Tanjong Pagar Station

Mengabadikan stesen Tanjong Pagar yang menamatkan khidmatnya pada 30 Jun, 2011. Dalam kenangan sejak umur 4 tahun, saya masih tidak lupa setiap kali berulang-aik dari Singapura ke Stasen Tampin.
Sejak stesen ini mula berfungsi tidak banyak perubahah pada bangunannya. Pagar lipat yang memisahkan ruang platform dengan ruang menanti masih sama. Bangunan kolonial ini masih kekal mengarcakan patung-patung di bahagian hadapan.

Perbezaan yang ketara terdapat pada tandasnya. Dulu tidak disediakan air basuh dalam tandasnya. Bila dikenangkan semula, saya cuba menahan sehabis-habisan hanya untuk mengelakkan pergi ke tandas itu. Tapi sekarang, tandasnya berbayar. Ada juga satu ketika saya mengadu kepada penjaga tandas yang berbangsa Hindu.

"Sudah bayar pun ini jamban bau jugak, lu buat apa sini? Kita bayar apa?"
Dia jawab, "Lu mau masuk, lu masuk. Tidak kalu, lu jangan masuk. Lu punya duit tidak besar apa pun!"
Bila saya mengadu kepada pegawai KTM, jawabnya, "Itu bukan kawasan kito kak. Itu orang lain jago!"
Naik darah saya, "Kan dalam bangunan ini juga? Bangunan ini kan KTM punya!"
Satu lagi yang dimodenkan adalah kaunter menempah tiket. Sekarang dah ada komputer dan berhawa dingin. Senang hati tengok pegawai-pegawai bertugas dengan selesa.

Setiap kali balik bercuti, saya menggunaka khidmat tren KTM sebab rasa lebih selamat ketika mengembara bersendirian. Tren pagi berlepas Stesen Tanjong Pagar pada 8 pagi dan melucur terus ke stesen Johor Bharu. Nampaknya dalam video ini JB Sentral telah dibuka untuk tren KTM. Tahun-tahun sebelum ini saya meninjau stesen JB lama yang selekeh dan buruk dari tingkap kaca sahaja.
Saya tidak selesa menggunakan bas untuk perjalanan jauh. Hendak-hendak lagi mengenangkan perangai pemandu bas perjalanan jauh di Malaysia. Kerap saya guna tren malam dari KL balik ke Singapura. Mengambil air wuduk dalam tandas yang berbau dan sempit. Biasanya saya simbah air sekeliling tandas dan seterusnya mengerjakan solat fajar duduk di atas tilam bunker.
Saya ingat pada satu ketika masuk ke pejabat KTM Stesen Tanjong Pagar dan menanyakan barang yang saya lupa (tertinggal dalam tren). Pegawainya bertutur dengan loghat orang negeri, dengan segala kepekatan bahasa negori. Saya apa lagi, berbual rancaklah mengikut loghat itu. Mana lagi di Singapura kalau ingin mendengar orang berbual dalam bahasa neghori kalau tidak di stesen ini.
KeMelayuan stesen ini amat menonjol. Mengelamun sedih diri ini mengenangkan ia akan hilang menjadi halaman dalam buku sejaran.

Selamat Tinggal Stesen Tanjong Pagar.

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Nikmat Kesabaran...

"Assalamualaikum Kak Leyla,

Saya MXXXXXX dan sedang belajar di Osaka University. Saya start baca blog akak kira-kira 4 tahun dahulu semasa saya mula-mula mendapat tawaran sambung belajar di Jepun kerana saya hendak tahu dengan detail tentang kehidupan di Jepun. Terima kasih atas detailed description of Japanese life etc yang dimuatkan dalam blog akak. I enjoy reading your blog and looking forward to your new post."

"Salam aunty. Teringin pula nak menulis.. Selalunya saya jadi silent reader sahaja.
Saya dah mengikuti blog aunty semenjak tahun 2004/2005
lagi.. Kira-kira balik, mungkin dah 7 tahun. Haha, cepat betul masa berlalu.
Ingat lagi, masa tu saya masih belajar lagi.. Dara sunti."-HMN

Saya tidak tahu siapa yang membaca catatan saya. Ketika menerima penghargaan seperti ini, diri terasa nikmat dari kesabaran menulis seadanya di sini. Ada pembaca melintas-lintas, ada yang menjenguk-jenguk, ada pula yang meninjau kala-kala. Pun begitu ada pembaca yang seperti adik yang setia mengikut catatan saya bertahun-tahun.

Saya menulis tentang segala topik dalam alam ini. Saya jadikan laman ini sebagai tempat untuk mencatat tabiat inkuisitif diri saya. Saya menulis perkara yang saya senangi dan mengharap pembaca-pembaca juga senang membacanya.

Sering saya selitkan hati remuk resah ke dalam tulisan saya dengan ayat-ayat tersirat. Hanya pembaca kerap saja dapat merasa perasaan yang tersembunyi itu.

Apa-apa pun terima kasih kepada pembaca yang mengikuti catatan ini. Sesekali mendapat surat penghargaan begini, memberi semangat untuk saya menulis dan menulis di sini.

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Let's be better friends.

I know there are friends who followed my writing since ages ago. I just realized that you know so much about me but I don't know who you are. I had someone said to me sometime back that they have followed my writings and and that time, I was just on the spot of getting to know them.
I feel so guilty, I am so sorry. How can I let this happened!
I want to know friends who are following my writing, more so when you have admittedly in-framed yourself on my Followers Box here.
Please let me know your Facebook name and we will become better friends in Facebook world.
Leave message on my Facebook (Leyla Shuri) and I'll response back.

Thank you.

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Yukihiro Peace song

Okinawa Peace Memorial Park
Ti's the season again in Okinawa. The season in commemoration of Okinawa independence from American colonialism, memorial of the WW2 deaths, remembrance of WW2 that took place on this island and other islands around it (see the movie Letter from Iwojima).
There is a huge cenotaph on the south of this island where every name of WW2 victims are engraved on stone memorials. Every year more names are added as victims of WW2 die off.

Requiem Concert for Peace
The City of Itoman where the Peace Memorial Park is located, hold many events for this occasion. Last week I went to a concert requiem with Peace as the theme.
The items included songs of peace by chorus of school children and a stage show. But one interesting item was the declamation of poems or tanka the Japanese called it by a group of ladies. These tanka are selected amongst thousands contributed especially for this events. Of course the main theme for these tanka are World Peace.

The Rocker, Yukihiro

Actually, I was really pulled along to attend this occasion. A friend from my haiku group is a fan of a local rocker who was giving a performance for this concert. So I went along, as I've met this rocker on a Live Show as a birthday treat from this same friend. Actually, my friend was impressed with this rocker by his kindness to perform free for an autism charity events that my friend is organizing. After hearing the normal payment that comes with him, I thought that was a kind thing to give a free show based on his value for one night.
So I became another of his fans. If you guys want to hear his songs, go to YouTube and type on the search bar Peace Yukihiro or Yukihiro Okinawa or go to his blog www.yukihiro-okinawa.com
Anyway, see how I was squeezed in this picture by the enthusiatic rocker and my friend.

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Ume Tonic

Ume Fruit (from google)

June brings the hot air from the south full blast without warning. Even the fans at full power do not help. Some people got heat-stroke but the truth is, I love the heat. I love to feel droplets of sweat dripping down my body. I love to perspire. To perspire means the skin (which is the largest organ in our body) is healthy. A little heat is priceless to stay in health.
Weak humans need added strength to keep up with the heat. I have a home-made way to just do that. It is the ume fruiting season and the good thing, the secret is in this ume tonic.

I made myself this ume tonic and you can read all the health benefits of it here.
My Ume Tonic
So for many days to come this summer, I'll be sipping this sweet tonic to keep my body, in and out, clean and healthy.

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...thousandth steps behind

Every year on this very day, my daughters sent me something to remember it with. This pair of Swarovski blue earrings was from last year. When I opened the box, it hanged on my ears for about 10 minutes and then I kept in some dark place and only today I think of it again.
Swarovski
Then some years ago, I got this really masculine watch. I opened the box and tried it on. It hanged on my thin wrist pitifully. The face of the watch covers the whole length of my wrist. I put it back in the box and on this very day, my thoughts come back to it.
Kenneth Cole
Some days back, one of my daughters asked me what I want this year. I simply said, nothing!
I don't want them to send me anything. Thanks the Al-mighty God, I don't feel the need to have anything at this age. I've got what I wanted so far and that is enough. I don't need material things anymore.
"Ok, if you insist. Just buy me dinner when I go over there!"
That is all I want, some dinner and family time to share with you and your new family.
That goes with friends too. I insist not to take any gifts when I see them. It is not that I'm not willing to receive those gifts but just a little additional something would add to my luggage weight and miseries as well.
Just give me books and if you can't give me books, then saved your money and buy me dinner. Definition of dinner for me is good enough with Pulut tapai.
Hello Kitty
But I still need certain basics to maintain my living. The red wallet has been with me for like 5 or 6 years. It is torn ed, tattered, stained with my dirty fingers but it is still useful. But I think 5 or 6 years is enough, don't you agree?
So I pampered myself and got one of those childish Hello Kitty wallet. But who cares?
Childish or not, I like it even if my age has advanced some thousand steps.
On this special day, June 14, I have given a special birthday present for a special person whom I love so much!

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Penggaga

Penggaga
I know Japanese people don't take these herbs. In the Malay language it is named penggaga but another official name for it is hydrocotyle asiatica.
This is the Japanese version and the Japanese assumed it is wild grass.
I went to a friend's house and saw this herb while waiting for her to get ready. I picked and made kerabu penggage. Actually this dish is suggested by many interested friends in Facebook when I wrote about it and asked for some receipes related to it.
kerabu penggaga
Penggaga is a humble herbs, almost invisible like the grass but so much health benefits and one of them is alleviating anxiety. It is proven, trust me!
So I wanted my friend to know its importance and when to her house showing her some ways to cook it. Actually, I want her to keep this herb in her garden so I have to tell her the benefits as well. She is going through some menopausal syndrome and felt excited knowing that this herb might reduced her high anxiety and stabilized her irregular mood.
There! My supply of penggaga is saved! Yeah!

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...and the trees are empty.

Yamamomo
Our yamamomo tree has been growing for 13 years and has no fruits yet. But early this May, I saw some tiny fruit buds. That very day, I saw the fruit buds was also the same day I received an email for the editor in Spore about the publication of my short story in Spore mainstream Malay-language newspaper. So on the very day I have two very good news. Between the publication of my first short story and the fruiting of my yamamomo plant, I was more overjoyed with the success of my plants. It took 13 years to at last told me that it would not disappoint me.
Alas, last week strong typhoon storm took all the fruits down. I was so looking forward to have a taste of my own yamamomo.
(The yamamomo in this photo is taken from a nearby park about 10 years ago. See how I craved for yamamomo that my husband was willing to climb a tree in the park to steal some).
Last week's typhoon was this year second typhoon. It surely took us by surprise. It was slow and weak almost 2 days, when it travel from the South China Sea. Then when it reached the island, it lashed so strong suddenly for the night.
All the fruits are gone. Nothing is left on the trees. We have plentiful lychee but those too are gone now.

Lychee
This is the first time ever a typhoon brought damage to our property (not only the fruits). As I said, we were taken by surprise with such strength. We were not prepared. This gave us a few lessons to be learnt. The next time, we will surely bear in mind to keep updates on local weather.

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