to eat and I have had the privilege of living a life where I do not know what real hunger is all about. I don't think I am a fussy-eater, but I guess, the quirks I have when it comes to eating may be deemed as fussy. No fish, but I can have fish cake :P And I'm not a gourmet meal person either. I love junk food!! If I don't impose some self-discipline onto myself, I would be snacking all day long.

Anyway, I digressed.

I am doing this because I am blessed to be able to eat to my heart's content. I may not have the luxury of feasting on abalone and caviar (eweee by the way) but I always, always, always have chilli, instant noodles and potato chips in my pantry.

And in a way, I hope to inspire others to embark on the same journey. Just imagine, for someone who isn't even a real cook to begin with and who cooks a whole week in advance for MOH - to be able to put together 50 care packages for 50 poor or homeless persons says something. And if I can do it, so can anyone else - after all, I am deemed a "barely pass" housewife :P

So, here's to a meaningful celebration for all :)

4th Year Anniversary : Roaring Tiger & Meowing Lioness

To say time flies is really understating it. Unknowingly, my favourite month of the year has crept up upon us and..... let's see now....  4 years of wedded bliss!!! Woohoo!!!

As per my annual tradition, I write a piece to commemorate our wedding anniversary so here goes :)

The last one year had seen lots of things changing and happening for the both of us here in Myanmar. I suppose, the most significant being MOH's career promotion - he decided that the grass might be greener on the other side and thus jumped over to the dark side - the client's side.

With the new role for him, there happened (and is still happening) a change in tide for the both of us. In the corporate world of Myanmar, I had chosen to take a back seat, focused instead on enjoying my consultant role at City Mart and making a difference to the lives of the underprivileged children that I work with here. Whilst for MOH - as the Head of Marketing for HTC Myanmar, he is becoming quite a mini-celebrity, appearing in various print and electronic media every other day. Strangers come up to him and say "Hey, I've seen you in the papers!" where as I am "Eileen who??? Oh Richard's wife." :P I had pledged full support when he wanted to do this and I am happy to say that he does have every bit of my 100% support. I do know for a fact that this job is very challenging and stressful for him and I also know in my heart that he does not enjoy the role. For some of us agency suckers - having the opportunity to work across a few different brands and products breaks the mundane of just working on one brand.

Anyway..... his new role and new levels of stress had led me to new discoveries about MOH. Friends and loved ones, may I please present to you - Gordon Ram-See. Huh - and you guys thought I was anal... :P Uh-huh. I had personally seen him working and boy - talk about anal, bitchy, sarcastic. And still - he manages to pull it all off with a poker-face. He isn't mean or nasty, just..... a very practical but sarcastic roaring Tiger (that's the nickname his local staff had given him! Behind his back! LOL!) Even though we both treat our domestic helps very well, Li Su our house-help and Ti Lone, our driver are more afraid of him than they are of me. With me, they can climb all over my head. It also seems as though I have suddenly ceased to be the bad cop. He is now the bad cop and I love using his name in vain :P

It brings me back to a recent strongly-worded email which he sent to our evil landlord. I've been emailing the landlord, asking him to fix the leaks and indoor flooding numerous times and the last response from the landlord was "Get out of my house now!" I was going to offer the other cheek and call truce but out of nowhere, MOH sent an email which basically slapped the landlord so hard, he probably didn't know what hit him. Surprise! Surprise! Never mess with the roaring Tiger these days.

One might think that this change of tide, or how some of my friends call it - this "power shift" would be unnerving, however, it wasn't in the wee bit such. In fact, looking back, it had been a very natural transition, if I may say so myself. Actually, I don't think it is a "transition". It is just as with any relationships, we are growing to understand each other better and better. If he's late home, I have my dinner first and keep dinner warm for him. (I don't know what's the fuss about insisting to wait up to eat together? If one is hungry, one eats first! Right?) Sometimes, he walks in, pretending to be all bossy-like and demands "Where's my food?" Most times, I would ignore him - it all depends on how his face really looks when he gets home. Haha. If he spoke to me haughtily over the phone - "Where's the car??! I need the car NOW!" - I don't scream back and tell him to speak to me properly. Instead, I quickly get into the car and make a face at Ti Lone and he'll know what to do. In instances like these, I end up having to tag along to whatever meetings he has to go to and experience what it is like to be a driver-in-waiting :P Thank God for mobile data in Myanmar now, I can work out of the car :P

Literally - my 100% support means I do not stand in the way of his work. I do the laundry (and since we no longer have a cupboard - it's awesome because the clothes go straight from the clotheslines to the sofa :P), the cleaning up of indoor waterfalls and indoor pools and the freaking alien-mould, I cook..... and then I have my own work to do - which no longer feels like a part-time job, by the way. Did I mention that I no longer cook for an entire week :P After being chastised over and over again for that by my "very supportive family and dear friends", I am now cooking twice a week :P Hello! I too have work :P And for that - I am patting myself on the back three times :P

All aside, I think the mutual understanding and support we have for each other had helped grow our relationship positively. And here's what keeps both of us, ok, ok.... me... going despite the utterly busy schedules we have, with visitors, be it friends or big bosses from HTC coming over and hardly having any 'us' time, is I know for a fact that MOH gets into bed every night, kisses me and whispers "I love you" into my ear, even though I may be fast asleep (or snoring like a pig as he would describe it). And there's the laughter - everyday. Even on the worse of days, we would make each other laugh, be it clowning around or just poking fun at each other or playing tricks on each other, we live for the laughs with each other. It is for these small little gestures that I know everything is intact, nobody is growing apart and our love is growing stronger.

And I know I have his full 100% support too in whatever I do. I am hell-bent on saving the world and he's my anchor because this Tiger prefers to think things through rationally. Case-in-point - I would of course love for every kid to be in the football team (emotional-thinking) but he says "not try hard in class, no football!"(hard-ass rational-thinking :P) When he can make the time, he's there with me on the weekends with the kids. Sometimes, out of the blue, from nowhere, he'd come up with a brilliant suggestion for me on what I can do with the kids, for the kids. I know too that he's 100% behind me when I start my Soup Kitchen soon :) ......

I feel that part of this anniversary piece would require an admittance to a certain incident which took place not too long ago.

Whilst we both love Myanmar, living and working here has its moments. I count my blessings and I've learnt to give the other cheek and overall, try to be zen about these so-called Myanmar moments. But you know what, I say this over and over again - if I can do it 100%, I'd be Mr. B himself :P So it was at this time period, with the new projects coming in from work and working till late even on off-days, the nightmare of indoor waterfalls, the stress of fighting with the landlord over the stupid apartment situation, the frustration of battling alien-mutated mould, no internet but feeble optics instead, horrendous traffic, what-have-you........ I had a meltdown.

It was a Saturday morning breakfast and MOH and I decided to try a new local shop which looked rather promising. I ordered the half-boiled eggs and toast. Now, you see, I only eat my half-boiled eggs with soya sauce and pepper. The pepper, no problem. But for the life of me, I cannot remember what the hell was soya sauce in Burmese and the waiter no speaketh the England!! I even went to the kitchen in search of soya sauce and they kept saying no, no, no. By the time I gave up, my eggs had turned cold and my toast had gone limp. I fiddled with my eggs and then I burst into tears! The poor waiter, oh God.... he was shocked (I did apologize to him guiltily on the way out). He must think me a real idiot for crying over stupid half-boiled eggs with no soya sauce. MOH..... MOH...... he let me cry for a bit and then asked me "Why? Somebody bully you izzit?" And just like that - he made me laugh. The very next day, he took me for breakfast again at Yakun - new franchise in Yangon. Now, being a Singaporean chain, you know they serve half-boiled eggs with thick black sauce. Not soya sauce. Guess what MOH did? He told me to wait and he walked across the street to a mom & pop shop to buy me a bottle of soya sauce - just in case I had another meltdown over eggs. I call that both being funny and being sweet at the same time. My heart melted - not over diamonds, not over any bling-blings. Over soya sauce. Go figure :P

A friend pointed out that these situations could either bring two people closer together or push them apart. Well, Thank You Myanmar for bringing us closer together - from the furniture-hunting on a shoe-string budget to the apartment-hunting (also on a shoe-string budget :P) to the mould wars, to the power cuts in the middle of the night in summer, to all your moments. Cheers! We still love you :)

And to my dearest MOH......... here's to a great 4th year as husband and wife. I now truly understand that love stories are really not made up of Leonardo DiCaprios and Titanic moments. They are made up of these :

1) Moments when you open your eyes, the first thing you see in the morning is a drooling, snoring partner next to you and you think - "oh God - I have to capture him on video!"

2) Moments when you come home to find indoor flooding, boxer shorts flung on the dining table and you say "I will make him eat his shorts!" but instead, when you see said partner, you pinch his fats and call him Fatty Jelly

3) Moments when you are feeling stressed and down over apartment situation and your partner takes you round the neighbourhood, knocking on doors to make enquiries despite it being 10 o'clock at night

4) Moments when your partner hogs the entire bed by sleeping diagonally and you squeeze yourself into a cocoon next to her and still caress her forehead and whisper "I love you" into her ear

5) Moments when in the middle of the night, your partner pinches you and accuses you of stealing her pillow and you jump out of bed to pick it off the floor and put said pillow into her arms

6) Moments when you know your partner is having a very bad day at work and you send him a text  just to say "who loves ya, baby??? and can you pick up a can of WD40 on your way home?"

7) Moments when your partner takes the children's failure to heart and you have the balls to tell her "If you are able to save 1 out of 100 kids, you have done great" even though you know she won't believe it

8) Moments when your partner falls ill because she had been idiotic enough to run happy in the rain and you bite your tongue from saying "I told you so" but instead force medicine down her throat

9) Moments when you asked if weed would help alleviate your partner's pain - despite how ridiculous it sounds

10) Moments where you sit up all night fanning your partner with a blanket due to power cuts in summer

11) Moments where your partner is trying to deal with the death of a loved one and you tell her if it makes her feel any better, she can pinch / smack / bounce on your Jelly Belly.....

12) Moments where you and your partner fall ill from the stress at work and an awfully stressful apartment fiasco and you take one look at each other and then laugh because you understand the situation you are both in.....

I have a hundred more moments such as these and I look forward to the millions and zillions of them with you :)



_____________________________

"When you're close to tears, remember,
Someday, it will all be over,
One day we're gonna get so high....

Though it's darker than December,
What's ahead is a different colour,
One day we're gonna get so high.....

Cos we are gonna be, forever you and me...
We will always keep it flying high
In the sky of love......"

Life in Myanmar : Stressful Apartment Fiasco

Moving again. Downright pain-in-the-arse

Mingalabar...... and greetings from very wet Yangon!Of late, most of the expats in Myanmar are feeling a bit beaten down by the damp weather and the escalating cost of rentals. I feel compelled to share my story about my arse-luck with apartments in Yangon.

Last December, we've had to move from our first apartment as the landlord sold it and wouldn't renew our contract. Since MOH and I really liked Yankin Township, we persisted in finding a suitable apartment in this area. We found one very quickly. The landlords were great - BEFORE the full year's rental was paid. It was "Oh, don't worry, any problem at all, big or small, just email me or speak to my son." They live in Singapore and naively, we thought - well, they reside overseas and they must surely be exposed to what it took to be proper landlords. How wrong. Once the full year's rental was paid..... it was literally like we had a new landlord! Despite being promised the "highest quality" at the cheapest price (we got the apartment at 5 lakhs for 2 BRs), this seemingly new apartment was plagued with building problems right from the get-go. We lived with it all anyway - electrical fused box which ... well, fused. Electric points which did not work, doors that were falling off the hinges, piping issues, ..... We fixed it all ourselves because "any problem is not our problem. You are tenant, it is your problem." Ok. And it doesn't help that the landlord did not live in Myanmar and when they did come back, they proclaimed themselves to be "foreigners" and as such, weren't able to help us. Anyway, the rain came and ever since then, we've literally had to deal with indoor waterfalls and wading pool. Nevermind the alien mould-infestation,.... I mean, the water was seeping through the walls, for crying out loud! I had never before stayed in a building that was so badly built! I sent numerous SOS to the landlord to fix the issue. He handed us over to the "contractor" which later turned out to be "just a friend" not a contractor, who hired some goons off God-knows-where to fix things. I swear to you, they came, they made a terrible, terrible mess, removing every single grill in the house and then decided they couldn't fix the sunshades from indoors. I mean.... OMG. They left and the leaks never went away. I have really good photos of the indoor floods and waterfalls - which I kept sending to the landlord. His "contractor friend", after awhile, decided not to answer anymore of our frantic phone calls and even had the cheek to tell the landlord we didn't allow the workers to go into the apartment, as such, cannot fix things. Long story short - my last email asking the landlord to please consider fixing it through a contractor that we have found and if he does fix it, we would extend our rental contract. His response was a "Get out of my apartment now."

MOH, the 'Tiger', of course, is not going down without a fight. We want our refund. This landlord had said to deal with everything via our agent because "it is the agent who brought you to my house and therefore he should be responsible". We haven't seen any money as of right now. Nevermind the fact that the landlord keeps reminding us about the "2 week free stay present" he gave us (we moved in 2 weeks ahead of contract period, you see). I had left out the parts where the landlord's wife and daughter pissed off our agent big time one night and also accused my husband of trying to break down the door to her apartment to rape her. OMFG. (When they are back from Singapore, they live in the unit downstairs.). As far as I am concerned, this place is not suitable for renting until it is fixed really good or when the owners learn how to be responsible landlords (a bit of a fat hopes, but still...one can hope). Even the tenant downstairs, who is local says the landlord is "crazy" ... really now.

So.... our hunt for another apartment began. The ridiculous cost of rentals is by far.... unbelievable. We did find one which we liked and managed to negotiate it down to 6.3 lakhs. On the day when we were supposed to sign the contract, the owner called to say someone is willing to pay a higher price for it and she had signed the contract with said person. Later, the agent told me the other tenant outbid me at 10 lakhs. How far this is true, I cannot verify, but if that idiot really did this, I'm just going to say - OMFG. It was already ridiculous enough at 6 lakhs. 10 lakhs??? What gives?? As you may well know by now, apartment-hunting on a tight budget is a real pain in the arse. I mean, yes, my husband works with HTC and I do part-time consultancy work for City Mart but it doesn't necessarily translate to big-fat-paycheck, if you know what I mean. Part of what we earn goes towards supporting 200 over kids from 3 different homes which we volunteer at here in YG. I'm not saying we're angels, but we try and hubby and I have no kids, therefore have different aspirations. If I spent 10 lakhs for an apartment, that could mean having less money to support these kids (and I do get help from friends back home who support my efforts for these kids but there are so many of them!!)
Nevertheless, we moved on in our quest to look for another apartment. Together with an agent, we found one - also in the Yankin area (yes, I do love this area). The owner asked for 5.5 lakhs. He must think we're in New York.... :P My dear agent managed to negotiate it down for me to 4 lakhs - but on the condition that we fixed in everything ourselves - grills, sunshades, A/C, etc...... it was literally an empty unit, no flooring, not even light bulbs. When this was all confirmed, I was teaching a class (I also teach event management for free to a group of under-privileged kids) and I literally had to stop the class, run all the way to the apartment to pay my deposit just in case some fellow outbids me again. So, after the sign-off on the deposit, I thought - ok - time to celebrate! 4 lakhs was still too much to pay for 800 sq ft, but - ahhh... nevermind. Previously, in Cambodia, we were paying a bit less than that for a bigger unit, absolutely fully-furnished with the most adorable landlady ever and I do miss Madame!!. But hell, I'm not in Cambodia now, and I know that.

Anyway, yesterday being a day where we had to pay up the 1 year rent, some drama ensued. When I got to the tea shop (the landlord owns a tea shop as well as 6 other apartment units), he was shouting at my agent. The owner's agent hustled us to another corner of the tea shop and then explained the situation to me. The owner was now refusing to rent unless I also installed parquet flooring for his unit. (We were all ready to live with concrete flooring!!). I mean - what the hell, right? My agent told him it's not in the deposit contract that we are to install the flooring (which led to the shouting). I asked if anyone could read English - and turns out, the owner's brother could. I wrote a note, pleading with the owner to please show me some kindness as I wasn't here to rob or steal from the people of Myanmar. I'm not a rich foreigner with hardship posting fee attached to my pay-package and I'm helping his people! While the owner and his brother was in the discussion, I had contemplated to forgo the rent all together and leave with my deposit - except I found out that work had already started on the grills at the new apartment. *slaps forehead*.

The decision came back that the owner wants me to leave behind the A/C units when I leave the apartment IF I didn't install the parquet floors. What the hell, right? I smell the greed so strongly, I wanted to puke. The agents were all at it. Even the owner's agent stood on my side, requesting for the owner to honour the contract. In the end, I was so fed-up, so stressed out.... in a fashionably meltdown manner :P, I asked if the owners were really poor, because if they were really poor, I would donate the parquet flooring to them but that would mean 200 kids wouldn't have food for awhile and the karma's on the owner. The brother, he shook my hand and said done deal, no need A/C, no need parquet flooring. All is ok and I can pay-up.

And so.... I got the apartment. I'm going to forget this bad start. But then again, I would remember the kindness of the agents - mine and the owner's - all locals, who stood by me and held my hands. The owner's agent even gave me her number and said that she lives in the same apartment block and if I ever needed any help, just give her a call.

As for my agent - she's actually the girlfriend of our driver - Ti Lone. They had both been so wonderful in helping us sort out our living arrangements. They were going to do it for us at no cost, no fee whatsoever too, but we decided to pay her the 1 month's customary agent fee anyway. She knew my limitations and she fought very hard for me. When she negotiated with some of the other apartment owners' agents to not collect the commission (I really cannot for the life of me figure out how this works).... they were not happy as to why she as a local, was helping a foreigner "disrupt their income" and to this, she replied "she is helping our people, so I help her!" Not only that - for the agent fee she is getting, she said her services would include helping me organize all the fixtures required before I move in (hence the very quick work-start on the damn grills!!). Fingers and toes crossed for a smooth move next week. But I also hope Thaw Thaw would have every success as an agent because she is definitely offering services that no other agents offer. For those who do not follow me on FB, Thaw Thaw also volunteers with me.

Such is my apartment luck in Myanmar. But one or two greedy owners or agents do not make everyone in this country bad or out-to-get-you. There are my Burmese brothers and sisters out there who have got my back too. Just as how Ti Lone, our driver held my hand and comforted me when I broke down in tears fighting for my rent with the greedy owner. For that, I am thankful.

Myanmar really has her charms, but definitely has her moments as well. ("feeble optics", anyone?? :P) We will just try our best to wade through them all. At the end of the day, we just need to know we're in someone else's country. Let's do good by them.

Till the next time around!

Life in Myanmar : 1 Year & Still Loving It...!

Thank You Myanmar :)

Mingalabar!!

Can you believe it? It’s been one whole year since I first moved to Yangon, Myanmar. I’ve waged wars on mold, I’ve battled the excruciating heat with some water-splashing fun in between that, I’ve enjoyed the cold and now we’re going into another rainy season. I’ve got my dehumidifiers and my Mold Busters at the ready. I think I’ve hoarded enough stock to last the 4-5 months of rain and mold! Here’s one thing that I’ve really learnt while muddling through the bloopers, the oddities and the plain frustrations – that is to laugh it off and say “Welcome to Myanmar.” After all, I could choose to dwell on my miseries, but unlike some of the expats, I don’t have a “hardship posting fee” and therefore, living here had been my choice. However, I’m blessed to say that life here is good.


Myanmar has really moved forward in more ways than one and being right in the middle of the dynamism of a country that is changing right before my very eyes is exciting indeed. I’m not here to write about whether Myanmar is taking a step in the right direction, too fast, too slow or whatever. I’m just writing about my observations and experiences.


I’ve lived through the seriously crappy internet. It’s still quite crap, but at least, the pages sometimes load now and I can send attachments most of the time. Watching YouTube is a pain-in-the-a** but I still can – only problem is I tend to use up my limited ration before the month’s up. Mobile internet is now pretty ok. I can now upload photos on FB in a jiffy on good days. Yay! What’s even better – I can now Viber and Whatsapp my family at home! Super! No longer feeling so disconnected J And guess what? Fiber optics have arrived!!! - that is if you can afford the USD7k+ installation fee.....

The cars – OMG. My travel time to work has increased from 20 minutes last year to 30 minutes 3 months later and now, anytime between 40 – 50 minutes – depending on rain, flood and road closures. Road upgrades are also taking place all over the city – but now that the rain has come, not sure if all will be right on time for the SEA Games in December. Also – the ‘Flintstone Taxis’ that I used to have to take are now hard to come by. Almost every other taxi on the road these days are brand new – with AC that works. I remember a time when the taxi drivers were still afraid and nervous to use the AC of their brand new ride. Well, not anymore.

New TV stations, new journals, new magazines, new newspapers – media outfits are raking it in, especially after the whole censorship lift last year. And what’s more – dailies are now available!!! Newspapers used to only be published on a weekly basis. But as of 1^st April, a few of the publications have gotten their daily license and are now running full-steam ahead.

New venues catering to the upper-middle class and the expats are sprouting everywhere in the city too. There are now cafes and malls which makes you feel like you’re definitely not in Myanmar. What’s more? Parkson just opened and walking through the departmental store feels just like home.

On the work front, it had been slow, but rewarding nonetheless. The local team is now more ready to accept new ideas, never-been-done-before events. I executed my first ‘flashmob’ on the streets in downtown Yangon – also the first in the city – in in February. I’m hoping to do the same in the capital – Nay Pyi Taw sometime in June. We’ve launched 4 websites and 4 Facebook pages despite the questionable internet speed – thanks to Da Boss Woman who has serious vision. I mean, it really had taken me all of one year to convince the local team to start thinking – because after all, isn’t that what democracy is all about? My conversations with the local team can still be collated into a “Book of Myanmar Bloopers” and it’ll be a best-seller, I swear! Needless to say, I am still enjoying the process of learning all about what it feels like to be behind-the-scene of multiple retail formats. I’m blessed with the opportunity.

Of course, whilst I no longer have to go through 7 hours a day without electricity, the power-cuts still occur and electricity is pretty unstable especially during the summer months. And you just got to love Myanmar for her “Myanmar Moments” like right in the middle of shampooing your hair, the power goes off. Yes, in Myanmar, no electricity = no water. Or of ceiling that leaks despite the numerous Myanmar-style repair works – creating a flood situation in your apartment. Oh, I swear, I could write a whole book about these “Myanmar Moments”. But despite the “Myanmar Moments”, the journey so far had been truly amazing. And I believe, only in Myanmar, you are trained by the national Lethwei Champion & Golden Belt holder and his team for almost next to nothing. As you can tell, I'm enjoying my Myanmar boxing lessons extremely and I'm working towards my first fight in the ring! (ok - I just ROFL-ed at that statement) Myanmar had treated me and my husband really well. And in return, we’ve promised to do good by her people too.

Another big change from last year is really the underprivileged kids I have come to work with. I started with just one home and have expanded my reach (or my clone) to three homes now – with about 100+ kids in total. From a time where they had nothing to eat, nothing to wear, nothing to sleep on – they now have – sure, it’s nothing fancy and it’s not foie gras, but they’re not going to bed hungry or cold. To top it off, they are enjoying Art lessons, Music lessons, English lessons and etc. All these help with the food, the clothes, the roofs and their basic skills couldn’t have been done by me alone. And for that, I am extremely grateful to my friends in Malaysia who have pitched in their kindness and generosity to help me with the kids – be it spiritually or physically (or hovering, some might say :P). Since October 2012, every month, I’ve had groups of friends come in bringing with them boxes of clothes, stationeries and of course, wads of cash to be used for the kids. We’ve even held an ‘Empowerment Workshop’ for the older kids which aimed at helping them identify their dreams and encouraging them to go for it and we’re very excited to say that part two of the workshop will be happening end of June.

Whilst I enjoy my work, I am happiest when I am spending time with the kids. There is a feeling I cannot explain – the feeling when you see a whole group of children, wishing so much to learn and to improve their lot in life that it literally shows on their faces – how can you explain that feeling? When I see those faces, I want to try even harder to help them. Plans are under way to develop self-sustainable programmes for these kids so that they learn to stand on their own two feet, as a home and as individuals too.

Just as I teach the kids, I’m myself going through the learning process too. And I learnt this the other day : “The only thing standing between what you can do and what you cannot do is whether you want to do it or not.” So true, right?


With that, I will continue to make the best of all the blessings and opportunities given to me here in Myanmar and I will continue to do my best. Thank you, Myanmar and I hope this blessed relationship will go on for a long time to come J 

GE13 : The "Tsunami" Aftermath - An Open Letter To The PM, To Pakatan Rakyat and To Fellow Malaysians

The all ugly headlines.

It's been 2 weeks since the Malaysian GE13 and while it seems like the iron is starting to warm down, the dust looks far from being settled.

I was one of those who flew home to vote for change - and came out seriously disappointed with the results. When I woke up to catch the red-eye back to Yangon and saw the news, my first thought was "Shit, it's still them." Then, millions of messages flew my way, some flew past me - asking us to stay strong and that a revolution takes years and as such, we've taken our first steps, yada-yada-yada.


Well, that revolution thing may be true. In fact, I was even thinking perhaps a change might still take place, considering how much the rakyat had shown its powers on rallying for change. I was naïve enough to think that perhaps, this would be BN's wake-up call. Nobody can ever be that, that, that stupid not to wake up to the roar of the rakyat. Ever the idealist.......

And what was one of the first thing the shit-head PM said? "Chinese Tsunami". That was stepping on my tail - the 2nd time. Then the UMNO running-dog paper called Utusan comes up with a headline that asks "What More Do The Chinese Want?" The Star echoed with "The Chinese Would Be Sidelined". That's stepping on my tail the 3rd time. And then the idiot PM comes out to defend Utusan. That's stepping on my tail the 4th time.

With that, I left Malaysia angry, frustrated and no, I alone (as I cannot speak for others) do not accept the incumbent government as the party that I had voted for. I flew home all the way to vote for change, to vote for justice. But judging on the fiery racist remarks, it just tells me - BN will never, ever change.

I've been tossing and turning for the last couple of weeks over my own feelings and thoughts on all the above. And so, I decided to write this 'open letter'. I clarify - I'm no political analysts and I'm not here to talk about smokescreens and conspiracy theories. These are but my own point of view. A lot of talk, and I know talk is free, talk is easy. Some may agree, some may not. It's a free world (if not country :P)

________________

Dear Mr. Najib ("Mr." is used intentionally as I have every intention to greet you as an equal),

You asked what more do the Chinese want, well, can I ask what have you given me before? Can't answer me, eh? And then you ask why did the Chinese like me betray you and your goons, and went on to vote for the opposite team instead. Ok, since you asked me as a Chinese, I'll give you a Chinese answer. Although, I believe it is the wrong stereotype.

Firstly, please look at it from a business point-of-view. I see Malaysia as a "BERHAD" company. The day I was born, I was given a birth certificate as required by law (and please don't think this certificate is your "favour" to me. It ISN'T). This certificate is my shareholding certificate to a company called Malaysia. So, one of the T&C of this share certificate is that I get to vote for the Director and his team that would be running the company.

Now, if you only used your pea-brain for just a second - you would know that any businessman/woman worth their salt would obviously look at putting in place a team that would make profit for the company. I'm not sure a Director and his team who makes over-priced purchases on machines and submarines that wouldn't work is considered as someone with great business skills. I mean - *slap forehead ten times* right? Under your steerage, the company seems to have made considerable losses - a drop in the quality of living, escalating crime rates, increasing gap between the rich and the poor, serious drop in quality education, no further achievement in sports, no real development in the country, and you know what? I could go on and on. In summary - you and your team had failed to give me any ROIs (and that's called Return On Investment just in case you don't know) at all. And I personally think, your time is up. I mean, your nemesis Pakatan Rakyat had won the pitch with me simply because in the smaller companies (which I am also a share certificate holder of, by the way) where they had been given a chance to steer, had shown at least some form of ROIs. As such, I voted for them. I mean, you and your team had been given how many mandates thus far? And yet, nothing to show. I'm ready to invest on another team, you see.

Whilst your racist war-cry is in real bad taste, as a "Chinese" businesswoman, I can understand where you are coming from. In fact, I think your team is pretty brilliant in defining your target market segment. The Chinese are a minority group in Malaysia. In actual fact, with or without us, makes no difference to your brand/product. Since your product and brand is made for mass usage, why waste time targeting the minorities, right? You obviously need to keep your 70+% of your major market segment happy. Thus, a strategy you thought would echo your market sentiments.

But Mr. Najip, marketing case studies and history have shown that products or brands who do not keep up with market trends will find their market share graph going down. Case-in-point - Nokia. I'm using Nokia as an example because Nokia used to be one of the top mobile phone brands. But because they aren't exactly changing with times, they now have mobile phones that would be more suited for the masses (read SEC C and below), not the executives or upper-level white collars or the yuppies. Hell, even school kids would rather be caught dead than with a Nokia. My point is - your strategy is no longer cool. But then again, your Mamakootie Agent Mr. M pointed out that Pakatan Rakyat's target market is the urban, educated people. So, it can only mean that your target is the.. err... rural, uneducated. Well, my friend (no, I take that back. You're not my friend) - newsflash. People progress. One day, rural will become urban and uneducated will become educated. UNLESS, of course, your aim is to keep them where they are so that you can forever pull the wool over their eyes. Hang on a second, that is already what you're doing, aren't you??? *horrified discovery on my part*. Just to stay in power, you will hold back other people's progress?

As a shareholder, my biggest concern is to not see the company going bankrupt. I mean, all those "Free Gifts" promotions you are running so rampantly is surely going to hurt the bottomline. Then all the investments I had been making (read TAXES and yes, I do pay them) will come to naught. I shudder to think of the day when the people of Malaysia is sent to Myanmar to work as maids or construction workers. In fact, right now, I'm thinking of how stupid can I be, investing in a company that is headed that way?? I mean, really now, do I even want to invest in a company that is the laughingstock of the region, if not the world? I have businesses in Cambodia. I've got my local team asking me about that damn indelible ink (because it seems that the ones used in Cambodia really lasts a long time). And then I've got them asking me also - "how come Malaysia is inviting Cambodia to observe your elections? We are third world country, you know." I don't know. They can ask the stupid pea-brain Prime Minister, I guess. That means YOU, Mr. Najip.

In conclusion - from a time where I thought I should be fair and cross one vote for your team and cross one vote for the opposite team, I think right now, I've had enough of you and your team's nonsense. As a tax-paying shareholder, I'm fed-up with the racism, the INEQUALITY, the corruption (how can you steal my investment and put them into your own pocket??? - under corporate laws, that's called CBT!!), the crime rate, the everything under your regime. So NO - you do not get my vote, you didn't and you do not have my acceptance.

_______________

Dear Pakatan Rakyat,

And so right, I voted for you. Not really because I truly, truly believe in you guys, but because I just wanted a change and no other team's pitching. So you lost. So what? Maybe it's a good thing. You now have a bigger team in the parliament and you have another five years to learn. Whilst I am myself bitterly disappointed with your loss and I do not accept Mr. Najip's mandate, I've gotten over it. And I think you should too. It's time to start working!

Popular votes and all that jazz aside, you still lost. Yes, yes, I know - gerrymandering, fraud, phantoms and so on - what are you going to do about it? Cry like a little boy? If you're going to do that, just join the now-defunct MCA team and close shop. Time to grow up and be a man. I didn't vote for you guys to conduct one rally after another. Stop wasting resources and get to work. Your campaigning should start now and not 2 weeks before GE14. Don't you agree?

Why did you fail to win over the hearts of the rural population? Are you making your presence felt enough with them? Or are you doing a UMNO-BN/MCA? "Because you didn't vote for me, I don't represent you"? I think you could take a page from Obama's speech here - "Even though you didn't vote for me, I hear your voices, and I'm going to work as hard as I can to be your president." A dear friend of mine posted on his FB status - "praying for rapid urbanization and internet penetration into the rural areas within the next 5 years." Damn right, Pakatan team. You heard that?

I'm not even sure this could be possible, but if I am looking at this from a business / marketing point-of-view again, since the company called Selangor and Penang is making profits, perhaps, some of those profits could be re-invested into 'opening of new markets' - like Sabah / Sarawak? Again - that's just me, ya. You need to check with your other shareholders too. We don't want a case of 'misuse of funds'.  Whenever a new product or brand is launched into the market, a long-term education and awareness programme is required. Not just a 2-week campaign! And definitely not on-going long-term 'sales promotion' programmes.

Look at your statistics. How many new voters by the next GE14? Who are you targeting? Are you speaking to them? Are you in tune with their demo and psycho profiles?  Are you speaking in their lingo? I really do like your UBAH posters - specifically the DAP ones. It showed me 'young, dynamic, modern, heart-warming.' But I'm from the urban area. Are those in the rural areas grasping the communication concept behind your strategies?

Dear Pakatan Rakyat team, I could really go on and on with my thoughts about what you should do but I'll be seen as an annoying armchair-critic. But I think it is very possible that you already have the best people in place to do what you need to do. Like what a certain Shenren said in his letter to FMT - "Learn some science and assess the impact of climate change. Learn some engineering and go invent something that will lift up the lives of rural Malaysians...."

Get going. Do your job. Stop the in-fighting and what-not. Don't pull wool over your supporters' eyes cause they will soon as see through all that smoke-and-mirrors. Whilst the rakyat had lived through the smokescreens for over 50 years, they will be less forgiving now because they had awaken from their stupor.

With that, go forth and multiply.

__________________

Dear Fellow Malaysians,

My above rants to the idiot PM and the PR team are just that - my rants. In all honesty, I'm a wandering soul, in search of where I belong. I'm a Malaysian by default because I was born here. But does that necessarily mean a sense of belonging? In fact, I was born on Merdeka Day. But does that necessarily translate into a sense of patriotism for me?

The fact that I had for the first time only felt truly Malaysian during the Kelana Jaya ceramah 2 weeks ago must surely say something, yes? And I had only been living away from the country for the last 5+ years. That plus 4 years earlier on. So, what it was two weeks ago was just what they called "hangat-hangat tahi ayam" - if my Bahasa still serves me well. I was swept away in the heat of the moment.

I had been indifferent for so long that the ounce of "infatuation" I felt at the stadium that night was kind of cherished. For that, fellow Malaysians, I thank you. Sure, I bitch about the government (don't tell me you don't :P), I know "Negaraku, tanah tumpahnya darahku..." and my Rukun Negara by heart for I had been forced to recite them every Monday mornings for 11 years. But it doesn't necessarily means I feel it.

Last week, I had a discussion with a very close friend - if Malaysia was under attack by say, North Korea, would you stand in the frontlines to protect your country? Without hesitating, my answer was a "NO". While she said "For Sure!" And my friend started going on a lecture about "ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." I had the same discussion with MOH (My Other Half). It was the first time we asked each other this question, actually. I gave him the same answer. He looked at me funny. I looked at him funny too because his answer was an "Of course!" So hang on, it seems I'm the only one then who wouldn't shed blood for my country? But how can I fight for something or someone when I don't feel passionately for it? When I don't feel I belong? I mean, I'd just as quickly bite the bullet for my family, my husband, even for the kids I support...... simply because I feel I belong. But with my country.... I'm not so sure, really.

I guess, one has to understand how far deteriorated my relationship is with my country. I blame it on the government and definitely on my own indifference as well. At a young age, I was already exposed to how I am never really "Malaysian" as far as the ruling government was concerned. Let me tell you what was the stepping on my tail the first time about.

I scored 8As out of 9 subjects in my SPM and had an aggregate of 6. My parents, both government teachers had already forewarned me that they cannot afford to send me for private education. This the same parents who saved up on their income to let my brother and I enjoy a MacD's burger while they ate their dinner at the five-foot stall. Anyway, I applied for the government JPK scholarship. I needed it. I wanted it so badly because I did not want to spend another 2 years doing my Form 6 under government education (and I already knew then that our education system did not really cultivate thinkers) and I did not want to get into local uni and be given some crap history course or English Lit course. At a time where I wanted the scholarship so badly, I failed to get one. And here's the crusher - a Malay girl who only scored 5As received a full scholarship instead. I went on a battle and finally got private scholarships for my diploma - in fact, I even got a personal scholarship for an additional diploma (they know who they are) and then further on to my degree in Australia - also on a private scholarship. I had to work my ass off, but I wasn't going to let the government stop me. Thank God for the fighter in me.

The rest, as they say, is history. I am where I am today, not from the governments' so-called "hands of friendship". My relationship with my country from that point on was all downhill. I had lived in Australia - my first forays with a "free" world (also helped that I was far and away from my parents! LOL!), I've lived in Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia and now Myanmar. In all the times that I had lived away from home, I had never missed Malaysia. When I am homesick, it's because I miss my family - all of whom are living in Malaysia. I don't even miss the food. Not that I don't enjoy Assam Laksa or Nasi Lemak or Char Kway Teow or whatever. In fact, I think Malaysia's Lor Mai Kai is the best and you can't get that anywhere else (at least not in countries where I had lived). But when I am away, I just don't miss them at all. Yes, when I am encountering a third-world problem like - internet, I would naturally think - Malaysia's better. But does that make me wanna move back home? No. 

This whole Chinese thing - whatever political mind-games the arse-holes are playing, I took it personally. It is for this crap that they had shoved down my throat for years that I am until today, more Chinese than I am Malaysian. Of course, again, I know this is just me. Some people may react very differently. To each its own. And don't get me wrong, I have many Malay friends and Indian friends and a select few who are truly people I would bite the bullet for. I was raised well by parents who simply taught me that we are all equals. You know, the efforts by this group called 'Kita Kawan Mah' are truly heart-warming. However, just to be a bit of a spoilt-sport here - if Malaysia, in this day and age, needs an anti-racism campaign...... how far behind are we? I mentioned before in one of my blog - racial differences will always be there. We don't need a government that will play up on it and use it against us instead.

I think it's not enough to just love Malaysian food or have the "-lah" at the end of every sentence. As I already said, I don't feel I belong. In fact, they keep telling me to balik tongsan. Do they even know what "tongsan" means? If my Chinese does not fail me right now, I think tongsan means the place where one was born. So where do they want me to go???

To be honest, right here in Myanmar, I feel more of a sense of belonging than I feel for Malaysia. Of course, who is to say I won't overstay my welcome one day? Because I had moved and adapted in so many countries, the good is I am a citizen of the world. Well, maybe not the world, just all the third-worlds :P The bad is I am forever wandering in no-man's land, wondering where the hell my tongsan is.

I don't live in Malaysia and as such, some might say it looks like I've already jumped-ship and as such, who am I to make rants. But back to my point with the idiot PM - would I invest in a company that is headed towards bankruptcy? Of course, things aren't or may not be that bad. I'm just saying. Call me a typical, selfish Chinese then. But I'm not about to put all my eggs in one basket. I salute the Yeo Bee Yins and the Supermans who left everything they had and went home to fight a good fight. Just like motherhood - it's not a sacrifice I can make. I voted for change - also in hope that it will help me on my wandering journey to discover my sense of belonging. Again, idealistic.

But here's the thing, my dear fellow Malaysians, while I am still searching for the place where I belong, "tanah tumpahnya darahku", my tongsan - whatever you call it, it does not mean I do not support your fight for justice or for change - the same as I would stand by the Myanmar people's fight - IF their cause is something I support or believe in. Or Cambodians, for that matter.

I still say Thank You - to those 50,000 (or was it 60,000?) Malaysians at Stadium Kelana Jaya on the night of 4th May 2013 for letting me feel, even just for a couple of hours, a modicum of Malaysian in me. I caught myself by surprise for still remembering my Negaraku and I was even more surprised that everyone stood still and respected the song (warning bells : why should I be surprised at that??)  

Dear fellow Malaysians, thank you for listening to my rants. Till I find my tongsan, you guys, stay safe. And here's a song for you guys : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWt4wmZ_EMI

A Wandering Malaysian (no pun intended) 

 

 

 

Life in Myanmar : My 1st Water Fest in Myanmar :)

Being part of the fun !! :)

 (p/s : This article is also available on Vanity Shack here)

Hello folks! And a very happy Myanmar New Year (albeit a rather late one)…. !

So it was that the entire nation celebrated the Thingyan Festival (also Water Festival) from 12^th April – 22^nd April 2013. That’s right. That was 10 days national holidays to celebrate the festival and the new year. Wooohoo!! MOH and I were very excited to be celebrating our first Water Fest in Myanmar. Because it was such a long break, we took the opportunity to travel to Ngapali as well, also known as the Hawaii of the Orients :)

We have had our taste of Water Festival in Cambodia before. However, their “Water Festival” there isn’t about splashing water, but it’s the boat race. But during the Khmer New Year, there is water splashing. Unfortunately, in Cambodia, they do it with flour and powder – which was really not so enjoyable. Myanmar was a whole different ball game altogether.

For about 3 weeks running up to the celebration, workers were manually constructing these pandals all along the Inya Lake and the Kandawgyi Lake – the main source of water for the splashing (eeewwwee factor included). Tickets were being sold for access to these pandals. It was such a big thing for the locals. However, the government only issued licenses for 35 pandals this year but still, there were some make-shift shacks in front of shops, private residences and other establishments too. Of course, the ticketing and the modernized celebration on the pandals were only introduced some 3-4 years back (talking about alcohol-induced patrons jumping to Oppa Gangnam Style blasting from the speakers).

We stayed in Yangon for Day 1 of the Water Fest and after a lunch celebration with the children from the homes where we volunteered at, we took to the streets of Yangon. And my, oh my…. It was exciting indeed! They were trucks after trucks of people going around, stopping under each pandals to get a dose of water, splashing water out to people on the streets (like me!) and dancing as the trucks went along the roads. You see, if you get splashed, it supposedly meant that you have been blessed. Although, I don’t think that is the real reason one gets splashed anymore. It’s really all about having fun these days.  I quickly learnt that a quarter of the fun was in the avoiding of the splash, a quarter of the fun was in the sneaking a splash, a quarter of the fun was in chasing down a splash and a quarter of the fun was getting splashed. One of my City Mart colleagues also had a pandal built right in front of his house and we were invited to go over for free beers and great music too. Oh, I had a tremendously awesome time!

And then we left for Ngapali. The “Hawaii of the Orients” hype was a bit overly-done. BUT, here’s it – I fell in love with Ngapali. It is a charming beach town in the state of Rakhine. Despite the place being packed with tourists (everyone wants to go there it seems) and rooms were all full, it was still quiet and nice and you don’t get crowds – really different from Bali. The water-splashing continued on in Ngapali, though not with the great water pandals of the city. In fact, it was so much more ‘real’ here with little kids trying to get at you with just a tiny improvised tin can. On the hotel’s shuttle bus (we stayed in Sandoway Resort which was superb) from the airport to the hotel, we were splashed. Yes, did I not mention any vehicles with windows down were main targets for the people splashing water? Even when we left for the airport at the end of our trip, we were splashed thoroughly! – though this was much to the annoyance of some ‘gwai los’ who were in the same shuttle as us.

We had a splendidly great time in Ngapali, just chilling and relaxing by the beach, the sea was awesome though the waves were a bit rough but the water temperature was just right and of course, enjoying a whole lot of fresh and cheap seafood on the menu! I had always loved Rakhine food and here I was in the state of Rakhine enjoying their best :) 3 days passed by very quickly and soon, we found ourselves unwillingly on the flight back to Yangon. Ngapali closes for the season at the end of April as the rainy season takes on Myanmar and will reopen Sept / October. (For those planning to travel there, best to check with your travel agent!).

We arrived in Yangon on the final day of the ‘water-splashing’ and to do what the locals do, we set-up our own little “pandal” right in front of our house and started splashing passers-by too! The locals were laughing at us – the two foreign idiots. But they love us, we know. What amazed me though was how respectful people were of each other. Monks and police were a big no-no, of course. But anyone who puts a hand up as a sign of protest will not get splashed. Some taxis had their interiors all wrapped up in plastic in preparation for all the ‘wetness’. Some would laugh at you for missing. Some would slow down for you. Some would go out of their way to avoid you.

Whatever it is, Myanmar certainly opened up the new year with a splash and we were glad to be a part of it. I’m sure it’s not too late to wish all my Myanmar friends a new and prosperous year ahead and may all good things come their way :)

Hope you enjoy the photos!

Look at the little boy!!

Sunset @ Ngapali.......

The Bay Of Bengal

Air Asia sponsored Pandal on Kabar Aye Pagoda Road

Splashing good time!

 

 

 

I'm Not Afraid, To Take A Stand

For the last couple of weeks, my FB was filled with political updates and views from various friends and groups. Initially, I hadn't thought of coming home to vote. First of all, I just made a trip during Cheng Beng and money don't grow on trees. Second of all, work is getting a bit swamped for me back in Myanmar. Not the most perfect time to leave.

But MOH (My Other Half) and I had a talk about it and decided, we should be back for it. So, we booked our tickets and I told Da Boss Woman that "my country needs me."

So it was, I arrived late last night. Today, being Labour Day and all, I took to venturing out all the way to Ipoh on the ETS to see my Grandma. You see, I had wanted the chance to get in touch with the "elections atmosphere" on the grounds. Because after all, what I see on FB may be lopsided views or sentiments. Furthermore, I was unable to view the various YouTube videos posted. It's a "Welcome to Myanmar" factor :P (in case you're wondering, internet is painfully slow in Myanmar). And because I was trying to download these videos, I had also successfully used up all my limited GBs for the month!

Anyway, I wanted to venture out because I wanted to get a feel for myself about what's going on in my country. But I also wanted to write this piece before I zeroed in on the ceramahs as I wanted to have my own views.

What did I see or hear today? I saw 2 Singhs at the train station waiting area with a copy of the mainstream paper and they were gesturing and slapping the front page and saying "Tell them to quit-lah! Enough is enough lah!" At the coffee shops and restaurants in Ipoh that I went to today, people had the upcoming elections as their main meal. For the first time, I realized "Ini Kali-lah" wasn't just an FB propaganda :P People were actually saying it to each other. Regulars at my aunty's coffee shop came, sat around in groups and before they left, they said to one another "Remember! Ini Kali-lah!"
I saw drivers honking at those volunteers putting up the opposition flags and giving each other the thumbs up sign or a 'tabik'. I heard people voicing their upcoming glee in seeing MCA be thrown into oblivion. The two Malay chaps sitting right behind me in the train wouldn't shut-up about ABU - although admittedly, I dozed off halfway. Back in my kampong, even though the dark blue flags were seriously everywhere, the folks said "they can hang as much as they like, as long as they don't win." Just FYI, my kampong had been MCA stronghold for as long as I can remember. Many of the old folks here lived through 513 and are still somewhat in fear of it. My Grandma being one of them. But apparently, they aren't going to let that fear stop them this time. They've got children and grandchildren like me going home to tell them 513 is the dark ages.

Well, from what little I saw today, I think the rakyat wants change. I don't know. Maybe because it is something I wanted to see? Maybe I just didn't go into a BN-stronghold area? In case you don't already know, I'm supporting the Opposition. And I personally want the change. Borrowing my favourite rapper's words - "I'm not afraid, to take a stand."

Here's why I flew home to vote.

Some say the new PR coalition isn't tried and tested. They say "better the devil you know than the angel you don't." I say to hell with that. I for one, do not believe in that concept. I never had. In Myanmar, one of my key roles as a consultant for the largest local retail chain is to bring about positive changes in the marketing department. I teach the local staff to try new ideas, try new methods, take calculated risks. They are like some of the Malaysians today - afraid of the change. Afraid to let go of 50+ years of doing the same thing over and over again. So, I think 56 years of bad governance is just simply - enough. I mean, you know what they say right? "Hurt me once, shame on you. Hurt me twice, shame on me." And this is like what? 56 times over?? Don't have to go far. Think Bersih, Lynas, Teoh Beng Hock, the Great Diamond Ring, the cows. OMG. Enough!

So, I am voting in the PJU constituency. I do know Tony Pua. We've exchanged some emails. He was looking for a candidate. I wanted to pass on to him some dirt on TM :P But we're not best of friends. I have no idea who the hell is Yeo Bee Yin. I did read her profile and was impressed. Happy to know she is so passionate about what she's doing. But here's the thing, I would vote for anyone - whatever background bad or otherwise they have, as long as it isn't the incumbent party - because I think it is time for Malaysia to change. At the very worse, what could happen? 5 years of the same shit that we had lived with for 50 over years, no? That, my friends, is called calculated risk. And as I always preach to my staff - both in Cambodia and now in Myanmar - you never try, you never know.

I am indeed writing as if the Opposition will win this historical elections. But when they do win, I'd like them to know what I am voting for - 2 fundamental points (actually, I have a whole list, but that will take me all week to write them down!) and I can only speak for myself here :

1) A country that is built on racial unity and harmony
I had always spontaneously treated myself Chinese first, Malaysian second because that was how the idiot incumbent government ruled us. Second-class rights. No doubt, I have many Malay friends and some of my most cherished clients were Malays (who treated me like family, by the way), the fact remains that I grew up in an environment where merit didn't quite count. I want the new government to help all the poor, regardless of race or religion. I work with a lot of underprivileged kids both in Cambodia and Myanmar. Some are Christians, some are Buddhists, some are Kachin, some are Bahmese and so on. I don't particularly single out a certain ethnicity to work with. New government - kindly do the same please. I want the new government to reward the rakyat based on merits and not based on race or religion. I don't play football nor follow football, but perhaps it is time to look at a more racially balanced football team. Something like that, as an example. Crutches for those who need it, and not crutches for a particular racial group. Racial differences will ALWAYS exist. But I need a government who DOES NOT play up on that but instead promote what makes us similar and what makes us equal.

2) A country that is safe at every level
This is so important to me. I don't live in Malaysia, but my entire family does. I worry to death about them when I am away. And when I am back for a visit, they worry to death about me so much so that it really cramps my style. I can't run at 4am in the mornings because my Mama and Papa would have a stroke. Sure, I do think they are over-reacting, but can you blame them? After all, a running mom was recently killed by a thief. I would like the new government to address this issue immediately because if the crime rate is high and the safety issue is a major concern, I have no idea how you intend to make Malaysia a flourishing land. And I would think twice about moving back too because I love my freedom to be outdoors, to walk about without fear of being robbed or raped or whatever. The police force should be rakyat-friendly instead of the other way around. Just because they are in uniform does not give them the right to act all bullish to us rakyats. So new government - please kindly take note. This issue is important.

Basically, I want a country I can be proud of. Not because of the Lee Chong Weis or the twin towers. But because Malaysia is fast booming, fast developing, offering plentiful opportunities to both local and foreign investors, because Malaysia's education system is a great example to follow in the region (and doesn't churn out idiot lawyers who try to strangle themselves in a courtroom), because Malaysia is a great example for other nations, at least within the SEA region. I want a Malaysia who is for Malaysians and Malaysians who are for Malaysia.

Together with many other Malaysians who made the trip, I'm sure many of us who travelled are hoping that this is the one trip we can all say was "Damn Bloody Worth It" - because otherwise, not only would my airfare be a waste, it will be a tad cumbersome to move my entire business out of the country if Malaysia once again falls back to the idiot government.

With that, Pakatan Rakyat, I wish you great good luck this coming 505. Ini Kali-lah!!!