Talking books ?!?!?

My work station at MAB.

I have been involved in charity since I was in my early twenties. After marriage, two kids in tow and focusing on career building, the 'giving back to society' part of me took a back seat temporarily. Intermittently,  I do send donations to deserving societies/individuals/private welfare homes,etc whenever I can depending on what I could afford to spare.

The past 8-9 years I have been active again. This year, I wanted to do things differently and decided to make it a long term project. I read in the newspaper last year that the Malaysian Association of the Blind (MAB) was looking for volunteers. So I called them to offer my services. After an audition, I was asked to return in 2013 to start 'work'.

So what do I do then? Well...I 'read' to the blind by recording my voice from the selection of books provided by MAB. Hah! Easy peasy! WRONG! I was so wrong to think that it is easy. In reality, it is tough and one needs a lot of patience, persistency and concerted effort to make it happen. HUH? Let me share with you....

Check out what I have to assist me in recording the books - see my workstation (pix above)? I get an air-conditioned sound proof room all to myself during recording. Well, below is a close up of what my 'work' entails.

My headpiece to record my voice

  
This talking computer records my reading. The talking part is more for the blind than the sighted. I have to first enter line by line & record my voice for the title, the author, the editor and the publishing house. Then read the book's synopsis. Subsequently, capture each and every new chapter heading. Easy? No! This is just the beginning. 

FYI, I had to re-learn when to pause and when to stop so that the listener would know if it is a title, sub-title or content or is it a comma or a full stop. The top section indicated in the picture above consists of just the book title, author, etc & new chapters' headers.

The lower section (see picture below) : highlighted in blue is where I record my reading chapter by chapter. Each row may represent a word, a pause or an entire sentence, depending on how it was read out loud & captured by the program. The entire section below may run between 100-300 rows just for a chapter! The lighter highlight (upper section) indicates the chapter I am currently recording.
 

 
After each recording, sometimes a whole chapter and at other times just a sentence, I need to stop recording to ensure clarity, intonation & enunciation is correct. If at all I mispronounce or pause over a word or use "errr or ahhh"...I need to delete that particular row captured by the computer and redo it. Sometimes, I need to redo it 3-4 times just to perfect a single sentence or a paragraph! The program reads out what you have recorded and if you accidentally deleted the wrong row....boy oh boy....you have to start all over again because there is no such thing as add row and reread from where you have deleted!!! Aduuuiiii!

I spent about 2.5hrs -3 hrs each week to do the recording. Inclusive of travelling time is about 4-5hours. I get self satisfaction from what I do and am glad that I am able to contribute to the blind. I've just started and I call out to you to also lend a hand in helping the blind or other causes.

Apart from recording a book, they also need volunteers to type out motivational books to be converted into braille. To lend your hand, please reach out to :

                                       Malaysian Association of the Blind (MAB)
                                       Kompleks MAB
                                       Jalan Tebing
                                       Off Jalan Tun Sambathan 4
                                       Brickfields
                                       50470 Kuala Lumpur
                                       Tel : +60 3 2272 2677
                                       Email : enquiry@mab.org.my     

My apologies if I had misled you to read my blog with the uncanny title called " Talking Books?!?!?!" ..noooow honestly....if I were to re-title it as "Reading to the blind" or "book that talks" or "Charity work", do you think you would open up to read more? I needed something catchy to attract you so that you will want to find out more.

I've always had a soft spot for the blind because they can never ever see, sense or know the wonderful colorful world we lived in. The array of colors is intoxicating and so vibrant. It is sad that this part is missing from their life. They can only imagine but nowhere near what the real thing is. What I do is a mere milli-fraction of what they have to go through in live not able to see and appreciate what we the sighted often take for granted.

So let's reach out and do our part to help the needy. And, thank you in advance to you (whoever you are) for your contribution(s) to society. God bless! If you can't do anything this year, please share my blog with your friends or relatives so that they too can help do their part. Thank you! Thank you!

Take care and let's be more appreciative of what we have and count our blessings! Ciao!   

The Kajang "Satay" Ride, 12 Jan 2013

Kajang Satay ; Restoran Malaysia.

VROOOOM VROOOMmmmm....that's the noise level on Saturday (12 Jan 2013) at 6pm from Green Street Home roundabout in S2 Seremban all the way to Kajang via the refurbished trunk road. 8 avid bikers with 1 lone pillion, mind you, an avid pillion OK?!. We had Johnny & Francis on Kawasaki Vulcan 900, Julian on Ducati 250, Rocker57 & Yong on Kawasaki Z1000SX (with fairing and naked respectively), Ashley on Kawasaki Versys 1000, Barney on Tracker and Jasbir on Kawasaki 6f..I think the latter is either 6f or n....sigh, memory is failing me bit by bit but... but...still bearable. (self consolation..LOL!)

This is our 3rd ride with Ashley, Johhny and their friends whom Rocker & I 'secretly' named the Seremban bikers.

For the benefit of my non biking readers, a fairing means : (credits to Mirriam Webster)

fair·ing  

/ˈfe(ə)riNG/

Noun

An external structure added to increase streamlining and reduce drag, esp. on a high-performance car, motorcycle, boat, or aircraft.

So a naked bike simply means no fairing or 'undressed'...hehehehe.

Jokes aside, I liked the teamspirt of this team. We had Ashley leading the pack and Johnny flanking from the side and occasionally at the back to ensure everyone is accounted for. Kudos, guys! All 8 bikers arrived at Restoran Malaysia in Kajang safely but had to park haphazardly as parking space in Kajang is a commodity! We had no choice as we couldn't find any motorbike parking nearby.
 

Restoran Malaysia was my recommendation as I used to eat at this outlet whenever I visited Kajang for work. It also came highly recommended by the local Chinese. I've not been to this restaurant for a couple of years. 

We placed orders for the famed Kajang Satay (grilled marinated bite size meat in wood/bamboo skewers...see picture above) served with thick spicy peanut gravy. Sliced cucumber complements the dish. Bombay onions was also a complement but on that particular day it was not served. Perhaps due to cost cutting or negligence. 

We had all 3 variants of satay - beef, mutton and chicken. The mutton was quickly snapped up, followed by the chicken while we left behind a few skewers of beef. The mutton was given the 'goooood' remark. Again, over zealous in ordering more than enough food! To satisfy the gluttons, we also ordered :

Hokkien Mee

Heong Tai Mai or Fried Vermicelli Cantonese Style

 

In addition to the two pictures here, we also ordered the Cantonese styled Rice Noodle or Wat Tan Hor'. It was good the last time my family ate here but today it was a huge disappointment for all 3 types of noodles. Either the original chef has left or the chef wasn't in a good mood, who knows?!

I did mention that I always over order right? But is that all? Of course not! We also had :

BBQ honey glaced chicken wings

The chicken wings were commendable but was too sweet for me. The meat was cooked just right, retaining its juiciness. We also ordered otak-otak - literally translated from our national language as 'brain-brain'!! Ewwww.....now now...its not what you think it is! Its actually grilled fish paste with spices wrapped in coconut leaves.

Otak -otak

The Otak-otak received a 'thumbs up' from half the gang. Spicy and tasty, not too over bearing on spices nor reeking in fishy smell. OLE! The rest of the gang were too busy to give their comments as they were too indulged in their own private chat.

This trip, I was more interested in the conversation than the food which wasn't much to shout about anyway. The next trip, I will let Johnny bring us to the one near the stadium instead as it is high time I sample satay elsewhere. The highlight of the night was the next 5D4N trip to Betong/Danok/Hatyai, Thailand in March. Plans shared, now awaiting respond from the group if they can get annual leave to participate.

The other interesting topic was to name the group. There were a few that bounced out - 'Rojak', 'oddballs' and 'pussy'. Hah? Pussy? Yes, given by the PD bikers to the 'secretly' named Seremban group. Mind you, 'pussy' simply because Ashley and gang dress appropriately when riding. As in dressed appropriately in proper protective gears! 

Until we left around 9pm, no other name was nominated nor seconded....it was left hanging. And so, the so-called Seremban group remains status quo for now until such time a name is coined. By the way, why Rojak or oddballs you might ask? Well, because this group is really a mixed group consisting of Chinese, Eurasian, Indian & even a Sikh/Punjabi! My apologies Jasbir, I always get the latter race mixed up since many of the new generation Sikhs have since cut their hair and not wearing their turbans. Next time, I will remember to ask.

After dinner, Julian, Yong and us made our way back to Shah Alam, Kota Kemuning & Subang Jaya respectively while the rest of the group headed south to Seremban. Incidentally, all 3 Klang valley bikers convened in Seremban. Silly? Not really! When you are a biker, you will understand why they would travel some 80km to Seremban then travel with the gang to Kajang (mid point between Seremban & KL) and then travel home instead of meeting the Seremban group in Kajang! You wouldn't understand unless you ride :)        
So, when will you join us?

Well, until the next blog, thank you Ashley for the invite to ride with your friends. To my readers, as always...my parting words..."stay positive and happy always!" Live life full.

Ciao!   "LIVE TO RIDE, RIDE TO LIVE" vRRRRRRRRROOoooMMMmmmmm
 

F4, Subang Jaya Industrial Park.

U will have to interpret the Chinese Characters yourself.

Am very sure almost everyone on planet Earth (i.e. those who read the news, have access on FB/internet or sports) would know about F1 - Formula One to be precise. Ever heard of F4? Fret not, let me introduce you to one.

F4 is a 'fish head' restaurant - well that is according to the signage leading to the restaurant. So where is it? Strangely, it is situated within an industrial park! YES! You heard it right. Soooo, what is good?

Well, obviously their fish head, duh! They are served in different cooking styles eg Curry, soy sauce, Teo Chew or even garlic and ginger. Can't remember if there is also "assam" style. I've tried all and find the garlic & ginger style the best amongst the lot. 

Last Thursday on 10 Jan 2013, I brought along two of my close friends to F4. Haven't been to this place for a long spell and I had wanted to eat fish that particular day. I bounced the idea to my friends and they eagerly wanted to try out my suggestion. Errr...did I tell you I am also quite good at convincing people? Hehehehe....

F4 occupies two industrial lots. When we arrived at 12.20pm, more than 15 tables were already occupied. Service was prompt. By the time our dishes were served one at a time, the place was 3/4 filled and it wasn't even 1pm! Yes, it is that popular, in case you didn't know...well, now you know.

1st to arrive - Hokkien Mee.

The Hokkien Mee came piping hot & moist with dark soy sauce gravy. It was good. Tasty and not oily. Of course it can't be compared to the better ones I've had but in here...good enough.

One of my friends liked it very much. This noodle is served with mustard green, prawns, lard and meat. Sadly, they did not provide the sambal chili that complements this dish. As I was refraining from eating chili, I too failed to ask for the sambal...even just to sample how good the sambal chili is. Hmm....has it got to do with age? (AGAIN??? sigh!)

Next, came this :

"Pork rib King" in Marmite sauce

Pork rib 'king' is meatier and has no rib bone, so more meat to eat & easier too to bite. This was well marinated and the Marmite flavour wasn't too overwhelming, which was good, else entire dish would be reeking in Marmite alone. The honey glaced marmite ribs was fingers licking good.  Garnished with lettuce & chopped spring onions.

The next dish is....Drum roll pleaseeee because it needs a GRAND entrance. It's the...... 4 heavenly king or 'sei tai teen wong' in Cantonese. Rumour has it that it was named after the 4 heavenly king singers from Hong Kong; namely Aaron Kwok, Leon Lai, Andy Lau and Jacky Cheung. It's interesting how the Chinese chefs came up with these names for their dishes.

I strongly believe that it's origin is from Malaysia but I may be wrong. Why? This dish consists of brinjal/Okra, long beans, ladies finger and petai or 4 angle beans cooked with minced meat in spicy sambal belacan sauce. Firstly, Petai and sambal belacan are typically Malaysian, so....Hmmm....

Back to the dish! In spite of the miserable look, it was quite tasty, really. The veggies were crunchy, just a good spread of the spicy sambal belacan and not over powering. However, I would prefer it to be gravy-ish instead of dry.

Ta-daaaa...after a looooooong wait, mind you ~ had to remind the waitresses for our main intention of dinning there, we finally got our food. We ordered "Africa fish" literally translated from Cantonese, steamed in ginger and garlic. Here you go:

 
Don't ask me what is Africa fish... Remember? 

To me, all the fishes look alike! But if I'm not mistaken, it's Tilapia - fresh water fish.  Well, my two long term homemakers 'certified' the fish was very fresh! Ahem...see-see...my recommendations are indeed good. What I like is that the garlic and ginger sauce is not over powering. The combination was just right, ginger is spicy but not too hot. The garlic was not pungent but aromatic. And, the fresh fish emits no muddy freshwater smell. It was so delectable!!!
 
If you had been following my blogs, you would know by now that I always over indulge when I eat out. This time is no exception! Imaging 3 ladies consuming all the 4 dishes and 3 glasses of herbal tea and 1 Chinese tea. Obviously, we were all bulging in our seams after the good lunch. The cost? RM65.80 pretty reasonable, isn't it?

For the record, I did not eat dinner on Thursday! And I didn't burst any seams!  Hehehehe.... 
 
Here's where to locate the restaurant. 
                                            F4 fish head restaurant
                                      Lot 776, Sub lot 3, Jalan Subang 4
                                           Subang Jaya Industries Park
                                          47800 Subang Jaya, Selangor 
                                               Tel : 012 - 325 9111 
 
Sorry folks, no GPS latitude or longtitude cordinance. I am from the old school of thought. I strongly support 'mental GPS' which makes one more adaptable even if we loose/forget our GPS gadget! Or better yet, if you need directions, call me. Then, I get to eat for freeeeee... And if you have a good eating place to recommend me, let me know by dropping me a line or put them in the comments. TQ!


Well, till my next indulgence.... Here's me signing off : Let's eat & be merry. 

p.s. But do watch the waistline, exercise is a must!

Songkhla/Hatyai - 23 & 24 Dec 2012 (Final leg)

Despite the drizzle, Rocker57 'reluctantly' posed for me :)

First stop at Songkhla - Tang Kuan Hill. Similar to Penang Hill only smaller, I think! It started drizzling when we arrived. It dampened our spirits and we voted not to go up lest we fall sick. If you want to know what's the rate for for the lift..here it is :

This banner welcomed us as we entered.

Lift ticket prices to Tang Kuan Hill.

Notice not to feed the monkeys plastered around the entrance of Tang Kuan Hill yet people still feed them! Best way to make it effective is to slap offenders with a fine, don't you agree?

That way, the monkeys can lead their normal life and go back to their 'original' diet instead of what is being fed to them. 

 The souvenir shop at Tang Yuan Hill.

 Look at what I found at the souvenir shop?

Hehehee.... Just outside, our driver; Anam went for the local ice cream. She thought she had some time to kill while we go up to view Songkhla. When she saw us coming out, she quickly tried to get us into her car as the rain started to get heavier. We refrained from testing the local ice cream as I don't like to eat cut fruits exposed over long period of time. By the way, they top the ice cream with nuts, dessicated shreded coconut, fruits and nata de coco.

 Actually there is nothing much to see in Songkhla apart from the beach & hill. Our guide suggested the waterworld but having seen others in other countries, we opted out on visiting this. We were eager to hang around over a hot cup of brewed coffee in a cafe. Our driver circled the area but could find none. Finally we settled for this :

Fancy tea time in a shack?

Meet Sam; our GPS guide cum part time photographer ~ for me :)

I asked Sam to snap the dishes...this is the end result!

We sampled some tasty local food. Roasted chicken, BBQ pork, Thai style glass noodle, bean sprouts & raw vegy. The BBQ pork takes some time for you to like it, acquired taste even. Rocker57 preferred the glass noodle amongst all. All that for 300baht, relatively cheap we think.
Then we headed for the beach...all the above done running in the rain!!! The sea was muddy, choppy and rough. As all beaches look alike, I decided against taking a pix except for this. It will complete & 'certify' my trip to Songkhla!

  

We headed back to Hatyai for dinner. We took Sam to the same place where Alex took us for dinner the last time we were here. Both Sam & Rocker57 decided to have vermicelli instead of 'Kway Teow" or rice noodle. The end result?

Wrong choice! Should have ordered their signature dish...Kway Teow!!

 As the night was still young, we went to find coffee & some knick-knacks to drink and eat while we chatted at the hotel's lobby. We got our coffee from?

Southern Coffee is located at the basement of a mall opposite Lee Garden. We chatted till 9pm Malaysian time, then Sam retreated to his room for his personal massage arranged by our driver cum tour guide Anam. 300 baht for an hour full body massage.

Rocker57 and I later returned to our room 15mins to 10pm (MH time) to pack and retire for the night.

We started our journey back to Subang/PJ early the next morning at 7am (MH time). The return journey was uneventful but we had clear skies and good weather ALL the way home and more importantly...FREE from traffic jam! O-LA-LA!!!

Watch out next on our night ride to Kajang, Selangor with our Seremban biker friends this coming Saturday for the famous Kajang Satay. Bite-sized marinated grilled meat on skewers served with thick spicy peanut sauce served with bombay onions, cucumber and boiled 'pressed' rice wrapped in pandan leave.)...if the weather permits, i.e. Salivating as I pen this....yummmmy!!!

Until then....LIVE TO RIDE, RIDE TO LIVE!!!! vRRRRROooooMMMmmmm