.it's been a hard day's night.

I went for berurut for three days straight with an old auntie who lived in a kampung called Simpang Jeram. Aged 74yrs old, she is still healthy and takes upah as a masseuse. It looked like two parts of my body had been swollen of what she called as 'angin'. This is due to all the long walks, driving through heavy traffics and carrying heavy bags. My neck had stiffen for days, my back, painful as usual and I can't raise my right hand any high. I have learnt that my body had swollen so bad. Mak Long Nyah, as what I called her, has been the family's masseuse for many years. I took off my shirt and covered my naked body with a piece of old kain batik, and as soon as she touched the right side of my back she said 'Ya Allah! Bengkak teruk dah ni! Kenapa dibiar?' and so for the rest of the morning, I tried my very best not to cry and scream whenever Mak Long Nyah touched the swollen vein and did her massage.

She is a merry person with lots of life stories to tell. Her voice is soft and motherly and somewhat healing. The massage session usually takes one to two hours, depending on how bad your condition is, in my case it was two and a half hours. The payment is just RM15 per session, cheaper than any massage centre in KL! RM15 for a whole body massage, merry stories, tea and biscuits compared to a rm45 for half an hour session with some Thai masseuse, well I'll say its by far worth the scream. There are times when I walked past a massage center and think 'Should I get my massage here?' but the thoughts of a stranger touching my body stoppes me. I paid (well, actually mom paid her for me) RM50 and left her house feeling happy with my body felt light and good. Thank you Mak Long! The next step to pamper myself? Lulur! I'll go for a lulur session tomorrow. It's time to love myself more and more.

While I'm busy loving myself here in Muar, I missed some of the art events held in KL. So I sms-ed my friends to know how it went. 'I hardly know anyone there so I didn't quite enjoy myself, Ib. Its like going to an open house instead of going to an art event.' my friend said. 'Eventhough they preach about 'Art for Everyone. Come and be a part of the family' but its just BS. You have to know some people in the scene in order to be a part of it. I personally think that half of those who came today dont even know shit and care less about fine art.' I had to agree with him. Frankly, that is how the art circle in Malaysia is, it is indeed small and close-knit. I didn't say I know much about it but from what I've been told by my art lover friends who goes to events and exhibitions regularly, I could say that if you know anyone from the art scene then chances of you to be a part of the art family is bigger. Its like a ticket. Hey, the same might happen in other industries as well. It's always easier to make a way or climb the ladder if you-know-who. Myself included. But it depends on how you see it. When you struggled to establish yourself, a helping hand from these people are always appreciated.

I'm pretty lucky to know some of the good people in the industry who are always willing to help and share their knowledge. I still owe it to Riz for introducing me to the digital camera magazine that has '50 useful tips on how to be a great photographer.' To me, as much as they support me with whatever I'm doing, I will return them the same favor.

While its always good to look at creative artworks of friends, I'm more into photography nowadays. While a designer can turn a photograph to be an artsy-tartsy design, I prefer it to be original. One of my favorite photographer apart from Steve McCurry, is Annie Leibovitz, a famous American potrait photographer. And recently I read about her in one of the daily newspaper and came across a very useful tips shared by her. She said 'Start with the people near you, your family and friends. Stay close to home. After all, tbey are the ones who have to put up with you.' And she admitted that her best photos are of these people 'because i spend the longest time with them.'

Indeed.

Here are some of my favorite's of Annie's images.



.the famous rolling stone's cover mag.


.her family photos.