49 My new grandson
Tuesday 29 June 2004
At 4.16 pm Australian Eastern Standard Time, my daughter, Linda gave birth to her first child, Harry Taylor. Harry weighed in at 7 lb 11 oz. In metric that is just under 3.5 k. As far as I know, everyone is fine. Keep an eye on Family News for updates.
48 Desire for union
Monday 28 June 2004
We all have a desire for union.
At the simplest level we seek out a person to be our partner and create a union with that person.
Teenagers dress like their friends to show they are part of a group, or sometimes social scientists call this a tribe.
We support a sporting team and create a union with other supporters.
We participate in a club and join together with others who share our hobby.
We go to a church and become part of a group of like minded worshippers.
We join some organisation that requires us to wear a uniform.
We follow the behaviour of others in our group, creating a group culture.
We are patriotic towards our country.
All of this brings us closer to other members of the same group.
And separates us from those who are not members.
Ironically, by creating union with a select group of others we create separation from those who are outside that union.
To me the ultimate union is a union with all living beings. No separation. We are all one.
47 Trishaw respect
Sunday 27 June 2004
Today I had my first ride in a trishaw or bicycle rickshaw. Tzu Chi put on a show called The Sutra of Filial Piety. This is really big in Asia—especially with Chinese Buddhists—respect for parents. I think most of us in the West don't even know what 'filial piety' means. This Sutra, I gather, is in the Mahayana cannon of Buddhist scriptures. Tzu Chi have had it put to music—I guess it's an opera really but they don't call it that. It is in the Mandarin language. The music is very good and the singers/actors use sign language, so even a foreigner (I think I was the only one there.) can follow it in a vague sort of way. I enjoyed it. There was quite a crowd. Must have been a few thousand people. I don't think there were too many empty seats.
I got a bit dressed up for the show and didn't want to arrive all sweaty which would have happened if I had taken my bicycle or walked. Temperatures reach 30+ here every day. So I took the trishaw. It was quite comfortable, with a well padded seat and a cover over my head. But very slow. When we went over the bridge, which has a slight rise, he had to get off and push.
Here in Melaka it is usual for bicycles (and motorcycles and the occasional car) to go the wrong way up a one-way street. When I do this on my bicycle, I am very cautious. I wait until the traffic is clear before I enter the street. Not the trishaw, which is as wide as a small car; he just cycles straight around the corner without pausing and the cars have to avoid him.
46 Where to next?
Saturday 26 June 2004
My permit to stay in Malaysia ends on July 25. I have been considering where my next move should be. The problem is that there are many choices. One day it is this, the next that. Two things have happened that are narrowing the choices.
First, I have been giving some English 'lessons' to a small group of my friends from Tzu Chi over recent weeks. This has reminded me of how much I enjoy teaching.
Secondly, I have a process that I use when I find it difficult to make decisions. I list all the options, one to a sheet of paper. On each page I list the pluses and minuses relating to an option. Then I give a value score to each point based on how important it is to me. When I total all this I have a picture of which options, on balance, give me more of what I want and less of what I don't want.
What this is showing me is that I should be aiming to be teaching in Thailand. This is not set in concrete, however this is the direction which I am currently working towards.
45 Formula for happiness
Friday 25 June 2004
Today I share with you my formula for happiness. It's simple.
Happiness is in inverse proportion to the difference between what you have and what you want.
When I talk about what you have and what you want, I am not talking only about material possessions or money, though they are included. If, for example, you want to be a great concert pianist, and you have absolutely no musical talent whatsoever, then the difference between what you have and what you want is huge. Therefore you will be very unhappy.
Some people seem to think that the more you have the happier you will be. How wrong they are. A person with nothing who desires nothing is much, much happier than a person who has everything going for them but still wants more and more.
This does not mean you cannot have goals and improve your life. However, it is the attachment to those goals that leads to unhappiness. If you find you are upset about something, check and you will find there is an attachment. Follow the goals but let go of the attachment.
Test it out. It works.
44 Hazy skies
Thursday 24 June 2004
For the past few days the sky here has been covered by haze. There are all sorts of pollution warnings in the papers. In the afternoon the sun glows like an orange moon.
The island of Sumatra (Indonesia) lies roughly parallel and west of peninsula Malaysia. I am told that people there still practise slash and burn agriculture. (It is also practised by some of the hill tribes in northern Thailand and no doubt elsewhere.) Forests are cut down and set alight to create fresh fields for planting rice. This practice is so widespread that it creates enough smoke to more than cover peninsula Malaysia. With the winds blowing from the west, that is the result. The papers play down the actual source, mainly referring to forest fires. What I have put here is mostly what I have learned by word of mouth. Apparently it is a seasonal thing and expected.
43 Karma and choice
Wednesday 23 June 2004
I wrote this for the Tzu Chi journal, as it gives a good account of my life in Melaka, I include it here.
If I had not become annoyed with Thai bureaucracies, I would not have left Thailand. If I had not left Thailand, I would not have come to Melaka. If I had not come to Melaka, I would not have discovered the 1511 Café. If the newspaper at the café was not already taken that morning, I would not have picked up the book, 'Still Thoughts'. If I had not read the book, I would not have heard of Master Cheng Yen.
If Sarah had not caught that particular bus from Singapore and sat in that particular seat, she would not have met Eileen. If she had not met Eileen, she would not have come to stay at Sama Sama Guesthouse. If she had not come to stay at Sama Sama, I would not have met her. If I had not met her I would not have learned that Tzu Chi existed in Melaka.
Was it all coincidence or had my karma arranged for me to come to Tzu Chi? If any one of these factors was missing, I would not be here doing what I am doing now.
At the end of 2002, I ended my busy career in Australia as a professional storyteller, sold or gave away all my possessions and headed to Thailand to become a volunteer English teacher. I was not going to Thailand only to be an English teacher. I wanted to live in a Buddhist community and continue my search for understanding that began many years before.
In my search I try to keep an open mind. I believe that no religion or philosophy has a monopoly on truth. I also believe that all religions and philosophies have something to teach us. However, Buddhism makes sense to me and has been a dominant influence on my spiritual development for the past 27 years.
I enjoyed my time in Thailand. I particularly enjoyed living among the Thai people. Thai Buddhism was not generally practiced the way I expected. However, it, or something, has influenced the Thai people to be happy, friendly and generally contented with their lot. While many of them are quite poor by Western standards, they are also very generous.
Whatever has made the Thai people the way they are does not appear, to me, to have made a great impact on Thai bureaucracies. I acknowledge that bureaucracies are a personal bugbear of mine. But most long-term visitors to Thailand experience similar difficulties. After a year in Thailand, it was the challenge of dealing with Thai bureaucracies that convinced me to move on.
One thing I found myself learning while I was in Thailand was that I am not in charge of my life. When I lived in Australia I planned my life with meticulous detail. If you asked me what I was going to be doing on a particular day six months in advance, chances are I could tell you. But in Thailand, I found that if I tried to make plans something would happen to prevent things from going the way I expected.
I am aware that it is my attachments that bring suffering into my life. I decided that I did not need an attachment to planning my life. I decided before leaving Thailand to follow my instincts and look for opportunities instead of planning my life.
This took me first to Singapore, then to Melaka. I was enjoying Melaka but was aware that I was not doing much with my life. Then I discovered the work of Master Cheng Yen. I was inspired by what this woman had written. I wanted to volunteer to work for her. At the time I thought this might perhaps mean that my next move would be to Taiwan. I did not know that Tzu Chi existed in Malaysia.
Not long after that Sarah turned up at the guesthouse. We got talking and discovered a mutual interest in Buddhism. Sarah told me that she was having dinner with a Chinese woman she had met on the bus. This woman was involved in a local Buddhist charity. I was interested and asked a few questions. I soon realized that this charity was a branch of the one I had read about a few days before.
I joined Eileen and Boon for dinner that night and indicated that I was interested in becoming involved in some way. It was arranged for Sarah and me to do some sorting of waste paper a few nights the following week. Eventually Sarah moved on. She had plans. I kept coming to Tzu Chi.
I am impressed by the work that is done by Tzu Chi volunteers. It seems that when something needs to be done, volunteers turn up to do it. I believe that no matter what they do, all these volunteers are making a valuable contribution. So many religions place a strong emphasis on ritual. In Tzu Chi there is little or no ritual. These volunteers live their Buddhist beliefs by giving their love to help those who are less fortunate than them.
Among these volunteers there is a team who translate written material from Mandarin to English. They are supporting the Cultural Mission of Tzu Chi, which in turn supports the other missions. Many in Malaysia do not speak Mandarin. Without the work of the translation team, knowledge of Tzu Chi's good work would not spread beyond the Mandarin speaking community. My main role at Tzu Chi is to polish the English translations. I do not seek to change what the translators have done. I honor them and their work. I merely look for ways to make their writing a little clearer.
This gives me the opportunity to read of the work of Tzu Chi but it keeps me distanced from it. After I had been coming to Tzu Chi for about a month, it was suggested that I might come along for the next monthly relief day. This was a very special day for me.
At first when I arrived I felt useless. Everyone seemed to know what they were doing. I was looking for somewhere to fit in. I found several ways that were significant to me.
I got to tell a story to boys from a Hindu children's home—a very enthusiastic audience.
I met a man named Lee who is paraplegic. He spoke very good English and we simply chatted. I learned that he had a motorcycle accident 18 years previously. At that time his family must have been very young. Somehow he and his wife managed to raise the children despite his being confined to a wheelchair. That was before the days of Tzu Chi in Melaka. I gather his life has been made easier in recent years thanks to Tzu Chi. I commented to him on his happy, positive attitude. 'I learned that from Tzu Chi' he told me.
Another younger man was also in a wheelchair. I do not know what his affliction is. He could sit up but did not have much control of his body. He was unable to feed himself. I had the honor of feeding him. I do not know how much speech he had. It certainly did not include English. I would wait for him to finish chewing and would ask, 'Are you ready?' He would turn his head towards me and smile. Somehow, in that smile he communicated all I needed to hear from him.
I do not know how much longer I will continue to participate in Tzu Chi?s practical Buddhism. I do not know where my karma will take me next. I am thankful to have had the opportunity to learn from these people who showed me that despite their challenges they can face life with a smile.
42 Stopping the snatchers
Tuesday 22 June 2004
Having had a bag stolen twice in my five months in Malaysia, I have an interest in the campaign to stop the snatchers. I read many suggestions in the Star Newspaper: more patrols, greater penalties, etc but no one appears to be looking at the root of the problem.
Why are these people stealing? Is it poverty? Do they do it for kicks? I doubt that either of these is the cause. I suspect the thefts are often committed by people with an expensive drug habit. They need regular income to support their habit and crime is the only way they can raise this sort of money.
If the police are successful in reducing snatch thefts but do not address the underlying cause, the problem with only move elsewhere. In my home country we do not have many snatch thefts but house breaking is a huge problem. The success of the snatch-theft campaign may simply be the start of the house-breaking problem.
I am not sure of how to address the drug problem. Experts have many different ideas. Some suggest that controlled administration of free drugs to addicts will take away their need to steal, giving the rest of us a safer society. Others will not listen to such ideas. But somehow, if we are to make the streets and homes of Malaysia safe places to be, then the underlying problem must be addressed.
41 Going back
Monday 21 June 2004
People here often say to me, 'When you go back your country?' I think they are curious rather than trying to get rid of me.
Well, I have finally made a decision. I will return for my Mum's 100th birthday party. I promise.
40 Ninety-one today
Sunday 20 June 2004
Today my Mum turns 91. I spoke to her on Friday evening. She complained of a bad back. She needs a walker to get around but still gets out quite often. She is, I might add, still living alone and will probably continue to do so. She gets out in the yard quite often and is able to bring firewood in on the walker.
On Sunday there will be an open house. I guess it will be a sort of family reunion as Hazel is the last of her generation. Perhaps many of her nieces and nephews will visit and of course many of the grandchildren and great-grandchildren. At the moment there are 28 great-grandchildren. My daughter, Linda, is expecting the 29th in a few weeks time.
Happy Birthday Mum.
39 Troubles in southern Thailand
Saturday 19 June 2004
I remember when we moved from Sydney to Brisbane twenty years back. Someone down south would hear about a terrible storm or similar disaster somewhere in Queensland and would ring to ask if we were OK. The storm might be further from us than they were but as far as they were concerned, we were in Queensland and perhaps in danger. Because I understand this concept I post here for my family and friends in Australia a brief outline of what I understand is happening in southern Thailand.
I am not sure what the media there is telling you about southern Thailand. There is definitely one place I would avoid. That is the town of Pattani. According to the Star newspaper that I read here most days, some of the young Muslims in the town are being stirred up by extremists to fight for independence. The Muslims are in the majority in this area and some would prefer not to be governed by Buddhist Thailand. They were getting a bit frisky and the Thaksin government reacted in much the same way as they did with the war on drugs. They went in with guns blazing. I think 108 were killed in one day. Since then it seems there are several Buddhists killed each week. One report I read said that the Buddhists are now arming themselves and fighting back and one or two Muslims have been killed. There are all sorts of allegations about who is stirring up the trouble. Some say that they are coming from Malaysia. A high ranking Thai member of parliament has been arrested. However, no one here is suggesting that Westerners are or will be targeted. Still, I have no plans to visit the region. Perhaps a return to Thailand will be my next move but I will head well north of all those troubles. I do know a NZ woman who recently took a job in Satun which is on the west coast in the south (the troubles are mostly on the east). Haven't heard from her lately. Hope she's OK.
38 If I had a mothball in this hand...
Friday 18 June 2004
At Sama Sama Guesthouse, like many of the old buildings in Melaka, the windows have no glass and no insect screens. Insects can fly in whenever they want to. That is why I have to sleep with a mosquito net. There are bars on the windows to keep the dragons out but the little ones still get in.
A couple of nights ago, a big moth flew in and landed on my mosquito net. You can see the photo in the sidebar. It is about 12 or 13 centimeters wide. Can you see that it has a hole in its right wing? Maybe a little dragon tried to eat it.
37 Why I prefer squat toilets
Thursday 17 June 2004
I'm told that squatting is more natural and everything comes out better.
On a Western toilet the seat might look clean but is it?
The water in the bowl doesn't splash on you.
No one complains about the seat being left up.
On Western toilets, when you sit on the seat, who knows what little beasts are lurking under the ring waiting to make your hairy parts their new home?
36 Passport application—again
Wednesday 16 June 2004
Melaka has a new bus station which is really flash. You can wait for either the long-distance express or local bus in air-conditioned comfort. However it is a bit further out of town. I used to be able to walk to the old one from Sama Sama but not anymore.
Armed with the signed ID photo which returned from Australia yesterday, I took the bus to Kuala Lumpur (KL) today to apply for my passport once again. In KL, I wasn't ripped off by the taxi driver and my application was accepted without having to redo the photographs. I might add that the form has changed to better explain the photo requirements. I asked if it was possible to have this passport tattooed on my body but they said this service has not been introduced yet. I had a nice tandoori chicken and naan lunch (better than I usually get in Melaka) and took a little look around. I was able to find my way back to the bus station by public bus. I am getting more comfortable with finding my way around KL.
35 Another snatch-theft death
Tuesday 15 June 2004
Another Malaysian woman has died as the result of injuries sustained during a snatch theft. Chong Fee Cheng, 37, fell to the ground when a pillion rider on a motorcycle snatched her handbag on Saturday. She sustained serious head injuries and slipped into a coma from which she never recovered. She died on Monday morning.
34 Consumer society
Saturday 12 June 2004
I find it fascinating to compare what is available on the internet to what I can buy here. As anyone who has been reading this blog regularly knows, I recently bought myself a new computer to replace the one that had been stolen. I can live without it but as I have pointed out earlier, it is the way I express my creativity. I don't think you would be reading this blog and enjoying(?) any updates to this website if I did no have this computer.
One of the other things I like about this computer is that I can enjoy my music. I know there are people with iPods with 40 gig of music saved. I think I am up to about 5 gig which gives me over 1,000 tunes. I don't sit here listening to music all day long but I am flat out getting through all that in a month.
When I was in Thailand I bought myself a set of speakers. My motivation was not my own enjoyment, although I admit that was a factor in the decision. I initially bought them because my team-teacher had introduced a unit in our English class where students were to introduce their favourite English-language song, play it and discuss the lyrics. (It was a good strategy.) This motivated me to buy speakers so that I could share my selection with the class. The tiny speakers of my iBook were satisfactory in my small room but would not produce the volume to reach the class. I was able to buy suitable speakers for less than $A15. When I left Thailand, material comforts such as these had to be left behind.
Before I had those speakers I was happy with the ones in the iBook. Having had those speakers, which at that price were obviously neither high tech nor high volume, the iBook speakers tended to sound a little tinny. I was tempted to buy myself another set of speakers here but as I am not going to be here all that long I decided it would be a waste. I decided to investigate the possibility of enhancing my listening pleasure with a set of headphones or earphones. There was quite a variety available here in the electronic shop in Melaka and at various prices. I was looking for something simple and light. I do not want to add anything to the weight I carry with me when I move. The ones that fitted that description were earphones and just happened to be the cheapest in the shop. The price was RM3.50. I just converted that in the calculator that comes in this iBook. That is about $A1.32 or 92 US cents. I decided that at that price they would have to be crap but what the heck—buy them, try them and if they're no good come back and buy a better pair. I can afford to waste that much ; ).
When I took them to the counter the guy said to me, 'You realise they are only normal.'
'What do you mean?'
'They are not high volume.'
'That's OK.' I took them home with very low expectations. I plugged them in and played some music. It was fantastic. I could hear sounds that I had never heard before, even when playing the original CD on my stereo in Australia. It is a pleasure to hear stereo coming through appropriately in each ear. And volume? Well, at full volume they are just a little too much for me. My listening pleasure has been greatly enhanced by this huge investment.
I subscribe to a few email newsletters that keep me up to date with what Apple are doing, just so I don't miss anything. One of these led to a page that reviewed earphones for the iPod. I thought it would be interesting to take a look. I was amazed there were many models on the market and they ranged in price up to US$500.
What are people buying at that price? Are they telling me that their enjoyment is going to be 500 times what mine is? Or is it that they have that much money to waste on little toys to make them happy?
How happy? Well, on another Apple site some guy was selling a digital camera he'd bought six months ago. He'd bought another because this one did not meet his needs (make him happy) any more. I have reached that point with my camera too but I have gained a lot of pleasure out of it over five years, not six months.
It seems to me that in the West, we have so much money and we buy 'toys' to make us happy and when they don't, we buy something better and when that doesn't do it for us we...
And all the time we are consuming the world's limited resources. For what?
In Thailand and Laos I met people who collectively were much happier (based purely on my observation) than people in any society I have visited in the West. Having also visited other countries where the move towards development is further along the track, I would make the observation that development / Westernisation / modernisation does not lead to happiness.
33 Tropical fruit-lovers' paradise
Friday 11 June
This is a good time to be here for any lover of tropical fruit. Rambutan are in season at the moment. I like them but prefer lychee. However the lychee season is very short. Last year in Thailand there was a glut of rambutan. They became very cheap. The season is quite long. Eventually I couldn't be bothered with them. (It took a while though.)
Mangoes are also in season and I won't often say no to a nice mango. Here they eat them more like we do in Australia—ripe. In Thailand they prefer a variety that is eaten green. It's OK but I prefer the ripe ones.
I am also getting a regular supply of durian (see entry 3 June) which is amazingly cheap here.
32 Cyber cafes
Thursday 10 June 2004
Last week I had a bit of trouble connecting my computer to the internet. The cafe where I connect is supposed to open at 10 am but they stay open until all hours the previous evening for people who play games till late. I guess the guy who runs the place was having trouble getting out of bed. It was still not open at 11 am. I get a bit sick of waiting outside the shop in the tropical heat.
At the moment schools are on holiday. This means that the place gets crowded with kids. Perhaps this is the cheapest childminding service in Melaka. The kids wear headphones while they play their games but they get very excited and yell and scream to each other. I find it hard to concentrate.
The cafe in Singapore that I used was open 24/7/52. Their clients were perhaps slightly older, but not much. If I went in early in the morning there would be guys asleep in their chairs in front of the screen.
31 Smokers
Wednesday 9 June 2004
One of the things I dislike here is the number of smokers and their attitude. This is not just the locals. It seems that a huge proportion of backpackers are smokers. If I want to socialise in the Sama Sama cafe I am usually surrounded by smokers.
The Malaysian government has recently introduced an anti-smoking campaign. I wish they would introduce a smokers etiquette campaign. Smoking is so common here that the smokers consider non-smokers have no rights. It is not a case of 'do you mind if I smoke?' as 'I'm lighting up and I don't care what you think. Or for that matter, what happens to your lungs.' Try to have a meal in a restaurant and expect to be surrounded by smokers. I have only discovered one restaurant with a non-smoking area.
It seems that the addiction is such that smokers can't give up even for a short time. I often pull up at the traffic lights on my bicycle and there is cigarette smoke coming from the motor cyclist next to me.
Fortunately, I am happy to say, no one at Tzu Chi seems to smoke. It really is a haven.
30 Attempted robbery
Tuesday 8 June 2004
There are more ways to be robbed here than having your bag stolen.
Last time I went to KL I walked outside the bus station to the taxi stand. There were two taxi drivers chatting on the footpath beside their vehicles. As I approached, one asked where I wanted to go.
'Australian High Commission, Jalan Yap Kwan Seng.'
'OK. 20 ringgit.'
'You are kidding!'
'No, 20 ringgit.'
'Put the meter on.'
'No meter. 20 ringgit.'
'Forget it.'
I walked off. He was happy to wait for someone who did not know the correct fare.
Around the corner I hailed a taxi, got in, he turned the meter on. The fare came to RM3.50.
29 Fighting evil
Monday 7 June 2004
I recently watched all three Lord of the Rings movies on DVD. Peter Jackson has done his job well. The American soldiers and their allies who have committed atrocities in Iraq would probably have found it easier to do so after watching such movies.
These movies promote the philosophy that evil is outside of us and there is glory in fighting evil. I am sure the terrorists who are seen as our enemies have much the same belief. When will we start to realise that evil is within each of us? We are the enemy. I am not being negative. Love is also within us—everyone of us—including the so called terrorists and the perpetrators of atrocities. We will end terror and atrocities only when we acknowledge our own evil but make a choice to act from love.
28 Charity fair
Sunday 6 June 2004
This weekend Tzu Chi held a charity fair to celebrate their 11th anniversary in Malaysia and of course to raise money. They get a huge amount of goods donated by businesses. Thousands of people came through the gates—wonderful public support. It was amazing what you were able to buy. One of the most popular stalls was the toilet-paper stall. Almost everyone left with a bag or two of TP under their arm.
I was given the job of assistant pumper-upper on the balloon stall. They kept forcing food on me, which the Chinese love to do. They have great difficulty accepting 'no'. Was forced to pig out on durian on Saturday afternoon. Gee life's tough. Got a few photos. If any are OK, I will put them on the .Mac site which is linked to my homepage.
27 Almost free food
Friday 4 June 2004
Little India is just across the river from Chinatown in Melaka. It is not as big as Little India in Singapore but there are shops selling a good range of Indian clothing at good prices and it is a good place to go for a meal. In Jalan Bendahara there is a restaurant where I often go for lunch. It appears to be run by a husband, wife and their sons.
I take a seat and the bring me a piece of banana leaf. On the leaf the place a generous helping of rice. They then surround this with two or three vegetable dishes. Dhal or a curry is poured over the rice. They add a couple of poppadoms and a glass of cold water.
There is quite a bit to get through here but when you look like you are almost finished they will be hovering with the pots to see if you want a second helping. Folding the banana leaf over is a signal that you have had enough. I assume that if you can get through more than two helpings they would be happy to top you up again. But that is more than I can handle.
This all you can eat deal comes to RM3, that's less than $1.30 in Australian currency. I usually have the vegetarian meal. A meat dish can be added for a little extra. This sort of deal is common at many Indian restaurants around Melaka.
26 The smell of durian
Thursday 3 June 2004
As I ride my bicycle through the streets of Melaka I smell it. The unmistakable smell of durian. Where it comes from I do not know. I look around, there is no durian in sight. Perhaps there is a stall nearby. Perhaps someone is cutting and eating a durian. I cannot see it. The smell stays with me for a short while and then disappears. To me it is a very pleasant smell. For some it is horrible. I cannot understand why. It is certainly distinctive.
Hotels ban it. They say if you eat durian in your room the smell gets into the air conditioning system and they get complaints from other guests. I personally give it a thumbs up in preference to any of the chemical room deodorizers used so often by cleaners.
And the taste—it is much as it smells. Some cannot stand it others cannot get enough. I certainly enjoy it but do not feel addicted to it. I am told there is some chemical in durian which we should not eat too much of, so it is better not to pig out—just a little each day. Apparently it is dangerous to eat it while drinking alcohol.
Durian is popular in Thailand but here in Malaysia there is more of it and it seems to be more universally popular—with the locals anyway. An Intrepid tour came through Sama Sama a few weeks ago and not one of the tourists liked it. I had been told that Malaysian durian was different and better than Thai durian. But Malaysians think everything Malaysian is better. Another Australian agreed with the Malaysians. When I got to try Malaysian durian for myself I can acknowledge that the texture is a little smoother and if you get a nice one it might be marginally better than a Thai durian; but you might just as easily get one that is not so good. I think perhaps that good durian is good no matter where it comes from—unless of course you don't like it.
To me, the biggest challenge is not the smell or taste, it is the act of peeling. Durian has one of the best protective casings of any fruit—huge, sharp spikes. They are sharp enough to puncture your hand. It is not easy to cut a durian because the case is so thick and needs to be held firmly. And that means gripping those spikes. Thick gardening gloves are not a bad idea. A sharp knife is essential.
I have never heard of durian being grown in Australia. Though somehow I would be surprised if there were not a tree or three in the tropic north. Probably not a commercial crop though. So, if you want to find out what all the fuss is about, come and visit SE Asia. The durian is in season right now.
25 Towards a mail-forwarding etiquette
Wednesday 2 June 2004
I recently received an email with the cocky subject heading: 'Please take the time to read...I took the time to send'. It was a forwarded message sent to multiple addresses—probably everyone in the sender's address book.
I am taking the time to write this. Whether you read it or not is your choice. If you do and you like it, I encourage you to copy and forward it the next time someone forwards you a message that is of no interest to you.
I would not say that I never forward messages. I do. However this is what happens to most forwarded messages that are sent to me. 95% are deleted. About 5%, I like, and so I save them, probably to forget them. About 1%, I think, 'Now Harry would really enjoy that one.' So I send it to Harry—no one else, just Harry. But I never click Forward. In fact, I think Forward buttons should almost never be used.
I copy and paste the message. You probably know how to do this. But just in case you don't I shall explain. It is really very simple.
Step 1. Highlight the text that you want to forward. Not the whole email! They don't need the addresses of the 2,000 other people who received it before you. I know that the people who compile spam mailing lists have other ways to collect addresses. But I am sure when they get forwarded messages, they don't delete them. All those lovely addresses to add to their mailing lists. Of course they keep them. Why make it easy for them?
Step 2. Press control (Ctrl) and C (command and C on a Mac) at the same time. This copies the highlighted text.
Step 3. Create a new email message and address it to Harry or whoever.
Step 4. Put the cursor in the text area and press control and V to paste the text.
Step 5. Send the message to Harry.
If you have more than one friend who you want to send it to, please consider the following. To simply list all your friends addresses in the 'To' field, is potentially an invasion of their privacy. I have personally found and used addresses sent to me like this in emails—for legitimate reasons. But what if I am a pervert who would just love to stalk one of your friends? Can you guarantee that everyone in your address book is OK?
No, you don't have to send fifty different emails. What do you think the BCC field is for? I thought everyone knew but considering how few use it, I suspect that most don't. So I will tell you. It means Blind Carbon Copy and it is for sending emails to multiple recipients without the addresses being listed on the received email. Each person who receives the email does not know who else you have sent it too. And why should they?
So, go to it. Copy this, and send it to everyone in your address book.
23 A democratic proposal
Tuesday 1 June 2004
I have nothing against democracy. Wish I knew of a better form of government but so far I have not discovered one. In the past, countries had to have a war or revolution to depose a bad ruler. Now we at least have the chance to vote them out. (Which doesn't explain why people keep voting them in.)
I am, however, concerned about those supporters of democracy who want to impose it on others whether they like it or not. If you support democracy that strongly, I trust you will support my proposal.
Let us make the United Nations truly democratic. To be a full member of the UN your country has to be accepted by the UN as being truly democratic. Citizens of member countries vote for their UN representatives. Each country gets a number of representatives proportionate to its population. Each representative gets an equal vote in the General Assembly. All member countries must abide by decisions made by the General Assembly.
It's simple. It's democratic. Do those who believe it is worth going to war to force another country to become democratic support it?
© copyright John Shield 2003 - 2004
To read this in the order it was written scroll to the bottom and start with number 23.
Blog archives
March 2004, includes: What I am doing in Melaka; Independence / Interdependence; Brother Yap; Why this blog is late.
April 2004, includes: My first trip to KL; Passport; New computer; Karma.
May 2004, includes: Getting it all together; Across the street culture; It's happened again; Writing process; Sincerity; Boring; Why?; Bag snatchers; Cross-cultural communications; Listening without projections; Malaysian or what?; Definitely Malaysian; Battling Bunga Raya; Free food.
July 2004, includes: No water; Malaysian society & politics; Buying a camera; KL scam; Attachments; Garage Band; Grandchildren; Moves; Farewell Tzu Chi; Travelling: Melaka - Penang; Women in black; Bureaucracies: I can cope; Giving with no expectations; Back in Thailand; Making merit.
August 2004, includes: Back to Mahasarakham; Independence; Passing time; Observations from the omelette shop; Pad Pak; Procession; Storm; Famine?
September 2004, includes: Street vendors; The omelette shop; Shopping in Sri-sawas; Restaurants; Off to Udon; In Udon; Toad soup; Buying speakers; Sweet talk; The price of happiness; The right to vote.
October 2004, includes: The real issue; Who are the real Australians?; The Best?; Out of Thailand; Instant Millionaire; Nong Khai to Vientiane; National Library of Laos; Social security in Laos; Please help me!; Lao delicacy; Everyone wants a sponsor; Vientiane markets; Of girls and bombs; Pronunciation of names; Being dead; Renting a bicycle; Losing and gaining customers; Making plans again; Bun Nam Festival; Party's over.
November 2004, includes: Visa applicataon; Lao Tradition show; At the bus station; I didn't make it; Tips for travellers to Vientiane; Visit to an Isaan village; Crickets and grasshoppers; Don't eat cockroaches; Village of the Red Waterholes; Thai winter; All Asians look alike?
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