When footsteps stop...

So I have not been updating this space for a while now. This was due to my new job, which leaves me ample time, but having not settled into routine, I constantly find myself slacking off whenever I think I should blog. Anyway, a week into my new job, in a new industry, which a different job scope, both of which are relatively new to me, I took a roadtrip home. Bad idea.

As a blogger of potential reputation, I have to live up to times, which includes the trend of camwhoring. Or just posting loads of picures, which is exactly what I intend to do to this post. Finally, my camera phone is in use.

So on the fateful Saturday of the long weekend, this is what happened.

The jam was so friggin bad, it took us 5 hours to get to Ipoh. Stopped there for an hour for lunch and ipoh white coffee! Yea! Bunny, if you're reading this, you absolutely MUST do a piece on Ipoh White Coffee! The original version. We got to Penang by 6.30pm. Left Selangor at 8.30am. Peace!

So arriving home, we (me and mah siblings, who shall henceforth be known as the sibs) were greeted by my enthusiastic dog (sorry only baby pics available and the only grownup pic of his wasn't on his good side) and my enthusiastic parents. I haven't seen them for a while now.

With just an hour before dinner, I decided to follow my dad while he walked the dog. We talked about my new job, about his job, about relatives, sibs, my dog, my dog peeing and crapping all over, bout my mother, about politics, about life. It was one of the few times we had to talk as men. As friends. As father and son. And I cherish moments like these.

So after dinner, me and one of my sibs went DVD hunting. Cheap DVD's in Penang! RM 4 for a bootleg DVD! Beat that price you cheap money-hungry pirates of KL!!! Call it daylight piracy on piracy! I am so NOT buying DVDs in KL if I can help it!

With no plans for the night, me and my sibs watched a movie. Something we all hardly have the time to do together, even tho we are all residing in KL. Maybe we were just too preoccupied with our busy lives. Or not.

The next few days heralded meetups with some old friends, and a visit to my favourite Hokkien Mee stall. Here in KL people call it Prawn Mee. Them cantonese have got everything mixed up! To live up to the camwhoring bloggers' reputation, here is an unsavoury picture. Taken hurriedly before I almost forgot and started eating. You can see how I have already poured my sambal into the noodles.


Later that day, I met up with two old friends whom I have not seen since the last time I've seen them, which is not very recent. I think. And for some reason, we decided to take a walk in a park, Youth Park to be exact. This is one park that has been instrumental in my demented and sometimes erratic upbringing. The last time I remember it, it was run down and well, not very changed since I remembered it the last time I remember it before I saw it again and remembered it that time. Or something like that. But how it has changed!


Look ma! Mini waterfall-pond thinghy!!! This was not there before. I swear. Greeted me when I stepped into the park. Damn... what have I been missing? It even has real fish!!!


And they're still miraculously ALIVE!!!


A fountain! Like duh! Since when did the state hire artsy peeps to do their landscaping?

And this, takes the cake! When I was still young and galavanting in the park, we had this little pseudo concrete pond-stream thinghy with dirty water and all and we'd play in it because we were young and unhygienic and our parents didn't really care if we inhaled worms or anything coz back then whatever doesn't kill you can only make you stronger. Yeah, right!


Who needs to travel 400km to Sunway to pay to play, when you can do the same for FREE!!! How cool is that? Kids have it all these days.


Poser pic. I know, I just couldn't resist the camwhoring!

And as all holidays go, an end will come, and come it did. Soon, we had to pack up to go home before the crazy 10 hour jams hit us again. It was a fun relaxing time back home, with no schedule, no race against time. And I love the changes they made to the island. With all that development, they have somehow managed to capture the nostalgic feeling of yesteryears.

Sometimes the best place to go for a holiday is home.

Farewell

Today is my last day at the office. Come Monday, I will be embarking on an adventure in an industry totally new to me, doing something I've never done before. It is all rather daunting.

Today I was also stricken with a mild case of food poisoning. Actually it started yesterday evening, when just a little bit after dinner, I felt a slight discomfort. By the time I reached home, my dinner was ready to come out.

And so I hurled, and I curled, and I blew the chunks out! It was not a pretty sight.

But gastronimical mishaps aside, I somehow managed to crawl into office within the vicinity of 4pm (after a whole morning of intestinal disagreements) to pack up and leave. Ironic isn't it? To fall sick on your last day, and Friday the 13th as well.

So I bid my farewells and adieus, to my colleagues who became friends, to the late nights of aimless crunching, to the frustrations and the jubilations, to times shared. I will remember them always.

Of simple things that made a difference...

I made a friend a week ago. It all started with a simple car wash. The dude offered to remove stains and residue left over by my negligence due to the rainy weather (before the haze came) recently. Since it was a new car, I was eager to preserve the coat of paint. So I relented and said okay.

After work, I collected my car, and I noticed he did a good job. He took me around the car and showed me the places he 'cleaned' up. He was pretty honest about his work. That much, I could see.

Two days later, I brought my brother's (he went back to Penang and left his car in my care) car to him. The car was a disaster. It had all manners of scratches and dirt and stains all over it. It was a mess. And the interior smelt bad. Really bad. I almost felt guilty leaving the car in his hands. Imagine the torture he must have gone through.

But prevail he did. When I returned to collect the car, it was bright dark red. The colour was a matte rusty red before the wash/polish. And the interior smelt good. I was impressed. He even cleaned out the engine bay and vacuumed the entire car including the boot. He also neatly arranged my brother's belongings/rubbish in proper piles and plastic bags.

And he refused to charge me for the wash and the engine cleaning. RM 80 for just the polish and wax. I gave him RM 100 and told him to keep the change.

Today I sent my car for another wash because the haze made it dirty. My friend was waiting there with a smile.

The 'Fu' Analogy

A few months ago on a rather dark but not stormy nor rainy night, I had a good chat with an old friend of mine. I was having a tough time with regards to certain aspects of my life which I shall not go into detail here for fear that people who might have a chance to influence my later life will be reading this blog. And if you are one of those people, I suggest you don't use this blog as a reason to make my life miserable. Otherwise you will be cursed with seven years of bad nose hair. IT WILL HAPPEN!!!

So we chatted and he laid down examples using martial arts since I do have a love for the arts (of the martial kind) and have been an avid practitioner. To sum it all up, it made perfect sense! It also gave a good insight to the person that I was, that I am. And that deep inside, somethings don't really change, only momentarily suppressed.

Armed with this knowledge, I did only what I could at the time. I practiced the philosophy which I had held onto for so long. And I survived. And just a moment ago, I read a book, and a passage came into light. A phrase. And it made me think of the words he said to me and how I reacted towards them. How I used that knowledge to turn things around.

To the dude who gave me the 'Fu' analogy (you know who you are), this is to let you know that I didn't let things get me down. I fought back the way I always have before. I got up when I fell, even when I've had really nasty ones (you remember the really nasty one don't you?). And I'm back on my feet again.

So where're them punching mitts? We need to get at them old one-twos. And three, and fours... and that little counter attack on the five...

Thanks, dude!

When things turn sour...

Have a little fun! This may be one of many mindless posts to come thanks to my new toy (read previous post), and may sound rather chirpy to be me writing it, but nonetheless, those who know me well know that my writing does reflect on my mood. Sorta like a writing PMS. I know, the analogy sucks. But it's stays; coz it's crude, original and it's mine. So bugger off the patents already.

So there I was missing many opportunities to camwhore for the sake of it thanks to my rather concious need to NOT fall into that trap. Already I missed the super long kiasu/kiasi queue at ISETAN on the members only pre-sale. Not to mention a few occasions when it may seem interesting to digitize the embarassing moments of a few friends. As well as the mandatory 'what-I-had-for-' that all professional or budding camwhorers live by.

And as fate has it, the opportunity came in the form of this!



That's sour skittles (tho for the life of me I do not understand how people can take an interest in torturing themselves silly. Must be some drinking game without the drinks) for your information.

Anyway, while I was on the phone, my good friend decided to try to prank me by giving me a bunch of them. I knew better. But not much better. I decided to take them anyway just to get a 'kick' out of doing something silly. I succeeded. Big time.



And it stung! And I snapped. Or rather. I got my friend to snap. And when the sourness wore off, the sweet fruity taste of a handful of skittles flooded my mouth in an ironic symbolic form of a reward for my stupidity. Or some would argue, my persistance for the extreme. Which does in essence reflect the little bumps we face on the unmaintained roads in life.

And as a bonus, high on sour!



I look so stoned...