We are Go!

I am quite excited that Hafidz and Jay have accepted the invite to sign up as members for this blog! And Hafidz even submitted her first posting, as promised! Looks like there is hope yet for this blog. And I am sure that when Jay can negotiate with her kids for the use of the computer, we can expect her posting too.

Some of the gang told me that they didn't really understand what a blog is. The word "blog" is short for weblog, which is basically a journal that is available on the web. The activity of updating a blog is "blogging" and someone who keeps a blog is a "blogger." Although it can be maintained as a diary of daily events, stuff you do, etc., it can be designed to be a journal, of your thoughts, opinions, issues, etc. In other words, you choose what you want your blog to be! And with the many personalities that we have among us, I am hopeful that ours will be a blog to be proud of.

To the rest of you who have yet to receive my invites and would like to submit your posting, please email me personally so I can speed it up.

I also noticed that the traffic to this site is beginning to pick up. This can be seen from the sitemeter which I have placed at the bottom of the page. Thank you all, for your support and congratulations!!!

To borrow the words from Neil Armstrong when he landed on the moon, this blog is one small step for mankind, one giant leap for the Class of 74!

A Second Spring

A few days ago, my friend Madiah called me. We hadn't spoken for quite some time, and yesterday there was something in her voice that told me the call was about something really important. She stalled a little when I asked her what was up, and said that it would have been easier to tell me in person. Then it dawned on me that Madi was probably going to tell me she was getting married! Call it woman’s intuition …

You see, Madi lost her husband about ten months ago. At 56, he had succumbed to a heart attack. Left alone, jobless and with 4 school-going kids, Madi was devastated. In those times of need, she turned to me for emotional support, knowing that she could learn from my experience in having lost Izuddin, my first husband.

The situation was a bit different, of course, because I was a career woman and money wasn’t that big an issue for me then. But for Madi, money was a big problem because her husband hadn’t left very much. Most of their life savings was spent on his medical expenses in the last few years of his life. He had been through a bypass, a gall bladder operation and had been hospitalized several times. And never having worked before, Madi knew that at 44, finding employment would be difficult.She resorted to selling Nasi Lemak, and she recounted how she had to keep wiping away the tears that streamed down her cheeks as she worked to prepare the food at 3 in the morning. Maklumlah, Madi was used to the good life, with domestic helper and all! Its not that she is spoilt, it is just the sheer emotion of it, especially in the beginning.

However, even that was not enough. I remember feeling very sad when she had to explain to her kids, especially the younger ones, that they couldn’t buy much new stuff when school reopened for the new term. And I shed tears when the kids learnt to accept that there will be no new clothes for the Raya celebrations. I would have loved to chip in my contribution, but she would have none of it. The kids need to learn to readjust, she insisted gently.

But through it all, she was brave and somehow, she credits some of that that to me. You see, I had learnt that in times like this, many people will tell you to be strong, without any inkling how difficult it would be. So based on own my experience, I told Madi that being strong may sometimes be difficult, so she must always be brave. And now, after 10 months, Madi will have someone to take care of her and the children again. I am really happy for Madi. “It's not too soon, is it ?” she asked. “After all, it’s only been 10 months. What will people think?”

I assured Madi that at the end of the day, it’s not important what other people think. What’s more important is, she should ask herself whether she is ready and whether the kids are ready to accept someone else as a stepfather. And of course, whether she is marrying him for the right reasons, which is again subjective.

I advised Madi that she and the man must discuss and manage one another’s expectations. Reassured, Madi enthused that I must meet the guy. He was an ex-boyfriend, her first love. They didn’t marry then because his family had arranged for him to marry the daughter of a family friend, and he loved his mom too much too disagree then. But it was a decision he regretted because they were never happy. Or so he claims.“You mean, he is still married to her?” I asked. “How will his wife react? Oh, Madi, are you sure it will not be a problem?”

I shudder at the thought of sharing a husband with another woman. I can still recall those times in the past when I shied away from some would-be suitors because I could not see myself as a second wife. Well, maybe there was just this one instance when I actually did think that I loved the man enough to be able to contend with it, but even then ... !“It will be okay.," she assured me. "I love him, and they both lead very seperate lives. It is a loveless marriage.”

OK, I thought. Good luck, Madi and may you find the happiness you deserve

The Triangle of Life

This is something from the tkcoga groups, for those who may not have accessed the group. An interesting article about safety, in light of the recent disasters ...

For info to al

My name is Doug Copp. I am the Rescue Chief and Disaster Manager of the American Rescue Team International (ARTI), the world's most experienced rescue team. The information in this article will save lives in an earthquake.

I have crawled inside 875 collapsed buildings, worked with rescue teams from 60 countries, founded rescue teams in several countries, and I am a member of many rescue teams from many countries. I was the UnitedNations expert in Disaster Mitigation (UNX051 -UNIENET) for two years. I have worked at every major disaster in the world since 1985, except for simultaneous disasters.

In 1996 we made a film which proved my survival methodology to be correct. The Turkish Federal Government, City of Istanbul, University of Istanbul, Case Productions and ARTI cooperated to film this practical, scientific test. We collapsed a school and a home with 20 mannequins inside. Ten mannequins did "duck and cover," and ten mannequins I used in my "triangle of life" survival method. After the simulated earthquake collapse we crawled through the rubble and entered the building to film and document the results.

The film, in which I practised my survival techniques under directly observable, scientific conditions, relevant to building collapse, showed there would have been zero percent survival for those doing duck and cover. There would likely have been 100 % survivability for people using my method of the "triangle of life."

This film has been seen by millions ofviewers on television in Turkey and the rest of Europe, and it was seen in the USA, Canada and Latin American the TV program Real TV. The first building I ever crawled inside of was a school in Mexico City during the 1985 earthquake. Every child was under their desk. Every child was crushed to the thickness of their bones. They could have survived by lying down next to their desks in the aisles. It was obscene, unnecessary and I wondered why the children were not in the aisles. I didn't at the time know that the children were told to hide under something. Simply stated, when buildings collapse, the weight of the ceilings falling upon the objects or furniture inside crushes these objects, leaving a space or void next to them. This space is what I call the "triangle of life". The larger the object, the stronger, the less it will compact. The less the object compacts, the larger the void, the greater the probability that the person who is using this void for safety will not be injured. The next time you watch collapsed buildings, on television, count the "triangles" you see formed. They are everywhere. It is the most common shape, you will see, in a collapsed building. They are everywhere. I trained the Fire Department of Trujillo (population 750,000) in how to survive, take care of their families, and to rescue others inearthquakes. The chief of rescue in the Trujillo Fire Department is a professor at Trujillo University. He accompanied me everywhere. He gave personal testimony: "My name is Roberto Rosales. I am Chief of Rescue in Trujillo.When I was 11 years old, I was trapped inside of a collapsed building. My entrapment occurred during the earthquake of 1972 that killed 70,000 people. I survived in the "triangle of life" that existed next to my brother's motorcycle. My friends who got under the bed and under desks were crushed to death [he gives more details, names, addresses etc.]...I am the living example of the "triangle of life". My dead friends are the example of "duck and cover".

TIPS DOUG COPP PROVIDES:
1) Everyone who simply "ducks and covers" WHEN BUILDINGS COLLAPSE is crushed to death-Every time, without exception. People who get under objects, like desks or cars, are always crushed.

2) Cats, dogs and babies all naturally often curl up in the foetal position.You should too in an earthquake. It is a natural safety/survival instinct. You can survive in a smaller void. Get next to an object, next to a sofa, next to a large bulky object that will compress slightly but leave a void next to it.

3) Wooden buildings are the safest type of construction to be in during an earthquake. The reason is simple: the wood is flexible and moves with the forceof the earthquake. If the wooden building does collapse, large survival voidsare created. Also, the wooden building has less concentrated, crushing weight. Brick buildings will break into individual bricks. Bricks will cause many injuries but less squashed bodies than concrete slabs.

4) If you are in bed during the night and an earthquake occurs, simply roll off the bed. A safe void will exist around the bed. Hotels can achieve a much greater survival rate in earthquakes, simply by posting a sign on the back ofthe door of every room, telling occupants to lie down on the floor, next to the bottom of the bed during an earthquake.

5) If an earthquake happens while you are watching television and you cannot easily escape by getting out the door or window, then lie down and curl up in the foetal position next to a sofa, or large chair.

6) Everybody who gets under a doorway when buildings collapse is killed.How? If you stand under a doorway and the door jam falls forward or backward youwill be crushed by the ceiling above. If the door jam falls sideways you will be cut in half by the doorway. In either case, you will be killed!

7) Never go to the stairs. The stairs have a different "moment of frequency"(they swing separately from the main part of the building). The stairs and remainder of the building continuously bump into each other until structural failure of the stairs takes place. The people who get on stairs before they fail are chopped up by the stair treads. They are horribly mutilated. Even if thebuilding doesn't collapse, stay away from the stairs.The stairs are a likely part of the building to be damaged. Even if the stairs are not collapsed by the earthquake, they may collapse later when overloaded by screaming, fleeing people. They should always be checked for safety, even when the rest of the building is not damaged.

8) Get Near the Outer Walls Of Buildings Or Outside Of Them If Possible - It is much better to be near the outside of the building rather than the interior.The farther inside you are from the outside perimeter of the building the greater the probability that your escape route will be blocked.

9) People inside of their vehicles are crushed when the road above falls in an earthquake and crushes their vehicles; which is exactly what happened withthe slabs between the decks of the Nimitz Freeway. The victims of the SanFrancisco earthquake all stayed inside of their vehicles. They were all killed.They could have easily survived by getting out and sitting or lying next to their vehicles, says the author. Everyone killed would have survived if theyhad been able to get out of their cars and sit or lie next to them. All the crushed cars had voids 3 feet high next to them, except for the cars that had columns fall directly across them.

10) I discovered, while crawling inside of collapsed newspaper offices andother offices with a lot of paper, that paper does not compact. Large voids are found surrounding stacks of paper.

I hope this useful information is never needed.

Much Ado About Aging ....

I was quite tickled to read the emails going back and forth between Dali and Norly, with Siti Mariah interjecting in advisory capacity.

Norly's initial description about "virginal" cream may well be correct, since we are actually talking about a cream that could restore some of our (ahem!) body's functionalities to its earlier state! (Mariah, since you have used "anu" for the male anatomy, I do not have a politically correct word for its female equivalent!)

All this talk about aging brings to mind several alternative therapies that, many people claim, are effective in bringing about a sense of well-being and help us to minimise the ravages of time. I have to make a disclaimer that I have no personal experience in all the therapies mentioned here, and whatever I write here is based on hearsay, albeit from reliable source like friends and family.

I think one of the most talked about sensational therapy, even among my younger peers(??) is the Vitamin C injection. Apparently, these monthly or fortnightly injections can work wonders on your skin. Not just your face, but also the entire body. I asked my doctor about this, and he says that it does work, but the effect is not immediate. You have to go for a few sessions before the results are noticeable. And why can't we just swallow Vitamin C tablets to get the same effect? He said that it was because we would need to swallow a whole lot of tablets to achieve the same effect, which may not be practicable. For example, my stomach will not tolerate such huge doses of Vitamin C since I am prone to gastritis. And there is also the question of absorption when taken orally. Well, I am considering going for these jabs. At around RM150 per jab, it sounds worth it, if the claims are true. Anyway, I will probably go to a medical doctor instead of one of those beauty centres. My doctor who is in Melawati can do it for you, and I heard another one in Ampang Indah does it too. And I am sure the dermatologists in Ampang Puteri and Gleneagles probably does, too.

I remember someone in our group also spoke about ozone treatment. According to my good old doctor (whom I consult before venturing into all these therapies), it should be safe too, provided you get it done by a qualified medical practitioner. He claims that this is a Malay dominated domain, since it was originally brought to Malaysia by a MalayDoctor (Sidik of Tawakkal, I think). But he cautioned me that it is not a once and for all cure, but you would need to keep on doing it at intervals. And he says the burst of energy and vigour will be quite noticeable, and someone like me, who works under tremendous amount of stress and challenge, could really benefit from it. He recommended going to Tawakkal for the treatment. And I heard the same doctor in Ampang Indah does it too. I spoke to him once and he was willing to let me sit in on one of his patient's sessions to see what transpires during these sessions. Provided, of course, the patient consents to it. The whole thing sounds a bit scary for me, though, so I need to see it first.

On an almost less intrusive level, there is Virgin Coconut Oil. My husband's client, a very prominent VVIP, reduce his tummy within 3 days of consumption. I tried it ... and yes, i was beginning to show some weight reduction which my colleagues noticed. They said my clothes seem to be hanging on me lately, and wondered whether the whole job thing was too stressful for me. Of course the challenge here is swallowing a whole spoonful of oil which has the same exact smell like minyak tanak kelapa. (It occured to me that maybe it IS minyak tanak which my grandma and mum used to make!). The other challenge is to discipline myself to keep on taking it, i.e. since only certain pharmacies stock it, I have to go all the way there to get it, Unless someone knows a more convenient source?

There are many more so-called therapies available out there. Anyone care to share it with us? What about HGH? Anyone has any experience in that area?

Hellooo ... Is Anyone Here?

It has been 4 days since I sent an email about the blog I started for our Batch, and so far I have received the maiden response from Siti Mariah. Thanks YB, for your interest. I hope to see your postings real soon, because it can get quite lonely here!

I am aware everyone is quite busy, especially with the Haj season, the Tsunami Aid efforts, etc., but I hope more of us will start blogging here. Don't worry girls, just shed your inhibitions and start pounding on the keyboard. You'll get the hang of it quite quickly, I am sure.

I also wonder if anyone of us has even managed to find the time to surf to this site. If you are reading this blog, ladies, please give me a sign!!!

On Friday I had lunch with a colleague. She is one of the better known bloggers in town, and it was she who inspired me to start this. When I told her about this blog, she was quite excited to know that Siti Mariah is one of our girls. You have quite e reputation, Mariah because she thinks you are quite admirable.

Well, its quite late and I am getting a bit sleepy. So I'll sign off here in the hope that the next time I find my way here again, I will see someone else's ramblings too.

Good night and wassalam.

In My Mind

I can't help it. Each time I think of one of us, I get a mental picture of the 17 year old girl! For example, I see Hafiz in her checked blouse and blue skirt with a cloth shoulder bag (was that your uniform, Fiz?), I see Maizan in her pastel blue ballet (or dance?) costume and tights with tendrils in her hair, and I see Atel with her pink, roundish spectacle frames, baby tee and dark brown bogart pants!

Forgive me, but am I caught in a time freeze here? Sure, after the last reunion, I know what you all look like now, but what registers in my mind is still a thumbnail of the way we all were! Or is it wishful hoping? Or worse, denial? Nash, Zas and the other psychiatrists, help me out here ...

Lets just examine some of the others ...

Siti Mariah in pigtails and pinafore.

Ani Che Dan in a prefect blazer and skirt (can't seem to remeber what else you wear Ani. Or did you wear anything else at all?)

(Datin) Adillah in a man's shirt and pants, complete with two side pony tails.

Opi in a shirt/blouse and (usually) black kain.

Jay in baju kurung combined with kain batik (only a Johorian wears that, Jay!)

Shikin in baby tee and skirt.

Ju in TKC t-shirt and green katak (KTK la) shorts.

I wonder if the rest of you experience the same thing?

Its About Time We did This ...

Firstly, I have to apologise for being so presumptious. I mean, I have taken the liberty to start a blog for our batch of 74 without consulting any of you. That in itself, could be construed as a huge violation of everyone else's right, not to mention the fact that it it highly undemocratic!

I know that we already have a newsgroup in Yahoo which was started by Jay, Jon, Aki, Hafiz, if I remember correctly, together with a few others whose names I may have missed (a thousand apologies!). I think that was a grand idea where we can share news, information, etc among us. But I began to notice that some postings in there can be quite long, so I tend to speed-read or even skip them entirely as I scan my emails. That means I sometimes miss a good read!

And so, I thought I will start a blog where those of us who have some thoughts, stories, issues or anecdotes to share, can do so. And those who wish to express themselves or be creative, can have a free rein on the amount of space (or time).

I remember people like Zid , for instance, used to have such creativity in expression that even our poor semonel English teacher, Mrs Lee, cried as she read her poem!

And so, I have taken the liberty (again?) to personally invite some of the ladies who, I feel, either have a lot to say, have an ineresting way of saying it, have plenty of opinion on issues, have a sense of humor, or are just plain creative, as members of the blog. Of course, this move was also prompted by the fact that I couldn't find the time to key in everyone's email! But for the rest of you, you know you are equally expected to join us. (Oooh ... I am such a dictator!!!). Ahem, I mean join us, please? Its quite simple, I think. If you didn't receive a personal invite via email, just click on the comments link at the bottom of this posting. You will be prompted to register if you don't already have a blogger account.

Personally, I find blogging can be fun. It has been so long since I had the reason and avenue to get the creative juices flowing and to flex the writing urge again. Blogging helps me do that, and its quite enjoyable. I have my own personal blog, and I am not surprised if many others in our group have their own as well! But I am a closet blogger, so that one is limited circulation only!

So, ladies, what say you? Another forum for self expression is now available to you. A word of caution, though ... It can get quite addictive!!!