Electronic street

Shop at Jalan Pasar, where there is something for everybody.

JALAN Pasar, which is located off Jalan Pudu, is popularly known as “Teen Chee Kai” (“Electronic Street” in Cantonese) because anything that requires a circuit board to run can be found in the shops here. CCTVs, portable DVDs, strobe lights, sound equipment, electric guitar; you name it, they’ve got it.

There is something for everyone here. At the beginning of the street across Jalan Landak, you can find the prettiest specimens of ornamental fish, from the expensive koi to tetra guppies. This spot is a big draw for children and adults alike and the shop owners’ advice on fish care certainly holds weight. Bear in that these people sell their live stock from plastic basins and expectedly, the fishes are constantly mobilised on a daily basis. You can also find cute furry rabbits, cats and puppies here, in addition to pet care needs like housing, feed and wood shavings.

Red brigade: Clogs that are welcome in wet kitchens.

At a little turnoff known as Jalan Pasar Baru you can find traditional Chinese clogs, which are ideal for wet kitchens. These wooden clogs, according to the shopkeeper, are made by a craftsman at a rural farmhouse somewhere in the outskirts of Klang Valley. What one should also look out for, are the small medicinal herbs stalls dotting this area. Ask and the stall vendors will oblige you with literature on the benefits of imbibing sky fruits, green nonis and other such herbs. But it is better to play it safe and get the advice of a certified doctor first.

Jalan Pasar may also be the place for anyone who has plans to open a dance club! Disco mirror balls, strobe, LED and laser lights, sound systems are available here.

Speaking of sound systems, some of the speakers on sale are as big as refrigerators! You can be sure these pack quite a wallop. A range of speakers and speakers sizes can be found, of course, including those that can be fitted in a car.

Sales assistants are always a helpful lot but you should learn the basics of sound and lighting before approaching them about set ups. Information of what the equipment are intended for will be a tremendous help but don’t just stick to one opinion.

Yummy roast: Siew Ngap Fai, 34, Lorong Yap Hin, Off Jalan Pasar .

Besides the wide array of DIY tools and hardware like power drills and soldering irons, there are also car accessory shops where you can replace your Wira’s worn out dashboard or get cushion covers for your Kancil.

Note that price tags are not final. A camera battery, for example, may have a RM90 price tag but if you bargain you could pay just RM70 for it. The trick here is to mask one’s eagerness for an item and to express that one is merely “looking around”. You could also ask for time to “consider” a purchase. If the vendor thinks that you’d be willing to go to a competitor to compare prices, he may offer you an attractive discount.

For the pond: Ornamental Yummy roast: Siew Ngap Fai, 34, Lorong Yap Hin, Off Jalan Pasar . fish for sale!

A little courtesy, however, should be exercised. Remember that people are in business for profit and you shouldn’t insist on a price that is too low.

Otherwise you may lose that discount.

For rumbling tummies, Pudu is famous for roast duck and geese. There are no less than 20 stalls plying these yummy roasts here. Other than that, there is good old roti canai and banana leaf rice at the Sri Paandi outlet.

Mindful way to a happy self

Marketing director turned hypnotherapist Manjeet Kaur is happiest when she helps people.

DESPAIR, pain, fear. If only all of life’s sorrows could be bundled into a rubbish bag and discarded like the morning trash. But life’s problems and the stress they cause, tend to stick around and fester like pus-filled wounds until they become the stuff of nightmares.

Manjeet Kaur knows this all too well.

Healing inside: Manjeet performing reconnection healing over her assistant, Sunitha.

The 48-year-old mother of one has descended the spiral of desolation before. About 10 years ago, not only was she faced with the worries of her child’s health, her closest family members did not support her when she opted for alternative methods of healing for him.

At the same time, her mother was diagnosed with cancer. In the midst of this turbulent period, the former marketing director of a cosmetics company was on a posting to India and had to deal with a work culture that didn’t place importance on timeliness.

So to beat stress, Manjeet enrolled in a meditation class, recommended by a fragrance promoter who was helping her with a perfume launch.

“My colleagues could tell the difference the very next day. I was calmer, was explaining things better and smiling a lot more,” she recalled.

In the end, all turned out well for her mother and her son.

This, Manjeet revealed, was when she started to look inwards.

What was the true meaning of success or happiness, for that matter? Was the yardstick measured by the possessions one owned or the balance of the mind and spirit?

“It was at an Asian regional meeting with nine other marketing representatives that I realised that this (being a marketing director) was not what I wanted to do for the rest of my life,” revealed Manjeet.

“I was happiest when I was helping people. When I decided to pay heed to that, things began to happen,” said Manjeet who finally left the corporate field in 2003 after 23 years as an employee.

Having experienced the benefits of meditation, it made sense that she would look into the field of alternative healing arts and that was when she discovered hypnotherapy, emotional freedom techniques (EFT), neuro linguistic programming (NLT) and reconnection.

Touching on each of these techniques, Manjeet explained that NLT, EFT and hypnotherapy could be likened as tools to reach the subconscious mind, which influences 90% of one’s beliefs, habits, emotions and moral values.

These will then act to strengthen one’s willpower when dealing with personal issues like weight loss or career goals.

She also added that emotional issues such as depression, phobias and addictions can be addressed via such techniques.

As for reconnection, which teaches one to align the bodily energy gird system with that of the universe, she would recall an electrifying sensation when another practitioner “transferred the frequencies” to her.

“In quantum physics, every object has energy as the cells are constantly vibrating at different speeds and every cell will respond and produce a certain frequency in accordance to the amount and type of energy that it is exposed to.

“Our very own bodies, right down to our DNA, are made up of such cells and as such our behaviour is the result of external stimuli and vibrations,” explained Manjeet.

These vibrations, said Manjeet, can act like magnets and she cautioned that individuals who are predisposed to entertaining fears and other undesirable thoughts may well attract the actual outcomes.

“For example, if you have been exposed to violence, you would have these frequencies in your bodies. As such there is a good chance that you will have a brush with violence at some point in your life.

She advised that it is best to let go, to “purge such grudges from the mind and look at things with a positive freshness”.

Healing with reconnection methods, implied Manjeet, can influence the way our cells vibrate by introducing information and light from the universe to enable us to discover our highest good.

This coupled with EFT will help the individual to let go of past hurts as well.

So what happened to good old fashioned heart to heart talks with friends and family?

“Sometimes, these people will offer you advice but not the solution. It is also human nature to fear that we would disappoint or not look perfect or to expose our weaknesses,” opined Manjeet who also added that if not for anything else, love will still conquer all at the end of the day.

And just to bust the myth that hypnotherapists are capable of hoodwinking unsuspecting patients into becoming bank robbers, she would point out that this is just the stuff of movies. “In order to be hypnotised, you must want it. Even when you do fall into a hypnotised state, your beliefs, which have been rooted in your subconscious, will protect you.

“So, there is no danger of being made to jump off a building or anything like that,” she asserted.

> Manjeet Kaur can be contacted at 016-660 4021.

Sam Yeap Makes It Big As A Blogger

What started as a form of self-therapy has brought in more enriching rewards for a mother of two.

IT HAS been two years since blogger Samantha Yeap has had a good night’s sleep. For this 36-year-old mother of two, it is a case of enforced insomnia.

There are two reasons for this. The first has to do with her one-year-old child who will wake up at all hours in the night to breastfeed. Being a blogger is another.

Why suffer just for the sake of the Web, you may ask. But for Samantha, blogging has offered the solution for this stay-home mum to earn a living and be there for her sons, Gordon, five, and Malcolm, 20 months.

Samantha’s venture into blogging began two years ago when she started Just My Lil’ Organic Life, her blog page, as a form of self-therapy.

Like many bright women who have chosen to give up a career for motherhood, Samantha had found herself having to deal with the strain of boredom after the birth of her first child.

Under nobody’s rule: Samantha Yeap is queen of her blog pages.

“Rather than turn every one of my trivial dissatisfactions into a verbal and physical confrontation with my husband or other members of the extended family and cause unnecessary tension, I resorted to blogging to maintain my sanity and to keep the peace at home,” she recalls.

Little did she know, her online diary would also turn out to be an asset in the end. As she found out, blog pages are also targets for advertisers.

To her delight, the rewards of featuring them on her website have helped Samantha to regain her financial footing.

In a posting dated Sept 1, 2007, she reported earnings of US$3,478 for August 2007.

“Don’t think it came easy. As with all success stories, it comes with a price,” smiles the satisfied Samantha knowingly.

The first challenge was in accepting the dynamics of an irregular income.

“There are always lulls and peaks in advertiser traffic. I may be earning a five-figure income one month but things can always change.

“At the moment, blogging activities seem to be at an interim so the only thing to do is to wait,” she says.

And, of late, quick checks in the mirror have brought on worries of premature ageing due to lack of sleep. A beauty regime, she whispers sotto voce, has been employed to reverse the effects. Though she can still be found in front of her PC till 4 to 5am, Samantha will make it a point to have a short shut-eye in the hours when her eldest son is in school.

Samantha also had another task in convincing her husband, Keith Wong, 42, an organic skincare salesman, to see things her way.

“At first, he didn’t understand what I was doing and we had constant debates about why I was always so busy.

“When I showed him the traffic flow on my blog pages, he began to see things in a new light,” explains Samantha on how she had won her husband over.

And getting the support of her spouse has helped to spur this Ipoh native on.

“Blogging is like writing. You need to concentrate. Once you interrupt the rhythm, it is very hard to get back into the same frame of mind again.

“So, I definitely need my husband’s cooperation with the kids when I need, say, three straight hours to work on a project,” says Samantha.

As a form of encouragement, not only will be hubby take turns to mind the kids but he has taken the extra mile to ensure that Samantha is properly fed, too.

As she works into the wee hours of the morning, Keith makes it a point to go out to a nearby food court for takeaway suppers.

“I talk about everything from cooking, depression, pre-cast concrete and how to prevent white hair.

“There are parenting tips, daily life experiences, how to deal with frustration, things that everybody goes through.

“What gives me so much satisfaction is that I am able to do and say what I want in my blog (within moral and ethical boundaries, of course). I am under nobody’s rule,” beams this independent minded individual.

So, for those who have wondered if one really can have it all, career, motherhood and a happy marriage, Samantha is a walking example of the saying, “When there is a will, there is always a way.”

“It is very tempting to resign to the belief that earning an income should be left to the husband but I say it is definitely better if both can earn for the family.

“Of course, I can give up everything, sit at home and do nothing. But in doing that, nothing moves and that is not how I want my life to be,” says Samantha determinedly.

To see what’s cooking in Samantha’s head, go to http://myorganiclife.blogspot.com.

Vespa Restorer

Turn an old machine into a new, mean machine.

WHY a Vespa? Because your uncle gave you a ride on one 20 years ago and the memory still brings a smile to your face.

Because it’s classic. Because it’s cool. Because it’s cute.

New lease of life: Restored Vespas awaiting ownership.

It is, affirmed Eddy Ten who has been restoring and modifying vintage Vespas for the last four years, an answer that can stretch on for kilometres.

Ten should know, as the 33-year-old mechanic has been salvaging old, broken down Vespas and transforming them into, as he calls them, stylish “big boys’ toys”.

“Some of the old Vespas we found had been rusting away in their owner’s backyard, eyesores which had been written off as scrap metal.

“We buy these, take everything apart, do some welding and anti-rust work on the frame and give the engine a complete overhaul.

“As to how the paint job is to be carried out and what sort of ‘look’ the Vespa will have, that is left for the customer to decide,” said Ten.

Rescue operation: Ten finds old Vespas, often written off as scrap metal, and restores them to mint condition

What makes a modified Vespa unique inadvertently lies in the owner’s creativity.

“One Irish expatriate wanted me to paint his in the flag colours of his country, while another wanted everything in black.

“One lady buyer enquired if the bike’s registration number could reflect the husband’s birth date, as she wanted to surprise him with it on his birthday,” recalled Ten.

It takes about two months to restore an old Vespa to road worthiness.

“Everything is done by hand, from paint work to engine overhaul”.

Ten also handles the paperwork required for the road tax, insurance and the registration for the chassis and engine. All this can cost the client at least RM6000.

The endearing appeal for the Vespa, as Ten pointed out, lies in its classic shape.

Total makeover: Anti-rust treatment in progress

The protective front fairing, for example, meant that lady riders never had to worry about the wind blowing up their skirts; the flat footboard helped to reduce the feeling of pins and needles on the legs and the side cowling kept the engine free from dirt and grease.

A separate seat for the pillion rider also made it more comfortable for a passenger. The Vespa, which uses an internal mesh transmission engine, does not have the standard motorcycle chain, a feature which many riders will agree, has been at one time or another, a source of misery.

Wheel replacement is also a breeze. In the case of a puncture, one only as to deal with five screws.

“The oldest Vespa model that can be found in Malaysia dates back to 1963 and the latest, 1998. The models manufactured in between this time frame are considered ‘classics’,” said Ten.

The tell tale signs are easy to spot. One is at the headlamp of the Vespa handle: in models dated from 1963, is the presence of something that looks like a cock’s comb above it. This comb is, however, absent in models produced between 1968 to 1970.

In 1972, the Vespa headlamp traded in its circular shape for a squarer form and by 1985, there would be the addition of signal lights by its sides.

And no, the vintage Vespa is not for speed demons.

“The first models were powered by a two-stroke engine which could only run up to 80km per hour,” said Ten.

Still, this has not stopped Ten from organising one-day trips to Kuala Selangor and Janda Baik for his clients.

However, that does not mean that the Vespa cannot take long haul trips.

Ten had heard rumours that one Malaysian rider rode his Vespa all the way to Thailand, Cambodia and then Vietnam!

Ten, who began his foray into the world of vehicular modifications, had started as an apprentice at a motorbike spare parts shop at the age of 15.

When he turned 17, Ten fell in love with a Virago 535. Recalling the moment when he first laid eyes on it, Ten described it as if he had just had an electric shock.

“I went all the way to Johor just so I could get the spare parts to fix the bike,” laughed Ten who had bought it for RM2500 in 1995.

It was, said this father of one, the turning point in his life as he realised that he loved nothing more than to take a lifeless engine apart and restore it to working condition.

The next step, said Ten, is to try his hand at restoring Lambrettas, a motorscooter similar to the Vespa.

> Eddy Ten can be contacted at PJ-One Motorcycle Accessories Centre, 5, Jalan MJ2, Medan Maju Jaya, Batu 7, Jalan Klang Lama, Petaling Jaya, Selangor ( 03-7785 0529).