…I would spend it out at sea…
On board the KPV Kapas during sunset – Saturday 17th October 2009
Delivering The Baby
This was how she looked like when I got involved in the project. She was known as Hull NC538. The company had acquired her as its first baby of the planned fleet, and as the Operations guy, I had to oversee its growth.
She was launched on my birthday, and by some freak arrangement (my boss and all the other directors in the whole group had to be away that particular day), I was asked to launch her.
I had to do all the stuff normally reserved for the owner of a company; delivered a speech, congratulating the yard’s management and workers, and subsequently launch the vessel.
If you notice the white half-K on its side, I designed that so she could easily be recognised once at sea. When I went back to the office, the Group CEO asked me to look into a naming convention for the company’s fleet, asking me to throw in all prefixes and suffixes that I could think of. Initially, I named the vessels according to the thoroughbred of horses. I couldn’t resist that as I was born in the year of the Horse. The Group CEO thought some of the names were too mouthful for simple malays (read: did not learn English seriously in school); then I thought of naming the vessels after islands of the state of Terengganu, in respect of the present Agong.
So, she’s been named the MV “KPV Kapas“. The next vessel which again I will have to oversee its completion and testing, will be called the “KPV Gemia“; and the soon-to-be-constructed 110-meter length vessel will be called the “KPV Redang.”
The “KPV Kapas” was towed out of the Baram river on Thursday 8th October 2009, at 8pm. And I have been on board her ever since, watching her being tried and tested to her limits.
Tomorrow, Saturday, 17th October 2009, she will make her way to Bintulu for her final tests before making for Songkhla waters for her first job. I will finally make my way home 3 days later. I just want to thank my wife for her patience and understanding, and for managing our home while I was away.
I love you, Bunny.
Demonic Capsicum Stuffed With Mandi Kerbau Wulululu Rice
We had a Laksa Johor do the other day…Wifey made that, so I added my usual Corned Beef Fried Rice, and made this new recipe of mine based on the Middle Eastern/Greek Stuffed Capsicum. I call it the Demonic Capsicum Stuffed With Mandi Kerbau Wulululu Rice. So here’s the recipe:
Ingredients
Middle Easterners and Greeks use lamb. Since I am hypertensive, I use Corned Beef (so I do not have to add salt to what already gives me hypertension)
Dill, Mint and Mixed Herbs
Shredded Omelette, Diced Garlic and Chili. Middle Easterners prefer lots of onions. I did not add onions because I totally forgot about them.
I know they use Basmati rice, but I only had Thai Fragrant Rice at home
Capsicum (I know Americans call them Bell Peppers, but the language was made in England). Slice the top off neatly, remove the seeds, and adjust the bottom so they’re stable.
I use Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Add this if you are cooking this for your lawyer, ex-spouse, or mother-in-law
How To Make
Preheat oven at 250 degrees. I know the rest use 300 degrees, but our little portable oven goes up to 250 only. If your oven is not electrically-fired, then you may use this:
Cock Brand Fire Starter
At the same time, saute the garlic and chili for about 20 seconds before adding the corned beef. Mix well until corned beef is brown. Then add rice, and stir to mix well.
Frying the ingredients
Once that is done, stuff the empty capsicums with the fried rice and top each with the shredded omelette.
Stuff the capsicums with the fried rice
After that, close the top, and pour olive oil onto each of the capsicums so that they don’t shrivel or get too burnt inside the oven.
Pour Olive Oil onto each of the capsicums
Then stuff the lot into the oven for 20 minutes.
Stuff them into the oven for 20 minutes
Serve when done
19W
Satellite Image from the Malaysian Meteorological Department – this image will refresh itself from time to time
Satellite Image from PAGASA, Philippines
The last time I was concerned about any typhoon was back in November 2007 when I was in Sipadan. Although the typhoon was more than 1000km to the northeast in the Philippines, high waves were churned up as far south as where we were at. This time around, Typhoon 19W (Parma a.k.a Pepeng) is a cause for concern as it is accelerating and may still become a Cat-5 typhoon.
A few days ago, the Philippines was hit by Typhoon Ketsana a.k.a Ondoy (17W) hit Luzon, while strong winds battered the islands of Perhentian, Redang and Lang Tengah on the east coast of Peninsula Malaysia, killing a 16-year old girl in Bachok, in the state of Kelantan. Parma is a lot stronger than Ketsana and already you can see from the satellite image from the Malaysian Meteorological Department that it is sending some gusting winds towards Kelantan, and Terengganu.
The Malaysian Meteorological Department has issued several advisories that I will post below:
TYPHOON ADVISORY
Issued at 6:30 am 03/10/2009
Typhoon 19W, “Parma” is located at Latitude 16.9 North and Longitude 123.4 East, 371 km Northeast of Manila, Philippines at 5.00 am, 3 October 2009. This typhoon is expected to track Northwestwards at 18 kmph.This Typhoon is located approximately 1355 km North-Northeast of Sandakan and 1321 km North-Northeast of Kudat, Sabah
FIRST CATEGORY WARNING
WARNING ON STRONG WINDS AND ROUGH SEASSECTION A : STRONG WIND AND ROUGH SEAS WARNING (FIRST CATEGORY)
Strong Southwesterly winds of 40 – 50 kmph and rough seas with waves up to 3.5 metres over waters off Phuket, Perlis, Kedah, Pulau Pinang, Samui, Kelantan, Terengganu, Condore, Reef North, Layang-layang, FT Labuan and Sabah are expected to continue until Saturday, 3 October 2009.
This condition of strong winds and rough seas is dangerous to small crafts, recreational sea activities and sea sports.
SECTION B: WIDESPREAD THUNDERSTORMS WARNING
Thunderstorm activities over waters off Kedah, Penang, Perak, Pahang, East Johore, west Sabah (Kudat and West Coast divisions), FT Labuan and Sarawak (Betong and Mukah divisions) is expected to persist until morning, Saturday, 3 October 2009.
This condition can cause strong wind up to 40 km/h and rough seas up to 2.5 metres and dangerous to small boats.
Updated on 03 Oct 2009, 3.30 am
Meanwhile, the Philippines Meteorological Agency, PAGASA has issued the following:
Typhoon “PEPENG” has accelerated as it continues to move towards Cagayan.
Location of Center: (as of 4:00 a.m.) 260 km Southeast of Aparri, Cagayan.
Coordinates: 16.6°N, 123.6°E
Strength: Maximum sustained winds of 175 kph near center and gusts of up to 210 kph
Movement: Northwest at 17 kph
Forecast Positions/Outlook: Saturday evening: expected to make landfall over Northern Cagayan
Sunday morning:150 kms Southwest of Basco, Batanes
Monday morning:290 kms West Northwest of Basco, BatanesSignal No.3
(100-185 kph winds) :Cagayan, Babuyan Island, Calayan Island, Northern Isabela.Signal No. 2
(60-100 kph winds) :Batanes Group, Apayao, Kalinga, Ilocos Norte, Abra, Mt. Province, Ifugao, Quirino, Nueva Vizcaya, Rest of Isabela, Northern Aurora, Polilio Island, CatanduanesSignal No. 1
(30-60 kph winds) :Ilocos Sur, Benguet, La Union, Pangasinan, Nueva Ecija, Bulacan, Rizal, Rest of Aurora, Quezon, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, AlbayPublic Storm signals elsewhere are now lowered
Residents in low-lying areas and near mountain slopes under signals #3, #2 and #1 are advised to take all the necessary precautionary measures against possible flashfloods and landslides.
Those living along the coast in areas under signal #2 and #3 are advised to be alert against big waves generated by the typhoon.
Sign Of Times
Probably this reflects the state of the medical services in Malaysia
Faggot
Faggot…fag. A term I learnt some quarter of a century ago in England. Fag can also mean cigarettes but not in this case.
Hari tu aku dengan Wifey drive ke Ikano sebab nak melepak dengan Spena and Komar. Masa nak masuk parking tu aku dah tak tahan sakit perut. Ini mesti perut terkejut sebab raya makan macam babi, so aku suruh Wifey drop aku kat entrance and berak while dia pergi cari parking.
Aku pun rush la ke toilet sebelah A&W tu. Sambil aku berjalan laju, aku ternampak sorang twinkie ni yang sedang bersandar kat dinding sambil berSMS. Aku tau term twinkie ni ada orang gunakan untuk pompuan blonde, atau orang Asian yang perangainya lebih mat salleh dari asian, tapi twinkie dalam konteks ni adalah mamat gay yang muda dan jalannya mungkin ala-ala Jah Mahadi yang berlakon dalam filem Madu Tiga sebagai Hasnah, isteri kedua Jamil; maka twinkie di sini adalah merupakan satu pejorative.
Dia pandang aku. Tapi aku dah nak terberak sangat-sangat kan, so aku buat donno aje la. Dalam toilet tu cuma ada mat bangla yang sedang mop lantai yang senantiasa basah tu.
Lepas tu aku dengar booth sebelah booth aku tu ada orang masuk. Masa tu aku tengah buka seluar. Aku dengar macam orang kat sebelah tu panjat jamban, lalu aku pandang ke atas dinding. Aku nampak kelibat twinkie tadi. Aku pun jerit la HOI! Dia tunduk. Aku tunggu…tak ada. Aku pun duduk la memberakkan taik cair dan masam sebab aku makan ubat-ubatan aku dengan breakfast yang tak mencukupi.
Lepas tu aku dengar lagi macam jamban tu dipanjat. Aku pandang ke atas, cepat-cepat dia tunduk balik. Mula aku kepala hangin dengan cibai sekor ni. Aku tunggu…dia tak muncul. Lepas tu aku siap berak, aku pun pasang la paip nak basuh. Sekali aku nampak bebayang menandakan lampu di booth sebelah terhadang. Lantas aku talakan (tala-kan, bukan talak-an) pemancut tu ke atas dan aku sembur menghala ke gayboy lembut tadi….tak berhenti. Gedegung-gedegang bunyi dia scramble dari bahagian atas jamban menghala ke pintu…aku sembur je terus. Lepas tu aku dengar pintu sebelah dibuka dengan kuat dan bunyi tapak kasut berlari keluar. Cepat-cepat aku basuh berak dan bergegas keluar kot-kot twinkie tadi cuba nak mengeringkan bajunya, tapi yang ada cuma bangla tadi yang menggeleng-gelengkan kepalanya sambil membawa mop.
Aku keluar dan berjalan ke arah Starfucks di mana Wifey dan yang lain-lain berada…ada pulak SALE FOS kat situ…aku masuk…mana la tau jumpa kimak tadi tu. Tapi tak ada. Yang aku jumpa hanyalah iklan di bawah yang mungkin menerangkan macam mana twinkie tu boleh belah tanpa boleh dikesan:
Macam Superman jugak…cuma yang ni pakai spender pompuan kat luar leotards
Hari Raya Memories
We had several helpers when we were living at the government quarters from January 1976 through July 1994. And two days before Hari Raya, they would be busy at the rear portion of the house. Kak Ziah would be the Chef de la Cuisine, while Abang Mazlan (her husband), Pakcik Shukor, Pakcik Saad, arwah Pakcik Mat Nor, “Inspector” Kana, and arwah Pakcik Ramli, would be helping her, as well as help do the arrangements for the 3-day open house my father would be hosting annually. Save for arwah Pakcik Ramli, who was a police corporal from the Federal Reserve Unit (replacing Pakcik Samad, who was also from the FRU) when he started as the driver, and Kana, who was a general labourer seconded to our quarters, the rest were all Auxiliary Policemen and Policewoman. In between that, in the late 1970s, we would have arwah Pakcik Salleh, who was my father’s second driver, and his wife, arwah Makcik Jam, joining the group.
The basics like Rendang and other dishes would be cooked in-house, while stuff like lemang, nasi himpit, drinks etc would be provided by the Officers’ Mess.
While all that’s happening, my mother would be spearheading cookie-making operations at the Officers’ Mess with the senior officers’ wife, that would be distributed among policemen all over the country who would be on duty during the festive season.
On the eve of Hari Raya, the preparations would be at a feverish pace, dying down usually past midnight; and almost all of them would be sleeping at the workers’ quarters behind our quarters. I would be there to listen to their jokes that they would be cracking ’til the break of dawn.
Year in, year out – the routine would be the same. Gone are those days now.
Pakcik Ramli was later transferred to Bukit Aman’s store when he suffered a heart attack and was no longer fit to drive. He passed away in his hometown in Jerantut after his retirement. Makcik Jam passed away at her in Seri Lalang home near Kluang, when she fell in the bathroom. Pakcik Salleh passed away several years later. Pakcik Mat Nor passed away several years ago. Before he passed away, he asked for my brother, Joe, but his family had no idea how to contact him.
Next year, Wifey and I will host our first berkampung when we’ll have all our children together with us, preparing and celebrating Hari Raya together.
I hope, they will have sweet memories of their Hari Raya with us.
Kumpulan Nasyid al-Himar
Saja aje aku buat lyrics ni…boss aku baru aje lambakkan kerja colleague aku yang kini bercuti di luar negara kat aku. Patutnya mamat ni handover kat aku dia punya portion report untuk company exco meeting lusa ni, tapi dia kata nanti dia siapkan kat oversea dan hantar kat aku. Sampai hari ni tak ada. Jadi boss aku dah panic.
Maka, sebelum aku nak kena buat segala market research dan reporting format dari scratch untuk mamat ni punya portion, biar aku lepaskan tension dengan lirik lagu nasyid kumpulan al-Himar yang bertajuk:
Berjimak Di Pagi Raya
Bahagia rasa di hari ini
Takbir bergema di waktu pagi
Kan ku naik di atas perut bini
Tak perlu batal puasa lagiSyawal menjelma takbir berkumandang
Taulan bersalaman eratkan silaturrahim
Tapi sebelum ku jamah ketupat lemang
Biar aku semai benih di rahimChorus:
Ku mandi wajib di tepian perigi
Selepas berjimak di pagi raya
Ku mandi wajib di tepian perigi
Selepas berjimak di pagi rayaSetelah projek terlaksana
Bini senyum penuh bahagia
Pagi Syawal lebih bermakna
Selepas berjimak di pagi rayaOoooo…selepas berjimak
Di pagi
Raya
Okay, back to the grinder…
ISA
I attended my batch’s annual sahur last night and among those attended was Yahya Sahri, the former Special Officer to the Menteri Besar of Selangor, and is now an aide to a certain opposition (depending which side of the fence you are looking from) politician. The topic revolved around Selangor politics and someone asked him why was a certain Selangor politician sounding like a mentally-ill person.
“Oh, dia masuk ISA dulu,” replied Yahya, commonly known to us as Mat Yoq. “ISA ni siapa masuk mesti tak berapa betul punya bila keluar. Bapak SeaDemon dulu kendalikan ISA ni effective betul. Sampai sewel orang dibuatnya.”
I looked at him stone-faced and quipped, “Diorang masuk kejap aje dah complain. Aku seumur hidup dengan orang tua tu. Sebab tu aku macam ni!”
And they all laughed hysterically…
What It Means To Me
It’s the 22nd day of fasting, and in less than a week, the mad balik kampung rush will commence for millions; with their baju melayu or baju kurung all set to be worn, kids bouncing up and down the back seat killing both time and the mental stability of the parents; bus and train loads of less fortunate people plying the highways and trunk roads; the richer fly Malaysia Airlines, and the less-fortunate richer people fly Air Asia. Not everybody can fly this Hari Raya as tickets to most destinations have been sold out, so much that I had to cancel my trip to Miri because the only return date I could travel on would be on the second day of Hari Raya.
Of course there will also be those who would return to their hometowns and stay put 2 meters beneath ground level.
Hari Raya, to me, has always been about spending it with loved ones.
My early memories of Hari Raya would probably go back to when I was 4 or 5 years old when we were in Melaka – I remember we had this huge chinese antique urn and it had this plant in it where the Hari Raya cars were hung on display. When I was 8 and/or 9, we would celebrate Hari Raya at our Section 16 house in PJ. It was between the ages of 10 through 17 that we would occasionally return to my mom’s kampung mostly, and my dad’s about twice.
Sadly, I do not remember much about my paternal grandmother. My paternal grandfather passed away when my father was 13 years old. Some friction between my father and my grandmother over the death of his favourite younger brother after whom my younger brother is named, and his subsequent tight schedules due to his job, meant that we siblings spent so little time with our paternal grandmother. However, every year, whether or not we would go back to her place, my grandmother never failed to send me kuih bahulu ikan. Hers is still my favourite, and I have never found any that taste quite like hers. She also made the bantal alas tangan for my elder sister’s wedding as her wedding gift, but passed away two months short of the wedding itself.
I think, Hari Raya was more meaningful to me as a kid, I guess, especially when it was celebrated at my mom’s kampung, with all the cousins. Once married, the meaning of Hari Raya was somewhat different for me. It was about going back to your spouse’s kampung, meeting new sets of people, trying to remember who’s who and what to whom, trying to assimilate and understand the nature of how they celebrate their Hari Raya – I mean, they have been doing it a lifetime, and here you are, trying to grasp the idea. Then, when you have kids, it was about making Hari Raya as fun as possible for them, and you realise that the Hari Raya that you had more than a decade earlier, is the Hari Raya your kids are learning to enjoy. I guess Hari Raya would be more meaningful if the spouse is fun to be with. After my divorce, I spent Hari Raya in 2007 diving in Perhentian.
However, the month of Ramadhan has been meaningful to me this year, simply because I now have a spouse who is also fun to be with. And below has been how we have been spending our Ramadhan:
Helping Wifey with her Kacang Pool Hj Demon
We also had berbuka puasa dates, this one at Baiti’s
And Ramadhan would be almost meaningless without having great friends over for berbuka
And taking the kids out for berbuka
And as I mentioned earlier, Ramadhan and Hari Raya would be meaningless if the spouse isn’t fun to be with. This year, as we did last year, we spent a weekend in Tioman diving with friends:
With Wifey beneath Salang Jetty
I can safely say now that Hari Raya is more meaningful too; and I am looking forward to more happy Haris Raya from now on. And having a spouse who is a best friend helps.
SeaDemon Says 
You must be logged in to post a comment.