Happy July

Suffice to say that there would be plenty of changes in my personal life in my personal life, details which would become apparent over time. Things were kind of hectic with bettongs my life sorted out in preparation for that big event. In the meantime, July would also be busy on the family and social front as well. There would be wedding, photoshoots, Urbanscapes and school holidays for my children, all in time to celebrate the coming of Ramadhan in August.

I was yet to decide on where to head for the holidays. I have a whole week before Ramadhan to celebrate with the boys. The would be a birthday party for one of Idlan's classmate this weekend, and it would be at a movie theatre, showing Transformers. The weekend after that would be a wedding and a talk - which would be on my birthday. The weekend after that would be Urbanscapes, and the UMMC Haematology Update following suit in the 23rd. There would be no rest for the wicked I supposed. At least all my weekends have already been set!

Bracing myself

It was kind of difficult to ignore the forces around you. And what would be around the corner, a couple of weekends from now may be a turning point for the country. I almost never talk about politics specially on my blog but those who knew me personally probably knew that i have my own take about the local politics.

All I wished for on the day would be a peaceful outcome and the story of the day would be portrayed in a fair perspective as the events would not go down as just another nuisance that happened similar to rallies in the past. I can almost predict what the headline was going to be, and it would be definitely a couple of different versions, one in the local mass media, and another on the international news outlet - BBC, CNN and Aljazeera.

The other major difference between the coking rally and those in the past was the advent of social media. In the last six months, we have seen the power of social media - twitter and Facebook - been demonstrated in weakening oppressive regimes. How information was disseminated. And how reporting of events have changed. Like all informations sources, there would be room for manipulation. But the sheer volume of information and news would help the readers to be in a better position to make judgement of the actual happenings. Social media also offer direct interaction with the source, making clarification more transparent. Censorship would also be difficult, and the only viable solution for that would be a total media blackout - close down the Internet, like what happened to Egypt and Libya. The sheer fact that Malaysia would be mentioned on the same breath with the two country really demonstrated the gravity of the coming event.

I must say that the development leading up to the coming rally had been interesting to say the least, and it was mainly on how the information was disseminated. Here's to a peaceful rally. And here's hoping that Yorais would not take the decision to cut off the Internet on the day .....

Thoughts About the Concert

The apprehension was clear during breakfastI have been to the School Concert for the last four years now. out of the four, as I mentioned, I enjoyed the last one best. Because this time around, it did not attempt to take itself too seriously, like the previous affair. This year, it was more straight forward, smoother in general, and the participants seemed to have had more fun. It ended on time as well, and I was able to take in more of the show than I did before.

Anita doing Irfan's make-upClearly someone was getting boredThe opening ceremony went with a bang. Quite literally.The show started with the choir, singing a Batak numberFrom what I gathered, the concert this year only took three weeks to prepare. I remembered from before, it once took about six weeks. In the scheme of things, that was rather too much. Maybe the three weeks preparation period made the show mo focused and less convoluted.

Idlan taking his spot on stageAll was done with IrfanNot sure what they were discussing in the endThe relieve was clear right after the show.

Lunch after the Walk

It started to rain right after the teh tarik session with Kam Raslan, and the planned meeting at KLCC was a couple of hours yet. Some of the troupe members were yet to have lunch, so even though I have already had some noodles, I decided to go on for some nasi daun pisang.

We walked for about 10 minutes in the rain and by the time we settled in, it started raining heavily outside.

We had lunch at Restoran Kader. Been here a couple of times. It was not bad, but most o the food had already run out, this being Sunday and all. But what I enjoyed more was the company. A great lunch in the end, especially with the heavy rain outside.

The highlight - Magnus ordering iced lemon juice - singo beng, tok seh butir. You do the translation.

A Walk with Kam Raslan

It was only a short walk, but was a fascinating one. More of a history lesson, but it was not the political-laced, race-biased kind that was thought in schools nowadays. It was about our heritage. The legacy which made Kuala Lumpur what it is today. And it was all thanks to our guide for the morning, Kam Raslan.

Right, I wouldn't want to say much about the gentleman. The last time I made praises for a certain somebody, I ended up with a surat layang - at least I knew then that I had hit the big time when you receive an anonymous letter about somebody you mentioned in your blog. But I digressed. Just check his website here or google him to find more about him.

The walk started behind Bangunan Sultan Abdul Samad opposite Dataran Merdeka, which was teaming with people this morning. No, they were not there to join the walk, but it was the crowd from the KL Marathon that morning. Kam started talking about Masjid Jamek, the Dataran and Bukit Aman, and we later moved on towards Lebuh Ampang.

We then doubled back towards Central Market, stopping at a Chinese temple along the way, to meet one of the main character who built Kuala Lumpur, Yap Ah Loi. Kam did not do this walk regularly, but it was very clear that he enjoyed doing it, and certainly he had the passion for it. His knowledge of KL certainly would put the locals to shame.

For those interested, he would be doing another session next Sunday. Please take a look here for more details. The best way to find out about KLickr's activities or to join us, please visit our Facebook page here.