National Day Week

 

When I was 18, I signed up to be a Territorial Army Reservist (Askar Wataniah Kerahan) because I felt that if there were a crisis in this country, I want to be part of the solution. When I grew older, I realised that one does not have to take up arms to defend and protect one's country. We defend and protect our country and society every day by choosing to act with integrity, responsibility, justice and moral courage. We can try to be part of the solution every day without ever having to put our lives on the line. 

(P/S: In retrospect, I would have been absolutely rubbish as a soldier anyway.)

 

I had a busy National Day week. Wednesday proved itself to be a wet, chilly and blustery one. Met up with my good friends Rudhra and Angela for an early banana leaf lunch at Usha's in PJ Old Town before heading to Section 52 to explore the back alleys and photograph street art before the thunderstorm broke.

 

 

... And then it was off to the National Blood Bank in Jalan Tun Razak for my National Day tradition of blood donation.

 

 

A short rest and some refreshments followed, and then I was off to the SPCA to help out in the Cattery, since it was too wet and cold for bathing dogs. I cleaned the cats' ears with ear mite solution, administered Frontline tick and flea prevention spray on every cat, checked each cat for injuries, overgrown/ingrown claws and other irregularities, and cleaned out the Cattery. This took several hours and since it was a wet, cold night, I went home afterwards and spent the night doing housework instead of going out for coffee and a movie as I had planned earlier.

 

The following day was a workday and just as rainy. Traffic in the evening was frightful and it took me close to two hours to get to the Homeless Assistance and Service Centre in Lorong Medan Tuanku 2, where Green Living is having our annual collaboration with Kedai Jalanan. Thankfully, our other volunteers did not have such a great distance to travel as I did, and managed to arrive in good time to assist Lin Idrus and her students with setting up the store. There were puddles everywhere, so it was a good thing the clothes were hung up on racks and there were tarps to line the ground with.

 

 

The volunteers helped me unload the remaining donations from The Stinkbug and we arranged the goods while our homeless clients queued up for dinner. We opened our store for 'business' as soon as some of the clients finished eating. We were kept happily and busily on our feet attending to clients, helping them try on clothing, putting things into reusable shopping bags (we had stacks of those donated by volunteers) and managing the crowd. Our Green Living committee members Shannon and Zhang Hui were fantastic as usual.

 

 

A group photo of the volunteers for posterity. Well done, Kedai Jalanan!

 

We finished around 10 p.m. and packed up. I loaded a rubbish bag full of dirty, stained and torn clothing for recycling into the Stinkbug to be dropped off at the recycling bins later and went out to supper with the other volunteers at the Naan restaurant nearby.

 

It has been a fulfilling week. Often, patriotism means appreciating and accepting the people of all strata of society who make up this vibrant young nation. It means putting our time and energies into improving our country and community. It means taking the time to appreciate all that is beautiful and quirky about our country and doing our best to keep it beautiful, safe and clean.

 

... And in honour of things that are beautiful and quirky, I leave you with a photodump of the street art in Section 52, Petaling Jaya, around the PJ State Cinema and Menara MBPJ.

 

 

This one is a really cool interactive one. It's an adult-sized merry-go-round made of steel and bungee cords.

 

  

Seats and tables made of reclaimed steel drums and pallets for the public's use.

 

 

Bamboo windchimes in the darkening sky.

 

 

  

 

 

 

   

I love the "suddenly something" effect of street art. I love their incongruity. I love the way they encourage interaction and participation from passersby.

 

 

 

Storm clouds gathering in the darkening sky.

 

CovertOps78, Out.  

 

 

 

Sugar High and Street Art Weekend

 

My new job has been keeping me incredibly busy, fulfilling though it may be. Volunteer commitments continue to keep me occupied on weekends. Saturday afternoons at the SPCA generally look a little like this...

 

 

... only with a lot more washing, dog-bathing, ear-cleaning, flea-spraying, tidying and scrubbing.

 

I am also currently assisting the SPCA in updating and streamlining their volunteer induction programme, and have offered to conduct writing and advocacy workshops for both the SPCA and the Care2Run mentors and junior mentees.

I still make it a point to schedule regular 'dates' with my good friends that do not involve volunteering or community service, and we try to do more than just go to our usual hangouts to have dinner, watch a movie (usually the latest superhero offering or action flick) and down a few beers. One on such break from routine two weeks ago, I invited Nic to go on a desserts-for-dinner 'date' with me at The Glass House in Seputeh.

 

 

 

It was the right choice of a venue for our besties' night out. The building with its transparent walls and tree-lined courtyard looked positively magical at night. Designed to let in natural lighting in the daytime and be gently illuminated at night, the structure is a veritable conservatory. It helps that it is located in a less-dense part of the city. There was a Bollywood wedding going on downstairs when we arrived, so we went straight up to the café on the 3rd floor.

 

 

It seemed pretty quiet for a Saturday night. From the quality of the food and the rave reviews we read online, we had expected that we would have to jostle with other customers for a table. Still, it is quite likely that more customers had stopped by for tea. 9 p.m. wasn't exactly the most conventional hour to have cakes and pies.

 

 

The café, Delectable By Su, is welcoming and delightful. Nic and I spent some time gushing over the cakes and cookies before we sat down to order from the menu.

 

Gorgeous scrumptious cakes in glass domes.

 

 

Edible terrariums -- have you ever seen anything more positively darling?

 

Pleased to have cake after an entire week of clean eating and working diligently. We received complimentary hot buttered caramel popcorn as well.

 

The menu is kept limited, which, in my opinion, is a good idea. Stick to what you do best, and you will always have satisfied customers. Besides, having a limited menu reduces wastage.

 

 

Nic ordered the chicken pie and I ordered the all-day breakfast, and we both ordered a slice of cake each and some ginger citrus tea.

 

 

Lemon meringue pie and a slice of hummingbird cake. The portions are substantial and the cakes absolutely delicious. We fell in love at first bite. Both cakes are moist and full of flavour. They weren't just cloyingly sweet. The lemon meringue pie is firm, yet melts in the mouth, and has just the right amount of tartness. The hummingbird cake has hints of spices and fruits and everything nice.

 

 

 

We had an enchanting evening catching up with each other's lives and loves, and indulging in good food. This is definitely a place I would be proud to bring guests to.

Sunday morning was spent cleaning up the forest reserve, and then stopping by SS2 PJ to run some errands.

 

I was accosted by an elderly beggar lady who was panhandling outside one of the cafés, and since I prefer not to give cash to panhandlers (in case they belong to begging syndicates), I offered to buy her lunch at Hailam Kopitiam instead. She accepted my offer gratefully and I got us a nice table in a corner where she could rest and refuel. She gummed and chewed at her food with excruciating slowness, casting self-conscious glances at me every so often. Not wanting to make her feel as though she were an imposition on my time, I encouraged her gently to take her time with her food, while I walked around the side alleys, taking photos of the street art that were commissioned by the PJ City Council and Damansara Utama state assemblywoman to add character to the streets.

Public art, both sanctioned and unsanctioned, has a certain charm of its own, not least because it is very often ephemeral. You never know how long a mural will last, and so you appreciate each one even more when you see them. They also add an element of surprise and incongruity to otherwise drab and utilitarian walls and alleys. I have always loved street art, and you have to admit these are pretty exceptional, even if not subversive.

I had a brilliant time admiring and photographing these murals before settling the bill for lunch and seeing the little old beggar lady on her way.

 

Pockets of joy in a purpose-driven weekend. I could not ask for more.