Do you measure up?

There are a number of things that one should do in order to get a driving license: studying the road rules of the country and passing a written test and learning how to drive the vehicle and passing the practical test are two main concerns. After that, there are annoying details like getting your license renewed every so often and making sure you're up on current laws like compulsory seat belts for the back seat, and maybe getting a chest implant or two while you're at it. 

I read the most hilarious article today about Vietnam considering the implementation of a new law for motorcyclists where their chests must be larger than 28 inches and their weight and height must be above a certain number (and hopefully below too because an obese person on a bike can't be good for anyone). One of the funniest passages:

The average Vietnamese man is 5 feet, 4 inches (164 centimeters) tall and weighs 121 pounds (55 kilograms). The average Vietnamese woman is 5 feet, 1 inch (155 centimeters) tall and weighs 103 pounds (47 kilograms).

Statistics on average chest size were unavailable.

I predict a boom in padded bra sales and chest implants if this law passes. And beware the policemen gleefully patrolling the country with measuring tapes in hand. But what about the men whose manboobs aren't big enough? Will Vietnam be the first to patent the manbra? 

Green Dream

I went to the Mandarin Oriental hotel the other day for an event. It was quite interesting, especially hearing the 2nd Finance Minister insist that we are not having a political crisis and we will not have a recession. Head in the sand?

But I was most excited about a plain black pencil that I found in my folder. But what's so exciting about a plain old pencil? This!

I think it's fantastic that people are finding new, better, and more sustainable ways of creating everyday products. And then I read an article in The Star on Saturday about a local stationery company called O'Bon. Did you know an area of rainforest the size of 20 football fields is cut down every minute, partly to make wooden pencils? Ok, so I know there's a large glaring hole in that statement just waiting to be blown apart, i.e. the word "partly". Who knows, it could be something as insignificant as 0.0001% of those football fields, right? But still, wooden pencils are made out of some trees somewhere, whether it's sustainably harvested or not, so when I read about O'Bon and their pencils made out of recycled newsprint, I was really happy. And these pencils are supposedly better quality too. Director Aaliyah Ng says

When creating wooden pencils, sticks of graphite are inserted into the middle of two blocks of wood and sealed together. This process causes air bubbles to be trapped inside, making the pencil brittle. Our patented process of rolled newspapers creates a very compact environment around the graphite so the lead does not shatter easily.

And best of all, these pencils provide some funky entertainment when you sharpen them

So there you have it. Pencils made out of recycled paper are awesome in so many ways. And it's great to see big names like the Mandarin Oriental getting on the environmental bandwagon. Chapeau! Now where's my pencil sharpener?

Scorned

They say hell hath no fury like a woman scorned but they obviously don't know Malaysian men. Within the space of a month, three cases of lovelorn men taking revenge on their objets d'affection have surfaced with the mildest resulting in a bit of online prankstering and the worst in death. 

It started with the case of 16-year-old Lai Ying Xin, who was kidnapped, put up for ransom, murdered and then burnt in a gruesome crime in September. The main suspect is a 22-year-old man who had apparently been wooing the girl for six months before Ying Xin got fed up and started ignoring his messages and rejecting his calls. The case shocked the nation and was reported in all the major newspapers, including stories on grieving schoolmates and a public funeral announcement.

Then, an 18-year-old schoolgirl was stabbed in the abdomen with an icepick by a classmate before the morning bell in school. In a matter of days, another report surfaced about a college student who had a Friendster account set up in her name, complete with her personal information, which claimed that she was looking for a life partner. Apparently the man responsible has been badgering her for some time to marry him until she lodged a police report against him in December of last year (you go, girl!) but then he resumed his old ways in March, so she lodged another report against him in October. Hopefully this one will do the trick. Do we have restraining orders in Malaysia?

What I don't get is, how do these men think they will get these girls to accept them after these acts of violence and pranks? And seriously, it can't be "love" if the guy is willing to hurt the girl or take revenge on her for not "loving" him back. Don't they always say that if you love someone, let them go? It would make for a great pick up line, though - have a drink with me or I'll stab you in the guts!

All joking aside, with these cases happening one after another in quick succession, it reminds me of something Malcolm Gladwell brought up in his book, The Tipping Point. Apparently in Micronesia, suicides were almost unheard of in the early 1960s but by the end of the 1980s, the suicide rate for males was 160 per 100,000, eight times that of the US. It was so prevalent that it was embedded in the local culture, appearing in songs on the radio and graffiti on t-shirts and walls. One line in a report by anthropologist Donald Rubinstein was especially chilling:

Especially among some younger boys, the suicide acts appear to have acquired an experimental almost recreational element. 

David Phillips, a sociologist at UC San Diego, hypothesizes that just as if you would follow someone who jaywalks while you were waiting at a red light to cross the road, when someone famous commits suicide, 'it gives other people, particularly those vulnerable to suggestion because of immaturity or mental illness, permission to engage in a deviant act as well.' Thus, people who die in highly publicised suicides serve as the "Tipping Point" in suicide epidemics. Case in point, the suicide rate in the US jumped by 12% for a while after Marilyn Monroe's death. 

Back in Malaysia, is it possible that Ying Xin's death and the subsequent media field day has sparked off the recent spate in lovelorn vengeance seekers? Ok, maybe not in the case of the online prankster because that's been going on for months, but could it have prompted the actions of that high school kid with the icepick? Will we see more stories like these in the months to come? Do I risk a switch knife across the jugular if I turn down the next guy who hits on me?

Sales galore

I love coming home to Malaysia for several reasons, chief of which is food, family and the ever-present sales. However, now that I've been home for some time and have been lounging around not doing anything much except going for the occasional interview, the allure of food and the embraces of family has gotten a little, if not stale, then definitely not as attractive as they once were. Not that I'm complaining, mind you. I love both equally as much :) Even my sales fervour has died down, since all the stock seems to be the same. 

However, I'm particularly happy this week because there are two huge warehouse sales in town! 

MPH Distributors Warehouse Sale

When : 22-27 October, 9am-7pm

Where : Ground Floor Warehouse, Bangunan TH, No. 5, Jln. Bersatu, Section 13/4, PJ

If you're travelling along jalan semangat off the Rothman's roundabout, turn left after Colgate Palmolive and if you're travelling along Jalan Kemajuan, turn in to the street in between F&N and Nissan 

You HAVE to check this out if you're a booklover. They have stacks and stacks of books at high markdowns. They have little "happy hour promotions" throughout the day and if you're one of the first ten people to bring along the article in Wednesday's Sun newspaper, you'll get a free book. No idea what it is, since I don't leave the house that early. Also, if you bring along the article in Tuesday's Star newspaper (Section 2), you'll get to puchase certain books at even greater prices. Can't remember which ones, exactly, but you'll definitely be able to get Terry Pratchett's Making Money for RM15. And it's the hardcover edition too!

Zara, Massimo Dutti, Pull and Bear Warehouse Sale

When: 24-27 October, 10am-7pm

Where: Dataran Hamodal, No. 4, Jln 13/4

Basically in the same location as the MPH warehouse sale, but a few meters up/down the road depending on which direction you're coming from.

If you're a clothes lover, need I say more? Zara! Massimo! Pull and Bear! Ok I really don't know much about the last two brands, but ZARA! No idea if it's worth going to, really, since I've been to more than a few warehouse sales where the clothes are one step away from the donation bin. But I guess we'll find out tomorrow. Fingers crossed!

Quirk of fate

I was on the train today heading towards the twin towers when at one of the stops, a lady got on pushing a little boy in a wheelchair. He had shrivelled arms and legs, the latter encased in socks and the former wrapped with old towels that reminded me of mittens you would find on a baby. He didn't have the strength to support his own head, so it lolled back and to one side, his mouth partially open. Occasionally, he would twitch and emit a low mewling sound like a kitten in distress. 

I felt so sorry for him. I wonder how he must feel, sitting trapped in that body, unable to fully experience this wonderful thing called life. Sometimes I think it's better to be born that way because it must be the worst thing in the world to have had a completely healthy body, and then to contract a horrible disease or be involved in an accident and then have it all taken away, because then you know exactly how sweet life is and what you're missing. 

By some quirk of fate, I was born into a middle class family in Malaysia. A happy, healthy baby girl. I could have just as easily been born into a starving, poverty-stricken family in Africa or into a war-torn region or even into a silver cradle with my first Ferrari at the age of two. I was lucky enough to have the resources available to me to achieve some of my goals, foremost of which is getting a good education, which then leads to everything else. But what about those poor children who never had enough, who never knew where their next meal were coming from, who had to fight for everything they have, and for whom education was just a dream? 

There are some people who overcome whatever disadvantages of birth they have and achieve unimaginable success and my hat goes off to them. Full respect. But my heart goes out to all the poor disadvantaged children out there who never asked to be born into this world. Life is not fair, not when there are people like that little boy on the train who can't live life to the fullest.