Linolumixa's Notebook.

Due to the majority of the visitors of this Notebook coming from Google searches on 'Cold Storage Jaya One', this post will be all about it. I was there today. The official opening is on this coming Thursday, 16th of April. On to the report...

There are two ways of accessing the supermarket [that I know of]. One is from the basement parking lot [if you're from B1, there's a travelator to lead you to the main floor], and one is from Jalan 13/6, along Wai Sek Kai.

Odd choice of colour [red] for the panel, because Cold Storage's colours are green and blue. The corridors in this side of the building are filled with small shop lots, a current trend in shopping centres where there are many food outlets, convenience and service shops located nearby the supermarket floor.

Just like how it was in Jaya Supermarket, there is a Guardian pharmacy; very good for getting antiseptic cream, cough lozenges, hairspray and vaginal douche.

The supermarket itself is sealed so I didn't get to wander about. It looks bigger than its Section 14 predecessor, has a special deli-looking section, live seafood tanks and organic produce.

By now the security guard was trying to chase me out of the floor, so that's it for now. I may update this post when I visit this place when it's officially open, and compare it to the nearby Jaya Grocer [where I usually shop my groceries at].

There is one more thing missing from this setting. A bookstore! Seriously, there is not one bookstore in the neighbourhood, unlike back in the day when there were two MPHs and one Popular in Section 14 alone. Borders would be a nice addition [so I don't need to travel so far to browse my favourite imported conceptual magazines].

Extra info: The Cold Storage in Section 14 was the finest supermarket around back in the day, and where even our late Tunku Abdul Rahman bought his groceries [my mother told me this]! There is an article on The Star Online about the Tunku launching his book there. Haha!

I took over a hundred of pictures when I was out of my backyard recently, but I won't write it in a regular 'out-of-town weekend in review' method because I don't go by that format anymore.

Somewhere in the southern part of the Malay peninsula...

This special putu piring is yellow in colour, thanks to the turmeric powder added into the flour mix. Only good to eat when it's steaming hot.

These people are serving themselves a lunch of a typical Malay wedding cuisine, which happens a lot during school holidays. You can't see the dishes, because it's supposed to be mysterious.

I had a massive lump of special ais kacang at a food court nearby the Diamond Jubilee Hall, that also serves really tasty roasted char kueh [?] and apparently the best sotong kangkung [according to two SMSs found at the foodie section on the last Sunday Star]. Really tasty Kacang Pool / Foul beans can be found at the same food court, but only for breakfast.

A stall at the Sunday night market near the Larkin Stadium sells Laksa Pening. The stall operator knows it's a typo... and currently waiting for someone to redesign the label.

About a half hour away from the capital is the old capital city of Kota Tinggi [back in the day, I think], which is quite a lifeless place, unless you're into outdoorsy stuff like mining for bauxite in Teluk Ramunia or climbing Gunung Panti [good for collecting mineral water]. The government buildings are apologetically stuck in the 1980s...

Introducing the very first edition of 'Conversations With Strangers', where I have... conversations with strangers. My first subject is Mrs. Majidah Majid, an interior designer originating from Kajang.

On one early Sunday evening, my friend JK and I wandered along Jalan Damansara and found this lady feeding a colony of monkeys. We started a conversation about what she was doing there.

"I live just down the road. My neighbours have seen me feeding the monkeys, and scolded me for doing so. I don't listen to them. There are some people who would come all the way from Ulu Klang to feed this lot. You can see in my car I'd always have six long loaves of bread. I used to feed the monkeys with bananas, but I've noticed that they prefer bread to bananas. I bought this loaf at TMC Bangsar."

"There is a rambutan tree on my lawn, and sometimes the monkeys take some of its fruit. My Japanese neighbours are very annoyed by that. They have a dog, and it has bitten a monkey's bottom before. I feel so sorry for the monkeys. I told my son to not be friends with our neighbour's daughters."

Other than monkeys, Majidah talked about the fate of this area known as Bukit Damansara, one of the greener and well-aged affluent residential area in Kuala Lumpur, mentioning several 'personalities' such as Ling Leong Sik's son and Pak Lah's son-in-law whom she finds "corrupted", and how our politicians wear Hugo Boss suits but behave badly in the Parliament.

After a half hour at the monkey-feeding spot, Majidah invited us to follow her to her house. This is the exciting part, because I never thought I would actually step into one of these million-Ringgit homes.

Green plants are everywhere, even on the exposed brick walls. I wish I knew how to identify plants, so that I can name-drop the hundreds of plant species one can find in the lawn. According to Majidah, the main purpose of the plants is to shield off the noise from the road. The traffic can get quite heavy during weekday evenings.

Inside, JK and I were served some mango juice, and continued our little dialogue. Between quotes you can find photographs of the house's interiors [could be better because sunlight was disappearing], which I have captured with the apartamento aesthetic in mind [I hope I succeed in this].

"My house is made out of Port Dickson fair face bricks, which costs only 10 sen at the time it was built. This land belonged to one of the Chinese engineers who wanted to migrate to England and Australia after the May 13th 1969 attacks. I paid RM 20 000 for this land when the price should have been RM 40 000. This house was completed in the year 1970. The total price for this house was RM 53 000, not including the cabinets. The area is about 7 000 square feet."

"I am 65 years old. After my husband passed away, I started to wear the tudung. Now I am back to being single. I have the freedom to do whatever I want. I think of myself as a liberal person. I believe in hikmah; behind every bad thing, there is always something good coming out of it. My husband is gone, and that's sad, but I get to be independent and live my life the way I like, and that's a good thing. I studied Interior Design in England in the 1960s, and became one of the first interior designers in this country. Only since a few years ago that it is recognised as a profession here. I was a judge at the recent Malaysian International Furniture Fair. It flooded, and many furniture were ruined. I am very sure next year's will be very unsuccessful."

"My cats are sleeping in my room upstairs. One of my grandsons lives with me; his name is Adam. My oldest grandson is now 14 years old. I love to collect ceramics and shells. I never pay the zakat through the government. They would just take the money for themselves. What I do is I help my relatives who are in need of money. Everyday I read newspapers cover-to-cover, including the sports section. But I don't like football. What I like are tennis and golf."

20 minutes and 20 shots later, JK and I put our shoes back on, as it was getting dark. Majidah let us have a peek of her one-week-old BMW 5 series.

In true Malaysian fashion, it took us another 10 minutes to reach the car because we couldn't stop talking about many more random things, such as other neighbours, advice on life, and a hilarious comment on a wife of a prominent politician.

"The family living opposite of my house are very well-bred. All of the children are now working as an accountant, lawyer, engineer. When you go overseas, don't just stick to the people of your origin. Mix around with everybody. And if you hold on to your values, you should know the limits of socialising with other people."

"Did you see her at the (so and so's) funeral? She was wearing high heels, and her legs resemble pig trotters! Haha!"

And so, that was the end of our encounter. I hope I get all the statements right, because they were mostly mentally-recorded. Next thing I'll do is to get a sound recorder, and make sure my digital camera is fully-charged. And then maybe I'll meet a stranger who lives in The Troika.

The Mega Magazine Matching Game is finally up. For the past few months I have been collecting a 25 cm-tall stack of magazines. Before these printed mediums of communication find their homes in my bookshelf, I've photographed most of them to make a little game out of it. Here's how it works:

1. The first four rows are made of sixteen magazine front covers.
2. The final four rows are made of sixteen magazine back covers.
3. Just pick a magazine front cover and match it with a magazine back cover [correctly, of course!].
4. Take note that there are five magazine front covers that do not have a back cover.
5. There are also five magazine back covers that do not have a front cover [just to make our lives a little more difficult].
6. Answers will be provided upon request.
7. Have life-enriching fun!

FRONT COVERS

I have expanded my carbon footprint by driving on scenic old trunk roads to Teluk Intan [formerly known as Teluk Anson], recently. I took an exit from the PLUS highway to Tanjung Malim, hoping to find a pau, but all shops were closed. But that's only because it was the first day of Chinese New Year. But I did get a crate of guava at Bidor. Very crunchy and light guava it was.

It took me more than two hours to reach Teluk Intan, but it wasn't a difficult journey as I thought, because the roads were quite well-kept, and there were no toll booths. The first place I headed to was the leaning clock tower at the town square. This tower used to be a water tower, where a tank still sits at the top of the building.

Just for scaling purposes, here's myself about fifty metres away from the tower. It really is leaning, but not visible from this angle.

Other interesting buildings in Teluk Intan include numerous old-school elevated brick houses with wooden shutters and organic engravings, abandoned clubhouses [such as this one below]...

... and schools. Looking at this night school building, it reminded me of my late grandfather who used to go to night school to learn shorthand.

Some Cubist art can be viewed at a particular Convent school.

The highlight of this Teluk Intan trip was a queer phenomenon in the clouds... it looked like a piece of luminous cling film soaked in a foamy solution being laid upon a dark cloud, with the sun at its top. Beautiful!

Other than Teluk Intan, I visited Nilai 3 several days before. It's supposed to be a really happening wholesale centre but in reality, it's all carpets and wedding supplies and fabric stalls. I got out of that place after lunch and used the old road to get to Seremban. I passed by this factory that makes... those signs. For some reason it reminds me of a backlot at PIXAR's Toy Story film set, especially at Dinoco and Pizza Planet.

If anyone is attracted to a sign leading to a Homestay at Kampung Pelegong, don't be fooled. Driving down winding roads through palm oil estates was a complete waste of time because this Homestay is a complete phoney. Even the route to alleged waterfall Jeram Tebrau came off as a scene from a horror film.

Eventually I reached the congested Seremban. There were banners and buntings all over the city, with the mayor's face and New Year greetings. I didn't like it. What I like is this avocado sedan used as a wedding car.

A building resembling an old cinema theatre...

... and a bowl of cendol at Sharif's ends this trip.

Not too long ago, I travelled to Klang by the old road, and photographed several interesting views. Such as the poor man's Loftcube...

... zinc roof collage...

... and a forklift showfield.

The upcoming post shall be about a stack of magazines on my table.

Down in selected hypermarkets across the Klang Valley, all great for lurking and finding something unexpected, there are bins full of outdated Malay film DVDs. Many titles were from the 1990s; among them were Selubung, XXRay, Maria Mariana, Jimi Asmara, Sayang Salmah... perfect to watch when you've got RM 8.9 to spare.

One film I would like to highlight is by Shuhaimi Baba, called Ringgit Kasorrga. I suspect this film came out in the year 1995. The plot goes like this; a dance studio called Blaze Studio headed by Meera [Tiara Jacquelina]...

 ...is selling its dancers as social escorts for the rich and elite.Then comes Nina [Deanna Yusoff]...

...from the village to work as a receptionist at the studio. Back in her village, her uncle is a politician who is working for a parliamentary seat, backed by a Datuk [Zaidi Omar]. This Datuk is also a lover of Meera. One day, Nina became a talent for a mobile phone ad [for ancient brand NEC, to be precise], because the actual model fell ill on shooting day.

The Datuk became interested in Nina from watching the ad, and wanted to 'get it on' with her. Nina thought it was for her modelling portfolio, and she had to help out her uncle by being friendly with this Datuk. But, this Datuk had something else in mind.

Nina did not like it at all, of course! And things got worse when Meera tried to sell her to Kasorrga, the island resort where all the social escorts were being 'screen-tested'. Nina learned that her fellow colleague was also being 'sold' there, and they went back to Blaze Studio to confront Meera. It didn't go well because Meera claimed that it's the girls who were willing to sell themselves.

Actually, the objective of this post is to remind me what the 1990s looked like. This film featured a lot of chunky gold jewellery.

foil brocade blazers, waistcoats teamed with A-line skirts...

oversized t-shirts...

really gaudy dance routines...

Ah, no wonder. Yaohan department store sponsored all the clothes!

And also, familiar KL scenes...

Anyone who used the Federal Highway to get to KL back then will not miss a massive Konica billboard near the Old Klang Road exit [which then became an ad for Salem cigarettes, and now, Vincci Nose shoes].

The house that was used as Meera's residence is very attractive, in a sort of, post-modern-ish, kind of way.

Written in chiseled tip Artline marker on a big brown envelope is Blaze Studio's address. In real life, it's not an actual bungalow lot, but rather a shophouse located adjacent to Penang Village restaurant / Maybank.

The year 1995 looked quite swell back then, eh? I may 'review' more 1990s local films in the future, perhaps a film that had Sidi Oraza acting in it, or Ramona Rahman. Hmm...

Recently, I got to see my favourite German product, Kraftwerk. But only one fourth of the Kraftwerk I know was there on the stage; Ralf. Our beloved Florian was missing, replaced by a much younger man.

Delighted to hear Showroom Dummies and Neon Lights. As expected, Kraftwerk changed into their neon grid outfit, after The Robots, when four robotic figures appeared before the laptop stands.

I was a little upset that the present Kraftwerk doesn't do crazy things on stage anymore, like bringing in their ENIAC-like synthesisers and drum machines, dancing awkwardly like how they were in the video for Showroom Dummies. Ralf looked a little sad and grouchy, unlike 30 years ago when he showed no emotions.

It's printed clearly on the ticket that no photography is allowed, but the floor was filled with little LCDs coming from digital cameras.

The show ended at 10, and I waited at the lobby to see if there are any photo-worthy attendees. A massive flock of the tall, well-dressed, after-office-hours kind washed me aside and I can only afford to look at them with hidden glee. Not just from Kraftwerk's show, but from a separate hall where an orchestra performance by middle school students of an international school was held. Later I reunited with my mother, who called the show "not a concert, but a music presentation". We caught a cab an hour later and had chilli crab and fried mantou for supper.

There was a day when I was travelling by cab and found that our driver shared his name with one of the richest man in the country [some time ago].

Back in my homeland, I saw a bus stand with a fascinating roof on my way to a breakfast of Kacang Pool.

And even more recently, I was back in the island formerly known as Temasek for a business meeting with an influential streetwear retailer [unfortunately, not my kind of taste]. My entourage rendezvous-ed with our boss at a lovely neighbourhood centre for a coffee.

Later we headed to the warehouse to survey the merchandise...

I spotted a punch card by the lift lobby that had a very interesting name...

After one hour at the meeting room, we were taken to a mall in the shopping district to visit the shop that we are going to invest in. I examined several bags but that's it. We all had lunch at a local chain restaurant that offered me a membership card because it was my birthday month, which entitles me to get some sort of discount off the bill, or something. I told them that I am a foreigner, and the manager immediately presented me a bottle of wine. Oh! Goodness! Alcohol? I couldn't accept it, so I gave it to our hosts.

As we were about to part, one of our hosts came running with a non-woven shopping bag. Inside it was a present for me, in a form of a backpack. Aww... I haven't used one of these ever since I left secondary school. Now, I plan to use it for work.

Back to the car with the investors and our consultant. One of them announced that we would be checking in to a five star hotel nearby. My brain floated for awhile. The keycard envelope says that my room's rate is around € 200 per night. ?! It's like the moon fell onto my lap. The room number was memorable, too.

Down on the driveway, I saw a row of special cars with the letters 'TMJ' printed on its number plate. My mother pointed out that those cars belong to the Johore royalty [the letters stand for 'Tengku Mahkota Johor']. Oh boy!

For the rest of the day, we were out shopping [but not really buying anything]. I visited my favourite Japanese store, MUJI, to get some stationery and snacks. What does it mean by this?

The next morning, I had a very noisy breakfast by a construction site that is on its way to become a brilliant, unordinary mall/apartment, which is something for a Malaysian like me to cry about. A bookstore nearby is selling a very lovely magazine called apartamento. Another publication that's avoiding glossy paper usage. There were only two copies left when I first saw it; this photograph was taken after I saw a man grabbing a copy.

A very amusing afternoon it was, as I watched our investors deciding on a Ferragamo bag. They gladly sponsored a bag and a pair of shoes for my mother just when she laid her sight on one. After the purchase, one of them asked me, "Aina beli apa?" ["What did you buy, Aina?"]. I answered, "Aina beli... air," [I bought... a drink] while holding up a carton of chocolate soy milk. Haha, we had a giggle as I thought, "Yeah, I can only afford a drink". Sentimental times...

We unexpectedly returned to our homeland at around sunset, and had a fun conversation [where I only listened] in the car while queueing at the Tuas checkpoint. One of the topics we discussed was the Johore royal family tree...

A dinner of spicy Mee Rebus we enjoyed at our investors' home followed, before going to the bus terminal to return to KL. As usual, the talk about comparing Malaysia and Singapore came up when a wafting breeze wandered from the nearby butchery. I don't know how we will pull off Legoland in five years...

If the most of us who live in flats have the warong Tom Yam downstairs, Dua Residency too have a new place to wine and dine it up. This posh condominium priced in the millions neighbours the Singapore embassy, Menara Tan & Tan, Istana Hinggap Perlis and is aligned towards the Petronas Twin Towers.

Back when I saw the 'delicious days ahead' cladding around Dua Residency's former showroom months ago, I had this wonderful vision of having my plate of rarebit and rosemary potatoes a table away from some intellectual-looking, Missoni robe-wearing Henk, secretary from the Belgian embassy, who just popped in for supper.

One recent night, I did a drop-by and asked the parking attendant to not charge me RM 5 because I just wanted to survey the area. There are three different restaurants within the block; delicious, delicious ingredients and Kirishima [a boring Japanese restaurant]. The regular delicious sits on the first floor [or second floor, if you're not a local], where you can expect perennial hits like Caesar salad, Nyonya curry laksa and sticky date pudding.

Back on the ground floor is concept fine dining delicious ingredients, which incorporates a bakery, gourmet grocery shop that also sells Kitchen-aids, and a selection of wines and spirits.

No Henk-like personalities were spotted within the premises, just local families who are first-timers having their ritual Saturday night dinner. Oh well, maybe I can find a better luck at delicious at Marc Residency [a person like Henk is most likely to rent a unit at a service apartment, rather than buying an RM 6 million unit at Dua].

I've been thinking... that I should stop writing the way I usually do, and change the format of my Notebook without changing its medium. Now that I am preparing a little side dish in a form of a magazine, I might publish my posts as if they are pages of a magazine. This would mean that I won't be using VOX anymore... which is good because VOX feels like a home for happy, life-loving people... not my kind of thing. Hm, if I get a mobile me account, I could publish my posts using iWeb, which is highly customisable. And I can add that little 'Made on a Mac' badge at the bottom of the page.

Regular posting will go on as usual... so wait for my updates. Meanwhile, here is a special picture of a leaking air duct on an LRT train.

Malaysian Mac users, both existing and to be, rejoice!