At first I thought my eyes were too tired or the specs were covered with fingerprints. No~ It's the haze. Looked so much like I was at Genting Highlands, only difference was it didn't feel cold or windy. And the smell, for the first time after several times Penang got hit with haze, I finally got a sniff at it~ Unpleasant of course, but still not as bad as the smokes from the public bus. So, as I was driving out of the neighbourhood, I drove past a motorist with a mask on. Looks like the haze is starting to re-ignite the phobia that was here years ago.
I still haven't seen masks on sale in stores though. Maybe I should get one? *LoL* Those who know me will know that it's just bullshit when I tell that to people. I think the hair in my nostril can filter the dirt without the mask. "One must trust his own senses", quoted Ah Wei Koh™. Hehe, just felt like imitating Confusious Confucius. Hmm, been picking my nose more often than usual. Must be the haze la, it must be. *LoL*
When I was looking through the newspaper, there were a few points mentioned to the public of what-to-do's and the no-no's. This is usual at times like this. Several points in the list are:-
-Avoid open burning (duh...)
-Cut down outdoor activities (nothing will stop me from going out, NOTHING!)
-Consume more water (only do it when I'm SICK)
-Use air-conditioner (oh sure~)
-Car pooling--> to reduce emissions from vehicles (I'm the driver most of the time =.=')
There are several more that I can't recall. That's not the end. Even schools in seriously affected areas, mainly in K.L have been told to cease its classes and declare holiday due to the
One of the headlines I saw in the papers that caught my attention was "Enough is enough, Indonesia". Also, there was a headline that contained the word "Smog". Hey.. a new word. I just improved my vocabulary la~ Other articles in the press also mentioned things like 'pray for the better things to come', 'hungry ghost festival affected' and health crisis that is related to the haze is ever increasing. Speaking of the 'hungry ghost festival', I wonder if I could get 'saman' if a police officer saw me burning my ASSignments out of frustration. Maybe I could get away with it if I tell the officer that I was burning it for my ancestors to see. *LoL* Hey~ the 'hungry ghost' season is still on, ok! I'm just doing my bit in celebrating the festival.
Ok, coming back to the savaged land, Indonesia. No one will ever forget about the crisis when the tsunami hit the country. Hundreds of thousands of lives gone *snap fingers* just like that. Buildings collapse, many left homeless. I've heard and read people's opinions around me and around the web. Sarcastic/negative/provocative the opinions may be, but I've noticed most of them have something in common. Mostly they are said to be a punishment from the Almighty for their acts of foolishness in the past, sins if you would prefer. I'm not going too deep into political issues since I for one am not interested in it. Some even said that it is mother nature's way of handling over populated nations. I don't really give a damn which country is breeding like pigs since I'm not the one doing the "reshuffling". Others said that these things happened for a reason or reasons that I can't possibly relate logically.
As for the haze, the press reported that there are mass open burnings going on in Indo. What the fark?! Did they start celebrating 'the hungry ghost' festival ahead of us? Is there a mass cremation ceremony going on for the tsunami victims? If the answer appears to be the second one, I can't even imagine how much more 'smog' we will be breathing in. Other questions will then follow, like, how many more sales of masks will be made, how many more people will take haze as the excuse to skip work/tuition classes, how many more articles will be written to curse Indo, how many more patients will jam the clinics, how much longer the students will ask for being in this sudden holiday, how many more accidents will happen due to the fog and the list goes on man I'm telling you!
If I were to have my own newspaper company and occupy the chief editor position, the front page headline could be:
"Fug You Indos!"
"Well done, Indos"
"Jiran busuk"
"Indonesia officially declared hungry ghost festival!"
"Indonesia - puntung rokok gergasi"
"Ke arah transformasi neraka"
"First, the sea. Now, the sky"
"Jerebu dah kembali, topeng cepat beli"
Headlines are © of Ah Wei Koh 2005™ *LoL*
