oohh ahhh..a fruitarian lunch!

Tutti Frutti ala Gorgonzale

A perfect fruitarian lunch for an Oprah's boot camper.

jalan jalan

I am travelling again. not in a foreign country but merely in my own backyard. Last week I was in Seremban, Melaka and Muar. Had a nice 'ikan bakar' experience in Umbai, Melaka. Nearly 'tersandar' driving all the way with that old Rusa.

Today I will be in JB and Kluang. A packet of that famous Kluang Railway station's coffee will prove my appearance in Kluang. And it will be a cosy journey with Rexton as our companion.

Next week in Pahang and after that Terengganu, Kelantan, Perak, Kedah, Penang and Perlis.

Hayoo..bz bz..bz... delivering donation forms and talking about cancer to people.

Juggling anyone?

Nak belajar Juggling tak?

Download this instructional videos and practise at your own pace. You don't have to be a clown to learn the skills. Anyone can take up juggling. From that makcik in London to that man with white kopiah in Pandan. (hehehe.....sapa tu?)

Benefits? It helps you to focus and concentrate on your task and I have read somewhere that it helps to reduce stress. And you can use in your exercise routines too. Run and juggling routine anyone?

You don't have juggling balls? No worries. If you go to IKEA, I believe you can get rubber balls for RM10 ( check the price first!). I am using juggling beans (RM35 for set 0f three balls). Kalau nak let me know. I can get it for you. But if you are really really broke, 3 biji oranges or apples will do.

I never take juggling classes during my University of Wisconsin-La Crosse's Clown Camp stint and learnt by myself through this wonderful instructional videos by The Jim Show. It took me 2-3 months or so to be able to juggle with confidence.

Now, I am quite OK with classic cascading style and looking forward to learn more interesting styles.

Jom Juggling!

An email from a wise man

I wrote to him recently.

salam pak muhammad,

sudah lama saya tidak menghubungi bapak. asyik-asyik terlupa sahaja walaupun berjam-jam menghadap komputer. apa khabar? Saya alhamdulillah. masih bertugas di Kuala Lumpur. 2 hari lepas genap setahun sudah bekerja di sana. dengar khabar gaji naik sedikit. baru-baru ini ada membeli antologi aksara usia (hidup?) karya bapak. terjumpa di pasar chowrasta penang.

saya insya allah kalau duit cukup nanti akan ke USA pada bulan Ogos 2005. sambung belajar kembali. tak lama. 2 minggu sahaja. belajar ' advanced theatrical clowning (Eccentric Performing) dengan Avner Eisenberg di Celebration Barn Theatre, Maine, USA.

sudah merancang utk singgah di Boston dan New York. mahu berjalan-jalan di Central Park dan tafakur di Ground Zero dan mengekori badut badut hospital (clown doctors) di Boston Children's Hospital.

salam,

iskandar

He replied:

sdr iskandar,

salam dari pulau pinang. menarik - lorong hidup yang sdr pilih, yang jarang dipilih oleh orang muda kita., pelajar saya menunggu kerja kerajaan saja. berbulan dan bertahun.

selamat jalan ke new york - kota yang sangat gila tapi sangat menarik.

sesiapa saja yang menjejak kaki di sana cepat mesra dan menjadi warganya.

kalau ada waktu kirimkan berita dari nyc.

muhammad

I first met him back in 2003 when I was travelling down to Bangkok from Vientiane to get my air ticket to USA. We stumbled upon each other at the Nara Skyway Station. He was with another writer, Khadijah Hashim, attending the SEA Writers Award ceremony in Bangkok that day. We corresponded with each other for a while. Then I returned to Malaysia and started working. Recently when I was in Penang, I got hold of his anthology " Aksara Usia" and luckily I still remember his email. So I wrote.

He is a seasoned traveller. I admire the way he observes things and places he has visited and express it in his beautiful poems.

Yes, I am going to write to him from NYC.