Holiday! Celebrate!

I'm going for a long leave this year end. Finally finished all the eggs that needed farting and all. And the system at the coop finally let me log on and key in my leave request.

So let's sing and be happy! I'll see you guys at the next Chicken Soup Convention!

I had to hold my pee

At last, I managed to get to a loo and pee. It took me 2 hours to get to work this morning. A warning bell triggered in my head when DJs started their traffic report by saying folks trying to get into KL should expect massive traffic jam on all roads leading into town today and tomorrow. But still, we were already on the road by then so all we could do was become collateral damage with the rest of the morning commuters.

Why? Well from where we came, cops were having a road block thingy in Cheras. Out of the four lanes (five for people who considers the emergency lane is actually a lane they are allowed to use even though they're not having an emergency) the cops only opened one. One freakin lane.

Why? Apparently some idiots are organising a demonstration in KL tomorrow, and things might get ugly.

Why? Those idiots like getting dirty on other people's expense, on the pretext of shoving justice up the system's ass, and they think they can get things done like that.

Really? Why? Yeah really. Because they're idiots.

Idiots who obviously don't care that some folks around here just want to get to work, get paid, and live a normal life. They don't care that some folks just want to send their kids to school and get them educated. They don't care, obviously, that they're causing other folks problems, just cause they think that their cause is a just cause.

Those idiots did not see what I saw this morning.

I saw in one car a couple was fighting - it looks as if the passenger got angry when the driver kept letting other cars jump the queue.

I saw two kids in school uniform crying, most likely cause they're running late to school.

I saw about four cars scratching each other as each of them try to align their vehicles into one lane, and one can't even tell who's got the right of way.

I saw two cars, on separate occasions, spluttered to a stop as their engines started to choke then die.

I saw a guy falling asleep behind the wheel!

And most importantly, I saw my bladder trembling as it fought the urge to release! Hell yeah, those idiots didn't see me hold my pee. Bastards.

Lessons learnt from holiday trip

As a responsible citizen of the Internet I felt obliged to share some knowledge gained from my recent holiday trip.

1. For destinations you can reach with Air Asia, go with Air Asia. MAS is shitty. Comparatively the former's seats are more comfortable, the stewardesses are more friendly and look at having to buy food off the catalogue as having more choices. Instead, the latter's plane is small and smelly, stewardesses prefer to address Mat Sallehs first locals second (and with an attitude that is not at all appealing as well), and with that kind of preference you end up eating the leftovers (whatever the Mat Sallehs didn't choose, that will be your meal). So for the price you pay, MAS is totally not worth it. Just as how Singapore Airlines is so not worth it compared to the more affordable Silk Air.

2. You can survive peak season holiday just by enjoying it, instead of cramming it.
Going for a holiday to a place that is experiencing its peak season (like school holidays peak season, not World Cup peak season) without booking ground arrangements is doable. You just have to allocate time and budget cut-offs as you choose your accomodation and check on the Internet the rates if you want to book for day-tours only after arrival. Do not aim too high (like trying to go to 6, 7 places in one day), rather, target the few must-go places that you really want to see and as for the rest, take it as bonus.

3. Be friends with locals, most of them are more helpful than you can imagine.
There are a lot of scammers and nasty people anywhere you go, but in most places, there are more good people around if you care to make time to make friends. Locals might not know which is the best hotel/motel/hostel to book, but they can tell you which parts of the place is most happenning, and perhaps most importantly, safe. They can also tell you where you can find good food at good rates, or how to avoid getting into trouble with the authorities.

4. Stop converting as you shop, specially when buying stuff you'll never find at home.
While most of us who travel on a budget tend to convert to local currency before buying souvenirs, that practice might make you bring back a whole bunch of foreign currency which you'd unlikely get to change back at a good rate. So why not set a rough figure on how much you'd want to spend (and not bring back) and only convert that much for souvenir shopping. If you find something you truly like, bargain like hell if it is overpriced. In cases you do not find anything worth lugging home, then save the currency on some other cool stuff like spa treatment or room service.

5. In places where transportation options are aplenty, do survey.
Many tourist spots tend to offer multiple transportation modes to get tourists from Sightseeing Spot A to Sightseeing Spot B. Spend your first day at the place surveying your options (as you go surveying for accomodation) so that you'll end up paying not only a cheaper rate but it might also get you there quicker. Plus, compared to car rental or private tours, when you jump into a group in a public transport, it is less likely that you'll be scammed (or sent to places where they scam you into buying) or get lost.

Still not over Alanis

My obsession with Alanis Morissette stuff was reignited some two weeks ago when my ex-car-pool mate Intan bought a new collection of the singer's work throughout her angst-happy-theatre-angst years.

Today I had a chance to take a two-hour trip for work and I listened to You Oughta Know like 15 times.

Yes. Back in 1996 I was hooked on that song, listened to it hundreds of times a day. Now more than 10 years later, I'm reliving it. Kinda made me feel young.

There's just so much to savour. So much to ponder. So much to take in and so much to appreciate. All from this one song.

It's not like I've ever been left heart-broken before. Nope, never had that chance of unrequited love, don't want to. But Alanis - and Glenn Ballard, Flea, David Navarro and Matt Laug - took me there and made me want to know what that kind of world can do to a person.

Ohh.. Flea was in his baddest ass in that song. In terms of musical expression and style, his work matched Alanis and Ballard's words and notes crochet to crochet, attack to attack.

No disrespect to Navarro nor Laug, but the bulk of the time I was relistening to that song, I was looking out for even the tiniest finger to string contact from Flea. Maybe I'm a bias when it comes to bass. I just love the sound.

(A bassist I know, Linda, once said, "Some bassists feels insecure because they think people think they're playing the easiest instrument. Kinda true when it comes to playing today's kind of song. And it was the easiest instrument I've ever picked up. So why not - yes, I'm insecure. But I never feel insecure whenever I managed to copy even a few bars of what Flea does." Hear hear Linda!)

Maybe I'm just too much of a Flea fan - tis cause of him that I bought RHCP albums without thinking. Though credits as high as they can get still goes to Kiedis (Anthony you're my man too!) as well.

Back to this song Alanis and Ballard wrote. The lyrics - oh the lyrics. It's femme anger on a different level - it felt like Alanis was championing her rights to be infuriated, unreasonable, bitter, sullen, enraged, exasperated. I could envision people coming to stand behind her and rooting for her cause.

And she's telling why shouldn't people be mad if they think they've been wronged? And how could anyone who's done such a thing to a person would even think of saying sorry or "Please don't be mad." cause when you reach the kind of anger Alanis is singing about, you don't really care what that person do or say anymore. You just want to be mad, really mad, at him and everything about him, now.

It's about the sheer contempt on a former lover in all sense thinkable. The way she antagonised both her relationship with him as well as his new one is both heart-wrenching yet elating, acidic yet you still want to swallow it. Hey that's me and my jagged lil pill.

As Alanis sings her thoughts on what her replacement is like, I felt that cold, sleek knife that she was digging into her own virtual self. That she knew she was only hurting herself yet it's not that she couldn't help it, rather, she wouldn't.

And sarcasm is at its best - I love it to bits that the song started with a well-wish and ended with a lace of a threat. She knew him too well to know he's hating the fact that she's making her grudge show. She knew it would make him cringe with guilt and she knows he knows that this was only a tip of her menacing baggage iceberg... and he is Titanic... I say "Crash! You sucker!"

Mr Duplicity - ooooooh, this has got to be one of my most favourite spots in the song. Name-calling! No one else can go down to that level yet still come out on top like this!

I remember being happy when the song was hailed as Grammy's Best Rock Song and Best Female Rock Vocal Performance. Too bad it lost to Seal's Kiss from a Rose for Song of the Year, but that Batman OST is another track to be reckoned with as well. But Beyonce covered You Oughta Know during her 2009 tour, not the Song of the Year so guess whose song left a bigger impact?

I'm keeping my toes warm for Alanis' next gut-ripping, eradicating-garbage-out-of-your-system song. Oh, I love her happy songs, Head Over Feet and all, but I just think Alanis knows angst so well.

Oooh... productive is This Chicken

This Chicken farted 5 and a half Eggs in total today. That's what happens when a chicken gets into the Coop a bit too early.

But no way in hell This Chicken will surrender the five Eggs happily at on go to the Farmer. Nope, This Chicken will blog about it first.

Tis only appropriate.

Seems like a good Monday. Can't wait til Tuesday. Hmm, must be that De-Lovely love song "Let's Do It" Alanis was singing this morning that goes,


But that's why birds do it,
Bees do it,
Even educated fleas do it,
Let's do it, let's fall in love.

In Spain the best upper sets do it,
Lithuanians and Lets do it,
Let's do it, let's fall in love.

The Dutch in old Amsterdam do it,
Not to mention the Finns,
Folks in Siam do it,
Think of Siamese twins.

Some Argentines without means do it,
People say in Boston even beans do it,
Let's do it, let's fall in love.

Romantic sponges they say do it,
Oysters down in Oyster Bay do it,
Let's do it, let's fall in love.

Cold Cape Cod clams 'gainst their wish do it,
Even lazy jellyfish do it,
Let's do it, let's fall in love.

Electric eels, I might add, do it,
Though it shocks 'em I know,
Why ask if shads do it,
Waiter bring me shad roe.

In shallow shoals English soles do it,
Goldfish in the privacy of bowls do it,
Let's do it, let's fall in love.

The dragonflies in the reeds do it,
Sentimental centipedes do it,
Let's do it, let's fall in love.

Mosquitoes, heaven forbid, do it,
So does every katydid do it,
Let's do it, let's fall in love.

The most refined ladybugs do it,
When a gentleman calls,
Moths in your rugs do it,
What's the use of moth balls?

Locusts in trees do it,
Bees do it,
Even overeducated fleas do it,
Let's do it, let's fall in love.

Let's do it, let's fall in love,
Let's do it, let's fall in love

Chicken is chuckling to and at herself.

Ooh! Getting mental picture of the Farmer, the Donkey and Lil Napo doing it! Aiyak!

p/s: Thanks 6lyrics.com for text and pix.

Chicken goes chicken-feet

Going chicken-feet (barefoot) or going kaki-ayam is such a fiinnneee thing to do when you're close to nature. It's just so good to be reminded that no matter how big your toe is, it will look totally humongous when placed next to such a dainty lil thing. That's what I believe - nature has always been great at putting things in perspective.

Nice lil birdy post

^ Burungan: Eventhough MRR2 is jammed like roti kahwin, the birdies gave us something to smile about.

It's been a while since this blogger wrote about something feel-good something. So today I'm gonna write about birds.



Specifically those leggy birdies (flamingoes or bangau la kot too far lah to ascertain the species) you can find flying and hanging around MRR2 lamp posts lined up across the National Zoo area, more often after a rainy afternoon. Ooh, they give me such joy and envious feelin'.


The photo above I recorded using my foc Sony CyberShot DSC-W30 after a family road trip to one of the country's best kept secret, Hutan Simpan Lintang off the Karak Highway.