Goodbye, 2020

2020. 365 days of it. Wandering here, wandering there. Meeting this fella, meeting that fella. Do this, do that. There's just so many things to do throughout the year. I have to. I need to participate in Life. I wouldn't want to miss living my Life and letting Life slip past me. Every day I'm living, I'm grateful for the opportunity to continue enjoying Life. And therefore, I will participate in all that Life has to offer, within my capability and ability.

January : And so the activities for the year began with me volunteering to distribute oranges to the community, representing Pakatan Harapan before it fell to the traitors. Never done this before in my life. Meeting strangers and giving them packets of oranges. One resident returned a packet to me. Interesting experience. But no worries. Kept on distributing to the rest of the folks who were just happy that they were remembered during the festivities. Bringing joy to others, brings joy to the soul.

February : Contacted by Alexander Yeoh, a fellow resident, inviting to join a bike group which he created. Why not? We have a common cause, which is to roll the wheels on the road. And so, Ronin group, I joined. Earned my patch after the third group ride with them, awarded at the cafe at Gohtong Jaya. Welcome to the team! A mix of personalities, this group, as is every other group. Good to know you all. It was fun. I've always enjoyed the exchange of Life's experiences.

March : After the traitors caused the fall of the Pakatan Harapan government, COVID-19 decided to drop by and caused the entire country to be on stand down. It was an event that no one was trained for and it affected the entire world. Borders were closed, Movement Control Orders were implemented. Among the chaos, community work still proceeds. And meeting the Councillors and related people to resolve issues, is an exciting experience for me. Carpe diem!

April : The country had to prevent the pandemic from spreading further. We were forced to stay home, going out only to buy food. Only one representative from each family was allowed to leave the house. Many of us had to work from home, a very alien work culture to many of us. Having to face the computer at home, pretending to work (Oops!) because there's no way the office is able to keep track of employees. But don't worry. I did my share of work at home and supported the factory's operations. So, there's no photos to represent this lock-down stage.

May : Since I had a little more time at home and was approached on social media, I got involved in Network Marketing. The almost infinite online meetings and trainings via Zoom 4 times a week really made me wonder whether I'm made for this. And the work to expand the network, kept me really busy. Lasted till August where I decided I'll get my life back and so that's it. My friend, Lawrence Low, was appointed the Chairman of Port Klang Free Zone. A congratulatory note was sent on the appointment. A friend of 16 years and the friendship continues. Relationships needs constant effort and this, I've no trouble with. I'm grateful to have many friends around me. I appreciate the good Life I have.

June : Always eager to try out new foodie outlets, we found ourselves driving to Tanjung Malim to seek out Mani-Thai Restaurant. As the name suggests, it offer excellent Thai cuisine and for those who intend to stay back, rooms are available for rent. A friend invited to participated in an online interview on FB Live. I took the challenge and shared my passion - photography. There's no rehearsal, just to sort out the photos and just talk with him online. No time for nervous breakdown or anything of that sort. Just Do It!

July : The annual Penang trip was calling and so, a trip was planned. This ferry ride turned out to be my final journey with the car. My trips to Penang always has to meet this condition - one ferry ride, one bridge drive. From 1.1.21, the ferry will only carry motorcyclists and pedestrians. I've no regrets. Also joined Earth Warriors to collect rubbish at the local lake, an activity carried out fortnightly on Sundays. Glad to be able to do my part to keep the place clean.

August : There's two trips this month. Once, to Malacca where I visited my auntie who sells the popular cockles at Jalan Bunga Raya, Malacca. You should go experience sitting at the low tables, enjoying the boiled cockles, BBQ squid and sotong kangkung. Next, we drove up to Kuantan, Pahang. First time entering the mine and appreciating the cool and damp tunnel passages which extends to a couple of hundred meters underground.

September : My birthday month. An invite from the councillor to participate in the free drone sharing workshop at the lake. Met up with a fellow resident (have you noticed that I've been meeting people since the beginning of this year?), who shares the same interest - photography. I was in two minds about getting a drone (it costs about RM2,200 for a branded unit) and not sure whether I'd use it to its fullest potential, so gave it a skip. Need a video camera more than a drone, me thinks.

October : Now, how else could I advertise my personal brand other that Instagram? Aha! Why not print and display the brand on the car? And so, I spent about RM50.00 to print the text and photo labels to be pasted onto the car. It's always exciting to work on my personal branding although I don't have any products to sell. Satisfying to expand creativity this way. What else will I do? Not sure yet but surely, there'll be something coming up soon.

November : Heard about this senior pilot who was laid off from MAS and after a few months resting, decided to open a curry laksa stall in USJ. So, this calls for a trip to meet him up and he turns out to be a humble and cheerful chap. This is also a month where I purchased a webcam and started to speak on FB Live and also had fun with Youtube. The punching video with my son garnered 10,000 likes in 2 days. Wonder what the viewers saw in the video. The sound from the punching, perhaps?

December : The close of the year. A drive to Malacca to send parents home as the inter-state travel was permitted. Tried out a foodie location at Rembau where they served good daging salai masak lemak, a local delicacy. Come Christmas, we were hidden away in a resort deep in the jungle where the smartphone was rendered useless as there's no phone signal but we were saved by the free Wi-fi service provided. 3 days after that, the final activity of the year had to be this scrambler ride at Moto Maniac, Gamuda Cove. The son who had just learnt how to cycle in July, is now able to handle a motorised 2 wheeler. Amazing fast learning, this chap. With that, the year 2020 comes to a close and I am excited to anticipate new adventures in 2021!

Meet Adrian Chin, Penang Best Coffee (PBC) Owner

We-fie with Fahmi Fadzil, MP for Pantai Dalam

Make New Group Of Friends During A Training

Attending First Political Party AGM

Collecting Rubbish With The Earth Warriors

Posing In Sungai Lembing Mining Cave, Kuantan

New Friend Who Collects Old Bicycles

Sharing Foodie Opinion With Tung Tung Eatery Owner

Joining The Councillor During Flood Inspection

Supporting & Promoting Local Small Business Owner

Movement Control Order (18.3.20 - 9.6.20)

It was the 8th of March, 2020 and as usual, the weekend calls for a family outing. The destination this weekend is the Titiwangsa Lake. It must've been a year and a half since we last set foot here after the phased closure of the city park for renovation and upgrading works. The result is fantastic, to say the least. With separate paths for cyclists and pedestrians, the entire area is fenced up now. The most outstanding feature has to be this misty canopy walk. This outing turn out to be our final family outing in the city before we were confined to our home.

On 15th March, we made it a point to walk around the community lake to generate appetite for dinner. There were also a few other residents who were still hanging around. As the sun set and nightfall fell, it was an ominous sign that our lives would be changed, well at least for the next few months. The Movement Control Order was extended in 5 phases, the final being the period 13.5.20 - 9.6.20. During this phase, we have more freedom to move around, albeit still in a restricted way.

Working from home (WFH) may seem like a good proposition to stay employed or is it? Having no experience of WFH, it was certainly an experience in itself. There's many distractions around the house. Besides replying to e-mails, I took the opportunity to complete the online training subjects available on the company website and chalk up the training hours. It's quite stressful to plan out activities that would keep me on my feet as if I'm in the factory.

If work life is so flexible at home, what can i do during the weekends? Well, this garden refurbishment project was accomplished over 3 days. Plucking the weeds and unwanted labyrinth of tiny roots across the lawn, re-arranging the flower pots and laying out the new bed of river pebbles that will form the new focus point for the garden. 4 hour sessions daily and on the 3rd day, I'm very satisfied with the 'new' garden. This garden project ends at least 5 years of procastination!

During the MCO, most of us are wary of going out for fear of contracting the virus in public areas. So, many would choose to cook at home, at least one meal. Every day, the 3 of us would automatically gather in the kitchen at about 1830 hrs and work together to prepare dinner. My task would be to chop garlic, onions and vegetable. Daughter would help out with the vegetables too. She's also the oven chef now. Wifey would be the dish creator and through her, we had many delicious dinners together. 

Before I discovered free internet movies, I would usually finish night time watching tv serials, from 2030 - 2230 hrs. Experimenting with knowledge gained from the internet, and luckily for that, I had a food project which is to serve pineapple in a different method. Slice the fruit diagonally across its natural lines instead of wasting time cutting the skin that we usually do. After a friend shared links to free movies, I've never turned back since. It's movie night every day and at least 3 movies daily over the weekend and public holiday.

I'm lucky to have a lot of memories recorded in photos. Started from my mother who makes it a point to take photos every now and then, especially our birthdays. I would never have been able to look back at my childhood days otherwise. And the habit continues with me, having being bitten by the photography bug since the age of 20, where I had my first RICOH film based camera. This photo was scanned from printed photos. To keep myself occupied during the MCO, I've been scanning old photos and now at Album # 29 and many more to be done. In the process, I glance back at times past and rekindling memories of loved ones who have left the family into the netherworld. I had my first digital camera in 2003, as a farewell gift when I left Singapore to settle down in Malaysia, my birth coountry. There's more new memories to be created and as thehapiwanderer, I'll make sure of it.

Besides photography, riding motorcycle is another past time of mine. After owning the Yamaha FZ150i for 4 years, my current ride since last year is the Yamaha Mt-09. During the MCO, there's plenty of roadblocks everywhere. So, travel is limited. However, as the number of cases reduce, the control has been relaxed and we're able to travel beyond the 10 km limit. Therefore, it's an opportune time to continue my hobby of riding. And today found my in this fishing village located at Pulau Indah, Selangor. It's good to smell the sea again. The air is now more fresh with less pollution. Hope earth will be revived during the pandemic as industrial activities are reduced. The new normal will be the wearing of masks, social distancing and focus on hand hygiene. Thank you, COVID-19!

MCO Phase 1 : 18.3.20 - 31.3.20
MCO Phase 2 : 1.4.20 - 14.4.20
MCO Phase 3 : 15.4.20 - 28.4.20
MCO Phase 4 : 29.4.20 - 12.5.20
MCO Phase 5 : 12.5.20 - 9.6.20