Make your vote count

Elections are coming. Vote wisely.

Your future depends on it. Your country too.

Till next time, this is Kucing Gatal signing out with a patriotic Meow.

Stop harping on race

So it's now 2013 (Happy New Year, Happy Chinese New Year and Happy Valentine's Day - belated) and apparently elections are around the corner. Malaysia has some of the most exciting politics in the world. Scandal, crime, corruption, nepotism, discrimination, we have it all in spades.

I can go on and on about what's been happening but I'm sure you're already up to speed. Such dirty, dirty politics. I like a bit of dirty every now and then, but even this level of dirty makes me squeamish.

Anyway... this post isn't really about politics. No, it's about race. We're already 13 years into the 21st century, and yet here in Malaysia we still care about skin colour.

I recently tried to enter a contest, where one of the compulsory fields was about race. Yep - you had to actually fill in your race or your entry wouldn't qualify. I know I shouldn't be shocked anymore given that this piece of information is still very exciting to bureaucrats and marketers alike, but I was.

Why does it matter whether we're Malay, Chinese, Indian, or lain-lain? Are winners decided based on a quota?

Naturally, I shot off an email to the organisers asking why this was compulsory. 2 days later and no response. Poor customer service and non-acknowledgement are pet peeves of mine. Loyal readers of my blog will know I have a long list of pet peeves but I digress.

I then shot off an email to the organiser's parent company based in the US. Within a day I got a response. It said because the contest was organised in Malaysia, I had to contact the Malaysian branch instead. Well, apparently my email must have made it up the ranks because a couple of hours later I got a response from the contest organisers saying that race was required for marketing purposes. Apparently, it would help them to pitch their products better.

I then responded, saying as far as I'm aware, their products (skincare range) work the same whether your skin colour is a light or dark shade of brown or pink. I said we need to move on from this requirement - it's highly suspicious when it is made mandatory in a contest form. I suggested that if they really wanted this information, they could leave the field in but make it non-mandatory. They thanked me for my feedback and that was that.

If it had been a free text field, I would have typed in human, but I was restricted to selecting from radio buttons. In the end, I refused to participate based on principle. I may have lost out on some great prizes but this is something that I need to make a stand on. If more Malaysians also speak out about this, maybe we can finally get rid of this irritating requirement once and for all.

And maybe then we can end race-based politics too. One can dream, yes?

Till next time, this is Kucing signing out with a meritocratic Meow.

Happy ending

About a year or so ago I got hooked onto Groupon and other similar deals. Big discounts on F&B, massages, holidays .... who could resist?

One of the best deals I got was for a couple's massage. The Jantan is not the type who goes for a massage, so I had to do some persuading to get him to come along with me. He thinks all massage centres are dodgy, thanks to almost daily media reports on vice dens masquerading as massage or reflexology centres.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, we got to the centre and chose the oils we wanted. We were instructed to undress and get onto the beds provided. The Jantan was a bit uncomfortable as he hadn't been expecting a female massage therapist (I may have led him to believe otherwise), but quietly lay down and decided to enjoy the treatment.

It was heavenly. My therapist was remarkably skilled and before I knew it she had me so calm and relaxed. I was ready to fall asleep when I heard the Jantan clearing his throat. His therapist was getting closer to his sensitive areas and I could sense him getting a little agitated. She told him to relax and kept going. He cleared his throat a few more times after that but didn't say anything.

It was weird but knowing he was controlling himself got me excited. I felt myself getting moist and hoped my masseuse wouldn't notice.

After about an hour or so the treatment was over and we were left alone in the room to get dressed. I could see a noticeable bulge under the Jantan's towel and knew he was hard as a rock. He didn't waste a second. We had the world's quickest quickie that day, with me up against the wall and him pounding away furiously. I don't know if anyone heard, given that walls are usually flimsy in these kinds of places, but frankly I didn't care. I was wet and horny and needed him badly.

We got dressed in record time and left. It was the best quickie I've had to date, and I have Groupon to thank for that. The Jantan's birthday is coming up soon and I know just what to get him ;)

Till next time, this is Kucing Gatal signing out with a massaged meow.

Anger leads to hate

Road rage is a terrible thing to experience. I must admit there have been numerous times where I've lost my temper at some idiot trying to cut into my lane without any indication, or someone selfish standing in a yellow box, or just bad driving in general. Drivers in Kuala Lumpur obey no one but themselves. Not all, of course, but quite a few ignore speed limits, and aggressively try to push you out of the right lane if you're in their way.

Anyway, I've given my fair share of the finger to drivers who deserve it. Sadly, many these days are women drivers. They zoom out of side lanes without looking, or cut in and out without so much as a thank you or sorry, double park and generally make a nuisance of themselves. Of course men do these too. But given the stereotype about women drivers, it's sad to actually see these women living up to it.

I was involved in a road rage incident yesterday which shook me up a little. Driving along a major road in Kuala Lumpur, I had indicated well in advance that I was going to cut into the right lane. A 4WD quite a way behind me saw my indicator and decided to speed up to deny me entry into the lane. Asshole! I was already 3/4 of the way into the lane but he persistently kept moving forward till he was literally beside my car. I had no choice but to veer to the left again when the car ahead of me suddenly braked.

I am a very hot tempered person so immediately I saw red, and honked at the asshole. He looked at me and I gave him the finger. That seemed to infuriate him so he decided to switch into my lane and tailgated me for a while. Occasionally he would overtake me, suddenly brake, then switch into another lane, wait for me to catch up and then gesture rudely at me. This continued for several minutes, during which time the Kucing really really got angry. I'm not the timid type who will immediately find a way to back down and hide in traffic somewhere.

No. I took out my phone and took a picture of him, and of his car. For some reason this freaked him out for he zoomed away immediately and I lost sight of him.

I guess I got lucky. I've heard of situations that ended in crashed cars, people getting beaten up, and even a lady hanging on to the windshield of another car while it drove away. Once I had cooled down, I realised that the situation could have ended badly for me. The Jantan, when he heard of the story, said I should learn to control my temper especially on the roads here because we all know, there are plenty of assholes just waiting to explode and beat others up.

But how to control my temper when there are drivers like these on the roads? They are clearly in the wrong, yet they are getting away with their bad behaviour. Why is the traffic law enforcement so pathetic in this country? What are the policemen doing? AES is not going to help apart from generating revenue for the parties involved. What we need is enforcement like they have in Singapore and other developed nations.

So do your job properly, traffic policemen. Weed out these bullies and make Malaysian roads safer for everyone.

Till next time, this is Kucing signing out with a driven mad meow.

Gym woes

This Kucing recently joined a gym. Yes, yes I know, I take great pride in my laziness and slothfulness, but I'm starting to develop love handles and while the jantan in my life claims he has no issues with them, I do.

Looked around until I found one that suited my needs and budget - why are gyms so expensive? You have to pay to experience pain and suffering, where's the logic in that!

Then of course, I had to get the proper attire. No baggy shirts and tracksuits for me, thank you very much. Have to look good while puffing and panting away, kan?

Finally I was ready.

Dry-fit shirt - check!
Leggings - check!
Sports bra - check!
Shoes - check!
Towel - check!
Bottle of water - check!
Motivation - check!

Siap sedia!

So off I went to my very first gym session. Wow, what an experience. The equipment looked scary but the woman giving me the tour made it all look and sound so easy to use.

There were also mirrors all around which made it easy for me to check myself out (looking good as usual Kucing!)

I looked around. Quite a lot of people working out. Treadmills were very popular, as were the cycling and rowing machines. I decided to start on the treadmill. Wow so easy, I thought, as I strolled along. 1 km down, then I decided to up the speed a bit. A bit malu cos the people around me were jogging or walking very briskly while I looked like I was out on a Sunday stroll.

So I increased the speed to match my usual speed when heading to a handbag sale, or to the buffet table at hi-tea sessions. Now I was working up a sweat. It felt good. I walked for what seemed like hours, then looked down and realised I had only gone 0.5km. And I was already breathless and sweating buckets. My hair was plastered to the sides of my face and I could feel sweat stains spreading out under my arms.

Looked in the mirror and was horrified by the person staring back at me. Red-faced, sweaty, breathless. Not a good look for Kucing.

Time to switch to another machine. Off to the cycles! Pedal pedal pedal, and about 3 minutes in I couldn't pedal anymore. My legs felt like jelly and I felt faint. Got off the cycling machine and saw this fat guy next to me pedalling away furiously. Put me to shame but oh well. I consoled myself with the fact that I am not fat, just need to tone up. Therefore no need to push myself when exercising (that is the Kucing logic).

I decided I'd had enough. Total time in the gym: 20 minutes. Total time spent getting ready for the gym: 35 minutes. Total time spent eating a McFlurry after the gym: 5 divine minutes.

That was my first session. I've gotten better now, can last a lot longer and I feel better afterwards (the jantan says the same applies to him and he's not talking about the gym).

Also, now I can enjoy my nasi lemak breakfasts guilt-free. Come to me, cholesterol-laden food! I shall enjoy now and work you off later, calorie by calorie.

Till next time, this is Kucing signing out with a more toned Meow.