Elaine & Michael: August 2005

relief after the haze

the wind directions have changed and started to blow all haze to the northern part of malaysia now, so we have some relief after about 10 days of continuous haze. here are some before and after photos taken from our balcony (you can really see the difference here!)

BEFORE

AFTER

"Life of Pi" by Yann Martel

overall, this is a pretty good book, even if it was a very slow read in the first half.

What kept me going until I finished the book (and fortunately, this came early in page 5):
"Then the elderly man said, "I have a story that will make you believe in God."
I stopped waving my hand. But I was suspicious. Was this a Jehovah's Witness knocking at my door? "Does your story take place 2000 years ago in a remote corner of the Roman Empire?" I asked.
"No."
Was he some sort of Muslim evangelist? "Does it take place in seventh-century Arabia?"
"No, no. It starts right here in Pondicherry just a few years back, and it ends, I am delighted to tell you, in the very country you come from."
"And it will make me believe in God?"
"Yes."
"That's a tall order."
"Not so tall that you can't reach."

And it is true, this story does make you believe in God. Furthermore, it seems that Pi Patel and I share something in common: the belief that "all religions are true."

"Listen, darling, if you're going to be religious, you must be either a Hindu, a Christian or a Muslim. You heard what they said on the esplanade"
"I don't see why I can't be all three. Mamaji has 2 passports. He's Indian and French. Why can't I be a Hindu, a Christian and a Muslim?"
"That's different. France and India are nations on earth."
"How many nations are there in the sky?"
She thought for a second. "One. That's the point. One nation, one passport."
"One nation in the sky?"
"Yes. Or none. There's that option too, you know. These are terribly old-fashioned things you've taken to."
"If there's only one nation in the sky, shouldn't all passports be valid for it?"
[one chapter later...] "Bapu Ghandi said, "All religions are true.""

And last but not least, a good book (in my books) needs to make me laugh out loud. Or at least snort in a pitiful attempt to suppress it so as to not look like a retard.

My favorite laugh-out-loud part of the book:
"I took the hatchet in both my hands and vigorously beat the fish on the head with the hammerhead. The dorado did a most extraordinary thing as it died: it began to flash all kinds of colours in rapid succession. Blue, green, red, gold and violet flickered and shimmered neon-like on its surface as it struggled. I felt I was beating a rainbow to death."

Mr. Pi Patel, I salute you.
And Mr. Yann Martel, thank you for bringing this miraculous story to the masses.

cleaning air

dad helping me to fix my broken a/c yesterday, we need our a/c's more than ever in this haze!

the mask

respirators to help protect against the haze.
does this come in pink?

haze-ardous!

This is terrible! People have deserted the streets, schools have closed, and the API in certain areas have now reached the 500 mark! There are rumors that the government may declare "darurat" or an emergency, and I don't know what they can do except close all schools and offices until further notice. In fact, schools have already been closed! We're sending some help to Indonesia to help put out the forest fires, but some parties say that this haze may last until October! *shocking* If you have trouble imagining what this is like, think about being trapped in a burning house, except you are safely in the basement inhaling all the smoke. The entire Klang Valley plus a few other states are in this situation. I can hardly go outside without smelling the fire-burning smoke smell, and my eyes start smarting. Heck, it's even hazy on the INDOORS (and all the doors are closed!) It's been like this for over a week now, and it's only worsening.

Update: The government just declared "darurat" or emergency in Port Klang and Kuala Selangor, both areas have breached the 500-mark API (air pollution index). All offices and schools are closed, except for clinics, restaurants, grocery stores and pharmacies.

News and pictures courtesy of The Star:

PETALING JAYA: It is confirmed – our air is hazardous and in more places than earlier thought.

The people wanted the Air Pollution Index (API) released and the Government did so on the order from the Cabinet.

The figures showed that at noon, places like Port Klang, Shah Alam and Kuala Selangor were hazardous at a level of over 301 on the API while Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Jaya, Gombak, Putrajaya and Seremban were very unhealthy at between 200 and 300.

By evening the levels rose even higher with the air quality in Petaling Jaya and Putrajaya also reaching hazardous levels as the API passed the 301 mark.

Many activities came to a halt because of the deteriorating air quality caused by the fires in Sumatra, where there were 542 hotspots as of yesterday.

Schools in Kuala Selangor and the Klang district in Selangor have been ordered to suspend classes for the next two days.

Following suit was a directive to close all 200 schools in Kuala Lumpur for the week.

A view of the Kuala Lumpur city centre from the 42nd floor of the Petronas Twin Towers. - Picture courtesy of Chua Kuan Yong

An empty road disapppears into the haze in Port Klang, which recorded an Air Polutant Index reading of 410 at noon Wednesday. - Picture courtesy of Alex Ng