Axe Rock

I was blessed with the opportunity to go to a boarding school when I was in Form 4. However at that time, it wasn't so much of a blessing as it was a display of authority on the part of my parents, but I was too young and too foolish at that time to realise (or rather, admit) the benefits a boarding school had to offer a growing young adult like myself.

Besides learning how afternoon prep sessions are actually just siestas in academic disguise and packets of Milo can be subject to ironing to become a sort of crunchy biscuit, I also learned to listen to what some people might call rock kapak or 'old school rock'. Some might cynically point out that most of the songs are just sappy love ballads sung by skinny men with long hair in tight jeans, but hey, who cares?

XPDC. Wings. Search. Lefthanded. BPR. Slam. Spring. You name it, I listened to it.

I still remember how a couple of friends and myself would be lying on the chilly floor of our dorm during the cold weekend nights when the hostel was quiet because most of the students were back in their hometowns enjoying themselves. A cassette player would be playing and we'd be singing along softly - or loudly, depending on the song - until we either dozed off without realising it or the warden came in and whipped our sorry asses to sleep.

Ah, good times. Good times indeed.

The funniest thing about it all is that most of my friends who also went to boarding school would have the same memories - late night sing-a-long sessions accompanied by friends. And though they don't talk about it, I deeply suspect that they also had their fair share of getting a taste of the cane for staying up way past bedtime.

So is rock kapak actually a universal phenomenon among students in boarding school? If so, it should probably be made a compulsory co-curriculum activity. Better than whatever rubbish it is that's played these days.

P/s - given this knowledge of my personal history, it's amusing to see the surprised look on my friends' faces when I tell them I listen to Malay songs. Is it that weird?

Mari Beraya!

Is it already a week into Syawal? By golly, time sure flies doesn't it? Even if you're not having fun and are stuck at home feeding the stray cats that come begging for food every day.

So yes. Life is about to resume as normal as the week draws nearer and nearer to a close. Those still enjoying their days back in their hometown will most probably start sighing while packing their bags. I'm not too familiar with the feeling as I've been back in Kuala Lumpur since the 3rd day of Raya. My sighing would be when I'm forced to drive on the roads this weekend when everybody - and I do mean everybody - comes back.

Speaking of which, that just happens to be the thing I despise the most about Kuala Lumpur when it comes to Raya. Which bright spark came up with the tagline 'Raya di Kuala Lumpur sebulan!' I wonder? What was the purpose of it in the first place? Was it a desperate attempt to trick people into coming over to the house and finish off the abundance of Raya cookies? (our house still has about 3 containers worth of cookies, by the way) Or was it to make the effort of spring-cleaning the house worthwhile because if not you're not going to clean the house to show it to other people, why would you clean it at all?

Whatever the reason, all I know is that for the next two or three weekends, the roads will be full of cars with people in them smartly dressed for the occasion of pergi beraya. This in itself is not a bad thing, but please, can we just try taking turns holding open houses and not have everybody opening all their houses at the same time? Pretty please?

By the way, my house is always open; you don't have to wait until the weekend to come over. Just let me know in advance that you're coming so that I can scour the kitchen for any other cookies that need to be disposed of quickly.

Is It Safe To Come Out Yet?

Yes, I kind of developed a phobia of putting my thoughts into writing lest people find them disgusting and started hating me.

Well, it might have taken me close to a year but here I am now, on what is hopefully the road to healing.

Watch this space