Monday, July 5, 2010

Such Soothe


Yesterday my neighbourhood of Taman Tun Dr Ismail was without electricity for 10 hours due to some upgrading works by Tenaga Nasional.

Power was out from 8.00 am and was only restored at 6.00 pm. However, ample notice was given days before the intended disconnection, so we were quite prepared.

In some strange ways it was a blessed day despite the outage. The sky darkened considerably from morning to noon, culminating in a drizzle that rendered the day pleasantly cool until power returned.

As such there was no distress from undue heat, my one and only worry really, because my migraine, almost always, is heat-induced.

But what really made my day despite the minor discomfort was what happened at the Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club (KLGCC) as we waited for a buggy to take us to our car.

As a matter of fact, I do not frequent KLGCC as much as I do Lake Club. I find KLGCC aloof and impersonal, haughty even, especially to non-golfers like yours truly. And the Club reeks of snob appeal.

It's hard to fathom this unfriendly attitude towards non-golfing members. It's no secret that a golfing member is a premium commodity there; the rest come a not-so-close second, and this despite them touting their establishment as a family club.

Yesterday's brunch at KLGCC was a rarity for me; it only came about because of the blackout, since almost all eating places (and other shops too, for that matter) in Taman Tun Dr Ismail remained shuttered till early evening.

As the norm, Pak Abu golfs every Sunday, teeing off at noon, so we decided to go to the Club early and brunch together at the newly refurbished West Course Coffeehouse.

It was full to capacity with golfers and their family members; there were lots of kids scampering around and not a single maid or helper in sight.

Perhaps the Club has got this unpalatable 'no maid/bodyguard/driver' ruling in place now, and if that is so then I am really not surprised, considering their disdainful attitude.

I saw one harrassed mother unsuccessfully trying to rein her pre-schoolers in, poor woman, while 'Daddy' was chatting with fellow golfers at another table, oblivious to the ruckus his offsprings were raising.

So there we were, standing in line waiting for a buggy, when a family of seven joined us. There was Mom holding a pushchair, Dad with a baby in his arms, two little boys probably five or six, a pony-tailed little girl around four, and pleasant-faced Grandma keeping an eye on the little ones.

Grandma and I fell into a light conversation; I found out they too were residents of Taman Tun Dr Ismail, driven out of their home to breakfast at the Club due to the power shutdown.

I remarked how sweet the little girl looked, and she gave me a shy smile in return, when Grandma suddenly said: "Kesian pekerja TNB, kena buat kerja dalam hujan macam ni." [Those poor TNB workers, having to work in this pouring rain].

Such a simple remark, and my heart suddenly soared!

I had expected a comment no less than "Why do these jerks choose to shut down supply on a Sunday when everyone is home? Why can't it be on days when people are at work and kids at school? Why are they such no-brainers?"

A heartfelt comment from an unassuming, tudung-clad, 60-something woman of grace, obviously spoken from the heart as she looked up at the grey sky, and my day was truly made....


PS: I must be jaded and blase beyond redemption to have harboured such negative thinking.

12 comments:

_deli said...

Salam Kak Puteri,

Yeap, that'll do it to me too! I guess the generation before us (and hopefully some of us) put others before themselves.

Depan rumah kami dulu ada pasar malam pada hari Jumaat until it got relocated. Mak used to gloom whenever it stars to rain "...kesian; lauk (or kueh or ulam etc. etc.) bebanyak tu tak habis terjual..."

Got to count my blessings more often!!!

zaitgha said...

thank u Kak Puteri for this posting, really need it to put away the blues in me on Monday morning.....

mamasita said...

Ahh..there were a few times when automatically I'd say similar words for circumstances where people would get very annoyed about..I'm glad I said them then.
You have made me feel so good about myself..thank you my friend.

ninotaziz said...

What a nice way to start the Monday morning...even though it's half way through already.

Thanks, Kak Kama.

mekyam said...

indeed, forsooth such soothe! ;D

thanks for this lovely sharing.

Anonymous said...

being a TNB employee..such consideration greatly appreciated!

Anonymous said...

Hi Kama, kat KLGCC ramai member Trengganu. Di TTDI pung sama.

NanaDJ said...

Puteri,
It takes simple remark like that to make us realise how self centred we could be. People tend to focus on their discomforts ignoring the fact that others may be in a worse situation.
Congrats, you are in the Final isn't it? Will try to be there.

Al-Manar said...

Hajjah,

Living in a place where KLGCC and Lake Club are never heard of, and where what you see is the vast surface of the sea and men riding the waves to make a living, I appreciate the work, all the sweat put into making keropok lekor, not just the end rsult.

Salaam.

Ida Hariati Hashim said...

Salam Kak Puteri,

I used to go "Kesian..." frequently often, but now dah jarang-jarang...perhaps nowadays, I am just too lazy to ponder deeply about something. I am thinking like a man lately...it is easy, as not much of thinking is required, just hantam je. Jangan susahkan diri... (no wonder they can keep a straight face when in difficult situations).

Kama At-Tarawis said...

deli - orang dulu2 lebih prihatin.

zai - i hope your monday blues have blown into friday..

mamasita - you are kindness personified, and it shows.

nana - yes, made it to the final hehehe. i sang 2 songs, one english the other chinese, to qualify.

Al-Manar - as a young teen, saya selalu duduk tepi pantai tiap petang tengok nelayan balik. sayu tengok how hard they worked.

Ida - on the contrary, the older i get the more sensitive i become, syukur alhamdulillah. it must be the realisation that my days pun dah numbered.. hehehe

Kama At-Tarawis said...

ninot, mekyam and the 2 anon commenters: i don't know what happened. I saw your comments just now, baru nak respond dah lesap semuanya dalam sekelip mata!