BERSIH / Beings

Last weekend, yellow was the colour on everyone's lips. I'd forgotten about the Bersih rally until my sis called and said it was jammed everywhere; did I want a lift to church for worship practice? Then she proceeded to tell me about her colleague who was on the KTM Komuter and noticed that it was filled with makcik-makcik and pakcik-pakcik who looked like they were going for a picnic, what with all the bekalan they had.

She asked them where they were going, and one makcik related that they had come to protest against the price hikes(?!), and how hard it had been for them to travel down from Baling, Kedah. Everywhere there had been road blocks. Later, they decided to switch to the KTM Komuter and were still journeying. Fatigued, she started crying and my sister's colleague felt like flinging herself out of the train in shame. Here she was in the capital city, cursing the jam when hundreds or thousands of folk were flocking in from the remotest corners of Malaysia to try and join the rally.

I don't know what you know or have heard about the rally, but I do urge you to read alternative news sources. You can't depend on mainstream newspapers--they are owned by the main political parties and are limited in what they can say. For example, they say only 4,000 people gathered for the rally, compared to the number of 40,000 upwards given by the organisers. Go to blogs and read firsthand accounts of what happened. You will find that the rally was significant; it wasn't just an illegal blip in our lazy media's radar that should go unnoticed.

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Meanwhile, I've been having loads of fun on my new Macbook. Trust all those Mac fans--it really is great. I won't talk about the looks, cos we've heard enough about that, but the OS is so worth um, selling your used underwear online for! Or, or... taking bets to swallow a live goldfish for! Yeah. (Of course, you can do it the hard way, like me, and blow your bank balance to smithereens.)

Due to jealousy I suspect, my PC decided to fake death last week. It wouldn't turn on. Then, it turned on (there was a yellow light) but wouldn't boot (didn't send anything to the monitor). I opened the cover and peered in--not that I know what to look for, but I guess if you see a dead rat or cat inside, that'd explain that something was wrong--but it looked normal. A-okay, just very dusty. I unsettled the dust with the air squirter I use to get specks of dust off my digital camera, then tried turning it on again. Didn't work. Planned to take it to the shop today, so I tried resurrecting it one last time. Hallelujah! It was alive! So since this afternoon, I've been digging up my MP3s and other stuff and trying to burn them to CDs. Can't risk another bout of PC jealousy and depression.

I will also be attending the Writers for Women's Rights Programme, organised by AWAM (All Women's Action Society) next Thurs to Sun. An ex-classmate whom I got in contact with again thanks to Facebook had been a participant the previous year and urged me to go for it. I applied, and got in. Little did I know that I would be expected to stay the entire duration at the hotel where they're having it at, which is so near my house! I could walk back every day to take a pang (i.e. crap) in the privacy of my own home, and sleep in the comfort of my own bed if the room stinks. I don't think they want that, though. I think they want us to bond with the other strangers we will meet; one of whom will be my unlucky roommate. (Shudders.) Oh, the beauty of rooming with unknown persons. (Shudders again.)

Anyway, I'm pretty excited about that. I don't think they will turn me into a violent, shoulder-slapping feminist like some people I know, but I reckon it'd be good exposure for me. More reports about that once it's over (hopefully).

Lastly, depending on whether I can finish writing any songs real soon, I may or may not appear at Project OMG next Sunday night (which stands for Open Mike Gig, though ohmygawd is what I'll more likely be feeling if I manage to make it there with guitar in hand and voice stuck somewhere in my colon). A friend is one of the co-organisers so I feel like I have more time to decide on whether I'll be terrorising the audience with my ditties, though she may not agree. So unless you want to see me twirl on stage in a pink tu-tu during my supposed slot, please pray for inspiration to descend on me like a gentle mist. Or with the furore of a storm, I don't care, as long as I have some decent songs!!!! ARRGGGGHHHHH. If you're asking why am I torturing myself, well, let's just say that it is the end of the year, and if you can't do the crazy things you've wanted to do since the beginning of the year at the end of the year, you're probably never going to do them.

Thanks in advance. (*crosses fingers*)

By the way, my granny, who fell down recently, has been recovering considerably well thanks to God's grace and expensive cactus juice. She can walk short distances, though she pants a lot and you can hear her lungs straining. I don't know if she can hear it cos she's also rather deaf. But to those who have prayed for her, thank you. It's scary cos she's so old and fragile, while I am but a human with no superpowers.