That day, when I went to get some of the ingredients to cook the Sarawak laksa, I used the shortcut and walked through the narrow alley to get from Market Road (where I had parked my car) to the Sibu Central Market along Channel Road. There are a few shops along that little lane selling all kinds of things and I saw one selling those little portable fans so I stopped to ask if they had any that run on batteries.
No, I do not need a battery-operated fan but I thought my girl could keep one at her school on stand-by. Not too long ago, something went wrong and they had to go without electricity for two or three days, my poor girl. They do have electric lines all along the main road but for some reason or other, that school still uses generators (that run on diesel, I suppose). I think they have two and at 5.30 in the morning and in the evening, the lights would go blink blink as they alternate from one generator to the other. Thankfully, somebody finally went and fixed the fault so power was restored. Still, I thought it would be best to be prepared.
Well, this shop did have one, made in China, and I bought it for RM16.00…
– I was given a RM1.00 discount by the nice lady boss.
There is an emergency light by the side…
…and according to the not-very-easy-to-understand instructions (owing to the atrocious abuse of the English language), I think if you keep the thing plugged in, the light will come on automatically if there is a blackout.
Other than that, if you press the button a second time, the orange rim will light up…
…and if you would like it to be brighter, you can just lift the rim like this…
Let there be light…and there is light! Hehehehehehe!!!!
It is also stated on the box that if you use only the light, the power will last for 8 hours and likewise if you use only the fan…
But if you use both, it will be good for 4 hours only. If you press the button once, the fan would go very fast or you will get a “strong wind“, according to the box and if you press the button again, you will get a “small wind“. LOL!!! Recharging will take around 10 hours, it says…and yes, it runs on batteries too – three of those large ones.
Coincidentally, that very afternoon, there was a blackout in the area where I stay for some two to three hours and thankfully, I had this thing at hand and I could use the fan to keep myself nice and cool the whole time. I do think it would be good to keep one around your house if blackouts are somewhat frequent…and maybe, I would go back to the shop sometime to get another one for our own use.
P.S.:
For your general information, those of you who have not managed to get hold of a copy of the book…
*Archive photo*
…can now browse through or download the e-book copy of it here:
http://online.3dpageflip.com/ptrm/jxir/
However, if you’re a local and you would like the hard copy for keeps, you can go to the Sibu Resident’s Office, 5th Floor of the new Islamic Complex (opposite St Mary’s Church) to ask for it – they will give you one but if you can tell them some nice stories like you would like more to send to your overseas siblings or relatives or friends, you may get a few more.
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 