The Komuter memories...

Komuter, is among our country’s first technology in public transportation… I remembered very well, the time it was introduce, everybody was eager wanted to try it out. and tak kurang jugak people that come with all the mak nenek stories, of all things for example bila komuter tuh jalan, even the outside wall of the train is electrified, or things like, when u used komuter, your electrical charges also changed. Komuter was much welcome by the public, even some people were still sceptical of it…

On my side, I am always eager to try new things, as my parents always say it. But it took me about a month or 2, since it official launching to step into the komuter. I have to say, I was very proud of it. At last, Malaysia got it first modern public transportation. My dream of having that ride of MRT in Singapore that I had during my early years, now can be done in Malaysia. And to add to the pleasure, Kajang, my hometown was one of the main stop….

Komuter, for years had done people lot of favour, including myself. Trip to KL, during my teenage years, was so much easier. Terus stop kat Sogo KL, don’t have to wait for bus, no more hotness, no more traffic jam, and it was convenient. Years go by, Malaysia developed further, from Komuter, we have our Star LRT, and then Putra, and KLIA Express and the rather latest, is the monorail.

And over the years, I changed from a commuter and a user, to a driver, driving my own car, from the family Kancil’s to my own Savvy. Alhamdulillah, that what rezeki from Allah is, can’t stop thanking him, even though, my car is just a savvy.

It was last Saturday, when the family when to Low Yatt to get some stuff, i.e. Abah’s new Garmin GPS, Ya’s new laptop and Mak’s Celcom Broadband. We went there driving, but as time were rather late, Ya and I have to go back with Komuter, at Bandar Tasek Selatan.

The experience started rather funny, ya insist we had to buy the ticket at the “Star LRT” counter, when I thought, we need to cross over to the Komuter station and bought it there. As Ya still insisted, I allowed her to do so. So she make her way to the counter and asked the lady “2 tiket ke kajang yer..”, and true enough…I was right. We laughed so hard, and Ya was blushing and embarrassed all the way.

As we bought our ticket at the counter that cost us RM4.80 in total, I made a wrong moved by putting in RM10, and wallaa….I ended up with 10 pieces of 50cent coins and 1 piece of 20cent coin in my pocket. Walking around, it sounded like either I was a conductor bus, or I was a kerincing zaman budak sekolah.

It was 5.35 and we waited in the hot blazing sun, Ya was contented and can’t let her mind of her new lappy even she didn’t say anything about it. In my mind, I can’t wait to play with abah’s gps. From 10 minutes, it went to 20minutes, end up Ya and I, were playing guessing the name of the song on her Ipod. It was only after dreadful and hot 30 minutes, before the komuter arrived.

It was so so packed, that as I said to ya..”even Ikan sardine dalam tin lagi selesa”. We were running from one door to one door, with palpitation, eagerly to get in into that already packed komuter to be inside. Palpitation, as really hope we able to squeech in, so that we don’t have to wait for another 30-40 minutes for another komuter.

Luckily we were able to be glued at the door after running over 3 doors. When the door finally closed, I was partly relieved, but the journey in a way just started. Ya already penyek at the door, and suddenly I can’t breath normally. My breathing changed from nose and mouth breathing, to mouth breathing per se. Ohh my god, the smell and aroma, of packed human, in that box of komuter, were undescriable. Mixture of cultures, races, body odour etc, was just overwhelming. I looked at Ya, and ya looked at me, we try to synchronized our mouth breathing. Ya is lucky, she is always a mouth breather, thanks to her sinus problem.

Arrived at the next station, was a torture again. Knowing we can’t step out from the train, we tried to give way to the out goers, but at the same time, the outsiders were pushing we in further. Kesian to ya, lagi dipenyekkan, nasib baik tulang belulangnya tak patah. Luckily, it was for that moment, and we able to be in and not terribly impacted. Nevertheless, the smelly experience becoming worse for both Ya and I. It was smelly so stingy, thank you to 2 pakcik that we standing next to us. Can’t stand the smell, we text each other our thoughts, and share the “memorable” experience, hoping by texting we will not offend the 2 pakcik. It was aircond in there, but there was no coolness, except for hot-sweat humidified air.

By then, I remembered, Pak Lah’s surprise trip on the Komuter about a year ago, and how the story was spread on the front page of every newspaper. Comments were bombed to the “pihak berkenaan”, and they promised to improve. Nevertheless, a year went by, and this is the outcome.

The journey took us about 20 minutes, and Alhamdulillah we arrived safely without much injury, except for our mouth that tired of inspiring and expiring, and our smell receptors that was polluted. Was really happy to be out from that train, and back into the car.

As I looked back at that experience, how the memories changed from the sweet, so proud and happy komuter trip, to this dreadful, hot, smelly, terrible experience. Maybe the experience evolution is due to the changing time, my higher expectation, or maybe because of it just too many people are using it now. Whatever it is, I still think, all these are not the reasons we can give, and just lived with it, as what they need to do, is to improve it. Take Japan for example. Most of people use public transportation, and they had been having the technology since ages, but they never really have a problem with it. Even the train aged more than our komuter, the aging train were still tip top at their performance. Or is it, just a Malaysian way of doing things, hangat hangat tahi ayam, as the malay proverb say it.

The government, as I remembered, had decided to put an amount of money after that Pak lah incident, but, is this the result? Maybe Kosmo or The Star, should do the spot-check again, or TV3 to look at this matter. It is a serious matter, it is a public matter, and it is our image that we portray to the people. That what we should emphasized on. Not the funny and rather “stupid” Malaysian political situation.

Nevertheless, Komuter is very much needed, and I am still so thankful for the service. Without it, maybe I’m still walking my way back home. But, as said, and as many do hope, the Komuter can be back to do the wonders, that it did, years ago, when everybody was really proud of it. I believe Komuter can do that.

My wish…the next time I’m in the Komuter….I will have back my early Komuter’s memories……or even sweeter ones….

Car wash - not an easy task

"Balik nanti, ya and li gi basuh keta dulu before buat benda lain", that what abah said to us, both ya and I after we had our breakfast at Bukit. Not really sure why abah so eagerly urging both of us to wash our car, but I guess, it must be because all the car at home, and I mean all of it, need a shower. So, being a good child, we both nodded, but not sure either the message really went into our head, as usual..hehe. It is a Sunday, and of course, it supposes to be a holiday, especially for me, yang mana, not all Sunday is a holiday.

As predicted, as sampai aja umah, all of us were doing different things. Mak with her internet, I was with the paper,abah eager nak gi kebun and ya nak tukar tayar keta. As time went by, the car still outside, no sign of bathing time coming soon for all of them.

As I was relaxing, watching the always will be funny episodes of Friends on Astro StarWorld, quietly I was feeling guilty for my car. It had not having it shower since I guess maybe 1 months, and maybe it was just a simple shower without proper washing involve, macam mandi kambing.

So I called ya on the phone, where she was sleeping comfortably in her room upstairs. “Ya, jom basuh keta jom”. “Alaa…ya penat laa,,ya nak rehat..” “Ala..li nak basuh keta nih, jom laa basuh sekali..”, persuading ya very hard to join me. “Alaa…ya pun nak gi site esok, buat kotor aja..tak nak laa”, Ya replied and the line was off. Hmm….at that time, I was a bit divided.. Should I just stay in the air cond room at the middle of that afternoon, or should I give my car a bath? I guess, it is a very simple choice to make, but somehow, I went the other way round.

I went out in the hot afternoon sun, and half hearted to wash my car. But as I have nothing else clever to do, I decided maybe I should continue does it. So, I eagerly searching for the car wash shampoo and stuff, yet after looking all the places, I only found nearly empty car wash shampoo, and that’s it. “Ohh.,.sabun cuci keta kita dah habis laa….”, abah replied when I called him on the phone. Nearly demotivated, I was stepping in the house, when I looked back at my Savvy in that blazing sun.

There is no shine to it. No sparkling reflection of sun can be seen. My savvy seem gloomy and depress. My car, look tired and down. It looks so hopelessly…hopeless… At that moment, I suddenly, feel guilty to my car, which had been there for me since before my professional exam. My Savvy never really let me down, no matter what. Had to work early in the morning, stranded in jams, standing in the blazing sun, heavy ran, and sleeping in the cold and outside the house, I pity my savvy. Without my savvy, I will be like a bird without wings, something like a penguin or a kiwi.

So I grabbed that nearly empty car wash shampoo, mixed with a “special” washing ingredients and ensemble the power “kauther” water pump. All ready, I turned the pipe open, and …fountain of water shooting directly to me from a hole in the pipe. A very good start indeed.

So the car showers session start. I had to remind you all, that , the last time I had wash a car, was about in 2005, in that early years when we moved to our Bangi house. That means I nearly leave this “showering” job to Kak Uswa,Abah, or even the Indian, the malay or the bangle that eagerly want to do it, token by money, over the last 4 years.

Shooting the power jet water, I focus to all "visible” nook and cranny, trying to cover every single thing, and shooting it with eagerness to clear the mighty dirt. As the first initial shower is done, I quickly grab the sponge and scrubbing my special ingredients to my savvy, starting from the front, to side and to back. I have to admit, I’m not a good massager, but for my savvy to get my touch that is totally priceless…

I remember expert said that the “massaging” session suppose to be in circular motion, and suppose to have combination of softness and firmness. I was seriously don’t care about it, as my mind was thinking how hot it was. Took a long of time to clean the tyres, nevertheless, no matter how hard I try to clear the tiny corner of the spot rim, the dirt still there. “Nah..nobody will realise it”, saying it to me.

By the time, I finish massaging and scrubbing the dirt out, and ready for the rinse, the soap was already dry, leaving trail of dirty water and shampoo on the body. Arghh, that mean I have to redo it again. That time around, I was changing my strategy, by directly rinsing it after finish washing part by part.

Time to dry the car, I realised that orange towel that abah usually use to dry the car, is no where to be seen. Try to search in the store room, in the kotak barang abah, at the back, already tawaf rumah 2 kali, I decided for desperate measure of using dry kitchen towel. And because again, the car nearly dried, I have to rerinse it again, and dried the car a bit harder. And when the last part of the car was dried, I was drowning in my own sweat.

I stood back to see the result of my hardship. It was pretty clean looking, until I realised the lowest metal part of the car, was still looking orangey and dirty. And no….I didn’t grab the water hose and wash it. I ended went nearer to the car, so that the lower part can’t be seen, so that I only see the “cleaned” car, hopefully feeling contented. Yet deep inside, I know it is still not clean. Like orang dah mandi, tapi celah kankang berkurap, huhu. But despite that, as I mentioned, I just ignore it….Biarlah berkurap celah kangkang, at least I cleaned the most important part, hahaha. What people see is the most important, betul tak??.. Nevermind, next time I will do it better, with the proper car wash shampoo, proper towel and an improved strategy.

As I stepped in to the house and cooling myself, I realised how I took for granted all this things before. A “simple” thing like car wash, is not as simple as it seem. I remembered, waiting for carwash, and wondering why the people were taking a long time just to wash the car. Now, I realised it is not that easy, infact to get that result, it need lot of effort. And wondering, do the hardship worth the RM10 given to them. What I know, and what I learnt, washing car, is not as simple as it sound and it seem, infact it is rather a hardwork.

Hopefully next time, I will do a better job….or will there be a next time…hahaha…we will see.,..

The Man-Basic-T

I currently am cleaning up my room after not really doing it since before the last exam..And that mean, months and months before it. Never get me wrong, the room is still clean and the bedspread was changed accordingly, thank you to Kak Uswa and kak mis, the maid. What I really mean, is that the room had not really been in order or tidying up. It is still look pretty nice though, comparatively to most room, but I prefer it to be more organize..hahha.... So today, surprisingly, on a Sunday, I decided to start doing that.... I have to say lot of things to do, especially on the notes part, the rack, the cloth and the drawers. Yet I start with the last complicated one, the toiletries table...aka in girls room, the make up table. While I cleaning it up and updating my facebook,...Julia, was online and directly commenting...wondering and gasping...that guy do have a table dedicated for toiletries.... So here, I will try my best to educate the others, especially the Julia species...on Man Toiletries ..or The Man-Basic-T...

Guideline to Man-basic T


1. Toothbrush-everybody need one...not just man. I have both, the manual and electronic one. Bought the battery operated, about 2 years ago, while in Jakarta, and it is good and different, doing a better job. Yet being battery dependent, the battery life and the mechanical things, slowly becoming weak as time goes. So the classic toothbrush is still the best. Recommendation by dentist, say that everybody should go for the soft brush and the normal straight brush, because that is what the tooth need. Still wonder, why the manufacturer still produce medium and hard brush when it will do more harm. Ohh the best place to buy toothbrush....my tip..buy it in Jakarta or in Bangkok at the major supermarket or pharmacy, such as Carrefour etc. U will get the same brand, at even less than half the price. Buy up to 3-4 brushes, cause u need to change it by 3 months. My favourite-the classic Oral B, simple and u will never go wrong with it.

2. Toothpaste-I'm still finding the right paste. Grew up with Colgate, sometime Kak Ina did influence the house to buy darlie. Mak is using Sensodyne, what I called the rather expensive toothpaste, for the sensitive teeth, but can't deny it is good. My problem with the oral hygiene, are firstly, I got a sensitive gum that easily bleed since I’m young. And don’t worries check my coagulation profile- I have no other bleeding problem. So, tried several things b but it is still there. But the one that I really wanted to change, is the colour of my teeth-as the dentist say-the healthy yellowish colour. They maybe right, but as my complexion is fair, I really wish whiter teeth. So tried several whitening toothpaste-yet to no avail. Nevertheless, I bought pearl drop toothpaste-which does cause "expensive", and I started to like it- yet I lost it..haha...So currently I’m back to my Colgate, but maybe I will try back Pearl Drop soon...

3. Face wash- A good face wash is truly essential. Those times when men use normal soap to wash their face is gone. I'm among the earliest to use face wash I guess, as anybody who knew me earlier remember, I got a sensitive skin. I had terrible acne and rashes and the skin was always red and painful. Tried numerous skin products since young-from normal oxy, to nivea, to Neutrogena and Clinique. When I was in form 4, I started using Lancôme, and gradually the skin improves and better, Alhamdulillah. Maybe it just the normalization of hormone at that time, but when I try using others, I will be having breakout and skin back to be sensitive. So making me stick to Lancôme till now. Currently, I'm using Lancôme Homme-combination of both Hydrofix and Age Fight. Nevertheless, as my skin improve, I’m not that religious with my skin regime, especially during on call and late night work. Yet, a basic step of good skin care, a regular and proper face wash. Need to stick back to the regime

4. Moisturizer- a must have. As people say, how oily u thinks your skin is, you still need a moisturizer. And a good one is essential. My favourite, is still Lancôme the green series, tak tahu apa nama dia, but it is water based. It is light, and smells pleasant, and it works. Currently-I’m using Lancôme Age Fight-which is great at night, and Lancôme Hydrafix-for day time. If you have a really good moisturizer, just a small amount can do the trick and that bottle Lancôme of mine can last up to 4-6 months with regular usage. Ohh…and this is very crucial in cold and dry climate aka overseas- and I guess you may need more than the normal your Malaysia moisturizer. My recommendation-try Rosken…

5. Hair product- For a guy, hair is accessories, a style and a statement. It is also an identity. In my case, I may change my look by having a haircut, by changing the style and even the texture of it. So good hair product is a must. I tried a lot, from gel, crème, wax, oil, to vitamin and even the foam and spray. My trick- I used them all in different situation and different hair style. I was stuck with Gel for along time, as it usually do the work, really cheap, and hold it longer. Moved to wax when I was in my horsemanship- tried several types, from clay to hard wax to semi wax- it do a lot of trick and work fantastic, yet it make my hair dry and it take time to style it. So as my hair grew longer as I enter the Mastership-moved to crème and vitamin, which make it movable, yet not drying it and give volume and a bit of control. Yet, as I cut my hair short-I’m back at using the semi wax- and currently using L’Oreal Osis+-mess up…



6. Deodorant- everybody need a deo. BO-no matter how mild it is-an ultimate no no, maybe except after a very tiring marathon, but that only apply for a while for you to rest before you need to hit the shower. Two important element of deodorant is to lessen the sweat, and the smell. Even how good the smell is, if it is still dripping like hell, still not doing it job. The some goes to smell, kapur barus is not a DEO, full stop. Tried several, but I still like the classic Rexona. Rexona Men Power, is what im using currently, and it works great. Keep the under arm dry and smell great. Tak caya boleh bau…huhuhu…

7. Soap/Body wash- I don’t think guys are that fussy when it come to soap/body wash. I do think gel body wash smell great and rather hygienic, but I guess, most guy, still prefer the solid bar soap, for me at least. Nevertheless, I do use gel wash, especially when someone bought it for me, the prizes I won, at the hotel or when I travelled, when the gel wash becoming handy and more travel friendly. I have no much recommendation on this, yet I have to say, I prefer a clean and fresh smell, and I bet most guys too. Smells of protex, dettol, dove are among those….

8. Shampoo- How short the main hair is, it do need care. A good treatment shampoo is what most guys need. I used Pantene when I was studying and moved to Head and shoulder as I started working. Yet I realised my main problem now is dandruff. So as even the best shampoo, still can’t do the trick, I’m currently using the medicated Selsun Blue Shampoo. So far so good-….less dandruff…maybe because of the hair product, yet as I said, man can’t lave without hair product-unless you are bald…

9. Lip balm- seriously!!! I remembered when I started using it, some my female colleagues, look at me like I’m wearing bra and g string. Believe it or not girls, you don’t want your guy, to have that dry and chapped lip. I started using it when I was overseas, and it is crucially needed. Nevertheless, men lip balm, are different in a way, no colour, no taste and should have no smell. Among the classic one is Labelo. Used that for years until Nivea came out with Nivea Lip treatment which is wonderful. Yet currently, because of the trying to be manly and not to attract much attention while wearing it, I’m using Mentholatum for men, that come in black casing and the balm in fluorescent blue. It work well and that how important it is, to make the lip as inviting as ever,,,

10. Shave and shave cream- Being 1/16 Indian, I’m born partly rather hairy. Need to shave everyday, as some guys need to do. Shaver is a very important tool, and a good reliable one is so important. And I’m a Gillette’s man. The mach3 turbo just fantastic. It feels smooth with aloe protector, 3 sharp and effective razor blade, and layers of fine sweeper at the end. Clean shave every time. And I have to say, shave cream is equally important. For a daily shaver like me, this things, just make it a pleasant sessions, to guide the shaving process, to make sure it has a smooth glide, and to protect the skin and lessen the razor burn. My favourite currently is Gillette Lime Form, which comes in small handy bottle, that is mobile and travel friendly.

11. Perfume- Everybody needs to have their own smell, through the unnatural way. I don’t really have BO, yet I still think it is important to have a smell that pleasant rather than thinking u doesn’t smell bad. Yes, I am a guy that loves perfume. I do think it can change the mood, among the first impression element and partly an identity. Getting the right smell for each individual is the first most important step in wearing a perfume. I believe, not everybody can wear certain smell. For me, I prefer something a bit rare than usual, something not that fresh, moderately masculine, had a deep emotion and smell naturally pleasant and not provoking. I will not really name my perfume- but I have several that I’m using in different occasion…and As I said…every men need it own perfume…

And here are the 11 Man basic T- according to me….

I have to say there are numbers of other men’s product for example – the aftershave cream, the comb etc etc, but if every guy have this 11 basic T and stick to it, I think every guy will end up to be a Jude Law or Takeshi Kaneshiro. I don’t comb my hair for about 9 years already, and as a stylist say in the year 2000, the millennium men, don’t use comb anymore, as the hand is created by god, and it is a men’s hair styler.

Saying that, I do think eye cream is important for me who have eye bag and dark circles, and a good hand cream, especially after endless time of washing hand and alcohol rub at the hospital.

Yet, here are the 11 important men’s toiletries …- according to Adli’s Guide to Man Basic-T