Shopping For All Its Worth

Yes, these days , people go crazy about shopping . Who can blame them for doing so when almost everything and anything that one can think of is available out here . You think of something and the moment you try to search for it, it will be there somewhere. It is matter of knowing where to search for them. With the help of the computer surfer, it is even more reliable for a world wide search. Hence , there is little or no excuse that you cannot get the thing that fancies you.

Only the other morning when we all decide to have a banana leave brunch at an Indian restaurant in Bangsar, we come to a newly opened Bangsar Village mall which displays the latest in fashion designs and shops of all sorts of things. I am with Sabri then, who incidentally treats us all for the brunch. I remark that we need not have to go anywhere else overseas to shop like we do in the past anymore since we have it all here in our country now. Only thing Sabri says, nothing can stop the women from shopping. To them it does not matter where and for what purpose a trip is for, but at the end of the day, it is the shopping that counts. Need we say more !

Shops and their windows and items display at all our malls are already world standard, to say the least and shopping is made very pleasant indeed with the air-conditioning and other amenities that help you to relax in between shopping. It is not suprising that our ladies can shop the whole day without actually buying very much at the end of the day ! In the good old days when we use to drive up all the way to Singapore to spend the day or even days at the then Yoohan Mall and CK Tang at Orchard Road, I cannot imagine the stamina I have then to endure but at the same time enjoy seeing the items on display all those hours and at times even drive just for a day shopping return trip from KL to Singapore. It is crazy indeed, when I come to think of it, but today it is just the opposite with me. I would rather let Ainul go alone to shop whilst I am content to either wait for her in the car or I return home to fetch her later on when she finishes her do. Of course this is not applicable to shopping for groceries, when I will be with her throughout to help look for the other items that concern my interest for the housekeeping.

Is shopping expensive today ? I think so. When it comes to children's clothing alone, these can be very expensive indeed especially for the branded ones which most parents tend to have for their kids. Children's shoes are just as expensive as adults when these concerns branded ones. I think it is sheer crazy for parents to waste so much money on expensive shoes for that toddlers to have them disposed off in a matter of weeks later.

The other day, we are in one of those toy shops at a mall nearest our house to look for toys or things of interest for our grand children. It is amazing indeed that we can find so many things that even adults can get interested in. Take the simple thing as a flying saucer that really works on simple batteries and a helicopter that works on same too. I decide to buy battery operated airplane and a flying saucer and what enjoyment we all have later on playing with the kids. In my childhood days we have to use a lot of our imaginative skills to create simple toys to suit our needs. There is the simple water craft made from paper . To make it move in the water, we apply soap at the base of the craft and then we see it move in the water. Using magnetic lens, we create fire at out Scout camps. With the dry batteries, we make lights in our camp. With rubber bands and used tire tubes, we make catapults strings using natural wood branches as the base for the catapults. For the simple shot guns that explode and shoots at the same time, we use small bamboo cuts and load it with wet paper mache as bullets. However back in the kampong, such bullets will be from a special fruit call "cenderai" which resembles wild berries and edible too. With the "cenderai" as bullets, it can be quite painful if you are hit with it. Hence, these simple toy guns will find us kids in shooting battles for all its worth in fun ! And the costs ? Almost absolutely nothing !

Some time ago when Aiki is down here visiting us during a short holiday for Farazil and family, I have great fun playing with his paper planes. Of course it is what we use to create in those days, but Aiki feels great that he teaches me to do them ! When I show him that I can also create a paper ship, he is fascinated by it. He is yet to know what other things his grandpa can show him. We use to go into the lakes in my village to compete as to who can remain longest under water using reeds to breath in or build cannons using bamboo and carbide for explosives. Discarded bicycle rims become racing wheels for us, whilst cigarettes covers are covered on one another to form the tool to shoot other decks of cigarettes cases for grabs to the winner. The use of coconut leaves to make trumpets are great funs whilst the spider battles are even more interesting. The search for the fighting fish in the drains and lower streams actuaries can take hours of our time in fun and frolics. Riding water buffaloes bare backs , and chasing the chickens for the night's meal and stealing eggs for our own secret fries in the bush ! Then there is the fun with using the small dragon fly as bait to catch the giant dragon fly, which is later used for 'dog fights' and crazy flights competition when its wings are clipped . Of course the catapulting of birds are great fun too but all these seem cruel games when I look back but then it is nothing when compared to the fox chase by the English using the dogs and the hounds or the bullfights in Spain for that matter. All told these are great days for us kids. I cannot imagine any of my grand children indulging in these adventures. Already I find both Muhammad and Omar shun the idea of walking in the wet grass, whilst Aiki for all his bravery with the insects, get awfully scared of the simple beetle or the woodpecker when we last take him to the bird park.

Shopping for virtual reality games is the in-thing for our generation these days. There are endless computer games of sorts for the kids these days. As grandparents we are completely lost at trying to figure out on things to buy for our grand children these days. Whenever they come to visit us at home, they come equipped with their own computer games whilst my own PC is fully used for same by them. The fighting to be the first to use these will be the mark of the day whenever they are with us and hence their presence make our house seem full of activities and complete silence the moment they leave at the end of the day. Kids these days grow up in a different environment and interest and as grand parents our patience can be fairly stretched with the squabbles and petty quarrels and endless shoutings that ensue in between these frolics. The good thing that we observe as compared during my own childhood is that there is no real fist fight which happens during my time. These days kids 'fight' each other using kongfu kicks and fists all in imaginary fights through the computer games they play against one another. I have found these to be very interesting to watch but when I try to play them I find that my fingers are not fast and nimble enough to manage the touch buttons or handle bars of these games. It is wonderful indeed how our kids these days can relate and react to these video games so well. Often times we see our grandchildren all immersed in these video games and sort of exist in their own world without a care for the rest of the world !

If you want to narrow the generation gap, which in those days used to be the music, nowadays it is these video games. If you can challenge these kids to their games, you are in , dear boy !

written by Tunku Farid