Love Locks No More

City officials in Paris have dismantle the wire mesh panels on Pont des Art on which hundreds of thousands padlocks of expressed love and affections latched by lovers from all over. Authorities say these statements of love have gotten a tad too heavy for its elegant ironwork.

When we were in Paris a few years back, we didn't make it to this Bridge of Love. But we saw similar locks on Pont Alexandre III - the bridge that connects the Grand and Petit Palais on the right bank with the Hôtel des Invalides on the left bank. 

Pont Alexandre III

Padlocks found on the lamp post on Pont Alexandre III

I must agree that these love locks kinda spoil the beauty and ecstatic state of the place. Some have even labelled it as vandalism as it damages the looks of the city and at times tarnishing the image of its heritage sites.

  As a visitor we must think about being sympathetic and respectful of the country's cultural heritage....so "love locking" should be done else where or in a different way.

Jika Kau Bercinta Lagi

It was a popular hang out place for students after school; well at least for those who loved music - yours truly included. On days when I had extra classes, I'd gobble down lunch, the usual nyonya curry laksa as fast as I could. Once done, with my two best friends, we would happily walk out the school compound, cross the busy streets, braved the blazing afternoon sun to get to Kedai Music Harmony. Our SPM exam was only months away. There were loads of revisions to get started on and a quick escapade was extremely essential (for the soul...he he) before we loath ourselves with those we-cannot-relate-to-Physics/Chemistry/Bio-topics. Arghhh...torture!!

Had it been my choice, I would be the first to sign up to be in the Arts Stream. But at that time, Arts was a big no-no! Not when the teachers saw you as the “science material”.

Anyway, I digress. Now back to my main story....the music shop.

Ten minutes - that was enough lepak time we needed before we headed back to doing the laborious exam revisions. Once we walked into the shop, Benjy – this lower six guy who manned the music console would wave friendlily at us.

My usual greetings was, “Aihh...your Mama not here ah?”

He shook his head, signaling that the coast was clear for us to be up with our routine antics. Benjy always looked timid whenever his mama was around. He would keep his distance from us if she was in sight. We later knew reasons to his inconsistent hot and cold treatment towards us. Benjy was an orphan and he was adopted by the fierce nyonya boss.

“Lagu apa? Only five minutes ah.” shouted Benjy from behind the music console.

The multisonous Mandarin number easily drowned his voice. I winked at him and shouted back, “Ahhh...yang biasa lahh.”

Dee, my friend would give me a friendly punch and meekly say this to me, “Kau kawin je lah dengan Benjy ni. Asyik nak dengar lagu tu bila datang sini, bosan aku!!”

“Ishhh ada pulak kau ni. Kau ingat dia nak "potong" ker??!!” and we burst into loud laughter afterwards. Benjy would turn at us. I suspected he knew what caused us the chuckles. But he played along, such a spot that fella was.

Sal, the shy one amongst us was already cringing at one far corner in the shop. We always said that she'd one day marry an Ustaz and live in Egypt with her trailer of kids. Sal knew us too well to take our remarks to the heart. Her usual response was, “Tak baik kau orang. Buatnya aku kawin dengan si footballer tu...hah...kau orang sure jealous kan...”

“Tak habis-habis berangan kau ni, si footballer tu dah ada girlfriend lah,” I reminded Sal each time her fancies of the neighbouring all boys school lead striker went astray.

“Dah, dah, dengar je lah lagu yang kau suruh Benjy mainkan tu. Class is starting jap lagi and we better leave before Mak dia balik from lunch jap lagi.” A stern cry came from Dee and next came David and Loga's crispy clear voice from that Bose audio system.

“Jika kau bercinta lagiiiii.........”

Ahh...Alleycatssssssss......simply awesome, awe-inspiring and heart melting – always have been and always will be.

Sent from my iPad

Ten.Ten.Ten

Whenever these two numbers - "1" and "0" come together in close proximity, I am so, so reminded of the topic on matrix in row echelon form in linear algebra. The scary looking matrix looks something like this:

Uhhh....don't ask me how I survived this subject. Did it in two attempts - my first saw me chickening out when I dropped it halfway in the semester. I just couldn't make out what head or tail the old math professor was mumbling about during that ungodly 6.45pm class. Unfortunately there was no escaping that subject. I took it again the following semester. My luck was better as the instructor this young Jew chap was able to conduct the class in a more comprehensible manner.

101010 - looks like some binary codes too eh? In computing and telecommunication, binary codes are used for a variety of methods of encoding data. Interestingly enough, if you convert it to decimal; 101010 = 42.

So did anyone turn 42 on 101010?? Errr.... not anyone I know la pulak.

But who tied the know on this day kita semua tau lah dah kan....*wink*

Ramadhan Away

It was quite a challenge when one has to fast for longer than the usual plus minus 12 hours. That was how some of us felt during our first Ramadhan away from home. It was summer time - the days were longer thus making us fast longer too. I recall imsak was at 4.00am and iftar didn't come until the sun finally set at about 8.30pm.

Visit the flamingos at the zoo

We still puasa, of course. Went for our classes still, lepak and fed the ducks at the lake still , visit the zoo and there were also some crazy days when we woke up in the morning, collectively agreed to skip some of the boring Comp Sci or Statistics classes and went ronda-ronda at the mall till it was almost time for iftar.

Visit Six Flags Great America

It was the time yang when we couldn't fast tu was paling best. Selamba je queue for that milky yummy pistachio mint ice cream. Errr...bukan ada orang nak tangkap pun kan. Plus the closest Melayu could be like many, many blocks away from where we were.

Itu zaman dolu-dolu lah. Now rasa nya taubat tak buat dah kot!

Iftar dishes were simple - most of the time, we'd cook once we were done with classes for the day. Antara favourite dishes (coz itu je yang tau nak masak) were ayam masak merah, beef curry and mixed vege. When we had more time in our hands soto ayam and laksa would make their appearances on the table. Sahur pulak....ummpppp most of the time tak bangun or when we did it was just be toast, cereals and milk.

Our all so faithful - the push button phone

It was also during the Ramadhan when the heart yearns so badly to be with family back home. Malam-malam mula lah masing-masing pull the phone into the room and call home. After the call, there'd be a long silence.....then you'd hear the bathroom door close. Aihhhh....masing-masing dah banjir lah tu...he he :)

One of our ways of memujuk hati yang sayu was to make ourselves feel close to kampung. Berbuka in baju kurung lah....and paling tak boleh lupa was breaking fast with songs from our collection of recorded hits. Maka berkumandanglah Alleycats, M.Nasir, Roy & Fran just to mention the few. Out of the many, yang paling tak boleh lupa is this number.......

Ideal Sisters - Hanya Sekali

Melancholy on the Net

Uncle Google can surely do wonders to one who's melancholia and has been smoldering inside, dreaming of falling leaves, snow, and coffee sipping by the fireplace, and everything whatchamacallit associated to winter. It's the gloom and gray weather, I put the blame on. That lingering warmth from the tropical sun was no where endured; shying away, the sun hid behind the thick dark clouds.

Gray and gloomy KL sky

And today was no different. It was a little bright and sunny during first half of the morning. Later when the dark clouds rolled in by mid afternoon, Klang Valley saw sporadic rain all across town. The office is so cold that many seek comfort draping trendy Pashminas as wraps. Some one asked me if winter felt this cold. My reply was, "No...It’s colder." The poor thing must be thinking how one could survive in the wild winter of the West. Shaking her head in quandary, she slipped on her jacket, with hope that it would keep her warm for the remaining time at work.

So what does Uncle Google have to do with the rain, wet roads and cold office condition?? A whole lot to me actually. The looks of the skies outside remind me so much of my college days in this cold mid west city - Madison Wisconsin. It is as if I am transported back to the roaring 80s; that glorious era of Michael Jackson’s moon walk and glittering gloves (ahhh...mental note to myself: to go watch MJ’s This is IT movie before it disappears from cinema viewing)

My first apartment...Birge House on University Avenue
pic from Madison Campus & Downtown Living

How the living room looks now, very different compared to my tenancy days in 1982

Bucky is the official mascot of the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Browsing the Net, if not careful, one could easily get carried away. One site leads to another. From my old apartment building, I preceded with inquiries on Badger’s football results. Apparently, last week during their game with Michigan, Badgers had a victorious win – Badgers 45 and Michigan 24!! Yeah…Go Red...Go Bucky!!! This weekend will be an away game with Northwestern Wildcats. I wonder if college football is shown on ESPN, must go check…..

Next 5 days weather check - chilly and wet

Next were the campus pictures.

Aerial picture of UW campus

Bascom Hall is framed by a view of tree shadows and foliage changing colors on Bascom Hill during autumn.

Camp Randall arch walkway

Statue of Abraham Lincoln, picture perfect contrast in the gold autumn setting

Fallen leaves gather among bicycles parked at a bike rack.
All campus pictures from UW-Madison University Communications website

The Regent – place where we once called home.

But the most noteworthy search was this…

the Maroon colored 76 Oldsmobile Starfire – the car I shared with Jupe during my senior year in UW. Bought it for $600 from a graduate student who was leaving for home.

University of Wisconsin - Madison

I spent some time digging out old photo albums over the weekend. Nissa, Bibik and I were in chuckles when we flicked page after page the somewhat faded prints on Kodak paper. Nissa said I looked cute whilst Bibik who didn't want to offend her majikan said, "Ibuk kok masa itu kecil ya." (read: then kurus, now fat lorr). Later this evening, when Farah came back (from her visit to my Mom's), she helped to scan them. Did some photo editing using Photoscape (free tool downloadable on the Internet).

The administrative buiding on the Madison capitol hill

The main library, the main study area had lines of vending machines. Coffee, Snickers, M&M, take your pick. Favourite study place of Melayus doing their PhDs

The clock tower opposite the Social Science Building. A must photo stop site for new Melayus on campus, print fast and then send pics to proud parents back home.

The University Book Store..a place we'd always lepak, bukan sebab nak gi masuk bookstore tu..but sebab nak beli sweet & fresh nectarines from those fruit sellers

Red Gym, built in 1892 was a combination of gymnasium and armory. Also a place for students' registration at the start of the semester.


On the State Capitol area, Farmers' Market took place on Saturdays. Fresh fruits, bakery, honey and pickles...yummss!! And kids simply loved going on the horse carriage rides.

Where I stayed, a small studio unit on the second floor. This place was a real heaven, really quiet. I even slept through a tornado warning, the same tornado that swept the entire town of Barneville.

Collage football games on Saturday...Go Badgers!!

The marching band...roaring the "On, Wisconsin" fight song

The pretty, pretty cheer leaders...

1st down ...did we beat the visiting team?? Can't remember lah..One season Bagders played really well and qualified for the Independence Bowl. All time favourite quarter back was Randy Right.

Check out the pose people...maut!! It was no wonder the guys were calling us till the wee hours.

Ahhhh....the beauties and of course the BRAINS...wasn't easy doing a program in Computer Science in a Big Ten University.

These pictures were taken way back in 1982 - 1983, during my freshman semester at UW - Madison. Hence, that explains the rustic look of some of them. Nonetheless, enjoy them...as I stroll down memory lane.

Trick or Treat

It wasn’t till I set foot onto Uncle Sam’s land, the tradition of “trick-or-treating” became distinct to me. When I was in school, I remembered reading about it in magazines and I was pretty sure I had seen some horror movies of Halloween ghosts and what not’s on television. My memory is unable to back track so far off into the tele series in the late 70s and early 80s however. But I remember watching Laura Ingalls running around in the prairie with her little basket, off to the neighbors’ houses “trick-or-treating”.

And that was it with Halloween for me. What else could I expect of Halloween in the sleepy town like Seremban? Nak kena kejar dengan Pak Cik jemaah surau kalu berani nak carve pumpkin bagai!!!

I guess when you are 17 going on 18, there were loads of things you’d want to try our. Apalagi lah in this Uncle Sam’s land. In fact, that very same year was indeed the onset to a whole lot of new encounters, this small town girl was about to experience. New place, new culture, new friends and of course Halloween was another new thing as well. That October in 1982, I had my first “lemak-lemak labu” taste of this ghosts and spirits a plenty, community celebration a.k.a Halloween.

One of the first signs of Halloween is when the pumpkins start making their appearances on the door step. I thought to myself, “Rajin nye lah nak pi korek-korek labu tu and turn them into scary look a like creatures.” What a waste, Mat Salleh buat carvings hantu, and Melayu would have definitely turned it into masak lemak labu. East and west, a world of difference!!!

Okay what next, now that you have the pumpkin on the door step. Haa…time to go treat-or-tricking!! But before that must go get a costume. What shall it’d be? Frankenstein, ET, Darth Vader, take your pick. Well, just like the carvings I didn’t bother doing this ritual either. It was more for the children I must say. Going around all dressed up in costumes saying, “treat-or-trick”. Most doors they knock on would treat the children with candies and cookies rather than do a trick.

I went on my first Halloween so called party with this one senior guy (ehem..ehem..teka lah sapa??) We have been bumping into each other after our Anthropology class every Tuesdays. And later we were formally introduced at a friend’s makan-makan invitation.

The relationship had been casual, purely plutonic. If we happened to bump into each other oh well, we’d just smile and pass an exchange or two. We’ve gone to the library a couple of times together and being a gentleman he was, (masa tu lah…now, masih ka?? soalan cupumas tuh!! So, dah boleh guess sapa dia???) he had a few times walked me home.

State Street on normal days

That Halloween night we went to State Street were the party was. It was a cold night and the street was packed with crazy people dressed in all imaginable ghosts and funny looking costumes. I was somewhat confused as there were streams of people walking up and down. I wondered if they had an actual destination they were heading to. From a distant, I could hear music blasting. There was already a band playing. So we decided to hang out at the concert area for a while. The band played one song after another. Then it played this 60s number “Shout”, a catchy tune by the Temptations. And that song got the crowd on their feet!!! I remember the lyrics somewhat like this:

You know know you make me wanna
(Shout) Yeah, yeah
(Shout) Yeah, yeah, right
(Shout) All right, all right
(Shout) Come on now, come on now
(Shout) Yeah, yeah, yeah
(Shout) Come on now, hey, hey
(Shout) Alright now, yeah, yeah

Wah…ala-ala seronok gitu!! But the most funny thing was my senior was also moving to the steps of the song!! Hah..hah…tak ku sangka this engineering dude had some groove in him!! Ok, that got him scoring points in my books of liking, since I was also into dance and music. Ummppp…at the back of my mind, ader harapan nak ajak lepak-lepak listen to music lepas ni.

We stayed for a while at the concert area. The crowd began to swell and at one point it got pretty rowdy due to the madness in alcohol consumption. “Time to go”, my senior said to me and I followed him like a little lost cat.

The whole entire street was packed with people in costumes. Never have I seen people so absorbed in a celebration. Occasionally, we passed groups of students high from pot smoking. Ummpp…sekali dua bau smoke from their pot smoking tu did make me that little high, causing me to place one or two fuddled footsteps.


It was a good two hours we were at the party scene. We wanted to go grab something to eat, but the restaurants were packed. The line was long even for a mushroom slice pizza at our favourite pizza joint Rocky Rococo down on State Street. “Let's head back for home lah”, I said.

We walked home that night. It was a long walk back to my apartment and it was dead cold too. Halfway home, it started to snow lightly. Snow flurries fell and covered the ground like a fluffy white carpet. Ahhh…it was snowing, how beautiful (and romantic too!!). Surprisingly, it wasn’t as cold as how it felt earlier and the gush of fresh air was indeed making the walk a very pleasant one.

It was a good 30 minutes walk from State Street to my apartment in University Avenue. When we arrived, I contemplated if I should ask my senior up for some coffee as I wasn’t too sure if my roommate was home. But since it was still a long walk for him back to his place, I figured, one cup of hot coffee would not do any harm. Plus it was cold, there was nothing like a good cup of Folgers. So he was invited up. Normally, I’d have reservations about inviting guys up the apartment, but well, it wasn’t like I hadn’t gone out with him before. And he decided to be funny, there was always the vacuum cleaner or my thick calculus text book I could use to defend myself with. Hayooo…kalu kena ketuk dengan calculus text tu, mau jadi high, more high then the ganja smoking kat Halloween party tu..


One cup of coffee followed by the next one and later we stumbled upon a horror movie on television. My roommate later came back and some other friends had followed her up to our place too. In no time, we were already into out next pot of coffee. Then the frozen Pillsbury croissants went into the oven. Macam party lah pulak dah…

As the night was getting late and my senior and the other guests excused themselves, all geared up to venture the cold again, back to their respective apartments. I thanked my senior for being such a spot taking me to the Halloween party. After he left, I felt a funny feeling that something was brewing....ummpp…I wondered what it was!! (ehem..ehem….buat-buat innocent lah pulak!!)

Just as I was about to sneak under my comforter that night, the phone rang and my roommate said it was for me. Heh..heh…guess who was on the other line?? Siapa lagi if not my Halloween chaperone…..

Thank god for call waiting from Wisconsin Bell. Otherwise other callers would be guessing siapa lah yang bergayut till the wee hours that Halloween night.

And that was how it all began….

Summer of 83

The streak of hot and hazy days in the past week is indeed a test of one's determination at performing the fast. I drag having to go out at midday as it would be blazing hot and by the time I get back into the office, I’d usually end up with a splitting headache. It’s a wonder how those construction workers cope with the heat. I would have melted away in just minutes, that’s for sure.

Funny though, how the present differ from those days when I was a student. Being out in the sun was never a problem and didn’t have much effect on me. I could walk half of Seremban town and still had the energy to pay netball till late afternoon. In fact during my first year of studies in the States, fasting was observed during the hot summer days.

It was the summer of 1983, our first experience berpuasa di perantauan. Had mixed feelings actually and the “scary” fasting stories our seniors told us didn’t help much. The seniors told my friends and I that fasting was longer than back home. We wondered how it would feel fasting for more than 10 hours as Imsak was at 4.00 in the morning and iftaar was at 8.00pm. Fuhh….lamanya nak puasa tu, we thought to ourselves.

Lake Mendota Terrace...place where we lepak-ed a lot, fed the ducks, went boating and also "pak-taw" a lot here too :-)

Then when we actually started fasting, it didn’t feel as bad as how it was put to us. Tak terasa pun the long hours of fasting. Of course we had classes to attend since most of us were enrolled in summer school and masing-masing pulak took like the most number of credit hours we could (which could be a killer to the CGPA if you just bummed around and played Frisbee all summer long).

My summer time routine was class from morning till midday. Then I’d rush home on my bicycle to catch my favourite soap, General Hospital on tv. Lepas tu gi library and bila dah selesai with the assignment baru lah balik apartment and terkial-kial fikir nak masak apa for berbuka. On days when classes were not so mind boggling, ABE (who masa tu baru nak men-tackle I) and I would walk to the University Square and go watch an afternoon matinee. Jalan kaki tu…pulang balik like almost 2-3 km. There were also times when we would lepak by the lake and fed the ducks. Punyer lah so free and easy nya life back then. It was study, lepak, makan and study lagi.

Ice cream...the biggest temptation during the fasting

The average temperature during summer days in Madison, Wisconsin was 36˚C and at times it even went to as high as 40˚C. It was hot and dry and if we were not determined at fasting, mau hanyut. Nak-nak bila tengok most of the folks around us were merrily slurping away. Hai sabar je lah….

I must say that was a very memorable summer for my friends and I. Not only we became closer as roommates and friends, through the ups and downs of the summer days, but also experienced the toughest will power in upholding our faith and worship towards God Almighty.