Yes and No

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Lina : Go ahead and buy it if I want to. I don't mind.

Nazzim and Sofia : Yes!!!

Pang Ang : Why? Get something more executive.

J Underwood : Gooooood, aku kata bagus.

My Former Boss : You go ahead, I'm using one already.

Fay : It's OK apa...my dad ada?

Mr. Solar : You should bro.......

Long John : Get something more executive and prestigious.

Others : I hope he won't do it..

What are they talking about....?

Heh heh..... Red tau.....

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Awkward Moments

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I was among the first to arrive for lunch. I played well but I wasn’t entertaining any thoughts of winning anything. Maybe the lucky draw. Us backpeddlars always look forward to the lucky draw.

I saw him first. At least I think I saw him first. He came from the back, walked past me and was walking away from me. I still remember that gait.

Shoot, he plays golf? We were pretty even at rugby by my dummies were better than him, his were non-existent. I wonder if he's better than me at golf.

Then he turned. Then he saw me. Did he see me when he was walking from the back, pretending not to see me, turned around and pretending only to se me then? Maybe not, I have changed quite a bit over the years. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. You very rarely do that to your nemesis. Always thinking that they are so cunning, twisted and manipulative.

Should I smile, should I smile or what?

I smiled.

He did too. Thank goodness he did too.

He’s coming to my table. Why is he coming to my table? I’m sitting down, he’ll have an advantage over me. I’m sitting down. He’s right next to me. It’s OK, if he tries anything funny, I could knee him where it hurts.

Should I say something first?

He said hi. I said hi. Well, I did smile first and it’s only fair for him to speak first. We changed the standard pleasantries of two people who have not seen each other in a long time.

Him is someone from the past. A long time ago, nearly twenty years or so ago. We were vying for the attention of someone else. Well, he was her ex and I was her current. Then. You know how complicated situations of exes and currents could be. He looked good, put on a few pounds, like me, maybe less. That hair, that smile, that gait. That laid back gait. All were still there. She used to hate that gait. She used to love it before that though.

Neither of us mentioned her. I know that she have not met him in about nineteen years. She told me that herself.

And oh, I didn’t win anything that day. I even bombed out on the lucky draw.

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Mr. Ngoh's Lads

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This is a photo of my Standard 4 class in SRJK Inggeris (II), Simpang Lima, Kelang, when Simpang Lima was a much quieter part of Kelang, unlike what it is now. It was still surrounded by palm estates then, that is where the housing area Palm Garden got its name. It was an all boys school. It didn't matter much to us then, I guess when you are ten years old, girls do not matter much. There were two classes in each year, classes A and B. We were in Standard 4A. In Standard 4, the Standard 6 guys looked terribly clever, brave and grown up to us.

In the photo is Mr. Ngoh, my friends Ariffin, Wahab, Rauf a.k.a. Debok, Alias a.k.a. Cendol, Badrul, Khairi, Shanmugan, Tamilaresan, Kesava, Muhammad and the list goes on and on. Mr. Ngoh is a kids' dream teacher. He was stern but kind, taught us well and allowed us to play rugby during PE. Three of them in the photo, Zukiman, Owen and Bensy joined the class that year. In Zukiman we had our Pele, in Owen we had our Gordon Banks and in Bensy we had, well, Bensy.

To the left of Mr. Ngoh is Chin Hee, with Shamsuddin next to him. They were always together. For six years, they were always together. Badrul used to make fun of them being together during class, PE and recess. Manaf is sitting to the right of Mr. Ngoh. I was the class monitor for that year and when Mr. Ngoh became our class teacher again in Standard 6, I became the monitor, again. Becoming the monitor was a big thing then. Whenever the teacher is not around, you get to sit at his desk and write down the names on the blackboard of those who make too much noise, then negotiate with them on what will it take to get their names off the list and get to thump our resident gangsters.

At least three have passed on, Chin Hee, Khair and Manaf. I still talk to Wahab, Zukiman, Khairi, Debok frequently, while I have met Jayaraj, Seerajuddin, Tirath and Rajinder these last few years. For a few years I thought it was Khairi who had passed away until I met him one day and said that I was surprised to see him alive. He thumped me on the head. I got my Khair and Khairi mixed up.

I heard Mr Ngoh migrated to Australia, though I am not sure of it but I can always ask Alex, his nephew. Alex is sitting in the same row as I am but third from left, between Owen and Zukiman.

How I wish for those carefree days....

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