The Night Before Independence Day!

Love Your Neighbour

It’s been mentioned ten times in the Bible about this & something that’s repeated so often must mean something. I used to have a problem with ‘loving my enemies’ because no one in their right mind can love someone they hate or strongly dislike/disapprove of. I must have been one sad person in the past because I had many enemies. Not those who would draw their swords & daggers on you, but those whom I’ve regrettably offended & hurt in my in-your-face statements. I may have been right at that time but it doesn’t excuse me from the wrong of destroying another person’s dignity, pride & personality. Loving my neighbour was easy, or so I thought…. B. had been my mentor & big brother-figure since I was 17 years old. He is 9 years my senior. He taught me things in business & the working world when nobody could be bothered. He also taught me about humanity & goodness. B. & his childhood friends were great pals who loved animals. There was a time when he & his best friend, M., had to ‘Jus’ (a challenge of hand signals) to determine who’s car to use to carry a maggot-infested wounded stray dog to the vet. 15 years on & they still have the dog. M. is now a successful entrepreneur yet he still managed to answer my calls of distress when we had to rescue a puppy in the monsoon drain in Subang Jaya where I had to abseil down the high walls to reach the site. Forty five minutes into the rescue & running 1 kilometre inside the drain later, the puppy was caught & was brought to a happier place. Knowing that we stood for a common cause gave me a lot of assurance in our friendship. When boyfriends are no longer there for me, they were. In fact, everyone I dated had to have the ‘seal of approval’ & they would make it known to me if they didn’t make the mark. They didn’t want me to get hurt by philandering lovers, promiscuous partners & such. There was a time when all B. heard from me was my heartache over boyfriend problems. In fact, there were three relationships in which I made B. my shoulder to cry on. For hours. To me, my problem seemed so great then. I had always thought that if I went to a mentor with my problems, he would be able to make me feel better. I didn’t want a solution, I wanted NOT to feel bad. His philosophies had lifted me beyond my heartaches & many a time, I would end the conversation in awe. He was my Bandaraya (town council’s rubbish collector). I grew up knowing a brother whom I never had. I never looked up to anyone this much. My dad loved him too. For a person of his stature, he’s already got it made, with an apartment at Bangsar, properties everywhere, a Mercedes Sports car among his other vehicles, a business with over a hundred employees, a life of revelry, women, fine wine & dining & charity work. What more could he want? He’s so giving & thoughtful that he doesn’t miss anyone’s birthday. All the while I thought he had a fantastic lifestyle. Then it came crashing down. His made wrong business decisions. He was in debt. He sold his properties including the apartment that he was dwelling in & all the furniture & appliances therein. He even had to sell all his clothes. He was hitting rock bottom & there was nothing I could do. He had to move into the place I shared with my girlfriend, who happens to be the girl he was going out with, for several months before he & his girlfriend rented a place of their own. For once, the tables were turned. He was way into depression & was on prescription at the time. As I spoke to him, I realised something I had missed all these years. As much as he had been my shoulder to cry on all these years, I haven’t been a single ounce of help to him at all. I was always the victim of circumstances & not wanting to take responsibility for my actions. In short, I was not tackling my problems at all because it became a vicious cycle that B. had to point out many times. I was so overwhelmed by my own preoccupation that I’d missed the opportunity to be a friend to the person who meant so much to me. Then I also realised that I don’t know him at all. There were so many things that he did that could never be out in the open & is now suffering the consequences. Things that shocked me beyond believe & I didn’t know what to say or do. His debts ran into millions to the point I questioned his morality. Although I was appalled at the things that he did, I still wanted to help him. There was nothing I can do to help apart from pray. He may have done wrong lawfully, but by harping at the problem of how he could have done this & that instead is POINTLESS. He needed to come to come to terms with God to seek for an answer that no man would be able to give. I just had to love the sinner, not his sins. For the first time, loving my neighbour was tested. I thought, how would I be able to love him as myself? He did so much that I despised. When I was down, he didn't judge me nor shun me. How do I begin to offer support so that he wouldn't slip further into depression that I would lose the only mentor to me? So I thought of being in his shoes & what he’d enjoy. I cooked them dinner! I made him feel accepted & let him know that I was praying for his situation. I ran his errands for him since both he & his girlfriend had to work long hours in the day to make another business work to pay off the debts. I basically did whatever I could to alleviate his problem. How did I manage to accept a person whom I so look up to, a person who’s ever ready to offer a hand in my problems, a person who embodied strength, confidence & humility(in some ways), a person with wisdom & knowledge of the world who fell from grace??? I extended the grace that I received from God to encompass him & his wrongdoings. I accepted humanity. He did that for me once upon a time. That's what I learnt from B., who was put in my path to teach me things that I would put into practice one day. He made me see what Jesus came to die for. You & me. …and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength." This is the first commandment. (Mark 12:30) And the second is like this: You shall love your neighbour as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these. (Mark 12:31) And the scribe said to Him, Right, Teacher, according to truth You have spoken, that God is one, and there is no other besides Him. (Mark 12:32) And to love Him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love the neighbour as himself, is more than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices. (Mark 12:33)

Thoughts Run Rife, So I Chase Butterflies...

I’m tucked under the comforts of my security blanket. One that’s bought in a pasar malam at Damansara Uptown. Thoughts run rife as I scamper to put a piece of story that would make a mark in the air on board all of MAS’ international fleet. Writer’s block? What a myth. This block comes from the refusal to write or the lethargy of penning down thoughts. I brought along my little notebook & pen but haven’t used it yet despite many reminders. What did it was when I was going down the hill for breakfast, I bumped into my chief editor, who happens to live on my block. I gave him a lift. He was concerned that he’s not seen me around nor my articles for some time & he wondered if I was ok. So I gave him my story & a promise to churn something up for next month’s publication. Now I’m fried. I haven’t thought of what angle to write for the lifestyle & travel articles yet. I had been too caught up in making myself feel good amidst the storm in my life that I had overlooked the stories I was suppose to work on. What to do. I’d been to FRIM & got rained out. So I thought of going to the world’s largest butterfly park at Lake Gardens instead. If you whip out your Malaysian ID., you would get the ‘local’s’ rate of RM5.00 entrance fee instead of paying the full tourists’ fare of RM15.00! Ah, being a Malaysian has its’ privileges! You don’t ask you don’t get. I paid an extra RM1.00 for my camera’s admission too. It has been a long time since I came here & this park has truly changed into something you wouldn’t want to miss. The foreigners were trickling in & somehow, photographers have an unwritten code of ethics that when you are on a subject, the next person would have to wait in line to take the shot. Language was no barrier for the Middle Eastern visitors while taking pictures as we were enthralled by the flitting butterflies even as we compose shots. As soon as they spot one, they would signal to me to take it & I would do likewise. It was like a universal code that photographers uphold anywhere! Butterflies seem to be dancing & fluttering around & around as they prepare to mate. All but a 7-day lifespan, so how exciting can it be for a butterfly if it doesn’t grow out of the cocoon & grow up quickly to find a mate? I actually wonder if I’ll ever get to see the rare ones again if the stupid butterfly decides to have a bad hair day & refuse to mate! Gosh, get a Panadol, butterfly, I want to see you again! I have to wait &; wait & wait for them to land & take a shot, sometimes hoping that they would stop fluttering when they feed. God is amazing. He puts butterflies in my path to let me learn that patience is not only a virtue but part of the FRUIT of the SPIRIT, Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Gentleness, Faith, Goodness, Meekness, Self Control. Galatians 5:22-23

The Bald & The Beautiful

Silhouette of Fern

A Day In FRIM

A Day In FRIM Moth On Display Mood... Framing the Flower..... Close-up of a tiny flower on a tree. Guess what compromising position I used for this hard-to-reach spot??? Then look at this 2cm moth that came a visit! Snow in FRIM?

Garden of Spiders, Superheroes & Salads Part 2

Dr. Luv is a saviour of sorts. From jungle plants salvaged from destruction of man to the creepy crawlies that are housed within those plants to monkeys shot by poachers & city bumpkins from eating a grasshopper alive. He was a man of dedication, to his love of nature & love of people. I was almost afraid of losing what I’d learnt when I began to converse with him in Japanese. I realised I had forgotten so much vocabulary that I had to think three times before I could form a sentence so we began to say words. He would teach & I would repeat. I told him our Japanese conversation over tea time would be perfect with Ubi Balls. “What?!?” he asked. “Umi balls?” “Ubi balls, doc, you must try those ubi balls!” I said in between, often getting distracted by the birds that visit his garden.

Rama Rama, the other magnanimous man who scaled Mount Everest, took me & 18 other Japanese folks for a reforestation exercise. Only this time, it was fertilising the planted trees that we had to do. Wow, no one told me I had to climb this Mount Brinchang to get to the site. And there I thought I was to trek into the jungle with all it’s creepy splendour……boy, was I mistaken. I huffed & puffed all the way up only to be greeted by lily fields. Totally unnatural. Apparently, a farmer illegally cleared acres of the jungle to make way for these lilies whose buds were highly sought after by Taiwanese & Japanese. In the heydays, it used to fetch RM30 per kg. REACH managed to report them, charge them in court (would you believe they were only fined RM500???) & wrestled the land back for reforestation. As a result, Rama Rama is constantly threatened. On my way down, someone had smashed the rear screen of his Land Rover parked at the foothill.Talk about being in constant battle.

Up Close With Butterfly in Mt. Brinchang

I asked Uncle George, a REACH volunteer who brought us there in his Toyota Unser, if he could stop by the market where I could get my Ubi Balls. The three Japanese participants hopped out with me to browse too. I bought three packs of ubi balls each for Uncle George, Dr. Luv & our ‘entourage.’ Oh boy, fried sweet potato balls taste great in cool weather! Once back at Dr. Luv’s garden, I set out to find stuff. His elderberry tree attracts all kinds of robins, bulbuls & parrots! The myriad of rare orchids are intertwined in his trees & hunting for them proved to be a great challenge. I would stumble upon spiders, caterpillars, aphids & ants with legs longer than my lashes. Knowing this, I presumed that no pesticides nor insecticides had been used so I asked him if I could eat the plants. Oh, everything looked delicious. Apple blossom, orange blossom, gardenia, nasturtiums…..nothing ever looked tastier!

Nasturtium Leaf

Nasturtium Flower

Was it the weather or just me? So after taking this shot, I ate it. The flower book says I can. I ate the flower too. Yummy. He decided to feed me before I decimated his garden. “Can I eat that, Doc?” At that point, I was about to pluck everything out until I saw Spiderman!!!

Spiderman

Spiderman's Sibling

Spiderman's Side Kick

Spiderman's Cousin

Spiderman's Predecessor!

He plucked some herbs out for me & I took some but just as I was about to chomp, a grasshopper flew out onto Doc’s arm! Eeewww! Thanks Doc! Maggots were bad enough, now grasshoppers too???

Hopper On Dr.'s Arm

I thought the orchids looked funny. They had ‘faces’ on them. With the top resembling the hood of Batman & the petals, the cape, I knew straight away that Dr. Luv is host to a great collection of Marvel characters in his garden!

Orange Batman Orchid

Red Batman Orchid

Purple Batman Orchid

Taking out a bottle of Chardonnay, we knocked on his neighbour’s house, who happens to be a Japanese by the way, to get some cheese! Before long, Fukiyasan took out the world’s best homemade marmalade from the oranges of his tree!!!!

Marmalade Complemented it with the most fantastic tasting plain yoghurt of all time. Having wine, Swiss Cheese, yoghurt & marmalade with butter shortbread outside in the open surrounded by flowers, trees & great company in 18 degrees weather is life. Knowing that in the highlands, the guardians who wage war against water polluters & farmers who rape the jungle, are the real superheroes whose extraordinary efforts deserve special mention.

Garden Of Booby Traps Part 1

Bamboo Shoot in Agent Bitten's Garden Agent Bitten epitomises the true man of the jungle, a walking encyclopaedia of jungle plants, flowers, animals & insects PLUS the inherent ability of getting bitten by lizards & snakes, stung by bees & attacked by squirrels that get personal. Oh yes. I had the privilege of being in his nursery of flora, fauna & fearsome dog, Brownie, which had ticks falling off him everywhere he went. I was told not to run or he'll bite. His huge garden was something I’d envision of keeping when I retire & as I treaded around for subjects to shoot, his deceptively well kept garden threatened to swallow city bumpkins like me, with foliage-covered holes & grooves that only Brownie could dodge. Shaken, but not stirred, I tried not to let my own scream prevent me from traversing further into the lush of the trees within. PINK GUAVAS! Hundreds of juicy, succulent, ripe pink guavas on the ground!!! Orchid in Agent Bitten's

“Can I pick up & eat???”

Agent Bitten replied, “No, you can’t eat those. The stupid squirrels had taken a bite off those & flung them to the ground. Pick them from the tree.”

(Huh? How do I pick them when they are sky high?)

With much pestering, Moggie plucked two off the tree using his tripod just so that he could get back to photo taking. I washed them in the nearby tap & do what any normal human being would do when they hold two juicy, pink guavas in their hand, chomp on it. AAAAAAAARRRRRGGGHHH……! The guava was spat out & the remaining fruit was flung towards Agent Bitten. Maggots. Pttooooi….blech...yuck. Another booby trap. Then Agent Bitten told me that I had to break the fruit apart to check first before I ate. Fine. I’m from the city, remember???

Blooms in Agent Bitten's We proceeded to pluck four more & every time I broke them, there were maggots!!! So I gave them to his pet monkey, Bobo, instead. Bobo was saved from poachers that shot her & Dr. Luv & Agent Bitten nursed it to adulthood. Hmmm..... Cacti in Agent Bitten's He showed us orchids, pitcher plants & fly traps that he’d cultivated & salvaged from the jungle. As we trotted into the nursery, we had an avalanche of pink guavas, pelted at us, apparently by the squirrel aiming at Brownie, avenging the murder of another squirrel. I felt as if we were engaging in battle with invisible enemies, though we can't really fight back, because they are obviously smarter than city bumpkins. The whole place is a trap! Fiery Orchid Truce! I only came to shoot plants, not to get involved with territorial supremacy wars. Where in the world would you get this kind of animal vs human action if at all, it should happen? Right here in Cameron Highlands, where the community never sleeps. REACH, a community based organisation with likeminded volunteers, are set to blow your mind away with their lives, their causes & the place where they live in. Plenty Of Life In Agent Bitten's Sundew - This carnivorous plant is only about 4cm in diameter & traps flies/insects with the dewlike sticky substance on its spatulas. Scientific name is Drocella spatulata.

Tiny Flowers

Food For Hopper

The Sun Will Not Set Till We Meet Again