Tuan Senang Besar : Stopped in the middle of a run

@TeeAssBee on Twitter or Tuan Senang Besar on Facebook was a man I get to know from social media. Yesterday, he was no more. This is an account on how he existed or what I perceived of him and it has a lot to do with how social media connects us.

Kharis, his real name died on 13th of October 2011 while he was running somewhere near his house. I got to know the news through Twitter upon waking up at 8am. It was from @rafairahman (who will hate me linking his name here) about not believing that Kharis is gone. I didn't too. I asked my wife to really read all the tweets coming in while I took a shower. I came out of the shower seeing my wife making a call. She hung up and she said, through Abby Latif, another twitter friend, the news was confirmed. I told my partner and office that I am taking the whole day off. 

I stayed awhile at the morgue and saw his remains, saw friends started to turn up (mostly from social media) and I followed the whole event until the moment his remains were on the way to the cemetery. As I have my own family matter to take care off, I didn't follow the funeral procession. Between the morning until the moment of send-off, you can see how well-known was this person. At 35 he had touched so many life. I wish I could say the same about me.

When I first met him I was afraid to talk to him or more like didn't find the need to talk to him. It was at Las Vacas, a butchery which serves cooked steak too which I have been hunting all my life to exist in Malaysia. It seems that they have existed two or three years before 2010, the year I discovered them but if not for social media and @TuanSenangBesar (his tweethandle then) I would have never discovered it. It seems he was also the one who set up the Twitter account of @lasvacas and then relentlessly promoted it. If not for it, I wouldn't have known a few other people from Twitter. And to think that, the night before the tragedy struck

#RockKapak is the hashtag we created among a few friends on Twitter who appreciates good music which mostly comes from the rock scene in 70s and 80s, from rock band long forgotten. The Online Pub was where we held the gatherings every Thursday and Sunday. Those who had the gall to sing did and @TeeAssBee's favorite was Kamelia from Sweet Charity. 

He is also a good eater. Unlike most who knew him through running and his exercise regime, I met him more at the eateries than anywhere else. I did doubt some of his preference but as a fellow eater, I can appreciate his eclectic taste in food. As for his exercise regime which seemed to have made him a few friends, I only trekked with him once with a Twitter group which trekked nearly every weekend (once).

If you read or talk to anyone else, it was never easy to say good thing about his demeanor. He asserted himself until you feel he was a snob. I guess it was just his way of making a statement. I can relate as a fellow person who is as big as him, who realised you will never get the world delivered to you on a silver platter, you fight for it and you stand your ground. 

I never had long conversations with him or I can claim I know him as a great friend. However, a young man died at nearly the same age as me. That affect me a lot...

#RIPTSB

Here are other blogs which posts are dedicated to him :

His blog : TSB in Bolehland

The Cosmic Abyss by Abby Latiff

Rambles of My Head and Heart by Lotfi Ismail

ANTARA GAPI : A Greater Klang Valley Alternative

There are no more cheap houses in the center of Klang Valley. Unless you consider houses priced at RM500,000-00 as cheap. Within my neighborhood in Shah Alam, where I bought my house for RM255,555-00 in 2004, the same housing developer have just launched a new phase where the house is just a few feet longer than mine, although with the same width, the price is set at RM580,000-00.

 

So, what is the next best solution to get an affordable house? The answer seems to be to look outside of Klang Valley or nowadays better known as the Greater Klang Valley, which term I believe derived from the other well known ‘Greater’ part of other more known city like Greater London and such. There were plans by the government to create greater Klang Valley which include the northern part, southern part and even the east and west side of the the Klang Valley. It looks like the areas like Banting and Klang or the east side towards the Titiwangsa  have more housing development activities than the sporadic development like in the north. Southern part is nearing the edge of the southern border of Selangor with university township of Bandar Baru Bangi have prices already going beyond the ‘affordable houses’ tag.

I was simply driving by around Serendah the other day when I came across Antara Gapi an upcoming township area. 

 

Antara Gapi's entrance

 

Some of the completed development within Antara Gapi

This housing area in the northern of Selangor is developed by Perbadanan Kemajuan Negeri Selangor or better known as PKNS. PKNS is known to be more than just a housing developer. They seem to be well-known to build townships which include Kota Damansara, Bandar Baru Bangi and Shah Alam itself.

As I am a weekend hiker, I have always wanted to go to Serendah, which is a town quite near Antara Gapi. I was excited as I had actually planned to go to Serendah on one of the weekends within this year. As we passed the area between the exit of Bukit Beruntung and Serendah, I can see tranquil area where the words rolling hills and deep valley come to mind. As I reached the entry of Antara Gapi, I can still feel the same feeling. As Serendah is less than 10 minutes away, you can also enjoy the waterfall near there. Biking is also another option. There is also the Serendah golf course where you can either practice your golf swing or starts to pick up golf. So, just imagine if you live in Antara Gapi, other than living in a tranquil place, you can be healthier.

If you are looking for a place of convenience, Antara Gapi would be perfect for you. Just look at the place! It has so many infrastructures in place. You can consider the travel that you need to do either by highway, trunk roads or KTM Komuter is just a normal part of your life in order for you to get a better living condition. You may have to commute a bit but the fresh air and the weekend activities you can surround yourself can even make you live longer.

Their first few phases of houses launched by PKNS Antara Gapi has been sold off like hotcakes. And if you are interested, do keep Dahlia in mind. I find Dahlia really interesting and suitable for most people nowadays with its modern touch to its design. Also, if you don’t believe, here’s why I think Dahlia would be a great place for you and your family to grow:

Special characteristics of Dahlia Residence:

   Elegant residential homes with only 64 units available

   A wide frontage of 28 feet

   Spacious contemporary design with modern aesthetics 
   Cul-de-sac layout that encourages privacy

Feel free to learn more about Dahlia here (http://pknsproperty.com/antaragapi/e_dahliaresidence.pdf) or the other PKNS properties at their offial website. (http://pknsproperty.com/AntaraGapi/index.html)