Category: Matters Of The Heart

Introducing Quick Takes – Photoblogging With My Samsung Galaxy S II

Looks like I have been going through a spell of drought where blogging is concerned. By blogging, I meant writing. September was the worst month as I only churned out one post. On the other hand, I have been actively updating my second photoblog that I christened Quick Takes. It features images taken and uploaded with the Samsung Galaxy S II.

Although the camera phone allows very limited control as compared to a conventional digital camera, I enjoy capturing images and post them up on the go. The lack of updates was also due to the fact that I have been spending the past couple of weeks setting up the photoblog and updating the other blogs as well. There was an issue of the image captions not being parsed in the RSS feed that took almost a week of wading through Google and WordPress forums to resolve.

The Digital Awakening’s homepage has been redesigned to include links to the latest posts in my other blogs and Wuan’s photoblog. Some of these have not been updated for a couple of years. I noticed the same trend among bloggers active in Facebook and Twitter who have not been updating their blogs as frequently as they used to. These two microblogging medias have dampened our enthusiasm somewhat for writing longer posts. I guess I need to manage my time better between Facebook, Twitter and my blogs to break this affliction.

27th Year Of My Spinal Cord Injury

When I sustained spinal cord injury 27 years ago today, I had to learn anew everything about my body again. My limbs could no longer move the way they used to. My bladder had to be emptied with the aid of catheters. I needed suppositories to move my bowels. Even my diaphragm function was impaired which affected my breathing.

It has not been easy for me all these years, more so when the world is not built for people with impairments like mine. Moving around in a wheelchair is like traversing an obstacle course even in the most modern parts of Kuala Lumpur. I would love to be more active but the inconvenience of overcoming these barriers wore me down quickly most of the time.

So after 27 years, my body is worn out before its time from over-exertion and over-compensation for reduced muscular functions and in pushing the wheelchair. My fingers are bent. My wrists, shoulders and right knee aches. My kidneys are failing from urinary tract infections and vesicouretal refluxes. In essence, I am living in a body much older than my age.

But all is not that bad. I got to befriend some interesting people and see the world from a different perspective. I learnt to accept the limitations of my impairments and made the best of whatever was thrown at me. Most importantly, being a disabled person, I am conscientized by the issues faced by my peers. This led me to do what I am doing today – promoting disability equality – so that disabled people are accorded the rights we deserve in society.

Someone wise said fate chooses our relative, we choose our friends. I beg to differ. It is fate that chose my friends for me too whom I otherwise would not have the honour to be acquainted with had my life took a different turn. Here’s a toast to friends who have made my 27-year journey with spinal cord injury more meaningful. Thank you for making it less arduous than it could have been. Thank you for being there for me one time or another. I could not have asked for more.

Farewell Ah Tneoh

My Ah Tneoh, my youngest maternal aunt’s husband, has passed away shortly after noon. He was 88. We were close as extended families. Ah Tneoh would usually drop Ah Cheng Ee off at our place on Sunday afternoons when we were staying at Jalan Terengganu. Both she and my mother would then potter around the garden or just enjoy each other’s company.

In the evenings, Ah Tneoh would come back to pick her up. That was the routine for many years until they moved to just a stone’s throw away from us. After that, Ah Cheng Ee would come over by herself. Ah Tneoh would drop by occasionally still whenever they return from running errands.

The last time I saw Ah Tneoh was at my wedding banquet in 2009. Ah Tneoh and Ah Cheng Ee were as close to me as parents as they ever could be. Among them, I have always felt loved. I am distraught. His passing is sorely felt. Rest in peace Ah Tneoh.