Penguin RushThe new year ...of time and how it passes us by...
Speaking of school holidays, Malaysia has four school term breaks a year with the one at the year end being the longest - about 6 weeks off. Usually, during school holidays, I'd try to avoid going to the shopping malls as much as possible. Why? The malls would be flocked by school kids and the sights of them sometimes suffocate and sicken me. Well, not all of them of course, but yeah, for most of them. From the way they behave (how can kids of the opposite sex who are no older than 15 years of age, can be holding hands and hugging each other in public?), to the way they dress (tattoos, piercing, skimpy clothes) and talk (talking and laughing so loud with no manners towards other people whatsoever).
I may not be a social person or an extrovert during my school years but as I recall, even those school mates who were social, they were not as 'wild' as some kids these days.
Speaking of remembering the yesterdays and yesteryears, those whose puberty years were in the 70's, 80's and (early) 90's, would remember what I'm about to reminisce here (some of them may only be experienced by the Malaysians though):
Great outdoor activities would include playing pebbles or spinning tops, 'galah panjang' (a game where you stand in the middle of a court, preventing your friends from crossing over to the court section behind you and should you be able to touch a person in any way, you shout 'JADIK' meaning 'your turn to be in the middle'); 'main kejar-kejar' (need I explain more? - basically you just run and run and run and run...), 'tarik upih pinang' (one or two people pulling the coconut or palm leaf around the neighbourhood, with a person sitting on it), rounders, swimming in the rivers, 'nyorok-nyorok' (hide and seek), and many others.
Other than playing those indoor games, the cartoons on t.v. were cool too. Just to name a few - Doraemon, Thundercats, Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs, M.A.S.K (my favourite), Smurfs, Jem (yeah, I watched this too ;pp), Transformers, Woody Woodpecker Show and The Simpsons (another of my favourite which is still around till today... yeah!!).
Some hit t.v. series would be like Captain Power, Battlestar Galactica, 'V' (yes, the letter V), McGyver, 21 Jump Street, Beverly Hills 90210 and Knight Rider.
Let's not forget those prime time soaps like Return to Eden (an Australian show - my whole family was a big fan), Dallas, Knotts Landing and Dynasty (remember Joan Collins anyone?).
The sitcoms were really funny and great back then and also ran on many seasons. For examples, Saved By The Bell, Full House, Family Ties, Growing Pains and of course the greatest sitcom ever... Friends.
We had some really cool movies back then, very creative and original in ideas, very entertaining and for some... very scary. I love horror movies like Nightmare on Elm Street, Poltergeist, House, The Kindred, Candyman, The Shining (arguably one of the scariest - All Work And No Play Makes Jack A Dull Boy....spooky), Halloween, Fright Night (also a favourite), Gremlins (ok, for some kids, this could be scary), Hellraiser (ugh! the brutalities...), Little Shop Of Horrors (funny and scary), Alien and Aliens (my favourites), The Thing (what a scary thing!) and Friday the 13th.
Other great movies are like Back To The Future series, Star Wars series, Indiana Jones series, Gandhi, Airport 77, Jaws series, Labyrinth, Rambo series, Rainman (a great one) etc etc.
It was a pop era. For some singers, they really had the spotlights shine on them (although for some, they are no longer heard of anymore). Big names with big hits are like Madonna, Michael Jacson, Richard Marx, Rick Springfield, Belinda Carlisle, Def Leppard, Miami Sound Machine, Rick Ashley (and his goofy dance moves), Milli Vanilli (oh, the deception), Vanilla Ice (a white who didn't know how to be black and went bankrupt in a blink), Cindy Lauper, Martika, Phil Collins, Michael Bolton (remember the voice?), Bonnie Tyler, New Kids On The Block, The Bangles, Debbie Gibson, Tiffany, Extreme, Chicago, ... the list really goes on....
If school kids these days compare what handphone brands they use, back then we compared pencil boxes and cases. Some pencil boxes were like a James Bond gadget - press here, one compartment would pop up, press another, another compartment would pop up. We were very good in Geography too coz the erasers had flags of different countries imprinted on them :))
How about indulge in the many junk foods available and for most of them, they came with free toys too. Remember Sumi jelly, Chickadees and Tora? These foods were usually advertised over the t.v. using Mat Sentul as the voiceover. 
Aaaahhh... the tiny little biscuits with icing on top. Usually ate just the icing, without the crackers, heheheee...
It feels like yesterday that I had one of these foods, heard one of those songs, watched one of those movies/tv series/cartoons, owned one of those pencil boxes and played one of those games. Since it feels like yesterday, guess I'm not really that old huh? Hahaha...
What would I hope for 2009 and years to come? Very noticeable changes of course - in many, if not all, aspects of life - changes that come from within me... spiritually, emotionally, intellectually and physically.
Hopefully, the environment is treating me right too, and by environment, I don't mean just the world climate but also the economy, the political arena and most importantly, the environment within my family, our house and our neighbourhood.
I think I'd like to become a little bit of selfish too from now on, by always asking myself questions like 'oh yeah? so?', 'what's in it for me?', 'what do I care?', 'so what's it going to be?' and 'why the heck would I care/help/bother?'
Anyway, last 29 December 2008 (a national holiday here) also marked the new year (1430 Hijrah) for us Muslims. So, to my non-Muslim friends who always wish me Happy New Year during the Eidul Fitri, Eid is not really the new year for us Muslims, Awal Muharam is (Muharam is the first month in the Islamic calendar)..... ok? :))
HAPPY NEW YEAR 1430H AND 2009 TO ALL OF YOU OUT THERE!!!!!! MAY ALL YOUR WISHES COME TRUE (THE GOOD ONES AND MAYBE SOME BAD ONES TOO?, HAHAHHAA).....
P/S: Speaking of being selfish just now, lately, I see myself transformed into some stubborn and hard-headed person (as in 'keras hati'). I don't know whether being the man in the family had played any part in that, or it's the life experiences that taught me to become one. My wife sees that change in me, others too and once, my 'keras hati'ness had shocked a friend. Is that a good thing? (being hard-headed and not easily swayed). Guess from now on, no more Mr Nice Guy huh!
Labels: Awareness, Cartoons, Foods, Islam, Life, Movie photos, Movies, My Families, Of....and...., Parental, Road Safety, Safety issues, Singing, Toys, TV shows
posted by The Pisces Man @ 4:22 am
12 Comments:
I wonder what bad wishes would that be Abdun?
How about hoping that bala' from Allah s.w.t would fall on the Isrealis regime soon?
I dont think u r being selfish/hard-headed if u knew how to say NO in the 1st place. Its more on thinking of urself more and loving urself more and putting priority to urself. I began doing that since at the turn of 23 and just got better and better. At least u going to be 33 still not too late to realise that. We can still care about our frens and their thoughts and at the same time we actually gain more respect in the sense that people now see u as in control with urself. And u must be ready to give a good excuse to ur decision. Some ppl will kecik hati with u no doubt but the number is tiny compared to those who thinks now u r the man. At the end of the day, it shud be a win-win situation and u'll feel a lot better about urself n boosting ur self esteem too.
I havent seen kindred or fright night. But dont u watch the malay/hindi/hongkie/etc movies too? dont forget we also have those malay-dubbed dramas like Oshin, Isaura and etc.And TV3 was cool back then. Pencil tekan (mechanical pencil) was cool too so as that long wooden plank gelongsor (slide), the higher it was the better for me wohhooo!! so sad it no longer exist, so as wooden seesaw and wooden swing at the playground.
Thanx Manal for your thoughts... Now, we also have people aiming for a win-win-win situation, where the third win is the community or general public or the world as a whole.
I say Kindred once only. If memory served me right, it was not bad at all.
I saw Fright Night quite a number of times, to the extent I could memorise some scenes and lines, because I taped it (oh, the good old VHS players) the first time it was aired on t.v. I remember how me and sis were laughing so hard when we read the translation to the words "making love" which appeared twice in the subtitle. They translated it as "beromen"... hahahhaaa, talk about 18SX.
I did watch shows & listen to songs in other languages but had forgotten to mention it (writing this short entry alone took me a few days to complete, due to lack of time). I wanted to mention Siti Fairuz's "Bila Ku Rindu Aku Tersebut Namamu", Ramlah Ram's "Kau Kunci Cintaku Di Dalam Hatimu" (was there a fight on who's having the longest title or smthing? haha), Hail Amir and Uji Rashid, Francesca Peters, groups Fotograf, Search and Lefthanded etc etc.
Hot Hindi movies like Sangam and the one with the "tera mujse" song in it (forgot what it was called). Malay movies like Airmata Ibu, the Esok movies (Tiada Esok Bagimu, Esok Masih Ada, Kumenanti Hari Esok), Abang and Abang 92 etc. etc.
Oh yes, Oshin was a hit huh back then? But errr... Isaura? :))
I was never into HK shows though but me and sis did follow the series Police Academy where Tony Leong in it (if my guess on the show and the actor is right, that is..)
OMG!We are from the same generation, lol!!! hahahha all these pics are sooo indicative of those years...
Keras hati, its ok, I call it principle..lol..coz I am keras hati too...I am a pieces too so, mmg la mcm tue...
Pieces Girl/bella
Btw Manal, 33? Who's 33? Hahahahaaa...
Manal, seriously? The slide no longer exists? Guess not that high anymore eh? You can try any of the slides at any of those theme parks if you want...:)
With regard to wooden seesaw and wooden swing, I think one good thing of having those not made of wood is that, reduce chances of getting injured or 'selumbar'.
Bella, so u do have a blog eh? :))
You 'keras hati'? That makes two of us Pisceans who are unlike other Pisceans, because Pisceans are mostly compassionate, selfless and sympathetic.
It makes me feel old... hhmm.. Anyway, it's good to be 'selfish' once in a while. We can't be a Mr Yes Man ALL the time. Kena berpada-pada lah. Nanti people take advantage. I hate that..
Aaahhh... don't feel like that (old) Ija... :)
It all boils down to how we want people to perceive us as.. whether we want to please others at the cost of our own happiness. Sometimes being so nice has its disadvantage, especially if those good deeds are not appreciated by those who received them.
Helo,nice blog..erm i want to invite u to come to my new blog at http://sabtu-day.blogspot.com ..erm jgn lupe linkkan blog ni,ok thanks n bye
Wokey mate Nabil,
cool theme blog... kalau dah link dari sini, dari sana takda ke? hehehe..
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