It's true that there are only five entries for this month. As you can't tell, I have been occupied with things that will help me bring success in life, which is definitely not Notebook-worthy.
What this post will be about is how my weekend of 25-27.01.08 went. On Friday, I was at a Pay Less Books outlet because they were having a 50% sale on all books. I didn't find anything interesting in this outlet, except a book called 'How To Be A Real Teen-ager!'. There was a little note written on the first page of the book that goes...
Seeing something like this can sometimes drive me up the wall of curiousity. In fact, when I was in the bookstore, I had a thousand ideas coming from reading titles off bookspines that will inspire my next Q & A conversations.
A quick lunch with the Singapore-bound JK at Cozy Corner, Jaya 33 which was the most disappointing lunch we've ever had. After JK left, I drove to Bangsar to search for something, but I ended up driving around Lucky Garden, where I found an art gallery sitting at the beginning / end of Jalan Cenderai. It's called Kebun Mimpi [Dream Orchard].
There was no show nor exhibition going on inside, just a Northern-accented man who was amazed by my appearance and his younger brother who was watching a 3D-animation movie.
Around the area, I spotted several cool-looking terrace houses and townhouses that have been revamped, renovated and rebuilt. Of course, I won't put up those in here because they are reserved for my residential architecture post [which will come out in I'm not sure when]. There was also Food Foundry petit housed along a row of shophouses.
One last house before going home - a small bungalow nearby Seksan's office. The gate was open and I walked in. There's a neatly-kept garden with carpet grass and stepping stones. I walked in, and there was no one at the reception. A wandered around the conference room [which used the window as a whiteboard] and the waiting area.
Sadly this was the only picture I took - I came across a room where two ladies were working on their computers. I asked if this was an art gallery [obviously not] and I was looking for one in the area, and she replied "No, this is an event-management company" and quickly helped me out of the house. Then she shut the automatic gate. I hope they didn't think of me as a spy of some sort [which I naturally am].
So, the next day on Saturday the 26th, I was getting some breakfast at Mickey Dee's when I saw this guy in a Tintin t-shirt! ARGH I've always wanted them! [I saw several at the toy museum in Seah Street down in Singapore two years back but they all came in kiddie sizies]. I wanted to ask him where he got it, but it was already my turn to place my order, and when I was done, he was gone.
Later in the afternoon, I took my mother to Semenyih to see some houses. There were countless toll plazas that we had to go through to reach there, but that's because we didn't know the inside roads. About an hour or so, we came through a road that looked like it's taking us to the mountains.
My relatives were at the houses to do some surveying and help-outing. We drove around the neighbourhood to look at houses, some are overly-decorated [think 'chrome' gates, pseudo-Balinese tiles and ochre paint], some are empty and looted. But there was one that caught my eye.
A large hall-looking building which is occupied by Meditators & Spiritual Travellers Society. At the gate, it said 'FOR SALE'. Funny how this kind of things happen to be located in a place like Semenyih. I wonder what goes on in it.
We bought some fried bananas and kuih koci nearby some low-cost low-rise to snack on. The kuih koci is not the kind you get in the city. It's made the old-school way with no purple colouring nor fattening coconut milk. No pictures of those, because I finished them all in a jiffy.
Just behind the area was University of Nottingham. But the road wasn't finished so we didn't get to go further than here.
There's nothing noteworthy after our Semenyih trip, so on to the next day.
On Sunday the 27th, my mother sent me some lunch, made of nothing but seafood.
Two kinds of curry - crab and seafood. In the seafood curry, I found some prawns, fish and mussles with ladies fingers. In the bigger container is scallop and several other molluscs which wasn't my kind of thing. I packed some bring for my outing to KLPac's open day for lunch.
Going to KLPac using the Sentul Link can be very confusing. I couldn't find a way to get to Jalan Ipoh and was led right back on to Sentul Link. A total waste of fuel. I got to Jalan Tun Razak and accessed Jalan Ipoh from there and reached KLPac at around 2.30 pm.
It was sunny as hell. I couldn't stand being outdoors so I went into the building and saw a band playing some classical music. Upstairs were some free movie screenings, and on the highest floor were free dance workshops where one can learn flamenco and salsa. There was a room where you can view some sort of abstract dance [something that I can't get into at all].
After the orchestra was done with their performance, an acapella group took their place and got the audience clapping along their sing-along-able songs.
Outside, there was a group of more abstract dancers hanging around poles...
Which got the DSLR-ers on a shooting frenzy. Fleh. Is there a social event that has no DSLR-ers nowadays? I am sure many of them are not reporters, but Flickr fanatics.
Look at this girl who has the annoyed look on her face due to the conversation which was happening behind her, about two guys; one owns a DSLR, another was modelling one of those old-school twin lens reflex camera and comparing their machines.
Near the lake were these men who were simultaneously shooting themselves in a predictable way a contemporary DSLR owner would have.
Maybe I should learn how to stop writing about things that are not cool enough by my standards on here.
At the Koi ponds, there were free kimono fittings and people can pose around the gardens, like this trio.
There were also food stalls, like this one which had KLPac's main lady Faridah Merican selling tuna sandwiches to the.... um, those 8TV presenters.
I spotted this guy who was chilling by the poles. I asked him if he knows what the writing on his t-shirt mean but unfortunately, he didn't. He wasn't into typography either.
Also: I approached my former class teacher back in Assunta, Mrs. Narayanan, who remembers me as the Linkin Park fanatic. To my classmates back in 2002-2003 : Mrs. N says hi!
And that was it. After shooting Fatihah and Nabihan, I went to see my mother to check out the TTDI pasar malam to buy some excessively-sweet tangerines. Behind the stall were these little kids juicing up slices of oranges.
And that is all. I hope February brings me better adventures that will be recorded on here. I know of several events which will excite me a lot, because I am obsessed with getting excited.
Pretty eventful my weekend went. On Saturday the 19th, I started the day at around noon, when I helped out my mother with her grocery-shopping at our favourite market in the country at TTDI. On the upper floor, there was a shop selling brownies that looked kind of good.
We bought some pieces just because we were hungry. They aren't the chewy, moist brownies you'd expect from, say, d'lish, but it's what you get for what you pay.
After some low-fuss lunch, I was summoned by JK to be at the Ampang LRT station by 5 to do our little tour in the city. The roads in Ampang are forever congested and confusing, so I only reached the station a half hour late. Thankfully, JK arrived another half hour late, which was the time when top Malay film director Bade arrived on location to do some sort of filming, starring Zarina AF. It's nothing interesting.
So the destination for the day is Look Out Point, which sits on... well, this hill bordering Hulu Langat. There are restaurants there, and I was told that the view of the city was spectacular. The road was winding and the sky was getting darker. We don't know where we are supposed to end up in.
Up and down the hill we went. JK wasn't sure of the exact location of the Look Out Point, so I just drove straight ahead.
Kilometres after kilometres, we found ourselves in some sort of village. Things looked like as if we were hours away from KL.
There were small houses, warong kopi, schools and motorcycle workshops lining the two-lane road. We took a random turn and spotted this very cool suspension bridge spanning across the river. In the river were little kids having a splashing moment.
The river looked cleaned enough to dip in. The water was cold, and the kids were amused by our presence.
There was a boy who was camera-shy, but was brave enough to show his off bridge-diving skills for our entertainment.
Look at JK shooting something from the miniature version of the Bay Bridge.
On the other side of the bridge was the main road. Up in the sky, we noticed the moon appearing 3/5 full.
Several helmetless motorcyclists were spotted using the bridge, too.
And one more picture before we leave.
Back on the road, and it was already twenty past seven. We headed back to the highest part of the hill which we went through earlier, where a Minangkabau-esque building sits on. True enough, there were some restaurants that were operating in the double-storey building. A few steps up the hill was the lookout tower. We thought we'd find suspicious couples making out up there, but no. Just some DSLR enthusiasts waiting for the right time to shoot the marvelous view of the Klang Valley.
Knowing that places with scenic views are a hit among local telemovie shootings, a special banner was displayed to warn all of us.
A good look-about was what we did before going back to the foot of the hill, nearby the one-day-old Carrefour Ampang. Cars were parked along the main roads for hundreds of metres. We didn't; we were lucky to find a spot near the covered parking lot. We thought of having dinner there, but was majorly disappointed with the shops that were not yet open for business. The only thing that was open were the shops on the upper level, where the hypermarket is. And wow, thousands of eastern Klang Valley-ites were seen rummaging through aisles of groceries, electrical appliances and clothes.
We spotted some funny-looking schoolbags catering to two very different potential buyers.
There was nothing Carrefour had to offer to us, so we got back on the road to begin our very special project. I had a brilliant idea of stalking someone. I can't tell who, but to give you some idea of who this person is, I can only share with you the fact that it's a guy, and he has appeared on I Got Shot In The City. Heheh...
We circled through so many neighbourhoods, taman-taman perumahan and asked several people, but no one gave us the exact location of this special address. In the middle of the search, we came across a pasar malam, where we bought some very tasty apam balik. I asked a group of young to-be mat rempits on where to find my stalkee's house, but they were making very dumb jokes that made me laugh loudly at why I'm even talking to them.
Back in the car and soon, JK and I spotted the first few signs telling us that the guy's house is nearby. I was cold all over and when we finally saw the house, I screamed with joy. We casually parked the car close to the house and surveyed the surroundings. Finally we had the guts to check out the front door. "Those are definitely his shoes," I told JK while pointing out a pair of dark-coloured shoes. JK had an idea of barging in but I am convinced that the guy isn't home. We took several pictures for memory's sake, then was alarmed by the twitching doorknob of the front door, and ran to the back of the house. I don't think I should continue this story because it might give away some more clues on the stalkee.
Back to the car where we finally got to talk at 70 decibels. I announced that it's time for us to end the night. Just before I dropped JK at MidValley, we visited the Lost Generation Space, a bungalow sitting on Robson Heights, where hippie artists live.
We were greeted by a group of MacBook users, and I ventured around to check out the places where the famous notthatbalai events happen.
A resident artist, believed to be known as Tobias [very friendly, at that], was using pages from a home property magazine as his inspiration for a painting.
Upstairs was the poet Rahmat Harun's [hope I got the name right] living quarters. Luckily JK is familiar with him, if not, it'll be rude to 'gatecrash' someone's room. But Rahmat was cool with our presence.
The night ended when I dropped JK at MidValley and drove back to my house. And that's it!
Mac fans, you know what will happen tonight [or this morning, depending on where you reside]. Somewhere in San Francisco, Steve Jobs and his friends will be introducing several new things like... I'm not sure what they will be this time, but the most anticipated announcement shall be the release of the so-called MacBook Air [which I will own by the middle of this year (I hope!)].
When will it happen? The time is 9 a.m. PST [plus sixteen/fifteen hours for those in GMT+8]. That should be around midnight. Where to check it out? Naturally, everyone will be hanging out at macrumorslive for almost real-time updates [pictures included, I believe]. Be sure to have the Apple site open, too, and refresh it once in a while to confirm that the existence of this 'MacBook Air' is real.
Update: MacBook Air is for real.
Initial responses, first impressions and comments [so far]:
• How the hell is it so confoundingly thin?! Will it crack easily?
• Glossy screen? Not my cup of tea. Glare is rarely my cup of tea.
• Where are the speakers? No speaker at all? It says in the Tech Specs page that there is a built-in mono speaker, but where is it located? Could the little holes beside the iSight serve as the speaker and the microphone?
• No optical drive. OK, great, I rarely stick in CDs into my computer. This won't do well in Malaysia because we don't have an iTunes store, so we can't buy any music and download / rent movies. And even if we did have an iTunes store, it would take hours to download a movie, thanks to the amazing broadband speed we have.
• About the whole 'access another Mac or PC wirelessly / install a programme from it' feature. That's only possible when both computers have wireless capabilities, right? Like which regular desktop PC have a built-in wireless card?!
Conclusion: It's a beautiful machine, more soft curves, or should I say, slopes. In my opinion, its future might be like the Titanium PowerBook because the design will be more polished eg. the keys will be in silver colour, improved hinges. Will I get it? No, not really. It's more of a want than a need. A MacBook Pro is better for me because I still need the ports and optical drive.
A little odd note: I've noticed that the PC guy from the Apple ads have slimmed down [judging by the latest ads], just like a MacBook Air. Nevertheless, I am amazed by both of them.
And just to add a little relevant additive to this post, check out this visual commentary based on observations of an amazing illustrator called Peter Arkle [his latest design for graniph is high on my wishlist, currently].
Not to forget, my visit to the alleged three-storey Apple store in Lot 10 [it's just two-storey; the third level empty]. Machines wasn't quite open yet, but I think by the time this post is published, they have sold dozens of Nanos and some Mac Pros.
OK. One thing I don't fancy at all. Why are they using the Arial typeface for the shop's name?! Machines have been using the standard Myriad for the rest of their stores. I hope that these are just a stand-in while the Myriad ones are still in the making.
Another sad sight. Why are the 'i's capitalised?!
Now that Machines will be the most-visited shop in Lot 10 [its entrance is right after the mall's entrance], they should keep their visitors in the store for as long as possible by not having the WiFi turned off or Safari on block.
On the first day of the year 1429 [10.01.08], my mother and I went off to explore the once-familiar roads to Kuala Selangor. To be precise, we wanted to visit our so-called orchard [which was my family's number one destination on Sundays, back before 1998]. I haven't been there for ten years. After going on the NKVE, through Sungai Buloh, Paya Jaras, Kuang, endless Sime Darby palm oil plantations, stalls selling bantal kekabu, timber-laden lorries and... well, the rest, we arrived at a little plot of land somewhere in Ijok.
Oh, the disappointment. *thinks for a while* I'm not going to say much about this, or I'll end up having a Brillo pad as a brain.
A few metres across the road is a grocery store. Let's see what they have on sale...
I would go crazy if I were to live here. I'll be seeing nothing but palm trees, wheelbarrow-carting motorcycles, monkeys, young mat rempits and hot weather.
After spending some 15 minutes wandering around, my mother and I drove straight to Kuala Selangor, about 30 minutes away from Ijok. This place is most famous for its fireflies. You can go on a little boat ride at dusk to check out their light display at various locations. Another thing that's a hit in Kuala Selangor are bundle stores.
Check out Noriz Bundle, housed in a simple zinc-roofed warehouse. This has got to be the cheapest bundle shop I've ever been in because there were many racks of clothes that are RM 5 for two. Like this one, carrying old dresses [you might prefer to call them 'vintage']. RM 5 for two dresses! You can't get that price anywhere else.
There were thousands of t-shirts to be picked, too. Expect to find designs for fun runs and kiddie camps from American cities, and hilarious Engrish pictures and sayings.
There was a wide selection of Japanese oil rig worker's jackets, auntie-ish blouses, oversized and overly-patterned polo shirts and track jackets. I ended up buying several t-shirts, a dress and some shirts. Nine items for RM 30.
After being baked in the warehouse, my mother and I started to find a place to eat. We really have no idea where the good local food stalls were, so we had to settle for this uninspiring and misleading restaurant called Seri Kampung. It doesn't even sell any kampung dishes! So we ate some noodles and chicken chop, before walking about the shophouses for awhile. The area we were at is near Bukit Malawati, where dating rempits and bored punks hang out.
I was photographing this Chinese temple when one of the guys got up and yelled at me. I quickly sped off to safety.
And this is the kind of mall where Kuala Selangorians shop.
Back on the main road to go to Tanjung Karang, where you can find paddy fields and shop for fresh seafood straight off the docks. What we found though, were stalls selling tea-time delicacies, like apam balik, keropok lekor, cucur udang, various kuih and not to mention, pisang goreng.
In Tanjung Karang, they have sesame seeds in the batter.
Near the stalls were shops selling school uniforms, sports equipment, fabric, toys and several supermarkets.
Back to the car where my mother had her fried bananas, and I ate my apam balik kismis. The road was very long, and we saw nothing buy coconut trees, mosques, more bantal kekabu stalls, tom yam restaurants and factories.
We passed by Meru and Kapar, then from Klang we drove back on the highway, on the NKVE and ending up at the Damansara toll plaza. Just then, a rainbow greeted us!
That was amazing. And that's all I have to report for now.