Exiting grief

 It felt like I had sat in a car at 400km/h and hit a coconut tree, everything was obliterated and I walked out with just a sprained ankle. We mourned the passing of a family member and at the height of this emotional roller coaster, I went through denial, anguish, despair, a huge sense of loss, regret, and self-pity. I took it rather hard because I spent a great deal of time with my dogs. This is apparent when I am no longer in employment. There were long hours with the dogs as my companion. So, having said that, the bond is very close. Kitto's passing was sudden and nobody saw that coming. So, as a cautionary tale, if you have a female dog, and do not have plans to get a litter, please spay her. She will enjoy a longer life. 

Now the dust has settled, it's time to set new priorities. I have Bandit, the last of our pack, and it is my responsibility to take good care of him as I had with Kitto. The whole experience taught me something: Life is short.

I have to make use of time in a good and organized way. I took it back to the range to work on my archery form, which totally sucked in a big way. There is a tournament this weekend and this is a good way to focus on positivity and get into the game mindset. We have a bigger game down South at the end of the month and we need our minds to be on the game. I kept myself busy by building new competition arrows for Michelle. As for Bandit, we do full loops on our daily walks to get our hearts pumping and blood flowing. Time to move on and get back to where we were...

Rock bottom

 IT'S been 24 hours since we lost Kitto, our seven-year-old female Siberian Husky. Her sudden departure has left a big hole in our lives. 

I've experienced losing a family member, and close friends, but nothing has ever prepared me for the sudden demise of a pet dog, one which is very close to the family and a constant companion. I'm so used to having a pair of dogs waiting for me at the gate, now it's only one and the loss of his companion is slowly sinking in.
"Kitto's gone, boy...", I said to Bandit. He gazes into the distance, perhaps waiting for Kitto to come back home. The harsh reality is that things are no longer the same.

For me, it was rock bottom. I cleared off some of Kitto's belongings. Her crate was moved to storage. Some of her items were set aside. The lair that she used to sleep in is now vacant. It's hard to get the images out of my mind. What made me feel even sad is the fact that Kitto is still young. Her rapidly deteriorating health and death were sudden. I was looking forward to at least 10 - 12 years of having this pack together. This was my experience with my first pack of Siberian Huskies. Both lived to 12 and 13 respectively. At that age, every day, week, and month is an added bonus and when it comes to death at old age, it was acceptable. Kitto was around 7 years of age and I felt she was gone way too soon. With that in mind, I sank into further despair. I had Michelle, my wife to talk about this, something to air off my chest. Given the best of what we can to Kitto, I have come to terms that she was gone. Her mild temperament and constant companionship are irreplaceable. It will take time to suck it all up and move on...

I will utilize my time with Bandit to fulfilling my responsibilities, take good care of him, and include him in my outdoor pursuit. The older pack was lucky enough to go on hikes and a trip to the beach. And this is something that I owe my boy. Together, we will overcome our loss and heal the wound.

Remembering Kitto

 Kitto came into our lives four years ago when we fostered two rescued Siberian Huskies. 
She was a pure white, which is a rare marking for the breed and I immediately fell in love with her mild temperament. After a month of house-breaking, the fostered dogs are as good as our family members.

Last Friday, I noticed that she was not eating and was rather weak from malnutrition. I took her to the vet and have her examined. She checked out alright and was given medication for her lack of appetite. But in the following 48 hours, her health had taken a turn for the worse. Kitto was whining in pain. We had to endure the long holiday weekend and as soon as I can get a vet appointment, I scheduled her for a follow-up. This time, the vet diagnosed pyometra, an infection of her reproduction organs. She picked this up during her last heat and her uterus was inflamed. The swelling caused massive discomfort in her stomach, hence the lack of appetite. We did whatever we can to give her comfort.

After two consecutive blood tests, her odds are not in favour of recovery with an aggressive surgery to remove the infected organs. Nevertheless, I made the call. It's giving her a fighting chance rather than putting her to sleep. We don't give up at all. But fate has put it in a way, Kitto had a short life. I received a phone call while walking Bandit, our Sibe, and was told of her passing. My immediate thought was to give her a burial next to Sir Naughty and Dame Queenie, our previous pack.

Kitto's passing has left a massive void in our lives. I felt sad that her life was cut short due to an illness we didn't see coming. In her existence, she had given love without bounds. Kitto was always there waiting for us to come home. I spent a lot of time with her, taking both dogs for their walks. In the four years that we had Kitto, we gave her care and love she had never received as a pup. It's heartbreaking to see a beloved pet's rapidly declining health and we did everything we could to alleviate the suffering and pain. Kitto will always be remembered as one of our favourite pooch along with Sir Naughty and Dame Queenie.

Now that we are left with Bandit, my duty is to dedicate my time and love to him, as we still have years ahead of us. So, Kitto, say hello to Naughty and Queenie in Doggahalla. We will see you soon.

The Keramat gig

 

Coming in a full circle...

Michelle and I started our archery gig in the Keramat Sports Centre five years ago. We got yelled at, chased away and now, we are back. There were familiar faces, compound bow archers with camouflaged pants, some "hunter-dude wannabe", "super-duper coaches" and some very interesting archery personalities. Mostly amateur archers pursuing their hobby.

Since we have our own range in Subang, our contact with the Keramat club archers were kept to the minimum. Back in the days when we brought a hunting recurve bow to the Keramat range, we get dirty looks and were treated like lepers. Some were actually afraid that an archer who uses just a bow and arrow can shoot better than them. They paid RM900 for a bow sight and much more for all the bells and whistles. We also met some folks who had a rig the price of a small car but were too afraid to compete at tournaments because they don't want to "lose face", which is a typical Asian trait. We also met folks who boast about their "perfect" archery form. The form was too perfect, they got banned from tournaments. But to top it all, there was this Man-Gorilla half-breed who boasted about this range and elite club members. It was so elite, it got closed down because animals were maimed and killed near the premises. This personality is so thick-skinned, he actually shot at Keramat and bolted off when the Rangemaster arrives.

Anyway, we were invited to shoot at the Keramat range by an old friend who is also the club's Rangemaster. Currently, we are helping him out to raise funds to upkeep the target butts and stands. Hopefully, this will be done after we host a small inter-club Barebow tournament for the man.

The Keramat range is a great place to train. As a Barebow archer, I'm glad that the National Archery Association had included the class in their target archery events. Hopefully, when the flu pandemic is over, we can compete there...

Fixed...

 A phone call to an old friend...

I gave a call to my old friend at The Star Media Group. Followed up with him on the wrong picture being used in a story that implicated cyclists on highways.

He regretted that it was a mistake. But I told him no apology was necessary on his part.

Apparently, the online team had used an old picture by doing a search on the company's image repository. 

It turned out that the photo was an unused image from a series of pictures I took back when I wrote about cycling on the Federal Highway bike lane. This was attributed to my personal take on what it was like cycling from home to work.

Many mistakes and some, causing law-suits have arisen from this. 

Why? The person did not perform a fact check and the filing system was done incorrectly. Another good friend of mine who fetched the wrong wire story was sent to the can because of this.

It's all good...

I'm not seeking legal recourse on the matter, but rather let the people who did the mistake to make it good. The picture was replaced with another that actually depicts cyclist on a closed highway.

Far from over...

But, for cyclists, the issue of folks taking it out on highways is still an issue. Some genius from the Malaysian Institute on Road Safety had come out with the idea of issuing licence plates for bicycles. And this was taken all the way up to the Transport Ministry. I think it's silly. Anyway, the onus is on a cyclist to abide by the Law and respect all road users.

Judge, Jury, Executioner...

 

A Witchhunt...

The Cops posted a statement on their Facebook page. They warned cyclists not to use the highway as their trampling grounds. This is founded as it is an offence to cycle on the Highway under the Road Transport Act. As a matter of fact, the Cops also posted a picture of a cyclist being detained by highway patrolmen in relation to the matter.

And here's where things got really interesting. A friend on mine posted a link to Carsifu.my on a related article. It has a picture of me posing next to a motorcycle and bicycle sign on the Federal Highway. The story made an example of the cyclist on a Highway. But, without verifying facts, they published the story without a caption. To the uninitiated, the traffic offence is indirectly linked to the photo. 

For the record...

The picture was lifted by The Star straight from my Facebook photo album. It was taken more than eight years ago when I cycled to work from my home in Subang Jaya to Section 16 in Petaling Jaya. I used the main road to connect with the bike lane along the Federal Highway. I did not cycle on the runoff on the Highway. Instead, I used the designated bike lane to get to work.

A series of photographs captured above explains the route taken from Subang Jaya to Petaling Jaya via the Federal Highway bike lane. And as a rule of thumb, it is against the Law to cycle on the car lanes along the Highway. You don't have to be a brain surgeon to figure that out. I used the bike lane, not the car lane. So, how is this against the Law?

An axe to grind?

The photo was my personal visual entry on Facebook. Only friends can access the images. The person who published the photo is perhaps no stranger to pictures of me cycling everywhere. 

The question here is "what is their agenda?" Is The Star, being a moral guardian -- saying that it is wrong to stand next to a road sign and take pictures? 

They singled me out to make a point, based on a Facebook statement by the Cops on the dangers of cycling on the Highway and the penalties of doing so if caught.

If I had actually done it on the Highway, then there is no argument. But this was not the case. The people who ran this story actually took the trouble to scour my Facebook album and used the photo without properly verifying the facts. In fact, they published it without my permission. And just so that you know, this image was taken on a tripod and self-timer. I am the rightful owner of the photo.

Why so personal? 

Aren't there any pictures of cyclists actually caught in the act? I won't draw any irrational conclusions. Perhaps it is poor training on the part of the Editor in this case. Any responsible journalist would check for the correct facts before the story makes it to final print. 

Two things are in play. First, they violated my privacy by using the photo without permission. Second, they incriminated me by associating the image to the offence under the Road Transport Act. Was it deliberate? No one knows until some fella has the balls to own up. Till then, we wait and see.

The right thing to do is to contact the owner of the photo and give a reasonable explanation to the public shaming of a cyclist using the Federal Highway bike lane as a means to commute to work...

Mora: A knife of all seasons...

A chance discovery...

Back in the early 90s, I did plenty of bluewater fishing. One of my requirements was a bait knife. So, while shopping at a local tackle store, I round a Swedish-made knife. It came with a plastic sheath and a finger guard. The price? RM12 a pop. I didn't hesitate to grab the knife. It has some surface pitting, but that didn't really bother me at all.
I took it with me in countless trips to the ocean and it became a loyal companion.
The knife in question was a KJ Eriksson Mora. It's a simple fixed-blade knife with a green plastic handle. It came with a plastic sheath and a PVC belt loop.
The blade length is 3.75" which made it an ideal utility knife for food preparation. As a bait knife, it served its purpose till I settled for a Martiini fillet knife.

Carbon steel

Now, if you ask some knife collectors and "steel snobs" they will scoff at carbon steel. But, if you want something cheap and good, and you know how to maintain it, the Mora is a knife that can be handed down generations.
Carbon steel isn't so bad. But if you don't take care of it, surface rust will set in and damage the knife.
I had some issues when I stored the knife. Atmospheric pollution contributed to some heavy surface corrosion. This was taken care of by polishing the blade with abrasive paper.
Once restored, the Mora is as good as new.
Carbon steel is also very easy to sharpen, but edge retention is not the best.
You have to keep sharpening it after some use. The heavier the usage, the more you will have to work on it. 
But, hey, if you pay RM12 for a Mora, it's part of the chore!

The Mora legacy...

There was a resurgence of the Mora in the mid-2000s when Bushcrafters have heavily promoted the Moras in their social media channel.
It's the "go-for" knife if you want something cheap and reliable. There will be no guilt whacking it.
In the mid-2000s, KJ Eriksson became Morakniv and a new line of Mora utility blades was introduced.
Their market was intended for bushcrafters and purists. Till today, the basic carbon steel mora is still an affordable knife.
With inflation and currency fluctuation, you can purchase a basic carbon steel mora blade for less than RM50 a piece.
And if you take good care of the blade, it will last you a lifetime...

Now comes the crunch...

Retrenchment...

Corporate jargon such as: "Manpower Rationalization Exercise" is a candy-coated word for "Retrenchment". This is a last-resort move by companies to save their ass from further deterioration.
That said, one of the largest media houses in Malaysia has called for such a practice.
But, this is not new. They have offered voluntary layoffs since 1998 and went on doing so for a number of times.

The changeover...

Prior to the new government, the said media house has played a role in executing their political master's agenda. With public trust diminishing over the years, sales have dropped. Our currency has never improved since 1998 and the cost of a newspaper has never increased. Basically, the profit is driven by advertisement and poor customer service has driven many advertisers to a rival media house. Another issue is the quality of the product. The media house suffered a talent drain as many of the good writers have either quit or joined a rival company.

Poor leadership qualities and succession rate...

When personal development is gauged on kissing ass and being a "yes-man", many of the talented folks who worked in the media house became disillusioned. They persevered and when they can't take it anymore, they leave. Those who chose to be in "the right camp" ascended. As an eyewitness, I saw how the Editors yell and scream at their charge. Instead of being professional, they punished their reporters by victimizing them. 
One jarring example was at one particular set-up in the media house, a news Editor had sexually harassed one of the female reporters by using the editorial operating systems messaging board. 
But this was swept under the rug as the said person was under "protection" from the higher-ups.
Another guy who tried to do the same by sending short messaging on his expensive personal device wasn't so lucky. The case was blown out of proportion and the guy had to leave before a domestic inquiry was called.
The journalist union in the media house was weak. Reporters continued to be abused. That's how bad the working conditions were at this place.
As the media house continues to decay, those who rose through default was politically-appointed to succeed some who had to leave. All they need to do is to continue kissing ass and spread propaganda. 
The final in the coffin was the appointment of a group of mediocre Editors to helm their company. These guys were the worst of the lot and it's no surprise the impending doom of the media house was compounded by a lot of poorly made decisions.

Fear, not the hardship and sufferings...

I sympathize with those who got retrenched. But life goes on. Get another job elsewhere, weather it out and hopefully, things would get better...

KIFAC 2019 - Part 4

Unmarked distances...

With Pak Sani and his wife, archers from Bandung, Indonesia...

We have reached the climax of our shoot in Batam and the last round was field targets with marked distances. 
It's actually similar to what we have done the day earlier with the exception of distance markers placed on the shooting line. 
As usual, the barebow folks would shoot at the last station where six target butts were placed with 20cmx3 triple faced targets.
From what I have learned the day before, to get things right, I must place my shots low and the results actually showed. I had fewer misses compared to the unmarked distances and as we progressed, some archers struggled with keeping up.

Playing the mind game...

Most of the archers experienced at least a 30% drop in their overall scores. They might have taken some things for granted, but a few meters in terms of distance and elevations can result in a miss or a poorly placed shot.
The guys in my flight, Pak Liswantoro, and Pak Dedi felt this when most of their arrows had missed its mark.
As they struggle, I maintained my lead. 
I had a few badly placed shots and some misses on the 30m and 50m marked targets.

Pak Ilham, one of the event organizers...

Michelle, taking her shot at the 20m marked targets

Pak Dedi in action...

With Liswantoro (L) and Dedi (R)

The game continued until the third pool where we were given a break. Michelle and I had our packed lunch and exchanged notes on the shoot.
She didn't do really well with at least a dozen missed shots.
I told her to take it easy and make it up at the last station. The game continued till the last arrow landed on the target face. 
At 30m, I did pretty well until the last target face where I had two misses. 
Right there, till the end, the 50m marked distance targets proved to be a "deal-breaker" for most of the archers.
Those who did very well the day before were 30 points behind.

Samo, at the 30m marked distance targets...

Archers at the 30m target butt...

A good day to shoot!

Making their way to the last station at the field course...

All in a day's work...

After we were done, we went back to the staging area to pack up our gear. I had some souvenirs distributed to some fellow archers and key people who organized the game. In no time, the results were published on inseo.net, an online repository for archery events and its results.
Despite having a bad day, Michelle came up in second place. My scores were the same compared to the previous day where I was ranked sixth. On the second day, I came in fourth and overall with two days of scores combined, I landed in fifth place.

Michelle (L), flanked by the champion Mardhiyatillah (CTR) and Nurul Hidayu from Satria Archery Club, Johor.

Summary

The Batam field shoot was well organized in terms of time management. This was their first time and the guys should be given a pat on the shoulder for finishing on time.
They have plans to organize two events of similar nature yearly and with adequate marketing and promotion, they will succeed.
Michelle and I have had a great time shooting at the course. 
If we set foot on the island again, getting decent accommodation would be our priority... 

KIFAC 2019 - Part 3

Unmarked distances... 

The head judge giving archers a final briefing before the game...

Fear of the unknown puts many folks in suspense.
To begin the day, the head judge gave a thorough briefing about the game and how it's conducted.
We walked to the edge of the course where six target stands were set up with 20cmx3face in a shooting sequence of A, B, C, and D. 
Two archers will shoot first in the group beginning with archers A and B.  The sequence follows with the last two target faces. This is similar to indoor triple face targets where we actually shoot the first and third target faces to give each other more space. Well, some archers did not observe this and shot just about any target face they fancy. If there is a protest, he will lose points.

Michelle and one of the woman archers on the course...

I was placed in a flight with two guys. One from Batam, a Javanese goat herder, another from Pekanbaru in Sumatera. 
The goat herder, Pak Liswantoro is relatively new to archery while Pak Dedi Suryadi was the more seasoned archer. 
This was apparent with Liswantoro wanted to call for the judge when his arrow landed between the line of value between two points. I called out the score and awarded the goat herder the highest score, but he insisted on calling the judge. We only call for a judge when all of us could not agree on the value of the score. In this respect, the Indonesians have quite a way to go...

Runners handing out scoresheets to the archers...

Protocol, protocol, protocol...

At the first pool, we shot six targets. 
I didn't connect well with the top 20cm target face as my arrow landed high. This actually taught me to set my aiming point lower to allow the arrow to land dead-center. After placing 18 arrows at the first station, I only managed to harvest 57 points. Not too shabby to get the day started.
When everyone had completed their rounds, the announcer called for a break to observe the opening ceremony.
Pak Dedi, my shooting partner remarked that it's all speeches, dancing and delay to the entire event.
We spent two hours listening to speeches from all the VIP guests and by the time it was over, back to work.
The next pool was a set of six targets with a 60cm face at a distance of 30 meters. It's time to make up the lost points and I managed to connect my shots with a couple of misses.
On the third pool, we had a set of 40cm target face at roughly 20 meters. Now, this is our bread and butter and we were expected to do well. 
I had failed to factor-in the slightly elevated slope that I was standing on to take my shot. Each arrow landed high in a tight group. No misses, but very little points.
While working on the third pool, the organizers had called for a meeting among the team and club managers. 
A decision was made to proceed with the game until the end.

An Indonesian national archer at the opening ceremony

The first pool of 20cm target faces

Saving the best for the last... 

Everyone dreads the long and elevated target faces. Placed at a distance of 45 meters on a mound, a badly estimated shot can land your arrow in the bushes.
I observed as one guy from a different flight had only one arrow on the target face. It was tough.
The top archer in my group was Pak Dedi. He did very well and came in at fifth place on the unmarked distance ranking.
On the first day, I managed to score 206 points to land a spot on the sixth place. Plenty of misses, especially in the 45m unmarked distance targets. One of my arrows landed on the wooden target stand. Some went low and hit the ground. Precision and form are key to connecting your shots in this case...

Having our packed lunch...

All in the day's work: Beer Bintang to quench our thirst...

Michelle came in first in the Women's Barebow division. She ranked high with 227 points after 72 arrows.
We headed back to Nagoya Hills earlier than the previous day and walked around the area before settling at a hawker centre at the city walk for some beers.
There, we ate simple, sat around to unwind as the marked distances await on the final day of the tournament...

KIFAC 2019 - Part 2

Official practice, registration and equipment inspection...

The Field of play overlooks Singapore's skyline

We woke up as early as 5.30am in preparation for the official practice and equipment inspection at Indah Puri Golf Resort which is located in Sekupang, some 14km away from Nagoya Hills. Since it was a workday in most parts of the island, we had to join the early traffic rush.
Michelle and I had decided to have breakfast at McDonald's which is about a block away from our hotel. There, it's the usual McBreakfast and a cup of black coffee to get the day going.
The day before, we nearly got ripped off by a ride-hailing driver. Michelle had decided that it was best to get a five-star person to drive us to our location across the island.
We hailed a ride, loaded out gear onto the car and joined the hustle and bustle of the daily grind in Batam.
I observed that the roads around here were really bad. Some years back, I rode my bike across the island to get to Bintan.
The driver took us to a series of small villages before we hit the golf resort's entrance.

Indah Puri at last!

An aerial view of the Field of play

An awesome location!

There weren't many archers on the first day of the meet. A technical meeting was about to take place at 9am sharp before we were allowed to practice at a designated pool.
The organizers had made sure that the rules were laid down and all archers would know what to do during the game. I like it that the guys were thorough and they made sure everything is covered...

Sighting-in...

I shoot split-finger, so, there little concern on my part about "string-walking" or setting the "right crawl" on my bow. I base my technique on instinctive archery and whatever I see, the arrow will follow and land. Not 100% accurate, but it gets the job done. I didn't join the shoot to earn medals, but rather have fun and enjoy the shoot.

Michelle, sighting-in her bow

Equipment inspection...

The technical meeting session

The head judge, laying down the rules...

After all the formalities, we were introduced to a family from Kluang, Johor. Two ladies in the group were shooting in the Women's Barebow division. One of the women's husbands, a young bowyer was among the crowd. We have actually met at the Istana Negara shoot that took place in early November.
The folks were really friendly as we exchanged knowledge on Field Archery. Some of the archers who registered for the shoot arrived later in the day to join in the practice.
Later, Michelle and I had decided to have lunch at the golf course clubhouse. 
We had a decent meal consisting of fried rice and oxtail soup and hung out there. It started raining heavily before the 2pm practice session and we were glad that the rain actually stopped.

Nasi goreng Indah...

Oxtail soup...

Weathering it out at the clubhouse

Making the most out of it...

Time passes slowly when you wait. But it bears its rewards when you connect your shot at unmarked distances.
We shot for the second time at the course and found our arrows landing at the target faces.
I always had issues of dropping my bow arm, causing the arrows to land low and short. This, I tried to fix and minimalize my form mistakes. Michelle, on the other hand, had a better time connecting her shots.

Retrieving arrows from an elevated target...

One of the hardest pools in the course...

Rain gear on the course!

Targets on the marked distance pool...

Practice session...

My wet riser...

We had a full day at the tournament venue. Making full use of the practice session.
I was quite satisfied to land some shots at the 40m targets. The first day would be unmarked distances followed by marked distances on the last day. Elimination rounds were called off due to time management issues.
By the end of the day, it was back to our shithole hotel in Nagoya. We hailed a ride that took forever to arrive and manage to make it back all the way.
At Nagoya, we had to refill our drinking water and prepare for the competition day. After a good meal, that was it for me. I crashed early to earn some sleep time...