Snow Tales

At Brother Faisal's house.

Yesterday my daughter reminded me about the promise that I made, to tell her about my visit to Disneyland in Los Angeles during my time in the US. However, I  made a suggestion to her  to tell about my snow experience instead. She agreed.  Here goes the story…..

I and a few other friends took a flight aboard the British Airways from Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah International  Airport in Subang  , some time in late October  1980. We were on the way to further our studies in the United States. The plane stopped in Bahrain for some time, probably for refueling. Then we were on the way  to Heathrow International  Airport in London. I started to feel home sick already. I remember the stewardess who noticed that i never ate anything during the flight. She tried very hard to persuade me to eat  . I just ignored her.  Wow, that was bad of me.

The first time i saw snow or rather snow flurries, was in London Heathrow Airport . That transit stop from Bahrain was good enough for me to rest . My friends seemed to enjoy themselves.  The flight on board the British Airways was tiring. It was tiring not because i did not sleep but rather i did not eat anything. The seats were empty. I could sleep anywhere i wanted.  That was the first time i traveled by plane.

From Heathrow Airport, we took a connecting flight aboard the Transworld  Airline or TWA to the Land of Opportunities ( That was what people said ). The flight went across the Atlantic Ocean to Chicago International Airport in Illinois. I was surprised to see the airport was so busy even in the 80’s. I could see the planes waiting to take off the same like the cars lining up at the traffic lights ( during red light ). From Chicago, we took a flight in a small plane to Galesburg, a place further south. We arrived there around midnight. There, waiting were Mr Conger, the Western Illinois University International Student officer and Noesret Khan, a Malaysian student.

Tannel Hall on the right

The weather was cold but there was no falling snow. I think at that time, it was almost end of Fall season. So snow should have been around the corner. My feeling ? I felt like i was lost somewhere in a strange place on this earth. One day ago I was still walking under the sun in Cheras Baru at my cousin’s house.  They took us in a van to the campus of Western Illinois University in Macomb. We had to stay temporarily at the Co-ed dormitory , the Tanner Hall. The funny thing is, we had to stay on the women side at 10^th floor. It was quite troublesome for us to come down and to go up the floor especially in the elevator at night. We were always subjected to questions by the Residence assistants. What were we doing on this side of the hall at this time? We said, “ we are your hall mates ”.

Tanner Hall room at 10th Floor

Suddenly my daughter said, “ so when are you going to tell me about snow? “.  I smiled at her and once again, here goes my story……

 My first snow experience in the US was during one weekend. I slept at brother Fisal’s house. About 1 am in the morning when every body was sleeping, as i was lying on the sofa in the living room, i could see something white coming down the sky through the window . Yes it was cold as the heater was only in the bedrooms. I wished I could sleep in a warmer place. I was so excited that i quickly ran to the window. I said to myself., “ Yes Yes, Finally “. I went out and played with snow. I made so much noise that i woke up the neighbours. Yes, i was crazy but hey, who cares.

I spent only one year at Western Illinois University in Macomb.  Of course I travelled a lot during winter holidays especially to northern parts of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Michigan. After that I continued my studies in San Francisco, California. There was no snow in the Bay Areas.  The weather was warm and cool in the bay areas. I told my daughter that if I wanted to see snow, I had to go up the mountain of Sierra Nevada. I had a friend who studied at the University of Reno , Nevada. Sierra Nevada was a very beautiful place.

Donna Summit at Sierra Nevada

Snow at Sierra Nevada

One day during university break, my friends and I decided to drive all the way to Illinois to meet old friends.

Oklahoma

Salt Lake City, Utah

Universal Studio in the 80s

Universal Studio in 1984

My 8-year old daughter asked me what was Universal Studio look like during my time in the US? I said i do not know how it look like now but i could share my wonderful time that i had during my visit to the Universal Studio in 1984.  First,  my friends and i decided to drive down to Los Angeles from San Francisco Bay Area, Vallejo to be exact which was about 350 miles or 560 km south ( in US , mile was used instead of km ). I said the distance is slightly further away than the distance to your grandma’s house in Marang, Terengganu from Kuala Lumpur. We decided to stay at a friend’s house in Los Angeles. He studied at Northtrop University in Inglewood. He actually had a plan for us to tour the Los Angeles area which included a visit to the Universal Studio.

At a friend's house in Inglewood, California

I showed her the above picture and my friend is the tall one on the right. She stared at the picture. Probably she was looking for me in the picture. Suddenly she smiled and said , ” You are the one with the jacket on the left. I said yes you are right. Then she said, ” who is that sitting with no cloth on but only wearing a sarung ?, isn’t it cold in the US ? “. I laughed and confirmed it was me on the left playing harmonica and Los Angeles was not that cold. The one who is sitting with no cloth on, is my friend’s housemate. According to my friend, this guy was a computer genius. His room was full with old computers and he was once warned by the university for creating havoc in the university computer system. Probably he could be a computer hacker by now, i said with a smile. I told my daughter that at that time in the 80′s , there was no internet even though computer system was far far advance in the US than in Malaysia.

Lifting a truck

I visited Universal Studio with a group of friends from the Northtrop University. We took a tram tour ride but after a short while, the tram stopped so that we could see part of the filming of Starsky and Hutch, one of the famous tv series. Then we went through a few houses built on hydraulic system used for the movie Earthquake. Then the tram went to the Star Wars show area. The tram also went through the place copied from the scene of the movie  JAWS . That was scary when suddenly a huge shark appeared by the side of the tram but i managed to snap a picture.

Big shark

I told her that my friend and i finally captured that shark

The Shark was captured

I was hoping she did not ask about Disneyland but  she did anyway. Then she said there is one in Hong Kong now and it is not that far away. I told her i will share about my trip to Disneyland next time. She agreed !!!

Water Theme Park in the East Coast

Bukit Gambang Resort City

She has been to some water theme parks . She said this time she wanted to try a new one. I just kept quiet. I was not sure whether she knew of the one in the East Coast ( well, not too East Coast really, just two and half hour drive from Kuala Lumpur ).  It started when we were watching a documentary about California on  TV one night. I was telling her about my time in California. I visited the Six Flags Marine World Africa USA in Redwood City. I had fun at the Fishermen Wharf. I followed my surfer friend and his abalone fishing trip. Suddenly  i saw the starry glow in her eyes. She asked a lot of questions . Too many that i agreed to take her to the water theme park anywhere she wanted. Then suddenly, i heard a voice from the kitchen. It was her sister’s voice. She said something about a new water theme park in the East Coast. And that was it. We were heading to the East Coast. I was worried about the weather. The East Coast had been hit by heavy rain and flash flood recently.

Waiting for the tickets

We were there on Christmas Holiday. There were so many people near and far. We had to wait for a long time to buy tickets.

Water Girl

We arrived there almost in the evening and quickly settled into the family suite. I told her that the trip to the water park would only be the next day. She was too excited and could not wait for that time to come.  So in order to stabilise her anxiety , we agreed to spend time at the amusement park.

Amusement Park

The trip was fun and the children enjoyed very much!!

 

 

2011 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 5,700 times in 2011. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 5 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

Little Korean Girl in Malaysia

Aisya in Hanbok dress

I never paid too much attention to Korean TV sitcoms until when my wife and the children ( girls only ) started to plead with me to switch the tv channel. Even though they understood very well the unwritten rule that when the time for me to watch live BPL football game in HD on the main tv set, they should move upstairs and let me have the set on the ground floor. But now, i am very soft on that rule and lately i could say that i gave away most of the time. Well i can say that i did join them to watch sitcom like ” Secret Garden “, ” Coffee Prince ” and the recent concluded sitcom of ” The New Gaiseng Stories “. I think it was OK. One thing is that they don’t like K-Pop . They watch Star King with Ho Dong as the main star. One day, Aisya’s family decided to go to Korea for a vacation. And here we are, we have that ” Little Korean Girl in Malaysia”

Aisya in Traditional Korean Dress

Little Aisya we love you !!!

Liverpool FC visited Malaysia

Liverpool FC vs Malaysia

The first time i saw a live football match on tv involving Liverpool FC was the 1977 European Cup Final against Borussia Monchengladbach of Germany on 25 May 1977 at the  Stadio Olimpico in Rome , Italy. That was the first time Liverpool won the cup. Among the key players were the England goal keeper Ray Clemence, Emlyn Hughes, Kevin Keegan and Terry Mc Dermott. Berti Vogts was the star player for Borussia Monchengladbach. I thought Liverpool was a great team and started to develop the interest to become a fan. They won the cup four more times and the last one was in 2005 final against AC Milan in Istanbul , Turkey. That was the greatest come back game for Liverpool. Anyway, the name was changed to the UEFA Champions League.  The 2005 final was the sixth final for Liverpool after they were banned from the competition for some time after the Heysel Stadium disaster in 1985 when Liverpool lost to Juventus 1-0. I missed watching a lot of Liverpool games on tv during my 5-year studies in the US. No English Premier League games shown on tv in the US during that time. Only some games from the German Bundesliga. I played soccer for the university and there was one friendly game against a young team from Liverpool. Our coach was from Liverpool ( Not Liverpool FC   ). He managed to get  the friendly game against that team from Liverpool and we were soundly beaten 7-1.

My twins, big fans of Liverpool FC and Manchester United FC

I have twin boys who love football. However, they support different teams. The one who plays football supports Liverpool FC and the other one supports Manchester United FC. Every Saturday night, we will be watching live English Premier League matches on tv. July 2011 was the month of premier league football in Malaysia. Three giant premier league teams visited Malaysia for friendly matches as part of their Asian Tours. Of course my twins were very excited about it. I too was happy but i kept low profile and just kept quiet   .  Tickets were sold like hot cakes and i only managed to get less favorable seats only. Arsenal was the first to arrive and they beat the Malaysian team 4-0 on 14th July.

Bukit Jalil National Stadium

The Liverpool and Malaysia match was on 16th July 2011 at 5.45 pm . As i had some work to do in the office, we left home quite late. When we arrived at the stadium, the road was jammed. Police were controlling the traffic but we were stucked in the jam. We had to park quite far from the stadium and had to walk around the park for about 500 meters. We could hear the noise from the stadium. We were 30 minutes late and Liverpool were leading 1-0 from the penalty kick converted by the new Liverpool signing, Charlie Adam. When we entered the stadium, all the seats were taken. We had to go upstairs and climbed down looking for empty seats. Luckily we found a few . The atmosphere was deafening and we could see a sea of red-shirted Liverpool fans. It could be well over 85,000 of them.

90,000 strong Red-shirted Liverpool fans

The first half game was very entertaining with the fans kept on cheering Liverpool and Malaysia.

A beautifully taken free kick goal against Liverpool

Malaysia was given a free kick just outside the penalty box.  I was holding a camera and my twin told me to get ready to take a camera shot as the Malaysian captain, Shafiq Rahim was preparing to take the free kick. He said he could guarantee Shafiq would score. True enough, Shafiq scored a beautiful free kick goal. The score remained 1-1 at half time.

Dreaming to play for Liverpool FC

In the second half, Liverpool added 3 more goals and the Malaysian side replied with 2 goals. The score was 4-3. The referee gave 4 minutes extra time and when Malaysian fans thought the score would stay, Liverpool scored 2 more goals in the added time . It was worth an effort to watch the game. The KOPS never walk alone !!!

The 9th China ( Luohe ) International Food Expo 2011

Malaysian Pavilion

The Fonz participated in the 9^th China ( Luohe ) International Food Expo 2011 in Henan Province, Central Plain, China. The expo was officially held from 15^th to 18^th of May 2011. The Malaysian delegation was headed and jointly organized by the Northern Corridor Economic Region ( NCER ) Malaysia, Penang Port Commission, D’nonce  and Halal Development Corporation ( HDC ). There was a big Malaysian Pavilion at the expo. About 30 Malaysian companies took part in the expo. Most of them are from the North. Luohe is a city in Henan Province of North Central China.  The name Luohe as told by a friend there, is actually a new defined name meaning seafood. Luohe is famous for food

Opening Day

Henan has seen rapid development in its economy over the past two decades, and its economy has expanded at an even faster rate than the national average of 10%. This rapid growth has transformed Henan from one of the poorest provinces to one that matches other central provinces, though still relatively impoverished on a national scale. In 2009, Henan’s nominal GDP was 2.29 trillion RMB (US$339 billion), making it the fifth largest economy in China, although it rank nineteen in terms of GDP per capita. Henan is a semi-industrialized economy with an underdeveloped service sector. In 2009, Henan’s primary, secondary, and tertiary industries were worth 277 billion RMB (US$40 billion), 1.097 trillion RMB (US$160 billion), and 563 billion RMB (US$82 billion), respectively. Agriculture has traditionally been a pillar of its economy, with the nation’s highest wheat and sesame output and second highest rice output, earning its reputation as the breadbasket of China. Henan is also an important producer of beef, cotton, maize,  and corn. It is said that 90% of Chinese McDonald’s and KFC ingredients comes from Henan.

ZhengZhou Airport

The last time the Fonz visited China was in 2006 ( Shanghai areas ). This time, the Fonz was told that the weather would be hot in the afternoon around 36 celcius but cooler in the morning and evening. The Fonz and partner took a flight on Southern China Airlines from Kuala Lumpur International Airport to GuangZhou Baiyun International Airport on Saturday 14^th May. The 4-hour flight was ok  . Then we took a 2-hour flight to ZhengZhou International Airport, Henan Province. From the ZhengZhou International Airport, we were picked-up by coaches provided the Government of Luohe to JingYue Hotel in Luohe City. The 2-hour ride on the high way made me remember the state of Kedah in Malaysia. The only difference is in Kedah, we can see paddy plants  along the high way but in Henan, we can see wheat. Our group of about 80 entrepreuners and staff were treated with Central China dishes after we arrived at the hotel. The hotel was run by a Chinese Muslim. Most of us went to sleep early that night. And, most of us were given a shock the next morning. When we woke up, the sun was shining. We thought we over slept but when we looked at the time, it was only 5.50 am. We were used to the full morning sunshine at 7.30 am in Malaysia. We spent most of Sunday preparing the booths. Many things were  not yet in order. The day was hot and dry.

Waiting for the bus at Hotel Lobby

Many of us could not speak Chinese but fortunately the organizer provided  a few university students who studied English language to assist us. One of them was Sophia or her real name Liu Chuan. She became our translator for the whole 3 days. This 20-year old University of Luohe girl was  very energetic and smart. She could handle the crowd well. When she was around, the booth was very much alive with her friends, teachers and what have you  . I think she could be a good marketing and sales person.

Sophia at work

On the second night, after the welcoming dinner by the Mayor of Luohe,  the Fonz and some friends went out to explore Luohe City.

Welcoming dinner by the Mayor of Luohe

We were told by some of our adventurous friends ( they already explored the city the night we arrived ) that there were many night markets on the city streets. Most of the department stores, specialized stores and super markets close at 9 pm. Some of our female friends have good experience in bargaining at night markets. They visited China many times before.

The Fonz on Da Street

Poco-Poco Dance on the street

The Fonz will never forget about the traffic in Luohe. Seemed like traffic rules are not that important but there was no accident. We tried the motorized trishaw ride from the night market back to the hotel. We never stopped laughing from the moment the trishaws started the journey until we arrived at the hotel. It was only 10 minutes and ten minutes was enough. The drivers in Luohe, especially taxis and buses,  loved to use the the car horns all the time. Once the Fonz was talking on the phone to Malaysia, my wife asked what was going on, was it a fiesta? Why was the sound of car horn never stop? . The Fonz said Yes the fiesta on the road by the drivers 

Other Booths

In my opinion, the Expo was good and we had a lot of inquiries from the Chinese traders and importers. The experience was very beneficial to us.

Girls on Promotion of products

Central Market Art & Design Show

Central Market in Kuala Lumpur

The Central Market or ‘Pasar Seni’ is located in Jalan Hang Kasturi in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The complex’s history goes all the way back to 1888 where it was once a wet market. Over time, it continued to expand until it became a permanent structure that housed all sorts of traders. Towards the end of the 70s’, the centre was remade into a centre for culture, arts and handicrafts. Today, visitors can browse a wide range of shops that retail traditional goods such as Batik, embroidery carvings, souvenirs, sculptures, clothes and other interesting items. On the ground floor, visitors can request local artists to paint caricatures of them or even make full-blown portraits. There also some restaurants and cafes inside the building. I have not been to Central Market for years ( i hate the traffic jam there ). But today, i brought the whole family to the Annexe Galery at  the Central Market to view my daughter’s final semester Art & Design exhibition as part of her university’s requirements. Her friends from other departments also joined the show.

Inside Central Market

So i posted here some of her works . Judge for your self !!

The Memories !!

The Malaysian Pioneers In Vallejo, California

It has been awhile since the Fonz last updated the blog. So i think i would like to refresh some of the things that i wrote before. One of which is something about setting foot for the first time in Vallejo, California. These are the first Malaysians who landed in Vallejo, California in 1981.. ….. ( Mike, Fisal, Zul, the Fonz, Farid and Firdaus in front ). The first batch of  the Malaysian students at California Maritime Academy ( presently known as California State University, Maritime . CSUM). Vallejo is in the San Francisco Bay Area. We moved from Illinois after spending about 9 months at Western Illinois University in Macomb.

We saw a complete different view when the plane was about to land at the San Francisco International Airport. I was delighted to see the bay.  Many of our friends were at the small airport in Galesburg to see us for the last time. Yes of course, we were going to the place at least 4,000 miles away. Galesburg was not far from Macomb. From Galesburg, we took a flight in a small plane to Chicago O’Hare International Airport . I could never forget what  I saw at Chicago Airport. Not only it was the biggest airport that I had ever seen, it was also the busiest. Imagine when you look at the planes lining up to take off at the run away. It was like watching  cars at the traffic lights.

The Fonz had visited Chicago before, together with friends from the Northern Illinois University, DeKalb. The Fonz went there during winter. Chicago was known as the Windy City. Among the landmarks was the Sears Tower, one of the tallest buildings in the world at that time. Who could forget the beauty of the great lakes. I visited my high school friend, Saifudin Sidek, who studied at the University of Michigan in Kalamazoo during Fall season. I thought the Great Lakes in winter was awesome . During summer break, the Fonz joined the Malaysian Students Association inter-university games held at the University of Indiana, Terre Haute. The Fonz used to have a pen pal by the name of Lisa Keenan who was from Indianapolis, Indiana. That was when the Fonz still in Standard 6 ( Grade 6 ). However, we lost contact during high school. At that the only  way of communication was through writing letters. The Fonz did try to contact her while in the US but did not materialize.

So, what were the differences between the San Francisco Bay area and the Mid West ? Many many   . The Fonz’s hometown in Malaysia was near the beach. So being in the Bay Area was like being close to home town where I could see water . There were many bridges too in the Bay Area. The weather was great but foggy and sometimes  a lot rain. The Fonz had seen the wrath of cyclone in the Mid West. In the Bay Area, the Fonz also felt the tremor of earthquake that hit a town about 100 miles away. That was some kind of experience. I remember running out of the house. Anyway, the Fonz had good times in the Mid West as well as The Bay Area. The Fonz started to develop new interest in American Football. Of course at that time, the San Francisco 49ers was one of the best teams in the US. Who could forget Joe Montana the quarterback and his receiver Dwight Clark ? They were the best at that time. The Fonz did play flag football as a kicker at the college. The Fonz loved listening to the Bay Area radios. The favorite radio stations were KMEL ( the Camel 106FM ), KIOI, etc.

 

The Fonz and Farid di San Francisco Bridge

MAHA 2010

 

MAHA2010

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Malaysia Agriculture Horticulture and Agrotourism (MAHA) International Show 2010 has found its way into the Malaysian Book of Records for having the largest international participation in agro-based exhibition, the largest orchid display and the largest visitor numbers to an exhibition. MAHA 2010 recorded a total of 2.66 million visitors during the 10-day show at the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park Serdang (MAEPS), which saw participation from 22 countries including Jordan, India, South Korea, Egypt, Syria, Japan, Yemen and Germany. The 2,500 booths recorded RM23.58 million in sales transactions — more than double recorded at MAHA 2008 as well as 184,331 sales enquiries. The 2,500 booths recorded RM23.58 million in sales transactions — more than double recorded at MAHA 2008 as well as 184,331 sales enquiries. Before ended last night, the walk-in seminars were participated by some 7,575 participants. At the closing ceremony, Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Seri Noh Omar said MAHA 2010 not only succeeded in terms of promoting local produce in the local and international market but also succeeded in promoting the 1Malaysia’s Best concept to the world. He said the event was not only limited to agricultural produce but also the latest technology as well as to promote Malaysia as a developing agro hub in the region. “MAHA International 2010 is the biggest and most successful agro exhibition we have organised todate.”  This was reported in the Malay Mail Newspaper on December 6, 2010.

The Fonz is always interested in farming . In fact farming can be both a very good activity as well as a profitable business to venture into. MAHA 2010 was a very good event. So many things ( new things ) to see and experience, from live stocks, orchids, fruits, food, etc.

 

Orchids on display

Well , well the Fonz has some orchids plants at home. Instead of buying new plants at MAHA 2010, the Fonz went home empty-handed as i could not make up my mind to buy ( too many choices ).

 

White Orchid anyone ?

One thing that attracted the the Fonz was the method of planting chili through the Fertigation System. It is the application of nutrients through  irrigation systems called “fertigation,” a contraction of fertilization and irrigation. The most common nutrient applied by fertigation is nitrogen. Elements applied less often include phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, zinc and iron.  This technique can reduce fertilizer application costs by eliminating high operational requirement.  It may also improve nutrient efficiency by applying them closer to when the plant needs them. Also, it could conceivably reduce leaching or denitrification (gaseous) losses of nitrogen and lower the luxury uptake of nutrients by plants. I think it was cool enough that the Fonz decided to find out more about it. Actually there are friends who are already in this farming method. So, the Fonz went to visit their farms last Sunday .

Friends inspecting the farm

Nice and long chili !!

Although not ripe yet , it wont be long before you can see the colour change from green to red

Boboy, one happy young would-be agrotechnopreuner

The team just arrived at one of the farms

Nice looking

Nice view