Another Day

It's been raining almost everyday in KL, and as the air gets fresher, the view gets better. Took this photo yesterday evening from the window of the spare room at my place. A view overlooking Petaling Jaya. Can just about make out Amcorp Mall's logo in the background.

The view caught my attention, and made me feel grateful for another wonderful day.

A passage of time

The beating of a heart, the yearning to be one. The longing for a part, for a time once lost. How close a person to get, how wonderful the moment spent. But time flutters its flowing wings, and lost those moments past.

Easily taken for granted, words sometimes does a wounding. Yet shared it cannot be, alone for pain to bear. Whither must I wander, a soul ever longing. Things for moments to cherish, yet only for a passage in time.

That fateful glance you ever did give, the searing touch you once gently did lay, upon the few precious instances, harbouring those ever infectious imprints. Alas, your yearning but now asunder be, and greatly needed for I, a wall insurmountable to build.

Perhaps in haste, a story too fast to tell. Perhaps a moment longer, a difference may be made. Yet the silent stillness of sound, ever do reverberate, to confirm those lost moments, of time and future past.

Of one childhood game and another

Following my previous post on paper, rock, SCISSORS!!!, it got me thinking about what other childhood games I played, especially coming from a Co-Ed school in a small town. I could literally list a couple, and wonder if most kids would still play these games in this day and age. In this technological age, most of these games would most probably be lost with the onset of playstation, etc. and parents' growing paranoia about the child's safety and well being. What? You never climbed trees? :P

1) Ohhhh PEK!
This can be a game of elimination or to find teams, where each kid would indicate with his or her palm down or palm upwards. In elimination, the one who is unique (i.e. sole upward palm or downward palm) in the group would be out. Sometimes gleefully out as the process can be used as the "shortest straw" method for undesirable task. For team selection, those who have upward palms would be in one team, and downward palms in another. All through the process of saying "Ohhh PEK". "Ohhh" is said whilst the palm is struck to the chest repeated, and "PEK" is said when showing the "hand". Recently learnt that in West Malaysia, this is also known as "Lat talilat tali tampom". But slight difference in that the palms are like interchanged upwards and downwards in front of everyone (almost like a wavy effect) while saying that phrase, and with "pom!", the selection is then made.

2) Lo Seng
I remember this used to be my favourite game whilst in Primary 1 and 2 (about age 7 and 8). We used the lines of the outdoor badminton court to play guard. This is a team game, where a captain is selected, who can travel up and down the badminton court lines, with other team mates only on the horizontal lines. The rival team will try to outmanoeuvre the guarding team without being touched, running within the court from one end to the other. Of course, when one is about 7 or 8, the court is quite big, and extending the arms out wide doesn't even cover much of the court to guard!

And yeah, I sweat like mad for this almost every recess, and had to stand outside the classroom to "cool down" before the teachers allowed me to re-enter the class. Of course, I wasn't the only one, and my gang members were all in the same boat! 2 years!!! Imagine that! :P

3) 5 stones
I have seen this game played with artificial stones. That is, triangular bags that have been filled with sago seeds or similar. However, in my childhood days, we used REAL stones. Of course, we picked the smaller ones so as not to hurt the handstoo much! To hear the genuine "ping" of the stones as they hit each other after being caught in the hand following a difficult combination was definitely a joy to anticipate.

I think this is traditionally a female game, but at that age, there is no gender discrimination. It's a game of throwing and catching the stones in the air with various combinations. Got to the point that there were genuine rivalries between the boys and girls as to see who were best with hand and eye coordination. This game was played I think between primary 4, 5 and 6 (but could be earlier).

4) Marbles
Now this was almost a competitive game, but my friends and I generally took it as a friendly match. We would place our marbles (literally, not figuratively) in a circle, and try to hit them with another marble in our hand to get them out of the circle. If the marble lands out, then it is the hitter's for the keeping. Another variation is to place the marble quite a distance away. Whoever was accurate enough to hit the marble would get to keep it.

5) Police and Thief

In primary school, this was one of the best games to let off those extra energy. Running and screaming whilst being chased. Once you (as the thief) are caught by being touched anypart of the body by the "police", you had to squat. Other thieves can rescue you by touching you and then you are free to run helter skelter screaming your lungs out being rechased. Think this game is also known as "catcher".

6) Others
There are just too many other games to list. But another is similar to this picture, called hopscotch. However, as a young kid, we used chalk to draw the lines on the floor, and used tied rubber bands as the marker to be thrown and hop on one leg on the various numbers. Can even "own" a specific numbered box once a person completes the whole series of numbers hopping on one leg.

What more can I say? Hide and Seek is also a perennial favourite, and really, I think at one point or other in each child's life, this game would have been played. Of course, there are other games like congkak, legos, paper aeroplanes, rounders, skareboarding, roller-skates, catching "lei hu" or small fishes at the "longkang"! (translated = drain), etc...

Oh! almost forgot to mention another game. Sort of like skipping rope but the rope is made of rubber bands interlocking to form a long chain. One has to "skip" across different heights. Not easy that, especially at that age, girls were generally taller than the boys. Again, gender rivalry was instilled (it is a Co-Ed school after all). I seriously wonder why we have been mentally conditioned as such, or is that a natural order of segregation between boys and girls to see who was better at what?

Still, I guess all these games allowed us to "exercise" to release those extra bursts of energy (which can seem unlimited at that age - imagine the screams as one would run around), and learn hand and eye coordination as a useful child development skill for the future, at least that is what I would like to think!

So, what sort of games did you play when you were growing up? Would an all girls' school involved such games also? But given the recent news on student bullying (girls intimidating other girls) it clearly shows the various levels of discipline (or lack of it) between the schools. Generally also, more apparent when comparison is made between East Malaysia (gentler folks) and West Malaysia (rougher folks). The degradation of social friendliness standards and the need to dominate is more apparent in the city as compared to a kampung or country life. Well, how about an all boys school? Besides the usual football (or soccer as the Americans would call it), I guess there would be a lot of fisticuffs to while away the time. No? :)

Of beings around us and beyond

"Angels", what a word. Used in many different context, be it spiritual beings attendant upon God, or even a kind, charming, and lovable person. Sometimes those who do good deeds upon us are also seen as "angels in disguise". This stain-glass picture depicts the angel at the empty tomb.

As a young kid, I have always been fascinated with angels. Looking at the glorious pictures or graphics in books (before the technological furtherance we see today - thus began the love affair with comic books), reading about them in certain passages of the bible (well, those few passages which I have ever read - you know, many Catholics don't read the bible enough, and I am generalising here, but yours truly is certainly one of them), and what more could I say when there's even an angel in the comic book X-men, who later become archangel! :P

In the general and biblical context, more info can be found here and here. When we read about the heavenly hosts, the seraphims and the cherubims, and even the four known archangels; Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel (each with their own roles), it is fascinating to consider the constant struggle between good and evil.

Michael - Field commander for the army of God.
Gabriel - Messenger of God.
Raphael - Archangel who performs all manner of healing.
Uriel - Angel of Repentance, who "stands at the Gate of Eden with a fiery sword".

Though sometimes, if one is not careful, the four can be unintentionally mixed up with Raphael, Michelangelo, Leonardo, and Donatello! That shows the power of the telly!!!

And once a fantasy show touches upon angels, I am generally hooked! Caught the first two episodes of the latest Supernatural series and was initially apprehensive about watching (usually, I avoid these horror flicks like a plague - quivering as my imagination would go wild anytime of the day, and NIGHT!!! - and would catch glimpses of fleeting shadow at the corner of my eye!!!), but this caught my attention with the introduction of Castielle, supposedly a soldier or warrior angel. Think for this one, I will dispense with my usual apprehension and follow the series (for once!).

I have read many stories online about angels being with us, be it guardian angels or angels in human form, alleviating the pain and suffering of the various troubled souls. And many questions have been posed as to whether you see "an angel" in the eyes of those around you. Myself, I personally believe in guardian angels, and occassionally pray for protection and guidance when I am frightened or lost in more ways than one. A prayer learnt even as a young kid, remembered to this very day to provide me comfort. And once a while, a beautiful song is written and wonderfully sung, essentially encapsulating the longing most feel in seeking comfort: