Pak Idrus's Blog

Last year a female alley cat came over to the house and became friendly. I shoo it off but it kept coming and slept on the chair at the Serambi [patio]. After a few weeks of doing that I found the cat was trying to find a more comfortable place to sleep. My experience with cat say that this cat is trying a safe place to give birth. I then took out a basket and laid it with old newspaper and put it under a low lying table at the Serambi. Sure enough that night she slept in that basket and later on give birth to four beautiful kitten. To help her raised the kitten we took all the kittens and the mother cat and put all in a bigger cage at the back of the house. We already have three cats so we do not want to have more. My spouse and the grandkids help to feed the kittens. Later on we decided to spay the mother cat so that she would not continue to have kittens. At the same time as the kitten grows and could eat solid food we decided to get folks to adopt it. We put up notice on Facebook ...

  ·   Woke up to a beautiful day in December 2018. Good Morning from Pak Idrus's Serambi.[image above] This morning my two cats Tam and Kenet give me another dead Mouse. I believe in appreciation for giving them a treat of Wet Food other than the dry biscuits. It felt really good to know that animals know how to thanks the hand that feeds them. A beautiful life indeed. Thanks Tam and Kenet. I was sitting at the Serambi and saw the workers from the local authority the MPAJ are cutting the grass in front of the house and it smell real good. I love the smell of freshly cut grass. It a free fragrance that nature gives us from time to time. That is why we must keep as much green around the house. It our source of fresh and free oxygen for our specie to survived on planet earth. I believe that the space at my Serambi have excellent vibes. The reason I am saying this is that I felt very comfortable sitting there and while the times awa...

Whenever  I do not go out and lepak at the mall I would just sit at the Serambi and read a book. It was one of those day. It just 3.55 pm and the sky was cloudy, darker than it usually is at this time of the day. It looks like it may rain. I love the rain. Coming from the East-coast of Malaya, at this time of the year it rains cat and dog for days thus it kept the atmosphere cool. Folks had to wear sweaters to keep warm. I believe the temperature must have gone down since the coconut oil solidified. For me it was a nice time of the year where we get to wear cravat to work. I like wearing cravat and kept a few till these days. Well folks just daydreaming of the memory of my youth in Kuantan, my hometown. Ha ha!  Have a nice day.

Yes, the personal space, a space of our own; a space in time and moment that we want for ourselves alone. A space that we want to be independence of anyone else. A moment in time that we want to jealously guard as our own and we have the right to have one; that special personal space in time.  As I journey on in life and getting there in my golden years, I yearn to have that personal space more and more and slowly and surely, I am getting there. It is not that easy, and I believe with perseverance and patience I would eventually get there. It does not mean that I want to be alone all the time. It is not that. I love to be with my loves one but that sometimes I do really need my own personal space. A time that I could dreams, whilst away in the clouds, contemplate, flirt in my mind and wonder of all the possibilities, to be able to spend time with friends on my own and on my own choice, without being subjected to other people reaction, want to be able to do my things my way. The ...

In January 1946 after the war schools were open after been closed during the war 1941 - 1945. During the Japanese occupation Japanese was the medium language at the school thus all my senior was taught in the Japanese language. On that fine morning in January 1946 I still could remember vividly my father held my little hand to the school and registered me at Sekolah Melayu Teruntun at Jalan Gambut in Kuantan. Malay kids could not be register directly at the English school. T hey had to be in Malay school for two years first. Only then they are allow to study at the English school. At the English school all the Malay had to attend to the special class before been integrate with the non Malay in the English school. We spend two years in Special Malay class 1 and 2. After that we join the non Malay in Standard 4. It was difficult for us Malay kids because we only start learning the English language for two years whereas the non Malay in Standard 4 class already study in English for 4...

On housing for the rakyat [people] Just build living spaces without the frills and not high rise condo. The price should be below RM100 thousands. Or build and rent to the rakyat. At home. Last week the switch for the shower at one of the bathroom stop working thus no warm shower lah. I call the handyman to come and fixed it. He came and on looking at it say he cannot do it as that kind of switch is no longer available. Since he is around I ask him to change another socket at the kitchen that need replacement. He got it it done and now could be use. I then call another handyman and today he came. On looking say it difficult but would try to replace it. After  working at it he say it could only be done if the two adjacent switches for the lamp inside the washroom be change as well because the shower switch is part of the set. Well I told him to get it done. Now it OK and there is warm shower for this bathroom. Well instead of just replacing just one switch, four of it had to be re...

During my childhood in the forties a Chinese boy with Pigtail hairdo live in our kampong in Kuantan. To keep it neat he often made it into a Bun. He sells vegetables and fish to the kampong folks. Kampong folks call him Ciput as in Siput the Malay for such hairdo. In those days only woman folks had this kind of hairdo. His face is full of pimples or scars left perhaps by Chicken pox. He looks weird and we kids are frightened of his look. Sangat takut. Mother would say if we are naughty we would be given to Ciput. It does frighten us. As we grow older we began to like him, and he became a part of our growing up life. My brother allows him to live at the shack behind his house until he died of old age. He left whatever money he had to his Clan association. Other than that, he did not leave anything except small items that he use in the house and his working tool the Dacing.  An item of some value that he left is the Dacing, a traditional Chinese Scale for measuring the weight...

This happened a few days ago. The doorbell rang and within seconds it rang again. I never like someone to ring the bell twice in such a short time. I look and it the Newspaper boy coming to collect the payment. [BTW I did not read any newspapers now, it for my spouse who still want to read] Of course I was furious for ringing the bell twice in mere seconds. Anyway, I went to look for the bill and collect my wallet to make the payment. As soon as I get to the gate the Boy ask me DID I HEAR THE BELL! He said he could not hear it; surely, he cannot hear it, he was wearing a padded Helmet. Moreover, the sound is to be heard inside the house and not outside. I was angry at him to expect me to materialize in front of him in mere seconds. I told him that and it takes minutes to get from inside the house to the front gate; it may take five minutes! I told him he should check his watch before pressing the Bell the second time. I just cannot condone such a stupid act. It does spoil my day!...

Not always one gets to buy this Giant Prawn that we call Udang Galah. The other day at the Datuk Keramat wet market I bought a kilo of Udang Galah. I could not find the English name for it except that it a big Prawn like a Lobster but not a Lobster This time It cost RM40 a kilo. It can be as expensive as RM70 per kilo. Anyway, I do not care so much about the price, what is important is that I get to buy it from time to time. And that day at the normal stall that I use to buy Prawn I saw the Udang Galah; and since the size is just right I bought a kilo. Then the next day my spouse cook it the way I like it; my favorite Masak Lemak Kuning. I had it for lunch and dinner as well; it does make a wonderful meal indeed.  Have a nice day.

I always take a walk in the afternoon around the neighborhood just to keep me fit. It just a walk and at time I would stop at a friend's house and chat on the roadside or in the house. After a while I would continue my walk. Then would sit a while on the bench at the park nearby before going home. One day while taking a walk around the neighborhood I met a friend Ramlee who always ride a bike. He stops by me on the roadside and we chat. He told me that he just heard that Cikgu Razak of Jalan 2 had passed away. I was shock since the last time I met him was at the Friday Prayer, he looks cheerful. Then he says another of our friend Taib of Jalan 4 is in hospital and another a Dato who at one time head a bank has totally lost his memory. The last time I met the Dato was at a Supermarket nearby. He looks sick with his dear wife holding his hand. He could not really remember me. I wished him well. Some time later at KLCC I met a friend Lokman whose wife  died a year ago.  Over co...

Coffee at Janda Baik! whoever thought of that! In the middle of the Jungle. Well it sound enchanting indeed. For those who love a little adventure Janda Baik which is just thirty minutes away from Kuala Lumpur; it so near and yet so far. Jump into your car and get there folks. The highway passes through one of the oldest forest in the world; a tropical jungle that have been there since times. Lush and lush of greens and at Janda Baik you can get closer to those magnificent trees; touch and smell it.  The flora and fauna is fascinating as well. It worth a day trip there to sample the uniqueness of the rain forest. A night-stay would be lovelier where you can enjoy the cool morning air of the forest and of course get to watch the morning birds that comes around to feeds. Seeping hot coffee and having breakfast at the hotel coffee house would be a little of heaven. After attending a wedding at Bentong on Sunday 29 of last month we decided to go and have coffee in Janda Ba...

This month being Ramadan and that the Eid Fitri fall on the July 17 Government officers and Pensioners get paid on July 8th. This month we get an extra of RM250, half of the special payment that the government officers get this month. I have no complain since my pension is good. Both my spouse and I are pensioner thus both of us get a monthly pension. With no debt and the kids are on their own the pension are all ours to spend. Since getting the payment early this month I decided to pay all my Utilities bills, Astro, Unifi and other monthly bills which amount to almost one thousand ringgit early as well. This will avoid me from using the money on other things and would burst my monthly budget. Without that one thousand ringgit the house would not run. That mean every months one thousand ringgit is gone before paying for the food and other needs like new clothing and travel.  I am lucky that I have no debt and that my car and house are fully paid. T...