|
AgoraphobiA
|
read my profile
sign my guestbook
Name: Matthew
Birthday: 3/18/1987
Gender: Male
Interests: feeding my fat cat, making it purr like a purring machine, writing crap on my xanga site, spreading rumours on the world wide web, jumping up and down, [ click here to add more ]
Expertise: feeding my cat
Occupation: Livestock Smuggler
Industry: Livestock
Message: message me
Website: visit my website
Member Since:
1/10/2003
|
|
| Malacca WWF Turtle & Terrapin Conservation ProjectI was away for a week last week in Malacca. I wasn't there for a holiday but rather to become a volunteer on a not-so-well-known-project. It's the WWF Conservation of Hawksbill Turtles & Painted Terrapins project in Malacca. Most people are not aware that turtles and terrapins in Malaysia are highly or critically endangered. This project is meant to increase the existing number of turtles in the wild by means of collecting their eggs, incubating them and releasing the hatchlings back into the sea. It is said that the hatchlings will return to the very same beach they were released from, to lay eggs once they reach the mature age. Amazing isn't it? On top of that, a Hawksbill turtle has to reach the age of 20 before it is considered mature and capable of reproducing. So if you're planning on collecting the eggs to consume or sell, think again. Not only is it illegal to do so, you're robbing 20 years away and it'll be up to a point when there are no more turtles and eggs. From thousands of Leatherback turtle landings in Rantau Abang in the 70s and 80s, it has dwindled to only 1 landing last year and it didn't even nest!
I arrived in Malacca on Sunday in the afternoon and the weather was really hot, coastal areas are probably hotter I guess. Our house was located in Pengkalan Balak, nearby was the Terendak army camp. Our daily duties included patroling the beaches in the 3 different locations according to the schedule. They are Pasir Gembur/Padang Kemunting, Kem Terendak and Pulau Upeh. Kem Terendak probably has the longest beaches to patrol and Pulau Upeh is a small island with a resort built on it but has been abandoned. Work was from 9.00pm - 5.30am. If a turtle is spotted, we wait for it to lay the eggs, the licensed egg collector does his job, we measure and record the turtle, release it and relocate the eggs to the hatchery. We occasionally bump into poachers along the beach, sometimes under the cover of the dark but you can spot them from the glow and smell of the cigarette. You get to sleep in the morning till noon so we had to adjust our biological clocks. Now I know how the job a bank guard feels like. There weren't many turtle landings and even if there were, photographs couldn't be taken because these are shy animals. They'll run back to the sea if you disturb them unless if you're using some sort of night vision camera. It's a waste I can't show any pictures of turtles here.
One week of volunteer work here was worth every second. If you have a week of time of more to spare, you can be a volunteer too. Just keep in mind, there's no hot shower, air-cond or washing machine here, hehe. Oh yeah, did I mention polystyrene containers are not allowed for take-aways? We use tupperwares for that purpose. For more info on the project and to volunteer you can click here and here.
And here they are, some pictures from Pulau Upeh:
On the boat to Pulau Upeh, small yellow dot is the moon
Jumping lights
Firdaus, Maisarah, Pak Ali(boat owner), Rosli and me
View of the abandoned resort at night from the jetty
Along the jetty at night
Under the bright moon light
Can you spot the Eye on Malaysia?
Pulau Upeh jetty early in the morning
Pulau Upeh beach
Rocky and littered with sea shells, a tree in the sea!
View of the abandoned resort in the morning from the jetty
Entrance to the abandoned resort lobby
Inside the abandoned resort lobby
Creepy lobby
Can you see him?
Au revoir!
| | |
| Siphoned!I was planning on saving the money for future usage and probably a trip to Sarawak to celebrate Gawai with my Iban friend and but in a matter of hours, the money had changed hands.
It was like any other day, nothing much was going on as the campus was quite deserted apart from the occasional car zooming past and the pacing of final year students up and down the campus. I'm supposed to be back home by now but due to some glitch, our class were required to take up Biochemistry because it happens to be prerequisite for another subject next semester. Ex-Diploma students and probably STPM biology students were initially exempted but there were rumours that internal squabbles by non-exempted students led to the removal of the exemption which is why I'm still here. It'll be only 3 weeks, but there'll be 3 tests throughout, it's a touch and go affair.
But ya, that's beside the point of this post. Probably just an intro on why I'm not home yet when other students are happily sleeping at home. As said, the 6th of May, 2009(Wednesday) was like any other day, wasn't expecting much suprises apart from the Champion's League match between Arsenal and Manchester United, in which the latter team won by an aggregrate of 4-1. But that joy lasted for like only... 3 hours?
I was back in my room at about 5am, emptied my pocket's content and placed it all on the table. My eye lids were already very heavy and I slept like a dead log the moment I hit the bed. This is where mistake number 1 comes into the picture. I forgot to lock my bedroom door. I normally make sure it's locked, but not today. It was closed, but not locked.
My hand phone's alarm rang at 7am and I woke up to press the snooze button. It was placed on my wallet but after pressing the button, I kept it in my hands while I continued sleeping. At about 8.30am, my friend passed by my room and woke me up for class. I wasn't sure if he was the one who opened the door but the door was slightly ajar. I locked the door and as I went to the table to get my keys, I noticed my wallet was missing. Thinking it may have dropped off the table, I looked under the table and bed but it wasn't there. I thought it was joke by my friend who woke me up so I tried to call him but later found out he had some problems with the phone. Asking around also proved fruitless. No one was playing a joke on me and this was getting rather serious. It was only a few hours later after discovering that my wallet was missing, that I called CIMB to enquire about any transactions. I was worried that if the wallet indeed was in someone else's hand, he could use my ATM cad to make unauthorised transactions. My worst fears were realised when the officer on the phone said that 3 transactions were done at about 8.30am! Mistake number 2, I had used an easy pin code which enabled the culprit to get into my account in a matter of minutes. I immediately told him that my card was stolen and the transactions were unauthorised and he advised me to block the card immediately, which I did.
So I wasn't going to find my wallet in the room anymore and my identification card, driving license, meal card, name cards, and other stuff were in there. Some of the stuff which may be hard to obtain again. I did a search around the hostel to see if the person had thrown my wallet anywhere but it was no where to be found.
At about 3pm, I headed to the CIMB branch in my campus and reported the matter to an officer. She advised me to make a police report and apply for a temporary identifaction card so that they can proceed with the case and gather information on the culprit. So it was a trip down to the local police station and we spent about an hour or so reporting our case to the police officer on duty which transfered our case to another branch. We then headed to the other branch and waited for another hour or so before we were attended to. After taking down my statements, I realised it has already almost 5 hours since we left the campus for CIMB and the sky was already dark. It was exhausting, running up and down.
On Thursday, I got my temporary idenfication card done and headed down to CIMB again to follow up on the case. CIMB managed to trace the location of the bank in which the culprit did the unauthorised withdrawal. They're still in the process of tracing the person and I should be able to identify him by this week but it's no guarantee. Sometimes all this that's happening seem so surreal. It feels like a criminal investigation drama. The money lost will probably never be recovered but I hope the culprit doesn't get away with it. I guess I'll have to be extra careful with all my belongings and of course, my pin number as well. Using an easy pin number is inviting more trouble than it is a convenience to you.
I'm comforted by the fact that the intruder did not harm me as I slept away like a dead log and wasn't even aware of what went on in my room. Thank God for the protection and the guidance he is providing even as I go through this time of difficulty.
Interestingly, or rather sadly, this is not the first time I've lost some money, but this is indeed the biggest amount. You can read about it here and here.
Au revoir!
| | |
| Batang Ai, Bukit Gantang & Bukit SelambauIt will be interesting to see who wins this 7th of April, 2009. I've been to Lubok Antu before(Batang Ai is within Lubok Antu) and it's a really small town. Suddenly the people are promised developments and how their lives will be improved. Political talk or truth? We'll see who wins on the 7th and if it's really true after all.
May the best candidate and party win!
| | |
| Matthew Turns 22People always say you get the key to freedom once you hit 21 and they go out and paint the town red. I'm already 22 and I think that's just plain silly. Turning 21 was just like any other birthday. Must be some sort by conspiracy by the F & B business people to boost their profit (Valentine's Day included). Maybe I'm just a bunch of sour grapes because I turned 21 in a far away land with not many people to celebrate with, haha.
I don't have much to write about but yeah, I'm officially 22 now. Another year older... and another year closer to home, hehe.
Au revoir!
| | |
| Campus ConflictI was heading to the bus stop when I spotted something behind it. Something was sprayed on it. Initially I thought it some sort of description on the construction material used to build the bus stop. I do not remember seeing it there before and taking a closer look, I noticed it wasn't just any description, it was a rather crude warning.
Click on image for original size
Uh oh, looks like someone isn't very happy with a group of people. But rather than vandalising university facilities to make his racist thoughts known or whatever problem he has, he should have just settled the problem like a gentlemen. Right?
Au revoir!
| | |
|
|
