En route between Sitiawan, Perak and Pasir Mas, Kelantan we had to drive across the Titiwangsa mountain range. It was about one hundred kilometres between the towns of Gerik and Jeli, both major population centres that flanked the range where the federal road crosses over. There was a rest stop along the way where we bought lunch, though we did not eat there. Irfan, by the way, had just woke up from a long nap in the car. We drove further down the road to stop the car park of an abandoned army shooting range, which had an abandoned restaurant in front of it. I ate here once. Across the road was an abandoned army outpost which I hadn’t noticed before. While we had lunch Irfan blew bubbles:
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Irfan on the new desktop
When this blog was founded, Irfan was not yet three years old.
He is now an adult with many more leagues to travel.
The Monkey-Swamps Of Lumut
What are these monkeys up to? Where do they come from? Do they have insurance? It was late afternoon when Irfan, Ain and I went for a drive toward Lumut. We drove through the little tourist town which was jam-packed with visitors from out of town. It was after all the school holidays. After getting through the traffic jam, we drove to the area beside the old defunct Lumut Hospital where we could walk on the sand, see ferries head out toward Pangkor Island and view frigates at their dock at the naval base. Then from Lumut we headed Sitiawan-wards but took a detour to the Mangrove Park. It looked far better than it used to. The walkways had been extended to other parts of the mangrove jungle and there were lamps everywhere. Everything looked shiny and tourist-friendly. There were lots of visitors that day, even a recently-married couple taking […]
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LOL! PraWNED!!!111
Once upon a time, Atok and Opah told us of a little out of the way place named Bagan Nakhoda Omar, Harbour of Captain Omar in Anglic. Who was Nakhoda Omar and ship did he captain? I’d like to know that as well… On our way to Sitiawan for school holidays, we thought we’d stop there for lunch. It was a warm sunny day, but not sweltering at all. There was a cool breeze coming from the sea and we took a table under the undulating shadow of some coconut trees. We ordered the specialty that Atok and Opah told us about: fried meals with prawns. Ain & I ordered nasi goreng and Irfan the meehoon goreng. While waiting for lunch to be cooked, Irfan explored the area around the food stalls, chasing a small monitor lizard into a pool under the gazebo where most of the tables were situated. […]
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A Sporting Event For Irfan’s School
Irfan handed us the letter from school early this week saying that Friday morning is sports day! The pre-school and Years 1, 2 and 3 classes’ sports day to be precise. The older primary kids will have theirs on Sunday. Early Friday morning, Irfan’s mom and dad was there, all eager to see Irfan in action on the field. His year only had one game, which was pulling a ball across the field with a hoop. Nothing much to talk about there, so here’s a bunch of pictures with accompanying captions. Above: Can you spot Irfan during the initial assembly of short humans? Above: Irfan and friends walks in a column from the assembly area toward the school field. Above: In the very hot sun… very, very hot sun… Irfan’s class 1 Ikhlas during the walk-by. Above: Waiting under the kids’ tent, Irfan traded is now-empty tumbler of orange juice […]
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Which Shoe Is The 7-year-old’s?
So, which one of these belongs to Irfan? Maybe it’s quite easy to spot thanks to the design, but there doesn’t seem to be any 7-year-olds in the house with us according to this photo.
Continue readingAiman Joins Irfan In The Pool
Earlier this month, Irfan’s cousin Aiman came to join Irfan for a quick dunk in the pool. Ain whipped up some bihun goreng with keropok, and off we went to a mini-picnic. Aiman came prepared with arm floats and trunks. At first he eyes the giant bathtub, probably wondering if it was scientifically possible to have a bathtub that big. [[image:2009-03-aiman-swims01.jpg:… but the trunks are a couple of sizes too big:center:0]] Then, his dad, also known as Irfan’s Ayah Long, began submergence procedure. Theoretically, he would not be taken to crush depth. Not even on a lark. [[image:2009-03-aiman-swims02.jpg:10 degrees down bubble:center:0]] Meanwhile, the elder Irfan orbits his cousin, at the same time having his own brand of fun. Splashing water. Spinning in the pool. Couple of other stuff too…[[image:2009-03-aiman-swims03.jpg:It was a nice, sunny day:center:0]] Thanks to Youtube, Irfan now knows the Mark Harris style of propelling yourself through the water. […]
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Ashley and Her Parents Come for a Visit
Teik Sing, Michelle and adorable little Ashley took some time to come over for dinner with us on Friday. They fly back home next Saturday. Clear skies, guys. Check out the photos: By the way, Irfan is at the age where Teik Sing and I first met in Standard 1.
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The Exercise of Vital Powers
Another month, another new year – making this the third new year in two months. What’s a new year – especially Chinese New Year – without a vital trip to the nearby FELCRA seafood restaurant, as previously seen in this entry from a couple of years back. As usual, the highlight of dinner is the fried calamari a.k.a. sotong celup tepung. The crew depicted above is eagerly awaiting the arrival of the squiddies. However, Irfan is easily distracted as shown in the following photo. When the stingrays were done, Irfan fed its gristle to the cats, who as far as we can tell appreciated the food. Above, Ain happily shows off the batter-fried calamari, which is the best we’ve had the pleasure of tasting. The dinner commemorated group of three birthdays and one anniversary, some of which had just passed and some has yet to come.
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Moments of Transitions
In anticipation of Irfan’s schooling days, we bought a new desk for him, which came by pretty cheap at Carrefour. After hauling the furniture, allowing it to percolate for 2 days before assembling it last weekend, Irfan finally had a Homework Desk. However, he didn’t seem too interested about it… until his first homework was assigned. Comparing with some of his photos in the rotating, blue-tinged header images on this blog, it seems like he’s really changing fast from being a little kid to a big kid. We see him hard at work, in the picture above. He learned what the colour ochre looked like just minutes earlier. After his homework, he planned on doing his Ben 10 jigsaw puzzle which is current favourite activity. He’d already done it twice before working on his homework. But before he could start on the jigsaw puzzle, there was a knock on the […]
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The Long, Twilight Struggle
With preschool ending last year, it’s now time for Irfan to experience actual public school education, warts and all. Waking up earlier than he is wont to, Irfan took a bath, suited up and had some breakfast to eat, namely some freshly fried noodles. The previous night he tried togo to bed with wearing his tie. Unfortunately, he fell asleep at the table before he could even grab a bite: Then he rides down the elevator where the car awaits to take him to school. (Of course I had to drive the car, not him): He kisses his mother goodbye in his class before saying, “Mom. You and dad can go home now.” : During the assembly, it’s not too difficult to spot Irfan in the crowd. It’s like he’s surrounded by Nelwyns: We very much hope at this point he won’t captured by brownies, accosted by trolls and incinerated […]
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Ye Olde Good Widow Village
Breathing a little mountain air is said to do one good. So we decided to saddle up and head uphill… so we can inhale lots and lots of mountain air. 4,000 or 6,000 cm³ per inhalation, I should hope. Soon after, we found ourselves at the little mountain village of Janda Baik because of a friend, who has a tract of land up here upon which he’s made a campsite with lots of trees, split-level terrain, a simple gazebo, an artificial creek and waterfalls cutting across the site… and a natural stream across the path from his land. It’s still a work in progress, so there are still lots to build. But it’s good enough for me. Irfan, of course, enjoyed himself and said he’d love to return. And when we return, we shall bring in tow: a tent, a couple of sleeping bags, a torchlight and some delicious consumables. […]
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Psst, Computer. Define Dancing.
Dancing: A series of movements… … involving two partners … … where speed and rhythm … … match harmoniously … … with music.
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Escaping the Death Star using Dice
Once upon a time, Sila brought back with her a Star Wars: Escape the Death Star Action Figure Game, which is actually a board game with two sets of rules (an easy and an advanced rule) as well as two Hasbro action figures, a Luke Skywalker in stormtrooper disguise with removable helmet and lightsaber, and a Darth Vader figure with removable helmet (complete with exposed back of head) and lightsaber. It must have been ten years since, and I’ve never actually played it until recently. Because Irfan wanted to try it out. However, I realised that the easy rules were too easy and straightforward, and the advanced rules were too complicated for Irfan. So the gamemaster in my blood took over, and I not only modified the rules so that the difficulty level of the rules are something in between and it’s something Irfan can play and enjoy. Also, I […]
Continue readingSomeone Played With Scissors
So some kid, who lives in this house, who goes to kindergarten found some scissors at school. Then he decided he’d do a little experimenting with the scissors. On his hair. Below is the result of said experiment, which left parents of said kid shaking their heads. [[image:irfan-hair01.jpg::center:0]] This of course led to the barber’s to get everything about the same length, then hope they all grow at about the same rate. [[image:irfan-hair02.jpg::center:0]] That night, when he called his Atok to tell him about his new military do, he spin-doctored it masterfully all on his own, telling Atok that now their hairstyles were the same. Which meant they were one and the same now. [[image:irfan-hair03.jpg::center:0]] I have no idea what the guy sneering on the TV screen is supposed to be doing.
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A Time of Reunion 2: The Sequel
Last year, we had a gathering up here at the Tenth Floor. This year we found some time to coordinate another, but this time it was after Aidilfitri. So it doubled as an Aidilfitri open house, although theoretically it was not. Starting from 1900 hours the roster started to fill, starting with Kok Soon, then Yu Hoe, Samsul, Laksh, Anson and finally Mei Lin. Last minute cancellations included Kanesh, Sathya and Ah Bau. Ain (aided by Cik Emma and Ciksu F) made rendang for lemang, kuah kacang for nasi himpit and a whole pot full of bihun goreng with tomyam paste. Our support troops, Kok Soon brought a bucket full of chicken and Mei brought dessert. Our just desserts. Will there be more photos next year? Stay tuned to find out… well, next year.
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Teaching Kids to Roleplay is Only Natural
I have been GMing some very simple scenarios with Irfan. Mostly it’s been dungeon crawls through caves with traps and obstacles, trying to find his way out. Today I read this article from Geekdad written by Daniel Donaho, which has some ideas in how to make things more interesting when playing with children. Here’s an excerpt: The Early Years (4 – 7 years) Is four-years-old too young to play an RPG? Not if you have a couple of older children (say 6 or 7) play with. Of course, if you want children to abide by all the rules exactly and have a detailed knowledge of movement and encumbrance rates and initiative then you are setting yourself and the kids up for failure and a pretty uninspiring time. The focus at this age should be on the “role-playing”, rather than “roll-playing”. You need a game that will take anywhere from 20 […]
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