#fiction

EATING OUT

/ Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

Phew! What a hot day, today is! The skies had a bit of an overcast, which looked like a good time to do my 10km walk.

I started my walk at around 2.30pm. The weather was very warm, with times when the sun’s rays (or sunshine) sneaked past or through the overcast skies where the light grey clouds provided the shade. The walk was hot but not as hot as yesterday. Yesterday, was not piercing hot, but dry, humidyfying hot.

It was cooler today, but make no mistake, the humidity was as uncomfortable as ever.

Had a refreshing cold shower when I got back and was ready for the rest of the day.

Picked Jeannie and Laura up from their respective places of work. The traffic was good, not too heavy. The weather was clear all the way, compared to what seemed like torrential rain at this time, yesterday.

We were a few minutes early for Laura. Jeannie walked over to the MyNews store nearby, to get  us a couple of cold drinks. She of course, took the opportunity to buy some of her favourite junk snacks.

Laura and Jeannie both, talked about their day at work. Some ups, some not so ups, busy – their day at the office was good.

Got Laura to the gym just past seven. So, now, “What to eat?” Since we had some grocery shopping to do, we thought we’d have dinner at the SS15 (1) Kwai Sun coffee shop / Kopitiam / restaurant. After dinner, we could walk next door to K. P Mak, the fruit grocer, to buy one whole watermelon. The whole watermelon, even when cut into big, chunky slices; would last us for nearly a week. A refreshing fruit for hot weather like this.

Jeannie order claypot noodles (2) and I, my usual – “Sing Chow Mei Fun” or Singapore fried noodles. (6)

Jeannie’s meal order: Claypot noodles. It came with egg and lup cheong.

Jeannie’s meal was cooked in a… you guessed it: claypot. I am not too sure whether it is just for style, the noodles being served in a claypot or whether there is a distinct benefit in cooking the noodles in a claypot or whether there is a difference in taste. #2 in the notes, suggest there is. I have yet to try a meal like this.

The claypot noodles is prepared and cooked with a black sauce. It comes with a single-fried egg (3) and lap cheong (4) in the main dish. To me, lap cheong is an acquired taste.😁This meal also comes with a little side dish of cut chili padi in black sauce. (5)

Having fun with this new fangled feature. Trying out the A.I. (Artificial Intelligence) camera feature. Here, I created a copy of the rim of the claypot, separately.

Jeannie said her meal was “a bit on the salty side” (local description for being a “little salty”). This was her main meal for the day as she did not have time for lunch. She visited a relative who is in hospital during her lunch break.

My “Sing chau mai fun” or Singapore fried noodles, tasted good as usual. The meal was not overly spicy this time. The “volcanic heat” spicyness (that is not even adding the chili padi yet) was toned down this time. It sort of made me think that this meal was prepared by a different cook. The guy that usually prepares this dish – you perspire (drip in sweat) profusely just by looking at it. That is how chili hot this meal usually is. You suffer eating it. However, you will come back for more.

Most restaurants, coffee shops or kopitiams prepare this meal with tomato sauce. The taste will tend to be more tomato sauce or sweet in taste. However, here, at this restaurant, you get to taste the noodles as it should be. You can actually taste the noodles with the fried egg in it, long beans, fishcake, 2 small prawns (which I put in Jeannie’s plates as I don’t eat prawns), carrots, bean spouts, cabbage and spinach.

It comes with a small side dish of chili sauce. Don’t let its orange colour fool you. It is really potent and should be eaten with caution. The best way of eating this is to lightly dab your chopsticks in it, then pick an amount of the meal with it that you are going to put in your mouth. In this way, you will safely eat your meal, at the same time get the taste of the chili sauce. It does taste very good.

Kwai Sun Restaurant is the place to come for good “Sing chau mai fun” or Singapore fried noodles, at least in Subang Jaya.

When you ask for “Sing chau mai fun”, the taste and even what it looks like will vary from one restaurant / coffee shop to another. Most of the chefs (cooks, really) are not formally trained. One cook to another will give you what they think this meal should be. Through experience, they improve on their cooking skills. This is one way of trying the variants of this meal.

Fooling around with A. I. (Artificial Intelligence) photography. Here, the prawn was separated from the meal.

After our dinner, Jeannie and I walked over to K. P. Mak, nextdoor; to buy a watermelon. We asked their “expert” watermelon chooser worker to pick a good fruit for us; which he did (I think. Hope the fruit is good).

We then stopped by at Jaya Grocer in Empire Gallery Shopping centre to get a bottle of decaf coffee (it has been quite a while since I last had a decaf), and a few other items; which included another cold drink. The temperature seemed to be climbing as the evening wound down. What would be nice right now is to have an A.B.C.…

NOTES:
1. SS15 is a bustling town centre (the first town centre) of the city of Subang Jaya, in the state of Selangor, Malaysia.
“SS” or Sungai Way-Subang
The SS in the neighborhood’s name stands for Sungai Way-Subang. Addresses in PJ are standardized. The town is divided into numbered sections (seksyen), which are denoted with just S (eastern PJ), SS (central and western PJ), PJU (northern PJ), and PJS (southern PJ).
2. Claypot Noodle also known as “nga poh meen” or “sar poh meen” is a popular hawker dish in Malaysia. The dish came piping hot, usually served in the individual clay pot the noodles were cooked in. Health Benefits. Despite being relatively low in some nutrients like fiber and protein. marketboy.sg
Is Claypot good for health?
According to Ayurveda Specialist at Dr. Vaidya’s, Dr. Surya Bhagwati, “cooking in a clay pot not only has a variety of health benefits but also makes for an easier cooking process and in the end, a more flavorful and nutritious dish. Due to its numerous health benefits, Ayurveda suggests cooking in a clay pot. mitticool.com
3. In central and northern India’s English-speaking middle classes and mid-level restaurants, “single-fried” refers to sunny side up (also known as a “bullseye”).
4. Lap cheong (Cantonese, or simplified Chinese; traditional Chinese; pinyin: làcháng; Jyutping: Cantonese Yale: laahp chéung) is a dried, hard sausage usually made from pork and pork fat. It is normally smoked, sweetened, and seasoned with rose water, rice wine and soy sauce.
The taste of lap cheong is distinctly different from better-known dried sausages, such as pepperoni, dry chorizo, or dry salami. Instead of a burst of garlic and spice, you’ll get hit with a tinge of sweetness and a bit of saltiness.
5. Bird’s eye chili or Thai chili or more commonly known as chili padi in Malaysia; is a chili pepper variety from the species Capsicum annuum that is native to Mexico. Cultivated across Southeast Asia, it is used extensively in many Asian cuisines. wikipedia
6. Singapore noodles, or Sing Chow Mei Fun as they are commonly known here, or Singapore mei fun; is a very popular dish in Malaysia as well as the US. It is made with thin rice noodles stir fried with a rich savory curry sauce and loaded with vegetables, meat and seafood. It is a matter of debate where this dish really originated.

ANOTHER THRILLING DAY

/ Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

Just as one is published, another becomes due. An essay just published recently, COFFEE SHOP AT PARAMOUNT, somehow took more time than usual to complete and publish.

Or are the days losing its value by becoming shorter? There are several theories floating that each day made up of 24 hours or 1,440 minutes or 86,400 seconds, are actually losing it’s value in terms of time. Maybe, a couple of seconds or so, every 50 years… Whether these theories and studies have merit, is left to be seen.

I have mentioned this before. Maybe, we, as individual, ordinary people, cannot control the shortening or lengthening of time. But what we can control, is what we put into that given time.

I didn’t have a good enough sleep last night. I thought that since I was so tired, I would have been out like a lightbulb switched off. But I wasn’t. Toss and turned, got up several times, so, yeah not the best of nights. Night went and as usual, the next morning showed up as always, on the dot. Maybe, the night was too warm. I don’t know if it is just me, but the past few nights have been unusually warm. However, the early mornings become very cold. Same thing happened today. By time it was 8.30am – 9.00am, the temperatures started climbing and the humidity bringing with it – perspiration.

Ain’t nothing gonna spoil my day (not exactly the Queen’s English [have not heard the phrase “King’s English”. I wonder if it is referred to that as such]). We were about to leave for Amcorp Shopping Mall. I had a quick brekkie – had two vadai (one made from beans and the other, a donut [American spelt version of doughnut]) which we bought from Star Bhavan – the latest Indian restaurant craze of Subang Jaya.

I was not feeling all that “awake” , yet it was almost 10.00am. Yes, we were still at home. Our neighbourhood contractor, Mr. Teoh; had some of his men come to out house to help repair the fencing. We left for P.J. shortly after that but not to Amcorp Shopping Mall. We had to make a detour to the hospital first where Jeannie wanted to visit a close relative. By the time we got top Amcorp, it was close to 11.15am. We set our booth up within a short while.

The Hotwheel cars, key chains and fridge magnets were top on the list today, as people seemed to have a renewed interest in these items. The Batik Influencer was as usual, entertaining and enlightening people on the “Why Batik? ” – old times, current times and the future – in vogue, always.

I got the opportunity to meet with two other writers, one focusing on ladies’ fashion; the other on food. They are establishing a foothold in K.L. and P.J.. Both these cities are so vibrant, that it would take a very long lifetime to cover everything. Come to think of it, not really. It definitely will take more than a very long life time, as K.L. or Kuala Lumpur and P.J. or Petaling Jaya, are both vibrant cities where the landscape for food and fashion are continuously evolving.

Hmmm…This looks interesting; they were both, thinking to themselves.

Looking chic in batik.

Bond’s cars, Swatch watches, a incredibly uniquely, rare Parker Duofold laquered blue, ball point pen.

The evening arrived faster than we realised. I think it’s because we were having fun as usual. In fact, we did not have much time catching up with our friends who were running the other booths. We plan to do so tomorrow. We got back home after 7.00pm. Just in time to think up of something new for future essays.

A FIRST FOR ME: ATTENDING A BABY SHOWER

/ Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

Bayswater… Somewhere in KL. Attending a babyshower… A first for me.

When you KL-ites and Malaysians hear “Bayswater at KLCC”, you will say, “I know where that is”. Heck no, you don’t! You think it is at KLCC, don’t you? You will even argue and dispute with Google Maps. Like I did! Google maps would have been heading you to the spot, but you will most probably say, “But KLCC is on the right, about a mile away”.

In the end, I decided to follow Google maps and we arrived at our destination about half hour early. We, Jeannie and I; like to be punctual.

We waited in the car until it was nearly 6.00pm. Then, we walked to the function room.

So, this place is not physically at KLCC…you know…the shopping centre. And as for “Bayswater”; I assume that it is because it is in the Lake Titiwangsa area. Can’t see the lake but sure can see an abundance of water…flowing…from the sky… It is raining heavily. So, yes, “baby shower”.

There was a counter set up at the entrance where a couple of your ladies greeted us and asked us to choose between a pink and blue  ribbon, that we would wear as a tag to indicate if the baby coming, will be a girl or boy. Of course, my wife, ever so loving as she is; decided that I would choose pink.

We were among the earliest to arrive. So, yes, we are here, sitting at one of the tables in the middle of the room. It was sort of a nice setting, with no walls on both sides of the length of the room. We were surrounded by the lush greens of the surrounding gardens. No wonder it is called “Gardens at Baywater”.

The room was decorated in colours do tell, of pink and blue.

The view of the surroundings.

There was a “throne” on stage for the hosts of the evening. It was their day.

The throne for the parents-to-be.

Some of the goods which was presented to the couple when they were blessed by their mothers.

Dessert was served, first. That is healthy thinking. In a book that I read, “Fit For Life”, (1) it says that you start your meal with dessert first. Fruits, I think it was, as dessert.

Dessert: Sweets. The green one on the left is a sort of jelly with pieces of fruit on top. The brown one on the right is sort of a yogurt with a strawberry on top [strawberry dah makan (2) before this picture was taken] 😂

The strawberry is missing. Who pinched the strawberry?

The ceremony started when Thenappan and his beautiful wife, Sivagami; took their places on the throne. Thena, as he is more popularly known; is Jeannie’s colleague at work.

Next, Thena’s and Sivagami’s mothers blessed the couple by a short ceremony with a marking of oil, incense or ointment of some kind; on both, husband and wife. Then, they put some bracelet bangles on the mother-to-be’s hands. The last part of this process was with flower petals. A lady offered flower petals on a tray to the mothers. The ladies took some of the flower petals and dropped a few of them on top of Sivagami’s and Thena’s heads.

I now know why Indian ladies wear so many bangles. The  multiple (being American here) bangles create sweet musical sounds. The baby in the mother’s womb will always hear the sweet, melodious sounds of the bangles as they knock against each other on her hands.

After that, all the ladies in the room were invited to do the same as the mothers of the couple did. Jeannie was the first in line to do this. She has always been fascinated with customs, traditions, clothes and food of people from different cultures.

She put the ointment on the back of Sivagami’s hand, cheeks and forehead. She even put the ointment blessing on Thena’s forehead. Then she sprinkled flower petals on top of their heads. She completed the process by placing bangles on Sivagami’s hands.

The ladies waiting for their turn to do the honours.

When this part of the ceremony was completed; we were then invited to proceed to dinner. The food was good. It was Indian cuisine, buffet style.

Then, came the moment – the highlight of the evening, the reason we were all here for – Is it a boy or girl? There was a little pre-planned “tic-tac-toe” game on displayed where the couple started flipping the cards over. It had to be a 4 blue and 4 pink card turnover, with the last one opened: blue.

The evening ended with people having photographs taken with the lovely couple. I will add to this article, a photograph that the couple’s photographer took of Jeannie & myself, Sivagami & Theana and another colleague from their office; when I get a copy of it.

Sivagami and Thena

It was a very pleasant drive home, driving through what would otherwise be the very busy streets of KL, but smooth flowing today, as many people would have travelled back to their homes, out of town for the long holidays. Aaahh… if only traffic was like this everyday.

NOTES:
1. FIT FOR LIFE by Harvey & Marilyn Diamond
2. “Strawberry dah makan” is the “strawberry is already eaten” in Bahasa Malaysia.

BEAUTIFUL SUNDAY AT F1.16

/ Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

Sunday morning, 10.27am (I think).

That was the time we sauntered (1) in. We carried the two biggest bags out of our car. Looking at us, one would think that we were running away from home; or was it “ran away from home” since we had already done it; i.e. the action was already put into motion.

Just before arriving here, we stopped by at New Apollos restaurant near our house; to get my “fix”. Jeannie, the Batik Influencer, also known to be known as my wife; brought along our Goji and Rain 532ml Hydraflasks. For those wanting to go out and get themselves a Hydraflask Goji or Rain 532ml flask; it may be a bit difficult as it does not show up on their website. “Goji” and “Rain” are Hydraflask’s version of Red (Goji) and Grey (Rain). I know, I know, my thoughts exactly! Why can’t they just call a red a red and a grey a grey.

We hand over our Hydraflasks to the drinks guy who promptly fills these containers with Nescafe Ice Kaw Kaw, including adding several ice cubes to make sure the drinks stay chilled throughout the day. The Hydraflasks do an outstanding job in keeping my Nescafe ice Kaw Kaw super ice cold, right up till the evening, when we pack to head home.

So, we lugged, tugged, dragged (not really) our two biggest bags from our car to the booth, first. We laid out all the main things like the batik, Hotwheels cars, watches, and some tech stuff. We made a couple more trips back to our car, which was 3 levels below us, in the carpark.

It did not take us very long to set the booth up the way we wanted. People were in a “Relak lah, brudder” (2) “Sunday mood”, which was good. A change from the usual “hard at work week”, for most of us, at least.

Gong Xi Fa Cai (Happy New Year) – the Chinese New Year decorations are still up.

While I watched people go by, I recognised a gentleman walking by in his Sunday’s best at relaxing. “Mervin”, I called out. The gentleman turned round, “Hey! Alan”. With him, was a young lady who was heavily tattooed. She also happened to be the younger of his two daughters. Mervin, his siblings and parents, their cousins, uncles and aunties, have been close friends of the Atkinsons of Klang; going back over 50 years. It was good catching up on things since we last met, here, at Amcorp Shopping Mall; a few months ago, when he passed our booth.

Mervyn Gomes, with the unhatted (at the time of this picture) Hatted Writer.

I came to the mall today, unhatted. (3) I already had my sights for the “tweed” and was waiting for the right moment to visit Mahmud.

Mahmud was a floor above us, on the west side. I put the flat cap (also knowns as the “newboy” cap) on, and it was perfect. Mahmud said it matched the sling bag I had today.

Mahmud, the hats and specs guy with me, the Hatted Writer.

Me, the Hatted Writer; sporting the tweed Newsboy flat cap. I love it.

One could be forgiven if he or she for a moment thought this was Sir Elton John or John Lennon with me. I wonder why? Must be his smile, no? Mahmud, with me, the Hatted Writer; at his booth on the second floor.

Another satisfied customer. The red was super, awesomely striking; making the gold flower designs rich.

Throughout the day, there were people coming by, purchasing many of the Hotwheels vehicles that were on display, A guy bought my Thronmax full professional mike set. I used it only once thinking I was going into podcasting. However, I realised that I was not ready for podcasts now. The planning, script writing, perfect environment, editing – this was not my thing. At least for now. I may pick it up again sometime in the near future. Another person also bought my Cross fountain pen, which I first purchased 40 years ago. That guy is going to get many years of good writing experience from it.

Jeannie, the Batik Influencer, and I, (yes, ’tis I) Alan, the Hatted Writer; at our booth F1.16.

I was also the D.J. for the afternoon; playing a wide variety of English and Malay songs. I played Liyana Fizi’s “Nona Nona Zaman Sekarang”, “Stay”, “Jatuh”; CCR, Michael Buble, Meghan Trainor, Ushera, Sheila Majid with her hit, “Sinaran”; just to name a few. I saw lots of people moving to the rhythm of the songs,. enjoying what they heard. Probably a good 3 hours of music. I think the speaker must have popped as there is a bit of a rattling sound when the volume is turned up.

And another happy customer – this couple purchased the last batik cape under the label of “Jeannie’s Own” that Jeannie had with her for the day.

A Singaporean couple came by just as were about to pack up for the day. They purchased the last of “Jeannie’s Own” batik capes that the Batik Influencer had for the day.

The “CARS” display, keychain, and the diecast cars of Mater and Flo, were also sold just before we closed. Everything CARS is sold.

By the time, we got everything packed in the car (we did not saunter. We moved at a much faster pace as we wanted to get home), it was past 6.00pm.. It had been quite a long day.

I, during the day, through observations as it (the day) went passed; have got several more ideas for my book. Right now, it seems disjointed. I need to thread the ideas together. While it looks like a trillion (4) piece jigsaw puzzle at the moment, the excitement is building up working at putting these pieces together.

NOTES:
1. “Sauntered” means to walk in a slow, relaxed manner.
2. “Relax lah, brudder” (spelt according to how it sounds) means take it easy. It is very common to hear this in everyday life in Malaysia.
Though the little speck down south of the peninsula claims (like every other thing that becomes catchy and famous); that this popular phrase originated from them; there are doubts to this claim.
3. “Unhatted” means not wearing a hat.
4. Trillion a million million (1,000,000,000,000 or 1012).

WIFELIKE : WHO CONTROLS WHO?

/ Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

I watched this movie on my flight, coming to the U.S. a few days ago. A bit slow in th beginning, but great movie all the same.

It begins in the mind. From a thought..

When artificial human Meredith gets assigned as a companion to grieving widower William, it’s designed to behave like his late wife. However, in the fight to end AI exploitation, an underground organization attempts to sabotage Meredith’s programming. It soon begins to question reality as memories of a past life begin to resurface in a world where nothing is as it seems.

A well produced and entertaining thriller with great performances that build a human/AI world where everything blurs between what is real and what isn’t.

NOTES:
I am totally for technology advancement. I believe it can and will advance the standards of living for mankind.

On the flip side:

I am an advocator of strict regulation and control on the use and production of A.I. and its uses to prevent the complete destruction and extinction of mankind. You don’t need nuclear warfare to bring mankind to an end..

Where Have All The Days Gone?

/ Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

Dear Aunty T,

I am grasping at straws when I try to find the answer to where all the days in this year have gone? It is the tail end of the third quarter of the 12th day of April.

The old adage ” flash before my eyes” seems to hold true now.

As I try to grab on to a new day, it turns into fine grains of sand and flows out between my fingers or is blown away by the wind. Thank goodness for the wind over these past few days as it has helped cool the rather sweltering, humid past few days.

How have you been keeping, Aunty T? Carla and Megan will be visiting you soon, that’s what I hear from mum (that is if I am not mistaken). Hopefully the wires to my brain are not crossed. Otherwise, it will be brain-shorting (not brain sorting), haha.

The poor weather – a victim of our whims and fancies. We never seem to cease complaining about it. Either it is too hot or too cold, storming wet or desert dry, windy (though this – we compliment a little bit about) or the air is cautiously still.

I suppose this is how we while our time away, since most other topics of conversation don’t seem to interest us. Haha. There’s the $1.3 billion transport idea or the $2.25 billion energy loss talk – just that: talk under a tree – the usual square plastic folderable (if there is such a word) (1) $2.50 table with 4 plastic 95-cent chairs or 85-cent stools around it. No worry of brain-shorting here😁. Most times, over a tall glass (yes – glass, not cup, not mug) of coffee or tea; which could last for a couple of hours or more.

Lensia, Janet and I are fine.

The beautiful person, Marcia; who helped Lensia out in getting her passport renewed in New York last year, is down in Singapore. She went in place of me when our beloved government denied me the YourTicketOut, a travel application; 6 times. This is on top of a valid passport needed to travel.

Marcia, who lives in Nevada, arranged for the flights to and from New York, flew to New York and met Lensia there, accompanied Lensia to the embassy where Lensia got her passport renewed; then took Lensia on a sightseeing trip in New York.

I knew Marcia from 39 years ago when we participated in the same musical play, “The Apostle”. Now, Marcia is down in Clementi for about 3 weeks to help relieve her sisters in looking after her aged mum of 93 years, who just suffered a stroke. Marcia is now, as she was back then in 1983; an angel.

It was such a pleasant meet up with Marcia in person, after 39 years. She is still quarantined in Sheraton Hotel til Sunday.

Lensia is busy with her business – a project that she has to do as part of her semester assignment. She decided to start a business to help Singaporean students wanting to further their tertiary education in the U.S.

The U.S. has over 5,500 universities. There are a mind-boggling number of procedures and processes, an opportunity to apply for several scholarships that may be made available by universities and an opportunity to participate in a competitive sport (if the student is into sports) or an extracurricular activity.

Lensia applied to over 300 universities over a  2 year period, just to get the right fit university which participates in competitive athletics to complement the Business Studies that she wanted to do. She arranged many online meetings and interviews with coaches and other staff or representatives of the universities she applied for. The whole process was fun, exciting, challenging, daunting – to put it in a nutshell – overwhelming. 

Most students do not plan their tertiary studies two years in advance. Since Lensia has the experience and the know-how now (How now, brown cow?), she could save student applicants valuable time and unnecessary expenditure on making wrong applications. The whole idea is to help students get a right-fit university, without the stress in the shortest possible time.

Lensia will continue this business even after her semester ends.

For starters, she has a target set – that she has 4 paying student customers before the end of April.

Anyway, Janet and I are helping Lensia search for students that will register payment before the end of this month as Lensia has to submit her assignment. Lensia wants to ensure that her work will always be above board. Start off her business on a right footing with integrity. If you, and / or your daughters know anyone in Singapore that has someone wanting to further his / her studies in the U.S.; please recommend Lensia.

As the time is now past 5.00am this Wednesday morning; I am going to end off here and go to bed. We have a full day ahead. Going to Robin Road in the morning. Then, buy Ais Batu Campur (ABC) [this is not Campbell’s alphabet soup😉] (3) and send it to Marcia at her hotel while she is still in quarantine. Then, we will be attending mass at 6.00pm in Redemptorist Church. After that, we will be visiting mum and dad.

I do hope you have a wonderful Easter Holy week. It has begun to rain quite heavily here, so we will be sleeping in much cooler weather (we hope) – Weather – the story of our lives.

Love, Al

NOTE: Fiction, and having fun with it.

  1. “Folderable” means collapsible😏
  2. “Turbo” as in the snail; is not a sport.
Movie: Turbo

3. Ais Batu Campur – Direct translation to English: Ice stone (blocks) mixture.

Food: Ice shavings, with nuts, small pieces of fruits, liquid brown sugar, rose syrup, Ideal milk, ice-cream