Independent Pet Rescuers, KL
Joyce and I went to Ikano on my last day in KL. So happened it was a Saturday. So happened that Saturday is exactly when the Independent Pet Rescuers set up camp outside Pet Safari.
What this people do is awesome and is something that I would like to see establish here at some point. They take in cats and dogs with no place to go and foster them until they can find them new homes. Pet Safari at Ikano is one of the places where to do their adoption drives.
I first came across their work a couple of years ago via an email over one of the Malaysian mailing lists I’m on. Sherrina emailed requesting people to send in photos of their cats and dogs for a fund raising calendar. I didn’t have any pets but I did photograph some of the animals at the SSPCA where I used to volunteer. I wrote offering these photos and got a reply saying they’ll let me know if they use them. I never heard back after, but I wasn’t too surprised because they wanted photos of pets and these photos didn’t exactly fit the description.
I wasn’t really paying attention to who these people outside Pet Safari were until I spotted the calendars. Then it all clicked. I knew I can’t come all this way (never mind by accident) and walk away without saying hello!
Sherrina
Interestingly enough, Sherrina remembers my email because I was one of the first to reply. She wrote back at some point because my links were broken, but I never received that email. But there’s always next year’s calendar! (Not that I’ve had any luck in the pet department still.)
There’s a few ways you can help them. The easiest way is to spread the word on what they are doing and point people to their blog. The other way is to go buy one of their calendars.
If you’re looking for a new pet, you can also go see if you can take one of these little guys off their hands.
It was an unexpected surprise but a good one to put a cap on my trip to KL. Go check them out if you have a chance!
Eating in KL
If there’s one thing about KL, you never go hungry! I ate exceedingly well there, thanks to friends to took me to cool places and quite often, bought me the meal as well. I certainly can’t stop myself from shooting photos of interesting food that arrived at the table, and thought that it merits a post of its own.
The night I arrived, my hosts Andy & Joyce took me to their favourite dinner place – Restoran OK. They serve up some tasty dishes like Butter Squid and Marmite Pork Ribs. The squid was a little dry but it was still nice. The place is pretty popular.
Butter Squid & Marmite Pork Ribs @ Restoran OK
My photo, however are not terribly pretty, hence the smaller version. I apparently arrived in KL ahead of my photo mojo. Fortunately, they get better.
KLILF 2007, Day 3
This post is late because on the actual Day 3, my day started early and didn’t end until about 3am the next day. No place to fit in a blog entry!
Joyce took me out to breakfast at an old-fashioned coffee shop before dropping me off at Bangsar.
For my last workshop, I attended Brian Castro‘s session on autobiographical fiction and how family history can be used in literature. One of the first things that stuck is that the term “true story” is an oxymoron! Autobiographical fiction is essentially using personal/family history to weave together a tale. It’s writing a story out of material you already have and giving it some form.
It doesn’t necessarily have to follow your exact history, as in chronicling the life of public figure like… oh, David Beckham. Fact, much like Beckham, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to be interesting.
Brian Castro reading from his book “Shanghai Dancing”.
So what is it about families and autobiographical fiction that is so seductive?
“Half-truths.” said Castro. “Autobiographical fiction is about psychological truths, truth about the human character rather than about particular people.”
When asked if he asked permission from his siblings to use them in the book, he said he didn’t. He is not in touch with them. Anyway, he fictionalised them and took interesting factors of their personality to form their “characters” in the book.
The crowd at the session @ Starbucks, Bangsar II.
As there was no proper closure to the KL LitFest, we simply drifted off after the session. It was kinda weird in an “I can’t believe it’s over” way.
I had the pleasure of sharing a table with Dr Lee Su Kim, author of ‘Malaysian Flavours’ and ‘Nyonya in Texas’ and with Cat, who wandered in just as the session was starting. I had my photo taken by NST to go with the interview I gave them the day before. I lingered, chatted and went off to find the bathroom.
Lydia later tried calling me because I wandered off while she was on the phone, but the number she had was the one one my card and I was using a different number in KL. She got me through See Ming later. Lydia gives her take on the Fest here.
I had such an amazing time at the LitFest, not because of the workshops or sessions, but because of all the people I met there. More writers than you can shake a stick at! Editors who answered a couple of burning questions! Poets of all types! Writers in various stages of denial! (“Oh, but I’m afraid to show my story to anyone.”)
I might have blown into KL and the Fest alone, but I certainly wasn’t lonely.
That’s all for this entry. I still have a few more coming when I find time and if Streamyx doesn’t decided to spend most of my day dead like the last couple of days.
