Racism: Is it the legacy we want to pass on to our children?

This Ramadhan has been an eventful month in Malaysia. In a pretty negative way. This post is a little something inspired by a lot of disturbing news recently in Malaysia, namely what appeared in today's headline in FMT, the now infamous canteen issue where concerns over children's health somehow snowballed into a racist issue.

Every Malaysian wants to see their country progress, and our children growing up in a happy and healthy environment. But instead of working together, some people are tearing each other apart over issues that can be easily resolved, if we only practiced the patience and humility which all religion teaches. 

Few days ago, this young girl living down my street was running around on the road by herself looking for her kitten. She had lost another kitten few months ago, and I asked why she doesn't have a cage. She said coz' her mother cannot afford it. So I took her to the pet store nearby and bought her one, and she was so happy. It didn't matter to me that she was a Malay, and I don't know why it should. She's just a child that shouldn't be on the road by herself looking for a kitten because it's dangerous. Yet to some people, the welfare of children seems less important than than upholding the 'superiority' of their race or religion. And through their thoughtless actions, they create a generation of children that learn that it's ok to hate people who are different from them.

I appreciate the Indian family on the next street that helps walk my dog when I'm away. And I have no problem when my Muslim colleague in Indonesia performs her prayers in my presense when we share the room. Isn't that the way it should be? Why assume all people of another race are dangerous or get so easily offended?

There is no pride in what I'm sharing. I'm not an exceptionally great person. I'm just doing what I think everyone should normally be doing, but it doesn't seem to be the case. All I can hope for is that the little girl and all children in this country grow up knowing that people of all races and religion can enjoy living together and we can enjoy authentic nasi lemak, char kuey teow and roti canai on the same day if we wanted to. Even though that last part is probably not very good for your health, but we can!

Racism: Is it the legacy we want to pass on to our children?

The great LG washer deal from Aeon that wasn't

So it's been 9 months now since I moved out from home and renting my own cozy place all to myself and my furkid, with a spare room that was not utilized because I needed a lot of 'me' time and was not up for having to deal with the potential headaches that would come from having a housemate. I finally got round to looking for a housemate, which also meant I had to get myself a washing machine because apparently a great deal of people are appalled at the idea of hand washing their clothes all the time, as was what I was doing for 9 months. Not that I couldn't have gotten one earlier, but I wasn't sure how long I was going to stay here and was hoping to buy a place then only get all the fancy smancy stuff like washers so I didn't have to transport so much stuff. As it turns out, I like living in my crappy old rented house a lot more than I expected, and house hunting is not quite working out. Plus I've had more than enough 'me' time, and am now ready to deal with the challenges of living with a stranger.

So officially the new housemate moves in 1st of August, and in preparation I was looking around for a washer for a few weeks, coz' I'm a typical female that likes looking all over the place for the best deal, although I'm atypical in that I don't get easily distracted while shopping. Last week, I decided to settle for an LG washing machine from AEON at Sunway Pyramid, which was an 8.5 kg washer for about RM700. Normal prices for a washer that size can go up to RM1000 or more, so the reason why I got it so cheap is coz' it was a display set. I figured, if all it's been doing is sitting there for people to look at it, and hasn't actually been used, shouldn't be any problem.

Well, didn't quite turn out that way. The first problem was when the unit was delivered a few days after I ordered it, the machine came without any piping or a manual. So essentially I had a big piece of useless metal sitting next to a water tap and no way to connect them. As much as I would have liked to rant to the delivery boys, I know it wasn't their fault since their job is to deliver, not pack the unit. So I had to scoot all the way back to AEON at Pyramid (which made me happy that I was wise to buy from a nearby location) to make a fuss, and eventually after waiting a while and 2 failed rounds of Candy Crush Saga, they gave me the piping. But still no manual, coz' apparently the manual of the display set magically disappeared. But well, I thought, how hard can it be to figure out what the buttons mean?

So after going home and fitting the piping, I gave the baby a spin (literally) to test it out. Water was going in normally and everything seemed fine until the point when it started spining. And after one round of spinning, it would stop and make weird beeping noises, and display the LED message 'dE'. And of course, without a manual, I had no way of understanding what that strange alien code was.

 

"Decipher this, human imbecile!!"

Luckily thanks to the wonderful world of internet and Google, I managed to download the manual online and check what the mysterious alien code was. And apparently it was an error that the washer lid was open. Which was impossible coz' I had kept the lid closed at all times while testing. Which could only mean that all those days of being on display did have an effect after all, i.e. the lid mechanism went bonkers from too many people opening and closing the darn thing. Which goes to show that good old non-electronic washers are the better way to go. At least the electronics don't get all confused by something as silly as being unable to detect a closed lid. Damn you, electronic mechanisms that are supposed to make life easier but don't!

I suppose this should be a lesson to me for trying to be too cheap. And if that wasn't bad enough, my new housemate told me today he just wants to stay for one month now coz' he realized the room is too small and apparently he has 3 tables he need to fit in there along with all his other stuff. 3 tables? WTH does one person need 3 tables?

LG and AEON, you will be heating from yours truly very very soon. 

The great LG washer deal from Aeon that wasn't

Minion madness inspired artwork

Malaysians love lining up for hours to get cute little free toys from McDonalds', the latest craze being for minions (them supposedly evil yet super cute gibberish speaking fella from 'Despicable Me'). I've never understood why people do this. But at least it was inspiration for my latest piece of art. And trust me, I don't draw very often.

Minion madness inspired artwork