Arranged to meet Dicta and Milnek today for Meepok lunch at 139 Kitchener Road.

Ah Ho Meepoktah … the best in Singapore, JB and some say Batu Pahat.

I was early as usual.

Arrived @ Kitchener Road at 11.50 am for our 12 noon appointment.

I saw the familiar shop sign from afar.

My heart started racing.

The thought of the POWDERFUL meepoktah with pork lard (bak pok) set my gastric juices flowing.

Then I stopped at my tracks.

Na beh.

I thought it is industry practice to close shop on Monday??

Why close on Wed?

I must ask Ah Ho next time I see him.

He needs to be chastised ... got industr y standard, better follow !!

It started to pour.

"Wa lau eh …… damn terok", I thought.

Other thoughts that came to my mind: "Dicta and Milnek are soooo going to kill me".

I was counting down the seconds till I met my maker.

12 struck …. No sign of both of them ... heng ah.

Then my eyes started to wander.

There was a "spa" beside Ah Ho's meepok stall.

It offered everything from massage to foot reflexology to facials.

As I walked closer to the entrance, a man popped out from behind the wooden door to ask: "Mister, wan massage?" and he winked at me.

Alamak …. What spa?  That's a meat joint.

Anyway, Dicta arrived at 1205 and Milnek shortly after.

As friends, they readily forgave me oversight re meepok shop closure.

We had "Middle Road Prawn Noodle" round the corner instead, recommended by Milnek.

I tell you, the hay mee (prawn noodle) power sia.

It had pork ribs, pork liver (tee kua), pig skin, pig intestines, pig tongue.

It had practically every part of the pig (save the unmentionables), expect prawns.

Wonder why they call it prawn mee.

Oh …. I also met Old Beng (www.oldbeng.blogspot.com) this afternoon.

Passed him the Polo Black he bid for ($85) @ the Great Meepoktah Charity Auction.

He is not that old leh …. Not that beng also.

Actually, he looked kinda educated and sophisticated.

Maybe, like me, he becomes damn beng when he dons on green for the nation.

Old Beng wanted to give me $100 for the item (the excess going to charity too).

Told him I cannot accept as the bid amount must tally with the cash I receive from bidders.

This is to ensure that the $$ collected is identical to the number on the ebay tracking system and 1/3 of that goes to charity.

Beng – Pleasure meeting you man.  I'll take a raincheck on the $15. Will approach you for funds for the needy when I need them J

Hi all,

Other than running to raise funds for the underprivileged, I'm going to experiment other ways of fund raising.

I bring you ……….. The Great Meepoktah Sale !!

I've used Ebay as the platform for transaction.

http://search.ebay.com.sg/_W0QQsassZmeepoktah888

Click to view the 27 items on sale.

All items are genuine.

They are sold much lower than market rates because my beng contacts have special lobangs.

Because the source of goods are "beng-ish", it is worthwhile to note that the goods are legit (ie. Not stolen goods nor parallel imports).

Items on sale for charity are clearly stated in their descriptions. 

(There are a few items that are not on sale for charity)

1/3 of the revenues from "charity items" will go to the needy.

The other 2/3 will go to covering the costs of the items.

(Jaywalk and Dicta can help verify these numbers).

Do spread the word around.

It's for a good cause and every bit counts.

Thanks all.

Cheers,

MPTMH

I'm on a management course yesterday and today.
(Must be cos my bosses think I'm ineffective).
No time to blog.

I have a lot more China stories to tell.
Will return to share more next week.

In the meantime, if you receive such messages, pls ignore them.
If you choose to stooopidly put money in these funds, you'll see a magic trick.
Money vanishing into thin air.....

If it's too good to be true, it is.

Have a good weekend all.

A co-worker got a pen stuck inside our printer. He started to try and remove the pen, but I told him we don't have time for that now, just put a note on the printer telling folks not to use it and then report it to the Help Desk. So he grabbed a piece of paper and scrawled on it. I left before he finished the note.

About 20 minutes later, one of my techs comes in laughing and says he was just in the lobby, saw a piece of paper on a printer and went to investigate.

Attached is what he found. Sometimes things don't always come out the way you want them to...  

I met a 34 year old resident of the orphanage (the joint venture one with foreigners)

He suffers from mental retardedness.

His mental age is 12.

I was playing "SNAP" with a deaf gal when he came along and tapped my shoulder.

I asked for his name but he refused to tell me.

He somehow managed to lay his hands on one of my team member's guitar and started singing and strumming away.

Well, he didn't get the right cords but his tempo was right.

I listened carefully.

He was singing a montage of Emil Chau songs like Hua1xin1, peng2you3.

He also belted out a rendition of Chinese folk songs.

His singing was terrible but it provided entertainment for everyone on a sweltering afternoon (38 deg C)

After his solo performance, I told him since he didn't want to tell me his name, I'd call him Zhou1Hua2Jian4  (Emil).

Emil's face lit up like a 3000MW torch.

From then point in time, each time I needed help with a kid, I'd shout "Hua2jian4" and Emil will come running to offer assistance.

I was not able to take a photo of Emil.

Images of Emil's solo performance are still deeply etched in my mind.

However, I managed to sneak of photo of Emil's bed.

It's a rickety old wooden bed.

Just a straw mat on a wooden bed frame.

This is considered a luxury.

The kids in state owned orphanages can only dream of having beds.

More stories to follow………..

I'm sympathetic towards people living below the poverty line.

However, I feel most for kids and have always been compelled to help needy kids.

Dunno why …… it's been like that since my school days.

(and pls, I did not FEEL THE KIDS, like Mike Jackson).

More on my China trip..........

Chinese state run orphanages are in squalid condition (an understatement).

I've seen crappy conditions in 3^rd world countries.

Nothing prepared me for what I saw in China in June.

State owned orphanages are under-funded, under staffed, over-populated. 

Rooms were dark and ill ventilated.

A cacophony of odor from mould, urine, vomitus and crap fill the air.

Kids sleep on the floor, wearing tattered soiled clothes.

They were left to fend /rot on their own.

Deaths are not uncommon.

Got so many, die a few nevermind.

Mealtimes were like wrestling matches.

A pot of food is left in the middle of the table.

A free-for-all follows.

The bigger and quicker ones will get to scoop the rice with their hands into their bowls.

The slower ones will have to eat off the table or scrap dropped on the floor.

Some even try to steal others' food.

Those who are not able to get their hands (literally) on the food, will go hungry.

The care-takers do not intervene.

They are overwhelmed by the adverse working conditions.

Kids in state owned orphanages live lives no different from wild animals.

This saddens me….

I want to help but I don't know where to start.

If I gave money, it will line some corrupt Gahmen officials pocket.

Hence I gave the kids my gift of time and companionship.

I visited another orphanage for 2 days.

This one is a joint venture orphanage for the disabled.

Foreigners provide part funding for the orphanage and hence have say in the operations.

Understandably, conditions are much better.

This kids have been abandoned by their parents because of the disability eg. Cerebral palsy, retardedness, deafness etc.   

Below is a pic of me with my newfound friends.

Interacted with them with my half-past-six Mandarin.

I did not bring them gifts of gold.

I brought them "a window to the world".

Showed them all the pics I took with my mobile phone during my travels.

The kids were fascinated.

Kids will always be kids.

Easy to impress J 

More stories to follow…………

I'm seldom at a loss for words.

This time I really kena stuck.

Let me explain.

Every year I will take time off for a "personal sabbatical".

I travel alone to reset my perspectives about my existence, my role in society, meaning of God etc.

This year I decided to visit orphanages, as part of an international delegation, in hinterlands of China in end June 06.

I wanted to understand the conditions of these orphanages and offer assistance if possible.

My trip is maciam "secret mission".

The Chinese Gahmen apparently does not like foreigners to provide assistance to the needy ones.

This is for fear that new political ideas and religions are propagated.

Maybe also because of loss of face.

The delegation team leader asked us not to take photos in the places we went.

We were also told to exercise discretion in sharing what we saw.

However, Meepok being Meepok, I snuck several shots.

As I continue to struggle deciding what I should write and what I shouldn't, perhaps this photo will help tell part of my story …..

We, Sing Ka Por Lang, regardless of family backgrounds, are a lucky and sheltered bunch ………….