#havingfun

AN AFTERNOON IN PORT DICKSON

/ Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

I could live here. I love the movement of the waves in the sea.

In Starbucks, relaxing after the drive.

The drive up from Subang Jaya was crowded with traffic on the highway, right up until after Seremban. Then, it was clear right up to P. D. town.

The last time we were in P. D. was in February. Jeannie and I had a great time then. We are looking forward to a great weekend here.

One of the first times we noticed when we got in was that the town seemed pretty quiet for a Saturday afternoon. After all, this is supposed to be a tourist and holiday getaway for people around this area. However, we are not complaining. It is more comfortable this way.

We drove around town, remembering the places we visited in our past trips here. The town is growing in size. There are more modern amenities and eateries available now. Our favourite, Billion Supermarket is still there, going strong, faithfully serving the needs of the people of Port Dickson. We have purchased things from this establishment on several of our trips in the past. It is the place to go to. Probably to be seen at, too.

There were several cafes other than the usual Starbucks. However, Starbucks offers a great view of the sea, while sipping on our coffee beverages and pastries.

We (meaning Laura, though she let us decide) chose Starbucks at the Waterfront. Starbucks is one of Laura’s favourite cafes.

Starbucks at the Waterfront has a really nice view of the open sea of the Straits of Malacca. After ordering a coffee beverage, Jeannie chose a table next to the café’s wide frontage view.

The view was good from here. The sun was blazing, the reflection of its rays from the sea helped it look hotter than it was. All the same, it was very hot on its own, not needing help from the sea.

The sea was greenish / brown, coming in to shore, calmly. The smell of salt water in the air (OK… That’s a bit of exaggeration. Haha. My sense of smell is not tha-a-at sensitive) was over-powering, where clean, clear air, escaped my attention. However, it in no way deminishes the fact that this was a welcome scene instead of the gigantic (in some cases) concrete  buildings structures that seem to block out the skies in the cities, the traffic and so called urban modernisation of transport, leaving behind it’s harmful emissions, as well as unwanted noise crowds.

There were a couple of tug boats anchored, lazily about 100 metres from the shore; looking very Mexican siesta type, not in an immediate hurry to change the pace of their current lifestyle. If they had a choice, this would be it, year in, year out.

In the distance, over the horizon, we could see ships going up and down the Straits.

We spent a bit more time enjoying the comforts of Starbucks before we made a move to our hotel.

We got to the hotel within a few minutes. Our rooms were comfortable and inviting that the next thing we thought of doing was nothing. However, the white beach was beckoning us for a walk on it. Later… Maybe.

FAMILY AND THREE HASHBROWNS

/ Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

It’s another day. Yay! Does not sound too over-joyous? Is the “joy” in that statement?

We tend to take “tomorrow” as a given. We all set our alarms the night before to wake up the morning after, to get ready for school, work, or some morning activity. O.k. o.k., not all of us.. well most of us do.

I seem to be making a lot of typo errors with clikity-claketing (spelling correct 😁), and all the other sounds that are coming out of my Logitech MX Mechanical as I thump on the keys, typing out wortds, (there I go again: it is “words”), sentences, paragraphs and this essay that I am working on right now.

Molst (there it goes again: the word is “most”) of the time, I get on the keyboard and start typing away from memory. I do refer to some notes (whenever I have something jotted d0own[down]).

What is really important is how we receive each day, what we do with it and do we look back at the end of each day with gratefulness?

As I am living my next 65 years (from July 10th 2023), I look at life with vigor. I try not to take anything for grant6ed (“granted”. It’s not my mistake, it’s the keyboard. Haha. If we can’t have fun now, then, when can we?).

One of the livings of life that we enjoy is when we have a family meal together. Our “big” family of three, yes the number is right : 3; can be quite a task getting together.

Our gewtting (it’s “getting” la [with a bit of “a”? Malaysian slang]) together at most times is quality time. What meal we have is not as important as having that bit of quality time. Quality time means, our smartphones are smart enough not to interrupt our family time. It is not that the phones are never used. It is just that we are not staring at the screen while having a conversation.

This time round, it was a morning breakfast at the Scottish restaurant, McD’s. McD’s does serve up a pretty cool breakfast.

All our meals came with hashbrowns.

I had a coffee from their McCafe counter, Laura had an iced milo and Jeannie and iced tea to go with our food.

Mine was a sausage McMuffin.

Jeannie and Laura do most of the talking as I like to listen to their daily happenings and plans. I find it very interesting. What may seem ordinary to the person, can be interesting to others. The smiles that come about, the noticeable distinct sparkle in the eye when a happy moment, thought or memory comes up.

Jeannie and Laura, both; had an egg and chicken muffin.

Jeannie and Laura are my Number 1 supporters for me to have my book published. It is coming. I am as excited as they are. The manuscript is taking shape. I have to organize a dedicated time space each day to work on the book. Once that is in place, there will be a fixed momentum with an ETP (Expected Time of Publication) on trhe (“the”… another MX mechanical typo?) calendar.

Picture taken by Laura with the Samsung S23 Ultra. It was a quick frame and shoot picture. She always seems to get the better angles.

Our breakfast was for about an hour. Needless to say, it was really good. Family time is good time – always.

NOTES:
Just having fun with the Logitech MX Mechanical keyboard. It is the best keyboard I have had so far. I am enjoying the use of it. I can see that it is going to be with me for a long time to come.

RAIN DROPS KEEP FALLING BUT ITS TOO HOT TO

/ Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

Phew! The heat! What’s happening to the weather? Raining the whole afternoon. The Federal Highway is flooded in certain parts. After over two hours of “all hell broke loose” type of heavy rain; there seems to be no letting up. The rain clouds are in their element. They seem to have re-stocked their rain, with plans to continue this “throwing on water on us” and no plans to end.

Burrr! You’d expect the temperature to drop to a level that everyone will feel comfortable with. But (not “however” in this instance) nnnoo-oo-oo-o! Guess again.

I think humidity was at one of its high levels as it made being outdoors really (to emphasize the next word. Not bluffing😂) uncomfortable. Or maybe, it was the haze. The weather bureau over the last few weeks has been reporting the air in various towns, including K.L., P.J. and Subang Jaya, has been at unhealthy levels.

Jeannie needed to have an errand done at Mid-Valley Megamall. We got to her appointment a few minutes early, waited a while, then got the errand done. We decided to go to Burger King for a fast meal.

I donned my Gatsby (1) cap today. The Gatsby was commonly used by the Europeans and Americans in the earlier part of the 1900s. Now, it is used more as part of dresswear or a fashion statement.

Nice pic, with the gatsby cap.

With my gatsby tweed cap.

The decor at Burger King seemed to have matched my attire. Shirt, pants, bag, cap😀

The background, especially the “poster” on the wall, matches my attire.

I had my usual Whopper set and Jeannie had a chicken burger set. I have always loved their fries, especially with the skin still on the potatoes. The fries come in a nice decent size, unlike those longer, twig-like size, plasticky variant; that other fast food joints serve. Now, the Burger King fries are skinless – I wonder why. However, the delightful taste is still there. Yellowish, lightly browned, the fries here are good.

The meals at Burger King, especially their Whopper, are good. Always freshly prepared, their food is good. I have no idea why Jeannie always pronounces “whopper” as “whooper” and I always have to correct her pronunciation. Sometimes, I think she pronounces “whooper’ just to rile me. She knows I will correct her pronunciation instantly. Haha.

Simple, not over-the-top meal.

Notice how the cushion colours matches Jeannie’s outfit?

We had a nice, relaxed, fairly laid back lunch. Enjoyed, it.

Every time we, Jeannie and I (the Batik Influencer and the Hatted writer) come out, we look out for new happenings, new things. It is interesting to note that no two days are exactly alike. Now, to exercise by window-shop sightseeing. First stop, hats perhaps?

NOTES:
1. The most noticeable distinction between the newsboy or Gatsby cap and a flat cap styles is that newsboy caps are rounder, puffier, and look a little baggy. Unlike a flat cap, which has no bagginess, a newsboy cap is sewn together from the top of the hat creating eight panels. A newsboy cap is often called an eight-panel or gatsby cap. The flat cap has a longer, stretched out front.

TIME FOR A COFFEE

/ Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

It’s Saturday, a day when we are supposed to rest…or is it Sunday. Maybe, for some, Saturday is to continue what started on late Friday evening, towards night. It is the time where many have been tuned in to the fact that they have to “de-stress” from the week’s work that was. In the 1970s & ’80s, it was known as “let your hair down”, even for those with little or no hair.

So, Friday evening, heading on towards night; you probably will see “the happening places” in the cities full. “Full” may not be too efficient a word; more like squished, cramped and bursting at its seams, because everybody who thinks they are somebody or want to be “somebody”; wants to be see in these happening places. It is so jam-packed that de-stressers / customers / guests / patrons (whatever they choose to go by as), are willing to stand all night long, sometimes at the passages, hallways (even next to the toilets), right out on to the streets / curbs / sidewalks. And believe it or not, there is no stress there at all. Maybe, when they get the bill, they may get a wee bit stressed.

Topics of conversation will range from almost anything: what happened at the office, to food, to more of whatever happened at the office, to sports and dressing / clothes, cars, fashion, to more of what happened, is happening and / or suspect is going to happen at the office. Sounds familiar?

True that this is not for everybody. The rest of the stressed people, those who are either less “with it” or not “with it” or without(?) may go to places where stars light up when bucks come in, cafes, teafes (tea version of cafes), mamak (1) (some call themselves “bistros”. You are sure to get some of the best local food in town). Let’s not forget the kopitiams (2) and the upmarket term “restoran” (Bahasa Malaysia for restaurant). Back in the good ol’ days, they were known as “coffee shops” or “Kedai Kopi” in Malaysia. Calling them restaurants or “restoran” is keeping abreast with the times.

Kopi peng or coffee ice, literally translated from Bahasa Malaysia to English.

Some of the best coffee drinks can be found at these local restaurants. They don’t have fanciful names so they don’t cost an arm and a leg; though they are millimetering their way towards that direction.

Some of these coffee shops or restaurants are giving the big boys (the ones with the moolah to splash on advertising) a run for their money. They have real air-conditioners as permanent fixtures. It is getting rarer to hear, “Anneh, (5) on the fan”, or “bos, buka kipas” (6) (not literally buka-ing the kipas as the direct English translation is “open fan”).

The best local iced coffee or “kopi peng” or “kopi Ais” (7) is served by the New Apollos restaurant in USJ 4, Subang Jaya. This is after surveying a few of the local restaurants in the area. It could change when I add on more restaurants to the list.

The “kopi Peng” at New Apollos does not have that over-powering taste found in many of the local iced-coffees. Not too sweet, too; for those watching their sugar intake. I prefer mine to be “kau” (strong).

New Apollos’ “Kopi Peng”. The best local iced coffee in USJ Subang Jaya.

New Nanking restaurant’s iced coffee. Above average. In the background is their hot coffee “kecil” (small in Bahasa Malaysia). If you don’t state that you want a big glass hot coffee, it comes in this standard cup (and saucer).

I am going to send the car for a wash ‘n vacuum now. Then I will go for a coffee fix. Stumbled across a little cafe in town called, “Benson Brew”. By little, I mean “little”. Sort of charming like the little cafe I experienced in Perugia, Italy.

Let us know what your thoughts are. We’d love to hear your experiences from around the world since there are readers from over 90 countries tuning in to this blog.

Anytime is a good time for a coffee.

NOTES:
1. Mamak means a person of Tamil Muslim origin or descent living in Malaysia or Singapore.
2. Kopitiam is a coffee house serving traditional Malay and Chinese fare.
3. Restoran is Bahasa Malaysia language for restaurant in English.
4. Kedai kopi is Bahasa Malaysia for coffee shop in English.
5. Anneh means elder brother in Tamil.
6. Buka Kipas means “Switch the fan on” in Bahasa Malaysia.
7. Kopi Peng: Kopi peng [pronounced ‘ko-peeh peh-eng’]. Iced coffee with condensed milk. ‘Peng‘ means iced in Chinese.
Kopi Ais is iced coffee in Bahasa Malaysia.

The Secret…REVEALED

/ Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

Should this secret be revealed? It is kind of cliché. You do read about secrets to be told or have a carrot dangled by speakers who want you to sign up for their talks or seminars, “the two, three or more …secrets” that they are willing to share with their audience to help their audience improve and / or succeed in life.

The biggest secret of them all : Pay first. 😉😁😂

The tortoise or the Hare?

/ Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

There is no such thing as “maintain” when you are working on improving yourself. Everyone else, too are working on improving themselves.

In life’s race against the clock, you either are improving or declining. I was involved in competitive swimming as a parent of an athlete swimmer. I used to hear competitive swimmers say after a race, “they maintained their times”. If taken rightly, they use that as a “dig their heels in there for a moment”, as a new minimum standard and move forward from there. Then, good.

But, many of the swimmers use their “times maintained” to be construed as they did well, at least they did not drop in times. The danger of becoming complacent, too relaxed or make excuses; can set in. Now, if they are racing only against their personal time clock, they may be able to give themselves some takeaway from there.

In competition there are two races that really go on in each race. One, you race against your personal best time clock, always. This competitor – the clock; will always race you.

The second is you race against other athlete competitors.

So, the moment you “feel comfortable” about having “maintained your time” in a race; your competitors are working hard at beating their times and beating you, their competitor. The goal for most real competitors is to race at the Olympics and World Championships.

They have to have “Kaizen” in them. Kaizen is a Japanese word for continuous improvement.

Michael Schumacher, 7 times Formula 1 World Champion, is arguably the best of all times. At his peak, he accomplished many records – having won 7 world championship titles, winning 91 races (the most number of races at that time), getting the most number of pole starts, amassing the most number of points, amongst many others. When asked at a press conference what it felt like having chalked up so many firsts, Schumacher said, “Records are meant to be broken”.

These two races can basically be applied to anyone – one, is we continue to improve ourselves. The second is we race against others in our workplace, our profession, etc. This is good as it continues to raise the bar or the new record to break. I think mankind has always been competitive by nature.

When you break that record, don’t forget to spend some time celebrating the achievement. This is “living in the present”. Don’t spend too much of time there. Otherwise, it may turn out to be “The tortise and the Hare”.

Then, back on the racetrack to start a new race to beat the latest record. We should always ask, “How can we make the best, better?”

In order for your life to be great, you must first learn to appreciate it. Don’t forget to add “having fun” in all you do. Fun helps people to relax. It is sometimes regarded as a “social lubricant”, important in adding “to one’s pleasure in life”. Fun can help reduce stress. . For children, fun is strongly related to play. Somehow, they have spontaneity and an inventive way in extracting fun from it.

Are you the tortoise or the hare?

JP

In the meantime, I am going to have Tou Foo Fah (Chinese for soymilk custard) with liquid brown sugar. A little while later…Oops! forgot to take a picture of it. “Walloped it one shot” (local way of saying, “whacked it” or “start eating and finished straight away”).

Tou Foo Fah – yummy!


CUSTOMER SERVICE? WHAT’S THAT?

/ Alan Atkinson / 3 Comments

Have you thought about “Customer Service”?

A must have in any big, large or for that matter, any business. So, it seems. Have we really thought about it in today’s context? Is customer service to serve the customer or the customer to serve the business?

Let us take Hisbiscuit (not its real name, but true incident), for example. It was Friday, May 29th, 2022; mid-morning. We called Customer Service on their toll free line to make a complaint about a scam, well… duped half way into it. After half an hour, we were still waiting on hold for a representative to speak with us. Maybe, we’d still be on hold today, if we kept waiting.

One of the most common phases you will hear on the phone, or see on a website 24 hour online live chat of the business is, “We are experiencing a high volume of calls, you may have to wait longer than expected”. In this case, the message was, “We are experiencing an extremely high volume of calls, you may have to wait longer than expected”. Another message follows, “Do sign up for our online service or download our app, so as to enable us to chat with you “live“”.

The thing is, you can call any time of the day or on any day and guess what? You are going to receive the same message.

So, you go to their website. One of the most “hip,” “I gotta have that on my website” functions you will see on a website, usually tucked away somewhere until you become inquisitive and hit a button on the menu, pops up. Suddenly, it springs out of nowhere: “Chat with us. Live Chat.” Most don’t mention… “Live chat with real robots”. But guess what…again? Go on…guess. Awww!…give it a go… An instant reply comes on from “Eva”, “We are receiving a high volume of chat messages, you may have to wait longer than expected”.

Then out of frustration, you decide to chat with the “Chat with us. Come on, give us a go!” chat. You ask a question. Eva replies, “I am sorry, I don’t quite understand the question”. Or a completely unrelated answer comes out based on keywords in the question. This reminds me of the old television series, “Mind Your Language”.

How do you think the business establishment can address this almost any time of the day, almost every day of the year problem? You are right! Hire more people to handle Customer Service. Not more “Eva” and “Ken” robots (a.k.a. automated “customer service representatives) with their “I am sorry, I don’t quite understand the question” replies.

To be fair, there are some, only some…companies that state the live chat on their website is automated.

There are some with actual, real people to chat with you. There was one who sent me his cell phone number and asked if we could communicate directly, offline; because he could offer a better deal than what was stated on the website that he was linked to. How’s that for customer service?

Have you ever thought about it? You are filling up an online form and come to the end of the form. You have to prove to the computer, which is a robot; that you are not a robot! You have to tick a “I’m not a robot” check box. Think about it.

It is different if you are inter-acting with a real person, a human being on the other end of the communication you are having, and that person wants to know if he or she is dealing with you a real person or robot. It baffles me as to what is stopping a robot or autobot or botbotbot from ticking that checkbox. Not that it is going to disintegrate,…or is it?

~ More to come on “Customer Service”.

Tell us your experience or thoughts of Customer Service and how you would like it to be.

As for Hisbiscuit, we still have not managed to get through to them.

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Mind Your Language

NOTES:
Image by Pixabay