Dark

My cousin who graduated last year had been bumming around for the past 8 months is in town for a job interview. Finally. It's actually his first. I sent him over to the venue this morning and gave him some last minute standard field rules. By the look on his face, he was obviously quite nervous. I hope he ace it though.

I remember my very first proper job interview years ago. I remember being excited, nervous and hopeful mostly. I was jobless and broke - Waitaminute!!! I'm holding down a job and I'm still broke!!! - and bumming around for months wasn't really fun anymore. I didn't get the job but I did get past the second interview which I thought was an achievement by itself. There were a few job interviews after that and I learned the field rules quickly. No need for 'Interviews for Idiots' and all that shit.

The oddest thing anyone has asked me in a job interview was presented by the general manager of this x firm.

"How would you describe your sense of humor?" He asked, completely out of the blue, and stone-faced.

I didn't go with my first instinct - "Did you hear the one about the general manager of x firm?", because I didn't have a punch line. I thought for a second, trying to figure out what he was looking for.

Let's see...I'm a twenty-five, very smart and highly capable. My best friend from high school is making six figures, and he just bought his own home. I'm applying for a desk job at an open interview because I heard they're opening in town. On top of that, I'm actually nervous because I'm afraid I might not be qualified.

How would you describe my sense of humor, big guy?

I went with the truth and answered simply..."Dark".

I didn't get the job.

Star of Bethlehem and Mdm Fate

Okay, so I was sick. So sick I wasn't even able to get out of bed on Tuesday. Its the flu again and when it hits me, I get muscle cramps. Of the chronic kind. My doctor tells me its just my body telling me I'm healthy. I told him he needs to opt for a carrier change.

Worse, I get brain dead and bereft of all ideas when this happens to me. Hence the hiatus. I should have deserved at least two days off but one of my bosses from Malaya had to schedule a surprise visit to conduct an audit in my department this week. As I had expected, it didn't go too well but fuck all that. He tells me that the company is monitoring me very closely. The normal reaction that would have been expected of me was to sweat and piss in my pants. But if the company is monitoring me...closely...then that means....I'm famous now. Oh, well. Fuck that.

Heck, the whole week didn't go so well except for that trip I made to Sibu last weekend (I was still nursing a slight temperature after my trip to KK) where I was invited to a longhouse when something caught my discerning eye. A 1965 National vinyl turntable record player!!! Tucked in the corner of the bilik, it was covered with cobwebs and dusty. I unleashed my negotiation skills and charm and got into Denzel Washington mode in 'The Siege'. I enquired if it still worked and the owner said he didn't know and immediately asked if I wanted it. He wasn't selling and laughed insisting he was a man of good standing in the community and wouldn't dream of selling something broken to a nice person like me. I nodded and agreed and told him likewise, I was a person of good repute and insisted for a price. He relented for a while but later accepted a hundred. For good measure, he even threw in a few records. He said I needed it more then he did which was so very true. Some were broken at the edges. All classics and before my time - The Stylers, Titik Sandora, Agnes Chan. Once back home, I got it cleaned and polished, sourced the all important needle from an antique shop, hooked it up and it sprang to fucking life!!!

I also got myself a classic lapung gis or if you may, a Butterfly 828R pressure lantern from Lachau. When it comes to a classic, its got to be a Butterfly and nothing else. I remember as a little boy watching my grand dad lighting the thing back then. It was the highlight of my every evening. I'm still polishing my skills at doing it right.

This morning when I was just about to ride good 'ol Becca, I noticed a white star shaped flower growing from a crevice in one corner of the concrete fence. It was beautiful and I've never seen anything like it before so I took a photo of it. I then e-mailed it to a good botanist friend of mine who called to tell me what I have was a Star of Bethlehem or sometimes known as Madam Fate. And that she said there was no intrinsic beauty more profoundly evident compared to it. And ironically this beauty can only be found in cracks and crevices where nothing of beauty can survive. It survives in the most terrible conditions and as such has made the plant a symbol of strength and faith. Or so I was told today. I tell you, the petals are soooo white, its whiter than snow. Its just beautiful. One warning though, the sap is poisonous and if it gets into your eyes, you'll go blind.

That, I think is so cool.

Sick

I.AM.SICK.

Motorcycle Ghost

Last week proved to be a busy busy busy one due to some business that yours truly had to complete in Kota Kinabalu. I like the city. A bit chaotic and messy but at least they have Tiger served in most pubs. Bottled Tiger, that is. Folks up there prefer something else. I touched down at the airport in the evening and spared no time to look for a nice pub to unwind. The good Kadazan cab driver suggested 'The Upperstar' next to The Hyatt. It was perfect. The sea, the sun just about to go down in the horizon. So I took a table facing the sunset and ordered a jug. My good waiter, Malak looked at me and asked, "Do you mean a set, sir?". I smiled and remembered I was in KK. Here the amber coloured juice comes in sets. Not a jug.

Six hours and three sets later, two very nice Kadazan ladies took the table next to mine. They smiled, I smiled. And then we talked. The rest of my buddies came later who were coincidentally acquaintances of my two new found female companions and everything was fuzzy after that. I can't recall much of what happened now. I was helped...no. I was carried back to my room just before sunrise.

After returning to the homeland, I immediately succumbed to a lingering, nasty cold. It has left me dragging my sniffling, sneezing, achey ass thru the dismal return to daily life. I hate being sick like this but no problemo there.

All of the other participants of my excursion already conveyed the fun and friendship that I enjoyed and I have little else to add...except that it was these two Kadazan ladies...and it wasn't even sexual. Really. I can still hear them screaming, "Araaaammmaaaiii tttiiiiii!!!".

I spent the whole weekend slumped on the couch watching re runs and two movies.

A movie note...Ghost Rider contains some of the most awful dialogue and awkward overacting that I have ever witnessed on film. Still, the wonderfully realized special effects and overall look of the film made me overlook the glaring flaws. The people involved obviously loved the comic and that made me enjoy the film.

Araaaaammmmaaaaiiii ttttiiiiii!!!