A Peculiar Trait Of KLites

City dwellers here have one peculiar trait that a Penangite like me found amusing initially. Many families in the city spend their weekends cooped up in sprawling shopping complexes like Mid Valley Megamall and 1 Utama from breakfast till dinner. I had always wondered how one could linger in such enclosed spaces with artificial lighting for one full day.

Inherently, I am still a kampung boy at heart. When I was young, my parents would take me for picnics by the sea or to my grandfather’s plantation in Sungai Pinang on weekends. Therefore it was ingrained in me that weekends should be spent in wide open spaces where one is amongst nature again.

Now that I have lived in Kuala Lumpur for a while, I have embraced this peculiar trait of window shopping on weekends, too. I now understand that it is all about comfort and convenience. Food outlets are aplenty. There are beauty salons, hair dressing salons, karaokes, cineplexes, gymnasiums, department stores, supermarkets and shops that sell literally everything. What more could one asks for when all that is needed is housed under one roof?

That is not all. The one other thing that I was initiated into while hanging out at these places was people watching. Human beings of all shapes and sizes are there to be ogled, laughed at or impressed with. There are women in skimpy attires with tattoos peeking out from discreet parts of the body. There are women garbed from head to toe. There are men with body piercings that would make the fainthearted cringe.

With so much happening in shopping complexes, time really flies. Sometimes, one day is just no enough to wander around these places and soak in its ambience. It is no wonder these are favourite weekend haunts for people of all ages. Good or bad, this is the inevitable evolution of social activities that comes with development.

After practicing this city folk lifestyle for some time, I realised that we congregate in such places not only for the shopping and people watching. We are social creatures. We have an inborn nature with a need to be among our own. It is there among the sea of people that we feel most human. This peculiar trait is not that unusual after all.

Real men dream of owning and driving at least a Benz or Beemer, or even both, in their lifetime. I do too. The new BMW 5 Series have the looks that intimidate and attract at the same time. The Mercedes Benz C-Class Kompressor is no less sexy with its sleek profile. For now, those are only dreams. Even the streamlined Honda Civic is way beyond my league.

The one piece of metal that I would definitely like to own in the very near future is a Küschall. It is not surprising that many have not heard of that name before. Küschall is based in Switzerland. They are the manufacturer for high-end lightweight wheelchairs that are also noted for their minimalist designs.

Image taken from Spinlife.com.

My dream ride is the Küschall Airlite Pro. This rigid frame wheelchair has many distinct advantages over the foldable wheelchairs that I have been using for the past 2 decades. It weighs slightly more than 8 kilograms at its most basic configuration. My current wheelchair weighs in at approximately 15 kilograms.

Imagine the burden Wuan has to lift every time we go out. Since I will be learning to drive soon, this wheelchair will be light enough for me to disassemble and carry into the car without assistance. The one shortcoming of rigid frame wheelchairs is that they may not be as compact as foldable ones.

The Airlite Pro cannot be purchased off the shelf. It has to be customised to fit the user’s body. This is what I am looking for as my posture has taken a beating from using wheelchairs that are not suitable for me for far too long. A rigid framed wheelchair also needs less energy to push. The only drawback is the price. An Airlite Pro configured to my specification will set me back more than USD2,000. At current exchange rate, that is RM7,400. Like the Honda Civic, this is beyond my league at the moment.

Dad was a Buddhist. Although he did not compel me to embrace Buddhism, I grew up reading the teachings of Buddha. The simplicity of the Four Noble Truths impressed upon me deeply, even now as a Christian. Buddha taught that desire is the root of all our sufferings.

For a time, I wondered if I could lead an austere life, one that is devoid of all the trappings. I attempted but obviously failed. There were so many things that I wanted to do and so many things that I wanted to possess.

Lately, similar grandeur thoughts have resurfaced again. In the attempt to make myself more mobile, I calculated the expenses required. At best, the car, modifications and an ultra-lightweight wheelchair will cost a bomb.

That was where the misery began. It is simply too expensive to even think about. I wished I can lead a simpler life but the environment in Malaysia is such that severely disabled persons are usually incarcerated in their own homes, unable to get out for the lack of assistance, barrier-free environment and accessible public transportation.

To get out, it is pertinent to have one’s own transport. The majority of us cannot afford it. We have a real need but do not have the means to resolve it. Buddha’s teachings notwithstanding, this is one desire that burns strong inside many of us.

I have insensitive busybodies for friends. Two of them asked me the same questions recently.

A and I chatted over the phone.

A: Are you still with your girlfriend?
Me: Yes
A: Is she the same one?

I met B at a shopping complex.

B: Are you still with your girlfriend?
Me: Yes
A: Is she the same one?

Is that the same questions they ask friends they have not met for a long time? Or is it just me?

Photo by Wuan.

The main content of this entry was written in October 27, 2000. It was part of the homepage that I created and dedicated to Wuan. As I reminisce about those wonderful years, I am reminded of how much we have journeyed together. She has seen me fall many times. Again and again she gently helped me up and egged me forward. There is no other person that I want to continue this journey with.

Love songs are food for the soul. They bring out the extreme of emotions in us - from sadness to happiness, from tears to laughters.

Love songs are the chronicles of our love lives, from our first infatuation to the time we first whisper “I love you”, and on to our first breakup. For many, the cycle begins again.

At times when I felt sad and lonely, these beautiful love songs kept me company. They are faithful companions, singing out my heart’s sorrows. Somehow, listening to these soft lulling tunes always lift my spirits.

Since meeting Wuan, I found these songs even more meaningful. We share similar affections for these beautiful love songs, which are like twinkling stars in a cold dark night.

These are songs with lyrics that have brought us closer each time we cuddled and let its soft soothing melodies lullaby us into a world of our own.

Love is all around us, if only we know how to open our hearts and let it fill our souls, and Wuan has done just that. She taught me what love is all over again, and more.

Wuan, thanks for all the loving.