This is a post in response to a fellow blogger's (hawa2u.blogspot.com) entry on weddings. It started off as a comment to that post but when it got longer and longer, I moved most of it here.
I still prefer the kenduri wedding with penanggah (helpers) and rewang (all kenduri-related work) because, to me, it is a Malay identity that truly reflects the spirit of gotong-royong (working together).
Although I live in the Klang Valley where the small space in housing areas and high-rise living hardly permits for a stretch of khemah (tent), I am thankful that for most of the days in a year, we live in the kampung part of Kajang where we open up our gates and clear our porches for the penanggahs during wedding kenduris. To add, my in-laws are first generation Felda settlers in Labis, a community that avoids having two weddings in one day to be able to share the work and even expenses of any kenduris at the settlement. Such is the spirit of gotong-royong there.
Today, I am in our house in Nilai. As I am typing this, traditional Malay music from a neighbour's house fill up the air. I can't bring my car into the porch because blue-and-white khemahs stretch as far as 6 doors including ours. My immediate neighbour's porch is the station for giving out extra boiled eggs. Another, for the DJ and his bulky audio equipment. Another, for the group mixing hot and cold drinks. I offered my own porch for use but it was too late because they already have enough porches to be used. Yes, today they are holding their menyambut menantu (welcoming new daughter-in-law and her family) kenduri and our Korean neighbour is having a gala time taking pictures and video of the whole affair.
So, wherever we stay, I am glad that I can still catch my 'budak bandar' (city kids) children part of the noisy, bantering, dish-washing, fun-poking, dulang (tray)-carrying makciks (older women) and pakciks (older men) at kenduris. It is still very much part of their life which I hope they will not lose.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Deprivation or Protection?
When I heard of Facebook planning to close down on March 15, I was skeptical. More so having just read the double issue of TIME magazine naming Mark Zuckerberg its "Person of the Year" (Vol. 176, No. 26/ 2010) where the college-boy Mark appears to be relaxed and happy among his casually-dressed staff. (How I wished the office I work in is as nondescript as his!)
Nevertheless, when a friend sent me an email of the news, hoping to convince me otherwise and perhaps to take the necessary actions to save any pictures I had been tagged in, I felt a strange pang of guilt. No, not for brushing the news aside but for reading a statement in it that's the exact reason I use to refuse my children their rights to use the social network their mother is unashamedly on. To get out and get real friends! Yes, to the girls it is their rights because "everyone is on it". Uh-uh, everyone from the friends to the sleazebags lurking in the nooks of cyberspace hoping to prey on some innocent minds. No way and that's that. What's wrong with just meeting up with friends at TESCO? Everybody goes to the same school, anyway.
But, what if FB really shuts down? Would I then have deprived my teens of once-in-a-lifetime experience of meeting friends in a place where what you are wearing is not an issue? No, seriously, it is a meeting place where nothing becomes an issue. Unless you get on someone's nerve, which can result in you being removed, and as a result, won't be an issue anymore. Would I then be the reason for them not being hip and up-to-date? Would they then be the object of ridicule among the savvy teens at school who not only think emails belong in museums but are now Skype-ing too? Would they be left behind? Left out? Left alone? Am I just worried about them FB-ing with the possible circle of friends that I can't invite over? Am I a control freak??! All things considered, perhaps I should just give in.
Till then, I am glad that the same friend sent me another email on the news being just a rumour. Phew! That was a close call!
Nevertheless, when a friend sent me an email of the news, hoping to convince me otherwise and perhaps to take the necessary actions to save any pictures I had been tagged in, I felt a strange pang of guilt. No, not for brushing the news aside but for reading a statement in it that's the exact reason I use to refuse my children their rights to use the social network their mother is unashamedly on. To get out and get real friends! Yes, to the girls it is their rights because "everyone is on it". Uh-uh, everyone from the friends to the sleazebags lurking in the nooks of cyberspace hoping to prey on some innocent minds. No way and that's that. What's wrong with just meeting up with friends at TESCO? Everybody goes to the same school, anyway.
But, what if FB really shuts down? Would I then have deprived my teens of once-in-a-lifetime experience of meeting friends in a place where what you are wearing is not an issue? No, seriously, it is a meeting place where nothing becomes an issue. Unless you get on someone's nerve, which can result in you being removed, and as a result, won't be an issue anymore. Would I then be the reason for them not being hip and up-to-date? Would they then be the object of ridicule among the savvy teens at school who not only think emails belong in museums but are now Skype-ing too? Would they be left behind? Left out? Left alone? Am I just worried about them FB-ing with the possible circle of friends that I can't invite over? Am I a control freak??! All things considered, perhaps I should just give in.
Till then, I am glad that the same friend sent me another email on the news being just a rumour. Phew! That was a close call!
Friday, January 7, 2011
"Sure Thing", Take 2
This play reminds me of some hillarious shows that I saw on TV where the characters repeat an episode in their lives over and over until they get their purpose right, or until they finally get their message to their loved ones. One had his cause of death changed each time he woke up to live his life again! Some characters are aware of it, some don't.
But, what's with the bell in "Sure Thing"? A few online analysis and summaries that I read think that it's a signal for a wrong answer in the conversation (http://www.echeat.com/), reinforces the boxing match rhythm in the conversation between the two characters (http://www.hubpages.com/), or a symbol for a fresh start (http://www.reference.com/).
So, I would like to invite my students to give their opinions about the bell - its purpose or its effect to the play.
But, what's with the bell in "Sure Thing"? A few online analysis and summaries that I read think that it's a signal for a wrong answer in the conversation (http://www.echeat.com/), reinforces the boxing match rhythm in the conversation between the two characters (http://www.hubpages.com/), or a symbol for a fresh start (http://www.reference.com/).
So, I would like to invite my students to give their opinions about the bell - its purpose or its effect to the play.
Sure Thing
Introduced the play/drama genre to students this week as FUN and had to crack my head to find a suitable play that appeals to them, all 104 Generation Y. "Sure Thing" by Ives looked promising. Short, contains words and context that students can relate to, and funny. It contains the much dreaded four-letter word though. One word, one time, by one character. The taboo weighed against getting students interested and excited about the whole semester, I made my decision.
The response was queer and amusing. Despite being young, careless, and out-spoken, they censored the word during reading aloud and dramatization activities, at least my class of 26 did. So, our Generation Y still have some modesty after all, at times when I have lost some confidence in decency and respect.
The response was queer and amusing. Despite being young, careless, and out-spoken, they censored the word during reading aloud and dramatization activities, at least my class of 26 did. So, our Generation Y still have some modesty after all, at times when I have lost some confidence in decency and respect.
A HUMBLE BEGINNING
This blog is finally created after much trial and error since 2009. Gone are the days of thinking alone and admiring my own thoughts and reflections. I have thrown to the wind the idea of pretty journals and secret diaries. But I have to admit, I have a collection of those stashed away in case I die a famous person.
So, here I am at a new beginning and another parallel chapter of my life, sharing my thoughts. If it's worth anyone's two cents, join me.
So, here I am at a new beginning and another parallel chapter of my life, sharing my thoughts. If it's worth anyone's two cents, join me.
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