Evidence of snatch theft

I have no idea where the theft occurred but it is evident the snatchers stopped on PJU 1A/20 by where Puspakom used to be to examine the spoils of their crime.

I saw this "Gucci" tote bag chucked in the ditch. Its contents emptied out and picked through for valuables. I could not see any wallet or other identification. So if you know anyone who has had a bag like this snatched, please tell the person that her bag could have been found now.

Drains getting a breath of new life

Finally! Finally some work is being done to clean upthe drains around here. But first let me pay due recognition to these hard-working souls who cleared up the monsoon drain that separates us from the rest of Ara Damansara.



The monsoon drain backing Claremont and Mutiara now flows easier after all the trees were pulled out and god knows how much mud and silt dug and removed. Nasty work, but these guys did it. Hurrah to them for the great work done!






Since then, I've been waiting impatiently and looking out constantly for work to begin on the neighbourhood drains. Hope and faith pays off, because lo and behold, this guy turned up, tasked with digging out all the stuff that has gone into the road run-off channels that leads to larger drains, that lead to the monsoon drain and river.





My husband interviewed him and found out his name is "Zan". Zan lives not far from here and is working his butt off literally, as he squats for long periods of time digging into the channel, unclogging it from dirt, tree roots, trash, you name it, he's probably pulled it out of there. And he's doing all this with dedication and determination. How many of us will acknowledge him as we pass him by? He probably won't look up out of humility and submission.

But now that we know his name, let's give him a cheerful "good day" and acknowledge his good service to our neighbourhood. A neighbourhood that is getting better as he keeps working at his job, as we keep working at making our neighbourhood a better place to live.

So don't forget, his name is "Zan" and I'm sure it will put a spring in his step and fire up his energy if we were to acknowledge him and the work he is doing. A plain simple good morning and thank you is all that is needed.

Fish out of water

After the outbreak of kerang shells strewn all over the path as a result of dogs tearing open the trash bag (my husband swept it all up by the way), a fish appeared from nowhere the next day.



Actually it appears that the openly-dumped trash was collected the next day, and a fish dropped out of it all.

Dead fish makes really good fertiliser particularly for roses and other fragrant plants. No need to throw it out in the trash where it's not going to benefit anything or anyone. Just dig a hole anywhere in the neighbourhood and give the fish a decent burial where it will make flowers smell sweeter if not at least look prettier.

Noise that's not music to the ears

This is an ongoing on again, off again problem here in Ara Damansara. We border with Subang Airport [or officially known as Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Airport] on our western fringe. No doubt it provides interesting views if you like aeronautics, it would be more appreciated if the occupants of hangers there realised what damage they are doing to our ears and homes. There've been lots of plans talked about with regards to the redevelopment of Subang airport.

Fortunately, I live a little further away from Ara Damansara's western border. But my friends over in Bayu particularly are having a rocking and rolling time especially at night when jet engines are revved for surround effect.

Roof tiles come loose, windows vibrate, koi fish jump out of ponds, people lose precious sleep, real-estate value drops; to list but a few consequences of nightly turbo disturbances from aircraft maintenance.

This complaint is not new. It has surfaced time and again in the media, but when the hype is over, the jet engines return to their daily revs.
Skypark plan riles Subang residents

Hmmmm, perhaps someone needs to fall off their roof while fixing loosened tiles before some permanent solution is adhered to.

Bayu residents tell me that they are faithfully bugging the police to keep aircraft maintenance within civil limits. I personally prefer the police to be policing our area to keep criminals out but when corporate society doesn't cooperate in good neighbourliness, what choice does private society have but burden the already short-handed police to spend their resources on lesser offences.

A Bayu resident informed me that she came home one night and noticed someone lurking under a tree in front of her house. She braved herself to question this someone and found that he was there to do a noise disturbance study. Apparently all he achieved was fattening up the mosquitoes. Whichever authority who sent him should have at least informed the neighbourhood that a representative was going to be sent for the noise study. The residents then would have appreciated the outsider presence in their neighbourhood. At the end of it, what were the findings of the study? Who knows? All we know is that the noise pollution is back to discotheque proportions where talking is futile and physical bodies just move to groovy vibrations.

... and I haven't touched on low flying helicopters yet.

Urban Civilisation or Kampong Redneck

I am confused... Do I live in a civilised urban neighbourhood or have I somehow returned to Kampong Redneck?

Over the weekend, in the green in front of my house, I found irresponsible dumping of wet kitchen waste, stinking to high heaven. Indeed the smell of rotting flesh. You know, like something had died and the stench that makes you sick to the stomach. I didn't even have to walk by it, because it wafted all the way downwind of the green, and spoiled the air around my home.

I can identify 2 immediate thought patterns here. Firstly the generous mentality of whichever household that decided the kitchen wet kitchen waste was too much stench for their own home so why not share it with the rest of the neighbours. Secondly, the economical mentality of why waste money buying a proper secure wastebin, when indiscriminate dumping is cheaper.

You would think that these behaviours are prevalent only among the uneducated, ulu village people. Nope, wrong! It is the behavioural mentality of urbanites as well. Nevermind that indiscriminate and open dumping of wet kitchen waste attracts flies and stray dogs. As long as it is not in their own yard, why care?




Take a look at the photographs here and be honest, would you like our neighbourhood to look like this? Will indiscriminate wet kitchen waste dumping increase the real-estate value of our neighbourhood? Does indiscriminate wet kitchen waste dumping foster closer neighbourhood relations? It this a pleasing picture that can be put on brochures to attract good neighbours?

Dumping of garden waste however is acceptable because
1. Plant prunings and cut grass don't stink and attract strays and flies.
2. The refuse is collected regularly every week i.e. Mondays





In contrast I've heard complaints about smell from dog poo. Significant differences between dog poo and wet kitchen waste are

1. Dog poo disintegrates within 48 hours as long as it's dropped on grassy, earth surfaces. In fact within 24 hours if it rains. It disintegrates fast because it attracts earthworms that recycle it into organic humus fertiliser and goes immediately back into the ground. Eventhough I have dogs, I take issue with dog owners who leave their dog poo on hard surfaces like roads and pedestrian paths where earthworms cannot access and is liable to be stepped on, thereby causing considerable inconvenience to everyone and causes dogs to be labeled a public nuisance.

2. Dog poo only stinks immediately after dropped. It doesn't continue to stink like rotting wet kitchen waste that makes you sick to the stomach. Nature's elements quickly takes care of it and returns ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

Now those of you who want to start a Cat poo discussion on the other hand, can count on my support because it can be directly compared to wet kitchen waste on the same stench scale.