330. GOODBYE 2010 HELLO 2011

Catatan: muzill.mansor

Setiap tahun 31 Disember lah hari yang paling sibuk selesaikan urusan syarikat dan urusan sendiri. Tetapi kali ini semua urusan kena dicepatkan satu hari pasal cuti Dato’ Najib bagi kerana Malaysia menang Piala AFF Suzuki.

Tahniah pasukan Malaysia. Baguslah sebab bolasepak Malaysia pun dah lama malap. Sesekali menang takkan salah nak raya sakan…

Apa pun hari Khamis saya ligat pusing keliling Bandar selesaikan banyak benda.

Agenda pertama ke Pejabat Agama Islam Negeri Perak di kompleks Islam. Bayar zakat, barulah rezeki jadi berkat.

Dari situ ke Pejabat Socso, bergegas pulak ke bank bayar ansuran dan terus ke pejabat KWSP bayar caruman bulanan.

Senang bila semua bayaran dan caruman dikemaskini dan tak ada tunggakan lagi.

Masih ada masa ke pejabat penasihat pelaburan, jenguk sekejap semak portfolio pelaburan dan ambik cek jualan saham. Lega sungguh bila saham-saham dalam portfolio dah bernafas semula dan boleh diurusniaga seminggu dua nie. Best giler bila kaunter yang baru beli, regenya dah mula naik tinggi. Thank you Auntie... Syukur...dah boleh pasang angan-angan buat projek baru tahun depan.

Singgah kejap kat kedai kain. Sambar sekeping dua kain nak buat baju Melayu. Spare untuk tahun 2011. Mana tau ada aktiviti macam sambutan Maulidurrasul atau satu dua aktiviti yang sewaktu dengannya…

Senang hati bila banyak kerja beres menjelang tengahari. Masih ada masa untuk buat posting jam cantik kat blog LT dan peruntuk masa di waktu malam buat yang tersayang.

Jumaat ada Pertandingan Paintball NPOC kat Sungai Petani lepas solat Jumaat. Pegi jangan tak pegi. Seronok sangat jumpa rakan-rakan sepasukan termasuk coach. Lama sungguh tak main dalam pertandingan sejak pulih daripada sakit.

Tahun 2010 memang best. Walau pun ada satu dua insiden kurang selesa seperti kena demam denggi berdarah tapi lagi banyak peristiwa gembira. Syukurlah pada Yang Maha Esa atas bertambahnya rezeki dan kurniaan yang paling berharga.

Tahun 2010 tinggal beberapa minit untuk berlalu pergi…pergi dengan sejuta ingatan, kenangan dan susulan.

Terima kasih semua…

SELAMAT TINGGAL 2010 dan SELAMAT DATANG 2011.

Semoga kita semua menjadi manusia yang lebih bertaqwa dan berguna.

Assalammu ‘alaikum…

329. The Magnificent Rolex Explorer II

By muzill.mansor

My focus with Rolex Explorer I and Explorer II was more or less zoomed in after a few friends began inquiring about Rolex Explorer I.

Looking through the inventory, a unit of Explorer I and two units of Explorer II are available for retail. Hence the posting on @LT Watch Gallery a few days back. The responses on the postings especially on the Explorer I were exhilarating.

Thank you so much.

An excerpt on the Rolex Explorer II as extracted from http://www.secondtimeround.com was reproduced below for the benefit of Rolex explorers lovers and enthusiasts.

The History of Explorer II

Introduced in the early 1970's as model 1655, it is in essence a GMT Master with a fixed bezel. It has the same calibre movement as the GMT (1575) and has a forth hand which rotates once every 24 hours. This hand was read using the 24 hour engraved steel fixed bezel.

Rolex introduced the watch as an essential tool to all 'speleologists' (more commonly known as 'cave explorers' ).

Rolex also claimed that the speleologist "soon loses all notion of time: morning, afternoon day or night." For these intrepid souls Rolex developed the watch that could tell them whether the "2" on the dial was 2:00 a.m. or 2:00 p.m. (14:00). This may well be true, but there are other things with a higher demand than speleologists. The limited popularity that it had was because of people in the aviation field, air traffic controllers, etc.

In its life the watch for the first 3 years had an orange hand, and up until 1985 it had a red one. The 1655 Explorer II and the 1019 Milgauss are the only Rolex Models which use hands that are not used by any other model.

The Explorer II 1655 was not really popular until 1991, five years after it was re-launched with a sapphire glass and the same movement as the GMT Master II. This allowed the owner of the watch to set the hour hand backwards or forwards in one hour jumps without disturbing the second or minute hands. This facility allowed the owner to change time zones without losing a preset accurate time.

The Legacy of the Explorer is a long and interesting one and will just continue.

328. THE OLD BATTERED WATCH WARRIOR…

This face belongs to Yew Cheong, the friendly watch seller and watch doctor. The wrinkles and the eye bags registered on the face signify the years in time that has passed by him. The face of a man who makes his living selling wrist watches, wall clocks and alarm clocks in a small shop tucked in between a jewellery shop and the many fruit outlets along the main road of Bidor.

Bidor, a little town near Tapah in the district of Batang Padang, Perak is famous for its crunchy guavas and succulent mangoes. Bidor is also the place in those days for cheap petais sold by the Orang Asli.

Yew Cheong has been involved in the watch business for more than 50 years. Starting his trade in the old Hugh Low Street, Ipoh, he then moved on to Bidor in the fifties where he opened his watch shop and stays put till now. Besides selling watches and clocks, he also provides repair and maintenance services. At time he also buys pre-owned and vintage pieces as a community service.

I had the opportunity to get acquainted to this marvelous man years ago when I frequented the town while managing my development projects.

Stopping by at his shop for short chats on watches while surveying for vintage watches owners dumped at his shop was a regular routine then. The first purchase made from him was a wall clock. Followed by a few quality buys including Pagols, Rados, Orient and Seikos secured at decent prices.

Watch owners from as far Teluk Intan and Kampar dropped by his shop to trade-in old watches in exchange for some new fancy pieces.

Some owners hard pressed for cash departed with their watches including some sentimental units.

Yew Cheong never turned away owners no matter how battered the watches might be because he knew the owners were cash desperate. I guessed his long association with the Bidor put him in good stead to really know his community and picked the right people to help.

It has been a while since I last saw him. On the way from a project nearby, I decided to pay him a visit yesterday. The old man looked excited to see me. Nothing much has changed. The old cheap stock of watches and clocks are still there. Some vintage wall clocks sent for repairs some time back are still visible at the back of the shop, an indication that perhaps work are falling back.

Upon my enquiring, Yew Cheong lamented that after half a century maybe it is time to hang up the tools. He said at 70 years plus, the body is aching, the hands are trembling and the failing eyes can take no more.

Yet when talking about old watches, his eyes lit up again while showing me a traded piece of Longines quartz with the fading words "KHIDMAT SETIA 1989" scripted at the case back. He insisted on me taking the watch at the same price he paid to the original owner desperate for cash. I just obliged…

Even at this advanced age, he is still serving his community as the watch doctor, seller and financier with a smile.

He sure knows how to restore watches and put life back to old vintage watches but whom does he turn to during this advanced age of his aching body, trembling hands and failing eyes…

327. BACALAH…

Oleh: Muzill.mansor

Sempat singgah di sebuah kedai buku di Kinta City untuk membeli beberapa buku. Ramai bebudak tekun baca buku walaupun terpaksa duduk kat lantai.

Ada yang memilih untuk membaca sambil berdiri. Seronok giler tengok deme tekun baca.Tak kiralah buku apa yang dibaca asalkan ada hobi membaca.

Lagi seronok tengok kedai penuh orang menunjukkan rakyat Malaysia sukakan ilmu.

Teringat waktu kecil dulu, ayah selalu gak bawa kami empat beradik lepak kat kedai buku. Ayah cari buku novel dengan buku ilmiah, kami melilau cari komik. Macam-macam jenis komik kami baca. Suka tengok lukisan, suka juga ikut jalan cerita. Adik-beradik pakat-pakat jimat wang saku supaya boleh beli banyak jenis komik. Cuma bila banyak komik nak beli kena minta ayah tambah sebab fulus memang selalu tak cukup. Sudahnya mana komik yang kami suka macam GILA-GILA, ayah terus langgan saja setiap bulan.

Ayah tak kisah kami baca komik sebab kata dia, masa sekolah dulu pun dia suka baca majalah dan komik. MAD magazine, Kid Carson, Tarzan, Billy The Kid, Beano dan Dandy kira favourite dia lah. Kata ayah, Tok Wan bagi duit untuk langgan majalah mana yang suka. Tradisi baca Beano dan Dandy kira kami teruskan je lah.

Ayah cakap komik adalah karya seni halus, sumber ilmu dan inspirasi. Hanya orang-orang hebat dan tajam pemikiran macam Dato’ LAT, sahabat kami yang mampu melakarkan watak-watak kehidupan sebagai cerminan hidup dalam bentuk kartun.

Sampai sekarang koleksi kami, komik Melayu, Cina dan Jepun termasuk Dragon Ball dan Budak Getah tersusun rapi kat rumah.

Yang bestnya sekarang bila sepupu-sepupu datang rumah, cabinet tempat simpan komik lah jadi tumpuan sampai kekadang tak mau balik selagi komik-komik belum selesai dibaca...

Dah besar ni, kira dah graduate ke novel-novel berat tapi komik mana boleh tinggal.

Amalan membaca ni kena pupuk daripada usia muda supaya jadi satu tabiat. Rakyat yang rajin membaca adalah rakyat berilmu. Nak jadi pemimpin pun kena rajin membaca, baru peka.

Kalaulah semua kedai buku macam Borders yang sediakan ruang membaca yang selesa… tentu lebih syok lepak kat kedai buku.

326. A NEW LEASE OF LIFE FOR THE NEW YEAR…

By: muzill.mansor

The Hijriah year of 1432 is just three days old. Still not too late to wish ma’al hijriah to all Muslim friends all over the world.

Late last year a good friend of mine, an ex-banker handed over what looked like a battered worn out watch with specific instruction to put life back into the watch. He said the watch, a present from a friend was among his favorite just like his Tag Heuer Link. Unfortunately when it stopped running, it was left idling in the drawer.

I was caught up with quite a number of events and festivities especially kenduris, company’s and club commitments to give the watch a second look.

Luckily the mid-week break gave me a breather.

Took the opportunity during the breather to drop by my watch clinic to have the watch examined.

It was a simple task of resuscitation, swift makeover and light polishing at the cost of a few dimes.

To Reza, here’s your Tonino Lamborghini with a new strap, shining and running.

Indeed it is a case of a new lease of life for a new year...