A story of Eve and the old woman

Eve

Eve arrives at the village sweating all over, dropped her bagpack to the ground and look at the time.

"Thank God it's only 3 o'clock", she thought. She needs to do what her heart tells her.

"I need to find a place to stay, this is hard but this is what i want to do, this is what i'm here for", she thought again, this time with higher spirit. She recognized this spirit, it's the same spirit she had when she was sitting in front of her boss and told him she is resigning on a 24 hours notice.

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The old woman

"Oh..i'm staying at home today Emma, so many chores to do around here, the dishes, the sweeping, I have delayed cleaning the kitchen for more than a month now", said the old woman, clutching her hands together, she has a heavy heart saying no to invitations, in fact she is not used to saying no.

"Oh..i thought you never miss doing your chores?", said Emma, her hands on her forehead, covering her eyes from the sunrays.

"I didn't sleep well last night, usually i've finished all the housework by 10 o'clock but today i..ehmm..overslept", said the old woman, somewhat appeared like she is lying.

They waved each other goodbye as Emma started to walk away. In her mind, she could not wait to hear Mrs. William's story. Or gossip.

She didn't exactly lie to Emma, she didn't sleep well because she had the strangest dream.

In her dream, there were three men chasing her in the jungle, the men were wearing their traditional garments, she didn't recognized the tribal group but she knows they were going to kill her if she is caught. She was running but her feet could not bear her much speed. While running, she turned her head to see the men, they were closer to her now.

Then without warning she was already standing on a bridge, she dived into a sea and swam to the middle of the sea where the depth is greater. She was in much fear, afraid of the creatures under the sea, afraid of something might pull her legs and she will be underwater for a long time and eventually die.

That did not happen instead she saw herself standing in front of thousands of people, she was giving a speech and she had finished, everyone applaused, amazed by her speech and the spirit behind the speech. She was the woman in her dream, only at that time, she was much younger.

Before the dream ended, she was told by a voice to wait.

She remembers the voice, for no apparent reason, somehow she feels the voice is telling her to wait at home today. She is not certain, but the old woman believes in the mysteries of the heart. Furthermore, she is tired from last night's 'adventure'.

This is the part where she didn't tell Emma. For her, Emma, Doris, Mrs. William and Jim's wife do not have to know about this thing because they do not understand about the mysteries of the heart.

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The meeting

The old woman is busy sweeping the leaves in her backyard, thanks to the three mango trees she grows. She has the mango trees for the last 8 years. She makes the best mango pie in the village. During the fruit festival down town, she sells many different sizes of mango pie. Almost all people in the village especially the twins Johnny and Freddy, love the pie so much. Each can never finish even one slice but they still want more. "Enthusiasm of children", she thought.

"Hello, hi there, good evening maam", said Eve. The old woman is startled to see the girl.

"Good evening, where do you come from?", asked the old woman. Surprised by the sudden greet.

"Oh, i'm from Asia, Borneo, have you heard of Borneo?", said Eve. She's praying hard in her heart that she would not be rejected at the first trial to find a place to stay.

"And you're here for?", the old woman asked. She didn't mean to sound rude, just curious.

"I was at your front yard, I saw you here, i called you but you didn't hear me, so i decided to greet you here at your back yard. I didn't mean to be rude and intrude your compound. My name is Eve, i'm from Malaysia. I'm on a long holiday trip. I like adventure and on this trip, I'd like to do things out of the ordinary. Like for example instead of staying in a hotel or a motel or in a guesthouse, I'd like to stay in a local's house. Why? Because i would really like to know the culture and the people", explained Eve. She had rehearsed that in her mind many times before.

"Oh", the old woman is still digesting the long explanation.

"Are you alone or are there more people with you?", she asked.

"I'm alone, this is my solo trip", said Eve. She is filled with hope.

"So, you want to stay in my house?", asked the old woman.

"Yes, if that is okay with you and your family", said Eve, asking for permission.

The old woman thought, "she looks like an honest girl, but looks can deceive".

"I know this sounds strange. It's entirely up to you, I won't force you to accept me in your house. If you need more time to think about this and discuss with your family, I can wait here", said Eve and looked at her watch, it's 5.30 in the evening and prays hard in her heart.

Like wind rush from nowehre, like lightning struck the earth in high speed, like love at first sight, the old woman's heart is captured when she heard the word 'wait'. She remembers the voice in her dream.

"Could this be related?", she thought, hoping for an answer, she is curious.

"It is almost night time, if not here, this girl will still go door to door and ask the same question, is she doesn't find any house that will accept her, then she would end up at Natty's Inn. Then it would defeat the whole purpose of her adventurous trip", thought the old woman.

What she's really doing is putting reasoning to her intuition. As if the heart is not trustworthy that the logical mind has to support it.

"Come on in, i'll prepare dinner", said the old woman.

Road Less Traveled

The Adventure Trail
"there is where i want to be"

History and Herstory: World War II

Had a very interesting chat over dinner with mum n dad tonite. On World War II: The locals experiences with the Japanese armies. Before that, my bro Jerry brought up the topic over afternoon coffee and he said our grandma helped a chinese man from being behead by the Japanese armies. That really caught my attention, deeply. I have a very strong bond with my grandma, although I was not entirely nice to her all the time. And so I can’t wait to ask my parents about what they might heard from their parents about WWII. Both of them were born post-war.

Mum: Raised in Kg. Tamalang Silou, Inanam. Mau naik bukit lg baru smpi rumah. Has 6 siblings, all but one still live until today. Semua perempuan kecuali satu abang.

Mum’s story No.1

There were 2 chinese guys, Saito and Sianung, operating their own sundry shop in Inanam town. Japanese hated the Chinese so much, when they see chinese they will behead them. Saito & Sianung were spotted by the Jap armies, they then ran to the hill, terjumpa my grandparents’ house. Grandma then hid the 2 guys inside the hole they dug in case of emergency, covered the hole with leaves and branches.

Japan armies tidak selalu kacau locals, they were only after the Chinese. The armies were determined to find Saito & Sianung, arrived at my grandparents’, asked them questions, asked for food and water. When they cannot sense anything wrong there, they moved on further. Saito & Sianung stayed in my grandparents’ farm quite a long time. I don’t know how long exactly. So those 2 guys are safe.

After Japanese lost to American, everything went quiet, calm and people started going out to the town. Habis barang2 di kedai kena kasi jadi source of food and others for the Japs. So semua habis jadi tin kosong. Saito and Sianung started their new shops and each raised a family. Saito and Sianung kedai runcit masih lagi ada di Pekan Inanam now in front of the Shell station. I know Saito has a son and he’s a doctor now in Taman Fortuna, Dr. Tan Kok Sui. Oya, after the war, saito and sianung sell groceries to my grandparents at a lot cheaper price, bleh masuk buku 555 lagi hehe. And that went down to my mum and her siblings, sampai turn kami , teda sudah sbb nda tau sejarah kan. But the shops are still in Inanam until now.


Mum’s story No.2

One day, the Japanese hold a free movie for all in Inanam town. They call upon all people, and all people who were interested and could reach town, went that evening including my mum’s brother, he was still in primary school at that time. Bah teda TV kan di rumah sendiri dulu, jadi ramai la org datang di pekan ni mo tingu wayang. Mum said ‘raaaaaaamai urang’..so I assume ramai smpi tidak bulih kira la tu.

What these innocent people didn’t know was that the Japs plan to bomb them that night. But God knows and protects. Before the movie started and when the football field were filled with lots of people from the kampung, it was raining really heavy and wind blew heavily too. Mum remembers grandma said ‘it was an extraordinary rain and wind’ uinah cakap English ba ninik ku..hehe. So nothing could be done except to run home. And bukan dekat lagi rumah dorang ni, mo naik bukit lagi.

The next day, rumor went around these kampung people about Japanese plan to kill them. There was no 2nd call for free movie cause the Japanese knew that the kampung people know about their plan. Ada la tu spy dorang.

Mum’s story No.3

Lack of food, the Japanese killed a guy in his house. Cincang the guy to small pieces and asked the guy’s family to cook him and ate the meat. Many hungry Japanese pun makan. Hmmm…mum bilang ‘cannibal btul oh..’ Grandma only heard this story, I hope the person that told grandma was not exaggerating. Hmm did I hope right?

Mum’s story No.4

In 1945, after Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and the Americans went berserk, Americans jetfighters roamed the air, not forgetting North Borneo air. At that time, the japs were on the verge of losing. In one particular site, a local was tie tightly (position like nailed to a cross) in between 2 trees. The jap was about to shoot him, as the army was about to do that, Americans released bombs to the ground. Again God knows and He protects. This is really a miracle when I hear it. When bombs dropped, and Americans fly low near the ground, ini lelaki yang kena ikat, telepas tali dia, ran away to save his life, didn’t care about anything but to save himself. Logically maybe the tali telepas caused by the big impact of the bomb. But miracally said, God’s timing is perfect. I think itu lelaki yg mungkin cerita this to my grandma. Oh and the japs shouted ‘americana, Americana!!’

Mum’s story No.5

A priest or maybe a doctor ran to a local house after being spotted out. He saw women cutting tapioca outside the house, begged the ladies to save her. The women hid him inside a hole and covered him with branches and leaves. And this was very near to where they were sitting. As usual, Japanese came and asked questions, walked around the house and finally went up the hill. Half way, they walked back down, maybe cos penat and tidak confident dapat cari. So the priest or doctor were saved.

Okay that's all from mum's power. Now dad's power lagi. Dad only have 1 story to share.

Dad: Lived in Kg. Montenor, Batu 60 Beaufort. Ni pun atas bukit juga, selalu sa blk kg dulu tp nda juga pandai slim haizz. Has 7 siblings, all but 1 lived until today. Semua lelaki kecuali satu kakak. Dad’s village is near the Padas river where now tourists go for water rafting.

Dad’s story

A Chinese kapitan from China arrived in North Borneo (now Sabah), lived in Beaufort. He was in the wanted list by the Japanese. He ran to NB to save himself, managed to build a business in Beaufort, owned huge lands, he was smart lah to keep it short. Japanese is determined to find him. The Japs arrived in Beaufort, maybe ada dorang punya spy la ni. The kapitan ran up the hill tejumpa my grandparents’ house and begged for help.

My grandpa owned a house where they put the paddy after harvesting. It was at the other side of the Padas river. When the Japs got to know this, they shot the paddy house with a machine gun. Habis bah berterabur padi ingkung sa, anjing pun mati. But surprisingly the Japs didn’t go to my grandpa’s house and kill everyone. Either my dad missing the facts or it was again God’s miracle. Grandpa hid together with kapitan in the forest for a loooong time.

So after the war, kapitan had to go away (back home to China maybe) but he tidak sempat jumpa my grandpa. Rumor said he sent a message to my grandpa through his worker, a message together with huge lands that he developed called Saliwangan Estate. But the worker did not pass the message. I hope my dad didn’t missed facts or salah info.

Today i am thinking

Today i am thinking

You Know Who You Are

I was flying on a back to KK from Sandakan. During flights, if i'm not reading, i will be sleeping. On that day, there was a new Going Places magazine on the seat pocket. I love travels magazine! Came across this ad by Hard Rock Cafe which said 'you know who you are'.

www.duncanchannon.com

I'm amazed by the simplicity yet acute message of the ad. How would you interpret the ad on your own term? I'd really like to know what you think. Please leave your comments on this post. Your time here is precious. Thank you!! Muah!

Favourite Quotes from Into The Wild

credit: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/

I am really hooked with the movie Into the Wild, watched it twice. Basically it's about Chris McCandless a.k.a Alexander Supertramp, who is not afraid to be different and practice his belief while he's still alive. He hates rules but he's no trouble maker. He comes from a middle class family but he likes to go to the street and talk to pimps, prostitutes, homeless people, hungry people and give them food and advice on how to improve their lives. He believes in pushing oneself beyond reach and get more than one deserves. After college, he chose to leave home, burnt all his money, dumped his yellow Datsun and walk into the wild...

Dik and I went to Harris bookstore in 1Borneo 2 weeks ago and she spotted the book sitting in the non-fiction section. Yes! i bought it cause i know that there are some facts that are not shown in movies. Glad that i did! I'm at the last 2 chapters now. The author Jon Krakauer did an excellent writing. Along the way, i've marked quotes from the book that has its sense to me. Here goes.....

"I think maybe part of what got him into trouble was that he did too much thinking...." - pg 18

"Invent an utterly new life for himself, one in which he would be free to wallow in unfiltered experience..." - pg 22

"Master of his own destiny..." - pg 23

"Allowing his life to be shaped by circumstances.." - pg 29

"He learned to bury what money he had before entering a city, then recover it on the way out of town..." - pg 37

"living to the fullest extent in which real meaning is found" - pg 38

"Seemed like a kid who was looking for something, looking for something, just didn't know what it was..." - pg 43

Jack London: Call of the Wild (a fiction book most favoured by McCandless) - pg 45

"You don't need to worry about me. I have a college education. I'm not destitute. I'm living like this by choice..." - pg 52

These subsequent quotes from 1-7 are taken from Chris' letter to the old man, Ronald A. Franz:

1. "You really should make a radical change in your lifestyle..." - pg 58

2. "So many people live within unhappy circumstances & yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of SECURITY, CONFORMITY and CONSERVATISM, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind. But in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit of a man than a secure future...." - pg 58

3. "The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences..." - pg 58

4. "I fear you will follow this same inclination in the future and thus fail to discover all the wonderful things that God has placed around us to discover..." - pg 58

5. "Don't settle down and sit in one place. Move around, be nomadic, make each day a new horizon..." - pg 58

6. "We just have to have the courage to turn against our habitual lifestyle and engage in unconventional living..." - pg 58-59

7. "And you must do this economy style, no motels, do your own cooking, as a general rule spend as little as possible and you will enjoy it much more immensely..." - pg 59

"He was going to write a book about his travels..." - pg 67

"I have always been unsatisfied with life as most people live it. Always i want to live more intensely and richly..." - pg 91

"Came into this world with unusual gifts..." - pg 106

" Quit...after objecting to rules imposed by a high school band leader..." - pg 110

"He quit playing partly because he didn't like being told what to do..." - pg 110

"Chris had so much natural talent but if you tried to coach him, to polish his skill, to bring out that final 10%, a wall went up..." - pg 111

"Didn't like going through channels, working within the system, waiting his turn..." - pg 113

"Chatting with prostitutes and homeless people, buying them meals, ernestly suggesting ways they might improve their lives..." - pg 113

"You can read about this stuff, but you can't understand it until you live it..." - pg 114

"I was surprised, as always, by how easy the act of leaving was, and how good it felt. The world was suddenly rich with possibility" - pg 136

"if you want something badly enough, it is your God-given right to have it" - pg 154

"McCandless went into the wilderness not primarily to ponder nature or world at large but, rather, to explore the inner country of his own soul" - pg 182

Phewww...ok those are amongst my favourite quotes in the book...i like them soooo much!!

It's always to read the whole book or watch the movie on your own, you can better absorb the lessons taught us by McCandless.

Into The Wild book


Into The Wild Blu-ray DVD

Itchy Feet

My desire is set to step onto a new horizon, places i'm not familiar with, i often imagined that. There were mixed emotions of freedom, happiness, thankful and also fear. Walking with my bagpack on my back and maybe a map. I'd like to be prepared whenever i travel, at least for the first 2 or 3 days. It's what i called calculated risk. Prepared in terms of which area to go and where to stay. And i especially like to stay in a place where one can see many characters that shape that particular place. I used to think that a quiet place will help me to be alert of my surrounding but... i think i'm wrong, it seems i'm more alert to my ownself. I hate that kind of self-conscious. At times i laugh because of the irony of it. But now i notice that im getting better in eliminating this habit.

Going to loud and happening places often help me to be less self-conscious. I've gone to Khao San road twice, everybody seems to have their own agenda although everyone pretty much heading to the same bars, same food stalls, standing packed in a group. That was the best time to just sit on the sidewalk coffee stall and just watch people and feel the town's energy and that is just one agenda. I always find these things interesting to do:

• Walking as far as i can and enjoy the scenery, people, business etc (but i always ended up with sore ankles! hukhuk)
• Talking to the locals (especially those wth out of the ordinary jobs like a waitress@ tut tut girl, it's always interesting to know their why, when, how etc)
• Going to unfamiliar and infamous places where you get to see the other side of the country
• Bars, i especially like Bangla road in phuket (you get to see who rule the scene and who's the victims)
• Waterfalls (well i like water, coolness, nature and good sound = waterfall)
• Look for the best pizza in town..woohoo!
• Go to their supermarkets!

Thing that i'd like to do that i never try before (fun fun) is live in a local's house preferably in a village, cook with them, eat with them, chat with them etc yeehaa!

Usually i can only afford to take 5 days leave, plus 2 or 3 days on weekend, makes a great bagpacking trip but of course it's not enough. There are just so many to see and do. How beautiful it is to constantly see a new horizon. My friend said 'you will never achieve anything stable if you constantly move around or travel too much'. I disagree. But if it's true then let me taste it. Let me make mistakes and correct it, honestly.

Anyway, after all the bagpacking and new horizon, it always back to boring routines and sometimes stupid rules. And after a while, i'll have itchy feet again....

Oh how beautiful it is to constantly see a new horizon...

Enthusiasm of a child

Watch, she runs with her older sisters,
She could not understand why they are running,
They stopped in the kitchen and her eldest sister picked out a flower from a plastic pot,
The rest followed and the little one wants one too,
But she is too short to pick her own,
Seeing her sisters with flowers, she begins to cry telling them she wants one,
Her second sister scolded her telling her there are no more flowers,
But the little one insists and is now crying louder
The other sisters do not heed her cry, they instead comparing whose flower is the prettiest,
They laugh together when the third sister broke some petals,
The little one is still crying and sitting on the floor,
There are too much noise in the kitchen,
The mother comes, scolded the sisters for pulling out the flowers from the pot and ordered them to put them back,
All heed, the mother then takes the little one in her arms, comforting her not to cry,
Laughing, the three sisters race each other to the living room,
The little one struggling to be free, the mother let her go and she runs to her sisters,
Forgotten about the flower, she is now trying to understand what her sisters are doing,
Whatever it is, she is having fun..

Let the child take the wheel again

I am 12 years old. I love staying in grandma’s house and I am here almost every weekend. I always go hill walking, sometimes with my cousins, sometimes alone. But I prefer going there alone. I am not afraid cos’ I am familiar with the path and I know what I want to do up there. I usually walk slowly but sometimes faster. When I am walking faster, my aunt would shout from grandma’s house telling me to walk slowly so that I can catch my breath. But the reason I walk faster is because I can’t wait to feel the air breezing up on the hill. It is really warm down here. On my way up, I sweep the leaves on the pathway with the stick that I have picked up earlier near grandma’s house, so that I can have a smooth walk home later. It’s so fun!

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………......................

I’m 30 years old. I’d like to find time to stay in grandma’s house again. I miss being in the village. It’s been years since I last stayed overnight with aunty. And I definitely miss grandma the most, I know the Lord is resting her in peace now. I was at the village 2 months ago. I sat on the stairs overlooking the hill that I used to walk up when I was 12. I’d love to walk up there again and see the changes. I’m sure there are changes. But woohoo it’s too long of a journey, I’m too tired to walk. What if the path changed and I couldn’t find my way up? Impossible, the path will always remain there. Is the giant mango tree still there? What about the elephant rocks? It’s better to have companions to go up there. Maybe I’ll do that next week, right now I’m tired. But I really wonder the condition up there…

Let the child in us take the wheel once in a while…we never know what we will see and feel again…

Children of Kg. Tampasak, Tongod, Sabah

Journey to the river

photo credit: www.kaichang.net

When I was much younger, I did not think about how long I should walk up the hill to get to the river,

I never say ‘it’s a long journey up to the river’, because the journey was always fun,

On the way I enjoyed walking pass the grassy field near grandma’s kitchen,

On the way, I tried, again, to climb or maybe just hang onto the tree branch, oh I never actually climbed it, it was my favourite tree,

On the way, I can sit on the large rocks which I call elephant rocks, just to know how it feels to sit on a rock

I went up the hill many times and there were all the same view everytime I walked up,

It’s the same path, they’re the same trees, they’re the same rocks

But I never say ‘it’s the same thing’

I never say ‘I feel nothing is new’

I always say in my heart ‘I can’t wait to do it again’

When I reached the top, I always stopped to see the view of the paddy field, to feel the air breeze, to try to climb the giant mango tree, again…

When I reached the top, I always stopped to see the view of the rubber field, there are lots of rubber trees!

It was quite a long journey to the river, but I never say ‘it’s still a long way to go’,

Because I paused when I want to enjoy my surrounding,

I paid attention to the small things that make me happy and pleased at that moment,

The green grasses make me happy, the trees pleased me so much, the cool breeze gave me a quiet moment, the majestic rocks amazed me, the leaves coloured the forest floor, the ambience of the whole surrounding projects mystery…

That I forgot about the river,

There were so much to be done and felt in the journey,

I was already pleased before I reached the river,

When I reached it, it was like a bonus to the whole journey…

…and I repeat these all over again on my way back home in the afternoon…

photo credit: www.hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu

LOVE TO GRANDMA...

That's it, I had enough!

I wish i can say that to my boss but who will pay my salary after that? I am sooo bored here in Sandakan..oh i know, i can resign from my job and be jobless for a period of time. What would it feels like hmmmm...My parents will be furious but that's if i stay with them. If i stay by myself, then it would pretty much cost me some $$ right..If i stay with friends, they would run away from me ahah..What if i go to NZ and work my butt off the way i can't even imagined or maybe it will turn out to be something good. God please help me! Give me your strong sign i mean strong sign that i should leave, Amen.

There you go, i posted something...lol ;-p